League: I really didn't tank!

005 First Encounter with Wang Muba

On December 5, 2015, the S6 ranked season officially began.

Meanwhile, the 2015 winter transfer window will close on December 18.

There are thirteen days left until the transfer window closes.

Thirteen days of racing against time.

The Rift of Valor won't be released until next year, and right now, the top players on the Chinese server are all playing on Ionia.

Chen Dongqing logged into Ionia and saw the familiar ID ilex, as well as a pop-up window indicating that his rank had been reset to Platinum I.

Last season, he had 600 points in the Grandmaster tier in the first region, ranking over 400th in the Chinese server. Now, everyone has to start all over again from the placement matches!

Without hesitation, Chen Dongqing started the ranked match, racing against time.

But at the same time, an ID in the friend list suddenly came online and immediately sent Chen Dongqing a question mark.

This person's ID is mlxgzzz.

Chen Dongqing smiled when he saw the ID and then typed a question mark back.

There's no need to say who this person is: Spicy Hot Pot (MLXG), one of the top junglers in the future LPL. However, at the beginning of S6, he hasn't made a name for himself yet, and his team RNG is still struggling to retain their LPL spot.

The two have known each other online for many years and used to play duo queue games together frequently.

Chen Dongqing typed with a smile, "Double queue?"

The other party replied quickly: "Pull me in."

Chen Dongqing canceled the ranked queue and pulled Xiangguo into the team.

"Feed, feed."

As soon as he entered the team, Xiangguo's voice came over: "Can you hear me?"

Chen Dongqing turned off the speakers and put on his headphones: "I can hear it, I can hear it."

"What's wrong with you lately?" Xiangguo asked directly. "The transfer window is almost over, and I haven't heard anything from you yet."

Chen Dongqing scoffed, "What news could I possibly have? LGD didn't renew my contract, and I'm at home now."

"Huh?" Xiangguo was a little surprised: "Really? You're an LPL substitute, after all. Even if no one wants you on the first team, surely someone on the second team will want you, right?"

Chen Dongqing said calmly, "They wanted to, but I turned them all down."

That's true. During this period, some LSPL teams did call him, but he turned them all down. He wasn't interested in that.

"Sigh, you know," Xiangguo sighed, "LSPL isn't so bad, is it? As long as you're strong enough, you can still make it up."

Xiangguo wasn't just showing off. LPL still has promotion and relegation matches. He led the King team to LPL during S4 two years ago.

"Let's not talk about this anymore." Chen Dongqing didn't want to discuss it further and asked with a smile, "What about you? I haven't seen any news about you renewing your contract with RNG?"

"I also want to find a good team!" Xiangguo sighed. "I didn't even make the playoffs this year and almost got relegated to LSPL. I'm a bit discouraged and I've been talking to a few teams recently."

Chen Dongqing pouted and said, "Fine."

He actually knew that on the last day of the transfer window, Xiangguo would eventually renew his contract with RNG, and that RNG would win the Spring Split championship in Season 6.

Thinking of this, Chen Dongqing suddenly shuddered.

Eh?

But now that I've traveled back in time, could I try to pull Xiangguo over here?

Chen Dongqing thought for a moment and said, "How about we see if we can find a team to go with?"

"How do I find them?" Xiangguo asked. "Has any team contacted you?"

"no."

"Forehead..."

"What's there to be afraid of?" Chen Dongqing asked calmly. "We'll just fight our way to the top of the Chinese server in Season 6, won't that solve everything?"

"Alright then." Xiangguo didn't hesitate and laughed, "I've been getting some experience in ranked matches lately, I'll help you climb the ranks."

"What nonsense are you spouting? Wasn't it me who carried you to victory?"

"what?"

...

The two were bickering when they finally got into the queue. Chen Dongqing went in and found himself on the third floor.

The pre-selection mode will be rolled out in a while, so for now it's still the original ranking mode, and you have to choose your own position.

Chen Dongqing glanced at the IDs but didn't see any familiar ones. Then he typed "3L Top Lane".

Chen Dongqing's request for a position didn't elicit much opposition, since not many people play the top lane these days.

Currently, top lane players in the Chinese server really love Riven and Fiora.

Why is Fiora so strong? It's because, apart from Fiora, all the strong top lane champions are tanks. Fiora completely counters tanks, and her mechanics and stats are excellent, which is why she's so powerful.

This has led to Fiora being deeply hated by all tank heroes, making her an indispensable ban pick.

As for Riven, nobody plays her, she gets crushed by tanks, and her ranked win rate is a pitiful 48%.

Players who used to play Riven were so annoyed by champions like Poppy and Maokai that they switched to other roles, resulting in fewer people playing top lane in the Chinese server.

Xiangguo made his choice on the first floor, and without hesitation, he immediately locked onto Spider.

If you're playing Ueno duo queue, Spider is obviously the best choice.

Chen Dongqing didn't hesitate and immediately locked onto Riven.

You can't reach the first Challenger rank just by relying on Poppy and Maokai; you have to choose a carry champion!

What? Riven has a low win rate? What does that have to do with me?

...

Meanwhile, on a domestic live streaming platform, in Wang Muba's live stream room.

Ba Ge saw the Exile's Blade light up on the third floor across the street and smiled knowingly.

"You still dare to play Riven in this version? Watch how I punish you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he locked onto Garen.

For so many years, in matchups of equal skill, Garen has always been Riven's "daddy," and that has never changed.

Meanwhile, many people in the live stream chat were also chatting.

Want a tutorial on playing Riven?

[Perfect timing, I got completely destroyed by Riven yesterday, so I'll learn some tricks today.]

At this moment, the atmosphere in Ba Ge's live stream seemed to be quite good...

...

The business proposal (BP) process concluded quickly.

Chen Dongqing's team selected Riven for top lane, Elise for jungle, Lissandra for mid lane, and Kalista and Alistar for bot lane.

On the opposing team, the top laner was Garen, the jungler was Lee Sin, the mid laner was Corki, and the bot lane consisted of Tristana and Thresh.

Looking at the opponent's lineup, Chen Dongqing pondered for a moment, and then quickly started clicking on the talent page.

In Season 6, the talent system underwent a major overhaul, with talents such as Thunderlord's Decree, Stormraider's Surge, and Warlord's Bloodlust being introduced to the League.

While players were simultaneously complaining and adapting, they were also secretly praising how great it was.

To be fair, the talent changes in Season 6 were indeed one of the most successful changes in League of Legends history.

Without hesitation, Chen Dongqing chose Thunder.

He had missed this talent for far too long.

The match began quickly.

...

Version S6 increased the starting gold to 500, adjusted the prices of starting items such as Doran's Blade, and added two new starting items: Cull and Dark Seal.

Chen Dongqing quickly bought a Doran's Blade and a Red Bottle, and rushed to the online store.

Meanwhile, Xiangguo also said, "You go top lane and chip away at my health, I'll rush up to level three and help you."

Chen Dongqing said he understood. They were on the blue side in this game, and he stood directly in the tri-bush on the enemy's top lane to see if he could ambush Garen.

Taking advantage of the free time, Chen Dongqing pressed TAB and glanced at the opponent's ID. When he saw that the opponent's top laner's ID was "Huya_Wang Muba", he couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

This is a heavyweight...

But Chen Dongqing suddenly remembered that it was the early stages of Season 6.

BaGe's peak was in Season 2, when he reached the top of the Chinese server. In Seasons 3 and 4, his competitive performance did not decline, and he entered the top ten of the Chinese server in both seasons.

And S5 has only just ended.

In other words, even if BaGe isn't a King now, he's at least a Master-level player, nearing the peak. He's clearly not weak and can't be compared to his "carry-and-go" performance in Season 12...

Especially in this placement stage, Ba Ge can even be considered a formidable opponent!

Since that's the case...

Chen Dongqing sat up straight; he needed to get serious.