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

Chapter 169 The Eavesdropping Scandal?

May 17th, the fourth day of the competition.

The competition has officially entered the second round of the round-robin tournament.

Today, EDG will face two opponents – Southeast Asian champions PSG and North American champions C9, in the first and last matches of the day, respectively.

Because the World Championship is a global competition, the timing of the matches must take into account the time differences of the audience in different regions. The first few matches are in line with Asian time, so matches between China, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam are usually arranged. The later matches are in line with European and American time, so European and American teams are usually included.

Mingjing and his teammates went up on stage and sat in the players' seats. He glanced at his Taiwanese compatriots sitting next to him, and then discussed the draft strategy for this game with his teammates.

With their 5-0 lead, and considering the current situation, even if they lose all their matches in the second round, they will still qualify.

Therefore, the team has a lot of room for trial and error, and everyone is discussing whether to practice some heroes and try out new lineups.

Especially against PSG.

After all, PSG is practically one of our own, and their chances of qualifying aren't looking good.

After losing to DK, EDG, and MAD, they are tied for fourth place with Vietnam with a score of 2-3.

With the six-to-four format, they can't afford to miss a single point if they want to advance to the knockout stage!
While EDG wouldn't intentionally throw the game, they wouldn't mind making some great attempts, like Showmaker picking Lee Sin, to explore different possibilities.

Playing like this, winning is of course the best, everyone's happy, but even if we lose, it doesn't matter, since EDG is still number one anyway.

"So this time," Maokai thought for a moment, then said, "we won't pick Akali or Lucian, will we? How about we get you Xerath for a game?"

"It depends on the opponent," Ming Jing said frankly. "If they pick someone like Viktor or Orianna, I can give it a try."

As soon as Showmaker picked Xerath, Mingjing tried it out in scrims.

It's something you'd only choose in specific situations, something you'd make do with.

However, it must be said that Mingjing is indeed quite suitable for a hero like Xerath who requires some calculation.

"What about JieJie?" Maokai asked again, "Any junglers you'd like to pick?"

Upon hearing this, JieJie scratched his head and said, "What other choice do we have? It's either Rumble or Udyr. Morgana is not fun to play; she's too passive."

It can only be said that the designer's major changes to the jungler role have not affected the closed environment of the jungler role.

The only difference in jungle options has changed from Udyr/Marilia in the Spring Split to Udyr/Rumble/Morgana now.

It's still a choice of two out of three, and all three are only partially disabled.

This is worlds apart from last year's godlike battles between Nidalee, Graves, and Kindred.

In this version, the more skilled the jungler, the more difficult it is for them.

Even Canyon had some trouble figuring it out, let alone JieJie, who is still relatively inexperienced.

"Okay," Maokai thought for a moment, then said, "So, we'll still pick Lee Sin for top lane? And continue to build around the mid and jungle, is that alright?"

"No problem!" Flandre readily agreed, knowing full well who the real boss was in EDG right now, and Lee Sin was a very suitable champion for him.

This hero doesn't have any carry pressure anyway, so just build Bloodthirst to push lanes and support teammates, and use the ultimate to protect the carry in late-game team fights.

As for things like the roundhouse kick or cutting into the backline, that's not something a top lane Lee Sin does.

Most importantly, with Mingjing in the lead during the ban/pick phase, opponents have to prioritize dealing with Mingjing's heroes, so the ban slots don't go to Flandre, allowing Flandre to consistently get Lee Sin and play passively!
At this point, Maokai nodded, essentially finalizing the draft strategy for this game.

Just then, the referee in the back announced that the match could begin, and Flandre from the blue team clicked to start the game, which opened the ban/pick phase.

Maokai has done some research on PSG, after all, there aren't many teams at MSI, so he can still manage to study them.

He chose to ban Thresh, Renekton, and Senna, all of which are the opponent's signature champions.

On the other hand, PSG's ban picks are somewhat intriguing.

They chose to ban Udyr, Rumble, and Lee Sin.

Seeing this, the EDG players frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled by the ban.

What kind of draft strategy is this? Are you really not going to ban mid-lane champions like Lucian?

Moreover, and most importantly, this coincides with what they had just been discussing.

Maokai couldn't help but turn his head and glance at the PSG players on the other side of the stage.

In fact, the two teams' seats are not far apart, only about ten meters apart.

Because there were no spectators, the venue was quite quiet; if you spoke a little loudly, you could hear it directly from the other side.

And coincidentally, the other person did indeed understand Chinese.
"Don't overthink it." Ming Jing noticed Mao Kai's gaze and then said softly, "They probably have some ideas. Let's wait and see."

Of course, from the perspective of the current version, there is nothing wrong with these three bans, since these are all heroes with extremely high pick rates in the current version.

However, given that Mingjing has not yet revealed his trump card of playing Lee Sin in the mid lane, it is somewhat ironic that PSG specifically allocated a ban slot to guard against Flandre's Lee Sin in the top lane.

HolyGun's Lee Sin deserves to be banned in the first round, right?
Maokai pondered for a long time before finally nodding: "Then let's grab Morgana first. We'll stick to the same strategy as before; there won't be any major changes."

JieJie's proficiency with Morgana is actually average, and her pick rate is the lowest, but in the current situation, they have no choice but to take her first and practice a bit.

On the other side, PSG also acted swiftly, immediately picking Kai'Sa and then locking in Volibear.

In the commentary booth, Guan Daxiao, who was commentating today, didn't notice anything wrong and continued to shout, "Then the choice is back in EDG's hands. Let's see what EDG says, whether they want to pick Lucian or not."

957 chimed in, "Yeah, you can see they don't intend to pick them, but have locked in Tristana and Leona first! They'll definitely be banned in the second round. It seems that even with a points lead, EDG still wants to practice more!"

With PSG securing Titan as their third pick, both sides entered the second round of drafting.

PSG has not locked in a mid-lane champion yet, clearly intending to save the mid-lane pick for last.

As 957 said, barring any unforeseen circumstances, PSG will most likely ban Lucian in the second round.

After all, the second round of bans isn't very valuable, and EDG only had mid and top lane left to ban, so there was no reason for them to continue banning top lane.

Seeing this, Maokai narrowed his eyes slightly, and then suddenly came up with a plan.

"Mingjing," Maokai's voice rose slightly, "If the enemy team doesn't ban Lucian, would you still pick him?"

Hearing this, Ming Jing was slightly taken aback, but he always had good emotional intelligence and immediately understood what the coach meant, replying immediately, "Of course not, didn't I say we're going to practice heroes?"

"Alright," Maokai laughed, "Then let's pick a late-game carry this game!"

As soon as Maokai finished speaking, PSG's second round of bans was determined.

Sett, and Gnar.

Two bans on top laners.

These two bans further confirm EDG's thinking.

Admittedly, banning these two top laners and then locking in a tanky top laner like Sion would indeed be incredibly powerful.

However, it is clear that the priority of these two bans cannot be higher than Mingjing's Lucian!

After completing their two bans, they indeed locked in Sion as their fourth pick.

They neither banned nor picked the hero, just let it go, as if they were certain EDG wouldn't choose it. There's no way to defend their draft strategy after this.

"Be careful, they might be able to hear you." Maokai lowered his voice, but fortunately, everyone was communicating through a voice channel, so it didn't have much of an impact.

Ming Jing's expression was somewhat serious at this moment.

The eavesdropping scandal, is it?

He never expected that such a thing could be done.

Do they really want to qualify?
Then I'll make sure you don't get your way!
"Xuanjun, get an AP champion for top lane," Mingjing said seriously. "Give me Lucian, I'll get a kill!"

When faced with such an opponent, Mingjing must take it seriously and teach them a lesson!
"Okay!" Saint Gun Bro agreed without hesitation.

Not picking Lucian was a self-imposed limitation for EDG.

The first reason is to practice team compositions and explore more possibilities. The second reason is to give PSG a chance, since they are a fellow country team, it doesn't matter if we give them a break.

But EDG didn't expect that the other side would take advantage of this and become even more arrogant!

Now that this restriction has been lifted, EDG's draft picks are incredibly easy to execute!

With Lucian and Kennen locked in one after the other, EDG's lineup is now complete!

After these two options were made, PSG seemed to be confused, and they hesitated to make their final choice.

This further solidified EDG's belief.

If PSG really had the courage to release Lucian with the "Mingjing" buff, then they should have a solution.

PSG pondered for a long time, waiting until the very last second before finally locking onto Akali, intending to fight Mingjing head-on.

At this point, the heroes of both sides are determined.

Blue side EDG: Top lane Kennen, Jungle Morgana, Mid lane Lucian, Bot lane Tristana and Leona.

PSG (Red Team): Top lane Sion, Jungle Volibear, Mid lane Akali, Bot lane Kai'Sa and Nautilus.

"How's it going? Is Lucian okay against Akali?" Maokai finally asked his beloved mid laner.

"Don't worry," Ming Jing said calmly. "Explosive kill!"

A relieved smile appeared on Maokai's face. He patted Mingjing on the shoulder and then walked to the center of the stage to exchange fist bumps with the opposing coach.

When they were exchanging punches, Maokai stared intently at his opponent, while the coach's eyes darted away noticeably.

Maokai couldn't help but chuckle, then walked towards the backstage dressing room.

Before PSG resorted to these underhanded tactics, they actually had a chance to win.

But at this point, they have no chance of winning!

Without dawdling, Maokai quickly returned to the backstage lounge.

Inside the EDG backstage area, everyone was connected to the voice channel and understood what was happening on stage. Their expressions weren't good either, and several of them were still complaining.

After playing professionally for so many years, this is the first time I've seen something like this.

"But thankfully, we discovered it early enough," Maokai laughed. "We were caught off guard by the other side."

If we follow the normal ban/pick strategy, PSG would most likely have placed Lucian in the second round of bans.

After all, the second round of bans is not very meaningful; it's more about filling gaps and filling in the gaps. Banning Lucian in the second round is not a waste of resources.

But after Maokai and Mingjing's coordinated attack, the other side clearly fell for it and forcibly released Lucian!
This gave EDG an opportunity to exploit it.

You really think I won't choose it?

I was just kidding, bro!

The broadcast showed both teams' heroes emerging from the fountain and beginning their initial setup.

At this moment, it's clear that EDG seems to have big plans. Several players are in full formation, crouching in the bushes in the top jungle, waiting for the right opportunity.

First-class regiment?

Maokai was somewhat surprised.

The team didn't discuss these things during the draft phase; they were just ideas that came up on the spot.
Of course, there's no problem.

"Hey, EDG has an idea!" On the commentary desk, Guan Zeyuan looked at the camera shown by the director. "Are they trying to invade? It seems like it could actually work!"

“Yes!” 957 nodded in agreement. “PSG’s Akali and Kai’Sa don’t have any level 1 team fight ability! But our Lucian and Tristana are very strong! Plus, we have Leona and Morgana for crowd control! That’s something!”

With 1 minute and 10 seconds remaining in the game, the EDG players did not hesitate at all and rushed into the upper river, heading straight for PSG's upper red buff area!

PSG's jungle route is quite predictable. After all, their top lane Sion vs. Kennen is a pure tanking matchup. They picked Sion to withstand pressure, and Volibear will definitely farm down the lane to make plays!
Meiko had just entered the jungle when a ward was placed in the red buff camp, and sure enough, the Volibear and Sion brothers were there!
While PSG's discipline wasn't great, they did have basic warding skills. The two players had already spotted EDG's presence through the wards they placed at the jungle entrance.

But by then, even if they discovered it, it would be too late.

Sion and Volibear are two stupid heroes who have absolutely no way to escape!

EDG split into two groups and flanked from both directions. When they reached the right distance, Meiko didn't hesitate at all and decisively used E-Flash to strike, aiming his Zenith Blade directly at Volibear and initiating a root!

Taking advantage of the immobilization effect, Jaja Morgana followed up with one, completing the control combo!

Morgana's Q, even at level one, can control the enemy for a full 2.5 seconds.

This control duration is enough for EDG to take down Volibear!
Viper's Tristana jumped right onto Volibear's face with a W and unleashed a flurry of basic attacks with Hail of Blades!

On the side, PSG's top laner Hanabi was clearly still not clear about the situation. Instead of thinking about leaving immediately, he charged up a Q and knocked Viper up.

But it's obviously meaningless.

Mingjing's Lucian trailed at the very back, slowly walking up. AQAA launched a powerful attack, and with the burst of power from that attack, he secured the kill on Volibear!
After the kill, Tristana's W [Rocket Jump] was refreshed. Without hesitation, Viper had Tristana jump again and landed another W on Sion's head!
You just messaged me on QQ, right?
Then don't leave!

Fun fact: Tristana's W is actually a very powerful slowing skill. Enemies hit by it will be slowed by 40% for up to two seconds!

Taking advantage of those two seconds, the entire EDG team swarmed around, with several chasing after Sion!

Looking at the five people hanging behind him, Hanavi knew he was doomed, so he simply stopped using his dodge ability and faced death head-on.

When Sion reached low health, the jungler and support stopped attacking and let the carry get the kill.

The three-player team didn't have any intention of saving skills to steal kills; they just dealt damage normally and it was a matter of who had better luck.

In the end, Mingjing seemed to have the better luck. Lucian's basic attack was timed perfectly when Sion was low on health, and he secured the kill with a single basic attack!
"Double kill!"

Lucian's double kill echoed throughout the stadium!
PSG's Ueno and Nagasawa duo felt a sinking feeling as they looked at their 0-1 record.

Mid laner Maple's face turned extremely dark.

The mid-lane laning phase was over before it even began.

(End of this chapter)