League: I really didn't tank!

Chapter 299 First Division!

"Ah, although they lost the game, EDG actually maintained the situation very well. It's just that they made a mistake in the last team fight, which is a real pity." Guan Daxiao's tone was full of regret.

In fact, during the final team fight, the colonel thought they were going to win because he saw how explosive Kog'Maw's damage output was.

The next second, Big Mouth unleashed an explosive attack, which was incredibly realistic.

"I think the main problem right now is that the LCK's learning ability is too strong!" Remember couldn't help but say, "The Ardent Censer strategy that we hid until the finals was learned by the opponents in just two games, so in fact we don't have much of an advantage."

"That's right!" Colonel Guan sighed. "Actually, I feel that we used this strategy too early. We should have used it in the last two games. We underestimated LCK a bit too much."

But saying that would be hindsight and pointless. I thought about the matchups for the next game and changed the subject: "Then the next game will be very important."

After the first three games, each side now has one team yet to take the stage.

On one side is SSG, and on the other side is FPX.

On one side is seed number three, and on the other side is seed number four.

It looks a bit risky.

"But actually, it's not a big problem," Guan Daxiao said with a smile. "Even if FPX loses the game, we still have QG to play the fifth game. It looks pretty stable no matter how you look at it."

Remembering this, he nodded: "That's true! Besides, FPX might not necessarily lose; they have a chance to win!"

"Let's cheer for FPX together!" Miller declared earnestly, "Let's try to win the fourth game!"

The LPL rest area at this moment.

The EDG members also returned with sighs on their faces.

Chen Dongqing looked at the EDG team in front of him and narrowed his eyes slightly.

It's safe to say that when it comes to disappointing people, EDG truly never disappoints.

Everyone else is pretty good, how come you're the one who falters?

Chen Dongqing sighed again when he thought of this.

But there's really not much that can be done.

It has to be said that KT is quite quick at stealing strategies.

Deft and Mata, these two veterans, have truly rich game experience. In just two games, they had already mastered the general strategy and mid-game tactics of the naked Ardent Censer build.

EDG had an initial advantage, but surprisingly fell behind in the mid-game.

Feeling the gazes from all directions, iboy experienced a feeling of utter shame for the first time. He raised his hand and said, "Oh dear, my oh dear, I was too forward."

"So you knew too!" Abu sneered from the front. "How many times have I told you to play it safe when you get a carry AD carry, don't push too far forward, but when have you ever listened? This game, your teammates were playing a four-protect-one strategy with you, and even those four teammates couldn't keep up with how fast you fed!"

An untimely burst of laughter rang out in the lounge.

Everyone looked in the direction of the laughter and were surprised to find that it was Lin Weixiang laughing.

Noticing the gazes of the crowd, Lin Weixiang said with a smile, "I remember Liu Qingsong said the same thing to me last week."

Liu Qingsong immediately covered his face with his hand, pretending not to recognize this idiot.

iboy's face instantly turned ashen.

"It's alright, it's alright," Banbazi reassured him. "It's only one game lost. We're still leading 2-1, and our chances of winning are definitely higher!"

Now, let's see how this last team performs.

Everyone turned their attention to FPX, whose atmosphere was filled with joy.

At this moment, Lin Weixiang had already stood up, taken out his keyboard from his bag, and stood tall with his head held high.

Judging from his aura, Lin Weixiang is like Ye Gucheng, about to wield his sword and fight a decisive battle at the Forbidden City.

But he was only going to face off against a mere LCK third seed.

Although this seed is this year's world champion.

"Go for it!" Chen Dongqing stepped forward and patted Lin Weixiang's butt. "Even if we lose, it's okay. We'll definitely win the fifth round."

It's a no-brainer that QG will be playing in the fifth game.

And the vast majority of people also believe that QG will win in the end.

"Don't worry," Liu Qingsong said from the side, "There won't be a fifth inning."

Although LCK has learned the Ardent Censer strategy, they are not afraid.

They've been playing with incense burners for so long, don't they have any way to control themselves?

Chen Dongqing raised an eyebrow and smiled, "OK, OK, I couldn't be happier."

Meanwhile, in the LCK rest area.

The other three teams are also cheering for SSG.

"Go for it!" Smeb stood beside Ambition, his tone now more sincere: "Let's win this game! KT will definitely win the fifth game!"

Although KT faltered in the group stage with two losses, they redeemed themselves in the knockout stage, defeating Flash Wolves in the semifinals to help their region advance, and now in the finals, they came back from 0-2 down to defeat EDG, winning a crucial point for their region.

If there were a fifth game, KT would definitely volunteer to play.

With the Spring Split championship and the top spot in the Summer Split regular season standings, other teams certainly wouldn't try to snatch this opportunity to play.

At this moment, Sect Leader An nodded solemnly: "Don't worry, we are very confident!"

They're just the fourth seed from the LPL region, a bottom-tier team from a bottom-tier region. How can they possibly beat our SSG?

SSG today is a team that can dominate the LCK region!

Before long, both teams took to the stage, and the match began.

Both sides have racked their brains regarding the business plan.

At this point, it becomes clear that the draft picks in this fourth game are completely different from those in the first game.

In the first game, although SKT also valued the bot lane, the focus of the support role was still on hard supports like Thresh and Braum.

But in the fourth game, the direction changed.

Both sides banned Lulu on one side and Janna on the other, effectively banning all enchanter supports!

It's clear that both regions now understand the importance of the Ardent Censer item.

Although LCK was caught off guard by the Ardent Censer in the first two games, they adapted relatively quickly.

SSG is a team that focuses on late-game strategy and macro play. In addition, they are the last to play and have the longest preparation time. Now they have already mastered the use of Ardent Censer by LPL teams.

In terms of hero selection, their strategy was quite clear. After FPX first picked Karma, they decisively picked Nami, who could also grant Ardent Censer, and then second picked Kalista, who had just been picked by QG, ​​thus locking in their bot lane lineup.

Skateboard shoes and Nami—this combination might seem a bit odd, but it's actually a fitting version.

A burner monster paired with skateboard shoes is definitely a safe bet.

Immediately afterwards, FPX began to demonstrate their understanding.

The four LPL teams have developed Ardent Censer in different ways.

WE employs an extreme four-protect-one strategy, and is obsessed with super carry champions like Kog'Maw and Lulu.

QG, on the other hand, focuses on mid-game pushes and prefers lane-pushing supports like Caitlyn, Kalista, Karma, and Janna.

FPX, on the other hand, takes a completely different approach.

They immediately moved Karma to the mid lane, and then picked Xayah and Rakan in the bot lane.

These two have one thing in common: the line weight is stable!

As we all know, the synergy between Doinb and Liu Qingsong in the mid and support roles has always been unique, which was already well-known in 2016.

Mid lane Karma's mobility + support Rakan's mobility = SSG's bottom half of the map falls = FPX's Ardent Censer tempo is more advanced!

Lin Weixiang's bottom lane only needs to push the lane relentlessly, and then crouch under the tower after pushing the lane. That's all. The mid, jungle, and support will take care of the rest.

Just four minutes into the game, Liu Qingsong ran to the mid lane, and with Karma's QR slow, Rakan used W to charge in, forcing Crown to use Flash.

Immediately afterwards, Liu Qingsong didn't even return to the bottom lane, but instead went to SSG's bottom jungle and completely stole the spawned Gromp and Wolves from Ambition!

Although doing this will result in the bottom lane losing a lot of minions, overall, this move is profitable.

Since there were no jungle monsters in SSG's bottom half of the map, Ambition had no reason to go there. Instead, he chose to steal jungle monsters from FPX's top jungle.

This would leave SSG's bottom half of the map defense vulnerable, giving FPX an opportunity to exploit the situation.

Then, five minutes passed.

Doinb pushed the lane aggressively with Karma's RQ combo, cleared the wave, recalled to base, and while replenishing his items, teleported directly out of the map.

The target of the teleportation was the melee minion that Lin Weixiang had pushed under the enemy tower!

Immediately afterwards, Clid's Lee Sin appeared from behind the tower!

The SSG team's Nami and Skateboard combo was practically powerless against the tower.

Even if CoreJJ had a clear strategy and managed to interrupt Lee Sin's second Q dash with a single Q, it was completely useless.

Rakan used his W to lift Nami up, and FPX launched a charge, taking down Nami instantly!

After killing the enemy, Liu Qingsong used his E skill to poke Xayah out of the tower. This time, Lee Sin tanked the tower, and the team also killed Kalista under the tower.

Clid then did the same, W also touched Xayah, successfully leaving the tower and completing a four-man gank on the second enemy.

"FPX didn't rush to take down the first tower this time. It seems they want to prolong the bot lane laning phase so they can get more kills!" Guan Daxiao's tone carried a hint of surprise. "FPX's tempo this time is fantastic!"

I remember being incredibly surprised at that moment.

Surprisingly, FPX had a perfect start in their match against SSG!

Does this mean that the QG players are inherently anti-Korean?

Look at the pace of this match, it's so similar to QG last year!

Last year, this four-man gank on the two would have basically destroyed the enemy base.

Of course, FPX is still a bit lacking.

Lin Weixiang's ability to carry the team is visibly inferior to Uzi's. Even if he gets two kills this time, it's hard for him to confidently say that this game is a guaranteed win.

Secondly, Zoom is clearly inferior to Chen Dongqing.

At the very least, even when the team is focusing on the bottom half of the map, Chen Dongqing can still hold his own in the laning phase.

At his most insane, he could even hold down two opponents at once.

Zoom clearly doesn't have that capability.

When the team focused on the bottom half of the map, his strategy was to focus on survival.

There was no way he could survive being ganked by the enemy mid and jungle trio.

But it's not a big problem.

Being overtaken on the top lane was an expected loss and is perfectly acceptable.

FPX even considered intentionally giving Zoom to the opposing team.

If he can't gank the top lane, how can he gank the bottom lane?

Eight minutes later, Doinb pushed the mid lane and once again led Clid straight to the bottom lane!

This time, SSG finally took some precautions, with Ambition's Sejuani counter-ganking in the bottom lane.

Unfortunately, FPX also has experience.

Since your Sejuani is counter-ganking, then just kill your Sejuani!

The two ambushed Sejuani in the jungle and started punching and kicking her relentlessly!

Liu Qingsong was also quite quick-witted. After the minion wave entered the tower, he went straight through the SSG first tower and headed straight for the jungle!

Rakan activated his ultimate to accelerate, first using his E to dash to Xayah's side, then using another E to dash to his own jungler's side, and finally using his W to launch Sejuani into the air!

Clid and Doinb followed up and easily secured the kill.

After killing everyone, they continued to gank the bottom lane; everything was perfect.

Although Ruler managed to quickly clear the minion wave that was pushing towards the tower while the enemy was killing the pig girl, he was barely clinging to life.

Doinb cut off the minion wave, and it's only a matter of time before the next wave of minions pushes into the tower.

If the jungler dies, Ruler can scream his lungs out, but no teammates will come to his aid!

What? Crown? Crown has already gone to the top lane to beat Zoom.

With a 4v2 gank, the takedown of a tower, and the dragon, FPX firmly secured their advantage!

Immediately afterwards, Doinb displayed his "playful mid-laner" qualities, taking advantage of the mid-laner's good economy, and bought an Ardent Censer as soon as he recalled to base eight minutes later.

It's just outrageous.

With the Ardent Censer at eight minutes, Doinb casts the shield on Lee Sin. Without even needing Hurricane, Lee Sin transforms into an invincible war god, riding on the enemy mid and jungle without even running away!

This is also one of FPX's understandings.

In the FPX team, lane priority is a must for the bot lane support, and Liu Qingsong must roam.

They clearly cannot accept the idea of ​​a support using all their early-game gold to buy a single support item.

So they upgraded to the second level.

They chose to use a hard support with crowd control to pressure Ardent Censer in lane, and then rely on the mid laner to build Ardent Censer to make up for this deficiency.

This ensures both the bot lane's laning strength and that Lin Weixiang has an incense burner to use in the mid-game.

But coincidentally, from a tactical perspective, FPX's understanding of Ardent Censer is absolutely a counter to WE's ultimate four-protect-one system!

Because once FPX has control of the mid and bot lanes, they simply won't give the opposing bot lane duo any chance to develop.

And this effect clearly played a significant role in SSG!

SSG was only thinking about learning the Ardent Censer strategy from LPL, and was determined to take off with Ardent Censer.

But they didn't realize that they had fallen into FPX's trap!

Immediately afterwards, FPX's mid and bot laners started to stick together, with Karma Galo protecting Lin Weixiang perfectly, and their advantage began to expand continuously!

By the 25th minute of the game, the economic difference between the two sides had reached 5,000.

Lin Weixiang outbid the Emperor by a full fifty knives, giving him a lead of a whole major item!

Faced with this kind of economic situation, Lin Weixiang had nothing to be afraid of; he just opened W and went straight for A.

When SSG tries to engage Lin Weixiang, firstly, Lin Weixiang can protect himself with his ultimate, and secondly, Luo can use REW to counter-engage at any time.

Like an iron bucket.

As long as Lin Weixiang doesn't die like iboy, FPX's victory is practically guaranteed!

At 34 minutes, Cuvee's Renekton was caught out in the jungle, but managed to escape with low health thanks to Renekton's tankiness. Lin Weixiang had Flash and his ultimate available, but he didn't go up to take the kill. Instead, he turned around and followed his team to take Baron.

And as it turns out, this choice was the right one.

Because Master An's Pig Girl is squatting nearby, if Lin Weixiang dares to flash up and grab the head, he will definitely be stunned by Pig Girl in the next instant, and then he will most likely be killed before he can even use his ultimate!

With iboy's sudden death leading to EDG's loss as a cautionary tale, Lin Weixiang felt the same way. He played so steadily this game that it was sickening, giving them absolutely no chance!

Seeing this, Chen Dongqing's smile grew wider and wider.

This is in the bag!

As expected, Lin Weixiang lived up to everyone's expectations.

37 minutes, Ancient Dragon fight.

With six items, the Ardent Censer buff, and the Baron buff, Lin Weixiang's damage output was explosive! He dodged Sejuani's crucial ultimate with his ultimate, and then countered with an E-Flash combo!

Countless feathers were pulled back by the barbs and brushed against the ruler's body.

One second the skateboard shoes had a full health bar, the next second the health bar was completely emptied!

"Awesome!" Uzi shouted, raising his arms in the lounge!

The others were also in a state of chaos, shouting excitedly!

Got it!

With their key AD carry eliminated, SSG's lineup had no damage dealers left and was gradually devoured by FPX.

"One wave after another!" Doinb's voice echoed in the lounge.

Lin Weixiang then shouted, "Wuhu! Take off!"

The FPX voice chat was filled with boundless passion as everyone charged forward with their minions, and the base was already within reach!

In the footage of the base explosion, Guan Daxiao shouted loudly: "Congratulations to FPX for defeating SSG, and congratulations to LPL for defeating LCK 3-1 and winning the 2017 Asian Games Championship!"

(End of this chapter)