LOL: Can’t I play other games professionally?

Chapter 493 Double Kill, First Place in the Group
The match between South Korea and Vietnam has ended, and the morning schedule of the League of Legends Asian Games is temporarily suspended.

After a short lunch break, the remaining matches resumed after 14 PM.

China vs. Kazakhstan.

If it weren't for the fact that he was the only jungler, Lin Ruo wouldn't have wanted to go into the game at all.

There was no other reason, because this kind of "smurfing" game really didn't need a jungler. At the start of the game, Lin Ruo hadn't even finished clearing the jungle monsters in the top half of the map.

A solo kill signal came from the bottom lane, and a short while later, a solo kill also occurred in the mid lane.

Lin Ruo originally wanted to check the top lane, but the situation there wasn't much better. Although Mouse didn't manage to get any solo kills, the enemy top laner had already been forced back to base.

If he goes to check, he can't really do anything except farm minions. So the only thing he can do, besides farming, is to go to the enemy jungle to find the enemy jungler.

To Lin Ruo's surprise, the opposing jungler went to the lane and bravely gave up a valuable kill.

verified.

These people would probably struggle to even reach Diamond rank in the Rift, so such a evaluation might be considered too much of an overstatement by Lin Ruo.

Ok.

If Kazakhstan truly viewed the League of Legends tournament at the Asian Games as a purely exhibition match, Lin Ruo had never agreed with that view for a single moment.

They were really just there to participate, and they never thought about winning the championship, since their so-called strength simply didn't allow it.

At least if it weren't for these few countries adding their numbers, the number of participating teams might not look so good. They've at least made a contribution.

Therefore, Lin Ruo kept a backup plan, transforming into the Rift Herald Miracle Walker to farm jungle camps without ganking, thus preventing the opponent's gaming experience from dropping from zero to negative.

This approach proved to be correct; the opponent controlled a dragon, eliminating the possibility of losing a dragon tower.

However, to Lin Ruo's surprise, Xiao Hu was even better at dealing with people than him, actually feeding kills online and allowing the opposing team to break their losing streak.

Xiao Hu's answer clearly reflected this idea: "Don't look at me, I just don't want the other side to lose too badly, you know? We should leave ourselves a way out."

Everyone else nodded in agreement, and the simple-minded A-Guang praised Xiao Hu's dedication. Only Lin Ruo inadvertently noticed the sweat on Xiao Hu's forehead.

No, Xiaohu is so strong, how could he break a sweat? Besides, wasn't that kill Xiaohu deliberately giving away to save face for the other side?
Lin Ruo finally came to the most appropriate answer: the sweat on his forehead wasn't sweat, it was urine.

As for how he got it, he had no idea.

After the match, the Chinese team had a one-hour break before facing another national team that was more focused on participation, around 16:30 PM.

The Asian Games League of Legends group stage didn't reach its final stage until around 18 PM, with the highly anticipated China-Korea showdown still taking place.

Even the Asian Games organizers know to leave suspense and save the best part for last.

Before this match, the South Korean team had only lost one game to the Chinese team in all the group matches. This means that as long as they win against the Chinese team in the second round, the South Korean team will still have a chance to drag the match into a tiebreaker and continue to compete for first place in the group.

This boosted the confidence of the South Korean team, who were more eager to win the game than anyone else.

The reason is simple: with the opportunity to be exempt from military service, the South Korean team will be motivated to fight with full force, because once this opportunity is missed, it will never come again.

The match began shortly afterward, and the two sides remained evenly matched in the second round of ban/pick, each displaying their own strengths and weaknesses.

Learning from the lessons of the previous round, Kkoma is more flexible in his drafting and banning, aiming to gain some initiative in the early game rather than being completely passive.

For example, in the top lane, facing the Chinese team's Camille, Kiin locked in Jayce as a strong top laner.

It goes without saying who is suppressing whom.

However, it is undeniable that Jayce, who lacks mobility, is easily caught out. Therefore, the Korean team picked Olaf for the jungle position, forming a top-jungle duo that was almost at its strongest.

This is to ensure that we don't fall behind in the early stages of the battle.

Of course, the Chinese team wouldn't back down so easily. Lin Ruo took the initiative to pick out the Chrysanthemum God of War Zhao Xin, intending to gank the top laner Jayce.

As for the strength of Zhao Xin, it's not necessarily true that you should be afraid of him.

In the mid lane, Syndra faced off against Zoe. Both sides picked their strongest champions, bar none, in an effort to gain lane control and provide early support.
The bottom lane is always the same; just play passively and that's it.

EZ and Morgana vs Jhin and Tahm Kench: Neither side will have much fighting power in the early game.

If there is a difference, it's that the Chinese team is stronger, since their support is Morgana, who has a certain amount of damage output.

After the match started, Lin Ruo, anticipating a crazy invasion from the Korean team, opted for a half-bracket strategy. If Score's Olaf wanted to open in the upper half, then he would open in the lower half.

Although Xin Zhao is very strong, he should still give way a bit in the early game when facing a top-tier brute like Olaf.

As for this match, Lin Ruo inevitably and presciently focused on the bottom lane.

Tactically, it might favor the top lane, but in terms of actual action, Xin Zhao and Camille are unlikely to be able to counter the so-called Olaf and Jayce duo in the early game.

The reason for picking Xin Zhao is that even if things don't go well, he won't be completely helpless against Olaf. Also, his ability combo with Camille's skills is indeed effective for ganking top lane.

However, all of this depends on Score's Olaf not appearing in the top lane in time.

The pace of the game proved that the Korean team clearly valued Jayce's development, and Score almost never allowed Kiin to have too much space to play alone.

At level 3, he proactively invaded the upper jungle, illuminating the basic situation outside the jungle for Jayce to avoid being caught.

In the South Korean team's locker room, Kkoma, who had been watching closely the entire time, believed that the players had executed the strategy very well, at least in the early stages.

However, there was one thing that Kkoma completely failed to anticipate, which became the biggest reason for their defeat in this match.

That is because Kkoma was too relaxed about the bot lane, and what he didn't expect was that the Chinese team's Ezreal and Morgana combination would have a stronger dominance than he imagined.

The camera cuts to the bottom lane, where the Korean team's bot lane duo is either getting beaten up or on their way to getting beaten up again.

While Tahm Kench is a support-type champion, expecting him to provide support in the first two levels is a bit of an exaggeration. In fact, Corejj's clunky Tahm Kench is the one who makes laning a truly difficult experience.

UZI and Tianye displayed unprecedented dominance in the online game, to the point that every move they made in the bottom lane inevitably made Kkoma in the rest room a little uneasy.

Because in his view, his own duo was always getting hit by skills, so their health was always in a less than healthy state.

The most alarming outcome was that at the 5-minute mark, the bot lane suffered a complete collapse in lane. Aiming's Jhin, while clearing minions, inadvertently landed Morgana's Q skill, which bound him. What followed was a familiar scenario: Ignite was applied, and Ezreal jumped in and unleashed a devastating combo.

Not only was Jhin reduced to the bare minimum, but even Corejj, who came up to devour people, was reduced to only one-third of his health.

The line doesn't match up right away.

In this meta where teleportation is rampant in the bot lane, Aiming has virtually no ability to carry Cleanse to recover from mistakes in the laning phase.

So once he gets infected, the only one who can save him is the support Tahm Kench.

Yes, this purification is actually on Corejj's Tahm Kench, in order to prevent the possibility of accidentally killing both the person and the unborn child when swallowing someone.

This is why the Chinese team's doubles pair had no qualms about crossing the line.

You didn't have Ignite or Exhaust with Tahm Kench, so why should I be afraid of you? Of course I'm not afraid.

The Korean team's duo was pushed back into the tower while still around level 4 and couldn't farm at all.

Aiming wanted to teleport back to base, but he didn't dare to do so under the turret, fearing that the man's figure would soon emerge from the bushes next to the wall.

Given the amount of blood he had to blow hard to prevent from being burned to death, if Zhao Xin came in and stabbed his chrysanthemum, it would probably be the so-called "explosion" kind of thing.

They could only retreat, hoping that Zhao Xin wouldn't appear in a key position, but Lin Ruoke wasn't the type to go shopping.

In Kkoma's eyes, Lin Ruo is someone with top-notch awareness and skills, and is most likely to appear at the right place with foresight.

This time, Lin Ruo appeared in the place Kkoma least wanted to see anyone, which was in the bush behind the bottom lane turret, and bumped right into the retreating Korean duo.

Who knows what Aiming was thinking at that moment? He had Flash, but unfortunately it wasn't very useful.

Because his health was so low, Aiming realized he had to use Flash to create distance as quickly as possible the moment Zhao Xin appeared.

Otherwise, if Zhao Xin casually flashes and uses his E to stab him, he can safely fall to the ground and return to the fountain to prepare for teleportation the next second.

However, the final result proved that even though the Flash was used very decisively, it still could not escape Lin Ruo's punishment.

W flash!
Lin Ruo, controlling Zhao Xin, used Flash to follow Aiming's W skill [Wind Slash] as he swung it forward, accurately predicting the landing point of Aiming's Flash.

The shot then struck Jhin precisely in the crucial area behind his back, causing him to fall to the ground without a ripple the next second, quickly returning to the fountain.

Firest blood.

The first drop of blood was generated in 5 minutes, and the second drop of blood was generated in less than 10 seconds.

Corejj's Tahm Kench had to use Flash to escape back to the turret when he swallowed Aiming.

So at this moment, while Zhao Xin still had the three-part Q with knock-up and the dashing E skill, Tahm Kench's path to survival was almost completely cut off.

Needless to say, because of the Flash chase and kill on Jhin, Lin Ruo's Xin Zhao was positioned even further forward than Tahm Kench, effectively cutting off their escape route.

……

The double kill in the bottom lane within the first 5 minutes almost laid the foundation for the game's outcome.

From the very beginning, the Korean team's bottom lane collapsed hysterically.

While in the rest room, Kkoma discovered for the first time the biggest flaw in his own draft picks: he had overlooked the strength of the bot lane matchup.

Or perhaps the current weakness of traditional AD carries in the bot lane has inadvertently lulled him into a false sense of security.

However, in the face of truly accurate poke, all so-called weaknesses are in vain.

Moreover, Morgana paired with Ezreal doesn't seem to be weak either, provided that the skills are used accurately.

So when there's a huge gap in lane matchups, it's indeed too easy for a top jungler like Lin Ruo to win the game.

The subsequent plot development was that simple: the bottom lane exploded, which then spread to the jungle, resulting in a complete loss of tempo and a huge gap in gold and damage during team fights.

Jhin is unmoved, but Ezreal can take down enemies with a single Q. The most terrifying one is Xin Zhao, whose E and ultimate can wipe out the Korean team's lineup.

The highly anticipated match between China and South Korea ended abruptly in just 23 minutes.

"Is this any different from playing against other teams in Group A? It's too easy." UZI himself was shocked after the match. He never thought that playing against Korean teams would be as easy as playing against wildcard teams twice in a row.

But it is what it is.

Like other relatively unknown national teams, the South Korean team, as the challenger, fell to the Chinese team before even touching the threshold.

They could only watch helplessly as the entire Chinese team leisurely came over to shake hands, then reveal their utterly helpless emotions, and if all else failed, they would grit their teeth and bear it.

They lost without any reason. After two rounds, it seems that there is always one lane that is the point of difference between them: the jungler in the last round and the bot lane in this round.

Even if they wanted to salvage the situation, they couldn't withstand the onslaught from start to finish, and their rhythm was always being dictated.

With this, the group stage has ended, and the knockout stage spots and divisions have been completely determined.

Groups A and B were led by the Chinese team and their compatriots from Taiwan Province across the strait, respectively. Both teams advanced to the knockout stage with a perfect record as group winners.

The other two teams, South Korea and Saudi Arabia, qualified for the next round as the second-place teams in their respective groups.

Following the principle of matching the top teams to the bottom, the Chinese team, as the first-place team in Group A, will face the Saudi Arabian national team, the second-place team in Group B, in the semifinals. Similarly, the South Korean team will face the Taiwanese team, which is in excellent form.

The former is naturally without any suspense. Saudi Arabia is clearly no match for Vietnam in Group A. Their advancement is purely due to good luck in the draw. Facing the invincible Chinese team, they should treat it as an exhibition match and just participate honestly.

The upcoming match between South Korea and Taiwan is undoubtedly the most likely to be a contest so far.

At least that's the opinion of most LCK fans on Korean websites. They believe that Korean teams are currently only on par with Taiwanese teams.

As for who is the host and who is the guest at the table, that remains to be seen.

In terms of confidence and momentum, the provincial team members and the LMS audience are far more excited than their opponents.

(End of this chapter)