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

Chapter 312 A Breakthrough Appears

"Alright, everyone watching on your screens, welcome to the 2022 League of Legends Pro League Summer Playoffs, RNG vs. EDG!"

On the commentary desk, Wang Duoduo, watching the BP screen switch in, was still loudly giving his opening remarks:
"We can see that the first draft phase has already begun! RNG, who has the first pick, still chose the blue side in the first game and banned Lucian, Twisted Fate, and Ahri!"

"On the other hand, EDG banned Poppy, Nautilus, and Lissandra, basically targeting the champions that their opponents are good at."

"Now, let's take a look at the lineup selection!"

There's not much to say about the lineup for this match, since it's only the winners' bracket semifinals. Not only are they on revival, but it's also the first game, so even if they have some dirty tricks, they won't rush to use them. Of course, they'll follow the meta.

After three rounds of best-of-five series, EDG has gained a clear understanding of the current draft and ban (BP) strategies.

RNG didn't hesitate and immediately picked up the Monkey King.

The most popular junglers in the current version are Wukong and Vi. To be more specific, the most popular are those with Divine Shield, as these two are the best users of Divine Shield.

This equipment is indeed incredibly powerful. It not only boasts attack, health, cooldown reduction, and penetration, but also provides impressive Radiant damage and combat recovery. It is the perfect warrior equipment and the culprit behind turning tank heroes into clowns.

As long as the Divine Split isn't removed, the top lane can only consist of Jayce, Kennen, and Gnar.

EDG's jungler position can only be Vi, but Maokai is not in a hurry. The two did not think too much and first picked Zephyr and Yuumi.

The current meta for bot lane champion picks is relatively fixed, consisting mainly of Luna, Zephyr, Aphelios, and Lulu. Depending on the player's style, other picks might include Kai'Sa, Sivir, Draven, etc.

In any case, the choices are relatively transparent, and there are no obvious advantages or disadvantages. Just like the jungler position, you take one and I take one.

As expected, RNG subsequently locked in Aphelios and Lulu.

EDG then secured Vi as their third pick, which was entirely within both sides' expectations.

The only variable in the selection is the choice of the mid-lane player, which is when the mid-laner's hero pool is put to the test.

Fortunately, EDG is on the red side this game, so Mingjing, who got the counter pick, can wait for Xiaohu to make his move, and then lock in the mid-lane hero that will decide the game.

In the second round of the draft, both sides simultaneously targeted the mid lane.

RNG, on the blue side, banned Akali and Galio, while EDG, on the red side, banned Taliyah and Orianna.

"Those two sides combined... a total of eight mid-lane heroes were banned!" Wang Duoduo looked at the selection before him, somewhat surprised. "That means there aren't many options for the mid-lane!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than EDG's fourth player secured the top lane Kennen, adding an AP damage pick.

Kennen alone isn't that strong; if you pick him first, Gnar or Renekton are better choices.

However, this Kennen pick is crucial for EDG because Kennen's AP damage allows Mingjing to unleash his full potential without being limited by the hero's damage output attributes.

This is Ming Jing's imperial position within the team.

On the other hand, RNG didn't say much, and instead focused on picking Ornn to counter Kennen.

Although tank heroes are now in decline, Ornn is still a top-tier tank hero, so it's still okay to pick him as a counter-pick.

Then, in combination with Ornn, lock in Azir!
"Ornn, Azir, Aphelios! Wow. RNG's lineup is really late-game focused! But it's worth mentioning that these three heroes aren't actually weak in lane, so dragging the game into the late game isn't that difficult!"

"EDG's lineup also has the ability to fight in the late game, but whether they choose to compete with RNG in the late game depends on their choices."

While Wang Duoduo was analyzing the lineup, EDG was also discussing this issue.

The answer is definitely no.

RNG's late-game teamfight ability is undeniable. In their matches, you can often see the team going from an early disadvantage to winning a teamfight and then delivering a victory speech.

It's best to chop them up for them beforehand to avoid any unforeseen problems later.

The team has no shortage of damage and a wide range of hero choices, but there are still some limitations.

The early game needs to be aggressive, and you need to gain an advantage over Azir, ideally with Vi joining the fight.

Mingjing glanced at the hero pool and quickly found a hero that met his needs.

Upon hearing Mingjing's answer, Maokai and the factory manager behind him nodded repeatedly, having no objection to the choice.

Young people are quick-witted; how come they didn't think of this option?

Without much hesitation, a swordsman figure appeared on the fifth floor of EDG and quickly locked onto the target.

"One sword kills evil, one sword calms the soul!"

"Yong En!" Wang Duoduo and Gu Gu exclaimed in unison from the commentary booth, "There really is no problem!"

Yone has not played a single game in the playoffs so far, but you absolutely cannot deny the strength of this champion.

None of the warrior heroes in the mythology version are weak.

Moreover, Yone's system is excellent.

Of course, there is still an awkward aspect to Yone and Vi's mid-jungle duo.

Vi's lock will knock back enemies along the way, making it difficult for Yone to hit multiple targets with one ultimate, which somewhat weakens Yone's potential.

But this is not a big deal, since what people need right now is not the upper limit, but just the lower limit.

With this, the lineups for both sides are finalized.

Blue side RNG: Top lane Ornn, Jungle Wukong, Mid lane Azir, Bot lane Aphelios and Lulu.

Red side EDG: Top lane Kennen, Jungle Vi, Mid lane Yone, Bot lane Zyra and Yuumi.

As is customary, after the draft phase is completed, the draft interface will also provide ratings for the lineups of both sides.

As you can see, both teams have received very high ratings and have been rated as excellent.

The factory manager and Maokai exchanged a glance, and then simultaneously closed their notebooks.

"You should be fine playing against the Tsar, right?" the factory manager greeted his cousin. "This game depends on your performance. If you don't carry, it'll be a crime."

EDG prioritized picking heroes for both top and bottom lanes to give Mingjing a comfortable matchup, which obviously made his laning phase less than ideal.

If Mingjing takes the Counter position but doesn't do anything, then there's definitely a problem.

Ming Jing didn't feel pressured by these words, and just waved his hand, "Go back and wait, we can't lose this round."

As his playtime increased, Mingjing could feel that his understanding of the game and the competition was becoming more and more profound.

Although the competition has not yet started, Ming Jing seems to have already seen the road to victory.

All he has to do is take the first step on this path.

After a brief loading period, the heavy sound effects that usually start at the beginning of the game came through the headphones, and then both players rushed out of the fountain.

When it came to starting items, Ming Jing didn't think much about it and directly picked Doran's Blade and a potion before heading to his lane.

In fact, Yone is relatively weak in the early laning phase, far inferior to his younger brother Yasuo. Generally speaking, Yone will choose a sustain item from his runes or starting items.

It's either Swift Step or Doran's Shield.

However, Mingjing didn't choose that option this time. Instead, he went straight for Lethal Tempo and Doran's Blade, going for the most explosive build.

There's no other reason than that the pressure of facing Azir isn't great; Mingjing can easily overcome it with skillful maneuvering.

"All troops, attack!" The minions slowly logged in, and Ming Jing stayed behind them, not in a hurry to attack them.

Yone's wave clear ability at level 1 isn't bad, but relying on that to fight is just a blunder.

Even if the enemy Monkey King and Azir don't have much killing ability before level 6, it's still unreasonable for a melee champion to push the lane against a ranged champion, since it's very difficult to push in, and if they get stuck in front of the tower, then they're doomed.

Laying the cable over is the correct procedure.

Of course, you can't just blindly let the lane go under the tower, after all, the enemy mid laner Xiaohu is not someone like iconAngel, and Xiaohu's ability to control the tempo has always been his trademark.

If you let this person push the lane into the tower at will, they might be able to farm minions to their heart's content, but their teammates will definitely suffer a lot.

The ideal strategy is to hold the minion wave in front of the tower and slowly farm until you reach level six.

Of course, this logic is not entirely fair and reasonable, and Xiao Hu understands it too.

Both mid laners were well aware of what they should and shouldn't do in the laning phase.

But who will ultimately succeed depends on their actions.

After logging in, Xiaohu could freely attack minions, but he didn't rush to make a move. Instead, he watched from the sidelines and waited until the minions were close to low health before pressing W to summon sand soldiers.

The first purpose of this Sand Soldier is to finish off minions, and the second is to block positioning. If Yone comes up to finish off low-health minions, it will be easier for Yone to whittle down Yone's health.

However, Mingjing timed his attack perfectly, using AQ to finish off three melee minions the instant the Sand Soldiers attacked. Xiaohu, constrained by the attack interval, couldn't even land a single hit on Yone, despite frantically clicking the mouse.

Such scenes occurred frequently thereafter.

Xiaohu's performance was flawless; he was practically a model of Azir's superior laning ability, securing last hits and lane control while using Sand Soldiers to block and whittle down the enemy's health.

Despite Azir's consistently low win rate in solo queue, his laning strength is actually quite high, given his long range and consistent wave clear.

Generally speaking, it's difficult to play comfortably against Tsar in close combat unless you put pressure on his health and force him to retreat.

However, Ming Jing remained calm and composed, relying on the attack intervals of the Kasha Emperor and the attack range of the Kasha soldiers and the Tsar to ensure that the Tsar's attacks could not reach him at all.

Even if Xiaohu occasionally uses his Q skill to poke and whittle down Mingjing's health, Mingjing will use his W shield to mitigate a large amount of damage.

After two or three waves of minions, Mingjing's Yone was still close to full health and couldn't be suppressed at all.

As expected, the minion wave slowly advanced towards Mingjing and successfully blocked EDG's mid tower.

The situation was perfect, the minion wave was perfect, and everything was exactly as Mingjing had predicted.

In a few minutes, once Yone levels up and recalls to base to buy his core item, Berserker's Greaves, the situation will be completely reversed.

Xiao Hu was beaten so badly he had no temper left.

This is really tough!
Phi's talent and skill are evident in every aspect.

Quick reactions, exquisite maneuvers, and perfect entry timing are easily seen in highlight reels.

But besides that, there are countless other things like distance control, cooldown damage calculation, and attack intervals for heroes that use towers and minions.

The strength in these subtle details is what makes it so troublesome.

Because no flaws could be found.

But Xiaohu was not discouraged; in fact, he remained calm.

No other reason than that I'm used to it.

Xiaohu, as the longest-serving player in League of Legends, has been a top player in the LPL for many years, allowing him to face off against countless geniuses, including Faker at his peak.

He might be the most experienced laning genius in the world.

That's it for development.

The two mid laners did not interfere with each other, resulting in a brief period of peace.

It seems even the director felt the central shot was uninteresting, so he simply switched the camera to other locations.

The two bottom lanes were engaged in a fierce battle, with the four ranged attackers occasionally stealing points and trading blows.

However, with only one AD carry and one Zephyr on each side, and support heroes like Lulu and Yuumi, trading blows between these four heroes is practically like pulling hair, making it impossible to determine a winner in the laning phase.

The situation on the road is similar.

Ornn versus Kennen is destined to be a fruitless match.

The situation became rather quiet for a moment, and even the audience couldn't help but yawn.

"It seems like they can't break this deadlock." Even the spectator on the second screen couldn't help but frown. "RNG is too steady, aren't they?"

"Don't worry," Kanavi said calmly. "Mingjing will figure something out."

That's true; Mingjing is indeed already trying to find a solution.

During the draft phase, Mingjing knew that the only way to break through in this game was through the mid lane, and he had already planned a detailed strategy for that breakthrough.

Of course, the help of the jungler is indispensable.

Seeing that Jie Jie was already in position in the bushes nearby, Ming Jing didn't hesitate for long. He pressed forward while using his Q skill to create a gust of wind.

Xiaohu is experienced. When he saw Yone pushing forward and creating a gust of wind, he immediately realized that the jungler might be there, so he turned around and walked back.

The sight of Wei rushing out of the riverbed immediately afterward confirmed his suspicions.

Behind him was Yone, who was catching up with the wind, and to his right was Vi, who was charging up her Q. Xiaohu didn't dare to hesitate at all and immediately used WEQ to move backward!
At the same time, Wei shouted and threw a straight punch!

The distance of this punch was clearly insufficient to intercept the Tsar in his displaced state, but since Jie Jie had made a move, there was bound to be a follow-up.

A flash of golden light appeared, and Vi used Flash to forcibly extend the distance, forcefully punching the displaced Azir down!

Xiaohu was dumbfounded.

Do you think you can kill me? You're just going to use Flash to start the fight?
But JieJie didn't care about all that. After landing a punch, Vi followed up with a full AE combo to penetrate armor with three rings, and Yone happened to be there when a gust of wind blew over!
A gust of wind knocks someone away, Yone lands two consecutive basic attacks followed by Deadly Rhythm, Vi lands another AE combo, then Yone lands two more attacks, followed by a Q!

At this moment, both of them were radiating a distinct golden light, a sign of the combined power of conqueror and deadly rhythm.

Once the two warriors got close, the damage was quite high. With a combination of crowd control and attacks, the Tsar's health dropped to less than half in the blink of an eye.

Most importantly, Yone hasn't used his W or E yet, which clearly indicates he's intent to kill.

Xiaohu had no temper at this moment. Without his E ability, he could only use Flash to forcefully create distance.

He was still hoping to maintain half health so that he could continue laning.

Even so, Mingjing was still relentless. Yone used his E to chase Azir all the way to the tower, and only left satisfied when he had brought Azir to low health.

Standing under the tower, Xiao Hu looked at his meager health and couldn't help but feel bitter.

If he hadn't had a cookie in his hand, and Wei hadn't come to support him, he would have been killed by Yone under his tower!

Who plays like that?
So the jungler's Flash is just used to help the mid laner trade Flash, right? That's not the spirit of a jungler!

(End of this chapter)