LOL: Can’t I play other games professionally?

Chapter 501 The Final Battle for the Championship: Let's Do It!

Vi is a champion who definitely needs to help gank lanes in the early game to gain an advantage.

However, it is clear that Vi's control over the jungle is not very strong in the early game, especially when the opponent is a mobile Lee Sin and her mid laner is being pressured.

Score wasn't easy to work with; on the contrary, Lin Ruo had been trying to make an appointment with him.

He always seems to wander into the jungle for no reason, and Score, unaware of this, might think the enemy Lee Sin doesn't have a jungle.

In this respect, Xiaohu's choice of Malzahar in the mid lane was a brilliant one. Against Galio's very annoying wave clear and roaming ability, this choice can only be described as even more annoying.

With Lee Sin already being quite strong in the early game, it doesn't seem like it would be difficult to exert pressure in lane.

When a full 10 minutes of the game had passed and Faker's Galio still hadn't made a move, Kkoma on the sidelines knew that he had clearly miscalculated again.

The opposing team had anticipated that although they seemed to have many opportunities to gain momentum, their final entry into the fight would ultimately depend on Faker's Galio, which was the key to their victory.

As for Lin Ruo, having witnessed the famous scene of one player carrying four opponents back then, he knows all too well what to focus on when facing a lineup from the South Korean team that is almost a copy.

Therefore, throughout the entire match, his eyes never left Faker's Galio.

Without Galio acting as a support to fully protect Ueno and the other two as they enter the game, the Korean team's lineup looks incredibly hollow and unrealistic.

If Vi enters the fray poorly and lacks rhythm, and doesn't land a Q to hit the target, relying solely on Flash to activate her ultimate and blindly lock down the enemy, she's more likely to die instantly in team fights than anyone else.

This is a typical case of insufficient damage output and a lack of resilience.

With Malzahar on the team, the South Korean team's lineup is extremely vulnerable to being broken up in team fights if they don't have good coordination and teamwork.

Don't forget, even if Lin Ruo doesn't initiate team fights, she always has a kick that can help protect the carry. It's never been easy for the Korean team to enter the game easily.

This resulted in the Korean team failing to achieve very good results in the mid-game despite having a seemingly more advantageous team composition and team fights in the early stages, even though they didn't have much of a rhythm in the early game.

Wang Duoduo, who was the commentator, only noticed one thing throughout the entire process.

That is, in the Korean team, whoever initiates the team fight always dies. Whether it's Camille or Vi, whoever dares to lock in basically has no chance of getting out. If the angle is slightly wrong, they will be skewered by Lin Ruo.

As one of the team's damage dealers, Kiin can't always be at the forefront.

Therefore, Score is still the most miserable player in this game. He basically dies as soon as he enters the game. It is unknown whether he can win or lose the team fight. His Vi's development starts at zero and he is basically at the bottom.

I spent ages trying to buy a Resurrection Armor, but I still can't afford it. Buying it as my first item is fine, but it seems incredibly fragile. Wouldn't I just die even faster if I went in?

Overall, for viewers on Korean online forums who are following the text-based live stream, the second game seemed to be more frustrating than the first.

Although the pace of the game was suppressed in the early stages, the economic gap was not that large, meaning there was still a chance to win.

Compared to collapsing in less than 15 minutes in the first game, the probability of winning is obviously much higher.

The problem is that the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. The two sides fought more than five team fights in the mid-game, but the Korean team never gained any advantage.

In this situation, all that awaited them was a snowball effect. As the situation gradually returned to its previous rhythm, the South Korean team once again inevitably fell into its biggest disadvantage.

Especially when the Chinese team won another team fight and took down the Baron at the 28-minute mark, the tension that had been building for nearly 30 minutes finally snapped.

Despite having the initiative, the team played more passively than anyone else, prompting Korean netizens to exclaim that they were simply unbeatable.

The second game ended precisely on time after 30 minutes, with the Chinese team taking an unstoppable lead and securing match point in the final, leading 2-0 in the Asian Games final.

Faced with this result, even before the third game began, the number of online viewers watching the text-based live stream on Korean websites plummeted, dropping by nearly half.

Conversely, the number of online users on the League of Legends regional forums continued to rise, with nearly 10,000 new posts criticizing the match appearing during the mere 15-minute halftime break.

The current South Korean team struggles to even win a single game, so how can you expect them to come back from a 0-2 deficit to win 3-2? Unless you're out of your mind, there's absolutely no hope, so you might as well start criticizing them now.

Some Korean fans also advocated delaying their criticism. This is not because they believe the Korean team can still win; it's precisely because they can't win no matter what that they think is okay to criticize later, since they won't be proven wrong anyway.

As for now, I'll see if I can build up my anger in the third game.

Soon, the 15 minutes were up.

Ten players from both sides stepped onto the stage once again, and the final battle was about to begin.

Wang Duoduo, the commentator, was still savoring the previous match, and the thought that if the Chinese team won this match, they would win the gold medal in the League of Legends event at this Asian Games was also a great relief.

Wang Duoduo was even more excited, because this was a battle representing the honor of the country, and it was also a peak showdown between five Chinese and five Koreans. The significance of winning the game was self-evident.

This will undoubtedly be a historic development for esports in China. Although it is just an exhibition match, it will play a crucial role in gaining acceptance from those who have negative views of esports.

So, as the match drew near and the players from both sides took to the stage to prepare, Wang Duoduo, who was about to enter the third round of ban/pick, was incredibly excited.

"Welcome back to the competition venue, everyone. The players are ready and the third game of the League of Legends final at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games is about to begin."

"China is still on the blue side, while South Korea is on the red side. Let's take a look at the draft picks for both sides."

Wang Duoduo finished speaking.

The exchange of bans and picks on the big screen was very fast. In the first three rounds, there was almost no need for much thought, because these were choices that both sides had already estimated before the game even started.

After further discussion, the Chinese team made some changes to their first three bans compared to the previous game.

Braum, Jayce, and finally, Aiming's signature ADC Xayah.

Each ban is executed with great care.

According to Wang Duoduo, removing Braum was most likely to weaken the Korean team's ability to withstand pressure in the bottom lane, and Braum is too versatile as a support, both in lane and in team fights.

When many teams are in dire straits and don't know what to pick in the bot lane, they often opt for Braum as a safety pick, as he is a well-rounded and versatile player who is very reliable.

However, this time the Chinese team directly blocked the South Korean team from getting the safest option.

Along with Xia.

Aiming wasn't even given the chance to use his most confident champion in crucial moments. As for why Jayce was banned, no viewer wouldn't know; the reason is quite simple.

Kiin on the opposing team is good at playing Jayce, while Mouse on their side isn't very good at it. Although Lin Ruo gave Mouse special training when he first joined EDG, it turns out he still isn't good enough.

Therefore, it is necessary to disable heroes that we ourselves cannot play well, but others can play very well.

"These three picks were still very precise, and it can be said that they compressed a lot of the Korean team's tactics. The Chinese team's preparation in the draft phase was obviously still very thorough."

Wang Duoduo was quite excited watching this. So far, the Chinese team has not only performed perfectly in the game, but their draft picks have also reached their best.

This third game was already a sure win.

"Let's take a look at the Korean team."

Wang Duoduo continued to pay attention. As the Korean team actively chose the red side and wanted to keep Kangtai, their draft picks were actually easier to consider.

Since it's the red side, if the blue side goes first, they need to try to eliminate the stronger heroes in the current meta in the first three picks to ensure the opponent doesn't get a very good starting pick.

Therefore, after discussion, the Korean team naturally removed Camille, Rakan, and Taliyah from their roster.

Aside from the fact that Rakan is a tricky pick for the support position, if Lin Ruo gets the other two jungle positions first, the Korean team will feel a lot of pressure.

Watching this scene, Wang Duoduo in the commentary booth couldn't help but praise it highly:
"Lin Ruo put a lot of pressure on the draft, which is the charm of a top jungler. He can force the opponent to target the jungler position every game."

Furthermore, Wang Duoduo believes that the Korean team will still need to rely on the jungler position later on, as long as the frontcourt doesn't come out.

Next, it was time for both sides to select their champions. Ornn was still on the list, but the Chinese team, as the blue side, had already eliminated Jayce, who was considered their biggest threat.

So, if Ornn continues to lane and create a good jungle environment for Lin Ruo, is this usual strategy still applicable to this game?
Wang Duoduo seriously believes that the Chinese team will lock down Ornn first, as this is indeed the most successful and familiar strategy, and it will greatly benefit Lin Ruo.

Kkoma next door had the same idea and was already asking Kiin which hero to use to counter Ornn.

Before anything was confirmed, what happened next caused the hundreds of audience members to erupt in excitement.

Because the Chinese team didn't pick Ornn on the first floor, but instead cleverly chose Aatrox, a pick that is still quite strong even after the rework.

It's a bit unbelievable. It's understandable that Mouse would choose Gangplank, since he's played him a lot this season, but he hasn't played Aatrox much.

"Is everything alright, Light?"

Lin Ruo joked from the players' seats.

Upon hearing this, A-Guang perked up: "Trust me, brothers. Without Jess, what can the other side use to pressure me? They can't pressure me at all."

During the time RW was trying to carry, Mouse spent a lot of time practicing heroes. As Aatrox is a must-practice hero in this version, he naturally had confidence.

With the first floor finalized, the Korean side revealed their final trump card, decisively securing Varus and Tahm Kench for the first and second floors.

The meaning is self-evident.

Compared to the previous two games where the bot lane was a weak lane, Kkoma finally made a change this game, directly pulling out the strongest bot lane combination in the early game, in order to improve the bot lane's laning ability.

Since the bottom lane was pressured so badly in the first two games, this time we'll turn the tables and pressure them instead, regardless of whether the core laners are in the top, mid, or jungle positions.

Seeing these two choices, Abu, as the coach of the Chinese team, can be completely certain that the two sides have the same strategy for this game.

They chose Aatrox to exert pressure in the early and mid-game, so the same applies to the Korean team choosing Varus. This match will undoubtedly be an offensive affair, a test of which side has the stronger firepower.

Since that's the case, let's all stop hiding our true intentions and make this final battle something respectable.

"Look what the Chinese team is playing in the bottom lane, on the second and third floors. They've picked Miss Fortune and Alistar, wow..."

Commentator Wang Duoduo finally showed shock. Using Bounty Hunter against Varus is very brave. It's like going all out in the bot lane.

However, Alistar's choice seems to lean more towards team fights, since he would definitely be at a disadvantage against Tahm Kench in lane.

However, with Miss Fortune on the team, the laning phase will definitely not be like the previous two games where the Korean bot lane duo was completely outmatched.

The Korean team stopped hesitating. "You dare to pick Miss Fortune in the bot lane to fight my Varus? Well then, it's not unreasonable for me to pick Gnar in the top lane and try to fight back, right?"

The first three picks of each side immediately created a fierce battle, with neither side willing to give an inch.

The same thing happened in the subsequent two bans. The Korean team, which had the first ban, banned Olaf first, and then banned the so-called Trundle, in order to continue to limit the strong threat in the jungle position as much as possible.

On the Chinese team's side, without hesitation, they first removed the Barrel, which had the biggest impact on their entry into the fray. If they didn't remove it, wouldn't Miss Fortune's ultimate be blasted away in no time?

Adding Kindred to the mix is ​​also a good counter to their entry lineup.

Both sides' intentions were quite obvious. After two rounds of bans, every position was banned, except for the mid lane, which was not banned at all.

This means that there are many options in the mid lane, but if you really want to consider the ultimate offensive strategy, the familiar laning pairing of LeBlanc and Syndra is undoubtedly the best answer.

But this is clearly too much effort on the part of the naked eye.

The Korean team, who were supposed to go first on the fourth floor, hesitated. Kkoma wanted to pick a late-game carry to cover the bottom, but was worried that the Chinese team wouldn't give them face, so he decided to pick Jarvan IV for the jungle position first.

We need to ensure we have the best options for initiating team fights and launching attacks in the jungle, while also observing the Chinese team's strategy for the mid and jungle.

What can be planned?

Actually, when the Chinese team saw the South Korean team trying to fight them, they already had the right answer: they had to fight to the end. Would the Chinese team be afraid of fighting in the early stages of the competition?
You Korean team aren't going to choose, huh? Then we'll choose first.

On the fourth floor, UZI immediately locked in LeBlanc for Xiaohu and sent him to the mid lane. Then, on the fifth floor, Tianye, understanding the situation, also unhesitatingly decided to pick Lee Sin, who had performed well in the previous game.

LeBlanc and Lee Sin.

The moment it appeared, the scene instantly became as lively as boiling water in a pot.

(End of this chapter)