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

Chapter 220 Perfect Mid Laner
When the three commentators saw Twisted Fate appear in EDG's fifth pick, they were all taken aback.

"Huh, Twisted Fate?" Miller was a little surprised. "Little Fei, this sounds interesting! This seems to be Twisted Fate's first appearance in the playoffs!"

"Yes, it's their first appearance!" Colonel Guan nodded emphatically. "It feels like this is a trick Little Fei prepared! Are they trying to use cards and Devil May Cry to play a hit-and-run strategy?"

Twisted Fate is actually frequently seen in regular season games. After all, this hero can push lanes quickly, and has a long range with some crowd control. He is one of the few mage heroes who can go toe-to-toe with Lee Sin and Irelia.

During the regular season, Xiaofei played Lee Sin with great enthusiasm and ignored Twisted Fate. Now that it's the playoffs and Twisted Fate's pick rate has dropped, he's picked it instead.

What kind of number is this?
FPX didn't understand either, but it didn't hinder their draft picks.

Cards are versatile and suitable for competitions, but there are also many counters.

With Doinb locking in Sylas as his final pick, the lineups for both sides were now finalized.

Blue side EDG: Top lane Gnar, Jungle Lee Sin, Mid lane Twisted Fate, Bot lane Ezreal and Leona.

FPX (Red Side): Top lane Jayce, Jungle Xin Zhao, Mid lane Sylas, Bot lane Varus and Braum.

On FPX's side, coach Steak looked at the lineup in front of him and nodded in satisfaction.

To be honest, there were no problems with the laning phase in all three lanes. They were almost always ahead in their lanes, and their early game strength was significantly higher.

Sylas is a mid-laner who can pose a threat to Twisted Fate, and his ultimate can follow up with Twisted Fate's ultimate while he roams, making him a standard counter pick.

With the lane priority and early-game strength of the armor penetration Varus in the bottom lane, if the tactics are executed without problems, this game will be a standard 25-minute dragon soul forced team fight and push game!

"It's all up to you, Coin Bro." Steak closed his notebook and said over the voice chat, "We have a good chance this time!"

Doinb, of course, understood that the draft was pretty good, so he nodded emphatically, "Watch me."

He had played Sylas against Twisted Fate countless times and was quite confident in the matchup.

Twisted Fate is arguably the strongest roaming champion in the game, but his weaknesses are also obvious, with a rather poor laning ability.

If you expect Twisted Fate to trade blows with other champions, that's unrealistic. The only way to play Twisted Fate in lane is to avoid trading blows, just push the minion wave, and win by pushing the wave efficiently.

Therefore, what Doinb needs to do in this game is to start by exploiting the weaknesses of the cards!

"."

Meanwhile, on the EDG players' bench, Maokai was giving Mingjing his final instructions.

"It's up to you, Mingjing," Maokai said. "You have a very important task ahead of you."

Maokai could certainly understand that he was at a disadvantage in the top and bottom lanes in this game.

In this matchup, both Gnar and Ezreal are champions that need to be played until after twenty minutes to turn the tide.

But the reason he made this choice was, of course, because he unconditionally believed in Ming Jing's abilities.

As long as the card can roam, the laning disadvantage in the top and bottom lanes will no longer be a disadvantage, but an opportunity to roam.

As for whether Mingjing will have problems in the laning phase, that's never something Maokai would worry about.

If Mingjing were so easily suppressed, EDG wouldn't have won all the way to this point.

Ming Jing listened to the coach's instructions without saying much, and simply nodded easily.

Why did Twisted Fate, an unremarkable hero who wasn't favored by the meta, become Ming Jing's trump card that he kept until the finals?
The reason is simple: it's suitable.

Mingjing has always believed that in order to roam while ensuring that you don't lose lane, the hero you choose must meet two of the following three criteria: wave clear ability, map movement speed, and kill efficiency.

At the same time, Mingjing also needs to maintain sufficient lane dominance, which requires him to have strong laning ability.

In other words, you need to ensure that you have three out of four points.

In reality, there could not be such a hero in League of Legends.

After all, designers aren't stupid. Each hero they design follows a certain model. Heroes like Twisted Fate and Galio, who are designed for roaming, are destined to have relatively low laning strength.

A monster like Syndra, who is strong in the laning phase, is destined to be somewhat lacking in roaming.

The difference lies in the fact that pushing lanes and map movement speed are hard indicators; if you can't push the lane, you can't push it, no matter how skillful your maneuvers are. Lane dominance, however, can be compensated for by skillful maneuvers.

Therefore, the card became the most suitable hero for Mingjing.

The card's skill set, designed for roaming, complements Mingjing's needs, while Mingjing's strong individual abilities compensate for the card's weakness in laning.

Only when Twisted Fate is selected can Mingjing become the perfect mid laner he desires!
He cannot lose this match.

After receiving Mingjing's affirmative response, Maokai took off his headphones, went to the center of the stage, and, under the watchful eyes of countless spectators, punched his opponent's coach before leaving the stage.

From the front row, close to the stage, Song Xuan could clearly see Ming Jing talking, seemingly discussing tactics.

Song Xuanhuai held two cheering sticks, his eyes filled with a glimmer of hope.

JDG's former teammates were also watching the game.

Looking at the lineup in front of him, Toothpaste mentally simulated it for a moment before saying, "Then Mingjing has a very heavy task ahead of him."

“Indeed.” Kanavi nodded. “It depends on his card rhythm. It’s going to be tough.”

The live broadcast camera panned around the audience seats and then switched back to the match, by which time both players had already emerged from the fountain.

The director acted quickly, promptly displaying the rune selections for both sides' heroes.

There's not much to say about the card's runes; it's the standard Comet rune with Inspiration as the secondary rune path, and Minion Dematerializer for additional damage.

On the other hand, Doinb was a bit more arrogant. This time, he didn't choose the usual Doran's Shield and double Revitalize route. Instead, he aggressively picked Doran's Shield and Electrocute as his primary rune.

This playstyle seems to be a recently popular Electrocute-focused Q build.

Sylas also received some changes in patch 11.15, with a nerf to the healing of his W skill but an increase in the damage and ability power scaling of his Q skill, which enhanced this Electrocute max Q build.

However, this playstyle still requires a high level of skill from the player, as it heavily relies on the accuracy of skill hits.

Previously, Conqueror would max W, then just E in and go all in. Whether the skills hit or not, you could win purely based on stats.

If you leave your QQ account empty these days, you'll be in real trouble.

Mingjing pressed TAB and saw the playstyle Doinb had chosen, but he wasn't flustered.

It can only be said that this suited his purposes perfectly.

During the trash talk segment, he said he wanted to show Doinb what a true roaming mid laner is.

This wasn't just empty talk; it was his true thought.

As soon as he went online with the minions, Ming Jing, just like before, used his long-range advantage to directly cross the line and suppress them.

He still uses the classic basic attack to aggro minions. If the opponent is not prepared, they will be completely crushed by Ming Jing at level one!

Of course, Doinb has always regarded EDG as his hypothetical enemy, and his research over the years has not been in vain. He was prepared for Mingjing's strategy of blocking aggro.

Moreover, what gives Twisted Fate the right to overpower Sylas at level one?
The moment the card pressed forward, Doinb immediately used his E to dash in and initiate a passionate trade!
Doinb clearly felt that he could reach the target with an auto-attack after using E, but when he actually used E, he found that the auto-attack was always just a little short!
This demonstrates the ability to control distance.

Being familiar with the range of the opponent's various basic attacks or skills and putting yourself in a reasonable position is only considered a beginner level. Only when you can control the distance with precision down to the single digit, give the opponent the illusion that you can hit them, and then induce them to make a mistake, can you be considered a true master.

Of course, Sylas was right behind him, and if Mingjing stopped and turned around to attack, Sylas would definitely retaliate. So Mingjing's choice was to walk forward while pressing W, slowly drawing a yellow card.

Only then did he finally turn around, about to throw a yellow card at Silas!
A yellow card that's almost touching your face is theoretically hard to react to, but Doinb had already started preparing when Twisted Fate was picking his cards. The moment Twisted Fate turned around, he immediately used his E [Strike] to release his card!

A wave of basic control offsets.

In this way, even if he is stunned by the yellow card, he can still use his E skill to counter the card and get close to it, so the trade of health will not be a loss!
But, just as he pressed E, he was surprised to find that the yellow card had not been played.

The earlier turn of the head was just a feint. In reality, the card only turned its head for a moment before immediately moving sideways.

This movement, even before Sylas activated his E, was a complete prediction of Doinb's prediction. Combined with Twisted Fate's already excellent initial movement speed, Twisted Fate narrowly dodged this almost point-blank "kidnapping"!
Upon seeing this, all the audience members widened their eyes in astonishment!
"He dodged it!" Miller exclaimed in the commentary booth, "Xiaofei was on the third level! He baited out Doinb's E!"

Taking advantage of Sylas's E skill's cooldown, Mingjing glanced at the minion's aggro.

Just before the minion was about to attack, he turned around and delivered a yellow card to Sylas's chest.

Even in a tense environment where swords are drawn, Ming Jing's actions and reactions are enough for him to calmly assess all the information around him.

This time, the timing of the minion's attack was precisely timed. Although the minion turned around because of the yellow card, it couldn't use its basic attack because it had just attacked. Then, the aggro was transferred back because of the enemy minion's attack.

Taking advantage of the dizziness, Ming Jing first turned his head to create distance, not giving Sylas a chance to fight back, and then blocked the minions' aggro again, and launched another basic attack!
Doinb had already recovered from the stun, but his Sylas was a melee hero who couldn't do anything against the card's basic attacks, so he had no choice but to turn and run.

However, because Doinb initiated the attack with his E, Mingjing had a long chasing distance.

Ming Jing was relentless, chasing Sylas all the way to the tower, reducing his health by 40% before finally leaving satisfied.

Because Sylas uses the Electrocute and Doran's Ring build, his recovery ability is very weak. If he gets hit like this at level one, he's basically half-defeated.

Doinb stood under the tower, drank a red bottle, and felt his heart sink.

Recalling the details of the laning phase with the card still made him tremble with fear.

Who are these people?
Is he really fighting against humans?
Watching the card, still at full health, turn and leave, Doinb's heart began to race, and he became nervous.

The mid-lane is undoubtedly the key to a game.

Especially when both teams heavily rely on their mid-laners' performance.

A mistake in trading blows in the mid lane could trigger a chain reaction, ultimately resulting in the death of a teammate on the side lane.

He really needs to put in the effort in this match; he can't afford to fall behind.

Therefore, he caught up again and wanted to slowly look for opportunities.

Little did he know, his ordeal had only just begun.

Twisted Fate maintained his forward position, unleashing several basic attacks to capture three melee minions.

Throughout this entire process, the card player did not use any skills.

Firstly, Mingjing wanted to slow down the lane push as much as possible, so using basic attacks to finish off enemies was enough.

Secondly, Ming Jing must hold onto W to maintain pressure on Sylas.

Since the card didn't use W, Sylas, who had even less health, really didn't have a chance to trade blows. Mingjing relied on his early game advantage to steadily reach level two.

Up until this point, Doinb still had zero dollars.

If this trend continues, it's inevitable that Twisted Fate will reach level 3, farm lanes, and initiate his first wave of roaming.

Doinb certainly wouldn't allow himself to see this. After gaining experience and reaching level two, his health returned to 80% thanks to potions, and he decisively initiated a second wave of health exchange invitations.

Taking advantage of the opportunity when Twisted Fate was last-hitting a minion, he decisively used his E to dash in, landing a passive hit on Twisted Fate, and then followed Twisted Fate's movement trajectory to throw a Q [Chain Whip].

Immediately following, with a slight adjustment of the angle, another E shot was launched!

This version of Electrocute Sylas still has enough burst damage. If you can land a full EQ combo, taking away 60% of a enemy's health at level two shouldn't be a problem.

However, in order to play it safe, Doinb chose the most conservative approach, throwing out Q and E from two different angles. No matter which direction Twisted Fate moved to, he would at least get hit by one of the skills!
The loss of having all skills was too great; Doinb simply couldn't afford to gamble on that now.

Even so, it did not change his fate of having no skills.

The moment Sylas unleashed his QE combo, Twisted Fate's body began to shake rapidly, exhibiting a shaky movement similar to a host and a script vying for the mouse cursor.

But this time, the shaking was extremely precise!

The card precisely seized the brief gap between Sylas's Q and E, first brushing past the explosion range of the second part of Q, and then changing direction with a perfect movement, narrowly avoiding [Abduction]!

Moreover, while moving around, Twisted Fate was also selecting cards above his head, picking out a yellow card and casually throwing it at Sylas's face!

The yellow card triggered Comet, and combined with the subsequent Wild Card and basic attack, Sylas's health was reduced to below half again!
After finishing the combo, the card player turned around with elegant steps and pulled away, his health even remaining above 80%.

Watching Sylas scramble back under the tower with his head in his hands, Ming Jing smiled easily and turned back to deal with the minion wave.

He knew he had already won the mid-lane matchup in this game.

Or rather, he has already won this game.

Three waves of minions slowly pushed into the tower.

Next, it's time to roam around.

While laning, Ming Jing had already observed the movements on the flanks, so his decision was made without hesitation.

FPX's Gnar is completely outmatched against Jayce in the top lane, and Tian's Xin Zhao is also farming high. If nothing unexpected happens, FPX will most likely dive the top lane at level three.

Should we go top lane and counter-gank?
No need.

Ming Jing knew that after he disappeared, the other side would definitely be wary, and the tower-diving plan would definitely fail.

If he goes top this time, he'll most likely fail to get a counter-gank and will just be making a wasted trip.

Therefore, going to the bottom lane to ambush someone is the right way to go.

Zhao Lijie's Lee Sin was also prepared, meeting up with Ming Jing in the jungle before heading straight to the bottom lane.

Once the two were almost in position, Meiko, who was prepared, used Leona's E-Flash to dash in and target Braum.

Varus has Flash and Cleanse, so while he can be killed by force, it would cost at least two or three Flashes. Therefore, Braum is obviously easier to kill.

After Leona used her E to engage, her Q skill landed smoothly. Taking advantage of the root effect, Twisted Fate, with a yellow card above his head, followed closely behind Braum.

This stable control and coordination was more than enough for EDG's four players to secure the kill.

"Take it, take it!" Viper knew who the big boss was and even wanted to give way to the card.

“No need, you take it.” But Ming Jing didn’t give Viper any room to refuse, and after crippling Brûlée, he turned and pulled away.

He definitely has an advantage in the mid lane, so there's no need for him to take the kill. Giving the kill to the bottom lane and allowing them to also have an advantage in their lane is the best way to win.

Viper was secretly pleased. EZ used WQ in quick succession to secure the kill.

"First blood!"

(End of this chapter)