Chapter 74: Spring Split Grand Finals (Part 3) Fighting from Start to Finish…
The text [ZAP Requests Pause] had barely disappeared from the big screen for two seconds before it popped right back up.
Manager Li: “Is this… network lag?”
Zuo Chi shook his head: “It’s probably ZAP calling for another pause.”
“Are they ever going to end?! Didn’t they just check everything? Does ZAP think the league officials are in on it too?” Manager Li gritted his teeth. “Pausing at the drop of a hat, and every pause takes minutes! The momentum our cubs just built from winning that team fight is going to freeze over!”
Zuo Chi’s dark eyes narrowed, his smile fading slightly as a cold glint appeared. “Every team gets two pauses per game. ZAP is just using the rules… Anyway, the team whose mentality cracks first definitely won’t be ours.”
Inside the match booth, the referee walked over to ZAP’s side: “ZAP has requested another pause. The reason is?”
Every stood up, his tone hostile: “I dispute the officials’ previous inspection results. Even if Land isn’t using third-party software, there has to be an in-game bug. The damage calculations in that last team fight were completely broken.”
“Following inspections by a third-party agency and our league staff, everything regarding the match is operating normally.”
“Impossible—”
The ZAP side-laner sitting next to him grabbed Every’s sleeve and pulled him back. “Alright, the official inspection wouldn’t be wrong. Plus, with so many people watching live, it’s not that easy to cheat. If we got outplayed, we just have to admit it. We’ll win it back in the next fight.”
Every shook off the hand and sat back down, rubbing his hands which were trembling slightly from agitation.
The referee paid no mind to the drama: “Does ZAP have any further issues? Can we lift the pause?”
The match resumed.
Holding a three-kill lead, VEX had absolutely no reason not to invade the enemy jungle.
While Every was still waiting to respawn in the fountain, Land and Beyond had already marched into the opponent’s Blue side.
They stripped the Blue buff and every single small monster utterly clean.
[The match resumed normally, proving Land wasn’t cheating at all. Why are ZAP’s fans so quiet now? Roll out and apologize!]
[Why should we apologize? Every simply followed standard protocol to request a pause and ensure competitive integrity. Why does that warrant an apology?]
[The mental gymnastics of the commenter above are truly next level.]
[What are VEX fans barking about? ZAP can give VEX three kills and still win. Once ZAP’s dual carries scale up, deleting Land will be as easy as flipping a hand.]
[Trash is trash. Giving VEX three kills, my foot. ZAP is so petty and sore about losing. No wonder they get farmed like cannon minions by H Country at Worlds.]
ZAP launched a frenzied counter-offensive.
At nine minutes, three members tried to dive Wu Yang under the bottom tower. Land arrived just in time, allowing Wu Yang to recall with a sliver of health. At ten minutes, they engaged Wall in the river. Seeing his teammates’ positioning, Wall Flashed forward to counter-engage. It ended in a 0-for-0 trade, with both sides covering their low-health members as they retreated. At twelve minutes, a 4v4 team fight erupted over mid-lane priority.
Positioned at the very front, Land was the first to be engaged upon.
“ZAP launches another sudden assault, pointing their spears directly at Land! Right now, it’s a contest of which team can melt the enemy frontline first.”
“VEX’s dual carries are positioned very far back. ZAP opts to focus Land again. Can they burst him down this time?! Can they do it?! Every dumps his combo but only chips away a third of Land’s health! Land built a lifesteal item as his second major purchase! With his shield activated, he just stands his ground and trades blows—”
A chaotic flurry of flashy skill effects bombarded the center of the battlefield. Land’s health bar plummeted rapidly, yet it stubbornly hovered around a threshold where a single skill or basic attack would heal him back up.
“The fight has been going on for over ten seconds! Land is still tanking it! Not only is he tanking, but he’s actively pushing forward, aiming for ZAP’s jungle and marksman! Beyond and Sea are dealing damage completely uncontested from the backline! ZAP’s cooldowns and health bars are looking dire. They have to retreat!”
“Land drops his ultimate right under ZAP’s tower! Triggering his passive at low health, he heals back up again! ZAP’s mid and marksman are forced to burn their Flashes to escape, but Every brought Smite! He doesn’t have Flash! Beyond dashes forward and deletes Every with a critical strike!”
“From the start of the team fight to the very end, Land’s Forest Anaconda is simply absurd! He has the highest gold in the entire game. ZAP’s current items barely scratch him!”
“Could it be that tank junglers are actually the hidden meta answer?!”
The camera director cut to a close-up of Land. Intensely focused on his mechanics, the youth didn’t even blink. The camera then swiftly cut to Zuo Chi.
“Regardless of today’s outcome, I believe the tank jungle strategy Coach Zuo brought to the stage will inspire many teams. Carry potential isn’t exclusive to assassin junglers!”
Zuo Chi chuckled softly. Seeing the camera lingering on him, he simply raised his hands and shot a finger heart toward the cubs’ match booth.
Since joining VEX, he had tasked Land with testing every single tank jungler. However, only a select few had the raw stats to withstand the blistering pace of professional matches. The vast majority, even when fed, simply lacked the durability and damage to achieve this kind of impact.
If other teams wanted to figure out tank junglers, they had a long road ahead. Tank junglers were inherently team-reliant, required to absorb pressure and secure vision, drastically differing from the assassin playstyle of hunting for flanks to delete carries. Not every jungle player possessed Land’s ability to seamlessly balance both playstyles so quickly.
In the latter half of game one, ZAP desperately sought any opportunity for a comeback.
However, against an insurmountable kill and gold deficit, their desperate flails felt like a kitten batting a paw—entirely harmless.
Tasked with maintaining team vision, Land could practically walk sideways through ZAP’s jungle. He could stand right in front of all five ZAP members, and they wouldn’t dare engage. Land’s health bar was a dense thicket of segments. Checking the attribute panel revealed he had reached full build with maxed-out physical and magic resistance. They couldn’t kill him if they tried, and ignoring him was purely agonizing.
“I have to say, having Land’s Forest Anaconda standing at the front provides an immense sense of security. He illuminates ZAP’s vision perfectly, allowing VEX’s side-laners to farm completely uncontested.”
“Indeed. Million was initially suppressed under his tower, but now that the team is snowballing, his farm has caught right back up. With Million’s current items, ZAP’s marksman is going to feel a chill down his spine whenever a team fight breaks out.”
“It feels like… there’s simply no win condition for ZAP. Unless they manage to assassinate Beyond, maybe they’d have a sliver of a chance.”
Between scrims, Beyond had spent countless hours practicing his positioning by having Fugui and Land repeatedly dive him. His survival instincts had been honed to razor sharpness, leaving absolutely zero openings during team fights.
As three waves of super minions crashed into the crystal, Land stood right in front of the fountain, body-blocking ZAP from clearing the wave while the rest of the team hammered the crystal—
[Congratulations VEX for taking Game 1, leading 1:0!]
[1:0 baby! VEX’s ascension to the throne is 25% complete.]
[《Winning Even After Giving Away Three Kills》. How did they win? By having Land 1v5 them.]
[I can already predict ZAP fans’ coping mechanisms: ‘Giving away one game is fine, giving away two is fine, giving away three is fine… Giving away four just means we gave them the Spring Championship. Watch us take it back at Worlds.’ Doge.jpg]
[The commenter above, watch your back. ZAP fans are coming for you. I’m running first.]
Zuo Chi reviewed the BP notes on his phone, crossing out the heroes both teams used in game one from their respective hero pools.
Game one successfully burned three T0-tier heroes from ZAP. The BP pressure in the upcoming games would be significantly lighter. Furthermore, it validated the viability of the tank jungle strategy on the big stage, providing clear direction for their World Championship preparations after the Spring Split.
It was a massive net gain. A complete steal.
Returning to the locker room, he briefed the cubs on the strategy for the next game.
The cubs were in excellent form—relaxed but not complacent. After a few brief instructions, seeing that everyone understood, he let them eat some fruit and rest.
However, the atmosphere among the other teams watching the livestream was anything but relaxed. God knows how many teams, after watching Game 1, scrambled in a panic to drag their vacationing junglers back to their PCs.
“How’s your tank jungle proficiency?”
“Did you watch the Spring Split Finals?”
“Can you pull off Land’s impact with a tank jungler?”
Heads shook across the board. Then why the hell are you on vacation? Where is your sense of urgency?! Get back to training immediately!
“Coach, give me a tank jungler for the next game,” Every demanded, sitting on the sofa and staring at the locker room monitor showing the Game 1 replay. The MVP screen featuring Land flashed briefly. He instinctively glanced at his coach.
The ZAP coach frowned: “Give you a tank jungler? Just deciding to play it on a whim, can you actually execute it?”
“I can. I play tank junglers all the time in practice.” Every’s tone grew forceful, and he opened his mouth to argue further, but ZAP’s side-laner cut him off with a half-joking remark.
“Let him play it, let him play it. As long as he doesn’t get completely schooled and embarrassed by Land.”
“This is the Grand Finals. Watch your mouth.”
“I was just making a joke, why are you taking it so seriously? Game two hasn’t even started yet.” The ZAP side-laner chuckled, catching the eyes of his other teammates and exchanging a meaningful glance.
If they had bought Land during the transfer window, the team winning Game 1 would have been them.
But it didn’t really matter. During the Autumn Split last year, the four of them essentially carried Every to victory. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have even considered buying a new jungler during the transfer period.
This year, they would just treat him like a deadweight accessory and carry him again.
Game two was about to begin. The players needed to head back to the match booths.
The cubs stuck closely to Zuo Chi’s side, practically stacked on top of each other. Hearing the broadcast announcement, they stood up and straightened their uniforms.
Wu Yang rolled his wrists: “Coach Zuo, are we prioritizing a mid-core draft this game?”
“Yeah. You surrendered your farm to Land last game; it’s his turn to work for you this time.”
The cubs all grinned: “We each get to carry one game, aiming for a 4:1 finish. How does that sound?”
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