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

Chapter 320 The finals are about to begin
A 2-0 scoreline brings joy to some and sorrow to others.

At this moment, the barrage of comments in various live streaming rooms was also flooding the screen.

[No, is that all JD.com is capable of? I thought they'd have some merit after beating Top Esports.]

[Just focus on taking on Top Esports, why do you really want to take on EDG? That doesn't make sense.]

[I told you so, it was just another resounding 3-0 victory.]

What happened to the promise of eliminating traitors? Why do the traitors always win? I can't accept this!

[Look at GaoGao's pathetic state, getting down by at least 30 CS in every lane, and unable to keep up with roaming. How can he possibly be cleared out?]

Don't scold Gao Gao, he tried his best.

"."

Backstage at JDG, Toothpaste was completely out of it, slumped in his gaming chair, utterly bored.

This was the first time he had ever felt that a best-of-five series could be so long.

Because JDG's performance was so poor last year, Yagao didn't get many opportunities to play against Mingjing.

They only played one best-of-three series in the summer regular season.

In that BO3 series, Mingjing chose mid-lane warriors like Lee Sin and Irelia who didn't play the laning phase but only roamed, so his teammates on the side lanes suffered the most, while Yagao's experience was relatively better.

But today, things are completely different.

Is it really that hard to handle?
Zoom also found it difficult to cope.

After these two matches, he didn't know what the point of playing any more was.

Although JDG also lost the first two games in the last BO5, they had an early advantage in both games, and in one game they even lost 10,000 gold.

Moreover, Zoom wasn't on the field in those two games, so of course I felt he would have a chance to come back after he came on.

In the end, they did indeed succeed.

But these two games
Zoom recalled the details of the two games, realizing he didn't know where the opportunity lay.

At this moment, Coach Redmi was already checking the Zoom status and considering whether to let Wayward try it out.

Top laners probably have a honeymoon period too; who knows, Wayward might try it out and it could have some amazing results.

This made Zoom feel a little sad, and he felt that staying on the bench in this situation wasn't so bad.
But to my surprise, Wayward shook his head like a rattle-drum, absolutely unwilling!
You want me to suffer at a time like this? That doesn't make sense!

Zoom watched this scene, then lay back in his gaming chair, arm in arm with his old friend Toothpaste.

Well, looks like I'm going to get another beating.

With everyone on JDG seemingly distracted, the third game was clearly not a very interesting one.

When the players from both sides came back on stage, Mingjing made a point of observing the JDG players' condition.

Seeing that his old friends looked normal and didn't seem to be affected too much, Ming Jing thought that his old teammates still had fighting spirit and were thinking of making a comeback from a 0-2 deficit to win 3-2.

This was certainly something Ming Jing was happy to see. He sat back in his seat with peace of mind, ready for another big battle.

But as soon as the match started, Mingjing sensed something was wrong.

Toothpaste is on sale again.

He doesn't care about trading blows or controlling the minion wave; he's just a machine that only knows how to last-hit minions and defend towers.

Mingjing already knew that toothpaste tubes were prone to breaking.

During the S10 World Championship, JDG was defeated twice by DWG, and in the quarterfinals, they were suppressed by Caps against G2. Yagao's tendency to concede defeat was evident.

If Redmi hadn't discovered the problem in time, scolded the toothpaste to wake him up, and if Mingjing hadn't been so capable, things might have really gone wrong.

It's just a winners' bracket match anyway, and the chance of coming back from a 0-2 deficit to win 3-2 is slim, so it's normal to put it on hold.

Ming Jing was quite helpless about this, so he could only take a harder step and make the toothpaste pay the price for its slacking off.

But it was later discovered that toothpaste wasn't the only one involved in JDG's offensive.

The whole team was arranging it.

In this game, the entire JDG team played extremely conservatively. Even Kanavi didn't come out to look for opportunities, but instead focused on farming jungle camps.

This will indeed slow down the pace of the game, and may result in a longer match than the first two.

But failure was inevitable.

The late game is the stage for the two carries to shine, and EDG has the best carry combination in the world, so JDG is obviously not comparable.

The game lasted up to 38 minutes, with EDG leading by 7,000 gold and their push with the Baron buff was unstoppable.

JDG fought with all their might in the final moments of the game, but this desperate gamble, like moths to a flame, led to the team's complete defeat.

"Alright, let's congratulate EDG!"

In the commentary booth, Guan Daxiao shouted loudly: "They have successfully continued their undefeated streak, sweeping JD Gaming 3-0 and advancing to the Summer Finals!"

Miller, standing nearby, chimed in, reciting the lines he had prepared beforehand:
"Starting from the first round of the playoffs, EDG faced the daunting challenge of five consecutive best-of-five series, delivering a perfect 15-0 performance! This makes them the first team in LPL history to advance from the first round of the playoffs to the finals!"

"At the same time, thanks to their third-place finish in the Spring Split and the high points earned from their guaranteed second-place finish in the Summer Split, they secured the first World Championship ticket for the LPL! Congratulations again to EDG! We hope they can live up to their title as defending champions and continue to deliver excellent performances in the upcoming World Championship!"

Mingjing took off his headphones, stood up, lightly bumped fists with a few teammates, and then walked together towards JDG's player bench.

EDG's ticket to the World Championship is already secured, but their journey is not over yet.

The camera followed the EDG players to the JDG players' bench, where they saw that all the JDG players had stood up, and the guys looked fine.

After all, they had already prepared for the loss, and this wasn't a crucial match where it was a life-or-death struggle.

"At the same time, we hope that JD.com can continue its efforts in the upcoming competitions."

Colonel Guan laughed and said, "Having already secured a minimum of points for third place in the Summer Split, they are currently ranked fourth in the league and still have a chance to qualify for the World Championship!"

Ming Jing was now standing in front of Zoom, bumping fists with his old teammate.

"Not bad." Ming Jing greeted him and smiled, "So you've secured a starting position?"

As a former teammate, Ming Jing naturally hopes that Zoom can secure a starting position.

After all, he was a champion top laner, and it would be too embarrassing for him to become a substitute at the end of his career.

“No.” Zoom shook his head: “It’s mainly because Da Huang doesn’t want to play, otherwise I would be happy to substitute.”

Ming Jing: "."

The style of JD.com's former teammates is always different from ordinary people. They have a kind of indifferent feeling that nothing matters after winning the championship.

The conversation only became slightly more normal when they were in front of Kanavi.

"Good luck." Ming Jing lightly bumped fists. "Shall we go for another final?"

Kanavi nodded: "Yes!"

Kanavi is still quite confident about playing against TES.

Mingjing continued punching his way through the stage, and after bowing with his teammates to the empty audience in the center of the stage, he turned and left.

This should be the last time Ming Jing faces the empty audience seats.

Because the upcoming finals will be held in a stadium in Beijing, a limited number of spectators will be allowed in accordance with epidemic prevention and control requirements.

Today's interview didn't feature Mingjing, but instead featured Viper, who delivered an outstanding performance in the final game and won MVP.

Ming Jing, unusually, did not give an interview. He sat comfortably on the sofa and then started scrolling through his phone.

Today's anti-GG forum was unusually peaceful. After all, because of Mingjing, the supporters of EDG and JDG share a high degree of common ground, and can be said to be one family, so there wasn't the same level of hostility as in previous matches.

Even in the rating posts, the losers are mostly teased, such as "the old man is going to be a substitute again" or "Gao Gao is sleeping again."

Of course, many people will still praise EDG's perfect performance today.

After all, JDG is by no means weak, while EDG's performance today is as stable as ever.

[A god among gods! He was caught three times in the first seven minutes, completely outmaneuvered, but in the end, he still managed to wipe out three opponents with one ultimate and turn the tide!]

[He's really getting stronger and stronger. Could it be true, like Miller said, that he hasn't reached his peak yet?]

[Go, Kobe! If you win three consecutive championships this year, you'll truly surpass Kobe and become the number one player!]

[Flying God Super Tech is inevitable, just go for it!]

[Watch and cherish it while you can, this might be his last year.]

【why? 】

[Feishen has always been a student. He was admitted to Peking University through a special admission program, and only came to play professionally as a side job. Now that he's graduated high school and university has started, he definitely has to go back to school, otherwise, wouldn't his special admission have been for nothing?]

【Huh?! No!】

Ming Jing was somewhat surprised when he saw the comments.

How could the forum users guess what he was thinking?
September 3rd, coinciding with the LPL Summer Finals, also marks the start of the new school term.

When the team goes to Beijing to prepare for the competition in a few days, Mingjing will be able to go to Peking University to register.

If Mingjing can win his third world championship this year, he does have the idea of ​​temporarily retiring to study.

After all, Mingjing plays professionally because he seeks challenges. If he were to win three consecutive championships, then that would no longer be a challenge for him.

This is why Mingjing has always acknowledged Faker.

As the first person in history to win three world championships, his continued pursuit of the title despite declining personal abilities is even more valuable than Faker's talent.

Mingjing exited the rating thread and continued browsing.

While discussing today's results, countless forum members are also debating who will qualify for the World Championship.

EDG has secured at least the second seed, but there's still some uncertainty about the remaining spots.

First, we need to see the result of the loser's bracket final.

Because JDG's performance in the Spring Split was mediocre, even if they make it to the finals in the Summer Split, they still can't beat RNG, who has the Spring Split champion and the Summer Split champion. So it doesn't determine much, and there are still many variables.

However, if Top Esports wins the decisive battle and advances to the finals, they can secure a seeded spot based on their guaranteed points.

The remaining two spots will be decided based on points rankings between RNG, JDG, V5, and LNG.

Simply put, regardless of the outcome of the final match, JDG will definitely have to play in the qualifiers; the final match will only determine the fate of TES and RNG.

JDG has only one way to qualify for Worlds without going through the qualifiers: make it to the finals and crush EDG.

However, everyone assumes that this might not exist.

[It seems there's not much to say about V5 and LNG, it'll probably come down to RNG and JD Gaming, right?]

Indeed, the last two teams are complete pushovers in big tournaments. V5 hasn't won a single BO5 this year. It would be a real joke if they made it to Worlds.

[RNG got in by default, as for JDG, I can only say they'll make a move based on the footage; they're really good at stomping weaker teams.]

Ming Jing watched the discussion and nodded in agreement.

He acknowledged the video's ability to easily defeat weaker opponents.

When faced with a weak jungler, he'll literally be shitting in the enemy jungle.

One day later, on August 28th, the loser's bracket finals saw TES and JDG face off once again.

Every time these two teams meet in the playoffs, it goes to five games without exception. Therefore, countless people are eagerly anticipating another exciting match between them.

As usual, the EDG team watched the game on time.

Saint Gun watched as both teams took to the stage and asked Ming Jing for his opinion.

Mingjing's predictions of victory or defeat have always been accurate, a fact acknowledged by everyone at EDG.

Ming Jing glanced at the camera set up next to him: "It's hard to say."

"Hard to say?" Abu raised an eyebrow. "So, that means you support TES?"

Abu's ability to read people is top-notch.

Mingjing, a friend of JDG, has chosen to remain neutral, which clearly means he is on TES's side.

Ming Jing nodded in agreement: "I do feel that Topsports has a better chance of winning."

When the two teams are evenly matched, it really comes down to their form and preparation.

It is clear that TES was better prepared.

For Top Esports, being reverse swept 3-2 in their last match was an absolutely humiliating experience.

Therefore, after their defeat, TES will definitely target JDG.

With EDG setting an example, TES can learn some strategies for countering JDG.

With their strategy in mind and their opponent caught off guard, TES clearly has a greater chance of winning this time!

that's the truth.

In the first game, TES no longer focused on the bottom lane as the absolute core, but instead put their emphasis on the mid lane, hoping that Knight could play a role similar to Mingjing and suppress Yagao in the lane.

Zuo Shou certainly has the ability as well. He knows his fellow Pingxiang native, Toothpaste, inside and out, and has indeed achieved excellent matchup suppression.

Even though Xiaotian was slightly at a disadvantage against Kanavi in ​​the jungle, he had his own solution – he could simply not play in the jungle.

Xiaotian's strength lies in his ability to control the tempo. His Sejuani was everywhere, catching JDG completely off guard!
This is also the first time that TES has taken an early lead against JDG.

After taking the lead, TES became even more aggressive and won the game!

However, JDG adjusted quickly, and in the second game they decisively provided strong support to Yagao, just like in the first game against EDG, with several teammates taking turns to gank mid.

Left hand doesn't have the same resilience as Mingjing. After being caught a few times, it quickly suffered heavy losses and couldn't fight back in lane.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, JDG continued to coordinate and killed Xiaotian in the jungle, returning to their most comfortable rhythm, and then successfully tied the score!

In the third game, TES quickly made the corresponding adjustments and won the crucial game once again!

The way the two sides were exchanging blows made it seem like they were about to go all out again.

But in the fourth set, a turning point finally appeared.

This time, the game was relatively peaceful. Although both sides made some probing moves, their attempts were calmly countered by their opponents. The game proceeded steadily for more than 20 minutes, with the score remaining at 2-2 and the economy almost even.

Just when the audience was yawning and wishing they could watch at double speed, there was another explosion on both sides, like thunder and fire!
Team fights at the small dragon pit, the big dragon pit, and even in the mid lane, there are always team fights happening all the time.

In just ten minutes, the score jumped from 2-2 to 13-8!

But this time, TES is the winner.

TES's two carries became the key to victory. JackeyLove's Kai'Sa made a perfect play in the Baron fight. Although he died, he attracted a lot of firepower and dealt a huge amount of damage, laying the foundation for the victory.

After securing Baron Nashor, TES pushed forward and won the game!

"Another 3-0 victory! Congratulations to Top Esports for avenging their loss and advancing to the finals!" Wawa shouted from the commentary booth. "With this advancement, they have also secured the second seed for the LPL. They will face their old rivals EDG in six days at the Wukesong Arena in Beijing!"

(End of this chapter)