Chapter 106: I Can Do Without Yuange Too

“Hey, hey, hey!”
“Haoran, can you hear me?”
“Yes, yes!”
“We’re a bit short on mid-laners on our team. Would you be able to play two rounds of Yuan Ge in mid lane?”
...
In the team voice chat, Coach Ge inquired.
Lin Hao didn’t mind; mid lane was mid lane after all. In theory, Yuan Ge could be played anywhere.
But after turning off his microphone, Lin Hao secretly complained to the viewers,
“To be honest, Yuan Ge isn’t very suitable for mid lane in the current patch. The mid lane economy is just too low, and it’s not stealthy enough.”
“Yuan Ge is essentially a hero who uses puppets to dive in and create tempo. Often, he needs to control vision and ambush in the bushes.”
“When playing mid, first off, he’s basically useless before level three. There’s no way to counter the enemy invading the jungle. More importantly, skilled players tend to pay extra attention to mid lane’s movements, making it difficult for Yuan Ge to make successful ganks early on.”
“If he can’t build up economy, Yuan Ge can’t deal damage.”
Of course, these were just Lin Hao’s personal insights. Many new viewers argued that in the KPL, Yuan Ge was always played mid, so they debated with Lin Hao. Lin Hao couldn’t say much in response.
Different understandings lead to different roles for Yuan Ge, naturally affecting lane choices. In KPL, Yuan Ge is mainly used to scout and poke, effectively playing a physical mage role.
Lin Hao’s Yuan Ge, however, was always an assassin, requiring high mechanical skill for high returns, thus demanding a stronger economy.
This first match ended rather quickly. At twelve minutes, Lin Hao’s team had completely pushed the opponents.
The reason was simple: Coach Ge’s team had lost the previous two matches, perhaps causing some fatigue or a shift in focus. The first two matches had mostly streamers, while in this third match, Lin Hao was the only streamer among Coach Ge’s picks.
The rest were professional players, three of whom belonged to the same team—ES.
ES currently holds the highest total points in the ongoing KPL tournament’s Group S and were also the reigning champions from the previous KPL season, boasting formidable strength.
Still, Lin Hao performed excellently in the third match, perfectly integrating his Yuan Ge into the KPL playstyle—using poke and puppets for vision control.
After the first match, Lin Hao received praise from four professional teammates.
The skill points granted by the national server system were powerful due to their versatility!
With various playstyles converging, Lin Hao could adjust at any time, following the rhythm of the pros with ease.
Next came the fourth match.

In this round, Lin Hao’s team made some lineup changes, bringing in two streamers.
Teammates included ES support Zi Yang, ES side laner Tang Ran, streamer Nan Gua, and streamer Xiao Yu.
The opposing five were DIG’s Xiao Jue, VC’s 726, ES’s Yi Zheng, streamer Jia Yue, and streamer Shao Yi.
Based solely on the number of professional players, the opponents still held the advantage this round.
The draft phase began.
“For this round, we know that the enemy’s two streamers—Jia Yue will probably pick Luna, and Shao Yi will likely take Mulan,” Coach Ge analyzed during the pick/ban phase.
“We’ll start by banning meta supports. Since we’re on the red side and the enemy has Mulan, let’s consider giving Tang Ran a Lu Bu.”
The enemy picked Zhang Fei first, silently observing Lin Hao’s selections.
“It doesn’t matter if we pick signature heroes later. The enemy can’t take our signature heroes Yuan Ge and Kai this round. So let’s build a solid composition first.”
Under Coach Ge’s direction, Lin Hao’s team secured Lu Bu and Sun Bin early.
Sun Bin paired with Lu Bu should wreak havoc in the mid-to-late game, especially since the enemy support was Zhang Fei.
Faced with an ultimate-empowered Lu Bu, Zhang Fei was as fragile as a paper monster.
Moreover, the enemy was expected to use the signature hero Mulan, a warrior who struggles against the Lu Bu and Sun Bin combo in the mid-to-late stages.
...
Meanwhile, on the enemy’s voice comms,
Tommy was helping his teammates draft when Xiao Jue said, “Tommy, if the enemy picks Yuan Ge, I can just pick Baili Shouyue and snipe him!”
Tommy, who had planned to have Xiao Jue pick a powerful mage, was pleasantly surprised.
Indeed, one of Yuan Ge’s counters was Baili Shouyue.
Baili Shouyue just needed to camp mid lane and snipe. If his shots landed on the fragile Yuan Ge, one shot could cut Yuan Ge’s health in half, two shots and Yuan Ge was dead.
And Yuan Ge had no sustain; after a shot, he’d have to return home to heal.
This created strong pressure.
Mages were also good counters. Whether it was Bomb Cat or Ying Zheng, they could poke Yuan Ge effectively.
But mages were too easy to be dived!
Yuan Ge could burst down immobile, defenseless artillery mages after switching positions and applying crowd control.
Baili Shouyue was different. His ultimate’s retreat displacement was secondary; the key was that when Yuan Ge’s puppet charged in, Baili Shouyue could use his second and third skills to instantly destroy the puppet.
This often led to a famous spectacle: Yuan Ge charging in, then standing dumbfounded in front of Baili Shouyue for two seconds.
“Alright, let’s pick Baili Shouyue!”
Tommy slapped his thigh.
Xiao Jue’s Baili Shouyue was famously precise in the KPL, once frustrating AC Super Play’s Yinu so much that he would rush in at every opportunity to trade with Xiao Jue.
Though not as legendary as AG’s top player Jiu Cheng, his accuracy surpassed most Baili Shouyue players.
...
Back with Lin Hao, upon seeing the opponent lock in Baili Shouyue on the third floor pick screen, Coach Ge keenly noticed, “This Baili Shouyue is most likely Xiao Jue playing mid, with Jia Yue on Luna jungle.”
“So, if we play Yuan Ge mid normally, I guess he’ll be locked down hard!” Coach Ge said sympathetically to Lin Hao, “Haoran, you might have to endure some hardship early on. We’ll play aggressively on the side lanes and jungle, while you focus on clearing mid lane. If we get the advantage, it’ll be easier.”
Lin Hao muttered before suddenly saying, “Actually, I think I don’t have to play Yuan Ge. Because this round, Yuan Ge is really hard to play.”
Coach Ge was momentarily stunned.
Streamers, free from the pressure of a professional hero pool and filtered by audience preference, often only master one or two heroes.
In other words, in this professional-level match, sure, playing Yuan Ge might mean getting locked down, but if you switch to another mid?
Lack of proficiency means even worse lockdown!
Not just Yuan Ge—other mids also struggled against Baili Shouyue!
But Coach Ge didn’t say this aloud and simply asked, “Then what do you plan to pick?”
“Nüwa!” Lin Hao answered confidently.