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

Chapter 190 Reduce the sauce over high heat!

"Ugh, damn it," Karsa said, scratching his head in frustration as he watched the top laner get killed as well, his eyes filled with annoyance.

His attention was almost entirely focused on the prince this game, and he followed the prince around the whole time.

Of course, he did quite well; he accurately predicted every move the prince made to capture people.

In addition to anticipating the enemy's moves, he also farmed the jungle efficiently, even gaining a significant lead over the prince.

After all, Blade of the Ruined King's jungle clearing speed is much faster than Jarvan IV's. He is one of the few junglers who can clear the jungle in 3 minutes and 15 seconds with almost no damage.

If nothing unexpected had happened, the prince should have been accurately arrested in this raid.

He's level 6 now. If he can coordinate with the Renekton to kill the Prince, and then transform into the Prince and use EQ to counter Gwen, then EDG will absolutely be crushed!
But unfortunately, there were unexpected events.

Despite all the precautions, I never expected EDG to play like this!
Let Akali come to my jungle and kill me, then Jarvan IV will go to top lane to gank again?

Is it possible to split up and act like this?
Karsa wondered if EDG had accurately predicted his location or simply trusted his ability to counter-gank.

Karsa was certain he had never missed a step, and he leaned more towards the latter.
Damn, that's even more disgusting.

As Karsa watched EDG's top laner and jungler head towards the top river, he sighed inwardly, knowing that the game was probably going to be lost.

In the LPL commentary booth, Wang Duoduo and Gugu watched the screen and discussed it animatedly.

"Then Top Esports is in a bit of a mess, the situation is getting out of control!"

"Yes! If Ueno is killed in action, it means the vanguard will also be lost!"

"The main problem is that EDG's Akali and Jarvan IV have such a strong snowballing ability in the mid and jungle. If these two get an advantage, the snowball might expand rapidly!"

Seeing the team establish such an advantage, many fans were already celebrating in the live chat.

With such a huge advantage, I don't know how I could possibly lose!
This was indeed a crucial moment.

It's no exaggeration to say that this move hit Top Esports right where it hurts.

Because the vanguard is gone.

Mingjing, the creator of the game, has already provided the best explanation of how to play Ziggs in the bot lane.

The perfect rhythm for the champion Ziggs is to first farm steadily until eight minutes, then use the bottom lane priority to spread to the top half of the map, help the team control the Rift Herald, and then use the Rift Herald + Ziggs combination to quickly take the first tower.

This wave of attacks can quickly create an economic gap of 1000+!

Once a push hero like Ziggs gains an economic advantage, the snowball effect can roll however you want!
To ensure the stability of the Vanguard, Top Esports specifically selected Renekton and Blade of the Ruined King, two champions known for their strong team fights, and then paired them with Lucian, a powerful long-range mid-laner in the early game.

It can be said that the moment Top Esports picked Lucian for mid lane, they knew they would lock in Ziggs for bot lane, so they built their team around Rift Herald from the very beginning!

The vanguard is their lifeline!

But now it's clearly a big problem.

The fact that Ueno and the vanguard were both killed when they were close to the enemy means that Top Esports has completely lost the right to compete for the vanguard!
If the snowball stops rolling, everything is over.

The EDG players knew how important the Rift Herald was to Top Esports, so they all had smiles on their faces when they took it, showing the joy of achieving their goal.

"The Blue Legion has captured the Rift Herald!"

After picking up the Vanguard, Jie Jie was still discussing with the team how to handle it.

"Of course, give it to them." Ming Jing said matter-of-factly, "The gun is crucial."

Gwen vs. Renekton is a core counter in EDG's draft picks.

In the mid-game, Gwen was unstoppable against both Renekton and Lucian.

Saint Gunner, who rarely receives such preferential treatment from his team, is all smiles at this moment.

If I can't handle Niu Bao, can't I handle you, Qing Tian?

In just eleven minutes, EDG, relying on their vanguard strength, pushed down the top lane's first tower.

After recalling, Flandre's Gwent bought Rift Slayer, officially becoming the crocodile's "mother".

With this equipment, the crocodile poses no threat to Gwen.

Meanwhile, EDG's mid and jungle players continued their rhythm.

We had been attacking the upper half of the field before, mainly because the vanguard was important.

Now that we've secured the Vanguard, it's time to take on the bottom half of the map.

At 12 minutes, EDG's bottom lane launched a four-man gank on the second lane.

At this moment, the Ruined King's [Scorched Earth] extended along the wall again, but EDG didn't care about the Ruined King or anything like that, they just went for it!

Titan used his ultimate on Ziggs, Jarvan IV followed up with an EQ combo, and Akali and Kai'Sa flew around, dealing damage.

JackeyLove could do nothing but watch as Akali's R2 killed him.

As for the remaining Japanese women, they too were doomed to die.

Karsa's Blade of the Ruined King was hiding nearby, but without Left Hand's help, he couldn't do anything but watch his teammates die one by one.

The camera cuts to the mid lane and you can see that Lucian on the left didn't move at all, pushing the lane into the tower and enjoying a wave of turret plating.

At this point, the chat was filled with the phrase "[Earthbound Spirit]".

Of course, Zuo Shou's development is still pretty good. After all, he hasn't died yet, and his last hits are consistently the best in the game. With the extra gold from the plating, he also managed to get a Mythic item and Tier 2 boots after recalling.

That means emphasizing the problems caused by wandering around.

Mingjing's roaming in this game can be described as successful, as he helped both the top and bottom lanes to become much stronger, but his lane dominance was greatly reduced.

If Mingjing had focused on laning as usual, ZuoShou would never have developed like this.

Of course, it locks the stomach.

No matter how fat your left hand is, it can't stir up any trouble.

At 15 minutes, in the bottom lane, Ming Jing and Zuo Shou clashed head-on.

Ming Jing wouldn't back down in the slightest because of Lucian's equipment; he immediately flashed, used Force Staff, and his ultimate to rush right to Lucian's face!
Mingjing's equipment was by no means inferior. At this moment, he not only had a push rod and level 2 shoes, but he had even completed half of his second piece of golden armor. He already had the explorer's arm guards and a stopwatch in hand.

With the key armor attribute of the arm guard, Mingjing didn't even need to hit with E. He just placed the smoke bomb, chased Lucian with QA, and after Lucian used Flash to create distance, he used a reverse E on the smoke bomb, chased him with AQR2 to finish him off, and then used the second part of E to gracefully return to his position, leaving Karsa and Zhuo who came to support him with nothing but a helpless look.

The camera then cut to the top lane, where Flandre's Gwen was also showing off against Sunny's Renekton, chasing him all the way from the river to the second tower, and actually getting a solo kill!

At this moment, the screen is filled with GG (Good Game) messages.

At 22 minutes, EDG initiated a team fight around Baron Nashor.

At this point, the economic gap between the two sides had exceeded 7,000, and the Top Esports team no longer wanted to waste any more time, so they decisively chose to engage in a team fight.

Whether it's a dramatic comeback or a resounding failure, this round of action will determine the outcome.

Judging from the result, it was the latter. Meiko played perfectly in this team fight; after using his Q to engage with Titan, he used his R-Flash to knock up both the enemy Lucian and the bomb!
Taking advantage of this opportunity, EDG's Jarvan IV and Kai'Sa entered the fray and instantly followed up with damage.

Mingjing was the slowest to catch up, because he found Blade of the Ruined King first, used R to chase him and hit him with a QA combo, and then seized the opportunity to use E on Blade of the Ruined King.

At this moment, Mingjing flashed and used R2 to attack. Akali swept across the entire battlefield and took down both low-health carries!
After killing the enemy, Mingjing activated the second stage of his E skill. Akali once again crossed the battlefield, flew back to Blade of the Ruined King's side, used her Q skill in mid-air, landed with a passive attack, and then secured the kill on Blade of the Ruined King!
"Triple kill!"

In a single encounter, three men were taken down!

The EDG teammates were all numb.

Wow, that's some serious kicking!
With such a terrifying performance, there was no suspense left. EDG won a team fight with a 0-for-5 exchange, and didn't even need Baron. The mid and top laners teleported to the bottom lane minions, while the other three crossed the mid lane high ground and ended the game in one fell swoop!
The time is fixed at 23 minutes and 44 seconds.

"Congratulations to EDG!" Wang Duoduo shouted from the commentary booth, "They've taken the first game and achieved a winning start to the Summer Split!"

"Yes, congratulations to EDG! They've continued their hot streak from MSI! Their offense was incredibly fluid!"

Since it was a match within the region, the commentators naturally had to maintain a neutral stance. So, after praising EDG, the two immediately shifted the topic to another topic.

"That's a very bad situation for Top Esports. They haven't won a single game since the start of the Summer Split. They might need to adjust their form!"

The camera focused on the Top Esports players, and the pressure was evident on their faces. They all had tense expressions and quickly returned to the backstage dressing room.

Especially Qingtian, who just started playing in the summer season.

After suffering three consecutive losses right from the start, Qing Tian felt that his professional career was probably coming to an end.

Back in the locker room, Coach White Crescent's face darkened as he pointed out several problems from the previous round.

"I said so many times before the match that we absolutely had to get the Vanguard. With our lineup, is it really that hard to get the Vanguard? Why did we have to lose something so important?"

"Furthermore, what exactly was Zhuo Ding doing this game? He had no laning phase, no rhythm, and even got solo-killed while pushing lanes in the mid-game. Don't you think your teammates were under a lot of pressure playing like that?"

Listening to the coach's rapid-fire remarks, the TES players remained silent, unable to lift their heads.

They also understand that the reason they lost so decisively was partly due to EDG's excellent performance and partly due to their poor performance.

They gave us too many chances.

His left hand seemed a little annoyed, muttering "mine, mine" in a muffled voice.

White Crescent, observing the somber atmosphere, shook her head, then changed her tone, speaking softly:
"I know you're under a lot of pressure playing against EDG, after all, they're the MSI champions and they're definitely ahead of us now."

"But even if we lose, we should lose in a meaningful way, right?"

Do you think we can learn anything from such a crushing defeat as last time?

"So, everyone, stay focused!" White Crescent tapped the table. "We're on the blue side in the next game, so the draft will be easier. Let's all do our best! Think about what state we were in and what results we achieved this time last year!"

"As long as we get back into form, we can return to that level anytime!"

After a few bowls of chicken soup, the effect was immediate; the Top Esports members immediately raised their heads, their eyes shining.

What level was Top Esports at last year's Summer Split?
They are the champions of the Mid-Season Invitational (MSC), the champions of the Summer Split, and the number one seed from the LPL.

With the passage of time, why have they fallen into such a state of destitution?
"Damn it, what's the point of talking about it then!" JackeyLove, who always had a good mentality, immediately started yelling, "Charge!"

Seeing this, White Crescent nodded in satisfaction. "Then let's discuss the draft."

In top professional leagues, no team is always on top; there will always be times when they face adversity.

In a winning game, anyone can carry, and the brothers are laughing and having a great time.

But when things are going against you, it's a different story.

Maintaining an optimistic and positive attitude during a low point in the team's morale is a rare and commendable feat.

Some teams may even collapse completely as a result, never to recover.

In situations like these, a team usually needs a player with a good mindset who can lighten the mood and create a relaxed atmosphere.

To give two extreme examples, we can say that RNG in S8 and JDG in S10.

RNG in S8 was undoubtedly a strong team when they were winning, but when they were losing, some people kept quiet, some were stressed, and some didn't even have the right to speak.

This distorted team atmosphere meant that the team had absolutely no communication when facing dire situations, ultimately leading to the biggest tragedy in the history of League of Legends competitions.

In contrast, the situation is much better for JD.com employees.

In last year's finals, although JD Gaming was at a disadvantage and several of their key players were badly beaten by their opponents, they were genuinely optimistic.

Similarly, in the early days of IG, with the twin gorillas Zz1tai and Kid, the team would still be laughing even if they were kicked to death.

In Top Esports, JackeyLove is the one who takes on this role.

Although JackeyLove is the core of the team, he is still needed to step up and improve the atmosphere when the team is at a disadvantage.

It's not easy.

The break time passed quickly, and the second game began.

When Ming Jing went on stage, he made a point of checking the condition of the Top Esports players.

Seeing that the group was still laughing and joking, Ming Jing nodded.

Looks like you're in a good mindset?

Ming Jing didn't think much of it, sat down in his seat, and quickly started the BP process.

"Alright, the second round of bans and picks has begun, and this time the positions have been switched! We can see that Top Esports, now on the blue side, has made significant changes to their ban picks!"

Lucian, Akali, and Diana are quietly sitting on Top Esports' ban list.

After losing the first game, Top Esports realized that it was unrealistic to expect Left Hand to limit Phi with his individual skills.

Furthermore, Top Esports, now on the blue side, has the right to pick first, so it's best to keep the meta heroes for themselves.

EDG, on the other hand, made no changes, choosing to ban Sett, Varus, and Udyr.

"In that case, Lee Sin is free, which is a pick that Top Esports would prefer!"

Left hand doesn't really understand how to play Lee Sin, but Karsa and Qingtian play him quite well. Because Qingtian's champion pool is too narrow, Top Esports usually prioritizes securing the top lane champion.

Seeing that their opponents had locked in Lee Sin, EDG didn't hesitate and decisively locked in Rumble and Blade of the Ruined King.

Rumble in the top and jungle are flexible, as are Blade of the Ruined King in the top, mid, and jungle. The point is to keep it flexible; EDG is clearly saving the mid lane for last.

White Crescent was well-prepared, choosing his own picks and subsequently adding Sylas for mid lane and Nocturne for jungle, determined to fight to the bitter end.

After much discussion, EDG decided to give Foygo to Mingjing to counter Sylas, and then pick Renekton in the top lane to counter Lee Sin. The champions for both sides were thus determined.

Blue side TES: Top lane Lee Sin, Jungle Nocturne, Mid lane Sylas, Bot lane Senna and Tahm Kench.

Red side EDG: Top laner Renekton, jungler Rumble, mid laner Fryego, bot lane Kai'Sa and Nautilus.

(End of this chapter)