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

Chapter 155 Prehistoric Giant Crocodile!

At this moment, the live broadcast audio was also given to the commentary booth, and Guan Zeyuan, Miller, and the other two voices switched in.

Guan Zeyuan shouted loudly: "As the champion of the winner's bracket, RNG has the priority to choose sides in the first game of the finals, and they directly chose the blue side! We can see that the first three bans for both sides have been completed!"

"On the blue side, RNG banned Akali, Tristana, and Hecarim! On the other side, on the red side, EDG banned Rakan, Leona, and Lucian!"

RNG's three bans covered three positions, which shows they were somewhat confused. It wasn't really about targeting any specific team; they simply banned the heroes that EDG used quite well in the last BO5.

They certainly wanted to limit Mingjing's champion pool, but unfortunately, Mingjing's current stats were too low, so they had no idea which champions to ban and could only pick Akali, the most carry champion, to ban.

In contrast, EDG's strategy was a bit clearer. They gave both ban slots to Shi Senming, preventing him from roaming. Only when they had enough ban slots left did they ban Lucian.

If you can solve the problem with a ban, don't make it harder for yourself.

During the champion selection phase, RNG picked Udyr, while EDG, with Hecarim already banned, locked in Lillia and Renekton.

EDG, on the red side, had a clear strategy: try to ensure their two carries are picked last, while the top and jungle can be picked first.

The competition for junglers isn't that fierce in this version, far less intense than in the S10 World Championship, so there aren't many rules when it comes to champion selection. Top lane is purely a sacrificial role; just pick Renekton to bite people.

RNG then secured Kai'Sa and Garen.

After much discussion, EDG decided to pick Alistar to counter her. Alistar's W and Q can interrupt Riel's stomp, and combined with his ultimate's crowd control immunity, he can break Riel's EW initiation, which is crucial.

After entering the second round of the draft, RNG's bans became even slower because they really didn't know what to ban.

Ultimately, they decided to ban Xayah and Aphelios, giving all the ban slots to AD carries.

Viper's champion pool is still quite good. Despite being banned three times for AD champions, he didn't panic. After a little thought, he decided to pick Ezreal.

The EZ and Alistar bot lane duo basically doesn't plan to play the laning phase; they leave everything to the top side of the map.

RNG didn't have much to say; they locked in Gnar and Galio, thus finalizing their picks.

"Alright, then the final counter pick will go to Xiaofei!" On the commentary desk, Guan Daxiao's tone was filled with anticipation: "Let's see what hero choices he will make against RNG's already formed lineup!"

Generally speaking, in cases where the Counter position appears last, the choice is usually independent of the version.

This is where you need to utilize your hero pool. You need to consider your opponent in lane, the overall team composition, and what your team is lacking to choose the most suitable hero.

"But this is a tough choice!" Miller looked at both teams' lineups and started brainstorming. "There are too many restrictions!"

Galio is the counter to all mage heroes, and when paired with Udyr, who has hard crowd control from basic attacks, he can basically kill melee heroes as well.

From this perspective, EDG's only viable option is a marksman/mid-laner.

Fortunately, EDG already has Lillia as an AP damage dealer and Ezreal as a hybrid damage dealer, so they can definitely pick an AD mid laner.

The problem is that all the long-range AD carries suitable for the mid lane, such as Lucian and Tristana, have been banned. So what heroes are left to choose?

Even Faker, who has played mid lane for nine years, might find these conditions slightly challenging.

Not to mention Ming Jing, who has just moved to the middle lane?
At this moment, Mingjing was also looking at the opponent's lineup and discussing it with Maokai.

“Varus? No way.” Ming Jing shook his head. “The enemy team engages too much, and Kai’Sa is also involved. A champion like Varus won’t survive, and he can’t build Zealots.”

"Then what other options are there?" Maokai couldn't help but frown. "There are no suitable mid-lane champions left. If we pick someone else, Galio will keep pushing the lane, right?"

Looking at the opponent's lineup, Ming Jing suddenly had an idea: "Give me the Renekton, and then let Li Xuanjun pick a Jayce or something, how about that?"

Upon hearing this, Maokai was slightly startled.

This was a line of thought he hadn't considered.
He chose this crocodile simply to withstand pressure.
However, it must be said that the mid-lane Renekton is indeed quite dominant against Galio, and this also gives the top laner an advantage.

“But,” Maokai thought for a moment, then asked, “have you ever played with an alligator?”

“No.” Ming Jing was quite honest and said directly, “But what’s so difficult about crocodiles? Isn’t it something anyone can do? Trust me.”

"..." Maokai nodded helplessly, "Then what did Xuanjun say?"

Li Xuanjun scratched his head, surprised that the choice would ultimately fall to him.

"Then let's go with Jess."

"Row."

Tell me, Jayce is on the last floor of EDG, and then he locks onto the target!

"Huh? Jayce?" This move caught the three commentators off guard. Miller scratched his head: "Using Jayce against Galio? That shouldn't be an easy matchup!"

Although Jayce is a long-range AD carry, his attack range isn't actually that long. In the early laning phase, he's practically no different from a melee champion when facing Galio.

"It looks like it's mid-lane Renekton!" Guan Daxiao spotted the blind spot. "Jayce going top lane to fight Gnar is definitely a good matchup, and then having Renekton, a tanky champion, go mid lane to fight Galio isn't a bad move either!"

"Great!" Remember's eyes lit up. "EDG's draft is brilliant! Did they anticipate that RNG would pick Galio, so they used Renekton as a flex pick early on?"

"How could this have been predicted?" Miller was a little confused.

Cryin rarely picks Galio; he usually plays carry mid laners. Today's change was a last-minute one.

If we could actually encounter that, it would truly be a miracle.

After a brief exchange of positions, the heroes were determined.

"The crocodile is really a mid laner!"

RNG (Blue Side): Top laner Gnar, Jungler Udyr, Mid laner Galio, Bot laner Kai'Sa and Garen.

Red side EDG: Top lane Jayce, Jungle Lillia, Mid lane Renekton, Bot lane Ezreal and Alistar.

Maokai looked at his team's lineup and nodded.

It has to be said that their lineup is indeed good enough.
The crocodile Lillia's mid-jungle duo is explosive enough to completely turn the tide of the game, and Jayce's top lane matchup against Gnar is also advantageous from the early game to the late game.

Ensuring an advantage in one half of the map, and having initiation capabilities, a front line, and balanced AD/AP damage output, is already considered a very perfect draft.

"Good luck," Maokai patted Mingjing on the shoulder. "This is very important to you."

"rest assured."

While replying, Ming Jing pointed out the crocodile's talent.

Maokai could clearly see that Mingjing had selected [Explosive] in his secondary skill tree.

Maokai didn't say anything, but silently walked to the center of the stage and gave Tabe a fist bump.

It was clear that Tabe's expression was serious.

After the two stepped off the stage together, Tabe couldn't help but ask, "Was that crocodile swaying move something you planned in advance?"

EDG really likes to build Renekton first, and Tabe knows that. Now, Flandre is practically turning into Renekton.

But this is the first time someone has managed to gank the crocodile in the mid lane.

Was this something they had been on guard against all along?
"Uh..." Maokai hesitated for two seconds after hearing this, and then said, "Of course, it was planned long ago."

At this crucial final moment, as the coach, he certainly couldn't show any weakness; he had to put on a brave face.

However, he was a bit slow to react and his acting skills were mediocre, so Tabe didn't believe him at all.

Seeing Maokai's reaction, Tabe knew that the crocodile's swaying was most likely an impromptu reaction.

To make such a decision at such a crucial moment? That's incredibly bold. Was it Phi's idea?
With that in mind, Tabe quickly returned backstage and sat down in front of the screen in the lounge.

At this moment, the match has already begun, and the voice chat of RNG players can be heard sporadically in the rest room.

Although EDG's draft picks were unexpected, they did not disrupt RNG's plans.

The bond between Wei and Tiger is still in effect. Wei and Tiger discussed how to play the top and jungle roles right at the start of the game.

The main problem now is that Gnar vs. Jayce is a matchup that has absolutely no potential in the early game, and Xiaohu isn't known for his laning prowess either.

On the contrary, laning is his weakness, which is why he always needs a jungler to support him.

EDG played their cards right in this game, and they were indeed at a disadvantage in the top half of the map when they fought hard.

"Fatty, you should rush to level four first," Xiaohu said. "If I'm going to get overtaken, you should play it safe and play it safe in the early game."

“Okay.” Wei nodded.

On the other side, JieJie had a similar idea. After communicating with Flandre, he also chose to start farming in the lower half of the area.

"Then, Mingjing, could you...?" Jie Jie habitually turned her head to ask, but as soon as she turned her head, she saw that Mingjing was moving the mouse to the crocodile's passive ability, studying it carefully.

Although the combos for the hero Crocodile are simple, there's something to it about his rage mechanism, which Mingjing still needs to study.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Ming Jing turned his head and asked.

"It's nothing." Jie Jie said with a hint of helplessness, then said, "Try to take the lane in the mid lane and hold off the enemy Galio. That will make our top side easier to fight."

"walk slowly."

The director deliberately gave a shot of both junglers starting their jungle camps, to show the audience that both junglers started in the bottom half of the map, and then moved the camera to the lanes.

There's not much to say about the bottom lane matchup; neither side seems interested in laning, and both supports are already figuring out how to roam.

In the top lane, Flandre naturally gained an advantage, and a significant one at that, immediately engaging in a hard trade of blows at level one.

Gnar's attack range increases with level, making him notoriously reliant on levels and items. If Wei doesn't go to the top lane to protect him, Xiaohu will most likely die under the tower.

As for the mid lane, there wasn't much tension between the two mid laners.

After all, level 1 crocodiles and Galios don't have much combat power, and they're both melee fighters, mainly just trading blows.

As soon as the soldiers handed over their duties, Ming Jing pressed forward.

Cryin seized the opportunity, Galio's passive hit the melee minion, and the AOE effect hit the Renekton. Then he used Q to attack, intending to hit both the Renekton and the minion at the same time.

But Mingjing didn't give him a chance. Instead of retreating, he advanced directly to Galio's face, dodging the Q while simultaneously hitting Galio and six minions with an AQ combo, pushing the lane and trading blows at the same time!
This scene occurred frequently in the subsequent laning phase, with the two melee heroes going head-to-head, auto-attacking and using their Q abilities, both with AOE skills, clearing waves at lightning speed, and neither able to gain lane control.

But this is only temporary after all.

The two sides continued to exchange skills, and the gap quickly became apparent.

The main problem is that Galio didn't reply.

Doran's Ring against Doran's Blade, [Righteous Gale] against [Tyrant's Strike], Galio has zero healing, while Renekton's health is incredibly high.

Moreover, Mingjing's micro-management is clearly superior, and he can often seize the opportunity when Galio is last-hitting or using his skills to sneak in an auto-attack!

When the third wave of minions spawned, Mingjing seized the opportunity when Galio used his Q, decisively using his E to dash forward among the minions. He then used a basic attack to build up 50 rage, followed by a red-rage Q that attacked both Galio and the minions, instantly reducing Galio's health to below half! Meanwhile, on the other side, Renekton finished off the minions, restoring his health to 80%!
"Wow, this mid lane matchup is going to be tough!" Guan Daxiao couldn't help but comment from the commentary booth, "Galio does have a hard time against a heavy fighter like Renekton."

“Indeed.” Miller nodded.

Galio is good at melee combat, which is good against mid-lane assassins like Sylas and Talon.

When facing a villain like a crocodile, you'd better cower back.

What's more, the crocodile is a hero without a mana bar.

As Mingjing gradually gained the advantage in health and mana, he also gradually took control of the situation in the mid lane.

"Hey, the crocodile is really easy." Ming Jing said with a smile, continuing to farm minions to build up rage, and then using his red rage Q to push the lane, successfully pushing the cannon minion wave into the tower.

After pushing the lane, Ming Jing turned around and disappeared from the mid lane.

Mingjing is indeed a mid-laner who focuses on laning, highlighting his itchy hands and eagerness to fight. However, the problem is that there is no laning in the mid-lane in this game, so Mingjing can only try to spread the mid-lane advantage to his teammates.

While this isn't his forte, he can still manage simple rhythm-based movements.

We absolutely have to head to the top lane this time.

At this moment, on the top lane, Flandre was also slowly accumulating minions, pushing the siege minion into the tower.

Mingjing and Jiejie reunited and then rushed to the top lane, attempting to dive the tower.

However, RNG responded very well, with Wei's Udyr also positioned in the top lane.

One jungler alone couldn't stop EDG's three-man team determined to tower dive. Just as the minion wave and the three of them entered the tower together, Galio's Teleport also lit up!
Galio under the tower still holds considerable authority, especially since he also brought aftershocks.

But EDG wasn't greedy and turned around and left.

They had anticipated that RNG would go all out to protect Xiaohu during this tower dive, so their initial goal was to force Galio to use his T ability, and now that goal has been achieved.

With this TP difference, things will naturally be easier to do next.

Mingjing rushed back to the mid lane first, pushed the minion wave into the tower, and then returned to the city to replenish supplies.

On the other side, Wei was quite abnormal. Seeing that EDG was retreating and there was no jungle to farm, he didn't sit idle. He actually camped on the top lane for thirty seconds and forcibly created an opportunity.

Udyr rushed at Flandre's face and slapped him, coordinating with Xiaohu's Gnar to forcefully reduce Flandre to low health.

But that was the end of it. Flandre activated Phase Boots and ran away incredibly fast, without even using Flash.

"These two are really a bit freakish," Flandre said as he retreated to his tower to recall, unable to resist complaining in the voice chat.

Who would have thought the jungler would still be in the top lane at a time like this? Aren't they afraid of getting invaded in the bottom half of the map?

But getting caught in this wave is no big deal, since he didn't lose anything anyway, and he'll be back to full strength once the TP cap is reached.

Conversely, if the jungler is slow to recall this wave, then the next wave of jungle clearing will also be slow, and it's hard to say whether they can keep up with EDG's pace.

After TP'd back online, Flandre dealt with the tower creeps, then took control of the lane and started farming the wave as the minion wave pushed forward.

In the mid lane, Ming Jing followed the minion wave rhythm from the top lane, slowly accumulating minions in preparation for pushing the wave into the tower.

The two lanes of minions may seem unrelated, but in reality, given the coordination and execution capabilities of professional teams, a push to the top is already a foregone conclusion!

RNG noticed this information early on, and Shi Senming's Ruier in the bottom lane even recalled to the city in advance and headed straight to the top lane!

Meanwhile, Meiko's Alistar also noticed this information and headed to the top lane!
Beneath the surface calm, a storm is brewing.

Flandre quickly pushed the minion wave into the tower.

Meiko's Alistar arrived late but arrived early, coordinating with JieJie's Lillia to charge straight into the jungle.

On the other side, RNG's jungler and support were not to be outdone, also appearing behind the top tower.

In just five minutes, the junglers and supports from both sides met in the top lane, a level of synergy that can only be achieved in high-level matches.

But it still doesn't work.

In the previous gank on the top and mid lanes, EDG forced Galio to use his Teleport, setting the stage for a fatal mistake!
Meiko placed a control ward, and Renekton's Teleport skill immediately lit up!

Knowing he couldn't keep up without a T, Cryin had no choice but to abandon the minion wave and push forward, trying to interrupt Renekton's T, but he couldn't find Renekton.

But Ming Jing was prepared; he had already returned to the spring.

As the crocodile landed, the 3v3 situation under the tower instantly became unbalanced, and the four EDG players grouped up and rushed into the tower.

So you're the only one who likes the "four-protect-one" strategy, right?

So how do we explain this four-man gank against one opponent?
"I can tank the tower! Then I'll go tank the enemy jungler and support!" Meiko commanded, "You guys kill Gnar!"

The language was concise and to the point; the EDG players are all experts, so of course they could understand what Meiko meant.

Once Mingjing's crocodile got close to Gnar, Meiko decisively ignited the anti-tower.

Mingjing was prepared, and W bit into Gnar.

This single W attack seemed to have struck a nerve with RNG, as their jungler and support rushed in simultaneously.

But Alistar stood alone against Udyr, using his W to knock Ryle away and his Q to block him, taking on two opponents at once!

Meanwhile, Jayce's cannon and Lillia's hammer slammed into Gnar simultaneously, instantly reducing him to below half health!

However, Mingjing didn't have any rage points, and he only used a white rage Q, which gave Xiaohu the opportunity to flash away.

Flandre was prepared, and Jayce immediately switched to his hammer and swung it down!
Mingjing quickly charged forward, using two dashes to catch up, and unleashed a red-rage Q to secure the kill on Gnar!
"First blood!"

"First blood has been drawn!" From the commentary booth, Guan Daxiao's voice boomed, "A four-man gank from EDG! Excellent execution!"

"But Cryin's Galio is also moving up, EDG needs to leave quickly, Meiko is out of form!"

Although Meiko had Aftershock to tank the tower, he was still stunned by Udyr under the tower, forcing him to use Flash to escape. At this point, he only had 30% health left.

If Galio manages to hold them off, they will likely face certain death.

Fortunately, EDG's teammates were in good form, and the three of them escorted Meiko's Alistar to a safe retreat, perfectly ending this tower dive!
Mingjing didn't even forget to use a demolition skill, knocking off a layer of the turret plating on the top lane, which already had very little health left.

"In that case, Xiaofei will have a very comfortable time!" Colonel Guan laughed. "After getting first blood, the Crocodile will be very strong for the next period of time!"

"Xiao Fei hasn't missed any attacks, and he didn't even buy boots this game!" Miller said, observing the situation. "Once the vanguard team starts, will they just go straight for the Bloodthirsty Axe?"

Generally, the time to get Mythic items is around 12 minutes, but this can be adjusted earlier or later depending on whether you get boots and your economy.

If you get first blood, don't buy boots, and have good last-hitting ability, this time point will be greatly brought forward!
After diving the tower, Mingjing returned to the mid lane to continue farming. The crocodile, who had just recalled to base, had now built Iron Spikes, greatly enhancing his wave clear ability. He only needed to go up and use his Red Fury Q followed by Iron Spikes to clear most of the wave.

At seven and a half minutes, Mingjing pushed the mid lane into the tower, but this time he looked at his economy and didn't rush back to base. Instead, he called JieJie to stand guard, and then rushed into the tower, taking another layer of mid lane plating with the help of the Demolish.

"Is that enough?" Jie Jie's voice was still coming.

"That's enough." Ming Jing nodded in satisfaction.

After returning to the city, Mingjing sold the Doran's Sword, and had just enough gold coins to upgrade the Iron Spike Whip into the Bloodthirsty Battle Axe!

Seeing the lone Bloodthirst item in the Crocodile's equipment slot, even Guan Daxiao in the commentary booth couldn't help but gasp.

Crocodile is already a dominant hero in the Vanguard, and now with the addition of Bloodthirst, how powerful will he be?

Mingjing quickly provided the answer.

The Herald quickly respawned, and RNG, with their Gnar and Galio combination, clearly had no intention of giving up on it; they still needed the Herald to help Xiaohu snowball.

Both supports roamed to the top lane again, and Xiaohu's Gnar had perfectly controlled his rage. Gnar charged over with a red glow, and a 4v4 team fight broke out!

Ming Jing looked at the four people opposite him, his mind racing.

He was calculating the damage.

The enemy, Rui'er, has Ignite. Can he withstand it?

Of course, it is certain.

At this stage, this crocodile with this equipment, even if it is seriously injured, will not die at all!
Without much thought, Ming Jing immediately activated his ultimate skill and charged forward all by himself!
On the other side, RNG didn't hold back either. Udyr activated his bear form and slapped Mingjing unconscious.

Following closely behind were Reil's poke and stomp, and Galio's taunt and charge punch, but the two attacked almost simultaneously, resulting in a lot of overlap in the control.

In the end, Xiaohu couldn't hold back any longer. He jumped up and slapped the crocodile against the wall, then used his W to stun it, hoping to get the crocodile focused down first.

"But the Renekton with his Mythic item and ultimate active at eight minutes is too tanky! His health is almost 2,000. RNG lacks a carry, so their damage output is simply insufficient!"

While everyone else only had around 1200 HP, this crocodile with 2000 HP was ridiculously tanky. Even after eating a whole set of food, it still only had a little over 300 HP left!

Ming Jing looked at the raging flames burning on his body, and he immediately used E to dive into the midst of RNG's four-man team. He pressed Bloodthirst first and then Q. With a reasonable release sequence, the two damage attacks were released almost simultaneously!

Crocodile's burst damage this time was absolutely outrageous; with two large AOE attacks, the total output was close to two thousand!
Moreover, damage is secondary; healing is the core objective!

Even though the Bloodthirsty Axe has been nerfed in the latest version, now only dealing 25% attack damage + 8% lost health upon hitting an enemy, the healing amount is still extremely exaggerated when hitting four people.

What's more, the crocodile's level 4 Red Fury Q can restore 500 health!

404!

300!

Despite the 40% grievous wounds from the Ignite effect, the crocodile managed to recover 700 health points, bringing its health back to over half!
"Wow, what a prehistoric crocodile! This crocodile is absolutely invincible!"

Screams erupted from the audience below the stage as everyone stared wide-eyed at the crocodile's terrifying performance!
RNG had already used up all their damage, leaving them with no other means of dealing damage. The 1,000 HP that the Renekton had left had become a mountain they could only look up to!

Furthermore, because the RNG players were so eager to kill the crocodile, they positioned themselves slightly closer together.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, JieJie's Lillia used a Q-Flash to enter the fray, hitting four people directly, and then quickly followed up with her ultimate skill [Night's Lament]!
Ming Jing licked his lips, focusing on the rage bar. He used A followed by a second E to bring his rage back above 50 points, and then followed up with a red-rage W to bite Udyr!

Saint Gunner swung his hammer and used a combo to take down Udyr, who already had very little health left.

At this point, Lillia's ultimate ability slowly took effect, gradually putting the rest of RNG to sleep.

"Kill Nar!"

Meiko's Alistar used his W to knock Gnar back into the crowd, effectively sealing Xiaohu's fate!
Mingjing then used another set of Red Fury Q and Bloodthirst on Gnar, and with Triumph's multiple regenerations, Mingjing's health had returned to over 80% by the end of the team fight.

Below the stage, the pig offal, which made up half of the audience, cheered loudly, contributing a rare vitality to the competition!

"Xiaohu was also killed, and EDG pulled off a perfect 3-for-0! They even managed to secure the Rift Herald!"

In the commentary booth, Miller was stunned. "RNG has completely collapsed in this wave!"

(End of this chapter)