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

Chapter 160 Let's start the killing!

"Congratulations again to EDG!" Guan Zeyuan's voice echoed throughout the stadium through the speakers, "Another victory!"

"Another smooth and effortless victory!" Miller exclaimed with a smile. "Two to zero, three championship points in hand, they're just one step away from the Spring Championship!"

Inside the stadium, cheers from countless spectators rose and fell, surging and surging, with the vast majority of them extremely excited!

The last time EDG won the LPL championship was back in the summer of 2017.

The piglets have been waiting for this moment for far too long!
The camera then pans to the EDG players' bench, where Mingjing casually taps the screen twice, seemingly checking the damage.

Only after getting a satisfactory result did the boy show a satisfied smile, pick up his water bottle, and return backstage with his teammates.

"Xiao Fei's performance in this game can only be described as smooth and effortless!"

I remember making no attempt to hide his admiration, directly praising her by name, "Whether it was the stable laning phase in the early game, the mid-game split-pushing performance that suppressed Jayce, or the two perfect team fights in the late game, everything was impeccable!"

"Yes!" Miller's exclamations of admiration were also heard. "It's hard to believe that someone could survive even one death against a hero like Grasshopper!"

"It's mainly those two ultimate moves that interrupted Netherworld Grasp!" Colonel Guan couldn't help but shake his head. "Those two moves were just too over-the-top!"

Guan Daxiao originally liked the hero Malzahar very much. After all, he was a veteran of the Three Stars faction and his favorite hero was Crown. He also liked Malzahar because of his love for the hero.

He has always believed that there is no more powerful crowd control skill in League of Legends than Malzahar's ultimate.

The Grip of Hades never lies.

But after watching the game, that idea was completely forgotten.

If Faker had this skill back then, would SKT have been swept?
That's absolutely outrageous.
"In that case, RNG will be in a difficult position," Miller said, his tone hesitant.

"But it's not like there's no chance," Colonel Guan said. "From my perspective, RNG actually had a chance to win every game, they just missed the final push!"

"What they need to do is adjust their mindset and do even better!"

The camera then focused on the RNG players' bench, where everyone looked puzzled, clearly shocked by the defeat.

But with a 0-2 deficit and a precarious situation, they didn't have time to say much and went straight back to the backstage dressing room.

With the score at 0-2, everyone understands that the chances of winning the championship are slim.

But it wasn't over yet, and none of the five RNG players wanted to give up.

The group quickly returned to the backstage lounge, where they found Coach Tabe waiting with a serious expression. He immediately began the post-match debriefing.

RNG's early game decision-making wasn't too bad, as they secured an early advantage. However, the mid-to-late game revealed more problems.

"The biggest problem in this game is Xiaohu." Tabe didn't mince words and pointed out the key issue directly: "It's really wrong of the Vanguard to give away bounties."

The most crucial turning point was when Xiaohu, in the Second Vanguard Regiment, gave Viktor 600 bounties.

Viktor secured a kill and an assist in that play, not only evolving his Q but also purchasing the Explorer's Armguard armor item.

After this wave, Viktor controlled the advantage on the sidelines, making it impossible for the team to execute their tactics.

From that point on, things were already very difficult for RNG.

As for Viktor interrupting Malzahar's R twice in a row, although it was a cool move, it wasn't the fundamental reason for the defeat; it just made the outcome of the match completely predictable.

Xiao Hu understood this point, and nodded helplessly, "Mine, I really didn't expect the other side to focus fire on me like that in that wave."

Xiaohu really didn't expect that EDG would be so reckless in killing him during that team fight.

I don't care about the vanguard, and I don't care about winning team fights, I just want to kill him once.

Are you so sure that killing him once will suppress his flanks?
Xiao Hu turned his head and looked at the MVP winner on the broadcast screen, feeling a mix of emotions.

Viktor with a KDA of 7-0-7 dealt 36.9% of the damage, and it's no exaggeration to say he dominated the entire game.

But to put it bluntly, even this data cannot fully reflect Victor's role.

"So what about next game?" Tabe asked. "Do you have any ideas? You absolutely need to make a difference on the sidelines."

Although Xiaohu had some major issues in the last game, it won't affect the team's trust in him.

The main reason is that RNG has only recently undergone a rebuild this year, and the team hasn't had much time to gel. So far, this is the only set of tactics they know.

This tactic earned them first place in the regular season and the winners' bracket championship, proving that a single, effective strategy can make all the difference.

But now that they've hit a wall, there's really not much they can change.

If it's another team, they might not be able to win by split pushing, so they need to shift their focus to their two carries and ensure their development.

But this won't work for RNG – since Xiaohu can't win in the side lane, then we need to find a way to make him win!

Xiaohu paused for a couple of seconds before saying, "Jayce is still too restricted on the side lanes. Let's see if we can get Lucian or Tristana. That might be a bit stronger."

In this situation, picking Fiora or Camille to break the deadlock is the best option. These lightweight fighters are designed for split pushing and don't need to heal much in the early laning phase, allowing them to sustain themselves.

Unfortunately, Xiaohu is a latecomer to the game. Although he played Camille in the regular season and did well, it was all to practice against weaker teams. He really doesn't have the courage to play such a champion in the finals.

In comparison, a marksman top laner would be more suitable.

“No problem.” Tabe nodded. “Next game depends on you. Good luck. We’re not necessarily going to lose.”

"Hmm." Xiao Hu felt a heavy burden on his shoulders and nodded solemnly.

The history of a comeback from a 0-2 deficit to win 3-2 in the final is not unprecedented.

In the 2017 Summer Split, EDG came back from a 0-2 deficit to defeat RNG 3-2, winning their fifth LPL title and creating an eternal classic.

Three and a half years have passed, and it's still EDG, still RNG.

It's still 2-0.

Who says they can't come back from a 0-2 deficit to win 3-2?
The break time passed quickly, and both teams took to the stage for the third time, with the draft phase starting soon.

The only acceptable aspect for RNG in this game is that they have the right to choose sides and will be placed on the blue side, which will have some impact on EDG's draft picks.

that's the truth.

EDG really discussed the draft picks for quite a while.

The main point of research is whether or not grasshoppers should be banned.

To be fair, Malzahar is indeed a bit too overpowered. Although it's difficult for him to gain an advantage in lane, he can easily avoid losing lane, which alone makes Mingjing quite uncomfortable.

When the transition period arrives, the role of the grasshopper becomes even more indispensable!

Although Ming Jing successfully deflected the grasshopper's multiple attacks, this kind of thing relies on luck to some extent. Even if you let him try again, he can't guarantee he'd succeed.

But if Malzahar is banned, then which hero to release is another question that must be considered.

Ultimately, EDG decided to ban Malzahar, but at the cost of releasing Lucian.

This was clearly what RNG wanted to see, and they decisively picked Lucian, setting the tone for the game.

After locking in Lucian, RNG went on to lock in a three-carry combination of Corki and Kai'Sa, essentially returning to their comfort zone.

After the first two games, Tabe realized that Phi couldn't be contained. Instead of sacrificing his own strengths by playing Galio and Malzahar, he decided to stick to playing what he was good at and let Cryin play what he was good at.

Since EDG dared to let Lucian go, they were obviously prepared. Flandre locked in his signature top lane Sejuani, paired with jungler Hecarim to form a double cavalry to enhance their team fight initiation capabilities. Then, they locked in Akali in the mid lane, using Akali's powerful backline-diving ability to limit RNG's carry performance.

The lineups of both sides have now been determined.

RNG (Blue Side): Top lane Lucian, Jungle Udyr, Mid lane Corki, Bot lane Kai'Sa and Nautilus.

Red side EDG: Top lane Sejuani, jungle Hecarim, mid lane Akali, bot lane Tristana and Leona.

In the opening match, the tone of the two sides was somewhat different from the previous two games.

RNG is still almost pathologically targeting the top lane, putting Flandre under heavy pressure.

Classic three-minute tower dive, five-minute comeback.

Even though Flandre is known for his oiliness, there's really nothing he can do against this kind of close-range fighting style. He can only lie down and let Xiaohu finish him off, and the gap between his last-hitting and Xiaohu's is getting bigger and bigger.

After waiting for six minutes, even the Titan came to the top lane to join the fun. The jungler and support appeared from behind the tower, cutting off Sejuani's retreat. Flandre finally couldn't hold back anymore and obediently gave up his life, happily handing over First Blood.

ill!

Fortunately, the team didn't suffer a loss.

While RNG was ganking the top lane, EDG players were also doing their own thing.

Jie Jie didn't sit still; he immediately started the little dragon.

Meiko pretended to help fight the dragon, but secretly sneaked into RNG's bottom jungle and launched a surprise attack on the mid laner, Corki!
Once the mid-lane minion wave pushes into the tower, Leona, with her shield activated, emerges from behind and lands a Q on Corki, triggering an aftershock!

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Mingjing Akali's RE combo is guaranteed to hit, and with Leona's follow-up E skill's control, she can get close to the enemy's face, and then use AQER combo to send the enemy away happily!

Immediately afterwards, news of JieJie securing the Water Dragon spread throughout the arena, and EDG completed a perfect resource exchange!

In the following period, such exchanges occurred frequently, and Xiaohu's Lucian relied on the Vanguard to steadily take down the first tower, becoming increasingly fed.

But Mingjing's Akali was not to be outdone. The jungler and support successfully killed GALA. Then, Akali, who was 2-0, returned to the mid lane and, with her equipment advantage, tower-dived and killed Corki once again!
In the mid-game, Mingjing once again took on the responsibility of facing off against the carry, and Akali switched to the side lane to face off against Lucian!
This is the reason why EDG dares to let Lucian go.

No matter how fed Lucian is in the top lane, he's still just an ADC. How can he possibly beat Akali?
Go against Tiangang!

Mingjing did not disappoint his teammates' trust. He immediately started fighting as soon as he switched to the top lane. He started with Akali's Protobelt ultimate and used Smoke Bomb to trade blows, eventually forcing Lucian to use his Windfury and Flash.

After laying the groundwork, Ming Jing and others, having recovered their ultimate moves, made a comeback.

This time, Mingjing even started with Flash and his ultimate, chasing Lucian with QA. After Lucian used his E skill and Gale to move, he used R2 to get right up to Lucian's face and hit him with E!

Knowing that escape was impossible, Xiaohu turned around and fought back, with Lucian firing his twin pistols in quick succession.

However, his damage was still slightly lacking. Just when he had reduced Akali to only a quarter of her health, Akali had already completed her EQAQ combo, wiping out his health bar first!
The cheers of the audience echoed throughout the stadium.

"Holy crap, it's here! PH!" Xika from De Yun Se jumped up and shouted excitedly, "He solo-killed him!"

Brother Sun also shouted, "Holy crap! That's invincible! Akali's so smooth!"

The kid was the most outrageous, directly condemning RNG: "They're done for, 3-0, EDG has already won the championship."

"Huh? They're awarding the championship right away?" Sika suddenly fell silent and asked, "Is that too much?"

"It's a sure thing," the child said confidently. "In this situation, even if you scold me, I don't know how I could lose."

No sooner had the child finished speaking than a strange change occurred.

Shortly after Mingjing secured a solo kill in the top lane, the camera abruptly switched to the bottom jungle.

The game started with Xiaoming's Titan hook hitting Jiejie's Centaur, and the remaining four players from both sides started a fierce battle!
Viper's Tristana was unleashing her full damage potential from the maximum range, but she was spotted by RNG. Then, Nautilus used his ultimate and flashed right into Tristana's face during the ultimate's cast, quickly knocking her up!

Taking this opportunity, Udyr, Corki, and Kai'Sa all rushed into the face of the little cannon!
Viper then used Cleanse to break Udyr's stun, followed by his ultimate to push away several people in front of him, before attempting to jump back to escape.

But then GALA's Kai'Sa immediately used her ultimate to fly over and unleash a barrage of attacks on him!
Without hesitation, Saint Gun Bro immediately used his Q to flash in!
But GALA reacted quickly, dodging the Q-Flash with a predictive Flash, killing the Tristana with a Plasma attack, and then using E to disappear into the shadows!

With Viper's death, EDG's damage output dropped by more than half. Even though Meiko's Leona had a full combo on Corki, she couldn't deal any damage in a short time!

They eventually managed to kill the plane, but at the cost of Leona and Hecarim, leaving only Flandre's Sejuani alive. This three-for-one trade essentially wiped out the advantage Mingjing had gained from his solo kill.

This scene is quite frustrating.

Xiao Feige goes to the top lane and it collapses, goes to the top lane and it collapses, right?
However, EDG did not panic too much. The team quickly adjusted their mindset and regrouped.

They sent a wave of attacks, but thankfully, it's not a big problem; the situation is still in their hands.

But not long after, another accident occurred.

This time, the problem wasn't with EDG, but rather with RNG's brilliant decision-making.

At 22 minutes, Viper's Tristana cleared a wave of F6 camps and then returned to base to replenish her equipment.

However, he didn't realize that his recall animation was being monitored by RNG.

Meanwhile, Flandre's Sejuani was also pushing the bottom lane.

RNG made a quick decision, and the team quickly grouped up and headed to the upper river!

At this moment, there is a river crab altar in the upper river channel. This was built by Jiejie to provide a view of the upper river channel.

Because of the presence of this altar, Meiko did not place any other wards in the upper river.

However, Meiko clearly overlooked one point: this field of vision cannot actually fully cover the entrance to the Dragon Pit. There is a narrow gap that allows one to sneak into the Dragon Pit in the dark.

On RNG's side, Udyr and Kai'Sa quickly slipped through the gap, while Lucian and Corki simply used their movement abilities.

All four entered the Dragon Pit from the river, but they remained out of sight from beginning to end.

By the time EDG realized something was wrong, five seconds had already passed.

Mingjing pushed the top lane minion wave across the river, but did not see Lucian as usual.

Mingjing immediately realized something was wrong and signaled his teammates to provide vision towards the Baron pit.

Viper used a visionary upgrade point and saw that Baron Nashor only had 3,000 health left.

Clearly, it's too late.

RNG's Lucian, Corki, and Kai'Sa three marksmen took down Baron Nashor incredibly fast, reducing it to such a state in just five seconds, leaving it with only 3,000 health, which was clearly no match for them.

The EDG team had just stepped into the river when they received news that Baron Nashor had been killed. RNG, not greedy, quickly turned around and left, without even being caught.

"Wanla!" Xika exclaimed again, "Oh my god, how could RNG be so wicked! They're too scared to fight head-on, so they're resorting to sneaky tactics, aren't they!"

"RNG just likes to play dirty tricks, so they're afraid to go head-to-head with Xiaofei's skills, huh! Even if you win, you won't get my approval!"

It looks like it's going to flip!

This was clearly a victory in decision-making. RNG's decision-making was sharp and decisive, which is their most significant advantage compared to EDG!
This Baron Nashor clearly became a key turning point in the game, since RNG's three-carry combination is very dependent on gold, and they can be said to become stronger as the game progresses.

Taking this Baron Nashor would be a huge boost for RNG, not to mention the 1500 gold it would bring.

Moreover, they can use the dragon to advance and further widen the economic gap.
Next, the two sides engaged in a long back-and-forth battle. Finally, at 36 minutes, EDG secured the Wind Dragon Soul thanks to Mingjing's strong backline-cutting performance. However, Xiaohu made a long drive down the side lane, directly destroying EDG's bottom lane high ground and two inhibitor turrets, creating a huge hidden danger.

With the game reaching its final 42 minutes, the pressure from the super minions in the bottom lane forced EDG to quickly initiate an Elder Dragon fight in an attempt to force a team fight.

However, RNG had no intention of engaging in team fights.

Mingjing's Akali is simply too terrifying. She put too much pressure on their three carries in the previous team fights. Now that Akali has not yet appeared, they really don't have the courage to engage in team fights.

Fortunately, the super minions have already stormed into the high ground!
At Xiaohu's command, Lucian and Corki simultaneously teleported to the minion wave and headed straight into EDG's base!
At this moment, Mingjing, who was flanking in the jungle, saw the scene in front of him and decisively teleported to the minion wave. The rest of EDG also decisively recalled to the city.

If we can surround and eliminate both carries, then even if we don't get the Elder Dragon, we can still win in one fell swoop!
But how could the frontline heroes possibly return? Wei's Udyr charged in with his Alchemy Jar, first using a bear paw to break Holy Gun's teleport, then using Phoenix Form to chase after them and breathe fire, interrupting the recall of all four frontline heroes.

"Wanla! Our return to town was interrupted!" Miller's shouts were heart-wrenching, tinged with personal emotion. "Only Xiaofei can return to town. Can he save us?"

The answer is definitely no.

Akali landed via Teleport and faced off against RNG's mid and top laners.

The plane's Lucian has decent equipment. If it were a normal Akali, let alone saving the game, it would be a big question whether she could even win!

Mingjing was confident he could win, but the main problem was that RNG's players simply wouldn't fight him!

The plane was also carrying explosives.

Just as Ming Jing charged forward, he used his Q ability, but the plane immediately used the enhanced W ability of the explosive pack to knock Ming Jing away, even sending him flying to the other side of the base crystal.

The plane was built with magic penetration items, so its tower-destroying speed wasn't fast. Mingjing chose to prioritize dealing with Xiaohu, but as soon as he used his R to land a passive hit, Xiaohu immediately used his E and Whirlwind to rush to the side of the base and fired his dual pistols in quick succession!

Once Mingjing's R2 got close, Xiaohu used Flash to escape and continued to attack the crystal.

Mingjing then landed a solid E, followed by an E2 + Q in mid-air to deliver Electrocute, instantly killing Xiaohu with a single kick.

"Legendary!"

Akali's godlike performance echoed throughout the arena, but at this moment, that voice was full of irony.

Because the base's health was almost gone.

Mingjing flashed forward and used an AQ attack to bring the plane down to below half health.

On the other side, the plane neither dodged nor evaded, and fired a basic attack on the base, changing the score to two to one.

Song Xuan, who was watching the game live, looked at the result and slumped into his chair with a frustrated groan.

What a pity!!!

"Oh dear, just one step away!" Even Xika, who was always busy selling skewers, felt it was a pity. "We were just a little bit away from saving the world!"

Off the field, the cheers remained loud and enthusiastic.

Looking at the result before him, Wang Hao couldn't help but slap his forehead.

What a pity.

The sound of Mingjing's parents talking could still be heard from the side.

"Old Ming, did our son lose?"

"It's alright, though. It's two to one now, so there are still plenty of opportunities!"

On stage, Ming Jing looked at the failure message that popped up on the screen in front of him, took off his headphones, and walked back to the backstage dressing room.

His performance in this game was absolutely phenomenal, boasting an impressive 9-0-4 KD, but in the face of defeat, this record was meaningless.

Several teammates were helpless in the face of this base being attacked, and quickly followed Ming Jing away.

As we left, the sighs of the three commentators could still be heard.

"Wow, what a pity! Just a little bit more! If Xiaofei had just one more second, the outcome would have been completely reversed!"

"But unfortunately, there are no 'what ifs'! Let's congratulate RNG for successfully winning a game thanks to their decisive and astute decisions, bringing the suspense to the fourth game!"

Upon hearing the explanation, Ming Jing quickened his pace even further.

At the entrance to the backstage lounge, the EDG management team had been waiting for a long time to welcome the players to their seats.

"What a pity, what a pity." The factory manager sat down next to his cousin and asked, "Are you alright?"

It's no exaggeration to say that this Mingjing was just one Q or one passive attack away from saving the world, which is truly heartbreaking. It can easily affect a person's mentality.

"It's alright." Ming Jing replied softly, his face expressionless.

"Relax," his cousin patted Mingjing on the shoulder. "It's two to one. Next round we'll choose sides, and the advantage is still on our side."

"It's nothing." Ming Jing smiled, his face showing little sign of stress. "Let's review the situation first."

Upon hearing Ming Jing speak, Mao Kai in front finally began the debriefing session.

"It has to be said that RNG made excellent decisions in this game. Several key decisions were made decisively and effectively. In terms of decision-making, RNG is absolutely top-notch, even compared to LCK teams, they are among the best!"

Maokai thought for a moment, and then said, "We really haven't done enough in this respect, and that's something we need to improve."

"So what's next?" asked Flandre, standing nearby. "Should we ban Lucian?"

"It's up to you guys."

Maokai said, "Actually, the key reason why Lucian didn't put too much pressure on our output this game is that Lucian's speed in taking down Baron and destroying towers is too fast, which is very advantageous from an operational perspective. This is indeed a headache. If you feel that you can't handle it, then you can ban him."

"No need to ban it."

Ming Jing suddenly spoke up and gave the answer.

When everyone turned their attention to him, they saw the boy say what he was thinking, "Next game we're on the blue side, we should just pick Lucian first."

Hearing his cousin's calm words, Mingkai asked with a smile, "What do you mean? Is this the start of a killing spree?"

Ming Jing replied confidently, "It's wrapped."

The break time passed quickly, and both teams returned to the stage to begin the draft phase.

This time, EDG, back on the blue side, remained stubborn and let Lucian go. RNG, of course, had no reason to ban him and even prepared to pick him as a backup.

But Lucian quickly lit up on the first floor of the blue team and locked on in a flash, which was somewhat unexpected by the RNG team.

You guys play Lucian too? Who's this for?

Soon, the draft phase continued, and after EDG on the blue side finalized their lineup, the answer to this question was naturally revealed.

After locking in Kennen and Leona, EDG locked in Lucian for the mid lane.

Seeing this, RNG quickly adjusted their strategy, picking Syndra as a counter-pick, thus determining the champion composition for both sides.

Blue side EDG: Top lane Kennen, Jungle Hecarim, Mid lane Lucian, Bot lane Xayah and Leona.

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

"Wow, these lineups on both sides," Miller thought for a couple of seconds before saying, "They're both going to be very exciting!"

"That's true! All three lanes are fiercely competitive, each one a carry!" Colonel Guan laughed. "Looks like this game is going to be very exciting!"

"Furthermore, after losing the game, EDG actually picked Lucian, which shows they came prepared! Let's see what surprises Xiaofei will bring us with this game of Lucian!"

The two coaches bumped fists in the center of the stage, both with serious expressions on their faces.

Tabe knew that this fourth game was the key to RNG's comeback.

If they can win this game, they will enter the decisive game with the advantage of coming back from a 0-2 deficit and the right to choose sides, and the initiative in this BO5 will be back in their hands!

On the other hand, Mokai was more confident.

He also knew that this BO5 series should end in this game.

Maokai strode back to the locker room and sat down in his spot just as the fourth game had begun!
(End of this chapter)