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

Chapter 152: Have some FPX players gone mad?
"Two to zero! Congratulations to EDG! They're just one game away from advancing to the finals!"

Gu Gu's tone was full of surprise, "I have to say, the EDG team is in excellent form! They played with a smooth offensive rhythm in both games!"

Wang Duoduo exclaimed in amazement, "Before the match, we all thought it would be a top-level clash between Mars and Earth! But we never expected that the final outcome would be so unexpected!"

Wang Duoduo was practically ready to criticize FPX for playing poorly, which was quite risky, considering that the FPX players have a considerable fan base.

He quickly realized he had said something inappropriate, and then laughed it off, saying, "I can only say that Xiaofei's arrival has given the EDG team a whole new lease on life!"

"Yes," GuGu quickly chimed in, "Brother Xiaofei certainly lived up to the fans' expectations; his performance today was flawless!"

The two spared no effort in praising Mingjing, and what they said was indeed the truth.

Ming Jing is under a lot of pressure in this match.

After all, what EDG did was not ethical.

Scout played for most of the Spring Split, not only securing a spot as a mid-laner but also leading the team all the way to the upper bracket finals. He should have a lot of health, so why did he fall to the kill threshold after just one BO5 loss?
Of course, many people would say that Scout was a substitute mid laner, and he wasn't killed, but rather returned to his rightful place.

But then another question arises: just how strong is Phi that he can bench a first-team mid laner?

Therefore, this match was watched by countless people with magnifying glasses.

Even a slightly subpar performance in any match could trigger a major controversy!

If their performance is really not good enough, then who might be the last substitute!

But after two matches, let alone using a magnifying glass.

Even Leeuwenhoek couldn't find fault with it!

The comments section was also quite excited at this moment.

[It was that angst-filled one!]

After this match, the junior student is basically stuck on the bench.

[Hehe, why shouldn't a mid laner be benched? If you're not good enough, you're not good enough.]

[Is she imitating her mother? We need to save her quickly!]

[And I heard that the junior player managed to get himself a substitute position by maneuvering during the transfer window, I wonder if that's true]

[That's impossible. EDG has nurtured their junior teammate for so many years, how could he possibly play games with them? That would be ungrateful!]

Who knows?

Looking at the 2-0 scoreline, Song Xuan felt much more at ease. She put her slippers back on and stood up.

It was only then that she realized the room was completely dark and that a slight feeling of hunger was beginning to creep in.

Normally, no one should be home. After all, Song Xuan decided to go home to watch the game at the last minute, so the aunt who is in charge of cooking didn't come today, and she had to go and get something to eat.

Song Xuan took one last look at the live stream, then got up and left the room.

"."

The camera then panned to the EDG players' bench, where all five starters had stood up, and several teammates were surrounding Mingjing, giving him a thumbs up.

"Holy crap, Mingjing!" Meiko couldn't hold back anymore. "Are they really going to give the enemy the upper hand? They killed them way too fast!"

Ming Jing went absolutely crazy in these two games, playing like a god without dying once, and even stacking 50 stacks of Mejai's Soulstealer!
It's one thing to get a godlike streak in the first game, after all, that's just how Ahri is – hard to die in team fights and easy to rack up kills. Like Lux, she's a hero with a built-in 20-stack Mejai's Soulstealer. Plus, the team had good rhythm, so getting a godlike streak was within Meiko's understanding.

But this second game is something even Meiko can't understand.

Despite his teammates' poor performance, he managed to turn the tide by securing two solo kills under the tower, and then used his personal advantage to lead a team fight to the dragon!

Akali got ten kills in this game, most of them were solo kills, which is the best interpretation of individual heroism.

With teammates like this anchoring the mid lane, Meiko felt very secure.

Wow, so this is what it's like to be teammates with peak Faker?
Is this how JD.com employees were just lying around last year? I could do that too!

He truly deserves to be the teammate he's been waiting for for over half a year!
"It'll do alright." Ming Jing chuckled twice. "Let's go back first, we haven't won the BO5 yet."

"Let's go, let's go!" Jie Jie was all smiles as he put his arm around Ming Jing's shoulder and they returned to the lounge together.

Born in 01, Jie Jie and Ming Jing, born in 04, are the closest in age. In addition, they are partners in the middle and the middle, so their relationship is naturally closer.

Back in the lounge, the manager, coach, and others all had similar reactions—they all praised Ming Jing highly, which made Ming Jing a little embarrassed.

But the praise didn't last long, and soon everyone started discussing the draft picks for the next game.

The side selection rules in the LPL playoffs are different from those in the World Championship. The allocation of the five side selection rights is determined before the start of the match, with EDG, which has the highest ranking, having the right to select sides in games one, three, and five.

Now that the match has reached the third game, the right to choose sides has returned to them.

Maokai said, "Should we choose blue? I feel like the red side has an easier time? We can guarantee a lane advantage in the mid lane."

The blue side's draft picks are certainly easier to execute, but the problem is that picking blue will give Doinb some breathing room.

After experiencing the mid-lane gap in two games, FPX clearly understood what was going on. If given the chance, they would definitely give Doinb the final counter pick.

Mingjing's smooth performance in the first two games was partly due to the fact that he picked the heroes second in both games, giving him an inherent advantage in the laning phase.

If we pick the top lane first in the next game, it might bring about some unexpected changes.

"It doesn't matter," Ming Jing said at this moment. "You can choose red or blue. If we pick first, I can also take Viktor. It's up to you guys."

Mingjing has certainly practiced Viktor, a hero in this patch. In fact, it's one of the heroes he's quite proficient with.

"Hmm," Maokai thought for a moment after hearing this, and then said, "Let's choose red. Since we can win, there's no need to change our minds. Let's play it safe. But if we choose red, Xuanjun's side might have to bear more pressure."

"It's alright," Flandre said calmly. "As long as we win."

"In that case, there's nothing to talk about regarding the draft." Maokai chuckled from the side. "I'm glad you guys put up such a good performance. Keep it up!"

"Go! Go!" Abu also gave a thumbs up from the front. "Let's try to win this third game directly. We're very close to the finals!"

"Go go go~" Viper followed suit and repeated Abu's words.

It must be said that Viper, as a Korean player, has a very good professional attitude. He has only been with EDG for a few months, but his Chinese is already good enough for daily communication.

At this moment, the MVP of the game is being announced on the TV in the lounge.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it can only be Ming Jing.

From the moment Akali secured two tower dives and solo kills in the mid lane, Mingjing had already secured the MVP award.

"10-0-4, 34.4% damage share, 6 solo kills in a single game! That's really exaggerated." Even Toothpaste couldn't help but grin. "I have no idea what he's trying to do."

“Is that even a question?” Zoom laughed. “He just wanted to prove that he deserved his starting position. I bet he played really hard today.”

Everyone present at JDG knew that Mingjing truly could become stronger the more focused he was.

If it were just a regular playoffs, Ming Jing probably wouldn't be this focused.

However, this is Ming Jing's battle to prove himself. He won't say it will be as intense as last year's final, but it probably won't be much different. After all, he has to rely on an excellent performance to suppress public opinion.

"Doinb's in luck," Green Hair said leisurely from the side. "I almost fainted when I saw him come off the stage!"

Dizziness is normal; it's not just Doinb who's dizzy, everyone on FPX is dizzy.

In this loser's bracket environment, where losing means elimination, they fell into a 0-2 deficit and were thoroughly defeated in both matches.

It's hard not to feel dizzy.

This environment even made the FPX players feel desperate.

After being beaten like this, is there really any possibility of a comeback from a 0-2 deficit to win 3-2?

Ahead, Coach Steak looked up at the scene before him, but showed no intention of speaking.

He only joined FPX this year, and his prestige within the team is not high; he is even less respected than mid-laner Doinb.

If it were former coach Warhorse, perhaps he would have come out and talked to the players in this situation to adjust their mentality and emotions.

But his steak doesn't need to do those things.

His job was just to do business proposals; in such a slump, it was obviously not his place to speak.

Ultimately, it's up to the contestants themselves to decide.

If the players can't adjust themselves, then the team's overall atmosphere will inevitably collapse.

"Clap clap clap!"

At that moment, a clear voice rang out from the FPX lounge.

Everyone turned around following the sound and saw that Doinb had slapped his face three times forcefully, leaving clear red marks.

"The first two games, brothers." This was Doinb's umpteenth apology today, but this time, accompanied by the clear sound of a slap, it was particularly convincing.

"You all played very well today. I was just too bad and couldn't beat them. It's my fault, and I'm sorry to you all."

"Alright, alright, that's enough." A voice rang out from the side, interrupting Doinb's attempt to take the blame.

The spokesperson, Liu Qingsong, the team's support player, spoke in a rather cold tone: "At a time like this, what's the use of assigning blame? You're acting like you've never lost before. Hurry up and discuss how to win the next game."

“Exactly.” Lin Weixiang chimed in, “It’s only 0-2, we still have one life left.”

The FPX players are all veterans who have been around for many years.

Apart from reaching the pinnacle in S9, the results in the other years were not ideal, so everyone could accept the defeat.

At the very least, compared to last year, this year's guaranteed third-place finish is already an improvement. With proper adjustments in the Summer Split, there's still a chance for a comeback!

"That's right! Just one more game!" Khan chimed in, hooking his arm around Xiaotian's shoulder and swaying as he said, "Cheer up, Xiaotian! We have to win at least one game!"

Xiao Tian felt a little numb from Khan's shaking, but he still managed a forced smile and nodded.

At this point, the team manager, Sister Bi, finally spoke up, "Anyway, let's put the outcome aside for now. Even if we lose today, we'll find a way to come back in the summer split! Don't feel pressured, just play casually and do whatever you want!"

The FPX rest room, which had been eerily quiet, finally came alive again. With their turn to play fast approaching, everyone started quickly discussing their strategies for the next match.

"So, should we pick this mid laner next game?"

"Let's do this! We really have to go after him. I feel like this guy is getting really arrogant!"

"OK, OK, we really can't let him get a godlike streak this game, or I'll lose face!"

FPX's strategy for the next game is very simple: they can lose the game, but Mingjing must die!

They can't accept being repeatedly crushed by Ming Jing and becoming a godlike player three times in a row!

"."

The break time passed quickly, and Ming Jing stepped onto the stage, glancing at FPX as he went.

What I saw were the grim faces of the five men on the other side.

If you didn't know better, you'd think the other side was leading 2-0.

Ming Jing was a bit confused. After putting on his headphones, he asked his teammates, "What's going on with the other side? Their expressions don't look right."

"Who knows?" Meiko replied casually. "Trying to come back from a 0-2 deficit to win 3-2?"

"How could that be?" Ming Jing didn't take it seriously.

It's not that he's arrogant, but rather that he has thoroughly understood his opponent's level.

The opposing team is indeed quite strong, and they did a great job in terms of teamwork. No wonder they were the team that won the championship by teamwork in the past.

But apart from that, there are hardly any advantages.

In terms of individual player ability, EDG is clearly superior. As the saying goes, strength can overcome skill, and their superior skill is enough to overwhelm everything.

FPX might be able to force a win with their excellent teamwork, but a comeback from 0-2 down to 3-2 is impossible.

You're so far behind and you still think about making a comeback? Do you think you're the protagonist of a novel?

Meanwhile, Flandre chuckled and said, "Is it possible that they want to take you down?"

Ming Jing pondered for a moment and inexplicably felt that Saint Gun Bro might have given the correct answer.

that's the truth.

The third game's draft phase began quickly. Since EDG chose the red side, there weren't many changes in the draft between the two sides; they both prioritized picking two junglers.

The key difference is that Maokai banned Ziggs this time. This defensive champion did cause EDG a lot of trouble in the last game.

After FPX banned Ziggs, they simply picked Tristana and then chose Galio as their mid laner.

In response to Galio's pick, Mingjing decisively returned to long-range AD champions, locking in Lucian as a counter-pick, determined to stick with the laning phase.

The lineups for both sides are now finalized.

Blue side FPX: Top lane Jayce, Jungle Udyr, Mid lane Galio, Bot lane Tristana and Galio.

Red side EDG: Top lane Kennen, Jungle Hecarim, Mid lane Lucian, Bot lane Kai'Sa and Leona.

In the initial laning phase, Mingjing definitely had no problems.

After all, Mingjing had an extra 50 yards of range in the first two games, and he was able to make Doinb's blood pressure spike. This game was even more of a long-range vs. short-range match.

Mingjing kept his E skill in reserve, using his long range advantage to frequently steal points. With his perfect control of distance and position, Doinb even had difficulty last-hitting minions, let alone taking lanes.

This made it quite difficult for Doinb to play.

He is very good at using short arms to fight long arms.

His signature technique is to trade health for the opponent's mana. Once the opponent's mana is depleted, he uses Galio's wave-pushing ability to control the lane and then initiate roaming.

But Mingjing played too cleverly, precisely controlling his mana and mainly using basic attacks to steal points.

Doinb would inevitably get shot every time he tried to last-hit a minion, leaving him covered in bullets, while Mingjing's mana remained plentiful, and he always kept his E ability ready, which clearly rendered Doinb's skills useless!
Doinb, who had anticipated this, was not flustered, because he knew his teammates would arrive soon.

In just three minutes, before Xiaotian's Udyr had even finished clearing six jungle camps, he launched a surprise attack on the mid lane!
This kind of ganking is quite abnormal. After all, Udyr's strength lies in his fast jungle clearing speed. No matter what, you have to clear six jungle camps and reach level four before making a move to ensure your own development.

There's no real logic to hitting a variation of a three-beat tempo like this.

Fortunately, Flandre's casual remark had given Mingjing a heads-up, allowing him to prepare in advance. His seemingly aggressive positioning was actually quite safe. Lucian used his E to slide backward, escaping the pursuit of Udyr and Galio.

But before Mingjing could catch his breath, five minutes into the game, another incident occurred in the mid lane.

This time, the jungler and support are coming together!

Xiaotian's Udyr charged out from the upper river just like last time, and Mingjing also used his E to create distance, just like last time.

But just as he cast his E, Liu Qingsong's Luo followed closely behind, using an EW teleportation to Ming Jing's feet.

Mingjing tried to dodge, but Lucian's movement speed was a bit slow, and he didn't have boots, so he was slightly behind in movement speed. After realizing that he couldn't get out of the way, he used Flash and escaped again.

"Oh my, did you manage to get the kill like that?" Wang Duoduo asked, somewhat surprised. "Then Xiaofei is having a tough time. It'll be harder for him to finish off enemies now."

After all, mid-lane Lucian can't take Cleanse. If a Lucian without Flash dares to push the lane, Udyr only needs to activate Ghost and forcefully charge in to slap him, and Galio can follow up with a combo of crowd control, and he'll be dead for sure!

This forced Mingjing to play it safe and focus on finishing off enemies for the next few minutes.

"The other side has lane priority," Mingjing warned. "Watch out for Galio's roaming."

"OK, OK." The teammates around him nodded in agreement.

But to everyone's surprise, after gaining lane control, Doinb showed no intention of roaming.

FPX's ganking of mid lane has not only not stopped, but has intensified!
Seven minutes in, Galio pushed the lane into the tower and charged straight into the tower!

This scene left Ming Jing speechless.

No, you're coming again?

As expected, Udyr and Rakan appeared from the left and right sides of EDG's top and bottom jungles, and then launched a surprise attack on the mid lane!

Three ganks in the mid lane in seven minutes!

Even Toothpaste couldn't help but yell at this, "Are the FPX players crazy? Gathering mid like this, don't they plan to win?"

It's important to understand that FPX's recent ganks on mid lane have come at a significant cost: the top laner was caught out and lost Flash, the bottom laner lost minions and turret plating, and the jungler also lost jungle monsters.

But all he got in return was Lucian's Flash, which was an absolute rip-off!
But now they not only don't change, they've become even more outrageous!
Do you really hate them that much?

So you'd rather lose than not kill Mingjing even once?

At this moment, Song Xuan had already sat back down at the table, munching on a banana to stave off hunger while looking at the scene before him, his brows furrowed slightly.

A Lucian without Flash was surrounded by three people, which seemed like a dead end no matter what!

But Ming Jing didn't think so. A storm was raging in his mind as he deduced a glimmer of hope in the cracks.

Ming Jing immediately had an idea. He knew that Udyr and Galio's side were both dead ends, and the only way to survive was to break through from Lo's side.

You have to understand, this is no longer the beginning, when he was wearing straw sandals.

Mingjing threw a W [Fervor Blast] at a minion, then fired both guns at it. Using the effect of W, he gained a 60-point movement speed bonus and then quickly rushed towards Rakan's direction!

But at that very moment, FPX also made a decisive move!
Doinb knew that Rakan alone couldn't stop Lucian, so he decisively used Flash followed by E to charge at Lucian!
Ming Jing reacted quickly, and Lucian used his speed boost to move laterally and dodge the punch. But then he saw Galio spread his wings and start charging up his W [Duran's Shield]!
Galio's W has an extremely short control duration, which is far from enough for teammates to follow up with control, so Doinb needs to charge it up for a longer time.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ming Jing reacted quickly, using his E skill to slide out and escape the range of Durand's shield.

But just as E made his move, Liu Qingsong's Luo seized the opportunity and used W [Grand Entrance] to lift him up!
Lucian now has no Flash or E, so he has no way to move.

If this W hits, Lucian is doomed!

Ming Jing's attention was focused to the extreme at this moment. He saw Luo's movement clearly and judged the shortest route to dodge the skill almost instantly.

Lucian immediately turned and moved, reacting quickly and in the right direction. He walked out just before Rakan raised his hand!

It's that classic positioning and dodging move.

Luo's [Grand Entrance] might be a very threatening first-strike skill for others, but for Ming Jing, as long as his actions are not restricted, it is not a problem!

Upon seeing this, the expressions of the FPX members changed.

No, are you serious?
"Hey, he dodged it!" Wang Duoduo's voice was full of surprise. "He dodged Rakan's W with his movement! It looks like we have a chance!"

After dodging this crucial control, Mingjing decisively changed direction and ran straight towards the second tower!

At this moment, Xiaotian's Udyr went berserk, activating Sprint and Bear Form, and charged forward, knocking Mingjing unconscious with a bear paw.

But this shot was meaningless.

Given that Ming Jing has already dodged a whole host of control skills, even if his attack hits, his teammates won't be able to follow up with control and damage.

After stunning Lucian, the Phoenix form auto-attack triggered Electrocute, Galio followed up with Q and his passive, and Rakan followed up with a Q, bringing Lucian down to below half health. But Mingjing didn't look back, diving into the second tower's attack range and leaving.

FPX's three-man gank on mid ended in failure once again!
(End of this chapter)