The map loaded, and the match officially began.
In this game, Tianhuan picked [Stealth Rogue] as a Wild Core. Once this hero, capable of stealth from the early game and possessing strong burst damage, was picked, one had to be prepared to be targeted.
Sure enough, FNO's utility Jungler [White Bear], along with the Mid and Support, invaded the Red Buff together. [Stealth Rogue]'s jungling efficiency would be higher with the Red Buff, so interfering with Chi Shu's Red Buff jungle early on was also an attempt to disrupt his rhythm.
Ye Shaoyang and Qu Jiang arrived to support immediately.
But Mitchell's Mid-laner [Moonlight Mage] could deal magic damage with basic attacks. Since everyone was Level 1, Mitchell had the strongest sustained damage output. Hiding in the distance, he repeatedly threw moon blades at the Tianhuan trio. In the blink of an eye, he crippled Qu Jiang, who was blocking at the front, and Ye Shaoyang also took two basic attacks from him.
Chi Shu said, "You guys retreat first. I'll try to steal it."
Ye Shaoyang and Qu Jiang split up to run. Chi Shu pretended to retreat but actually stealthed and crouched at the side.
Mitchell thought Tianhuan had given up the Red Buff. Unexpectedly, Chi Shu returned. Just as FNO's jungler Fast whittled the Red Buff down to critical health, he suddenly popped out and snatched the Red Buff with [Smite]!
Mitchell: "…"
Damn, worked so hard just for someone else!
Mitchell naturally wasn't happy and said decisively, "Chase, kill him!"
Chi Shu had already been beaten to half health by the three of them just now. FNO's trio continued to chase him. Mitchell used his range advantage to shoot moon blades from a distance. Chi Shu quickly circled towards the mid tower.
Just as Mitchell was about to kill Chi Shu with one more moon blade, Ye Shaoyang, who was clearing minions mid, suddenly turned back. With a flexible S-shaped movement, he used his body to block the damage for Chi Shu.
Chi Shu escaped with a sliver of health and pressed recall.
Yao Mu breathed a sigh of relief. "Yangyang's block was crucial; it saved Captain Chi's life! Although Captain Chi recalled with low health, getting the Red Buff at the start isn't too big of a loss."
Brother Dong said, "FNO cleared a few small jungle monsters along the way. Will they continue to invade the Blue Buff?"
As the commentators guessed, FNO's Mid-Jungle-Support trio, after attacking the Red Buff area and forcing Chi Shu to recall, went to attack the Blue Buff area, wanting to steal Chi Shu's Blue.
Chi Shu naturally wouldn't sit still and wait for death. After healing up at base, he immediately arrived near the Blue Buff. Ye Shaoyang and Old Qin supported simultaneously. Old Qin erected a fire shield in front to block Mitchell's moon blades, Ye Shaoyang threw artillery at the three enemies, and Chi Shu quickly cleared the Blue Buff.
However, just as the Blue Buff reached critical health, Fast suddenly used Smite to steal the Blue.
FNO quit while they were ahead and retreated to their own jungle.
Mitchell laughed. "This time he worked for us."
FNO's offensive intent was very clear, and they played aggressively.
The domestic audience finally witnessed the fierce and hot-blooded style of this team. Especially Mitchell, who moved quickly while shooting moon blades, dealing over 60% of the damage in this skirmish.
The strength of a world-class Mid-laner was evident.
FNO's jungler Fast also had strong game sense. Just now in the Red Buff area, he didn't use [Smite], saving it to steal the Blue. In the end, he calculated the health perfectly and snatched the Blue Buff while Chi Shu's [Smite] was on cooldown.
Fast laughed. "We can get 3 buffs."
Mitchell said, "Give me Blue."
Fast: "OK, come get it."
Seeing this, Yao Mu felt anxious. "Tianhuan's opening is a bit passive. FNO targeted the jungle for invasion. Failed to steal Red, but stole Blue. Shuoyue only got one buff; a bad start!"
Brother Dong analyzed, "FNO's strategy is very rational. If you don't target the hero [Stealth Rogue] before Level 6 and let him farm smoothly, once he hits Level 6 and stealths to flank, whoever he catches dies! So, breaking Tianhuan's jungle rhythm early allows FNO's Marksman, Top, and Mid to farm very comfortably."
Yao Mu said, "Shuoyue was targeted too hard, falling two full levels behind the enemy jungler. He has to find a way to scrounge some economy… Will Old Qin give up minion waves to him? Or will Yangyang?"
In the past, once Chi Shu picked a Wild Core and had his buffs stolen early, preventing his economy from rising, Tianhuan's Top or Mid would usually yield some economy to him, letting him hit Level 6 quickly to drive the rhythm.
But in this game, after his jungle was invaded, Chi Shu didn't go top to leech Old Qin's wave, nor did he share Ye Shaoyang's economy mid. He just went to the river and teamed up with Ye Shaoyang to secure a small river crab.
The river crab gave decent experience, but even after taking it, Chi Shu was still 1.5 levels behind the opposing jungler.
After Fast stole Tianhuan's Blue Buff, he turned around and gave his own Blue Buff to Mitchell. So, during the mid lane phase, facing a [Moonlight Mage] with Blue Buff, Ye Shaoyang didn't dare to play too aggressively.
When the minion waves met, he only fired a few cannon shots from a distance, then hid under the tower after clearing.
Mitchell remembered Ye Shaoyang from the scrims who said, "I won't leave the tower; leaving the tower costs lives."
Unfortunately, the hero Ye Shaoyang picked this game wasn't [Abyssal Lord] and lacked the assassination ability to take lives upon leaving the tower. A poke-style marksman like [Cannoneer], even if his ultimate hit, would only cripple the opponent, not insta-kill them.
Mitchell was very comfortable laning mid. With Blue Buff in hand, his skills cooled down fast, and he cleared minions even faster. Often, when he finished clearing a wave, Ye Shaoyang still had 3 minions left.
This way, Mitchell's tempo was always ahead of Ye Shaoyang's. After clearing minions, he could roam and support.
A moment later, FNO's jungler reached Level 6 first.
FNO gathered at the Small Dragon and quickly took it down.
Tianhuan clearly saw it, but no one went to contest the dragon. After all, Chi Shu was only Level 4.5, not yet 6.
In the livestream room, netizens gradually became anxious.
[What's the situation? Tianhuan's opening is too passive, right?]
[Blue Buff stolen, Small Dragon gone too. Are they sleepwalking?]
[Chi Shu's [Stealth Rogue] shouldn't have been picked this early; it's too easily targeted.]
[Yangyang is also passive laning against Mitchell, squatting under the tower not daring to come out.]
[Stubborn-Head Yang, are you not stubborn today? Don't be cowardly!]
Although the audience was anxious, the match had just begun, and it was too early to draw conclusions.
Yao Mu comforted, "FNO's lineup this game isn't particularly early-game focused, so the impact of the Small Dragon isn't that big. Currently, the team economy gap is around 800. Tianhuan has a slight disadvantage at the start. But Tianhuan has played many games with small or large disadvantages in domestic matches, and it's not the first time the jungler has been targeted. They should be able to stabilize."
Brother Dong said, "Yes, picking a [Stealth Rogue] Wild Core lineup, they definitely prepared mentally for being targeted at the start. Let's see how Tianhuan handles playing from behind."
Ye Shaoyang glanced at the match panel and said, "Xiao Xing retreat, wait for me to hit Level 6."
He knew very well that to turn the situation around, the Mid-laner had to reach Level 6 and actively drive a wave of rhythm; they couldn't let FNO continue to snowball.
FNO's Mid wasn't a mage assassin; Mitchell didn't have the ability to instantly delete people. The jungler [White Bear] leaned towards being a control utility. Their lineup was very suitable for team fights, but for single-lane ganks…
They might not necessarily secure a kill.
Just now, FNO ganked bot after taking the dragon, but Cheng Xing decisively flashed and escaped; they couldn't catch him.
Chi Shu was targeted miserably. The good news was that the development of Old Qin top, Xiao Xing bot, and Ye Shaoyang mid wasn't affected, and Tianhuan hadn't suffered any deaths.
Just a small disadvantage; no need to be impatient.
Cheng Xing went home to buy items, healed up, and returned to the lane. Qu Jiang took a wave of minions bot. At this time, Ye Shaoyang was already Level 6, while Qu Jiang and Cheng Xing were both Level 5.5, soon to hit 6.
Domestic livestream viewers were collectively dumbfounded—
[Support taking minion waves? Am I seeing things?]
[Marksman goes home, Support doesn't freeze the wave but eats it himself!!]
[What is Tianhuan doing! Qu Jiang isn't setting up vision either?]
Yao Mu and Brother Dong looked at each other, their expressions full of confusion.
It shouldn't be.
A veteran player like Qu Jiang wouldn't make such a low-level mistake.
In many cases, when the Marksman went home or was forced to recall due to low health, the Support could freeze the wave outside the tower range without killing minions, letting the Marksman eat the wave upon return.
After all, Supports shouldn't steal teammates' economy.
But just now, Qu Jiang actually ate that wave, affecting Xiao Xing's growth.
After Cheng Xing returned to the lane, the two even killed the small bird monster in the jungle near the bot lane together.
Yao Mu frowned. "Tianhuan's economy distribution this game is different from usual. The jungler's economy is unwatchably low, and Tianhuan's support isn't setting up vision either. Instead, Shuoyue…"
Brother Dong's eyes suddenly lit up. "Shuoyue stealthed into the enemy jungle. He discovered the positions of the opposing trio!"
Fast took [White Bear] jungle this game, so he didn't need much economy. After Level 6, jungle resources could be yielded to teammates. FNO's group was killing small monsters in the jungle, and the support had set up vision at the intersection.
However, the ward placed by the support could only see passing heroes.
It couldn't see the invisible [Stealth Rogue]!
Chi Shu stealthed around from the side. Viewers with the omniscient perspective saw his position, but FNO's members were completely unaware of Chi Shu's approach.
In their view, Chi Shu's jungle was suppressed at the start, so he should be burying his head in farming right now, right?
Mitchell intended to gather teammates for an attack after taking this Blue Buff. He didn't expect Tianhuan's jungler to run into their jungle instead.
Qu Jiang glanced at the opponents and asked, "Can we fight?"
Chi Shu said calmly, "We can fight. As long as Yangyang lands his skills accurately."
A simple sentence revealed Chi Shu's trust in Ye Shaoyang.
As long as Yangyang's skills hit, this wave could be fought, and even won. But if he missed and the opponent counterattacked, they might lose 2-3 people, making the disadvantage even worse.
Ye Shaoyang smiled and decisively pressed [Initiate Attack] in-game!
Chi Shu actively exposed his vision. Almost the moment he showed his face, Ye Shaoyang followed up with a skill—
A cannonball descended from the sky and exploded with a bang!
Ye Shaoyang was far away in the mid lane, but utilizing [Cannoneer]'s long range advantage, he fired a shot into the opposing Blue Buff pit, crippling both [White Bear] and [Moonlight Mage]!
Realizing something was wrong, Mitchell immediately said, "Retreat!"
He quickly took the Blue Buff and prepared to turn and retreat, but just then, [Stealth Rogue] appeared nearby.
At this time, the Rogue hadn't reached Level 6 yet; his attack skills were limited and couldn't kill him. However, the Rogue's appearance scouted the positioning and vision of everyone in FNO.
Qu Jiang flashed directly over, using a Q-W-R combo to instantly cover the jungle with fire fields, blocking the opponent's retreat.
Cheng Xing crouched at the side, aiming, sniping—
Cheng Xing, who had just hit Level 6, landed an accurate shot, directly sniping the low-health Mitchell dead!
Ye Shaoyang shouted in the voice channel, "Beautiful! Keep chasing!"
FNO's marksman Angus exploded with hand speed, basic attacking Chi Shu and crippling him in the blink of an eye. Withstanding the damage, Chi Shu turned back with a W stun, controlling the fleeing marksman Angus.
Angus was burnt crisp by [Goddess of Flame]'s fire field. Ye Shaoyang followed up by throwing a small cannonball. The moment the flames exploded, Angus was blasted to critical health, and Cheng Xing's snipe accurately supplemented the damage.
——Angus (Meteor Arrow) has killed Moonlight (Stealth Rogue)!
——Starlight (Sharpshooter) has killed Angus (Meteor Arrow), Double Kill!
Chi Shu died.
But Cheng Xing sniped FNO's two low-health members dead with two shots, then retreated quickly under Qu Jiang's protection.
1 for 2.
This team fight happened completely unexpectedly.
At the commentary desk, Yao Mu and Brother Dong looked at each other. She confirmed her guess, adjusted the microphone, and said excitedly, "Tianhuan's real strategy this game is for Lieyang to drive the tempo, and Shuoyue to play support scouting for vision!"
Brother Dong said, "Exactly! It looks like [Stealth Rogue] is a Wild Core, but in reality, the Rogue this game is just the team's scout. He can stealth past all the opponent's wards and scout their positions. Yangyang's [Cannoneer] and Xiao Xing's [Sharpshooter] are both heroes with extremely long attack ranges. As long as Captain Chi scouts the opponent's position, Lieyang and Fan Xing can join forces for a wave of super long-range output chain!"
Yao Mu said, "That's right. In that team fight just now, Yangyang's ultimate was thrown very accurately, directly crippling two people! After he threw the bomb to cripple them, Xiao Xing aimed and sniped, and Qu Jiang used fire circles to block their movement. With good skill connection, one shot kills one low-health enemy!"
This encounter in the jungle made Mitchell wary.
He discovered that Tianhuan wasn't playing by the rules at all this game. Chi Shu was the Wild Core? No, the Stealth Rogue this game was a utility tool, the team's "invisible scout." His economy was actually lower than Qu Jiang's!
Qu Jiang looked like a support, but was actually a secondary damage dealer.
The hero [Goddess of Flame] didn't rely much on economy for damage. Covering the ground with fire circles could burn the opponent's mana, leaving them with nowhere to go and no mana to cast skills.
Tianhuan's true core lay in the dual carries, the combined long-range output of the Mid and Marksman!
Ye Shaoyang's skills were too accurate; one ultimate was earth-shattering.
Although [Cannoneer]'s output method wasn't as fierce as mage assassins like Abyssal Lord or Illusionist, as long as the ultimate was accurate enough to cripple the opponent, handing them over to teammates to harvest would make the teammates very comfortable.
Tianhuan's early game disadvantage was pulled back by this wave of Chi Shu's stealth flank scouting combined with the coordinated raid of Lieyang, Jiang Shui, and Fan Xing. The economy was now even.
Knowing they couldn't go on like this, Mitchell immediately said, "Top and Jungle help Mid, break their Mid-laner's rhythm. Kill Lieyang, don't let him drive the tempo!"
FNO's Jungler and Top laner quickly headed mid.
But Ye Shaoyang was very alert, shrinking under the tower and not coming out.
At the moment [White Bear] summoned the big bear to tank the tower and force a dive to kill him, Old Qin suddenly ran to the mid lane. A very timely fire shield helped Ye Shaoyang block all the moon blades Mitchell shot at him.
Yao Mu praised, "That shield was placed beautifully!"
Brother Dong said, "Although Old Qin's hero [Flame Shield Axe] moves clumsily, he would rather lose half a wave of minions to go mid and support/protect his teammate. His support was very timely. FNO's 3-man forced dive mid was successfully neutralized by Tianhuan's Top laner's support."
Ye Shaoyang said in voice chat, "Old Qin, thanks."
Qin Yizhu smiled. "No need to be polite. I'm going back to base; I'll leave the top lane wave for you."
Ye Shaoyang ran happily to eat a wave of minions.
Wearing [Mobility Boots] and carrying [Ghost], he moved like the wind.
In the game, [Cannoneer] had the image of a little boy. Ye Shaoyang used a very festive red Christmas cloak skin this game. The audience saw the red little boy hopping to the top lane to eat a wave, then hopping back to the mid lane to throw a cannonball into the enemy's Red Buff jungle.
With a boom, the cannonball exploded.
The Marksman who was farming the jungle was blasted to critical health by one shot.
Angus: "…"
I have a 'fuck' I don't know if I should say.
Next, the match fell into a stalemate.
Mitchell focused specifically on Ye Shaoyang, but couldn't pin him down! This guy was too naughty. Wearing Mobility Boots, he ran so fast—throwing a bomb top one moment, throwing a cannonball bot the next, assisting teammates in pressuring towers, driving the tempo like crazy.
Meanwhile, Chi Shu's [Stealth Rogue] had the lowest economy in the game. He gave up the entire bot-side jungle to let Xiao Xing eat resources; he gave up the entire top-side jungle to let Ye Shaoyang eat the top-side economy.
Chi Shu was the poorest in the game.
His equipment consisted only of Mobility Boots, a Defense Cloak, and a Support Crystal.
Fans in the domestic livestream room had mixed feelings—
[He actually took his Wild Core to play Support?]
[This is Captain Chi's vision! He can do anything for the team!]
[Captain Chi says: What's a utility Jungler? I can even give up the jungle and be a pure Support~]
[So Tianhuan's 'Wild Core' this game was actually a smokescreen?]
[I said it before, Tianhuan won't disappoint!]
Yao Mu sighed with emotion, "Stealth Rogue was one of Captain Chi's signature heroes at 18. He once used this hero to harvest countless squishy heads. But today, he made this hero build support items, stealth scout, roam globally, acting as a pair of eyes spying on the opponent's movements to point the way for his teammates!"
Brother Dong smiled with appreciation in his eyes. "We can always trust the Sun-Moon duo's tacit understanding. Wherever Shuoyue scouts, Lieyang's artillery will smash there. The accuracy is very high; hit where pointed! Wearing Mobility Boots, Lieyang roams the whole map to support, bombing the enemy jungle at the drop of a hat, giving FNO a huge headache!"
Yao Mu said, "Stealth Rogue support, the remaining 4 positions form a variant Fire Team. This new system developed by Tianhuan requires high team coordination, but they coordinate very well!"
In the first mid-lane team fight, Chi Shu's Rogue stealthed to the backline, avoiding the opposing Support's vision detection, and accurately locked onto FNO's core damage dealer—Angus's Marksman.
Almost the instant Chi Shu used his W skill to control the opponent, Ye Shaoyang threw a cannonball over, blasting the person to a sliver of health.
Cheng Xing flick-sniped 180 degrees, instantly taking the low-health Angus's head.
Chi Shu sacrificed his life, but it didn't matter. He was a Support this game; trading a Support for the opposing Marksman was too worth it!
Following that, Old Qin and Qu Jiang engaged together. Old Qin used a fire shield to block Mitchell's moon blade damage. Qu Jiang's [Goddess of Flame] fire circles covered the field, burning the opponent's mana instantly so they couldn't cast skills.
Ye Shaoyang threw his accumulated cannonballs one after another, like fireworks exploding all over the sky.
Cheng Xing aimed his saved bullets specifically at low-health opponents, sniping—
Double Kill!
Triple Kill!
In this game, Tianhuan's team fight reaper was actually Xiao Xing's [Sharpshooter].
Cheng Xing positioned very far back and carried the life-saving [Flash]. FNO's Top and Jungle couldn't reach him even if they joined forces to cut him. In the end, using Chi Shu's sacrifice, Tianhuan traded for FNO's three core damage dealers and pushed down the mid tower in one go.
The opening disadvantage turned into an advantage.
Ye Shaoyang rotated to the top lane, coordinating with Old Qin to kill the opposing Top laner Kleiman.
Then, he activated [Ghost] to support the bot lane. Chi Shu flanked and saw the opponent's position. Ye Shaoyang decisively threw a cannonball, scaring Angus into flashing immediately!
The match ended quickly at 20 minutes. Both sides fought three intense team fights.
Final score: Chi Shu 0 kills / 6 deaths / 9 assists. He practically died into a ghost.
But who could say Captain Chi played poorly this game?
No one would evaluate him like that. Everyone knew he was Tianhuan's eyes. He replaced Qu Jiang's support role, taking his Wild Core to be a scout for a game.
And the precise skill connection between Ye Shaoyang and Cheng Xing also told everyone—
What it meant to take a general's head from a thousand miles away.
With cannonballs flying all over the sky and precise cold snipes, the coordination of the two longest-range marksmen in Gods' War meant that often, you hadn't even seen where they were, but they had already taken your head.
This was the ultimate POKE lineup.
Yao Mu said excitedly, "Congratulations to Tianhuan for taking the first game! Captain Chi was the eyes, Yangyang was the team fight engine, Old Qin defended as a shield, Qu Jiang controlled the field, and Xiao Xing harvested. The wonderful coordination in several team fights proved that Tianhuan's team fighting strength is not inferior to world-class top teams!"
Brother Dong said, "That's right. Actually, many heroes aren't fixed to a certain position or playstyle. For example, [Stealth Rogue], this classic Wild Core, can also stealth to provide vision and be used as a support! And [Cannoneer], this marksman, can also go mid, build magic items, rely on his ultimate for damage, and assist teammates in harvesting."
Yao Mu said, "Tianhuan has always been innovating and expanding tactical thinking, which is key to why many fans like this team. The variant Fire Team in the first game produced unexpected results. Let's look forward to their performance next!"