You've only been playing for half a year, and you've already reached the finals?

Chapter 148 A Fighting Style Belonging to Geniuses

The battle between the two sides continues.

Except for occasionally switching the camera to the top and bottom lanes, the director focused the camera on the middle lane the entire time, watching the laning operations of the two mid laners.

It's no exaggeration to say that this was a public execution of Doinb.

Doinb's mid-lane laning phase was not ideal in this game.

In fact, Viktor is already a hero he is very confident in.

Throughout the Spring Split, he used Viktor to lane against all the top mid laners. He played against all the other champion mid laners in the LPL and basically had no problems. Sometimes he could even use Viktor to roam and create opportunities, securing victory early on!

But today's match was strangely bizarre.

The first few exchanges alone had already left him drenched in sweat!

The situation continued to worsen after the fox reached level three.

The fox accelerated up with W, hit him on the heel with E, and then used QA to trigger Electrocute, reducing his health to one-third!

With this health, Ahri is almost at the kill threshold. If the minion wave pushes into the tower and Udyr charges in to slam him down, Ahri will be dead for sure!
Although he couldn't accept it, Doinb had no choice but to return to base to replenish his supplies and then teleport back online.

Seeing Viktor being sent back to base at only level three, the chat was filled with laughter.

Is this the laning skill level of a champion mid laner? He's no different from Ghost, to me!

Playing Viktor, I got sent back to base at level 3. What's the point of playing like that?

Ming Jing was still almost at full health. He didn't even bother to return to base and continued to fight two lives at once. Taking advantage of the momentum of the push, he pushed the mid lane minions into the tower and then turned to the top river to help Jie Jie's Udyr secure the river crab.

Normally, Udyr would have a hard time competing with a stat-boosting monster like Volibear for the Rift Scuttler. Now that JieJie has managed to take the Rift Scuttler, it can be considered that he has benefited from Mingjing's favor.

Ming Jing returned to the mid lane, just as the minion wave pushed back.

Ming Jing was fighting two lives against one. His health was still manageable, but his remaining mana was insufficient for him to forcefully push the lane. Therefore, Ming Jing flexibly changed his strategy and chose to let the minion wave pass first.

He specifically calculated the timing, so that when the minion wave pushed over, it would be time for the bottom laner to push into the tower and recall to replenish supplies.

At that time, Mingjing only needs to block the minion wave in front of the tower, and he should get a good opportunity to make a move.

JieJie isn't an ungrateful person. He benefited from the mid-lane advantage, so naturally he has to give back.

After clearing the river crab, JieJie went to the top lane to help protect it.

The enemy top and jungle duo of Sett and Volibear is pretty freakish. If you don't keep an eye on Flandre, a mere Gragas, you can easily get ganked.

Sure enough, Xiao Tian's bear arrived right on time, exchanged a glance with Jie Jie, and then slunk away.

After helping to defend against the tower dive, JieJie immediately headed straight for the mid lane.

At that moment, the mid-lane minion wave had just pushed to Mingjing's tower. Mingjing was prepared and, at the cost of a small amount of health, blocked the minion wave in front of the tower.

This minion wave position put Doinb in a dilemma.

If they don't push this wave forward, he'll suffer a huge loss in the mid lane. Without Teleport, this lane matchup is truly unwinnable.

But what if you try to push the lane head-on? You'll definitely die!

Doinb knew that Udyr was definitely squatting nearby.

There was no other way for Doinb to call for reinforcements.

Fortunately, Xiaotian hadn't gone home yet. At Doinb's call, Xiaotian showed up in the mid lane and helped the mid laner push the minion wave inward.

But just then, a message came from McCree.

"The enemy Luo is not online."

This news immediately alerted Xiao Tian. He knew there was definitely something wrong with this, so he turned around and ran away.

But by then, it was clearly too late to run away.

JieJie's Udyr charged out from the upper river in bear form.

At the same time, Luo also appeared online, closely following behind the fox!

Three kills in one go, two kills in one go, it just happened!
"Who to kill?" Jie Jie was still communicating via voice chat while sprinting.

Ming Jing's thoughts raced like lightning, and he immediately said, "First, bait out the mid laner's Flash, then kill the jungler!"

Jie Jie immediately understood. Udyr flashed with golden light and appeared in the bear's retreat path, but his first target was not the bear. The bear's paw was about to slap Viktor's face.

Doinb gritted his teeth and had no choice but to use Flash to create distance.

He can definitely escape, but Xiao Tian will suffer.

Xiaotian's bear was positioned quite deep because he was pushing the lane ahead. By the time Jiejie appeared from behind, he was already dead.

Even if he used Flash, he would only be able to move from in front of Udyr to behind him. Flashing into the river would leave him isolated and helpless, and he would be doomed!
Jie Jie quickly turned around and slapped the bear unconscious.

Mingjing's Ahri followed up with an E, and Meiko's Rakan used an E to get to Mingjing's side, followed by a W to continue the control chain!

However, the bear was indeed tough and resilient. Relying on the shield from his E skill, he withstood the entire combo of crowd control from the three opponents and still ended up with a third of his health remaining.

But running away is definitely out of the question, because the three EDG players have already surrounded Volibear.

After crippling the bear, Meiko shouted in the voice chat, "Give me your head, give me your head, give me Mingjing!"

The training matches of the past few days have made Meiko realize who the real boss is.

Mingkai's little brother is ridiculously strong.

No matter the circumstances, giving him the kill is always the right thing to do.

Ming Jing didn't hold back either. The "Scraping Queen" chased after the bear and landed two basic attacks, managing to secure the kill with difficulty.

"First blood!"

"Awesome!" The JDG players watching the game cheered in unison.

"That was a really good kill!" Toothpaste clapped repeatedly. "Ming Jing's move was crucial!"

This statement prompted many viewers in the live stream to type out question marks.

What's the key?

Wasn't this crucial moment for Meiko's roaming?

[So you're just going to lick it up, huh?]

I didn't expect that they could even gank mid lane like that.

[Are you guys trying to be filial kids here? Always spouting a few words of filial piety all the time.]

But to everyone's surprise, Toothpaste looked at the comments and frowned, saying, "Do you guys even understand anything? This wave was definitely Ming Jingbing's excellent lane control. Meiko could have easily done this gank in the mid lane with his hands."

Kanavi, who had recently joined the voice channel, nodded in agreement: "Ming Jing's minion wave control was indeed excellent."

This move may seem like a stroke of genius from Meiko, but in reality, such roaming opportunities are not difficult to seize when facing a top-tier team's support.

After all, the mid lane matchup was played so perfectly, not only forcing the opponent to use Teleport, but also controlling the minion wave in front of the tower.

In this situation, the opposing jungler will most likely come to the mid lane to clear the wave.

As a support player who has just returned to base, it would be unreasonable for you not to go check on the mid lane.

After all, they had just returned to the city, so moving towards the middle lane wouldn't be difficult.

Even if it were Green Hair, he would definitely be able to make this roaming play.

Ultimately, it was Mingjing who played better in lane.

With the first blood earning him 400 gold coins, Ming Jing nodded in satisfaction.

This is the rhythm he wants.

After switching to the mid lane, he can easily extend his advantage to his teammates, who can also easily come to support him, something that the AD carry cannot do.

"Should we push the mid lane minion wave?" Jiejie asked at this moment.

From the perspective of a team-oriented mid-laner, pushing the minion wave into the tower after killing the jungler is obviously the safest approach, because Mingjing can save a TP, which will make subsequent coordination easier.

But Mingjing is not a team-oriented mid-laner.

Defeating the opponent is always his top priority.

"No need, no need!" Ming Jing immediately shook his head: "Just block the minion wave here, I'll crush him."

Hearing Ming Jing's words, his teammates couldn't help but be taken aback.

That's outrageous.
As they were talking, Mingjing pressed the recall button on the spot and then immediately teleported back online.

This wave of card blocking will cost you a TP, but the benefits are also obvious.

A fox who's back online with full health and mana, carrying the lost chapters, is not someone a crippled Viktor can easily fool.

If Doinb wants to last-hit minions, he has to use his E skill from a distance, but since the E skill is an AOE skill, it will inevitably affect other minions.

On the other side, Mingjing strictly controlled the number of minions, only finishing them off.

It's predictable that this wave of minions will be stuck in front of the tower for a long time.

Doinb is finding it increasingly difficult to lane.

Meanwhile, in the FPX voice chat channel.

Doinb's face had stiffened.

Just a few minutes ago, he never expected the laning phase to end like this.

Xiao Tian's face was even more gloomy. The resurrected bear weakly patted the monster, its movements revealing a trace of confusion.

After giving up first blood, he doesn't know what to do next.

Should I go back to the mid lane to clear the wave? Won't I die again?
"It's okay, it's okay, take it slow, brothers." Doinb took a deep breath and then said, "This wave is mine. Let's take it slow, there's still a chance."

It's just a single first blood; it doesn't really have a big impact on the overall situation.

Doinb was just worried that Xiaotian might have a mental breakdown, so he quickly tried to ease the tension.

"Yeah, yeah, take it slow, guys~" At this moment, Khan in the top lane was still trying to calm himself down. His Chinese was quite good: "Xiaotian, come try the top lane. There's a chance to tower dive in the top lane!"

It has to be said that with Doinb and Khan on the team, the atmosphere is definitely not bad. The two of them are really good at creating entertaining content.

Even Xiaotian's mentality calmed down a lot. After saying "hmm", the bear farmed all the way to the top lane.

On the top lane, Khan definitely has a significant advantage in the laning phase.

After all, Sett's stats are what they are; he can take down anyone with two punches. In the late game, he can easily kill an AD carry with one punch, and taking down a weak Gragas is a piece of cake.

For Xiaotian, a jungler, the top half of the map does offer more room for maneuver.

However, Jie Jie also kept the team's tactics in mind. In the early game, the focus should be on defense. Therefore, he didn't even rush to control the dragon in the lower half of the map. Instead, he counter-ganked in the top lane and successfully intercepted Xiao Tian!

Udyr and the bear exchanged blows for a round, neither able to gain the upper hand. Xiaotian had no choice but to turn and leave.

"Okay." Wang Duoduo nodded in the commentary booth, then said, "JieJie's rhythm was really good this game; he practically followed Xiaotian the whole time!" "Yes!" GuGu nodded in agreement, "With JieJie watching him, it'll be hard for Xiaotian to perform well this game!"

Xiaotian has been playing like this so far, making one push to the top, then clearing the mid lane, and then making another push.

But in all three waves, Jie Jie was present, not only thwarting all of Xiao Tian's actions, but even turning the tables and killing the opponent once!
To put it bluntly, this pace is absolutely superior.

Just as the comments section was flooded with opinions on both junglers, the camera suddenly switched.

Cut straight to the middle lane!

The mid lane minions were still stuck in front of EDG's mid tower, but at this moment, the level 5 Ahri had abandoned the low-health melee minions in the distance and directly crossed the lane to charge towards Viktor!
Upon seeing this, Wang Duoduo immediately understood the director's camera language and shouted, "There seems to be something going on in the middle lane!"

On the player's bench, Doinb looked at the fox rushing straight at him and the low-health minions in the distance, and he immediately understood the fox's intentions.

The fox is only missing the experience from that low-health melee unit to reach level six. If he waits until the opponent reaches level six, he will surely die!

He decisively placed a W in front of the fox, then turned and ran!
Ahri currently lacks a dash ability, so if you try to chase her down, you'll inevitably be stunned by her W.

On the other side, Ming Jing looked at the W and pressed it without hesitation. He then decisively flashed forward and, while leaving Viktor's W range, hit Viktor with a basic attack!

The basic attack guides the foxfire towards Viktor, dealing minimal damage.

Mingjing then pressed S to stop the car in place.

Because after he used Flash, he was now on the edge of the minion experience zone. If he took another step forward, he would not be able to level up to level six.

Just then, the soldier was killed in the ensuing battle, and a dazzling light of upgrade emanated from the fox's body.

Mingjing instantly invested all his skill points into his ultimate skill, and then used his ultimate skill to rush directly into Viktor's face!

Doinb was under immense pressure at that moment, and he immediately started swaying back and forth, even trying to avoid the fox's kiss.

But Mingjing was incredibly steady; he held onto QE and chased Viktor A!

For a hero like Ahri who relies on basic attacks for damage, basic attacks are the primary source of damage before acquiring Mythic items.

He chased Viktor for a couple of hits, and only after Viktor had created some distance did he use R2 to get back to Viktor's face. He then used A followed by a close-range E to hit Viktor, and then followed up with a full QA combo.

[Deception Orb] Hit Viktor repeatedly, and with continuous basic attacks, bring him down to low health!

Doinb didn't dare to look back. He threw a Q at Ahri, then turned and rushed into the turret.

But Mingjing didn't give him a chance. He looked at the white shield on Viktor's body and didn't even bother to use a basic attack. He just followed Viktor.

Once the white shield on the opponent disappeared, his W cooldown was also over. He immediately used R3 to rush into the tower, followed by an AW, which emptied Viktor's health bar!
"EDG Phi has killed FPX Doinb!"

The news of the kill echoed throughout the empty stadium, but it still caused a surge of comments in the live stream chat!
"Brilliant!"

In the EDG voice chat, several teammates immediately praised him.

To be honest, in recent scrims, solo kills in the mid lane have been happening quite often, and they've gotten used to it.

Sometimes, when they get too many solo kills in the mid lane, they start to wonder if their memory is playing wrong, and if this isn't a scrim but a ranked game.

"Holy crap, awesome!"

The JDG guys were so excited that they clenched their fists in celebration.

"Good to kill!"

"Yes, yes! I knew you could do it, bro!"

There's really nothing to say about this; it was a complete solo kill.

At this moment, the screen was filled with "6"s in the comments.

“I knew it,” Zoom laughed. “Doinb’s win against us doesn’t count as a win. He can’t beat Mingjing either, so his win against us has no real value.”

The viewers in the live stream laughed when they heard this.

Can this be said directly?

Toothpaste was also watching the comments: "Who's stronger, me or Mingjing?"

"Bro, isn't that obvious? Mingjing is definitely better than me. You can tell from his playstyle, right? Mingjing doesn't even consider his opponent a human being."

As a seasoned veteran who has spent many years in the mid lane, Toothpaste knows all too well what those genius mid laners should look like.

Truly talented and skilled mid-laners have a different playstyle than others.

What about mid-jungle synergy? What about 4v2? Those are secondary. Against top mid laners, their primary goal is always to dominate the lane!
Why would Mingjing rather give up TP (Transformation Points) to control the lane? This is the reason.

But why is this style of play said to rely heavily on talent and skill? Simply because it's a very confident style of play.

Confidence doesn't arise out of thin air; it needs to be reinforced with victories.

When your skills are no longer sharp, you start to experience the taste of defeat, and your former confidence gradually dissipates, that's when you should start to change your playstyle and transition into a team-oriented mid-laner.

The most prominent example is Faker in the early stages of his career. He simply relied on his skills and talent to overpower his opponents!

Back then, SKT's jungler Bengi only needed to do one thing: make Faker in the mid lane feel comfortable, and they would win the game.

However, as he grew older and felt his laning ability was gradually declining, Faker's playstyle began to change drastically after the crushing defeat in the S7 finals. He gradually shifted towards team play and his screen switching speed became faster and faster.

The same goes for Scout.

Coming from SKT in S5, his playstyle is exactly the same as Faker's in S5. In the two years of his debut in S7 and S8, his laning dominance was top-notch. He basically beat all the mid laners in the LPL. Even when he encountered players like Rookie, they could go head-to-head and he was not at a disadvantage.

However, in the last two years, Scout has lost the youth and sharpness he had when he first debuted, and his skills have gradually dulled. This is the fundamental reason why EDG failed to make the playoffs last year.

Now, in Season 11, Scout realized that his skills were no longer as sharp as they were in his youth, and he made the same change as Faker, gradually shifting towards a team-oriented approach. As a result, his form gradually improved, and he returned to the position of mid laner in the first team.

In terms of playstyle transition, Scout and Faker are very similar. However, Scout's talent is not as good as Faker's, so he was unable to make a name for himself in the early stages through his skills, and his playstyle transition came earlier.

And now, Ming Jing has returned.

No one stays young forever, but there will always be young people.

With greater talent, a younger physique, and the absolute confidence of an FMVP, Ming Jing arrived in the mid-lane.

At the same time, EDG's backend.

Scout sat by the water cooler, watching the game unfold before him, a hint of melancholy in his eyes, a thousand thoughts flashing through his mind.

Watching Mingjing's solo kill, Scout was reminded of his younger self.

He actually understood better than anyone else that, in terms of skill, he was far inferior to Ming Jing, even at his peak.

However, this does not mean that he will definitely lose.

Scout stared at the screen, clenching his fists.

His years of gaming experience in the mid-lane are his greatest asset.

Sooner or later, he will definitely take back his starting mid lane position!
Mingkai glanced at Scout from the side.

The factory manager didn't really have much to say about this younger brother he had personally mentored.

The bond between the two had already largely dissipated when Scout decided to pull the team aside.

Now that he's relegated to the bench, he can only say that he brought it on himself.

Mingjing is still the least troublesome.

Watching the fox push the lane into the tower in the video, my cousin nodded in satisfaction.

He knew he had won this round.

It's important to know that EDG actually started this game on defense.

JieJie stayed behind XiaoTian to counter-gank, hoping to play more steadily in the early game and start ganking with the jungler and support after Luo reached level 6.

Before Luo even reached level six, the mid lane was already 2-0.

Need I say more?

Once Rakan reaches level six, EDG's original rhythm will be established, and they can kill whoever they want.
As expected, the subsequent events unfolded as predicted.

After returning to town, the fox didn't buy shoes; instead, he immediately bought the Bursting Wand and the Killing Ring.

First, max out your ability power stat so that Ahri can one-shot ranged minions with her Q, thus drastically improving your wave clear efficiency.

On the other hand, Doinb was in a relatively awkward position, recalling to base every three minutes and then again every six minutes.

Every time I return to base, I don't have much money. I bought a Tear of the Goddess once and boots once. I don't have any ability power attributes, and I don't have enough shards to evolve my E skill. In terms of wave clear efficiency, I can't compare to Ahri at all!

Ming Jing quickly dealt with the central route, then turned around and disappeared into the thick darkness.

FPX immediately felt a sense of impending doom, with everyone on both the top and bottom lanes retreating to their towers in fear of becoming the next target for Ahri's killing spree.

Doinb, however, did the opposite; he was on the third level.

Seeing that the fox had left the mid lane, he decisively used his E to push the lane, and even used his ultimate to quickly clear the subsequent siege minion wave, all to push the minion wave as close to the tower as possible.

Doinb, known for his roaming mid-lane style, certainly knows how to counter it.

Even if Ahri gets a kill on the side lane when this wave of minions pushes into the tower, she won't gain any gold advantage!

If Ahri goes to the bottom lane, they can even go to the top river to take the Rift Herald that just spawned. They would actually come out ahead in this wave!

But in fact, Mingjing is at the first level.

He never left.

At this moment, EDG's mid, jungle, and support were crouching in the nearby bushes, watching Viktor pushing the lane in the mid lane, already preparing to make their move.

"So, are you going to do it or not?"

"No, no, no, let's see if he pushes the tower or not. Maybe we can save a Flash."

"He's too scared to push? Then I'll just go for it!"

"Come on, come on, follow me!"

After a few words, Meiko's Rakan activated his ultimate ability to accelerate and dashed out of the bushes!

Doinb had no intention of taking the turret plating; he wanted to push the lane and quickly return to base to upgrade his Hextech Core so that he wouldn't fall behind in pushing lanes against Ahri.

But the next moment, Luo burst into his field of vision, instantly giving him goosebumps.

Damn, three people are camping in the middle lane?
At this point, it was too late for Doinb to run away.

He used Flash at four minutes, and now it's only eight and a half minutes, so his Flash still has 30 seconds of cooldown left, which is of course within Mingjing's calculations.

Rakan flashes and uses his W to charm Viktor and launch him into the air!

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Udyr charged forward with his speed boost, slapped Viktor unconscious, gave him a final kiss, and then used QW to trigger Electrocution, sending Viktor off in a blissful manner!

"—Killing Spree"

In just eight and a half minutes, Mingjing took a 3-0 lead, dominating the game!

(End of this chapter)