Chapter 29: EDG in Dire Straits—Chen Yan: “Don’t panic. I’ll take care of this!”

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Opinions on Chen Yan’s livestream varied from person to person.

But there was no denying that EDG was currently the weakest, at least on paper, among the Big Three.

At the EDG base, Abu quietly closed Chen Yan’s livestream and glanced around before letting out a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, no one had noticed.

He had been watching Chen Yan’s streams quite a bit lately and had found them surprisingly entertaining.

Of course, he was not there to watch Chen Yan clown around. What interested him was mainly the game-related content.

At first, Abu had paid little attention. After all, Chen Yan needed to create entertaining content during his streams, so the things he showed were often exaggerated.

But once he looked past the surface, Abu was surprised to discover that Chen Yan’s understanding of the game was far more solid than he had expected.

Some of his ideas had even given EDG considerable inspiration.

And yet, the more Abu realized this, the more regretful he felt.

Such a promising talent had no interest in becoming a professional player. Instead, he spent every day clowning around in his livestream, playing the fool for an audience.

However, with EDG’s decisive battle approaching, Abu had no time to deal with Chen Yan.

EDG’s current situation was indeed grim, and the coaching staff’s analysis was not much different from Chen Yan’s.

barring any surprises, EDG had a good chance of beating OMG, but against either of the other two teams, they would most likely be nothing more than free points.

At the thought, Abu’s expression grew heavy.

…

The next day.

Chen Yan’s remarks caused quite a stir, but most people merely laughed them off after seeing them and did not take them seriously.

It was nothing more than the senseless ramblings of a clown streamer trying to attract attention.

Some people did recall the time Chen Yan had taken the stage and led his team to crush OMG.

But that match had taken place a long time ago. Chen Yan had not appeared in an official game since, and instead he had gone farther and farther down the road of becoming a streamer.

It was hard not to sigh at the sight.

A gifted young player—why choose to become a clown?

Then again, the professional scene had never lacked talented players. Some people were perhaps destined to shine only briefly, like flowers that bloomed for a single night.

No one would continue following a player who was no longer at the center of the professional scene. Even someone like Uzi could only gradually fade from people’s memories after retirement.

Most people cared more about the matches and players in the spotlight right now.

The discussions online were loud and chaotic.

All that commotion became a source of conversation for netizens during their leisure hours.

…

While the internet buzzed with debate, the entire EDG team had already boarded the bus heading to the arena.

Their opponent today was RNG.

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Speaking of RNG, it too was a rather legendary team.

After bringing in new players this year and forming an all-Chinese roster, RNG’s standing in the LPL had risen sharply.

Although the team had not yet fully gelled, the chemistry between the veterans and newcomers was already showing promise.

With the added boost of an all-Chinese lineup, EDG was not only inferior to RNG on paper; even the popularity they had always been proud of was about to be surpassed by RNG.

Therefore, this battle was not merely about victory or defeat on the stage. It was also a contest for supremacy within the LPL.

In the past, EDG had often knelt before foreign teams and offered them easy victories, but domestically they had still managed to overpower the other LPL teams.

Netizens had even joked that EDG was a master of domestic battles but hopeless abroad.

Now, however, even that reputation was in danger…

Only when the bus came to a stop did Abu return from his thoughts. Doing his best not to show any signs of weakness, he led the players into the arena amid the cheers of the fans.

…

Chen Yan’s livestream.

The match between EDG and RNG was about to begin on screen.

The director switched camera angles constantly, occasionally focusing on the players backstage.

“Ha ha, Clearlove’s dead-fish eyes—I lose it every time I see them.”

“Do you guys think Zet looks like a pretty boy?”

“Meiko’s skin is so soft it looks like it could drip water. If I were a woman, I’d definitely find someone like Meiko…”

The viewers could not hold back their laughter as they listened to Chen Yan spout nonsense.

“The chat doesn’t even need to stir things up. The streamer does it himself.”

“A streamer from the chaos zone.”

“Hahaha, this is too funny.”

There were certainly people criticizing Chen Yan, but even more people enjoyed watching him.

At that moment, the director suddenly switched the camera over to RNG.

Following the camera feed, Chen Yan began introducing the players.

He was not nearly as reckless when it came to the RNG players.

“Letme, mlxg, Xiaohu…”

Suddenly, the camera stopped on a player’s back. Since the person had his back turned, Chen Yan could not see clearly and blurted out instinctively, “Who’s this piggy?”

At the same time, the “piggy” turned around.

It was Uzi.

Chen Yan panicked slightly when he realized who it was.

“Ah—hey, hey, I couldn’t see clearly just now…”

The instant the viewers saw what had happened, they burst into laughter. The chat filled with messages saying that Chen Yan was finished.

Of course, it was only a minor episode.

Once the match began, everyone present focused their attention on the game.

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In the first game, EDG was on the red side.

RNG immediately secured Ashe, while their jungle and support picked the tempo-oriented Elise and Thresh.

Top laner Letme chose Fizz, while Xiaohu selected LeBlanc.

As for EDG, their bottom lane consisted of Caitlyn and Braum, while their top, jungle, and mid picks were Gragas, Graves, and Karma respectively.

“This draft—NoFe must still be asleep,” Chen Yan said bluntly. “Ashe has fallen into Uzi’s hands, which means Zet’s Caitlyn is useless. And they gave Karma to Scout? Who’s supposed to carry?”

EDG’s strategy revolved around using mid-lane Karma to protect Graves and Caitlyn. The problem was that the two bottom lanes differed greatly in strength, while Caitlyn was a champion who relied on pushing down towers to establish momentum. When Zet’s Caitlyn would actually become useful was anyone’s guess.

As for Clearlove’s Graves, there was even less to say. His tempo and playstyle were far too conservative, making it practically impossible for him to carry.

This time, even the viewers did not argue. They also felt that EDG’s draft was simply awful.

Sure enough, EDG lost the game a little after the thirty-minute mark.

“Whew.” Chen Yan sighed. “You can’t give Scout a champion like Karma. This team still needs Scout to carry.”

In the second game, EDG chose the blue side.

This time, EDG had learned its lesson. They gave Scout Ryze, while the bottom lane took the reliable combination of Varus and Lulu.

RNG’s early draft was fairly sound. But when they chose Jayce for Xiaohu in the mid lane, Chen Yan immediately burst out laughing.

“Hahaha, they gave Jayce to Xiaohu? Is RNG trying to throw away a game? Now that’s some serious favor-trading.”

“Careful!”

“So you look down on Xiaohu’s Jayce, huh?”

The chat went wild, but the result was indeed an RNG defeat.

This time, the viewers had nothing to say.

“The streamer was right.”

“Xiaohu really can’t play Jayce.”

RNG quickly found the problem. After refusing to give Xiaohu Jayce again, they dominated EDG in the third game, and it was only a matter of time before EDG lost.

“It’s over.”

“EDG is going to lose.”

The EDG fans in the livestream felt their hearts sink.

The playoffs were played as a best-of-five, with the first team to win three games advancing. If EDG lost this game, the next one would be a do-or-die match.

And judging by the form of both teams, EDG was very likely to lose.

While the chat debated the situation, Chen Yan was looking down at his phone.

The next moment, he suddenly rose from his seat and shouted, “Don’t panic. I’ll handle this!”