You promised a top lane tutorial, but you're just using Worlds as material for your videos?

Chapter 534 I crave worthy opponents!

After falling behind in the early game, TES had absolutely no chance of turning the tide.

FPX's operations were extremely skillful, and TES was completely snowballed and crushed.

Just over thirty minutes in, FPX won the first game of the BO3 series.

From the first four-man gank on the bottom lane at the 5-minute mark, FPX maintained an advantage throughout the game.

TES, limited by its roster, had absolutely no chance of turning the tide.

After winning the first game, Doinb immediately stood up from his seat and performed half of a set of monkey boxing.

His smugness was undisguised.

The reason why only half of the monkey boxing routine was performed was, of course, because the competition was only half won.

Once FPX wins the second game, Doinb will definitely unleash his full set of monkey punches on the players' bench.

After the first game ended, both teams' players got up from their seats, walked into the player tunnel, and returned to their respective team's rest room.

Backstage area of ​​the stadium, TES lounge.

The TES coaches and players gathered in a circle, discussing and summarizing their loss in the first game, and devising strategies for the next game.

"Brothers, I feel like we went a bit too far with our lineup in the first game. If we don't have an advantage in the early game, there's no chance of a comeback later on. What do you guys think?" White Crescent said, looking around at his teammates.

Upon hearing this, Xx immediately said, "That's true, how about we pick a strong late-game carry/dual carry for the next game!"

After speaking, Xx looked at knight and LokeN.

"I don't think that will work either. If I pick a late-game champion, I won't be able to lane well, and Doinb will have a better chance to roam!" Knight said.

"If we pick a marksman who's strong in the late game, but our laning ability isn't good enough in the early game, our bottom lane will easily get pushed under the tower, and the enemy mid and jungle will come to tower dive!" said support Ben.

To be honest, Knight's Chinese wasn't as easy to understand as Ben's Chinese, which had a strong Korean accent.

However, the crowd managed to understand what the two were trying to say.

After listening to the opinions from the mid and bottom lanes, Xx shrugged and said, "We're not doing well in the early game, and we're not doing well in the late game either, so what should we do?"

"It's a bit tricky. FPX's bot lane 4v2 gank is going too well. I think we should prioritize limiting Doinb's roaming!" White Crescent scratched his head.

Immediately, the white crescent moon looked at Zhou Dian, its gaze clearly seeking Zhou Dian's opinion.

Seeing the coach's signal, Zhou Dian calmly said, "I agree with what the coach said. We should prioritize limiting Doinb's roaming!"

"Left Hand, you need to leverage your superior laning ability compared to Doinb. In the next game, pick a champion with even stronger laning capabilities and relentlessly pressure him in lane. Don't be afraid of getting ganked!"

As he spoke, Zhou Dian looked at Knight.

Knight felt a little flustered when he saw Zhou Dian's somewhat oppressive gaze.

He quickly nodded, taking the opportunity to lower his head and avoid Zhou Dian's gaze.

Then, Zhou Dian looked at his own bottom lane and said, "For the bottom lane, pick an AD carry with strong wave clear, don't let the enemy bottom lane push the minion wave in so easily!"

"Pick a support hero with strong counter-engage capabilities, such as Alistar or Braum, to prevent tower dives in the early game and to defend against team fights in the mid-game."

"Then during the laning phase, the main focus should be on maintaining health. If your health is healthy, FPX won't be able to execute their four-man gank!"

"In this situation, if Doinb ignores the minions and insists on roaming and tower diving in the bottom lane, he will only suffer a greater loss in the mid lane!"

Zhou Dian's words made the Korean duo in the bottom lane nod in agreement.

In fact, given their level of Chinese proficiency, they didn't understand at least half of what Zhou Dian said.

But I just subconsciously wanted to nod.

Because Zhou Dian gave them a very convincing feeling.

Even the white crescent moon was nodding repeatedly.

At that moment, White Crescent had only one thought in her mind: "Being Zhou Shen's coach is fucking convenient!"

But what Zhou Dian just said isn't anything profound; it's all very basic.

Including mid laner Knight, the bot lane duo, and head coach White Crescent, they themselves can understand these things.

However, they lack decisiveness and are hesitant to make firm decisions.

To put it bluntly, these people lack initiative and are hesitant in doing things, needing others to push them along and lead them.

But actually, besides Zhou Dian, there is another player in the TES team who is bold and willing to make decisions.

While the others nodded in agreement as they listened to Zhou Dian's words.

Xx suddenly said, "Brother Zhou, what you said is certainly correct, but the problem is still not solved! With the mid and bot lanes picking heroes like this, they can only focus on laning, not carrying!"

Zhou Dian's strategy just now could theoretically break FPX's signature move—the four-man gank on the bottom lane.

However, if FPX's signature moves were really that easy to counter, then FPX wouldn't have achieved a nine-game winning streak and remained undefeated so far in the Summer Split regular season.

Upon hearing Xx's question, Zhou Dian chuckled and said, "That's easy to say. If the mid and bot lanes can't carry, you can carry as the jungler!"

"Huh? What the hell?" Xx scratched the back of his head and then said, "I'm not very good at champions like Graves and Kindred! Besides, this isn't the meta for jungle carries, is it?"

However, White Crescent, as the head coach, had already realized what was going on.

After glancing at Xx, White Crescent said, "We don't need you to carry, someone else can!"

“Okay, I’ll carry next round!” Zhou Dian took over the conversation quite naturally.

"Could it be..." Xx's eyes lit up.

Before Zhou Dian could say anything, White Crescent spoke up first: "Let's bring Zhou Shen over. It would be a waste if we just let him play tanks all the time!"

"Alright, everyone, welcome back!"

"The second game of the regular season BO3 between TES and FPX is about to begin. FPX is currently leading TES 1-0!" Guan Zeyuan announced loudly from the commentary booth.

"FPX truly lives up to their reputation as a team that has maintained a perfect record throughout the Summer Split regular season. Their strength is evident from their victory over TES in the first game!"

He paused for a moment, then looked at Guan Zeyuan and asked, "Zeyuan, do you still think TES can win today?"

"I feel like TES is in a tough spot today!" Guan Zeyuan said. "FPX doesn't seem to have any weaknesses, and TES doesn't seem to have a way to deal with them!"

As soon as Guan Zeyuan said this, FPX fans immediately told him to shut up in the live chat.

Some TES fans also said that relying on hype is not advisable.

In any case, Guan Zeyuan's reputation is already ruined by his mouth.

Now, whenever he makes predictions about the matches, he ends up pleasing neither side.

Soon, the image on the big screen changed, and the second game of the BO3 series began with the draft phase.

From banning characters to selecting players, both sides largely continued the strategies employed in the first game.

TES didn't make any major changes to their early hero picks. They just emphasized laning ability in their mid and bot lane picks, without any change in their overall strategy.

TES hasn't changed much, and FPX, who easily won the first game, is even less likely to change.

Since you TES are so stubborn, wanting to try the same tactics again?

Then FPX will happily accept this 2-0 sweep.

However, after the first round of draft picks, FPX's top laner GimGoon had a strange feeling that something was off.

But after thinking about it carefully, GimGoon still couldn't figure out where this strange feeling came from.

Meanwhile, in the commentary booth, I also felt something was off.

And he keenly noticed what was wrong.

"Zeyuan, have you noticed that TES's draft picks in this game seem different from the last one?" Ji De said.

"Huh? There's not much difference, right? I don't think there's any change in the approach. Let's see if there's anything new in the second round of drafts!" Guan Zeyuan replied.

“Yes, it’s true. It’s not just different from the last game, it’s also different from the last game TES played against Snake!” Remember added.

"What's the difference?" Guan Zeyuan still didn't understand.

"Including today's game, Zhou Shen played three games for TES. In all three games, Zhou Shen chose tank heroes, and he picked them in the first three picks in the first round!"

After a pause, he continued, "But in this game, the first round of champion selection was already over, and TES didn't pick a top laner in the first three picks!"

"That doesn't prove anything!" Guan Zeyuan immediately said. "Although tank top laners are usually picked in the first round, there are quite a few picks in the second round too!"

"Quite a few!" Remember nodded, but then suddenly changed the subject, saying, "But usually, when there aren't suitable heroes with passive abilities for the second round of tank builds, it's because..."

"And TES actively chose the red side in this game!"

The phrase "TES actively chose the red side" immediately enlightened Guan Zeyuan.

"Could it be..." Guan Zeyuan's eyes immediately lit up with excitement.

Soon, the draft phase of the second game reached its final move.

It's the red team's turn to choose their players on the fifth floor.

TES still hasn't picked a champion for their top lane position.

Combined with what I said earlier, this caused most of the viewers in the LPL official live broadcast room to get excited.

The chat in the live stream was filled with the names of various damage-dealing top lane heroes.

At this moment, in the FPX team voice chat.

GimGoon exclaimed, "Something's not right! I have a feeling Zhou Shen is going to pick Fiora!"

With the top laner already chosen, GimGoon picked a very safe Ornn top laner in this game.

"No way! He hasn't played Fiora in a match in ages, he won't pick her!" Doinb immediately said.

However, the next moment, a hero's line rang out in the players' headphones.

"I long for a worthy opponent!"

The red team has locked up the Peerless Sword Maiden on the fifth floor!
A cheer immediately erupted from the crowd.

In the official LPL live stream, the number of comments surged instantly.

"Damn it, I'm going to get wrecked by Zhou Shen! Dude, I shouldn't have listened to you and picked Ornn!" GimGoon muttered to himself.

At this moment, GimGoon recalled the shock and amazement he felt more than two years ago when he first saw the Fiora A-Flash tutorial video.

I also recalled the fear I felt more than two years ago when I was still on the GT team, when I was playing against LGD and was brutally crushed by Zhou Dian's Fiora.

"GimGoon, stay calm, we can win this game!"

Before entering the game, Doinb's voice came through GimGoon's headphones.

Once the loading time was over, the ten heroes from both sides landed in the fountains at opposite ends of Summoner's Rift.

The director immediately switched the camera to the red team's fountain.

As the five members of TES finished buying their starting gear, they emerged from the fountain.

Unlike usual, the observer camera in this match did not pull up a wide shot that could see the entire Summoner's Rift.

Instead, it zoomed in for a close-up.

The zoomed-in camera is firmly locked on Fiora, following her as she walks forward, showcasing the exquisite details of Fiora's championship skin.

Yes, Zhou Dian chose Fiora as his S7 championship skin.

This hero holds special significance for him.

After leaving LGD, Zhou Dian naturally did not hesitate to use his championship skin when playing Fiora in the first game on the field.

The director's camera followed Fiora until she was almost in the river, at which point it switched back to the normal observer's perspective.

The camera followed Fiora the whole way, and the audience cheered the whole way.

The audience is eager to see a thrilling match.

Zhou Dian did not disappoint them.

Facing a team like FPX that doesn't really care about its top laner, Zhou Dian told Xx not to worry about him either.

If Fiora can't gain an advantage in a solo lane against Ornn, then he's not Zhou Dian (a top-tier player).

With improved early-game laning capabilities and Xx's tight defense, FPX's signature four-man gank on the bottom lane failed to create an opening in TES's bot lane.

In terms of overall situation, the two sides were roughly evenly matched as the game entered its mid-game phase.

Once the lane transition phase begins, that's when Fiora reigns supreme in the weekly rankings.

On the side lane, GimGoon's Ornn was completely outmatched by Fiora, and even defending the tower was a struggle.

FPX's disadvantage on the sidelines is getting bigger and bigger.

Several times, GimGoon couldn't take it anymore and went to meet up with his teammates to start a team fight.

However, TES's support in this game is Braum, who has top-tier counter-engage and anti-initiation capabilities.

In addition, before the game started, White Crescent repeatedly emphasized the importance of spreading out in the mid-game to avoid being caught out by the opponent.

Therefore, FPX's attempts to initiate a 5v4 fight rarely went well; they either failed to engage or, even when they managed to, they didn't gain any advantage.

Ornn went to regroup with his teammates several times, which directly led to Fiora taking down three turrets on his side lane.

Fiora is becoming increasingly unstoppable, and FPX's chances of winning this game are hanging by a thread.

(End of this chapter)