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

Chapter 335: Face Off Against DK!

October 10th, the third day of the group stage.

JDG has no matches today, giving them a crucial day off.

Although COVID-19 symptoms are usually recurring and don't get better in just a day or two, it's always good to get an extra day of rest.

At the very least, they need to secure at least one point in the first round; otherwise, if they go 0-3 into the second round, the difficulty of advancing will be incredibly high.

Apart from JDG, the other three teams also faced their own pressures today.

The event began with a match between RNG and FNC.

There isn't much pressure in this match, after all, FNC is a team that came up from the play-in stage, and their strength is on par with EG.

Logically speaking, even if RNG plays a fast-paced early game, they should be able to easily take a point from FNC.

However, RNG did not do that. Instead, they locked in a late-game composition, chose their preferred playstyle, focused on stable development, and prioritized resource trading and picking off isolated targets.

It's very stable and effective.

FNC's execution and ability were not enough to break RNG's strategy, and they could only watch the game slowly move into the late game, and then quickly lose in a few team fights!
After 35 minutes, RNG has secured another point!
After a few matches in other regions, we quickly arrived at the penultimate game of the day.

It was around 9 a.m. in China and South Korea, and viewers in both countries were already getting up and entering the best time to watch the game.

What follows will naturally be two major matches between China and South Korea!
First up is TES, who will face a strong opponent in their group – DRX, who boast Scout and Deft.

This match garnered significant attention, as the annual World Championship is essentially a major battle between China and South Korea, and each China-South Korea match in the group stage is a key factor in assessing the strength of the two regions.

Although JDG lost to T1 the day before yesterday, the situation was special and didn't mean much.

This match was the first real China-South Korea showdown.

Moreover, this match is between the second seed and the fourth seed. If Top Esports loses the game, I can't even imagine how turbulent the anti-fan forums will become afterward.

During the draft phase, JackeyLove, with his red hair, showed a determined look and immediately locked in Draven, choosing to fight the game head-on.

With JackeyLove and Tian as their jungler and bot lane duo, TES's early game strength is indeed top-tier. Against DRX, who tend to be late-game focused, securing early dragons, like EDG and T1, is the optimal strategy.

The team played well with the dragon, and TES secured the first dragon in just seven minutes.

But the unexpected happened quickly. During a tower dive in the bottom lane at the nine-minute mark, JackeyLove made a positioning mistake and stepped on Caitlyn's trap, resulting in him not being able to follow up with damage.

In the end, Deft's Caitlyn not only escaped, but JackeyLove's Draven was also taken down by Scout who arrived at the scene, instantly losing 75% of his 200+ stacks of passive damage!
The loss of these layers is heartbreaking to see.

How can you step on these clips?
Fortunately, Deft didn't get the kill this time, and he also used up both summoner spells to escape, so it didn't affect JackeyLove's lane advantage.

TES continued to stumble along the dragon-controlling rhythm, securing two dragons at thirteen minutes and three dragons at nineteen minutes.

In the blink of an eye, it's been twenty-four minutes, Dragon Soul Team.

"However, DRX traded gold very well this game! They're now up 5,000 gold, and they're definitely capable of engaging in team fights!"

The doll looked at the scoreboard and thought, "This feels a bit ominous!"

Although TES controlled three dragons, the benefits brought by the small dragons that did not form a dragon soul were pitifully low, which could not compare to the huge gap brought by the 5,000 gold difference!

Moreover, with the Tsar and Caitlyn combination, DRX's fighting power is significantly stronger once they gain an advantage.

At this point, TES can basically only hope for a miracle team fight.

If we can win this round, even if it's just a narrow victory, then Dragon Soul will have a bright future ahead.

But if we don't win, I don't even want to think about it.

But the result was not good.

While the two sides were trading blows in the Dragon Pit, JackeyLove's Draven, in order to greedily land a basic attack, chose to rush to the front line.

AD stands at the very front; this is a scene that can only be seen in TES matches.

But this is clearly not a good thing.

DRX support Beryl seized the opportunity, flashing in with a Q and landing a clean hit.

Deft seized the opportunity, and the policewoman rushed in to attack the passive point!

JackeyLove was instantly reduced to half health and had no choice but to use Flash to retreat.

The AD carry lost half health at the start and had no Flash left, so the outcome of the team fight was obvious.

A team fight is about to break out.

Scout's Tsar, in conjunction with Deft, provided damage from the flanks, while the Sand Soldiers relentlessly attacked and delivered devastating blows.

He waited until his own top laner, Gnar, baited out Draven's E before decisively using EQ to engage, flashing and using his ultimate to push back, cooperating with his teammates to send JackeyLove away in a pleasant way!

"JackeyLove got taken down instantly! Xiaotian couldn't withstand the damage either, and was shot in the head by the policewoman!"

"369 and Knight traded kills with Tsar, but it was useless! Deft had too good a positioning opportunity!"

In the video, Mr. Dai's female police officer is seen firing bullets without any pressure, killing all the TES players one after another.

As the chant of "ACE" resounded throughout the arena, DRX not only widened their economic lead to 8,000 gold, but also secured the dragon and the baron, essentially sealing their victory.

Below the stage, countless audience members couldn't help but feel dizzy.

All I can say is that Top Esports lives up to its name; they have a bit of the old EDG vibe. They never disappoint when it comes to being disappointing.

Fortunately, TES currently has one win in hand, so their chances of advancing are not as precarious as JDG's.

The real highlight, however, is the last game of the day!
After a series of post-match procedures, the camera pans to the backstage area of ​​the venue.

As you can see, the EDG players, wearing thick masks, have already entered the venue.

Ming Jing also learned of Top Esports' defeat through the live broadcast.

He was quite helpless about this result.

He generally agrees that LPL teams have a high ceiling; teams like TES and RNG, if they are in their best form, are definitely contenders for the championship.

But the lower limit is also terrifyingly low. When it's low, if you say TES can't beat Vietnam, then Mingjing would believe you.

In this respect, we are not as good as the South Korean team, who can maintain strong competitiveness no matter what the circumstances.

Ming Jing didn't think too much about it, covered his mask, and entered the venue with his head down.

I first installed the peripherals on the stage, and then sat in the lounge for a while.

Soon, staff knocked on the door of the lounge, announcing that the match was about to begin.

Ming Jing stood up, straightened his team uniform, and stepped onto the stage.
"Alright viewers, welcome to the S12 World Championship, Day 3 of the group stage!"

In the commentary booth, commentator Wang Duoduo opened the game with a loud voice, "The next match will be the last one of the day, and I think it will be the most anticipated one. It's the final battle of last year's champions and runners-up, with our number one seed EDG facing off against LCK's number three seed DK!"

After the opening introduction, Wang Duoduo began to discuss the course of the game with Mao Mao and Rita beside him.

"I can only say that there shouldn't be much pressure," Mao Mao laughed. "After all, EDG is the original team, while DK has declined quite a bit due to Beryl's departure. It's a case of one rising and the other falling."

Wang Duoduo nodded: "Yes! No matter how you look at it, EDG still has a better chance of winning. But the charm of the game comes from its variables. Let's let the results speak for themselves!" On screen, the players from both sides took to the stage one after another at the host's call.

The North American audience roared with enthusiasm, everyone paying close attention to today's highly anticipated match.

As viewers, what they want to see is not for the strong to get stronger, but for entertainment.

If EDG were playing against other Korean teams, especially T1, North American viewers would want EDG to win.

But if EDG plays DK, the audience hopes DK will win and stage a revenge drama.

"Okay, business plan begins!"

Wang Duoduo shouted loudly: "EDG has the right to choose sides in this game, but this time they took the initiative to choose the red side, which is quite novel. Let's see if they were prepared!"

The ban/pick phase proceeded very quickly on both sides. By the time the ban/pick panel was brought up, both sides had already completed their ban exchanges.

Although DK was somewhat surprised to be placed on the blue side, they quickly banned Akali, Yuumi, and Galio.

Wang Duoduo was shocked to see this ban.

"Wow, DK's ban picks are pretty bold," Wang Duoduo said. "They let Lucian and Twisted Fate through! Are they trying to make a trade?"

That is clearly the case.

The difference between DK and other teams is that Showmaker is also an excellent Twisted Fate player, and Luna is a fundamental skill for the current bot lane duo.

Therefore, DK is unwilling to use ban slots on these two heroes; they simply pick one on each side.

Of course, this was no problem for EDG. They simply banned Nidalee and Graves, two popular junglers in the current patch, and then sealed away Aatrox, ready to accept the challenge.

"In that case, there might not be much to say about the first few positions."

The card appeared on the first floor of the DK building and was locked on very quickly.

Maokai didn't think much of it and locked in Luna as his second move.

There's not much to say after that; it's just a matter of countering with a hero that comes second.

"DK's decision to lock in Ashe and Braum to counter Luna is an excellent one!"

Ashe has been a lane bully since her release. With a range of 600 yards and a short cooldown on her W, she can keep Lucian, who is only 500 yards away, from fighting back.

As for Braum, there's no need to say more; whether it's against Lucian or Nami, he's a sure-fire winner.

This is the price to pay for picking Luna first. This combination is indeed incredibly strong in the mid-game, but if you dare to pick her first, you have to be prepared to endure pressure in the laning phase.

Especially when the enemy mid laner is Twisted Fate, the probability of losing the lane is extremely high!
"Well then, it depends on which hero Fei Shen will use to counter the cards."

Looking at the draft, Mao Mao said, "If both sides exchange like this, Fei Shen definitely needs to suppress Twisted Fate, otherwise the bottom lane will be very difficult to play!"

Ming Jing certainly understood this, and he had already known the answer long ago.

However, the opponent is unlikely to guess this hero, so Mingjing is not in a hurry to pick it, but instead locks in Lee Sin first.

Lee Sin has become viable after being buffed in this patch, so it's not surprising that he was picked.

So DK didn't think too much about it. After entering the second round of bans and picks, they thought about it briefly and decided to ban Zed and Taliyah.

Maokai was somewhat surprised to see this ban.

Taliyah was banned as usual; this champion can indeed go toe-to-toe with Twisted Fate.

As for this calamity...
"The opposing team has done their research," Maokai chuckled. "They know we can use Zed to break through."

In the current version, Zed has a significant advantage in the laning phase against Twisted Fate. After all, once Ravenous is available, Zed can easily push Twisted Fate's lane and then use his ultimate to engage, leaving Twisted Fate with no chance to fight back.

“But it didn’t work,” Ming Jing laughed. “I guessed wrong.”

In the second round of bans, EDG showed no mercy to top laner Nuguri, banning Gangplank and Camille directly, thus entering the selection phase.

"If nothing unexpected happens, EDG (Red Side) will pick the fourth pick first, and they will likely choose the mid laner."

Before the words were even finished, the Swift Wind Swordsman locked onto his target!

The cheers from the audience were noticeably louder!
"Hey, Yasuo!" Wang Duoduo's tone was full of surprise, "It really is fine!"

Yasuo against Twisted Fate is a standard 90/10 matchup, and when paired with Lee Sin on the third floor, the effect is undeniable.

"EDG was prepared!"

Seeing this Yasuo, DK visibly became tense.

It has to be said that this choice was quite fatal.

With that Yasuo pick, their Ashe card is practically useless, isn't it?
However, given the current situation, they couldn't think of any heroes that would be particularly effective. After thinking until the very last second, they decided to stick to their original plan and selected Crocodile and Uncle in turn, thus finalizing their lineup.

Using Twisted Fate's roaming ability to complement the two lane advantages of Crocodile and Ashe is a standard early-game lineup.

The camera then focused on Flandre.

"So, should we pick Gnar?" the factory manager asked. "If you want to carry, Gnar is fantastic this game."

Gnar is not only a regular ban pick for Renekton, but also a great partner for Yasuo, so picking him is definitely a good choice.

But Flandre doesn't want to play this kind of carry role.

"What if I get ganked and crushed early game while playing Gnar?" Flandre waved his hand, "Give me Malphite! I'll just coast through this game!"

"Hesitate." The factory manager didn't say much, just nodded in agreement.

The Malphite is definitely right. He has little trouble dealing with Renekton, and his ultimate is a nuclear-level threat against short-range champions like Twisted Fate and Ashe.

Most importantly, Flandre can use Malphite's ultimate to roam and create opportunities for his team, which is what Flandre is truly good at.

With that, the lineups for both sides are finalized!
Blue side DK: Top lane Renekton, Jungle Maokai, Mid lane Twisted Fate, Bot lane Ashe and Braum.

Red side EDG: Top lane Malphite, Jungle Lee Sin, Mid lane Yasuo, Bot lane Lucian and Nami.

Looking at the lineups on both sides, Wang Duoduo nodded in satisfaction: "I have to say, EDG's draft picks in this game were excellent! Although the bot lane had a significant disadvantage, the lane advantages in the mid and top lanes made up for it!"

"And most importantly, this team is significantly stronger in the late game, which puts less pressure on them offensively, allowing them to make decisions at will!"

“Yes!” Mao Mao nodded. “To exaggerate a bit, with this lineup, EDG has already won half the battle.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Duoduo laughed: "Actually, I think so too, but I wouldn't dare say it."

"What's there to be afraid of saying?" Mao Mao said frankly, "The team's name is EDG!"

After saying that, Mao Mao added in his mind—not Top Esports.
Ironically, EDG has become synonymous with reliability in the hearts of LPL viewers at some point.

The two coaching teams exchanged fist bumps in the center of the stage before leaving.

As you can see, both Maokai and the factory manager have satisfied smiles on their faces, clearly quite pleased with this business plan.

The camera briefly pans around the audience seats as the match begins!
(End of this chapter)