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

Chapter 224 A Game Within a Game!

"FPX Tian has killed EDG Flandre!"

The news of the first blood resounded throughout the arena, and FPX supporters in the audience immediately gave a thunderous cheer.

However, because FPX supporters were not a large percentage of the tens of thousands of spectators, the stands were relatively quiet.

"Oh dear, this has gone wrong." Miller looked at the scene before him and felt a pang of anxiety. "Holy Gun's mistake this time was too big."

"Yes," Colonel Guan couldn't help but frown. "If the top lane is at a disadvantage, EDG's overall situation will be very difficult!"

Everyone understands this logic, since EDG has always been open about their strategy in the bottom half of the map, and Flandre is often left to fend for himself.

Positions that are left to fend for themselves often bear a lot of pressure; in such positions, not sending anyone away is already considered a success.

If you can withstand pressure and occasionally carry the team, then that's a champion-level performance!
Among them, GimGoon in S9 was the best performer, and he can be called the perfect template for the "grass-eating and milking" type of top laner.

While Flandre may not be as top-tier as GimGoon in terms of endurance under pressure, he is still quite experienced and can handle most situations well.

However, they made a grave mistake in the crucial situation at hand.

The collapse of the top lane means that EDG will not be able to focus on the bottom lane and will have to divert some attention back to the top side of the map.

In top-level competition, this could be the key to deciding the outcome.

On the EDG player bench, Flandre, who had already respawned, sighed. While re-entering the lane with Kennen, he said self-reproachfully, "My bad, my bad, I didn't control the distance well."

Saint Gun actually found a pretty good opportunity. If he hadn't been hit in the face by Jayce, it would have been a very successful effortless chip damage.

In fact, even enduring pressure is a skill in professional leagues. As a position that is left to its own devices, simply enduring pressure and farming under the tower is not feasible. Given the execution capabilities of professional leagues, they will dive the tower if they want to.

Therefore, Flandre must try every means to gain a health advantage in order to have a chance of survival.

However, they made a huge mistake!
It's alright, though. He made a mistake, but his laning disadvantage wasn't too great. When the minion wave reached the tower, there were only a few remaining minions from the fourth wave. In the end, Flandre only lost a few minions, which is perfectly acceptable.

He can even save a TP by doing this, creating extra margin for error for himself.

"It's alright, play it safe." Ming Jing remained calm. "It's just one kill, no big deal."

If they stick to their usual early-game lineup, this could be a real problem.

But EDG's current lineup is a late-game composition, which is a real problem.

The late-game lineup has a high margin for error; as long as you don't make any major mistakes, there's always a chance to drag the game into the late game and turn the tide.

Moreover, this so-called breakthrough point on the top lane may not be without opportunities to exploit.

The opposing team will definitely continue to aggressively attack the top lane, not only the mid laner, but the support might also come along.

If they adopt a tough defensive stance in the top lane, it could easily turn into a head-on collision, which is clearly what the opposing team wants.
Therefore, it's best to avoid direct confrontation.
As he was thinking, a brand new plan gradually took shape in Mingjing's mind.

“Brother Gun, since you’re already having a tough time in the top lane, how about this: you still have TP, right? Hold onto your TP and get ready to wait for the bottom lane minions to push into the tower.” Ming Jing explained his plan in the voice chat.

As Saint Gun listened to Ming Jing's speech, his eyes grew brighter and brighter, and he finally nodded vigorously.

"Row!"

Listening to Mingjing's clear thinking, Saint Gun felt much more at ease.

Once this plan is implemented, it will most likely turn the tide!
Soon, both top laners re-entered the game and entered the second laning phase.

On the top lane, Flandre can still easily farm, since Kennen is a long-range champion and also has self-preservation abilities.

However, dying once is still a small loss, and it's almost impossible for Flandre to gain lane control at this point.

At this point, the director started to use camera language, switching the view from the top lane to Xiaotian's side after the previous shot.

It's clear that Xiao Tian is now climbing the ranks again, his goal obvious.

What EDG needs to do right now is to help Flandre get through this ordeal.

At this moment, the camera switched to the middle lane.

On the mid lane side, Ming Jing's laning phase was surprisingly easy for the audience.

Mingjing's quick reflexes and sharp eyes allow him to play any hero with ease.

Irelia used her Q to dash in, and then released both ends of her E [Double Blades], placing them on either side of Graves.

But Mingjing remained calm, using his E short-range dash to dodge the stun, and incidentally shoved the gun barrel into the Irelia's mouth before unleashing a basic attack.

Doinb retaliated with a basic attack, then charged up his W.

Mingjing used his W [Smoke Bomb] to hit Irelia in the face, causing her to lose vision, and then immediately switched positions, moving away from the minions.

Under the smoke, Doinb lost Graves' position. There was no need to gamble, so he could only turn his target around and use his fully charged W to push the minion wave, achieving a good wave push effect.

But a blood transfusion would be incredibly costly.

Mingjing was standing outside the smoke bomb when he saw Irelia use her W skill. He immediately followed up with a QA auto-attack combo, reloading his weapon while sticking close to Irelia!

Even though Irelia has her passive fully active, it's still quite difficult for her to out-attack Graves when all her abilities are unavailable.

Mingjing chased after the Irelia, trading blows all the way to the enemy tower, and finally finished her off with an AEA combo, bringing the Irelia down to half health!

With 70% health remaining, Ming Jing turned around and continued to farm minions and push the lane.

It was only then that everyone noticed that a Vampire Scepter was lying in the Graves' inventory.

After pushing down this wave of minions, Graves' health had recovered to about 70-80%.

The reason why Graves is so dominant in this version is precisely because of this.

Both Star Eclipse and Shield Bow have lifesteal abilities. Graves can easily deal with any opponent by getting a lifesteal item on his first recall.

If you're a champion with weak wave clear, you'll be tormented to the point of ecstasy by Graves!
Watching the mid-lane matchup, the three commentators on the panel all nodded in approval.

Xiaofei's Graves play is indeed noteworthy.

Although Graves has difficulty killing Irelia, his annoying skill set and lifesteal ability make him virtually invincible.

Furthermore, before Irelia's W skill is fully leveled up, Graves can still control the lane with his cheap AoE ability!
As a mid-lane champion who is strong in the late game, being able to prevent himself from collapsing and still gain a certain advantage in the early game is actually quite an excellent quality!
It has to be said that although Xiaofei only plays a few meta heroes every day and seems like a meta-obsessed player, he learns heroes incredibly fast. Only people in EDG know how much he's hiding.

Just as Khan was steadily controlling the top lane and about to push the wave into the tower, Graves in the mid lane also finished clearing the minion wave, leveled up to six, and disappeared from the mid lane.

"Graves is missing." Doinb immediately reported this in the mid lane voice chat, but then added, "But I can get there too."

A wave of minions wasn't difficult for Irelia; a single fully charged W + QQQ cleared most of the wave. Doinb didn't hesitate and quickly recalled to base.

He still has TP, so if Graves dares to go to protect the top lane, he will TP to support, and this tower dive can still succeed!
Of course, Graves might also choose not to protect the top lane, but instead go to the bottom lane to mitigate the damage.

Then there's even less to fear.

Their bot lane this game, featuring a lock-on bomb and Leona, was specifically designed to withstand pressure.

The Graves had only just started moving when the two bot laners were already retreating.

Without Graves, how could Xin Zhao possibly stop two people on his own?

If the bottom lane holds its ground and the top lane succeeds, then we've basically won half the game!
Doinb quickly returned to the fountain and switched the camera to the top lane, ready to teleport.

Tian's jungler Lee Sin also appeared from behind EDG's top tower, trying to block Kennen's retreat.

But as the vision under the tower lit up, the little genius was surprised to find that Kennen had just entered Teleport mode!
Where has TP gone?

The bot lane duo knew the answer earlier than Xiaotian.

"I'm down!" Lin Weixiang's voice carried a hint of panic. "Help me!"

Doinb was startled and quickly switched the camera to the bottom lane.

Zhao Lijie's Zhao Xin was already in position in the bottom lane, and next to Zhao Xin, a control ward was surrounded by a strong teleportation light!
Seeing this, Doinb was startled and suddenly understood EDG's design.

Given that the top lane is bound to be ganked, why not simply abandon this top lane and let Kennen participate in the bottom lane's damage mitigation efforts?

Kennen's Teleport can be used in conjunction with Xin Zhao to block the duo, allowing this gank to be carried out reliably!

What a great design!

Trading a loss of lane gold and turret plating in the top lane for a 5-man gank on the bottom lane, plus turret plating and the dragon, is definitely a profitable deal!
If EDG actually succeeds in this plan, then the advantage they have painstakingly created will be completely destroyed!
"No, we need to help!" Doinb shouted, "Can you tank?"

This question is for Khan.

EDG's move was a blatant five-man gank on the second lane, combining the strength of all five players. Even if Doinb teleported down, it wouldn't have made a difference; Khan had to go down with them to protect the enemy!

The only good news is that Kennen hasn't reached level six yet because he still has a large wave of minions to farm.

Kennen is only level 5 now, but having more people is still useful.

Four players plus a defensive tower is enough to deter EDG's five players.

"Yes!" Khan didn't say much. He had just pushed the lane into the tower and didn't even bother to collect the turret plating. He teleported to the bottom lane with Doinb!
Two teleport lights simultaneously lit up under FPX's tower, signifying FPX's determination to support the bottom lane.

TP (Take Down) cannot be canceled any longer; each TP represents a move that cannot be taken back.

Doinb's expression was incredibly resolute at this moment, and he was basking in the glory of his decisive decision.

Using two TPs just to secure the win might seem like a losing proposition, but in reality, it was incredibly profitable.

After all, Kennen also used his ultimate, and he lost a lot of lane minions by using it.

If this wave can be defended and Kennen is unable to kill and recover health, the gap between the two top laners will widen further!

Even while still on the top lane, Xiaotian could take advantage of this wave to enjoy a wave of top lane plating and jungle monsters in EDG's top jungle.

That's enough!
Victory is earned through hard work and perseverance!

However, while teleporting, Doinb noticed something was amiss.

Where is the male gunner?

He'd already gone back to base and ganked again; logically, Graves should have shown up by now.
On-site, in the commentary booth.

The three commentators, watching the game from a god-like perspective, saw a completely different scene from Doinb's.

What kind of "five-for-two" deal is this?

Graves never went to the bot lane from the very beginning!
Just as FPX's top and mid laners teleported to the bottom lane, Graves, who had been traversing the jungle, unexpectedly appeared in the top lane!
Seeing that Graves had been exposed, EDG's top and jungle duo stopped pretending and retreated, leaving FPX's top, mid, bot, and support players staring at each other under the tower.

Doinb was truly dumbfounded.

The situation was changing so fast that he was starting to lose his bearings.

The Graves didn't come down? What's going on? Is this a game within a game?

Xiao Tian was equally bewildered.

On the top lane, since Xiaotian couldn't support the bottom lane anyway, he was planning to take advantage of the minions pushing into the tower to farm two layers of plating.

He was controlling Lee Sin when he arrived behind the tower and single-handedly cut off the wave of minions that had just arrived, intending to clear the wave as well and try to make Flandre lose as much as possible.

As a result, Graves suddenly appeared from the nearby triangular bush, catching him off guard.

The Graves, wearing straw sandals, seemed to fly, charging forward with his shotgun and unleashing a basic attack that triggered Fleet Footwork for a speed boost, quickly closing the distance!
The jungler's level is obviously not as high as the mid laner's. Xiaotian is not even level six yet, so he has no ability to fight back. He can only step out of the smoke bomb and then quickly use W to hit a minion and run away.

But Ming Jing was determined to kill him. He chased after him for two steps, and as soon as the male gunner started reloading, he immediately used an EQW combo!

This is a common trick: during the reload animation, Graves can seamlessly chain his E skill with other abilities, which is very useful when chasing.

The Q skill hit both Lee Sin and a minion at the same time. It didn't bounce off the wall, but because Lee Sin was slowed by the smoke bomb, the second bounce still hit Lee Sin.

This version of Graves has overpowered attack power, which is well reflected in his damage output. Just this one AQW combo is enough to take away a quarter of Lee Sin's health!

The chase from one's own turret to the enemy's turret is a long one, and Mingjing was confident that the Blind Monk was doomed!

But Xiaotian didn't seem to believe it. The Lee Sin used his E to slow down the opponent, then flashed away, seemingly still thinking of escaping!

Ming Jing remained calm and continued to pursue the enemy. Only after he had passed the minions did he use a reverse R-flash to attack!
His ultimate move was quite clever; it was aimed at the minions, and combined with his previous Q, he wiped out the entire wave of minions that had pushed into the tower.

We want heads, soldiers, and Mingjing—all of them!
At the same time, with two dashes using R-Flash, Graves got right up to Lee Sin's face and started chasing him down with auto-attacks!

The buffed Graves' basic attacks are now incredibly powerful, and every time he hits Lee Sin, Lee Sin loses a huge chunk of health!

Chasing him all the way to the tower, the Lee Sin now only had 20% of his health left.

Mingjing used his last basic attack to empty the magazine, then finished off the Lee Sin who had no mobility!
"EDG Phi has killed FPX Tian!"

Single kill!

At that moment, the cheers from the audience erupted!
(End of this chapter)