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

Chapter 200: Victory is our goal!

Although the FPX players believed that defeat was inevitable, they still had to finish the match under the restriction that they could not surrender.

For the remainder of the time, both sides continued to engage in small skirmishes.

At 14 minutes, the second vanguard team, both sides now had ten players gathered together.

"FPX is playing very well here, Gragas' ultimate hit Xiaofei back!"

In the commentary booth, Guan Daxiao stared wide-eyed at the screen before him, "But it's no use! Irelia is too tanky!"

At this moment, Ming Jing had already crafted the Bloodthirsty Battle Axe and the Cloth Armor Child, making him incredibly tanky.

Although he was blown into a crowd by the barrel, he still survived with low health despite taking a full combo of damage.

The most critical issue is that FPX didn't suffer the devastating damage from Ignite because their support was Tahm Kench.

This caused Ming Jing to press the Bloodthirst button the next moment, instantly restoring his health to more than half.

Immediately afterwards, Irelia presses her W [Dance of the Blade], transforming into an immovable king in team fights through high physical damage reduction!

Once his teammates followed up, Mingjing used R+E to unleash an AOE crowd control effect, allowing his teammates to easily achieve a crushing team fight!
"Wow, she's so tanky!" Miller exclaimed dramatically. "It feels like FPX has absolutely no ability to kill this Irelia!"

FPX's core problem is that their mid laner already lacks damage output, and then they added a Moon Man to their AD carry lineup. The combination of the two makes them even less effective at dealing damage!
Admittedly, Aphelios has no shortage of damage output in the late game, and with Gragas' AP damage, the damage output structure is quite reasonable. As long as Lee Sin and Xin Zhao in the mid and jungle can drive the tempo, then this is a qualified lineup.

But that's where the problem lies. Doinb completely lost his rhythm against Mingjing's Irelia!

At this moment, countless comments on the screen were already praising Ming Jing to the skies.

I won't go into the specifics of the mid-lane difference in this game, but that's the reality.

[Who said a W-max Irelia is useless in the last game? Apologize!]

Wow, this fighting style is really amazing! He's practically invincible!

This is what Big B dreams of.

[This Irelia player is a pro! I've never seen this playstyle before!]

[It seems to be Big B's hidden move, but Little Fei stole it at the last minute.]

Haha, really? That's hilarious!

[The "stealing the trick" part is just speculation, but the "forward and reverse" teaching method is definitely real.]

In any case, there's really no going back now.

With the second vanguard team's defeat, the economic gap between the two sides widened to 7,000. If EDG had been more ruthless, they might have been able to replicate the disastrous result of pushing and wiping the map twenty minutes earlier.

However, since they are all from the same region, they will run into each other frequently, and playing too aggressively can indeed give them opportunities. Therefore, EDG has chosen to take a long-term approach and proceed steadily.

Mingjing followed Doinb's example and built Bloodthirster for his second item, which made him incredibly strong in team fights.

He won't build the third item, since Doinb didn't even make it to three items in the last game.

But after thinking it over, Mingjing decided to return to the ruined place, hoping to at least improve his split-pushing ability.

The two-piece set doesn't add any attack speed, and it's a bit clunky to play.

At 25 minutes, the main force of EDG had already pushed up to the high ground on all three lanes with the Wind Dragon Soul and Baron buff.

FPX initiated the team fight decisively, taking advantage of EDG's 131 split and launching a team fight in the mid lane, targeting Viper's Kalista!
But Viper's play was perfect. He first flashed to dodge Gragas' ultimate, then used his ultimate to recall Meiko's Braum, knocking up Xin Zhao and Lee Sin in front of him. Then, with Braum's control, he made a series of jumps and swam around the enemy team like a dragon!
Taking advantage of the space created by Viper, Mingjing and Flandre crossed from the top and bottom lanes of FPX's high ground respectively, surrounding the rear of FPX's formation!
With just a few moves, the two of them instantly depleted Lin Weixiang's Aphelios health bar.

With Big C down, it was a natural progression to wipe out the rest of the team and easily win the game!

"ACE!"

The sound of a team wipe echoed throughout the stadium as EDG, with a terrifying 14-2 kill score, once again destroyed FPX's base crystal!

"Well then, let's congratulate EDG!" Guan Daxiao's tone was full of joy, "A 2-0 victory over FPX, taking another point!"

A 2-0 sweep, with both games being speedruns, means the two commentators can finally finish their long Saturday schedule and go home early. Anyone would be overjoyed!

Miller's face was beaming with smiles. "These are just two very smooth victories! After winning this game, EDG will officially take first place in the regular season!"

Although EDG maintained a perfect record throughout the season, they were always one win behind FPX because they did not have any matches in the first week, which resulted in them having to settle for second place.

Now, EDG can only be said to have reached the place it should be in.

But the success of one side inevitably means that the other side has to step on it.

FPX's loss not only meant losing their perfect record but also their top spot in the standings, which is undoubtedly a significant blow to their morale.

Doinb looked dejected, a bitter smile playing on his lips.

In today's game, he couldn't find any reason why his teammates were at fault.

There was only one factor that led to the defeat: the gap in mid-lane strength.

Moreover, in a head-to-head matchup in his best mid-lane warrior role, he was outmatched.

For a top professional player, the most frustrating thing is to be defeated by an opponent in their area of ​​expertise.

After all, the meta in League of Legends is always shifting, with different teams rising to prominence in different versions.

Players like Doinb, with their unique playstyle, can rise to prominence and return to their peak once the right version of the game is released.

When they find that they are no longer proficient in what they do best, that's when they should step down.

This means that their niche has been completely taken away, and even in their current version, they will not become the strongest.

This was the biggest blow to him.

Is he really that old?
But he won the championship only two years ago.
In contrast, Mingjing was obviously relaxed and happy, with a clear smile on his face.

After all, in Mingjing's view, Doinb has always been the best example of a roaming mid-laner. Even he himself has been watching Doinb's games to learn his rhythm.

It's just that teaching a disciple can lead to the master's downfall. Now that Mingjing has defeated Doinb head-on, it means that he has officially entered the hall of fame in the roaming style.

Even after the match, Mingjing, who has always pursued a two-pronged approach of laning and roaming, found a solution today.

It has to be said that Doinb is indeed a great practice opponent. When playing against him, you need to think constantly and you can learn a lot from him.

Mingjing even felt that there was still more to go and wished he could continue to play a few more games with FPX!

Unfortunately, it's not feasible.

Then we'll just have to wait for the playoffs.

Even when they were exchanging fist bumps, Mingjing's tone carried a hint of sincerity.

"Good luck!" Mingjing and Doinb lightly bumped fists, their voices sincere. "See you in the playoffs!"

But Doinb heard these words with a slightly different meaning.

What do you mean? Are you really treating us like pushovers? You're just hoping to run into us so you can advance?

You only won one regular season game, what are you so capable of!

Doinb's face flushed red, and after a long pause, he finally managed to say, "I will definitely win in the playoffs!" Now the playoffs use a double-elimination format, so as long as they are strong teams, they will meet in the playoffs sooner or later.

Doinb is determined to exact revenge in the playoffs!
Ming Jing remained calm, simply smiling and nodding before bowing to his teammates in the center of the stage, packing up his equipment, and leaving.

Today's interview also included Ming Jing. After Ming Jing introduced himself, the host Luo Xin quickly asked follow-up questions.

"EDG's journey in this summer split has been incredibly smooth, and they're still undefeated halfway through the season! So, will Phi have any additional goals for the remaining regular season?"

Ming Jing hesitated for two seconds before saying, "Actually, we don't place too much importance on our regular season record. Most of the time, we use it as an experiment to explore more possibilities. This undefeated ranking is actually unexpected, but since we've come this far, the team will naturally strive for an undefeated record."

The audience naturally had a lot to say about Ming Jing's speech at Versailles.

So you mean you haven't been serious at all since you've been winning all this time?

Of course, given EDG's strength, this is indeed plausible.

The heroes that Xiaofei plays in the Summer Split are quite different from those in the Spring Split and MSI!
Even Irelia pulled out her.

"In today's match, Phi picked Irelia for the first time and achieved very good results!"

Luo Xin continued with a smile, "Was Irelia's choice a hidden move that the team had prepared beforehand?"

"I guess so," Ming Jing nodded and said, "After all, Irelia received a major buff in patch 13.13, so as a professional player, I naturally had to prepare. However, the opponent's Irelia with a maxed W and Bloodthirst build today was a bit unexpected, so I tried it out, and it worked really well. I can only say that I still have a lot to learn."

Ming Jing spoke sincerely, as it truly reflected his personal journey.

With this example of the main W Irelia as a warning, Mingjing resolved to take version updates seriously in the future and strive to not miss any possible strategies from a data perspective.

But at this moment, the live stream chat exploded with comments again.

[Haha, I knew it! This tactic must have been stolen by Xiaofei on the spot!]

[This playstyle is really simple. Before, Irelia was all flashy, with auto-attacks, kiting, Qs, and having to ensure E hits. Now, you just push the lane with W and that's it. It's a kind of beauty in terms of numbers.]

Big B won't be able to sleep tonight; he's defeated by his own tricks.

[It doesn't matter, Xiaofei went to the bottom lane for a 4v2 gank at level 3, you don't think it's because the W-maxed Irelia is strong, do you?]

Indeed, with such a huge advantage, even a standard Irelia player would probably win, and might even have a more satisfying kill streak!

The interview session ended there, and Ming Jing returned to the backstage dressing room, then left with the group.

Halfway there, Mingjing skillfully took out his phone and browsed the comments on Tieba (a Chinese online forum).

Before the match started, you could see quite a few comments from fans in the comments section.

After all, with an undefeated record and the top spot in the regular season standings, Phoenix fans can certainly stand tall with pride.

But now that the competition is over, the situation is very different. Tonight's forum is like a monkey-catching contest!
[Before the match, some people said that Big B and Little Fly were mid laners of the same tier in this version. What about now?]

[The result was a direct lesson learned, both from the front and back; it was truly hilarious.]

[I have to say, this B's learning ability is truly terrifying; he seems like a completely different person in the Spring and Summer Splits.]

Indeed, in the Spring Split, he played mid laners like AD carries, but in the Summer Split, he became a proper roaming mid laner. He accomplished in just two months what Rookie couldn't do in his entire professional career.

[That's true, Rookie has spent his whole life eating grass and milking cows but he still hasn't developed the ability to move around.]

This is simply talent; the value of a 16-year-old Finals MVP award.

It looks like EDG is really going to have a perfect regular season record, are they replicating their S6 performance?

[What Fei Kai accomplished back then, Fei Shen can definitely do effortlessly; it's just a matter of whether he wants to or not.]

【really】

Ming Jing looked at the comments in front of him with a slight smile on his face.

Clearly, everyone is now looking forward to EDG achieving their second undefeated regular season record.

If EDG ultimately fails to achieve their goal, they will be in a very difficult position.

"Ding dong~"

A WeChat message came through; it was from Song Xuan.

"Wow, you're all done? So fast! I haven't even finished one question yet."

Following Song Xuan's message was a picture, which was a challenging number theory problem from the IMO, with densely packed derivations that Ming Jing had to carefully examine to understand.

This best-of-three series didn't even last an hour and a half?

“That’s normal.” Ming Jing chuckled. “Doinb is just playing casually, he knows how to teach others a lesson with both forehand and backhand!”

"Amazing!" Song Xuan replied immediately: "I'll watch the recording when I have time."

"No, no, no, you should focus on your exam preparation." Ming Jing laughed, "The playoffs are still going to happen, so watching the live stream will be just as good."

"It doesn't matter, I'm not under pressure," Song Xuan replied quickly.

In terms of mental fortitude, Song Xuan and Ming Jing were exactly alike, as if what they were about to participate in was not the world's highest-level middle school mathematics competition, but an ordinary monthly mathematics exam.

Of course, confidence is always based on absolute strength.

It's easy to see the national team's dominance this year from Song Xuan's confidence.

This made Ming Jing feel somewhat regretful.

It would be great if he could participate in this competition; it seems quite interesting.

It's much more interesting than the regular season.

Then, time continued to pass day by day.

EDG's next opponent is V5.

V5's performance this year has not been ideal.

How unsatisfactory is it? Let's put it this way: the reverse EDG – still struggling to secure a single victory, currently sitting at 0-8.

For a team like this to face EDG today is destined to be a disaster.

In both games, EDG easily defeated their opponents, taking another point and continuing their steady progress towards a perfect record.

On the same day, this year's IMO officially opened in St. Petersburg.

The two-day exam will be the ultimate test for countless mathematical geniuses.

Song Xuan was in pretty good shape on the first day, and made a bold statement after returning from the exam. However, when he returned on the second day, his words seemed to carry a hint of unease and worry.

Mingjing initially thought the other person hadn't done well on the test and wanted to ask what was going on, but after asking, he learned that the person was anxious because they were afraid of not getting a perfect score.

This left Ming Jing speechless.

That's a bit inhuman.

(End of this chapter)