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

Chapter 318: Crossing the Mountain to Zeli!

The third game began quickly.

Everyone, including Mingjing, underestimated the resilience of the JDG players.

The crushing defeat in the previous game and the immense pressure of being down 0-2 did not affect their mentality in any way.

Of course, they did make some changes, such as rotating the top laner, replacing Wayward with the veteran top laner Zoom.

Since we're down 0-2 anyway, we might as well give it a shot.

Surprisingly, this substitution actually worked.

Putting aside everything else, Zoom's synergy with Kanavi is undoubtedly seamless, given that they've been teammates for many years.

With their strong lineup and effective lane-jungle synergy, JDG maintained a solid early-game advantage, which was quickly amplified by a major blunder by TES's top laner, 369.

This time, they finally seized the opportunity, quickly turning their advantage into a victory and managing to secure a hard-fought point.

Of course, this point did not cause much of a stir; it was more like a death throes.

Are they really going to come back from a 0-2 deficit to win 3-2? That's going to be very difficult.

The JDG players couldn't hear those sounds; they only knew the game wasn't over yet.

The fourth game was another late-game showdown with players decked out in top-tier gear.

Faced with a stalemate, Top Esports decided to adopt its own operational strategy – a major offensive by using the Dragon.

The result of this maneuver was that Zoom's Renekton and Kanavi's Wukong became war gods in this Baron fight, with the two frontliners simultaneously charging into the fray and turning the entire team fight into chaos.

Hope happened to be playing Sivir, who was unbeatable in this kind of environment.

Sivir activated her W and stood still, relentlessly attacking everyone. With her flying wheel bouncing across the screen, she wiped out Top Esports!
"A team wipe and the dragon is down, JD Gaming is about to end the game!" Guan Daxiao exclaimed from the commentary booth, "No one expected that JD Gaming would drag the game into a decisive fifth game after falling behind by two points at the start!"

The suspense is back.

In a life-or-death situation, anything is possible.

Ming Jing watched the match unfold before him, arms crossed, still pondering the possible outcomes of the fifth game.

JDG still faces serious problems.

Top Esports lost and chose the blue side. JD Gaming's first problem was how to deal with JackeyLove's Zeli.

Soon, the match entered the fifth game.

The desired effect for the show has finally arrived.

As we all know, IG players are known for their incredible performances, sometimes playing exceptionally well and sometimes playing terribly, with a huge gap between their skill ceiling and floor!
JackeyLove did deliver a historic performance as an AD carry in the second game, but that game seemed to have drained his energy, and his performance in the next two games was worse than the last. This is the root cause of TES's two consecutive losses.

In the final game, JackeyLove finally couldn't suppress the evil spirit within him anymore.

He did indeed choose Zeli.

But this means he doesn't need to deal with Zeli at all, because she will come up and deliver herself.

From the laning phase onwards, JackeyLove's deaths never stopped.

First, he was caught and killed once, causing the team to lose the dragon. Then, he died again at the mid-lane bird-landing slope, losing the mid-lane tower.

In the final team fight around the Baron, Zeli performed a miraculous feat, using her E skill to leap into the middle of JDG's team and instantly die!
This match was arguably the least suspenseful and fastest of the BO5 series.

At this moment, the chat room was filled with laughter.

It's hard to believe that the 0-4 berserk Zeli in the fifth game and the 90,000 Zeli in the second game are the same person.

The subsequent results are self-evident. With JackeyLove's performance, TES suffered defeat after defeat, and the economic gap quickly widened to 10,000.

After the crushing defeat in the second game, JDG remained incredibly calm. Instead of rushing to attack, they maintained their economic advantage and waited for the Baron Nashor to spawn before securing it and ending the game!

"Perhaps none of us expected this match to end like this! But anyway, they did it!"

The voice of Colonel Guan was coming from the speakers in front of Coach Maokai's computer:

"Then let's congratulate JD.com on successfully advancing to the winners' bracket final by coming back from a 0-2 deficit to win 3-2!"

Hearing Guan Zeyuan's shouts, the EDG members looked at each other, somewhat bewildered.

There are plots like this?

In the post-match interview, Zoom, who made a great contribution upon returning to the field, also had a big smile on his face. "This victory was a bit unexpected even for myself, but no matter what, winning is a good thing."

"Our next match against EDG will be very difficult, but I think we still have a good chance of winning."

"Mingjing, just wait and see what happens."

Because of their long-standing comradeship, Zoom spoke more freely, and the chat was filled with cheerful comments of "crazy"!
"OK, we're really going to take on JD.com." Meiko laughed. "Aren't you nervous, Mingjing?"

"I'm not nervous at all." Ming Jing waved his hand. "Just go for the beatdown!"

As the competition enters the double-elimination stage, the pace of the playoffs finally begins to slow down slightly, with a small interval set between each stage.

The EDG team can finally take a break.

The team played four best-of-five series in eight days starting from August 16th, which is quite an intimidating level of competition.

After the two winners' bracket semifinals were completed, there was a one-day break, and the losers' bracket matches began on August 25th.

The losers of the first two matches—TES and RNG—have begun their do-or-die battle.

Before the playoffs began, no one would have imagined that the two teams from the Spring Split Finals would meet in the first round of the loser's bracket and fight to the death.

During the Spring Finals, the two teams played a full five games, providing the audience with a thrilling battle.

Six months have passed, and things have changed. Not only has the game version changed dramatically, but RNG's top laner has also changed from Bin to Breath. The situation is bound to be different.

After suffering a crushing defeat by being reverse swept 3-2, the TES team seemed to have learned their lesson. Mid laner Knight was no longer invisible, and bot laner JackeyLove became more consistent. The two carries shone brightly in this BO5 series.

In just four games, TES swept RNG, winning 3-1 and advancing to the loser's bracket final.

With RNG as a point of comparison, countless viewers have gained a completely new perspective on the big battle between JDG and TES the day before yesterday.

It seems that TES really isn't good at this.

JDG is truly something special.

As expected of the team that won the S10 championship, they do have some solid foundation. Even though they made a big mistake last year, they can rise again if they seize the opportunity this year.

LNG is a real substance.

This time it was Top Esports' turn to make bold statements. In the post-match interview, JackeyLove was quite arrogant, saying that no matter who loses between EDG and JDG, TES will definitely win and advance to the finals.

Amidst the intertwining of old and new grudges, the time came to August 26th, and the competition entered the winners' bracket final.

"Okay, welcome to the Hongqiao Tiandi Performing Arts Center. This is the venue for the 2022 League of Legends Pro League Summer Playoffs match between EDG and JDG!"

In the commentary booth, Guan Zeyuan's voice was incredibly loud, and he was already in commentary mode.

With twenty minutes to go before the start of the game, it was the warm-up time for the commentators, and the director showed a comparison of the two teams' playoff statistics.

When Guan Daxiao saw the data, he couldn't help but laugh: "EDG's data is as outrageous as ever."

Data isn't actually that meaningful, since each team has a different style, and even strong teams might not have great data. It's mainly affected by win rate; as long as the win rate is high, the data will naturally be high.

EDG has played four BO5s since the start of the playoffs, and in twelve games they have not only been undefeated, but they have also rarely been at a disadvantage. Their statistics are naturally beyond question and can be described as incredibly high!

With an average 15-minute lead of 3496 and a team KD of 14.7, they are on a completely different level from their opponents, JDG!
"The control rate of both the dragon and the Rift Herald is over 90%, which is the most exaggerated," Guan Dajiao laughed. "Because generally speaking, a team can only protect one of the dragons and the Rift Herald! EDG is all about getting them!"

JDG and EDG have no real animosity towards each other; in fact, due to Mingjing's influence, they are relatively friendly and have even interacted on Weibo multiple times. Furthermore, this is only a winners' bracket match, and both teams are essentially on steroids, which makes the game less intense and the live stream chat filled with amusement.

Is it time to purge the traitors again?

【Huh? Fei Shen has become a traitor too?】

[Purge the traitors? Or is it a traitor's counterattack?]

JDG was sweating bullets when they beat TES after being down 2-0, I don't know how they managed to beat EDG.

[It was just another resounding 3-0 victory.]

Don't worry, the Flying God will be merciful today.

The camera then cuts to the rest area of ​​both teams, where the JDG players appear relaxed and cheerful, seemingly without any pressure.

Since helping the team complete a reverse sweep, Zoom has surpassed Wayward and returned to the starting position.

Zoom and Wayward were also featured prominently in this summer season, even spawning memes like "Old guy exploding with gold coins."

Zoom is particularly looking forward to returning to the starting lineup against EDG.

It's time to teach Mingjing a lesson!
Meanwhile, inside the EDG players' bench, everyone was discussing today's strategy.

“Their team is going to crush me today,” Ming Jing said. “If I’m still the one setting the pace, it might be a bit difficult.”

Maokai understood Mingjing's meaning, thought for a moment, and then said, "Then let me choose a magic core for you to farm? You should be able to handle it, right?"

“No problem.” Ming Jing nodded. “This is my old profession.”

Soon, it was time for the match.

At the call of the host Xi Ran, the players from both sides took to the field, and the draft phase quickly began.

"The priority side selection in the winners' bracket final is determined by a coin toss before the match. According to our information, EDG won the coin toss and chose the red side, which was somewhat unexpected."

Remember Tao Tao said: "Although EDG is a team that makes a high use of the red side, they generally prefer to play on the blue side."

Guan Daxiao then chimed in: "The red team is just after that counter pick, right? I guess EDG will have to rely on Feishen to carry today."

The actual situation is quite the opposite.

EDG chose the red side not to give Mingjing a counter pick.

Since it's already decided to pick a core mage for Mingjing, there's no need to pick one later. Just pick a champion like Azir or Orianna first and let the mid laner play it. Anyway, Yagao isn't a strong laner, so even if he picks one later, he won't pose much of a threat to Mingjing.

This counter slot is for Flandre.

This version of the bot lane is also more of a late-game role. If Mingjing also picks a farming champion, then the team will need Flandre to step up and carry the team.

Therefore, in the subsequent draft phase, EDG had a clear strategy and picked Renekton for Flandre, putting all their eggs in one basket in the early game.

Both sides progressed quickly in the draft phase, and the lineups were determined soon.

Blue side EDG: Top laner Renekton, jungler Poppy, mid laner Orianna, bot lane Zygarelle and Lulu.

JDG (Red Side): Top laner Aatrox, Jungler Vi, Mid laner Sylas, Bot laner Kalista and Natasha.

It's easy to tell at a glance which team has the stronger lineup in the early game.

Both Sylas and Kalista are incredibly strong early-game champions for JDG.

"But EDG's Poppy pick was excellent!" Remember praised, "It completely countered JDG's engage picks!"

Seeing this lineup, the two commentators understood what kind of game this was going to be.

Just like the match the day before yesterday, JDG will definitely pick up the pace.

However, EDG, with its two late-game carries, will inevitably try to avoid fights, forming a balance of offense and defense.

Next, it will be time to test the skills of both players.

The match started quickly.

It can only be said that this was exactly as Ming Jing had predicted.

In the first game, JDG's players went completely berserk.

Toothpaste abandoned his usual steady style and Sylas went on a rampage, using his E ability to trade blows with Mingjing.

Even though Mingjing had excellent positioning and managed to dodge two of Sylas's E attacks with Orianna, he still inevitably got hit by the AWA combo, and his health inevitably dropped.

Then came Kanavi's arrival.

Vi emerged from the darkness, charging up with her Q and delivering two punches to Ming Jing!

Moreover, after throwing two punches, Kanavi didn't linger and continued farming in the other half of the jungle, as if he was just strolling around the mid lane and had no intention of ganking at all.

This really put Ming Jing in a bit of a predicament.

What's the point of playing like this?
But this is just the beginning.

Finally, even Zoom joined in the fun. After the Aatrox reached level six in the laning phase, he activated his ultimate and charged towards the mid lane!
Q followed by E lands smoothly, and then, using the control from Q, follow up with W [Fire Chains].

Ming Jing wasn't flustered at all, because he had already used his E shield to negate the two instances of damage. Next, he only needed to use W to accelerate out of the chain's range and escape easily.

But at that moment, a golden light flashed behind them. Yagao didn't want to give Mingjing any chance to escape. Sylas stole Orianna's ultimate while using E to get in, and then used R-flash to attack directly!

Fortunately, Ming Jing's mind was quick, and he used Flash to dodge the fatal R-Flash and escape the range of the Fiery Chains!
And that wasn't all. Ming Jing had already made sure he was safe, so he turned around and used QR to kill Sylas and Aatrox together, followed by W to deal considerable damage.

At this moment, Mingjing pressed T, revealing a Teemo thumbs-up emoticon above his head, which infuriated his JDG teammates.

"Holy crap!" The toothpaste tube went numb. "They actually gave up Flash after this?"

Orianna's R-flash with her ball is very difficult to react to, especially in this situation, when Mingjing's attention was completely drawn to Aatrox.

"Stop talking, it's annoying." Zoom was also a little frustrated at the moment.

He was already at a disadvantage in lane, so this gank to the mid lane was a rare opportunity to capitalize on.

As a result, he used his ultimate move but failed to catch anyone and even got hit by Orianna's combo.

With his Flash ability gone and him at half health, how is he going to go back to lane?
Zoom quickly returned to the top lane to farm under the tower. On the way, he opened the tactics panel and saw that he was already twenty CS behind.

Even if there's still a wave of last hits under the tower that haven't been landed, the actual last hit difference is still over ten.

It's a bit uncomfortable.

But Zoom glanced at his teammates and realized that he wasn't the only one feeling unwell.

"No," Zoom said, "How come you get fewer last hits than me?"

It wasn't just the top laner who was 20 CS behind; the mid laner, Yagao, was also behind.

Moreover, there are no tower dives in the mid lane waiting for toothpaste to fix.

The mid laner was truly down by twenty CS.

Sylas got 20 CS down by Orianna in seven minutes? Really?!
"no way!"

The toothpaste was quite frank: "We can't beat them!"

"OK."

(End of this chapter)