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

Chapter 157 The most effective counter to geniuses is the Grip of the Underworld.
At this moment, cheers continued unabated inside the Optics Valley International Tennis Center.

Even though the team fight had ended some time ago, and the crocodile had even cleared a wave of mid lane minions, countless viewers were still unable to recover from the shock of what had just happened!
"Wow, it's Xiao Fei again!" Miller, a seasoned veteran, immediately launched into a lively commentary, "What is that crocodile? It's a bit too fierce!"

"Although the result was a four-for-four trade, meaning EDG didn't gain any numerical advantage, don't forget that EDG secured Baron Nashor, which is crucial!" Guan Daxiao exclaimed in amazement. "And not only Baron, but they also managed to take the Dragon!"

EDG's top and jungle duo, who were eliminated early in the game, naturally revived much faster.

The team fight had just ended, and Jayce and Lillia had already respawned.

The two of them used Jayce's speed boost to quickly reach the lower river, and together with Renekton, they easily secured another Wind Dragon!
It wasn't until this point that the director finally switched to the replay of the team fight.

Meiko's Alistar used Flash to knock up the enemy jungler, helping his team secure Baron Nashor.

However, RNG's subsequent perfect team fight coordination nearly destroyed EDG's lineup.

Then came the perfect team fight performance from the crocodile.

When everyone first saw this team fight, they only thought EDG was going to lose, so they felt either joy or panic. Then, with the performance of the Renekton, the situation was completely reversed!
But when you watch the process a second time with the ending in mind, this group becomes quite interesting.

Who would have thought that the champion Renekton would have such an exaggerated team fight potential!

Isn't this thing notorious for its laning phase against dragons and teamfight bugs?
[Holy crap, let's fly!]

[Damn, this is a real prehistoric crocodile! He really killed them all by himself?]

[The essence of this technique—using Zhonya's Hourglass to dodge taunts and Flash to dodge E—is that the damage output is quite high; even GALA players are stunned!]

Honestly, EDG's teammates are already top-tier, but compared to Xiaofei, they're still out of place!

【It really is】

[Emperor Guo is finished. He can't even hold a professional player back when he gets up. I could do it!]

[The crocodile used a flash attack, so it's normal that you couldn't stop him from getting up. All you know is how to stop him from getting up.]

The scene then cuts back to live, showing the crocodile teleporting back to the front, his B.F. Sword now evolved into a Guardian Angel, making him the only player with a full three-item build.

At this moment, the economic gap between the two sides has officially exceeded 5,000. EDG, relying on the last remaining dragon seed on the crocodile, has started to push forward!
As EDG pushed onto the high ground with the Baron minion wave, the weaknesses of RNG's lineup began to be exposed.

The team lacks a traditional mage and has no wave clear ability.

Galio's "Righteous Gale" is fairly effective at clearing regular minions; at least one Q can instantly kill a ranged minion. Under normal circumstances, he can clear waves with the help of Everfrost, but this is without the Baron buff.

Now, EDG is pushing the lane into the tower with the Baron buff on Renekton, and Galio can only watch helplessly!

Since EDG only had one dragon, they didn't split push anymore and instead grouped up and pushed. As the minion wave pushed into the tower, Jayce and Ezreal went all out, throwing Qs everywhere. Even Lillia joined in the fun, constantly throwing bowling balls.

RNG was unable to defend and was forced into a retreat, with their mid-lane second tower and high ground falling one after another!

"EDG isn't done yet; they still want to push the top lane!"

"Hey, that doesn't seem to be the case. They're camping in the jungle, trying to ambush someone!"

Because EDG was splitting up with five players, if they wanted to push further, they would have to redo the lanes, which would waste a lot of time, and the Baron buff would be almost over!

In contrast, they would rather end the game immediately!
As expected, RNG fell for the trap. While the main force moved to defense, Xiaohu's Gnar was still farming minions in the mid lane, trying to push the minion wave out before moving back to the mid lane.

And this was clearly a huge mistake by EDG!
Meiko's Alistar used Hexflash to flash from the wall next to the wolves camp in the top jungle to the mid lane, and then used WQ to knock Gnar away!
Taking this opportunity, Lillia follows up with bowling and her ultimate move!

Mingjing followed up and bit down, cooperating with his teammates to send Gnar away happily!

"Little Tiger was careless this time! There might be a problem!"

Gnar's ultimate ability is the core of RNG's team fights. With Xiaohu being caught out due to carelessness, EDG no longer needs to split push. They can end the game directly!
At this moment, the super minions in the mid lane slowly pushed forward. EDG no longer needed to split push; they could end the game directly! Following the minion wave, the team launched their final push!
"The Baron buff has only a little time left, and the super minions are already pushing onto the high ground! EDG wants to end the game right away! Can RNG hold on?"

It was inevitable that they couldn't hold on. The core of RNG's team fights was the combination of two initiators and Galio's entry to deliver powerful and difficult-to-defend crowd control, thus achieving a crushing team fight.

In the previous Baron fight, RNG almost pulled off a miracle team fight thanks to the perfect synergy between Gnar and Galio's ultimate abilities.

After Nar's death, only Riel was able to take on this task.

However, if there is only one first move, then there is no threat at all, because Meiko's Minotaur is enough to solve the problem.

As the minion wave pushed to the base of the inhibitor turret, RNG quickly grouped up and pushed forward. RNG had no choice but to let Shi Senming's Ruier go in to initiate the team fight.

Ryle flashes in and WR leaps into the air.

But just as W jumped, Alistar used W to knock him far away.

The team fight was over before it even started.

But at this critical moment, RNG members had no way to retreat. Mingjing activated his ultimate, using the newly spawned minions to dash to Kai'Sa's face with two consecutive E dashes, and then bit her with a W!

Kai'Sa had neither Flash nor Cleanse at this moment, which was all within his calculations.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Flandre Jayce flashed and swung his hammer, instantly killing Kai'Sa with the help of Renekton!
Without Kai'Sa's damage threat, Mingjing became like a god of war in team fights. His Renekton even tanked the turret's focus fire and used Bloodthirst and Empowered Q to frequently heal, cooperating with the team to kill RNG members one by one!

By the time the crocodile's resurrection armor was triggered, the remaining four members of RNG had all returned to the fountain!

"A perfect 4-for-0 exchange!" Guan Daxiao exclaimed excitedly from the commentary booth, "Xiaohu had just respawned, but even a Gnar couldn't stop anything!"

"EDG is about to end the game!"

Mingjing revived using his resurrection armor and slashed down, shattering RNG's base crystal!

The game ended at 25 minutes and 44 seconds!
"Congratulations to EDG! They've taken the lead and won the first game of the finals!"

In the commentary booth, Guan Daxiao shouted loudly, "In the first game, EDG brought out an early-game offensive system and used Baron to accelerate the game, ending it directly! A very decisive decision!"

"That was certainly decisive!" Miller chuckled. "So decisive that it's hard for me to believe EDG would make this choice! I'd really like to know who made this decision!"

The camera then focused on the players' benches. The faces of the EDG players were filled with the joy of surviving a close call. Flandre gave Mingjing a thumbs up and praised him highly, while JieJie patted his chest, let out a long breath, and then followed the team back to the rest room.

Although they won the game quickly, everyone in EDG understood just how close it had come to a close.

Especially the top laner and jungler duo, Flandre and JieJie. Their failure to use Flash during the Vanguard team fight, resulting in them being instantly killed, almost caused the team's efforts of over twenty minutes to go to waste!
This is on the stage of the Spring Finals.

If the match is lost because of the sudden deaths of the two players, it's hard to imagine how guilty they would feel after the match, and how many people would criticize them.

But thankfully, there's a dad in the team!
Meanwhile, on the other side, the RNG players looked on with regret.

They could also clearly sense that they were just one step away from victory!
As long as they can kill the crocodile, EDG won't be able to keep the dragon, and they can definitely hold their position and push forward.

Forget about defense, if there were a few more survivors from that wave, they might even be able to push back!
Unfortunately, it was just a hair's breadth away.

How could they have all been killed by crocodiles?
How can a crocodile be so good at killing?!

RNG members hurriedly left the arena.

The predicament of losing the side selection round has put them under immense pressure, and they must go back and discuss the draft phase.

After watching both players leave the field, the director quickly switched to some of the highlights of the match.

As you can see, the crocodile occupies most of the highlight moments.

Five minutes later, the Crocodile teleported up, creating a crucial numerical advantage for the team.

In the nine-minute Vanguard team fight, the Crocodile absorbed all the damage, his health bar fluctuating wildly, helping the team achieve a perfect zero-for-two exchange plus the Vanguard!
Both of these waves played a crucial and pivotal role.

Not to mention the crucial Baron team fight, where he used Zhonya's Hourglass to dodge the taunt, then flashed to instantly kill the AD carry, completing a key comeback!

"To be honest, it's quite strange," Colonel Guan laughed. "How come a player who started as an AD carry and switched to mid lane halfway through has such a high level of proficiency with Renekton?"

Every move the crocodile made in this game demonstrated a level of skill that was clearly visible to the naked eye!

Even professional top laners playing Renekton often produce an abstract image of a full combo with full rage, but I've never seen that with Phi; his skill releases are all smooth and natural.

"This is really weird," Miller nodded. "Could he have specifically practiced playing Renekton mid? Has his champion pool become that wide?"

When it comes to the priority of practicing heroes, Renekton mid lane is not considered high!
The broadcast then switched to the post-match data panel, where Renekton's damage was shockingly high. Despite being a short-range champion, he strongly suppressed Jayce, Lillia, and Ezreal's three poke attacks, becoming the highest damage dealer in the entire match!
Although the difference wasn't significant, it was enough to demonstrate just how terrifying the crocodile's performance was.

After all, a hero like Crocodile can be deadly once he touches someone.

As for the crocodile's KDA, that's even more terrifying.

After the data panel comes the MVP selection.

"The MVP is indeed a foregone conclusion." Colonel Guan looked at the scene before him, not surprised by the result.

The MVP award undoubtedly goes to the crocodile.

A perfect KDA of 7-0-10, 23.5% damage share, and 35.5% damage taken share highlight his dominance on both offense and defense!
Below that is the crocodile's MVP count.

3(3).

All three MVP awards were won during the playoffs.

And don't forget, Ming Jing has only played four matches so far!
This performance is getting more and more outrageous; he hasn't died in four consecutive games.

Including this game, his K/D ratio is already 58, and he's playing a champion like Renekton that's easy to die to. He's really just here to stomp on newbies.

I'd say it's not an exaggeration to say that Shih-Yu High School is the best school in the world, right?

[Zhongyi Middle School is definitely a sure thing, while Shiyi Middle School still has to go to MSI to face off against Xiu Shen.]

[That's enough with the pork offal, you're already thinking about your MSI opponents, right? Remember how Clearlove analyzed how his MSI opponents lost to RNG last time?]

[This is something I should really consider; I don't believe RNG can win.]

[Don't rush, RNG is a slow starter!]

"."

Inside the EDG rest area at this moment.

As soon as Ming Jing returned to the lounge, he was greeted by the uniformed staff lining the way.

Maokai was undoubtedly the happiest one, his thumbs-up practically reaching for the sky!

"You played Renekton really well that game!" Maokai couldn't help but praise. "You've really never played Renekton before?"

From Maokai's perspective, this Renekton's proficiency was simply phenomenal. His control over tankiness, damage, and rage was impeccable! It was hard to believe that this was a hero he had just picked up on the spot.

"It's alright," Ming Jing said with a smile. "The crocodile is quite simple, not difficult to pick up. I learn heroes pretty quickly."

Ming Jing is indeed fast at learning new heroes. He was famous for being able to learn seven or eight heroes in a single World Championship.

Hero proficiency, in essence, boils down to mastering the timing of skill releases and calculating damage and tankiness.

If it's a crocodile, you might need to calculate an additional rage control.

But for Mingjing, none of the items that need to be calculated are a problem.

He only needs to look at the hero's specific stats once, and then combine that with his powerful mental calculation ability to roughly estimate the damage and tankiness, easily surpassing the game experience that others have slowly accumulated over the first half of the game.

When he practices a hero, he mainly focuses on practicing combos, distance control, and the timing of skill releases.

Crocodile is not complicated in this respect. Its skills are almost always guaranteed to hit, and its combos are also simple and easy to understand, so Mingjing can get started right away.

The only difficulty with the crocodile might be avoiding biting wards or minions with its red-rage W.

"Not bad." The older cousin patted his younger cousin on the shoulder with satisfaction. "And Da Long made a good decision too!"

“That’s right.” Maokai nodded as well. “This decision was also crucial.”

From the perspective of God, those backstage had a clearer view than the players. In the middle of the match, when the team didn't have a significant economic lead but was still trying to play slowly and drag the game out, everyone was getting a little anxious.

Even though Meiko's coaching style is very similar to Clearlove's, characterized by indecisiveness and hesitation, Clearlove himself, from a god-like perspective, probably felt like he had a stroke.
How can we win if this drags on?

Fortunately, Mingjing's decision regarding the dragon was correct.

If it weren't for RNG's exceptional performance in team fights, taking down the top and jungle laners first, the Baron fight wouldn't have been so difficult.

After just over twenty minutes, most people still haven't completed the two-piece set. With two and a half pieces of Crocodile gear and a stopwatch, its dominance is unmatched.

It's safe to say that he's someone who's seen it all; his understanding of decision-making and operations is incredibly insightful!
Despite having played for many years, EDG has never even reached the semifinals of the World Championship. Once they get used to being bad, it's hard for them to have that kind of determination.

Mingjing's key decision filled a crucial gap in EDG's resources.

"You are now an LPL finals team, an absolutely strong team!" Clearlove emphasized from the side. "Be bolder in your decisions, and believe in your own and your teammates' individual abilities!"

The factory manager has always believed that the current EDG team is definitely stronger than the team he led back then.

Once the issues of team cohesion and decision-making are resolved, this EDG team will be able to overcome anything.

Maokai nodded in agreement, then emphasized, "Besides that, JieJie and XuanJun had major issues in the team fight last game. We need to pay attention to that. This is the finals, so everyone needs to focus on one point and avoid making those kinds of basic mistakes again."

After pointing out several problems in the previous game, the topic quickly shifted to the draft and banning (BP) discussion for the next game.

Compared to previous matches, the Spring Finals had an extra five minutes of rest time, allowing both players ample time for discussion.

At the same time, inside the RNG rest room.

Everyone was in a state of panic because of the loss in the first game.

“Galio is definitely going to be tough to pick.” Cryin’s Mandarin was quite non-standard, and his Hunan ID card fell to the ground as soon as he opened his mouth. “He’s too strong in lane, so picking Galio first is a big disadvantage.”

This was one of the better games Galio could play, since the draft was easy, the opponent had almost no heroes left to pick by the end, and he was also good at team fights.

However, the opponent's crocodile skill was simply too high.

“Yes, that’s what I think too.” Tabe nodded, but then asked, “If we don’t pick Galio, what other champions are available for the mid lane?”

Cryin thought for a moment and named a hero.

Upon hearing this answer, Tabe thought for a moment, then nodded.

This is indeed the best choice at present.

"."

The break time passed in the blink of an eye.

Under the watchful eyes of seven thousand spectators, both contestants returned to the stage.

When Ming Jing entered the game, he once again received a great deal of cheers, no less than when he entered the game at the opening ceremony. It was clear that the audience highly approved of his performance in the first game.

He knew his parents were somewhere in the audience, so he raised his head slightly and waved to them.

Seeing Mingjing's confident demeanor, his parents, who were watching the game, couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.

To this day, the parents are still grateful that they did not limit their son's talent.

Wang Hao's face showed a hint of envy; he was extremely envious.

Although Song Xuan did not go to the venue to watch the match, she turned on the live broadcast at home on time. As usual, she sat on the chair with her knees drawn up, watching Ming Jing take his seat with a hint of anticipation in her heart.

The draft phase began shortly after both teams were seated!
"Alright, the second draft has begun! EDG has the right to choose sides in this game, and they have unsurprisingly chosen the blue side, immediately banning Lucian in the first game!"

Now that EDG is on the blue side, they have more freedom in banning. They don't need to risk letting the opponent pass or picking the enemy; banning them is the best option.

As for the remaining two bans, they don't plan to change them. They will ban Rakan and Leona as they did in the last game to limit the enemy support's roaming.

RNG's success is inseparable from the performance of all five players, but the most crucial ones are undoubtedly the two veterans, Xiaohu and Ming.

On the other hand, RNG's ban picks have changed slightly.

The first ban was for the crocodile, which immediately appeared on the screen and then quickly went gray!
"Did they ban the crocodile first?" Guan Daxiao laughed when he saw this choice. "Looks like RNG isn't so stubborn after all."

"We definitely can't be stubborn," Miller laughed. "Rengar is already a commonly used champion for EDG, and now he also has the attribute of being a flexible mid-laner. If we still let him through, we won't be able to draft properly!"

As for the subsequent bans, RNG has also made significant changes.

They didn't intend to ban junglers, but instead chose to ban Akali and Tristana before entering the champion selection phase.

"In that case, the first few draft picks for both sides might be pretty predictable."

With Hecarim and Udyr still outside, both sides will naturally take turns picking up one jungler each.

After much discussion, EDG finally decided to lock in Hecarim.

In their plan, this lineup needed an initiating unit, and Centaur was a better choice than Udyr.

In addition to their jungler, RNG, on the red side, also picked Kai'Sa.

Kai'Sa is practically a GALA character, as her champion pool isn't particularly wide.

Fortunately, his teammates drew his attention away from him, allowing him to secure Kai'Sa every time.

EDG didn't think much of it, picked Ryze, and then casually picked Gnar, completely stealing RNG's double-initiation team fight strategy from the previous game.

"This draft phase was quite interesting," Colonel Guan chuckled. "After the two sides switched positions, their hero picks were almost completely reversed!"

"That shows that both teams are still in the current meta!" Miller nodded. "Both are undoubtedly strong teams!"

In the second round of the draft, with RNG determined to give the counter pick to the mid laner, Mingjing didn't think much of it and simply locked in Viktor to farm first.

The opposing team is refusing to pick their mid laner no matter what; they must have something up their sleeve.

Viktor is a champion who will never be at a disadvantage against anyone, and he can always protect himself no matter what.

Meanwhile, Cryin, seeing Viktor's choice, finally gave his answer.

Malzahar, the Void Prophet.

The audience members discussed this choice at length.

"Ah! Malzahar!" Colonel Guan exclaimed repeatedly!
The hero, Grasshopper, has a legendary aura in the eyes of Guan Zeyuan, a fan of Iron Blood Three Stars.

In the 2017 season, Samsung's players, who had once again made it to the finals, faced SKT, the team that had previously defeated them as runners-up.

At that time, the biggest headache for Samsung was Faker, who was anchoring the mid lane.

After a long period of research, they finally came to the answer.

Malzahar.

The weapon that best counters Faker is [Nether Grip].

(It's quite a coincidence that I saw a related video on Bilibili while writing this.)

So in the finals, the humble Crown, who was as lowly as the mud, picked Malzahar three times in a row and defeated even the peak Faker.

Back then, Faker's playstyle underwent a complete transformation after being swept 3-0 by GEN. He shifted from focusing on extreme laning to becoming a decision-maker, switching screens at a dizzying speed.

The grasshopper's Nether Grip made even Faker start to doubt whether individual skill could solve everything.

Cryin knew that his talent was far inferior to Phi's, so he decided to follow in his predecessor's footsteps.

At this point, the heroes of both sides are confirmed!
Blue side EDG: Top laner Gnar, Jungler Hecarim, Mid laner Viktor, Bot laner Xayah and Reyle.

RNG (Red Side): Top lane Jayce, Jungle Udyr, Mid lane Malzahar, Bot lane Kai'Sa and Nautilus.

Looking at RNG's mid-lane picks, Ming Jing couldn't help but make some mental calculations.

The mid lane matchup is definitely easy. Although Malzahar is a tough champion, he doesn't actually pose much of a threat to Viktor. It's not difficult for Mingjing to ensure a peaceful development.

But his teammates might not necessarily escape unscathed.

The main focus was on the top lane. In the last game, Flandre relied on Jayce's strong performance against Gnar to create multiple opportunities for the team to tower dive.

However, the top laners on both sides reversed their champion pool in this game, and RNG's top and jungle are known for being inseparable, so Flandre was bound to suffer.

Therefore, before leaving, Maokai and Zhukai specifically reminded everyone to make sure to protect Shanglu.

The EDG team understood this without the coach having to say it.

But understanding is one thing; whether you can actually do it depends on your performance on the field.

The two coaches exchanged a fist bump in the center of the stage, and after a brief loading period, the second round began quickly!
(End of this chapter)