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

Chapter 177 Moonset and Gale
After returning to base to resupply, 18 minutes had passed, and the third dragon spawned.

As the DK's disadvantages widen, they naturally become even more hesitant to engage in raids.

EDG easily secured the Infernal Dragon.

In the LCK commentary booth, the three commentators were as anxious as ants on a hot pan.

Because everyone understands that simply letting the dragon run out of steam is not a long-term solution, but rather a slow death.

It's too early now, only 18 minutes in, but EDG already has three dragons in hand.

At 23 minutes, DK will be forced into the Dragon Soul team fight. At that time, EDG will be in an absolute strong period. As long as EDG players don't make any mistakes, DK will have absolutely no chance of winning the team fight!

Should we continue unleashing the Fire Dragon Soul? That would only lead to certain death!
Release the Fire Dragon Soul, release the Great Dragon, and finally release the base too!
24 minutes passed in the blink of an eye. This time, DK had no way out and could only go to the dragon pit to engage in a team fight.

With the economic gap widening to 7,000, even supporters of the LCK felt that the chances were slim.

If the two teams swapped their lineups, and DK had Diana and Yasuo on their side, then things might be a bit different.
At this stage, we can almost only hope that EDG will make a mistake.

Do EDG players get sick?

The answer is definitely no.

Not only did he not have a relapse, but he also delivered a performance at his absolute best!

JieJie's Diana seized the opportunity when the opposing team was forced to group up and push forward in order to contest the dragon. She decisively gave up the dragon and fought for it with Smite, and directly used E-R-Flash to enter the fray!
Diana's R-Flash combo is similar to Orianna's R-Flash, and can also quickly pull the opponent to her side.

But the difference is that the control effect is much faster!

The five members of DK were caught off guard and were all sucked in!
JieJie initiated this team fight without any communication, which not only surprised the opponents but also caught his teammates off guard.

Fortunately, Ming Jing reacted incredibly quickly. The moment he saw the five dotted lines, he subconsciously pressed [Wind Slash], and Yasuo quickly followed!
At this moment, Flandre and Meiko finally realized what was happening. Rumble unleashed his ultimate, and Riven used WR to enter the fray, further gathering the five opposing players together!
Viper was the last to enter the fray, and with his teammates' perfect initiation, he immediately used his W to jump into the crowd.

But this time, it's destined that he won't have a chance to shine.

While he was still using [Explosive Spark], Diana's ultimate and Yasuo's ultimate had already crashed down!

Accompanied by the intense burning of Rambo's ultimate ability.

Nidalee, Zoe, and Kai'Sa instantly lost all their health and died on the spot!

Irelia and Leona are slightly tankier, but their health is also very low.

Mingjing landed and used Q to finish off the Irelia.

The cannon landed two basic attacks, killing the Leona.

From the start of the raid to the victory, the entire process took no more than three seconds. It was as if the five members of DK had already turned into corpses in the blink of an eye!
"ACE!"

It wasn't until then that the cries of "all wiped out!" finally came, drowned out by the thunderous cheers of the audience below!
"This is the ceiling for team fights with EDG's lineup!" A clear smile appeared on Wawa's face in the commentary booth. "It's absolutely incredible!"

"Diana plus Yasuo's ultimate, that's so awesome! This is really awesome for Xiaofei."

Miller laughed when he heard that: "Yes, how many Yasuo players have never seen five dotted lines in their entire lives!"

"Although they didn't secure the dragon, this team fight was absolutely perfect, resulting in a flawless 5-0 exchange! EDG can now directly take Baron!"

"EDG opted for a more aggressive playstyle, sending Viper to push the mid lane while the other four controlled Baron! No problem!"

"With the high ground and Baron Nashor secured, EDG's gold lead has officially surpassed 10,000!"

With this economic advantage, EDG no longer needs to initiate any good team fights.

All JieJie and Meiko need to do is start the team fight, and the terrifying damage from their three cores will be enough to destroy everything!
Flandre Rumble used his ultimate to block the way and then flashed forward, drawing enemy fire while unleashing terrifying AOE damage!

Mingjing's Yasuo darted around the formation like an eel, and then seized the opportunity when Meiko's Ryle knocked up the enemy Kai'Sa with a shot, and decisively followed up with his ultimate!

Viper had a keen sense of team fights; the little cannon immediately jumped in and quickly killed Ghost.

With AD down, the remaining carries were unable to turn the tide and were picked off one by one by EDG!

Another two-for-five exchange occurred, and DK was wiped out on their own mid-lane high ground.

"ACE!"

The sound of a team wipe echoed throughout the arena. Taking advantage of the super minions, EDG pushed forward and won the game!

"One to zero!" Wawa shouted excitedly, "Let's congratulate EDG for winning the first game with their excellent team fight performance!"

"Judging from the Yasuo performance in this match, EDG has prepared a lot for this final! Perhaps we can look forward to seeing if EDG will continue to bring us more exciting performances!"

At this moment, the popularity of the live broadcast room has reached a new peak this year, with the number of viewers in the live broadcast room reaching an astonishing number of millions.

Countless comments flew across the live stream!
[Abusive!]

[This is really brutal, it seems like the Death Knight can't fight back at all.]

There's nothing we can do about it. The team composition and team fight strength are too different between the two sides, and DK is also struggling a bit in the early game, so we can only give up.

[The main issue is that Diana and Yasuo's initiation is too overpowered, and it's a huge counter to Nidalee and Zoe's poke composition, right?]

[This is absolutely outrageously insane; DK was completely unable to fight back!]

Meanwhile, on the LCK commentary booth, the expressions of the three commentators, including Roaring Emperor, were somewhat stiff as they tried to make amends for DK.

"Oh my god, EDG is so wicked!" CT couldn't help but complain, "They caught DK off guard during the draft phase!"

"It's truly a regrettable defeat!" Kim Dong-jun nodded. "If it were a head-to-head battle, DK would be no match for EDG!"

Beside him, Roaring Emperor couldn't say anything, and could only pray, "Now we can only hope that the DK in the next game will be better prepared."

At this moment, in the DK backend.

Backstage, the DK members also had serious expressions and immediately plunged into a tense discussion.

It has to be said that the Yasuo-Diana mid-jungle combo is indeed quite something.

A single Yasuo or a single Diana is not considered strong in their respective positions.

Yasuo is one of the few heroes who didn't benefit from the Mythic item bonus. Both the shield and the Infinity Edge are extremely expensive items. The high cost delayed Yasuo's power spike much compared to the previous Phantom Dancer and Infinity Edge, but his strength didn't increase much.

To address this, the designers even gave Yasuo and Yone continuous buffs, but with little effect. They merely brought them back to their normal level.

The issue of Jiaoyue being unsuitable for the match is a well-worn one.

If this version of Diana were in last year's jungle carry meta, it would be a game-changer, but unfortunately it can't be.

But these two unremarkable heroes, when combined, produced a near-qualitative synergy effect!
The DK players have realized that this hero could very well be the one to change the landscape of the mid and jungle.

EDG had this amazing talent, but they held back until the finals, catching them completely off guard.

They definitely can't offer this combination right now.

Kkoma thought for a moment before saying, "If we can't get it, then we'll have to ban it, right?"

This combination is tough to deal with, but it's also easy to break up; just ban it.

If one of them is banned, the other will naturally be unable to play.

The problem is that there are only three ban slots in the first round. If one is banned, one of them has to be released.

Which one should we put it in?
Lucian is definitely going to be banned, so will they let Akali or Lee Sin be banned?
Phi's Akali has been proven in real combat and is indeed quite terrifying.

However, Lee Sin was a ban pick they deduced themselves; Phi had never chosen him before.

If we think about it that way, perhaps releasing Lee Sin would be more reasonable?
"Let's ban them first," Kkoma thought for a moment, then said, "Anyway, we're on the blue side next game, so we have enough ban slots."

The World Championship adopts a loser-chooses-side system. In the second game, DK took the initiative to choose the blue side, which allowed them to boldly let Lee Sin play.

If EDG doesn't ban Lee Sin, they can pick him themselves and use him as a flex pick in the top and jungle.

Of course, the problem was not solved, only delayed.

The DK players believe they won't always be on the blue side.

They will definitely win the game and return to the red side eventually. When that happens, how they draft will still be a headache for them. "But let's win this game first," Kkoma said, looking at the players in front of him. "Next game, we're on the blue side, and the opponent will most likely give their counter pick to the mid lane. Xu Xiu, any ideas?"

This is the problem that needs to be solved right now.

With Phi watching over him, Kkoma really didn't dare to do anything risky with BP.

Showmaker thought for a moment after hearing this before saying, "Next game, give me a late-game mage carry hero, that will be more stable."

“Okay.” Kkoma nodded, having no objection.

Regardless, late-game magic cores are always the most stable choice.

"."

The break time passed quickly.

After a thrilling competition, the audience was in high spirits, and when the contestants took the stage, countless spectators cheered them on!

The European director also knew exactly who the viewership was, and immediately switched the camera to Ming Jing.

As Ming Jing watched the camera slowly move in front of him, he reached out and smiled as he waved to the camera.

His smile exuded confidence and high spirits.

The cheers from the audience grew even louder.

The number of comments in the live stream room also increased noticeably!
[Cool, fly!]

[Flying God, let's charge one more time with the brothers!]

[You've already won one game, isn't that enough?]

[I didn't have enough supplies; I didn't even get MVP last game. I really should get a kill this second game.]

【It really is】

The MVP of this match was ultimately awarded to JieJie's Diana.

Because EDG won the last game so easily, almost a complete rout, their performances were all roughly the same.

The most outstanding players were Mingjing and Jiejie. One of them got a double kill in a 1v2 situation in the top lane, and the other used his ultimate to kill five people in the Dragon Soul team fight, creating a devastating team fight initiation. Both of them were decisive and winning performances.

Ultimately, the tournament organizers awarded the prize to JieJie, who had shown stronger performance, since that five-man attack was indeed a bit over the top.

Ming Jing wasn't particularly obsessed with the MVP award; he'd just gotten tired of it after winning it so many times.

He just wants to win the championship as soon as possible.

I sat in a chair, closed my eyes to rest, and listened to my teammates and coach chattering in my ear.

Not long after, the referee's voice came over.

Nuguri, the top laner for the blue side, clicked "Start Game," officially beginning the second round's draft phase!
Ming Jing opened his eyes at this moment, watching the two coaches take turns placing their cards around the ban list.

In the second game, DK on the blue side didn't make much of a change in their ban list. They banned Lucian and Akali in the first two picks, focusing on targeting the mid lane.

They didn't make a change until the very last move, banning Diana.

There's not much to say about this ban; just ban either the mid or jungler to break up the duo.

"We've released Lee Sin, but we can't pick him up." Maokai scratched his head. "Should we ban him?"

Without a second thought, Ming Jing said, "Let's ban it. We have enough ban slots anyway."

When EDG moved to the red side, the ban list changed significantly.

After all, EDG's decision to ban Morgana and Udyr as their second and third picks was purely a smokescreen.

After all, it only makes sense to first pick Rumble if these two heroes are banned, thus creating an opportunity to use Rumble flexibly.

At the same time, it is also to protect the Yasuo and Diana combination.

It's still a bit difficult for Jiaoyue to fight these two.

Now that Diana has been banned, there's no need to continue using ban slots. So, EDG only banned Morgana and Senna in their first two bans, leaving them with plenty of ban slots.

A blind monk appears in the scene, then quickly fades to gray.

What was originally just an ordinary ban choice took on a different meaning in the eyes of the DK players.

Does EDG's self-ban of Lee Sin prove that they really can't play Lee Sin? Or are they overthinking it?
Once the seed of doubt is planted, it will eventually sprout.

Kkoma shook his head, clearing his mind of all irrelevant thoughts, and then locked onto Rambo.

With Morgana banned, the jungler position is a choice between Rumble and Udyr, and Canyon prefers Rumble.

EDG quickly retaliated, locking in Udyr and then picking Renekton.

With Udyr and Renekton providing crowd control, the strength of the upper half of the map is basically guaranteed. All that's left is for the two carries to deal enough damage, and for the support to provide crowd control, and it's already a decent lineup.

DK clearly understood this as well. They immediately picked Ryze as their second pick to prevent EDG from getting this crucial crowd control ability, and then locked in Kai'Sa, securing the bot lane duo in advance.

On the other hand, EDG took the opportunity to lock in Tristana and enter the second round of draft.

"Then came the second round of bans. The blue side, DK, continued to target the mid lane, choosing to ban Azir and Clockwerk, which was the same strategy they used in the previous game!"

"On the other side, EDG banned Syndra and Zoe. Wow, both sides banned a lot of mid laners this game. Now it's time to test the mid lane champion pools of both sides!"

Including Lucian and Akali, which DK banned in the first round, both sides banned a total of six mid laners in this game, which is quite impressive.

Fortunately, the hero DK wanted was still out of the game. Showmaker didn't think too much about it. After EDG locked in the support Titan as their fourth pick, they immediately locked in the mage Viktor, intending to win in the late game!

The three commentators in the LPL booth discussed the DK's choice again.

"Viktor, oh my, no problem at all! Viktor, after being reworked in the Mythic patch, was already a popular mid laner with a very high pick rate!"

"But that means there aren't many heroes left to choose from! Are there any other heroes that Xiaofei is good at picking?"

"Can we choose the fox?"

"That's certainly possible, but if we pick Ahri, I'm worried about the damage output. EDG's lineup is still a bit lacking in damage."

"How about we play Yasuo again?"

"No, no, no, that would turn us into a 'kitchen knife squad'!"

The third commentator was also undecided at this moment.

The main problem was that Mingjing played too few matches, and he basically picked the same heroes in all the MSI matches, so the three commentators had no idea what he was good at.

But soon, EDG gave everyone the answer with their choice.

"Xerath!?" The three commentators on the LPL commentary booth exclaimed in unison, expressing their surprise.

"Wow, Brother Fei can do that too?"

"But there's no problem! Xerath is indeed better at fighting Viktor, after all, he has a longer reach!"

During the MSI tournament, Showmaker once picked a strange Xerath when facing a short-legged mage carry, and delivered a very impressive performance!
Now, Mingjing has chosen to recreate the classic!
On the DK player bench, Showmaker looked at EDG's fifth pick and his heart sank.

He stole that too? Damn it.

Seeing this Xerath made Showmaker feel inexplicably uneasy.

With this, the lineups for both sides are finalized.

Blue side DK: Top lane Gnar, Jungle Rumble, Mid lane Viktor, Bot lane Kai'Sa and Raiel.

Red side EDG: Top laner Renekton, jungler Udyr, mid laner Xerath, bot lane Tristana and Nautilus.

After a brief loading period, the next match began quickly!
(End of this chapter)