LOL: What does it mean to torture players?

The camera panned to the RNG players' bench, where the atmosphere seemed relaxed, but everyone's expression was more tense than ever before.

As the team's senior player, mid-laner Xiaohu jokingly teased in the voice chat while adjusting his mouse, "How's it going, Bin? The opponent is Mozi, and he instantly locked in Riven. The pressure is on you, any thoughts?"

Bin took a deep breath, and you could even see his fingers gripping the mouse slightly, his knuckles turning a little white.

He stared at the Riven ID with the arcade skin on the loading screen, his eyes filled with both fear and burning fighting spirit.

"To be honest, I'm a little panicked." Bin was very honest and not blindly arrogant. "I still remember the suffocating feeling I had when I played against him last time. He felt like a machine without emotions."

"Don't boost others' morale and dampen your own," Ming, the support player, encouraged. "You're playing Jax, who hard counters Riven! Once Counter Strike is active, will he dare to come up and auto-attack you? As long as you hold your ground in the top lane, we'll carry you in the bottom lane."

Jungler Wei also said, "Bin, should I go up at level three and gank for you? Riven is easy to gank if she doesn't have Flash."

Bin paused for two seconds, then shook his head, his voice becoming firm: "No, don't come yet. I want to try."

"Give it a try?" Xiaohu raised an eyebrow.

“Hmm.” A glint flashed in Bin’s eyes. “He is a god of top lane, I admit it. But I am also a top top laner in the LPL right now, and I also want to know how far I am from that mountain when I play my most familiar champion. If I don’t even dare to 1v1 him with Jax and Riven, then I can forget about surpassing him in this lifetime.”

Upon hearing this, RNG's voice chat fell silent for a moment, then burst into encouraging shouts.

"Alright! That's spirited!" Xiaohu shouted. "Let's go for it! If we lose, we can just go back and review the game. If we win, you're awesome!"

“That’s right, go all out, the brothers will cover for you!” GALA rarely spoke up.

……

At this moment, in the commentary booth, the three commentators were analyzing this highly charged match.

"The key to this game is undoubtedly the top lane," Guan Zeyuan said, adjusting his glasses and analyzing the situation meticulously. "In terms of champion mechanics, Jax counters Riven. Riven's main damage output comes from her Q-A combo, while Jax's Counter Strike can negate all basic attack damage and stun the opponent. At the same skill level, Riven has an advantage against Jax."

“Yes.” Ji De nodded, but then changed the subject, “But the problem is, the person playing Riven is Su Mo. We all know that in League of Legends, there’s a kind of counter called ID counter. Mo Zi’s proficiency often breaks the counter relationship between heroes.”

“Of course!” Rita immediately chimed in. “When has Brother Mozi ever done anything he wasn’t confident about? The fact that he dared to lock down Riven on the first floor shows that he has absolute confidence. Even Bin’s weapon probably wouldn’t stand a chance against him.”

Guan Zeyuan smiled, with a hint of teasing: "Teacher Rita's confidence in Mozi is truly blind and unwavering. But then again, Bin is no pushover either. His Rank performance has been excellent lately, and Jax is one of his specialties. It's really hard to say whether Riven will teach him a lesson with her lightning-fast QA in the top lane, or Jax will mercilessly crush him."

At this moment, the chat in the live stream and the audience at the scene were also arguing wildly.

The vast majority of fans naturally and blindly support Su Mo:
[Hilarious! Talking about hero counters with Mozi? The word "counter" doesn't even exist in Mozi's hero pool!]

Bin is strong, but he's just a little brother compared to Mozi. Waiting for Riven to clear the top lane!

[What's wrong with Riven playing Jax? These mechanically gifted players never check the patch notes!]

Rita is right! Just trust Mozi and everything will be fine!

However, some rational fans and haters have voiced different opinions:
To be honest, picking Riven in this patch is just showing off. Jax is unstoppable in late-game split pushing; what can Riven possibly do against that?

Don't overhype it. Bin's weapon is capable of a pentakill at Worlds. Su Mo got too cocky this time.

[Waiting for a mishap. If Riven gets solo-killed by Jax, the show will be packed with laughs.]

[Professional matches aren't ranked games. Picking Riven first is disrespectful to the opponent, and they deserve to lose.]

Amidst the clamor of discussion, the countdown on the big screen reached zero.

"Army attack!"

As the system's rousing female voice rang out, ten heroes descended upon Summoner's Rift!

After buying the gear, I headed out.

Su Mo's Riven, wielding a broken sword, nimbly walked towards the top lane. Instead of opting for a defensive build like Doran's Shield, she directly pulled out a longsword and three health potions.

Violence, directness.

Bin's Jax started with the standard Corrupting Potion, clearly preparing for a sustained lane presence and trading blows.

The lines of troops converge.

Level 1 is the most dangerous moment in the game.

Bin, controlling the Jax, crossed the minion wave, attempting to use the threat of his E skill, Counter Strike, to force Riven to miss minions or bait out her abilities.

"Here it comes! They're already going all out from level one!" Miller stared intently at the screen. "Bin is playing very aggressively! He knows Riven will have a tough time before she learns all her skills at level one."

Su Mo looked at the weapon that was approaching menacingly, his expression as calm as still water.

Instead of retreating, he went to meet him.

Bin's eyes narrowed, his finger hovering over the E key, ready to unleash a counterattack at any moment.

The two closed the distance between them.

Su Mo's Riven suddenly raised her hand, using her Q [Broken Wings Dance] to dash forward, seemingly about to unleash a basic attack.

Bin instinctively pressed his E skill!
The weapon master swung the street lamp so fast it was impenetrable, and entered a dodging state!
However, Su Mo's basic attack failed to land.

The instant he used Q, he pressed the S key to stop, then immediately retreated, baiting the weapon's E.

Bin activated his E skill, but Riven didn't attack him. Instead, she hovered at that ambiguous distance, neither stunning him nor letting him auto-attack.

The two continued to pull at each other.

Bin was getting anxious and wanted to catch up and manually stun Riven.

But Su Mo seemed to have seen through his intentions, and took a small step back with the second Q, widening the distance once again.

Two seconds later, the weapon master's counterattack storm ended, stunning two minions but not even touching Riven's clothes.

"Bin's E skill was baited out!" Wawa said. "The kiting was too tight! Mozi didn't even use his third Q!"

"No more E, right?"

A cold smile curled at the corner of Su Mo's lips.

Riven turned around and unleashed her third Q, knocking the weapon, who had just finished the E skill's recovery animation, into the air!

A!

Su Mo's hand speed was so fast that it was almost impossible for the naked eye to catch it; he tapped the floor to cancel out all the post-swinging motions.

AA!

Two more basic attacks, and the weapon's health instantly dropped by a third.

Although the weapon managed to auto-attack Riven twice, the damage was pitifully low, completely incomparable to Riven's three auto-attacks with her passive active.

After exchanging blows a couple of times, Ah Bin noticed that Riven showed no sign of backing down and seemed to want to continue attacking.

Bin quickly drank the putrid potion and tried to retreat.

He knew Riven had her Q skill on cooldown, and if he dragged it out until Riven used her second Q, he would be in danger.

Seeing that the weapon retreated without hesitation, Su Mo chased after it and attacked again before giving up the pursuit, because the minions' aggro had been drawn to it.

"This is really tough!" Guan Zeyuan exclaimed, looking at the health difference in the top lane. "Bin lost lane control because his most crucial E skill at level one was baited out! Mozi's basic skills and psychological game are simply terrifying."

Bin looked at his depleted health and felt immense pressure.

In just one glance, that familiar, suffocating sense of oppression enveloped him once more. The battle on the road continued, the air thick with the smell of gunpowder that only top-tier experts could detect.

Bin, who suffered a huge loss from the level 1 blood exchange, was forced to consume two Corruption Potions to maintain his health.

His current situation is extremely awkward: Su Mo has skillfully controlled the minion wave in the river near the red side – neither pushing it into the tower nor pushing it forward.

This is the most desperate "jail-like" moment for a top laner.

"Don't rush, I'll check after I clear the red buff." In RNG's voice chat, jungler Wei keenly sensed the predicament in the top lane. His Lee Sin changed his original route of quickly leveling up to three and ganking bot lane, and headed directly towards the top lane after clearing the red buff.

“Wei is here to protect us!” Guan Zeyuan looked at the minimap. “This awareness is crucial! If Lee Sin hadn’t come, and Riven had controlled this wave of minions, Bin’s Jax would have missed a lot of minions, making it difficult for him to play top lane.”

Su Mo's Riven was currently stuck in front of the minion wave, her broken sword emitting a green rune glow.

Upon seeing the Blind Monk peek out, he didn't panic and retreat. Instead, he calmly pulled back a step, even managing to kill a low-health minion while retreating, thus leveling up to level two.

Wei's Lee Sin was just a feint, relieving Bin's pressure in lane, and then he escorted the minion wave into the tower before diving into the jungle.

"Brother Mozi handled this wave very well, giving him no chance," Remember commented. "But this way, Bin can breathe a sigh of relief and successfully break through the lane."

As the minion wave pushed back, Abin began his cautious farming mode, no longer trading blows.

And so, both sides progressed smoothly to level five.

At this moment, Su Mo's Riven went back to base and bought [Caulfield's Warhammer] and [Sandals], while Bin bought Cloth Shoes without any gear.

"Armor Boots!" Rita exclaimed in surprise. "Bin has completely abandoned offensive items and is building defensive items to withstand the pressure first. This is a very disruptive build for Jax, but he was forced into it. After all, his teammate is Mozi."

Six minutes, a crucial moment for the top laner to reach level six.

Su Mo's Riven reached level six first!
Almost the instant the upgraded lighting effect lit up, Su Mo moved!
Without any warning, Riven immediately used her E [Charge Forward] to dash in, followed by her Q [Broken Wings] to close the distance, and then her W [Soul Roar] to instantly stun the Jax who was still hovering on the edge of level 5!
"They've started!" Miller shouted.

Bin's reaction was incredibly fast; the instant the stun ended, he instantly activated his E skill, Counter Strike!
If it were a regular Riven, she would most likely retreat to avoid the weapon's stun effect.

But Su Mo did something that shocked everyone.

The moment he activated his weapon's counterattack, he didn't retreat, but instead activated his ultimate ability, R [Exiled Blade]!
The broken sword has been reforged, and its runic energy has surged!
Immediately afterwards, he used a bush that blocked vision to flash 0.1 seconds before the second stun of the Weapon Master's E skill was about to explode!

This was a flash towards the back of the Weapon Master, dodging the Weapon Master's E while blocking his retreat.

The weapon's counterattack storm missed its target!
Su Mo's Riven had already appeared behind the weapon, her greatsword leaving deadly afterimages!
A followed by a second Q, then A, and a third Q to knock the enemy away!

Ignite it and hang it up!

This burst of speed was outrageous; Bin's health was reduced to less than a third in an instant.

Bin frantically tapped the keyboard, finally using Flash to create distance and try to enter the tower.

But Su Mo's prediction was extremely accurate. The moment Bin flashed, he unleashed his second R!

The green sword energy, like a fan-shaped death declaration, precisely grazed the spot where the weapon master had flashed after his attack!

"die!"

After using a powerful attack, the weapon's health was reduced to only 45 points.

However, the ignition on his head was still burning.

A second later, the weapon slowly fell behind the turret.

In the end, he still died.

"Solo kill!!! That's Mozi!" Guan Zeyuan shouted excitedly, "Flash to dodge the counterattack storm, predicting R2 to finish off! This is a textbook Riven tutorial! Even if Bin had Ninja Tabi, he couldn't withstand this burst damage!"

Rita blushed deeply: "So handsome! He's so incredibly handsome!!"

There was a deathly silence in RNG's voice chat.

Bin stared blankly at the black and white screen.

For a brief moment, he felt as if he were facing not a hero, but a precisely functioning killing machine, with every skill combo executed so perfectly it was despair-inducing.

“My…” Bin’s voice was a little hoarse, “His Flash was too decisive.”

"It's okay, it's okay, stay calm, I'll come back to gank in a bit," Wei quickly reassured him, but he also knew that this game in the top lane was probably going to be very difficult.

Having secured the first blood, Su Mo immediately recalled to base and purchased two smaller items from the Bloodthirsty Axe, giving him a significant economic lead.

The road turned into a crushing mess.

Ten minutes later, the Rift Herald spawned.

EDG did not blindly engage in fights despite their advantage in the top lane. Instead, they took advantage of Riven's lane control to gain vision control in the river.

RNG didn't want to give up this vanguard, so the entire team assembled.

"RNG wants to engage in this team fight!" Remember analyzed. "Although they are at a disadvantage in the top lane, RNG's lineup is actually very strong in team fights. Galio has reached level six, and Nautilus also has his ultimate. As long as the crowd control is well coordinated, they have a chance to kill Riven."

The two sides are locked in a standoff on the river.

Jiejie's Frye is taking the lead, while the RNG players are hovering above the dragon pit.

Suddenly, Ming's Titan couldn't hold back any longer. He used his Q skill, Clear the Channel, to precisely hook Lulu, who was slightly forward. Then, he used his ultimate, Deep Sea Impact, to lock onto Viper's Zephyr!
"It's started! Titan initiated the team fight! Galio's ultimate is in!"

"The hero appears!"

A giant magic circle appeared on the ground, and Xiaohu's Galio descended from the sky, knocking away EDG's bot lane duo.

Bin's Jax also activated his ultimate, using Q to dash into the enemy team and try to cut through the backline.

The situation was very unfavorable for EDG at one point!

Just as everyone's attention was focused on the main battlefield, a figure finally emerged from the side.

That was Su Mo, who had been circling around for half a day!

He activated his ultimate ability, using his Q3 skill to pass through the wall and charge directly into RNG's backline!
Meanwhile, there were only two seconds left before his next Q, which is why he deliberately timed his Q.

RNG's formation was thrown into chaos instantly.

"Riven's in! She ignored the weapons and Galio in front of her, she went straight for GALA's Kai'Sa!"

GALA reacted quickly, using his E skill to create distance while simultaneously using his R skill to fly away.

But Su Mo's target wasn't Kai'Sa at all!

He wants to divide the battlefield!
He was seen dodging Lee Sin's Q and Galio's taunts like a butterfly flitting among the crowd, using the multiple dashes of his Q skill.

W [Soul-Suppressing Roar]!
A loud shout stunned the Lee Sin and Nautilus who were trying to defend!
With Su Mo holding back the RNG front line, they were instantly left isolated.

Bin's weapon and Xiaohu's Galio were surrounded and attacked by four EDG players, instantly melting.

After absorbing tons of damage and skills, Su Mo used the third part of his Q to jump over the wall, escaping with just over 100 health remaining, saving a Flash.

After the weapon was destroyed, RNG chose to fight and retreat, with all members of the team running away.

0 for 1!

EDG secures the Herald! (End of Chapter)