League: I really didn't tank!

Chapter 449 Special Skills Exceed Version

On the Flash Wolves' bench, all five players were glued to the screen, completely absorbed.

The debris from their own base explosion displayed a glaring "failure" on the screen, sending a chill down their spines.

They had no idea what had happened, and they were already standing on the edge of a 0-2 deficit.

Is there any point in playing this last game?

Moojin, a player who just joined Flash Wolves this year, has swept through the region and has hardly ever lost.

After arriving at MSI, he defeated the Korean team twice and then beat FNC with a 5-5 record, helping Flash Wolves enter the finals for the first time ever!

He achieved in his debut what his predecessor Karsa hadn't accomplished in several years, which gave him boundless confidence, and he even felt that they were capable of competing with QG.

But now, he was slumped in his chair, looking at his teammates on both sides, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Needless to say, in the bottom lane, Chun Chun's flying attacks were so effective that EZ couldn't beat Kai'Sa, and Kai'Sa couldn't beat EZ. They were both taught a lesson by Chun Chun's attacks.

Although the top laner didn't die at all from start to finish, the opposing team was a dominant force every time they came out of hiding, making it hard to assess.

Of course, their mid and jungle weren't much better off. The opposing team ignored them every time, diving the tower whenever they wanted, but they still couldn't stop them, and they didn't have any rhythm to speak of.

So although he had some complaints, he didn't have much to say.

Unlike Moojin, Maple has extensive experience against QG and is used to losing.

Maple was the first to stand up, patted his teammate on the shoulder, and said, "Relax, it's normal to win and lose in a competition."

Moojin sighed, too lazy to even look at the damage numbers, and turned to walk backstage with his mid laner.

Before leaving, Moojin took one last look at the other side of the stage.

The five QG players stood up and excitedly high-fived each other in celebration!

"Congratulations!" The three commentators in the European commentary booth were also extremely excited, their voices echoing throughout the venue through the speakers:

"They're just one game away from the 2018 Mid-Season Invitational title! They're one step away from winning!"

"They're just one step away from winning the MSI undefeated title!"

"They're just one step away from a three-peat at MSI!"

"Let's witness the birth of a legend together!"

European commentators have always been unrestrained; they don't need to consider things like face or status, and they always say whatever comes to mind.

Although they are only up 2-0 and one win away from the championship, from the neutral perspective of the European commentators at the scene, Flash Wolves no longer have any chance of winning.

QG has no one who is inferior to the opposing team in any of their four lanes. When these two teams fight, it is the best interpretation of "dimensional reduction attack"!

Finally, commentator Jeff didn't forget to reassure the opposing team, jokingly saying, "Of course, Flash Wolves reaching the finals in this MSI is already quite an improvement."

"Although they lost, they lost to QG, and they deserve our respect! They surpassed LCK this spring!"

These words immediately alarmed LCK fans on Twitch.

What the hell are you saying?

[It's one thing that our Korean team can't beat QG, but how could we possibly lose to Flash Wolves?]

[A team that only made it to the finals after playing five games against European trash, and you're bragging about that? If QG hadn't picked KZ in the semifinals, do you think Flash Wolves would have made it to the finals?]

Korean fans were probably very anxious, and their words were extremely aggressive. However, Koreans were not really in a favorable position on Twitch, so the counterattack came quickly.

First came the Taiwanese retort: ​​"Haha, no matter how bad our wolves are, they still beat your KZ twice in the group stage! What's there to say?"

[Hilarious! Koreans are so stubborn. Even in the knockout stage, how could KZ, who were defeated twice, possibly win?]

In addition, there were comments from Europeans.

What do you mean by "a trash Europe"? We were all in the semifinals, so if we're trash, what are you?

【Huh? KZ? Are they still in Paris? They should be on their flight back to Seoul by now, right? Have a safe journey.】

The Korean supporters were truly furious, clenching their fists and turning red in the face, not knowing what to say for a moment.

In the past, although they couldn't beat QG, they could at least find some confidence against other regions.

Even if we're not number one in the world, we're still firmly in second place.

Damn it, they can't even be called the second best in the world anymore!

The impotent and furious pro-Korean supporters opened their phones and Korean online forums, intending to vent all their anger on KZ!

During the round outside, the break time passed again, and both contestants took to the stage for the third time.

At this point, we can see that QG, who have returned to the stage, have regained their composure and have adjusted themselves to their best condition.

QG's management knows better than anyone the importance of maintaining a calm mindset, especially during crucial moments.

So every time the team members returned to the locker room in high spirits, the manager and coach would quickly calm them down after a brief celebration, and then get them back into competitive mode.

Although they were just one step away from each milestone, everyone was calmer than anyone else at this moment.

Xiangguo sat in his chair, looking at Xiaohu beside him, and couldn't help but laugh, "Li Yuanhao, what's the meaning of you specifically wearing those yellow glasses after you went back to the lounge? Are you serious?"

"These are tactical goggles. Never seen Dragon Ball before?" Chen Dongqing said cheerfully. "This is Vegeta's Tiger form. Little Tiger, you're getting serious this time!"

"What the hell?" Xiao Hu said in a hoarse voice, "It's because it's the last round, and I want to wear glasses to see more clearly so I can concentrate better."

Chen Dongqing was just about to ask about the opposing team's combat strength when he heard the instruction that the match could begin.

On the other side, Flash Wolves' top laner Hanabi clicked "Start Game," and the third game's draft phase officially began.

"Alright, let's begin the draft!" On the LPL commentary booth, Wawa, still in control, shouted, "In this game, QG has the right to choose sides, and as before, they've proactively chosen a position on the red side! Let's see what the bans are for both sides!"

As the doll was talking, the two sides went back and forth, and had already completed the first three ban selections.

On the blue side, FW chose to ban Viktor, Fiora, and Ezreal.

On the other side, QG banned Poppy, Malzahar, and Kai'Sa.

Upon seeing this ban, Remember immediately laughed: "After losing two games, Flash Wolves finally banned Kai'Sa and Ezreal? Why didn't they do that sooner!"

"Actually, they really didn't have any bans for the bot lane," Gao Dewei laughed. "They were just out of options this time."

There's really no other way.

Theoretically, the best solution is to let Kai'Sa and Ezreal both be available, and then pick one on each side. This solves the ban problem and also ensures that the bot lane doesn't suffer a disadvantage in the laning phase.

But as you've seen, that's the result.

Uzi was completely outmatched in the bottom lane, proving with his superior skill that this approach didn't work on him.

What can Flash Wolves do then? They can only ban them.

The cost of doing this is that Irelia, who was originally banned, was released.

And most importantly, they don't know how to play Irelia.

There was no other way; they could only lock onto one location on the first floor.

That's not a problem. Without Ezreal and Kai'Sa, Xayah and Rakan are the strongest bot lane duo.

Meanwhile, the QG team was also finalizing their strategy for the game.

QG's original plan was that if Flash Wolves dared to continue letting Ezreal and Kai'Sa play, they would continue to focus on the bot lane.

As a result, the opposing team banned it, and they were on the red side.

Uzi finally asked, "So, what's the deal this game? Are we going to focus on the top lane?"

After receiving an affirmative reply, Uzi thought for a moment and then said, "We can give them Xayah and Rakan, and we'll get Vayne and Lulu for our bot lane. How about that? Vayne isn't afraid of Rakan, and we have an advantage in the bot lane. You guys can just play your own top lane."

Standing nearby, Xiangguo joked, "I could hear your scheme from a million miles away!"

Since the release of the Vayne championship skin, QG hasn't had a chance to pick Vayne, which has really frustrated Uzi.

Choosing it out in this final round can be considered a perfect ending.

Uzi grinned and said, "Just tell me if there's a problem!"

"Of course, no problem," Banbazi laughed. "But if they pick Vayne in the bot lane, then don't rush to pick her. Let's grab Irelia and Jarvan IV first."

It's rare to see Irelia available, so there's no reason not to pick her. Jarvan IV is also one of Xiangguo's signature champions, so there's no problem with that either.

"Then came Flash Wolves' second and third picks. Their choices were: first, a mid-lane Galio to disrupt the mid-jungle duo, then AD Xayah, which wasn't a problem!"

"Then QG made their third pick, and they immediately locked in Lulu! If nothing unexpected happens, QG should be playing in the top half of the map this game, with Lulu likely to be paired with a strong late-game carry to provide backup!"

Miller, commentating on Flash Wolves' picks, chuckled and said, "This game's picks have a bit of a retro feel to them, with Xayah and Rakan, and Galio and Jarvan IV, it's reminiscent of the S7 World Championship!"

"Alright, the draft phase is now in its second round!" Wawa said with a smile. "Next, we'll see what position QG's Irelia will play, and what carry AD carry Uzi will choose!"

As the match entered the second round of the draft, Flash Wolves, having learned a great lesson from the previous game, directly banned Jayce and Vladimir, two champions known for their ability to steal gold, fearing that they might feed another carry in the top lane.

Flash Wolves had their own considerations for this game. QG probably played their cards openly, so they didn't need to ban Illaoi, a hero that doesn't synergize well with their teammates. Instead, Jayce and Vladimir were worth banning.

On the other side, QG naturally had no pressure and directly banned Graves and Kha'Zix to continue limiting the opponent's jungle carry, and entered the champion selection phase.

"A good fourth option is..."

The next second, a female hero wearing red glasses appeared and locked onto the target instantly. The doll's calm voice suddenly grew louder: "Vaine! She's here!!!"

At that moment, a ripple of excitement spread through the audience, and a fairly loud cheer erupted!

Globally, if there's anyone who can elicit cheers just by choosing a hero, it's probably only Chen Dongqing and Uzi.

Their iconic heroes are known to all League of Legends players worldwide and are etched into their very being.

The European spectators below the tower initially thought the match was about to end and wasn't very interesting.

The moment the fourth-floor VN was locked down, it instantly gave the audience a shot of adrenaline!

"Alright, now it's FW's turn to lock in their lineup!" Wawa shouted. "QG's Irelia is still switching between mid and top, so they have a lot of room to adjust, freely giving the counter pick to either mid or top!"

Flash Wolves had little choice but to pick a top laner who wasn't afraid of Irelia and could also play relatively well, in order to minimize the threat posed by Irelia's flex picks.

Ultimately, they opted for a top lane Jax and a jungle Lee Sin, creating a very hardcore and resilient top-mid-jungle combination.

Chen Dongqing was somewhat surprised by the choice of weapon.

He originally thought that the opposing top laner was just a passive player who could only endure pressure.

Surprisingly, it's possible to pick a hero with a bit of initiative, like a weapon.

Next, the suspense returned to QG.

Wawa immediately chimed in with her analysis: "Irelia is definitely not good against Jax, so QG has to move Irelia to the mid lane and then pick a top laner."

Miller added from the side, "And this top laner should ideally be an AP champion to fill the gap in the team's AP attribute."

Hearing this, Gao Dewei, who was standing to the side, thought about it for a moment.

In this version, are there any AP top laners that are strong in the early game and have good matchups against champions?

It doesn't seem like that, does it? AP top laners are generally more focused on farming.

But if we choose a top laner who focuses on scaling, wouldn't that disrupt our team's top lane composition?

This same question also came to Chen Dongqing's mind.

"I can't pick it." Chen Dongqing shook his head and said, "If I pick an AP top laner, I won't be able to perform well in the early game, and I'll also be easily countered by Galio."

Banbazi crossed his arms and asked, "Whatever you want. We have Vayne, so we're not really afraid of knives."

Chen Dongqing turned his head and smiled, "Then I know what to choose."

QG's fifth floor, the hero is instantly locked!

A white-themed hero with scissor-like legs appears on the screen!

"Precision is the difference between slaughter and surgery."

"Camille!" Doll exclaimed in shock once again. "Seriously, Tree Bro!"

Many viewers stared in astonishment, and the chat rooms were flooded with comments!

[Holy crap, using Camille to fight weapons? That doesn't seem like a good strategy.]

[That's true, weapons can make you immune to basic attacks, which puts Camille at a disadvantage!]

But isn't this just a kitchen knife squad?

[Is this a game about showing off skins?]

"Camille isn't a bad option either!" Godvet chimed in. "Both Camille and Vayne have true damage, so they're not really that afraid of physical damage teams. Plus, their top, mid, and jungle have a lot of initiative, which actually fits their game plan perfectly!"

"But I always feel like Camille has a hard time gaining lane priority against Jax," the doll said helplessly. "If she can't push the lane early, won't the top lane be too passive?"

Miller laughed and said, "At this stage, I think we can only trust Brother Tree."

Upon hearing this, Wawa agreed, "That makes sense. Our top laner is Tree Bro, what are we afraid of?"

With the heroes for both sides now determined, Wawa took one last look at the lineups on both sides.

Blue side FW: Top lane Jax, Jungle Lee Sin, Mid lane Galio, Bot lane Xayah and Rakan.

Red team QG: Top lane Camille, Jungle Jarvan IV, Mid lane Irelia, Bot lane Vayne and Lulu.

After glancing at the general lineup, Wawa couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle.

It has to be said that, apart from the mid laner, the other four members of QG's lineup are indeed somewhat out of sync with the current meta.

However, these four heroes were also their proudest heroes.

17-time champion Camille, 17-time champion Jarvan IV, 17-time champion Vayne!

QG practically just put up the words "I want to show off my skins"!

But is there a problem with this? Absolutely not.

"There's a saying that goes, 'A unique skill transcends the current version,'" Miller concluded with a smile. "I believe QG will use this match to give the best interpretation of that saying!"

The competition has now begun!

Sorry, that's all for today.

I've been watching the games and dealing with various other things these past two days, and I also woke up late today (that's the main reason), which has resulted in me writing very little. I've only managed to write four thousand words so far.

Fortunately, the content was quite good so far, so I just posted it directly.

I promise to update by 7,000 words tomorrow.

But I'd better give you guys a heads-up: I'll be going to the hospital a few times in the next few days for some tests (it's an old problem, but it shouldn't be anything serious).

So I might not have much time to write, and please bear with me if there are fewer updates.

But as I said before, there will be no hiatus in updates.

P.S.: I have some thoughts about yesterday's competition that I just have to get off my chest, but I don't want to write a separate chapter for it, and if I put it in the main text, I'll charge you for it, so I'll just put it in the author's notes.

JD.com was invincible for a year, but it lost to T1 in the end, which is a pity.

However, it's unnecessary to say that Koreans are loyal to their country. From the perspective of the entire best-of-five series, the two Koreans were actually the two who tried the hardest.

Kanavi did indeed throw the game in the last round, but was it really throwing? It was more like he was in a rush.

The junglers on other teams are all utility players, but he's the only jungler who has to take on both initiating team fights and carrying the game. How can he not be anxious? If he's too anxious, problems will arise. There's no way around it.

JD.com's problem is nothing more than the gap between its upstream and midstream segments.

369 was consistently pressured in the top lane. He got tower-dived and solo-killed by Aatrox while playing Rumble, and when playing Renekton, he was forced to use his ultimate and Flash by Aatrox before the Rift Herald team fight, causing the Rift Herald team fight, which should have been won by Renekton, to completely collapse. Put yourself in the jungler's shoes, who wouldn't be anxious?

JDG's only second win was actually when 369 stepped up and went toe-to-toe with Zeus, and then JDG won.

Ultimately, 369 is making the same mistake he made in LPL S5 and S6: he can only play tanky champions and can't carry. This kind of top laner is bound to cause problems in crucial moments.

I thought this problem was solved after S8IG appeared, but I didn't expect it to reappear in S13. It's ridiculous.

As for the middle lane?

There's not much to say. I've almost forgotten who JDG's mid laner was yesterday. All I know is that Faker on the other side got MVP in all three games.

For next week's finals, all I can say is good luck to WBG.

It's ironic that after criticizing Tiger and Zombies for so many years, we still have to rely on them to win the championship.

This is truly the ceiling for the champion.

(End of this chapter)