League: I really didn't tank!

Chapter 258 No one survived!

Kennen's choice not only shocked the three commentators in the LCK commentary booth, but also left the KT team momentarily stunned.

what does this mean?

If we had known you were going to pick Kennen, we wouldn't have banned Jayce!

"Could it be AP Kennen??" The KT coach frowned, offering his guess. "But this playstyle isn't very strong right now, is it? Are we going to use it as a way to ban it?"

"Possibly," Peanut agreed, then added, "So, should we play a champion like Gragas or Maokai to counter Kennen?"

The last question was asked by Peanut to Smeb.

But Smeb simply frowned as he stared at the scene before him, deep in thought.

No one understands Ilex better than him.

If it were a typical top laner, he might genuinely believe that the opposing team was using AP Kennen to bypass the ban phase.

But the other side is Ilex.

It seems unlikely.

There are definitely ways to deal with AD Kennen. If all else fails, you can pick Riven to counter him. There's really no need to force yourself to play AD.

And to put it another way...

If it's ilex

It's not impossible to quickly master AD Kennen in two hours.

"Give me Gnar," Smeb finally said. "I'm afraid if he picks AD Kennen, Maokai and Gragas won't be able to compete."

The role of AD Kennen is actually similar to that of Gnar. It's just that he plays against melee opponents with long range in lane, split pushes in the mid-game, and then uses his ultimate to fight in team fights.

So in a sense, neither of them is inferior to the other.

KT opted to respect Smeb's opinion and locked in Gnar and Karma.

On the other side, QG quickly opted for Varus and Lulu again, the same bot lane combination from the previous game. According to Uzi, who just returned, this combination was incredibly fun, so they decided to try it again.

The two sides then traded blows, and the lineups were quickly decided.

Chen Dongqing lay back in the chair and glanced at the lineup.

Blue side QG: Top lane Kennen, Jungle Lee Sin, Mid lane Malzahar, Bot lane Varus and Lulu.

KT (Red Team): Top lane Gnar, Jungle Elise, Mid lane Karma, Bot lane Ashe and Tahm Kench.

Ultimately, KT moved Karma to the mid lane and then added a tank support to counter Lulu.

After the hero selection was finalized, KT coach Lee Ji-hoon patted Smeb on the shoulder heavily and said, "This game depends on you."

"Go for it, Jinghao!" Peanut also raised his fist. "If there's anyone in this world who can stop Ilex, it's you!"

The former EDG carries also turned their gazes over, staring intently at Smeb. They suddenly recalled the days of playing against QG last year.

At that time, their team's two top laners rotated back and forth, and they were repeatedly crushed.

It's all tears when I think about it.

Now that he's moved to KT, things should be better, right?

"Get out of here, what are you guys doing?!" Smeb felt a chill run down his spine from his teammates' stares. He slapped Peanut's fist away. "We'll definitely win this game, don't worry!"

The match is about to begin!

Neither side opted for a level 1 team fight, opting for a normal start.

Smeb opted for the standard Doran's Blade and Fervor of Battle build, starting by following the creeps to lane.

Kennen and Gnar both use the same rune setup, specifically Fervor of Battle, which indicates that Ilex was indeed playing AD Kennen in this game.

Upon seeing Kennen online, Smeb immediately pressed TAB to check his opponent's item build.

Extraction, red bottle.

Smeb's forehead veins bulged, feeling insulted.

While Kennen does have a slight advantage over Gnar in the early laning phase, you can't play like this, can you?

Don't you treat me like a human being?

With his opponents already having Cull, Smeb couldn't back down. Gnar decisively pushed forward, looking for opportunities to harass.

But as soon as Gnar advanced, Kennen began to retreat, and Smeb couldn't find an opportunity.

After crossing the minion wave, Gnar tried to throw a Q, but Kennen dodged it again.

With no other option, Smeb had to turn around and retreat.

But as soon as he retreated, Kennen suddenly turned around and threw a basic attack at Gnar!

Kennen's attack range is a standard 550.

Gnar's attack range at level 1 is only 400, increasing by 6 for each level up. Even at max level, he is still inferior to Kennen.

Gnar can't reach Kennen, but Kennen can reach Gnar.

Based on this alone, Kennen has no chance of losing to Gnar in lane.

Of course, this requires you to have a good grasp of distance, and Chen Dongqing is certainly an expert in this area.

When Gnar was chasing, he was actually within Kennen's attack range the whole time. Chen Dongqing could have attacked him at any time, but he didn't because he would have been counterattacked.

He waited until Gnar gave up the chase and turned around before unleashing a basic attack!

Smeb frowned slightly after being hit by Kennen's auto-attack. He was just thinking, "Oh well, I'm not far enough to attack," but he didn't expect Kennen to be so shameless and hit him with another auto-attack the next second!

Smeb caused his blood pressure to spike instantly.

However, he reacted quickly. The moment Kennen turned around and used his basic attack, he immediately turned around and counterattacked.

If nothing unexpected happens, he should be able to counter-attack while Kennen is in the auto-attack animation.

But in the end, it still didn't work out.

Kennen activated his E speed boost the moment he attacked, and quickly turned around to maintain a subtle distance that Gnar could never reach.

Smeb felt bad about being led astray, so he could only turn back and pull away again.

But as soon as he turned around, Kennen attacked again with a basic attack, and Gnar still couldn't land a hit.

Smeb was disgusted to be hit three times for free right from the start, and then Kennen once again pounced on him and continued to press him hard!

Smeb didn't dare to look back.

He might have dared to challenge Kennen just now, but now that Kennen has three stacks of Fervor of Battle, and he's been hit three times by White A, he's bound to lose the next exchange of blows!

He was completely helpless and could only be chased by Kennen all the way out of the experience zone!

Smeb clenched his fists, feeling extremely humiliated as his opponent forced him out of the experience zone.

Who says Ilex can't play AD Kennen?

The two sides' ranges are clearly only 150 units apart, yet the opponent managed to hit him three times for free. Does that mean they don't know how to play?

This guy is really something else!

What Smeb didn't know was that the director had been pointing the camera at the road from the very beginning.

Players all over the world witnessed Smeb being torn apart like a muggle at the start of the game.

Smeb, the world's second-best top laner, was instantly killed.

[Pulling and tugging!]

Holy crap, a tree!

[Gaining experience at level 1? How is Gnar even playable then?]

[I've always seen Gnar dominate others; this is the first time I've seen him dominate.]

Inside the LCK commentary booth, the three commentators couldn't even bear to look; it was truly shocking.

Wow, so you can play AD Kennen? Why didn't you pick it before?

Upon seeing this, the three commentators realized that Smeb might be going to jail this time.

How long Ilex will serve his sentence depends on whether he makes a mistake or gets caught.

That's where the problem comes in.

Will Chen Dongqing make a mistake?

The laning phase in the top lane continued, and three minutes had quickly passed.

The gap between the top laners on both sides remains huge.

Smeb has only managed a paltry three last hits so far, all of which were achieved using his Q skill. Meanwhile, Chen Dongqing is still at full health, with exactly thirteen last hits.

Although Gnar can catch up in CS slightly after finishing off the enemy tower, the fact that he has a 10-CS lead in three minutes is still amazing.

At this moment, Smeb was also covered in sweat.

The pressure is too great.

This Kennen is practically a script, always striking from a distance of 400-550 yards, leaving him no chance to retaliate.

Smeb has played many games with Gnar against Kennen in ranked matches and has rarely lost. Although Kennen has a long range, Gnar has a slow from his Q and a speed boost from his W. As long as you can hit him with Q and follow up with the three-hit combo, you generally won't lose a fight.

But he never considered the possibility that Gnar might not be able to hit the third ring!

Smeb seized an opportunity when a minion was low on health, threw a Q shuriken, and managed to increase his CS to four.

But he didn't notice that at the same time he used Q, Kennen also auto-attacked and killed a ranged minion, his hand crackling with electricity.

Kennen instantly activated his E skill, unleashing a burst of lightning. This time, Chen Dongqing didn't intend to maintain distance; instead, he used his E skill to accelerate and quickly rushed to Gnar's side!

Without saying a word, Smeb jumped backward!

He's far too weak in health and a level below Kennen; there's no way he can beat him!

But Chen Dongqing had a clear mind and caught Gnar's backflip movement. He first used a basic attack, and then quickly used Q to predict Gnar's movement. The shuriken accurately hit Gnar as he landed!

Immediately afterwards, Kennen used his W, triggering three stacks of his passive and stunning the target!

Using the dizziness, Kennen easily caught up with Gnar's movement and landed two more auto-attacks.

Having already finished his potion, Gnar now had less than half his health left and was once again kicked out of the experience zone.

Most importantly, because he has never had the right to farm minions, he has been relying entirely on his Q skill and passive attacks to survive, which has resulted in his rage increasing very slowly; he is only in his early seventy-somethings now.

Next, he won't have the right to farm minions, so his anger will gradually subside, and the minion wave won't have time to grow bigger before it reaches the tower.

Chen Dongqing established a huge advantage at the very beginning, and then snowballed it to its current state, forming an unstoppable trend.

Without the help of his teammates, this Gnar would inevitably die under the tower.

Smeb was in a dilemma: should he call for help?

But if you call for backup, the enemy jungler might come too.

Should I try replacing Kennen myself?

Just then, Peanut, ever the understanding one, spoke up, "Brother Jinghao, let me help you!"

In fact, according to QG's original rhythm, when the top lane minions were pushing the tower, Xiangguo should have appeared behind KT's top tower and dove the tower on time.

But Peanut disrupted this rhythm.

Peanut played Elise in this game, and he played very aggressively. As soon as he reached level three, he took advantage of Karma's lane priority in the mid lane and the mid and jungle directly invaded QG's top jungle, blocking Xiangguo's jungle route.

This directly caused Xiangguo to fail to appear behind KT's top lane tower on time.

Immediately afterwards, the top lane minions pushed into the tower, and Peanut quickly returned to his own top lane tower, using his own threat to prevent Kennen from tower diving.

Smeb finally breathed a sigh of relief at this point, managing to survive the tower dive thanks to his teammates' protection.

Peanut, through his individual skill, launched a series of invasions and defensive maneuvers, forcibly helping Smeb maintain his lane position.

Of course, KT didn't come without a price.

For example, Pawn's early jungle invasion resulted in a loss of minion waves, and Peanut's defensive positioning in the top lane allowed Xiangguo's Lee Sin to launch a counter-invasion, meaning he was destined to lose a set of jungle monsters.

But Little Peanut didn't take the loss to heart and cheerfully said, "Brother Jinghao, I'll find another opportunity to help you catch it later."

Smeb was a little embarrassed, but he still nodded. "Yeah, you can try it when I get bigger."

The game continues.

After Smeb finished off the tower minions, he regained some health by growing larger. He then continued to throw darts and farm at a snail's pace. Finally, after a little over six minutes, he had accumulated 800 gold. He quickly recalled to base, built a Vampire Scepter, and went back to lane.

After logging back in, Smeb took another look at Kennen's equipment.

Extracted, Berserker Greaves.

Smeb suddenly felt immense pressure again.

It's obvious that the opposing team knew that the key to Kennen's laning phase against Gnar was kiting, so they immediately built Berserker's Greaves, which are most conducive to kiting.

Smeb could only play even more cautiously, hiding under the tower and waiting for the minion wave. With the help of constantly throwing shuriken and a wave of tower kills, Gnar successfully grew larger.

As agreed beforehand, the little peanut spider caught it on time!

Taking advantage of Kennen pushing the lane, Elise emerged from the river, and Gnar pounced in.

Both men held the reins in their hands, and were close to Kennan, but neither dared to hand them over.

They all knew that Kennen had Flash and his E skill for speed, making it difficult for their skills to hit him.

Peanut had his own strategy; he controlled the spider to quickly close the distance and continuously apply pressure.

"I'll force Flash." After communicating with Smeb, Gnar unleashed a W.

But they didn't expect that Kennen wouldn't need to use Flash at all when facing Gnar's W!

Kennen was surrounded by lightning and wore attack speed boots, making him incredibly fast. He easily dodged with a sideways movement!

Seeing this, KT's Ueno duo were completely bewildered.

This guy is as hard to catch as ever!

Peanut sighed slightly, first giving Kennen a Q, and then waiting for Kennen's E skill acceleration to end before using Cocoon to predict Kennen's backward movement!

He didn't anticipate the flash attack this time.

He strongly suspected that a monster of Ilex's caliber could wait until it could clearly see the direction of the cocoon before reacting, so he predicted that a move like Flash would not work against him.

And this has indeed proven to be true.

The moment Kennen unleashed his attack, he did indeed turn around and reposition immediately, and Peanut successfully predicted Kennen's initial movement direction.

If it were an ordinary person, they would very likely be trapped in this cocoon.

But the opponent was the world's number one top laner. Just a moment before the white liquid was about to hit Kennen, a golden light flashed and he flashed to change position, narrowly avoiding the cocoon!

Little Peanut gasped in shock.

How can you dodge that?

Smeb gritted his teeth and had no choice but to flash forward as well, throwing his ultimate in the opposite direction!

This time, Kennen had neither E nor Flash, so he obviously couldn't dodge this ultimate pushback, but Chen Dongqing had his own way of dealing with it.

Just as Gnar flashed right in front of him, he unleashed his ultimate ability.

Gnar used his ultimate ability to push Kennen right between the two of them.

Countless bolts of lightning struck down in succession, and Kennen followed up with a W, stunning both of them!

Taking advantage of the dizziness, Kennen easily retreated, without even losing much health.

KT's Ueno duo is in utter despair.

There's really no way to catch them!

The camera suddenly cuts to the middle of the field.

With the peanuts already getting involved, the hot pot team couldn't be left idle.

Their target is the middle lane!

Because there was no jungler, the fat general was actually playing very cautiously; his Karma didn't even move while standing under the tower.

Unfortunately, QG's mid laner in this game was Malzahar.

Gao Dewei pushed the minion wave to the middle tower, then flashed and used his ultimate (R) to reach it. At the same time, a [Sonic Wave] shot out from the nearby F6 camp.

Lee Sin used his second Q to close the distance, followed by an AEA combo and an R kick, instantly killing Karma under the tower!

"First blood!"

As the screen turned black and white, the fat general lay back in his chair and sighed.

For some reason, he recalled his time with EDG last year.

Many audience members applauded and cheered, and the three LPL commentators nodded in satisfaction.

"That was a fantastic play!" Wawa exclaimed. "Using the firepower drawn from the top lane, Xiangguo launched a surprise attack on the mid lane and secured First Blood!"

"KT really lost badly this time!" Miller nodded in satisfaction. "They failed to gank top lane, and instead got tower-dived in mid lane. This wave widened the gold gap to over 700!"

After diving the tower, Godve didn't waste a single second and immediately recalled to base while standing in front of KT's mid tower.

Just then, the camera suddenly switched back to the road.

KT certainly couldn't accept such a loss, so the top laner and jungler grouped up to push the lane, hoping to cause Kennen to lose a wave of minions as well.

If Kennen still dares to defend the tower, then just dive him!

Soon, the minion wave pushed back to the turret, only to find that Kennen had not recalled to base at all, but was standing under the turret with 60% health.

You still dare not reply?

The little peanut pressed forward decisively, just in time to make its move.

But just then, a teleportation light appeared!

The director switched to a split screen, and at this moment, Goudreau's Malzahar had returned to the fountain, radiating a teleportation glow!

Seeing this, KT's Ueno had no choice but to give up.

The top laner draws fire, the mid and jungler dive the tower, and the mid laner turns around and teleports back to the top lane to protect them.

QG's top, mid, and jungle players formed a perfect closed loop, successfully seizing the early-game advantage!

"Nice!" Chen Dongqing finally breathed a sigh of relief. "We almost crashed."

Both his previous actions when he was captured and this teleportation support were extremely difficult.

Because Malzahar had just been hit twice by the turret while diving, his health was low. If he teleported directly to the top lane, they might both die, so he had to return to base to farm.

If he's two seconds slower returning to base, even a teleport won't be enough, and he'll definitely die.

But thankfully, everything is alright.

After Chen Dongqing finished the last hit under the tower, he and Gao Dewei pushed the minion wave to the tower, and then returned to base to go back to lane.

Godeway returned to the mid lane and farmed a wave of minions pushing into the tower, making the entire game a perfect start.

"It's alright, it's alright," Xiangguo said with a grin. "I'll help you catch it when I have my ultimate move!"

Chen Dongqing didn't care, since he had a significant advantage in lane and it didn't matter if he didn't get any kills.

But the enemy Gnar used Flash in the last wave, so there's no reason not to gank him.

After logging back in, Chen Dongqing glanced at the Lee Sin's ultimate cooldown and then deliberately controlled the minion wave.

He first pushed the minion wave quickly, then placed a control ward in the river to clear Gnar's wards, allowing Gnar to push the minion wave back.

Xiangguo was already prepared in the river. As soon as Gnar dared to come over and clear the wards, he would immediately make his move, and Gnar would surely die.

Unexpectedly, Gnar didn't come over to clear the wards. Instead, he quickly attacked the minions, built up his rage, and then pushed the minion wave back to the tower.

Upon seeing this, Xiangguo immediately pinged the top lane bush and said, "There might be someone counter-ganking here."

"Possibly." Chen Dongqing narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "But we should be able to beat them in a 2v2. Should we give them a go? My ultimate skill still has ten seconds left."

"What's there to be afraid of?" Xiangguo was quite magnanimous. "I'll wait for your ultimate, and once Gnar shrinks, I'll kick him!"

"It seems like the enemy bot lane hasn't come online yet, be careful," Uzi, who was pushing the lane into the tower in the bot lane, warned.

However, this reminder was just a habitual routine, and QG's top and jungle didn't take it to heart, continuing with their plans.

Chen Dongqing's acting was superb. While farming under the tower, he also rushed out to use his Q skill to harass Gnar, completely giving off the impression of "I'm jungling here, I'm going to take you down."

Soon, after a wave of tower dives, Gnar's anger finally dissipated.

Xiangguo's Lee Sin rushed out quickly, and Chen Dongqing also activated his E to accelerate and follow up. The two of them set their sights on Little Gnar!

After Xiangguo used a ward hop to cut off the enemy's retreat, he immediately used his R-flash to kick Gnar into Kennen's face, and then his Q [Sonic Wave] hit the target squarely!

Chen Dongqing thought for a moment and decided not to use his ultimate. He used E to trigger a passive stack, then quickly used Q and W to stun the target, and then quickly launched a basic attack!

Lee Sin followed up with Echo Shot, and with the combined damage output of the two, Gnar was likely to be instantly killed!

Suddenly, a stream of white liquid flew out from the bushes and hit the blind monk directly in the face.

Spider's counter-gank was expected, so QG's top and jungle weren't flustered, and Chen Dongqing continued to use basic attacks on Gnar.

But at that moment, something unexpected happened!

A toad suddenly appeared from the bushes and swallowed the low-health Gnar whole!

Chen Dongqing was immediately startled.

Mata is there too!

The bottom lane did send a notification earlier that the bottom laner had disappeared, but Chen Dongqing didn't take it to heart because KT's bottom lane was at a disadvantage in the laning phase, and a disadvantaged support couldn't possibly roam to the top lane at this time.

But this sole support FMVP does have his own unique understanding. He actually roamed to the top lane in a brilliant move and participated in the battle between the top and jungle of both sides!

Tahm Kench swallowed Gnar whole, then quickly used his basic attack on Lee Sin, allowing Elise to unleash a barrage of attacks on Lee Sin!

Tahm Kench's combat power far exceeds his economic value.

Even if he's a support who doesn't last-hit, if you let him get close to deal damage, his combat power is no less than anyone else on the field.

Seeing this, Chen Dongqing remained remarkably calm, quickly calculating and searching for a way out.

The battle in front of him continued, and all of it turned into information flowing into Chen Dongqing's mind.

Tahm Kench quickly stacked his passive on Lee Sin, then spat out the low-health Gnar.

Smeb immediately used his E to jump away, creating distance, and then boldly turned around to attack. Without Flash, Lee Sin and Kennen couldn't even touch Gnar.

Chen Dongqing's basic attacks never stopped. Having lost his target, Gnar, he was constantly bombarding the spider with his basic attacks.

At this moment, Kennen's hand was already crackling with electricity. Chen Dongqing suddenly had an idea and decided to use his basic attack on Tahm Kench.

Kennen, with his full War Fever, already dealt considerable damage, but Tahm Kench was tough and resilient, so Kennen's attack didn't deal much damage.

At the same time, Tahm Kench stuck out his tongue and licked Lee Sin!

With Lee Sin's passive fully stacked, being licked like that instantly caused him to be stunned!

"Xiangguo's health is already very low, and now he's been controlled! He's taking damage from three people, he might be killed! Xiangguo, run!" Remember's voice clearly carried a hint of panic.

Just then, Kennen finally let out a shout and activated his ultimate ability, creating an electric circle that enveloped Tahm Kench and Elise!

As soon as the ultimate skill was activated, a bolt of lightning struck, followed by another bolt of lightning 0.75 seconds later.

Chen Dongqing's Q skill was ready, and he simultaneously used a Q on the Spider.

Both Spider and Tahm Kench have three stacks of their passive abilities at the same time and are simultaneously stunned!

It was another control cancellation. Even though Lee Sin was already low on health, because Elise and Tahm Kench were both stunned, Gnar alone couldn't finish off the low-health Lee Sin in time!

This strategy is called maximizing controlled returns.

Chen Dongqing had been holding onto his ultimate move until now, and with a crucial control move, he saved Xiangguo's life.

Meanwhile, Xiangguo's Q [Sonic Wave] finally recovered.

Xiangguo understood Chen Dongqing's meaning and immediately threw a Q at the low-health Gnar!

This Q is crucial; it must be won!

Smeb knew the stakes involved and desperately tried to move upwards, but Xiangguo's Q was incredibly accurate, hitting the bullseye!

Echo Slam!

Lee Sin used his second Q to charge in and kicked Gnar to death, securing the kill!

Lee Sin received a dangerous response, gaining a slight increase in health, but most importantly, he used his Q to successfully create distance and escape the encirclement!

On the other side of the battlefield, Kennen was like a god of war, fearless in the face of two opponents. His ultimate lightning continued to fall, and another W hit both of them at the same time, stunning them once again!

Chen Dongqing took advantage of the fact that Tahm Kench and Elise had no skills, and kept throwing basic attacks at Elise. AD Kennen's damage characteristic is that he can output stable damage over time. As a result, Elise's health dropped rapidly, all the way down to less than half!

Xiangguo's health was low, so he didn't go in. The Blind Monk crouched down in the bushes, waiting for his skills to cool down while watching Chen Dongqing's performance.

But this arrogant look immediately caught Peanut's attention. The Spider immediately flashed and placed a ward in the bush, then used E to fly into the air and directly rushed to Lee Sin's face, killing him with a Q!

The spider didn't flash!

Another message popped into Chen Dongqing's mind, and he immediately activated E again to accelerate, charging straight toward the spider!

Just then, Tahm Kench had already stacked three more passives on Kennen. Mata pressed his Q skill, and Tahm Kench stuck out his tongue again!

Chen Dongqing remained calm and composed, maneuvering Kennen with his E ability activated, and with a quick twist, he narrowly avoided the skill.

hiss.

Just like with Peanut before, Mata also gasped in surprise.

How can someone manage to dodge skills while navigating chaotic small-scale battles? What kind of monster is this?

Finally, Kennen caught up with Elise, followed up with two auto-attacks and a Q, and secured the kill!

Cheers erupted from the audience!

KT organized a completely unexpected counter-gank, creating a perfect 3v2 situation. However, thanks to the individual skills of QG's top and jungle players, the situation has now turned into a fair 1v1!

Moreover, it's a top lane Kennen with full enthusiasm, facing off against a support Tahm Kench with only two-thirds of his health remaining!

Chen Dongqing immediately turned around and retaliated, stuffing darts into Tam's mouth and throwing them repeatedly!

Mata didn't dare to linger and turned to leave, but Tahm Kench only had a pair of boots, how could he outrun Kennen with attack speed boots?

With his talent boost, Chen Dongqing chased Tahm Kench relentlessly, knocking out Tahm Kench's E skill shield. After the shield disappeared, Chen Dongqing used his E skill to accelerate again, chased into the tower, and used A followed by W to stun Tahm Kench. Then, he used AQ to secure the kill!

"Double kill!"

KT's top, jungle, and support trio—all perished!

I originally intended to finish writing this piece, but I ended up writing a little more than I expected, so I'll have to leave the last part for tomorrow.

I'll focus on these two group stage matches, and then I'll speed things up and skip over the rest.

See you tomorrow, brothers.

(End of this chapter)