LOL: My talent is top-tier, my professional skills are unparalleled.

Chapter 470 The Gemstone Sona! The Education Bureau with Both Front and Back Hands!

"Ah P is really something else! Wang Yao changed positions, and he changed positions too. Does he think he's Wang Yao?"

"It feels like... G2 didn't get enough of Yao's teaching last year, they're still so happy."

"I think it's great. It's fun, it's all about having fun, it's about having fun, and it has a really good mentality. It can be surprisingly effective against teams with unstable mentality."

"You little brat, who are you implying?!"

"I suspect you're implying that someone is the world's best ADC (wink) (wink)"

"No, no, I need to get warm."

……

After EDG easily defeated G2, they had a 3-0 start in the MSI group stage, putting them in a very favorable position.

Moreover, they have already faced strong teams like SKT and G2 in the first round of matches.

The remaining two teams, FW Flash Wolves and TL, are somewhat lacking in strength.

In particular, the strength of FW Flash Wolves has declined rapidly in the past two years. Karsa, the former leader of the team, went to RNG, and soon his other teammates also left the team and went to other regions.

The original roster of FW Flash Wolves has either left or scattered!

In the current FW Flash Wolves team, apart from the top laner Hanabi and the ADC Betty, all the other players are unfamiliar names.

While TL in North America has familiar names, the flavors are much stronger.

Top laner Impact, jungler is a rookie, and mid laner Jensen.

The ADC is Doublelift, a well-known North American fan of Doublelift, and the support is CoreJJ, a former Samsung support player.

Logically speaking, this lineup configuration is quite good.

Impact was SKT's first-generation top laner, Jensen was the last great mid laner in North America, Doublelift was the only true god in North America, and the support players need no introduction.

There are veteran players and newcomers.

However, while this setup might dominate teams in the North American region, it doesn't translate well to the world championship stage.

Forget about facing teams like SKT and EDG, they were completely outmatched by their arch-rivals G2.

They've even started playing with wildcard teams like PVB.

In the subsequent matches, after EDG defeated G2, their other two opponents were TL and Flash Wolves.

However, given the difference in strength, EDG managed to dominate all three lanes, with Wang Yao still playing the excavator effectively, digging tunnels in all three lanes and controlling the tempo of the entire game.

And the excavator truly lives up to its reputation as a strong jungler in this version; in Wang Yao's hands, it has become even more masterful.

In this version, Rek'Sai received an epic buff, and the previously unpopular jungler Rek'Sai instantly became a popular jungler choice on various servers.

The Q skill grants 25 Fury upon hitting an enemy, while the R skill can only be dodged by the target unit using Flash to move to a very far distance; without Flash, it's practically a death sentence.

The fact that this hero has the highest win rate in the jungle is enough to show that he is very suitable for the current meta where junglers control the pace of the game.

But even with this version of jungler, the opposing team just won't ban it.

Not only will they not ban it, they'll let you use the excavator, and they'll even let you use Silas along with it.

The choice of Excavator and Sylas for the mid and jungle positions gave EDG a significant advantage in the draft phase.

In this version, Sylas had gained a certain level of dominance in the mid lane, while Rek'Sai was also dominating the jungle. The two meta champions were working together.

EDG is practically guaranteed to win!
Even EDG's head coach Zhu Kai couldn't understand these North American teams' draft picks. How could they let Sylas and Rek'Sai be allowed together?!

Since you dare to release it, then of course I dare to choose it!
EDG easily won all 5 matches in the first round, leading the field with a 5-0 record.

G2 is ranked second. Although they lost to EDG, they unexpectedly defeated SKT and taught Faker a lesson. With a score of 4-1, they are currently second in the group.

Third is SKT. Although they lost to G2 and EDG, they still easily defeated TL and Flash Wolves, not to mention wildcard teams like PVB.

The subsequent rankings are FW Flash Wolves, TL, and PVB.

Although EDG is currently in the lead, it is only temporary.

The group stage of this MSI Mid-Season Invitational is a double round-robin group stage, and only the first round of the group stage has been played so far.

The second round of the group stage competition then proceeded in full swing.

However, the strength, form, and understanding of the game version of each team were already evident from the first round of group play.

Teams like PVB and TL couldn't beat EDG in the first round, so how can they possibly beat them in the second round of the round-robin?!

There are 6 teams in this group stage, of which only four will advance to the knockout stage.

As the group stage progresses, some teams have already become "sowers" (i.e., those who have been tricked into getting eliminated), while others have already secured their place in the knockout stage.

Time quickly moved on to May 14th, the last day of the group stage.

EDG has won all eight of their matches, leading 8-0.

However, the other teams are very close in points, all around five or six points.

PVB refers to the water ghost that took a bite out of both FW Flash Wolves and SKT.

This must have made the LPL commentators laugh themselves silly.

Soon the final match of the group stage arrived, with SKT facing off against EDG in the opening game, but these two teams were also the ones to conclude the tournament.

Although the qualification spots are almost certain, this is still a battle for SKT's pride.

In the opening match, EDG defeated SKT in just 15 minutes, leaving SKT with no chance to surrender.

Although it was partly due to SKT's lineup, SKT's choice of a Taric-Sona bot lane duo failed as a result of their unconventional strategy.

But it was still too embarrassing.

This last match in the group stage was not about winning or losing, but about saving face!
Sports center in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

The atmosphere at the scene was still very heated. Although the teams that qualified from each region had been determined, the Vietnamese team PVB was confirmed to be unable to advance to the knockout stage.

However, many local audience members still brought the atmosphere to its peak.

EDG! SKT!

This is undoubtedly a highly anticipated showdown.

One team is EDG, aiming for a three-peat to establish a dynasty, while the other is a legendary team.

SKT, Faker, the three-time world champion, the most insurmountable mountain, the most difficult river to cross, a legend forever, no matter when or where.

EDG's Wang Yao, from the World Championship two years ago to last year's MSI Mid-Season Invitational, has been undefeated in every battle, a new era's dominant force.

The opening match seemed like SKT was pulling a prank, but the entire SKT team was in top form. Faker sat seriously in the center of the player bench, and his young teammates around him were also in high spirits.

"EDG, go for it!"

"Yao-ge, you're the best, husband, I love you."

"SKT, fighting!"

……

At the scene, countless fans from both teams began to cheer and shout.

In particular, the group stage will be held in Vietnam, but the knockout stage and the final will be held in Taipei.

Therefore, the Vietnamese fans at the scene cherished this opportunity to watch the game live.

And just then.

The background music stopped, and the images on the big screen changed.

The draft phase for the final group stage match has begun, with EDG facing off against SKT.

In this game, EDG is on the red side and SKT is on the blue side.

Meanwhile, the commentators in the commentary booth also started to liven up the atmosphere.

"SKT looks serious this game. I see a lot of serious expressions on their faces on the bench. Are they trying to get back at them from the opening match?!"

Wang Duoduo said with a smile.

"Of course we have to get our revenge. We almost didn't even have a chance to surrender in 15 minutes. It was so embarrassing."

Guan Zeyuan also said jokingly.

"Come on, let's take a look at the draft picks and bans for the last group stage match!"

SKT immediately banned Wang Yao's Excavator.

SKT isn't going to be reckless or try anything funny; Wang Yao's performance with the excavator in these few games has been remarkable.

If a player is both mechanically and strategically challenged, and they get the overpowered jungler of the current patch, what's the point of playing?!

EDG directly banned Lee Sin.

SKT then banned Sylas again, another OP mid-lane champion, and refused to let EDG have him either.

SKT is really serious.

EDG's second pick was to ban Pyke!
In the end, SKT banned Ryze.

EDG's last pick was to ban Draven.

Looking at EDG's draft picks, the commentators in the booth seemed to have figured something out.

Looking at the draft picks of both sides, Longhair said suspiciously:

"EDG's self-ban of Pyke and Draven... I feel like they're trying to pull off some crazy plays?!"

Wang Duoduo nodded in agreement, saying, "Yeah, it looks like it to me too. With Pyke and Draven banned, it's starting to look like a bottom lane mage carry!"

But then Guan Zeyuan suddenly blurted out, "EDG wouldn't be thinking of playing Taric Sona themselves, would they?!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Uh-huh……!"

Guan Zeyuan's words silenced the two people next to him.

At this point, it was SKT's turn to pick their first champion.

Without hesitation, top laner Khan immediately revealed his Jayce pick and then confirmed it.

"Huh?! SKT just picked Jayce on the first floor?!"

"Long Hair said in surprise."

"Although SKT's Jayce can be used flexibly, Khan can play Jayce, and Faker can also play it."

"But after watching so many games at the MSI Mid-Season Invitational, Jayce doesn't seem like a very easy champion to win with!"

Longhair shared his opinion.

"Yes, these people's Jess, even Khan's Jess, always have an inexplicable and strange smell about them."

Guan Zeyuan delivered the final blow.

Khan's Jayce was quite fierce during his peak in Season 7, but it's already Season 9, and Khan is no longer the top LCK top laner he once was.

As soon as he finished speaking, EDG immediately locked in Kennen on the first floor.

Kennen is a good top laner choice in this patch, and one of the best options to counter Jayce.

You have long arms, and so do I.

However, on the second floor of EDG, with the hero confirmed...

The audience gasped in surprise.

what? !

Gem Knight Lock!

"What?! Is EDG going to play Taric Sona themselves?!"

The LPL commentators were dumbfounded.

Even SKT was surprised. Was EDG teaching them a lesson from the start? They were really looking down on them!

However, at this stage of the draft, SKT cannot afford to pick Sona just to disrupt EDG's Taric-Sona combination; they can only proceed according to their own strategy.

Then, the second and third floors confirmed the bot lane duo of Kai'Sa and Nautilus.

Immediately afterwards, EDG's third floor player instantly picked the champion.

Sona!

EDG's version of Taric Sona is here!
After seeing that EDG's Taric and Sona were confirmed.

Longhair immediately started shouting from the commentary booth: "Really? Gem Sona?! That's a tutorial match!"

(End of this chapter)