Li Rui held his breath, his eyes glued to the screen. The popularity of the live stream soared again due to this highly anticipated match, and the rolling speed of the bullet comments was so fast that the text was almost illegible. The background music became low and tense, foreshadowing the intensity of this clash between Eastern and Western styles, the innovative and the traditional.
In the commentary booth, Commentator and Yaoyao's tones carried an unprecedented gravity.
"Ladies and gentlemen, next up is a major highlight of the Swiss Stage Round Two! Featuring our domestic champions, Star Sea Team, going up against the terrifying overlords from Korea—Korean White Tiger!" Commentator's voice transmitted an invisible pressure through the microphone.
"This is a crucial confrontation," Yaoyao interjected. "Star Sea Team had a bye in the first round, making this their World Championship debut. Meanwhile, Korean White Tiger easily defeated the Samba Legion from Latin America in their first match with their signature cold, calculated macro play, demonstrating immense dominance."
The statistics for both teams were displayed on the large screen. Korean White Tiger's stats panel—whether it was gold per minute, vision control, or team synergy score—was frighteningly high. Star Sea Team, however, focused more on early game offensive efficiency and handling crucial team fights.
The Drafting Duel: The Ultimate Test of Spear and Shield.
The drafting phase began, and under the global ban/pick rules, both sides were exceptionally cautious.
Korean White Tiger, on the blue side, immediately banned Nidalee, a champion Lüeyǐng had excelled with in the league, as well as Star Track's signature assassin Talon, aiming to sever Star Sea Team's sharpest mid-jungle edge. Star Sea Team specifically banned several protective supports favored by the opposing support, along with the currently strong ADC, aphelios.
During the picking phase, Korean White Tiger first-picked Jarvan IV for the jungle role, securing early game tempo and team fight initiation capabilities. Star Sea Team didn't hesitate, locking in Xayah for the ADC role and Rakan for the support role, forming the classic powerful bottom lane duo and adopting a stance of direct confrontation.
Following this, Korean White Tiger picked ornn for the top lane and orianna for the mid lane, beginning to form the blueprint of their most familiar and powerful late-game team fight composition. Star Sea Team, however, made a surprising move: they picked the Berserker, Jungler, for Lüeyǐng, and Camille, the Steel Shadow, for their top laner, Pòxiǎo!
"Jungler! Camille!" Commentator exclaimed. "Star Sea Team is trying to... sacrifice some late-game insurance and commit fully to early-to-mid game aggression and split-pushing! They are going head-to-head, attempting to shatter Korean White Tiger's iron fortress!"
For the final pick, Star Track's mid lane champion appeared—LeBlanc, the Gui Shu Sorceress!
"LeBlanc! Locked in! Star Sea Team has brought out an ultimate system focused on diving, assassination, and split-pushing! They aim to use the sharpest spear to try and pierce the strongest shield!"
Final Compositions: Blue Side - Korean White Tiger: ornn, Jarvan IV, Orianna, Varus, Tahm Kench. Red Side - Star Sea Team: Camille, Jungler, LeBlanc, Xayah, Rakan.
Korean White Tiger fielded a standard, invincible iron fortress composition focused on counter-initiation, and Tahm Kench's presence provided double insurance for their carries. Star Sea Team, conversely, was purely aggressive; every single champion pick was full of invasiveness.
Early Setbacks, The Iron Wall Stands Firm.
The match began, and Korean White Tiger immediately showcased their terrifying discipline. Their vision control was flawless, their laning was stable, and they never took unnecessary risks. Lüeyǐng's Jungler attempted to invade the jungle or initiate ganks several times, but the opposing team anticipated them every time, resulting in failure.
In the early minutes, neither side secured a kill, but farming and gold were nearly even. However, anyone familiar with Korean White Tiger knew that this equilibrium often meant they were executing their plan and moving toward their preferred tempo.
"Korean White Tiger's defense is too tight," Yaoyao worried. "Star Sea Team's aggression is like punching cotton; they can't find a point to exert force."
At the seven-minute mark, Lüeyǐng's Jungler attempted a forced gank on the bottom lane, but Tahm Kench swallowed Varus, who had just been knocked up by Rakan, easily neutralizing the threat. Instead, the arriving Jarvan IV, coordinated with Orianna, forced Jungler's Flash.
"This is tough..." Li Rui, sitting in front of his computer, couldn't help but clench his fist, his palms sweating slightly. He could almost feel the mounting pressure on the Star Sea Team players in the arena.
Breaking the Deadlock! Relentless Charging!
However, Star Sea Team did not change their strategy due to the poor start. They knew well that against Korean White Tiger, falling into their rhythm and dragging the game out meant a slow death. They had to constantly seek opportunities, no matter how slim!
At the nine-minute mark, Star Track's LeBlanc used her mobility to force a trade, sending Orianna back to base and gaining a brief window to roam. He coordinated with Lüeyǐng's Jungler, directly invading Korean White Tiger's top side jungle and catching Jarvan IV while he was taking Gromp! Although Jarvan IV escaped using his EQ combo, the jungle tempo was disrupted.
At the eleven-minute mark, Pòxiǎo's Camille seized the moment ornn recalled and immediately Teleported to the bottom lane! Forming a four-man dive against two! Although Tahm Kench protected his carry again, Star Sea Team's four players forcibly dove the tower, and Su Xiao's Xayah secured the Tahm Kench kill, claiming First Blood!
"Beautiful! They finally broke through!" Commentator shouted excitedly. "Star Sea Team used what they do best—constant rotations and aggression—to forcibly tear open a hole in the defense!"
But Korean White Tiger adjusted extremely quickly. They immediately capitalized on Star Sea Team's presence on the bottom side, having Jarvan IV secure the first Rift Herald, which they used to knock down Star Sea Team's top lane outer tower in exchange.
The subsequent period became a tug-of-war between Star Sea Team's frantic offense and Korean White Tiger's tight defense. Star Sea Team was like an untiring swarm of bees, launching wave after wave of assaults. LeBlanc's side lane harassment, Jungler's savage dives, Camille's split-push pressure, Xayah and Rakan's powerful initiations... they used every method possible to try and disrupt Korean White Tiger's macro tempo.
Korean White Tiger, however, stood like a Bedrock, neutralizing crises repeatedly and steadily accumulating resources during the lulls in Star Sea Team's aggression, keeping the gold close.
The Decisive Team Fight: Breaking the Enemy with Unorthodox Strikes.
The game progressed to the twenty-eighth minute, and the fourth Dragon spawned—it was the Infernal Dragon Soul! Both sides knew this team fight would likely determine the outcome of the match.
The vision battle was extremely fierce. Just as the Dragon was about to spawn, Star Sea Team made an incredibly bold decision—they abandoned the frontal contest over the Dragon Pit. Lüeyǐng's Jungler activated his Ultimate Ability, Ragnarok, granting him crowd control immunity, and like an out-of-control tank, he charged directly into the backline of Korean White Tiger from the flank!
"Jungler is charging! His targets are Orianna and Varus!"
Korean White Tiger's formation was instantly scattered! Tahm Kench immediately tried to swallow his carry for protection, but Rakan, "Bulwark," activated his Ultimate Ability, The Quickness, almost simultaneously, charming Tahm Kench and interrupting his Devour!
It was in this flash of lightning!
Star Track's LeBlanc burst out of the shadows like a Phantom, using her WR double jump to instantly bring Varus to critical health! Pòxiǎo's Camille used Hextech Ultimatum (R) to lock down Orianna, who was trying to deal damage! Su Xiao's Xayah activated her W, Deadly Plumage, on the flank, unleashing a storm of feathers!
"He's instantly killed! Varus is instantly killed! Orianna is also locked down by Camille! Korean White Tiger's damage core is down!"
Without the sustained damage of their two carries, even ornn and Jarvan IV couldn't save the situation. Star Sea Team executed a perfect 1-for-4 trade! They followed up by securing the Infernal Dragon Soul and the Baron!
"ACE! Team wipe! Star Sea Team won the fight! They used a reckless, perfect team fight to crush Korean White Tiger!" Yaoyao's voice trembled with excitement.
Empowered by the double buffs, Star Sea Team gave Korean White Tiger no further chances. They played methodically, pushing down Korean White Tiger's Nexus step by step!
"Victory!"
The blue victory sign, like the most pleasing piece of music, appeared in the eyes of every viewer supporting Star Sea Team!
"They won! Star Sea Team won!" Commentator roared. "They used their specialty—relentless aggression and searching for opportunities—to successfully disrupt Korean White Tiger's macro system and claim this crucial victory! Congratulations to Star Sea Team on a successful World Championship debut!"
Li Rui slammed his fist on the table in front of his computer and shouted excitedly! Although it was only a victory in the Swiss Stage, defeating the mighty Korean White Tiger was undoubtedly a shot in the arm for all domestic players! He quickly typed a string of "Star Sea is awesome!" into the bullet comments, merging into the ocean of celebration.
The Star Sea Team members visibly relaxed, exchanging high fives. Although the process was difficult, they proved that even against the world's most elite macro system, their "unorthodox strikes" could still defeat the veteran masters!
Of course, this was only one match in the Swiss Stage. Neither Star Sea Team nor Korean White Tiger was close to relaxing. But the significance of this victory far exceeded the value of a single point. It was a victory of confidence, and a validation of their style.