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

Chapter 226 Has FPX gone mad?

"ACE!"

The cries of FPX's team wipe still echoed in the arena, but no one cared anymore.

Because the entire venue was filled with cheers from countless EDG supporters, like a tsunami!
No matter which side you're a fan of, after watching this team fight, you'll only marvel at how EDG's two carries are truly monstrous.

This is practically a 2v5 team fight, right? How did they manage to win?
Saint Gunner in the player's seat also cheered.

"Holy crap... Holy crap! Holy crap! Awesome, guys!" As the team fight progressed, Flandre's voice grew louder and louder!
Although Flandre didn't die in this wave, he basically didn't play any role. He just watched from the back as the two carries flashed in and killed all the opponents!
Even though the jungler and support had been eliminated early, they were all smiles, praising the performance of the two carries.

That's why they dared to rush in and start a fight without hesitation.

With such a pair of C's backing it up, who wouldn't dare?

Just rush in and absorb all the enemy's key skills, then wait for your two carries to shine! What's so difficult about that?

Viper was also all smiles. He turned to look at Ming Jing beside him and grinned as he extended his left fist.

If this were any other team, Viper would have run away long ago after seeing such a team fight start. Even if he could fight, he wouldn't dare to because he was afraid his teammates wouldn't be able to react in time.

Only after seeing Mingjing join EDG did Viper have the confidence to follow suit.

Mingjing smiled and extended his right fist, lightly bumping fists with Viper.

Thanks to their height and long arms, their fists were able to touch.

Offstage, photographer Ichimura's eyes lit up when he saw the scene before him, and he quickly pressed the shutter, successfully capturing the moment.

The director immediately showed the footage, which brought a sense of relief to the three commentators.

"These are EDG's two carries!" Miller was almost ecstatic when he saw the two carries punching each other, and Lao Zhuza shouted excitedly, "The best two carries in the world!"

Miller's words were actually a bit too harsh. The title of the world's best dual-carry would easily backfire on any team.

However, in the current context, it is unlikely to provoke much resentment.

Guan Daxiao glanced at his partner and brought the commentary back to the main topic: "In that case, FPX is in a slightly difficult position!"

"Yes!" Ji De immediately chimed in, "You could tell from the team fight just now that EDG's two carries are incredibly strong in the late game; their damage output is just too high!"

"Now that the two sides have evened out in terms of economy, and FPX hasn't managed to control the Water Dragon Soul, the difficulty of winning the team fight will only increase further!"

Colonel Guan added, "And the key point is that split pushing is also difficult!"

The team fight just now proved that Jayce can't beat Graves. At the point when he has three items, Graves' double lifesteal is too much, and he can't wear him down at all in cannon form. Not to mention hammer form, if you get close, you'll be taken down in two shots.

As for Irelia, needless to say, with her Bloodthirster, Randuin's Omen, and Boots of Speed, she's tanky enough to withstand a lot of shots, but she doesn't deal any damage herself; even Graves' Bloodthirster and shield can't penetrate her.

Let alone one-on-one, even two-on-one would be difficult.

To counter this type of Graves, you need to control his burst damage and burst him down in one combo, but FPX's lineup simply doesn't have that kind of duo.

Given their inability to win team fights and their crushing defeats in split pushes, FPX has few options left.

There's only one road.

"FPX's five players are already heading up!" Guan Daxiao shouted again, looking at the minimap. "They're probably going to start Baron!"

FPX knew that the longer they dragged things out, the worse they would be, so the team had excellent execution. They took advantage of EDG's two carries being late to return to base after clearing the battlefield and immediately used Baron Nashor to speed things up!
It has to be said that they found a pretty good opportunity. Although FPX was missing a mid-laner for damage output, the presence of Jayce in the top lane made up for it. With all five players focusing their firepower on Baron, they managed to take it down quite quickly!

"Something seems to be going on!" Miller glanced at the minimap. "Although Flandre has a tank, the two carries have only just started heading out, and it seems like they might not make it in time!"

Just as Mingjing and Viper left the jungle, Baron Nashor already had only half its health left.

However, Ming Jing glanced at the speed at which the dragon was losing health and calculated the time in his mind, but he was not flustered at all.

"We'll make it in time!" Ming Jing said. "Don't worry about Da Long. You guys go and block the river. Don't let them get away!"

It's probably too late to steal the dragon, since the opposing team is playing fast too.

But it's more than enough for team battles.

The enemy team used all their Flash abilities in the previous wave. If we can block the entrance to the Dragon Pit this time, the enemy team will definitely die!

The dragon can be given away, but all lives must be left behind—that's Mingjing's thinking.

The other three members of EDG immediately understood and turned to the river, blocking all of the opponent's escape routes.

As the Baron's health dwindled, the FPX players had no choice but to retreat deep into the Baron pit, focusing all their damage on it, as if they were fighting a desperate battle.

However, this also gave Baron Nashor a perfect opportunity to deal damage, as Baron Nashor spat out saliva and dealt considerable AOE damage.

There isn't a single player on the FPX team who can be considered healthy.

Under such an abnormal positioning, winning the team has clearly become a pipe dream.

When EDG's two carries reached the vicinity of the dragon pit, Baron Nashor was also low on health.

FPX's goal was clear: they unleashed their burst damage on Baron Nashor, instantly killing the 2,000-health dragon!

But following closely behind were Kennen's [Thunder Prison], Graves' [Ultimate Bomb], and Aphelios' [Radiant Night].

All I can say is that FPX really messed up this time.

"It was a clean sweep of zero for five!"

In the commentary booth, Guan Daxiao laughed as he watched the scene unfold, "A team wipe at 32 minutes, the respawn time is more than enough for EDG to end the game!"

Because FPX started Baron Nashor in a rush, they didn't even have time to deal with the minion wave, which resulted in the mid-lane minions pushing across the river and slowly advancing towards the second tower.

EDG pushed forward effortlessly along the minion wave, and amidst cheers from all sides, they wiped out the enemy in one fell swoop!
"2-0! Congratulations again to EDG for winning the second game!" Miller shouted from the commentary booth. "They are only one step away from the Summer Split championship!"

"I have to say, EDG's handling of this game was absolutely perfect!" Guan Daxiao recalled the game and praised it highly. "When Flandre made a mistake at the beginning, EDG first made up for it with an extremely clever lane rotation, and then, through perfect lane rotation and operation, they avoided fights and dragged the game into the late game at a very low cost!"

"Furthermore, the performance of the two carries in team fights in this game is something that deserves praise!" Miller added. "It was precisely because of the stable performance of the two carries that EDG was able to win the game so quickly!"

Looking at the victory before you, it's hard to imagine that EDG was down by 3,000 gold just three minutes ago.

It only took three minutes and two team fights to go from being 3,000 behind to winning the game.

"That's just how EDG is," Remember concluded. "Although they changed their playstyle in the Summer Split and developed a smooth early-game aggression, they didn't forget what they were good at! You know, they won the Spring Split championship with this same dual-carry playstyle!"

"Yes!"

"In that case, FPX is under immense pressure. Down 0-2, they're on the brink of elimination!"

The director followed the commentator's words and started using camera language, with the live broadcast following the FPX players all the way back to the backstage lounge.

Even after returning to the lounge, everyone kept their heads down and remained silent.

Coach Steak was also frowning, pacing back and forth in the lounge.

To be honest, the coach didn't have any other options.

He himself is not a particularly skilled coach, and his influence within the team is limited, even less than that of mid-laner Doinb.

What can he do in such adversity?
Was there a problem with his draft picks? Steak can say with certainty that there was absolutely no problem with his draft picks in both games.

In the first game, Sylas, who was picked second, got crushed by Twisted Fate. Can you blame him?

In the second game, despite having an early-game advantage, he only led by 3,000 after 30 minutes and was then completely wiped out in a team fight. Can you blame him for that?
The only thing to blame is that the opponent was too strong.

This EDG team has truly reached its peak. Behind the monstrous Phi are four solid teammates. After six months of honing their skills, the five of them have become a complete unit.

How can we win against a team like this?
The thought filled Steak with despair.

How can such a team exist?
At this moment, it was Sister Bi, the team manager, who spoke up.

"It's okay, it's not a big problem. Everyone, just relax."

As a member of the team's management, Sister Bi would be held responsible if the team performed poorly. But at this moment, she was the most composed, smiling and saying, "It's just the LPL championship, it's not like we haven't won one before! Even if we don't win this time, no one will blame you. Just play freely, we're guaranteed at least the second seed, and we still have a chance at the World Championship!"

Xiao Bijie's ability to rise to the position of team manager clearly demonstrates her eloquence.

In a situation where they are down 0-2, it's unrealistic to expect any inspiring speeches that would motivate the players to start a comeback from 0-2 down to 3-2.

A comeback from 0-2 down to 3-2 is always a stroke of genius, even last year's Top Esports team was just a desperate gamble under dire circumstances.

Since things have come to this point, it would be better to shift the players' attention and focus on the upcoming world championships.

With undivided attention, there may be even more opportunities.

"Next game, pick whatever heroes you want," Steak said. "If you play comfortably, you might have a better chance."

Compared to the somber atmosphere at FPX, EDG presented a completely different picture.

With a 2-0 lead, anyone would have to declare that the advantage is in our hands!
"Hey, let me put it bluntly, Mingjing is invincible right now," Flandre said casually. "Doinb feels like a toy in Mingjing's hands! Is he just here to hand over the FMVP?"

Inside the lounge, the MVP selection for this round was being played.

It's a bit difficult to award MVP this game, since both carries performed consistently well, and even Flandre had a perfect team fight performance with a Baron entry.

After much deliberation, the MVP award was ultimately given to Ming Jing.

After all, the scene of Mingjing's Graves solo killing Xiaotian in the top lane is still fresh in people's minds. In the subsequent team fight, Graves also took the lead and killed Khan's Jayce, making his presence much stronger.

This performance even amazed Flandre.

Wow, that Graves player is incredibly skilled! How did he practice like that? I don't think I've seen Mingjing play that many games.

"Come on, come on!" Cousin Mingkai cheered from the sidelines. "Just one more game! But we still need to be a little more focused, these two games weren't easy to win!"

"Don't worry," Ming Jing said with absolute confidence, "It's a sure thing!"

At that moment, there was a knock on the door of the lounge, and staff brought in FPX's side selection for the third game.

"They actively chose red?" Upon hearing this information, Maokai couldn't help but scratch his head. "What does that mean?"

FPX on the red side have absolutely no chance of drafting.

If we had to point out an advantage, it would be that it gives Doinb a counter pick, preventing the mid lane from falling behind so much.

Is it really worth it?
"Is that even a question?" Meiko laughed. "It's about leaving no regrets."

The break time passed quickly, and both players returned to the stage for the third round of ban/pick.

As expected, FPX reserved the counter pick for the mid lane, determined to create an advantage for the mid laner.

Ming Jing was also suffering from stomach upset.

If the opponent chooses the red side, it means that the opponent will release one of the following champions: Irelia, Lucian, Syndra, or Twisted Fate.

He just took them and that was it.

FPX's final choice was to release Irelia and lock in Cassiopeia to counter her.

At this point, the heroes of both sides are determined.

Blue side EDG: Top lane Kennen, Jungle Jarvan IV, Mid lane Irelia, Bot lane Aphelios and Thresh.

FPX (Red Side): Top lane Gragas, Jungle Lee Sin, Mid lane Cassiopeia, Bot lane Kai'Sa and Leona.

This pick is actually quite good, after all, Cassiopeia's wide-range ground binding is very effective against flashy champions like Irelia.

If Irelia dares to charge up her W in place, Cassiopeia can immediately follow up with an R+W, and then chase after her with a series of QE. Irelia really can't withstand that!

As the originator of the W-focused Irelia build, Doinb naturally knows how to counter this playstyle.

Moreover, FPX's targeting of the mid lane this game was absolutely ruthless. They didn't care about the top lane Kennen or the bot lane Aphelios; they just focused on the mid lane!

Xiaotian's Lee Sin had only cleared three jungle camps when he arrived in the mid lane and forcibly traded Flash with Mingjing.

This left Ming Jing quite helpless.

It's not that he has poor awareness of anti-gank; it's just that the opponent is acting strangely!
That's not how you play. Doesn't the jungler think it's a waste to lose Flash at the start of the game?

Without Flash, Mingjing can only play more cautiously in lane and focus on farming.

In any case, in this game, FPX finally managed to suppress Mingjing, making it difficult for him to move in the mid lane.

Moreover, FPX's extraordinary abilities continue to be demonstrated.

At the six-minute mark, FPX launched another surprise attack on the mid lane.

And this time, the jungler and support came together!

With the Leona and Lee Sin combo, plus Cassiopeia to keep enemies in place, killing an Irelia without Flash is incredibly easy.

Moreover, FPX was indeed willing to use their skills. Leona forcibly flashed in and used her Q, which directly sealed Mingjing's fate!

Doinb's Cassiopeia spat out fangs from behind, chasing all the way to the tower and forcefully taking down Mingjing!

"First blood!"

It's quite rare to see Ming Jing give away first blood.

But this doesn't mean FPX's situation has improved.

Don't forget, Mingjing has four perfectly coordinated teammates behind him.

No sooner had Ming Jing died than people began rushing out from both the upper and lower river channels.

Mieko's Thresh, JieJie's Jarvan IV, and Flandre's Kennen were all in position, forming a pincer movement against FPX's mid, jungle, and support!
Doinb had Flash, and his position wasn't too far in, so there wasn't much of a problem. After dodging the Prince's EQ combo with Flash, he managed to escape unscathed.

But the remaining junglers and support players weren't so lucky.

Neither of them had Flash, and neither had reached level six, so they had no room to maneuver when facing a double-team!
In the end, neither of them survived; their heads were taken by Flandre and JieJie separately!

(End of this chapter)