League: I really didn't tank!

Chapter 518 Believing in Both Fathers

"Viewers, as you can see, the first round of the draft phase has begun! This is an all-LPL finals battle in Incheon!"

Today's commentary is by none other than the three Egyptian God dolls, Miller, and Guan.

At this moment, Colonel Guan quickly chimed in, "According to the information we received, QG won the pre-match coin toss, so they gained the right to choose sides in games one, three, and five, and in the first game, they chose a position on the blue side! At this point, we can see that QG has already banned Poppy on the blue side in the first pick."

"There's not much to say about this pick. It's definitely a Poppy/Fiora trade!" Miller laughed, arms crossed. "From now on, the focus of both sides' drafts will likely be on Jayce, LeBlanc, Aatrox, Akali, Xayah, and Rakan."

As Miller was speaking, IG had already banned Akali.

After Akali was nerfed, IG rarely used her anymore. Only QG's top laner could play her exceptionally well. This champion was a higher priority for QG, so it was IG's turn to ban her.

On the other side, Banbazi, without hesitation, chose to seal away the Demoness.

The same logic applies here. As a pure mid-lane champion, LeBlanc is clearly more proficient with IG's mid-laners.

"Then, as the last pick, QG banned Jayce! They were probably worried IG would use Jayce in the top and mid lanes, while IG banned Irelia, which conveyed a similar message!"

"The draft strategies on both sides are actually quite similar!" Wawa laughed. "The first priority is to limit the opponent's signature solo lane champions, and then limit those champions again! Focus the main efforts on the top, mid, and jungle!"

"But I have to say, IG's top, mid, and jungle are also very strong. They actually forced QG to ban Jayce and LeBlanc, champions they can also play!"

"Now that we've reached the champion selection phase, let's see how both sides choose! Right now, Xayah and Rakan, Camille and Galio, and then there's Aatrox and Kai'Sa, who can be picked individually, are all good options!"

Without hesitation, Banbazi quickly made his choice: "Take Aatrox first, that's definitely no problem."

In the next two moves, IG reacted quickly, locking in Camille and Galio, but QG's strategy was also clear, and they directly picked Xayah and Rakan.

IG's third pick was to take the crab, which is good against Aatrox.

These draft picks were pretty straightforward; you picked one, I picked one, and we distributed all the strong heroes.

In the second round of the draft, QG faced a mid-jungle duo of Camille and Galio. Naturally, they would focus on the mid-jungle matchup and take advantage of the situation to secure the Syndra and Lee Sin combination.

IG countered Xayah and Rakan by picking Lucian and Braum after Kai'Sa was subsequently banned.

"Alright, the lineups for both sides are finalized!"

The lineups for both sides are now finalized.

Blue side QG: Top lane Aatrox, Jungle Lee Sin, Mid lane Syndra, Bot lane Xayah and Rakan.

Red side IG: Top lane Urgot, Jungle Camille, Mid lane Galio, Bot lane Lucian and Braum.

The doll looked at both teams' lineups: "In this first game of the finals, it seems both sides are planning to play more conventionally and follow the meta!"

"After all, this is only the first game," Miller said with a smile. "It's not time to reveal our hand yet! Of course, for the two teams that have already reached the finals, it's hard to say whether they still have any tricks up their sleeves!"

Miller's words were mainly directed at IG.

IG has indeed climbed up the ranks by defeating strong opponents, and every step has been fraught with danger.

They might not have any more tricks up their sleeve.

As for QG, Miller believes that the team's easy advancement suggests they must have some hidden strengths!

Speaking of this, Miller couldn't help but think of two years ago.

For loyal LPL fans, QG's first championship in 2016 has always been a cherished memory.

QG started their journey in San Francisco, and then traveled through Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles.

Along the way, there was the Yasuo's pentakill in the quarterfinals, the Miss Fortune support's victory over Zyra in the semifinals, and in the finals, it was the Fiora and Riven's decisive battle at the Forbidden City.

That year at the World Championship, QG practically threw away their trump cards one game at a time, their true colors as unfathomable as the Mariana Trench.

It's impossible to say that a team like this wasn't prepared for the final!

They definitely have more tricks up their sleeve!

Of course, having a better strategy is something for the next round.

Now, all both sides need to do is play the game at hand well.

The two coaches walked through the soundproof room, shook hands in the center of the stage, and the live broadcast camera flew across the top of Wenhe Stadium. When it switched back to the game, the first game of the final had already begun!

"Alright, both sides' heroes are charging out of the fountain!" On the commentary booth, Wawa, watching the screen, commented, "QG's team isn't showing any intention of engaging in a level 1 team fight; they're just staying in their respective jungles. But IG's team is doing something interesting! They seem to have a plan!"

In the video, IG's three junglers quickly left their base and rushed into the bushes by the river.

The purpose is not hard to guess; it's obvious that they want to invade the enemy jungle at level one!

"Is this a level one strategy? Interesting!" Miller, his eyes wide, exclaimed excitedly from the commentary booth, "IG has started too!"

Remember during the Summer Finals, QG easily won a game by using a level 1 counter-jungling strategy combined with a top and bottom lane swap!

After losing the Summer Finals, IG clearly did a lot of research on the level 1 strategy, and even dared to use it in the first game of the finals!

At 1 minute and 20 seconds, the moment IG members stepped out of the river bushes and entered the jungle, they were spotted by the wards placed by QG!

Camille, Lucian, and Braum – this jungle duo is too powerful. Once Braum applies his passive, you're doomed!

Xiangguo reacted quickly, turned around and left, leaving the monster behind!

But IG's strategy was clear. They took the red buff first, and Ning leveled up to level two after taking the red buff. Then they headed straight for the mid lane!

Camille ganking mid at level two is a very standard tactic, so there's not much to say about it.

Xiaohu knew that if his jungle was invaded, he might get nerfed in the mid lane, so he had no choice but to retreat in advance and give up on suppressing Galio.

Xiao Hu's retreat was extremely damaging.

Syndra can only suppress Galio for a limited time, basically before level six.

Once Galio has a level 4 Q and Mercury's Treads, Syndra will basically be outmatched.

By retreating now, Xiaohu has essentially given up all the advantages he gained in the early stages.

There's nothing we can do about it.

Normally, Xiangguo would help the mid laner counter-gank, but now Xiangguo himself is in trouble.

The mid-lane lane is a synergy lane; if one side suffers, the other side is destined to suffer as well.

Moreover, this is a two-sided issue; not only does the jungler affect the mid laner, but the mid laner's disadvantage also affects the jungler.

After Xiaohu relinquished control of the mid lane, Ning and Rookie acted swiftly, grouping up to push the second wave of minions into the tower before disappearing from the mid lane!

The two moved at lightning speed, turning around and rushing into QG's top jungle area!

They have no intention of just opposing one red flag and being done with it!

Xiangguo had only cleared half of the blue buff when he heard a message from Xiaohu that the enemy mid and jungle were charging in.

Xiangguo frowned: "What are these bastards trying to do?"

He handled it calmly; with the penalty, he had plenty of time to deal with the blue buff.

He pulled the blue buff towards the second tower while simultaneously punching and kicking it!

Finally, just as the blue buff's patience bar was about to run out, Xiangguo landed a punch and a Smite, managing to secure the buff and reach level two.

At this moment, Galio, the Steel Shadow, had come into view.

He can take the blue buff, but he definitely won't be qualified to take the remaining jungle monsters in the upper half of the map.

Xiangguo turned around and could only walk towards the lower half of the area.

Now, more than two minutes have passed, and he has only cleared one jungle camp so far, which has greatly affected his rhythm.

Of course, the rhythm that affected him was not the most crucial factor.

Most importantly, with his departure, Chen Dongqing's journey has become an isolated island.

On the top lane, Chen Dongqing's Aatrox faced some difficulties laning against Urgot, but thanks to his individual skill, he actually played quite smoothly.

However, with the mid laner losing lane control and the jungler being forced to the bottom side of the map, his laning phase became anything but smooth.

His survival would be a great success.

The pace of the game continued.

Next, Rookie returned to the mid lane, intentionally sacrificing his health. With the help of three stacks of Corrupting Potion and Minion Dematerializer, he cleared the third wave of cannon minions first, and after reaching level three, he headed straight for the top lane!

Meanwhile, Ning also cleared the three wolves and the swamp frog in QG's top jungle, and also leveled up to level three.

IG's actions are high-profile, they're aiming for the top lane!

From the very beginning, when IG invaded the bottom jungle, everything they had planned was for this moment.

This is the level 1 team fight strategy that IG has been practicing ever since they lost the Summer Finals. They've been setting it up from the start of the game until the three-minute mark, so it's a pretty big trump card!

They held onto this trump card until the finals, all for the sake of avenging their defeat in the summer finals!

On the top lane, Chen Dongqing, who had the advantage in the laning phase, frowned slightly upon seeing the situation.

He really didn't know what to do about this.

Even if Camille Galio had three heads and six arms, he wouldn't have much room to maneuver in the mid-jungle-top lane.

He had no choice but to retreat!

He had just retreated from the first tower when a Camille kicked out from behind, trying to stop him.

But Chen Dongqing had a clear strategy. Despite Camille's damage, he used two consecutive E attacks and forced his way back to the second tower.

As Chen Dongqing returned to base, he watched TheShy push the minion wave into the tower. Although he felt a pang of regret, his expression remained calm.

Wasting all this time and effort just to get me on the road?

That's a bit too targeted.

Do you think my teammates are idiots?

In the bottom lane, fortunately, Xiangguo has rich experience in the game and he reacted quickly to IG's change of pace.

Besides the usual level 1 W jungle, he cleverly chose to learn E at level 2.

With E's AOE, Xiangguo successfully cleared the F6 and Krugs in the lower half of the map and leveled up to level three.

After level three, Xiangguo will grab it directly!

With the Lee Sin in position, Shi Senming's Rakan decisively used his W to dash towards the enemy Braum who was pressing forward!

Baolan Braum is only level 2 at the moment and hasn't had time to learn how to use his shield yet, so he can only raise his shield and take the hit!

Baolan's idea was to hold up his shield and withstand the combo, thus saving his Flash, since Braum's Flash is quite crucial.

Unfortunately, this feature cannot be saved.

Braum was relentlessly attacked by the three players all the way, and finally had to use his Flash in front of the tower.

Bao Lan was hit by a lightning bolt, and the time when she returned to the city was almost the same as when Chen Dongqing returned.

After finishing off his opponent, Xiangguo saw that Ning's Camille was still in the top lane, and he even had time to go to IG's bottom jungle to get a blue buff!

"If that's the case, then QG isn't at all at a loss overall!" Wawa analyzed from the commentary booth: "Xiangguo made up for the jungle monsters he lost, and although Shuge in the top lane lost minions, IG's bottom lane was also forced to use Flash. So, it's actually not bad!"

This time, the doll really got a great deal!

After all, both sides completed a swap, and each side gained or lost.

Of course, Miller was still somewhat worried about QG.

After all, it was Shu Ge who suffered the loss on QG's side. If we consider the loss in relation to ID, then it seems that QG is still the one who suffered a smaller loss.

In the top lane, because Galio hadn't returned to lane, Chen Dongqing didn't even dare to use Teleport to go back, fearing that the opponent might launch a surprise attack.

By the time Galio's Teleport appeared in the mid lane, Chen Dongqing had already pushed halfway up the lane.

Another wave of soldiers lost.

Looking at TheShy, who had already reached level four, and then at his own experience points, which were barely at level three, Chen Dongqing couldn't help but sigh.

This is getting a bit tough.

Next, Chen Dongqing played cautiously in the top lane.

As expected, IG's mid and jungle players continued to target the top lane, employing a highly targeted strategy. After pushing the mid lane, they would immediately move to the top! This severely restricted Chen Dongqing's gameplay. When Xiangguo was in the top lane, he would call for Xiangguo to counter-gank. If Xiangguo wasn't nearby, he would retreat to the bushes to hide.

Five minutes later, Chen Dongqing retreated back into the bushes, escaping another wave of attacks from the opposing side.

"But you know what," Wawa laughed, "Although Tree Bro is having a tough time, his game sense is really good! He's dodged every tower dive from IG! He hasn't died even once!"

"Brother Shu is a true all-rounder; he definitely has that kind of awareness," Colonel Guan chuckled from the side. "He knows how to call for teammates to dive the tower, and of course, he knows how to defend against tower dives!"

The camera then cuts to the bottom lane.

We saw Xiangguo's Lee Sin take an unconventional approach this time. He went around in a big circle, directly from the tri-bush in IG's bottom blue buff area to the enemy tower, cutting off the enemy's backline. At the same time, Xiaohu's Syndra appeared in IG's bottom lane vision.

A four-man gank on two opponents came out of nowhere.

The four of them focused their attack on Braum, who had no Flash, and charged in to take down Baolan!

"First blood!"

As Xiangguo secured the first blood with his [Echo Shot], the commentators in the commentary booth praised the two even more enthusiastically.

It has to be said that QG's ability to secure the first blood despite being outmaneuvered at the start demonstrates their remarkable adaptability to different game rhythms.

Of course, this also shows that Chen Dongqing's ability to withstand pressure is really good!

It is indeed worthy of praise.

However, Miller remained silent, but still frowned.

Although QG secured the first blood, you can see from the economy panel that the economic gap between the two sides is not actually that large.

The first blood and assists totaled 600 gold, but QG only led by 0.2k on the overall stat sheet.

In other words, Chen Dongqing in the top lane has already lost more than 400 gold worth of minions.

Moreover, behind this economic loss lies a significant loss of experience.

Is this really profitable?

What if we wait and the kill is taken back?

Seven minutes passed quickly.

Chen Dongqing survived seven minutes of being surrounded and attacked without dying. This scene clearly pushed IG to their limit. They had nothing to say, and after Ning's Camille reached level six, they immediately launched another attack on the top lane!

This time, Chen Dongqing has no chance of escaping.

Camille Galio's ultimate forced Chen Dongqing to stay behind the first tower.

Immediately afterwards, Urgot used another [Fear Beyond Death] to forcibly pull Aatrox back while he was using his ultimate.

Urgot's ability to counter Aatrox becomes apparent at this point. Although Urgot's ultimate cannot force a kill on Aatrox with Resurrection, it can pull him back!

Even if the sword demon, who was pulled back, could be resurrected, he would have no chance of survival.

It wasn't until eight minutes in that Chen Dongqing finally paid off with a death.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, IG's top, mid, and jungle players destroyed the first turret in the top lane. Although the kill score is now 1-1, IG has achieved a slight economic lead thanks to the bounty from the first turret!

Fortunately, QG's mid and jungle players managed to retaliate.

Xiangguo and Xiaohu rushed out of IG's bottom jungle at the same time, blocking the IG bottom lane duo who were trying to retreat to the second tower.

IG's bot lane duo had their escape route blocked and were forced to retreat under their tower, attempting to trade kills.

But that's impossible too.

Shi Senming ignited the tower, and then Xiaohu used WEQ to launch two Dark Orbs, stunning both of them!

Shi Senming followed up with a lift, then used his E skill to fly backward, positioning himself at the extreme point to tank the tower.

With a 0-for-2 exchange, QG brought the kill score to 3-1 and once again tied the economy!

With the first tower gone, the QG team wasn't in a hurry to destroy it after diving it. They knew it was going to fall anyway, so they opted to secure the nearby Fire Dragon first, and then collectively returned to base to replenish their resources.

With the destruction of the first tower, the game has entered its mid-game phase, and everyone needs to adapt.

"Chen Dongqing, go farm in the bottom lane for a bit," Uzi said with a grin. "I'll carry you this game."

Uzi is currently at a 1-0-2 score, his last-hitting has never stopped, and his development is among the best in the game.

IG's lineup had a lot of frontliners, and most of them were aggressive, which was countered by his Xayah.

Therefore, he is confident that he can carry this game!

After returning to the city, Chen Dongqing headed to the bottom lane, chuckling, "That's good, hurry up!"

That's why he was constantly bullied, but never panicked.

His teammates aren't pushovers either! Is ganking effective?

Chen Dongqing hummed a little tune as he walked down the lane.

Uzi switched to the mid lane, forcing IG to move their bot lane duo to the mid lane as well. The bot lane was temporarily undefended, allowing him to comfortably push the lane.

His next task was to farm jungle monsters and develop his strength, and then take down the enemy's bottom lane tower, which was almost dead!

It's so beautiful and satisfying!

It's a real shame; fantasies are always beautiful.

Chen Dongqing never expected that the people on IG were truly freaks.

At 9 minutes and 40 seconds, just as the Vanguard was about to spawn.

Despite having an advantage in the upper half of the map, IG surprisingly didn't plan to take the Rift Herald at all. Instead, they did something completely illogical: Ning and Rookie actually came to the bottom lane!

With two ultimate abilities combined, and TheShy's Urgot's ultimate ability following up, the three of them happily sent Chen Dongqing away.

Chen Dongqing couldn't help but roll her eyes.

What is Jβ?

They're throwing away the vanguard? Are they out of their minds?!

Of course, the people at IG also have their own ideas.

Because QG's players are currently in the upper half of the map preparing to engage the vanguard team fight, this move to the bottom lane not only allows them to kill Chen Dongqing first, but also allows them to take down the bottom lane's first tower while the opponent is attacking the vanguard!

Next, even if QG takes the Herald and crashes into the mid tower, neither side will lose; in fact, they might even gain an economic advantage.

Chen Dongqing was the only one who suffered a loss.

In just ten minutes, Chen Dongqing's score had dropped to 0-2, and his CS was only a little over 40, which was incredibly bad.

It has to be said that perhaps only IG could have managed to target Chen Dongqing to the point where things are in this state.

Of course, IG also paid a heavy price.

They are currently only slightly ahead economically, but they have lost the dragon and the vanguard.

Chen Dongqing was so angry he laughed: "Damn it, these bastards are really crazy."

Uzi placed the Rift Herald in the mid lane and then laughed, "There's nothing we can do about it. The enemy is targeting you like this, so they're not actually profiting."

The vanguard charged in headfirst, successfully destroying IG's mid tower, allowing QG to once again close the economic gap.

"Whatever." Chen Dongqing remained optimistic. He opened the shop and asked, "Anyway, I'm going to be a slacker this time, right?"

This question, without a doubt, received an affirmative answer from Uzbekistan.

After taking down the mid tower, Uzi led his team to rotate to the top lane and launched another push towards the top tower.

The advantage in the bottom lane determines the pace of the game. QG has an advantage in the bottom lane, so they still control the initiative in the game.

Chen Dongqing felt relieved this time and bought an Extractor before heading out.

The extraction was completed in about ten minutes, and Chen Dongqing was determined to develop.

After twenty minutes of development, he'll be a hero again!

From that moment on, Chen Dongqing completely disappeared from the game.

There's no point in targeting this Sword Demon anymore, so IG finally shifted their focus to the front line.

From that moment on, Uz suddenly felt an increase in pressure.

Camille and Galio were lingering around, making his tower-pushing rhythm extremely slow!

A few minutes passed, and 14 minutes had elapsed, but the tower still hadn't been pulled down!

Uzi frowned. He instructed Xiangguo and Xiaoming to set up vision first, and also called Xiaohu over, launching a strong push!

But IG's players weren't going to let it go. The moment the minion wave reached the tower, Ning's Camille kicked Uzi with a flying kick!

At the same time, a TP light also shone brightly, and it came from TheShy!

Chen Dongqing switched screens to look at the top lane. Without TP, there was nothing he could do but let the opponent TP away.

This is the kind of pressure that Uzbekistan should be under; all we can say is that Uzbekistan should pray for the best.

On the top lane, Xiaohu reacted quickly, pushing the ball to Ning's E skill prediction, but Urgot, who teleported in afterward, was helpless and could only retreat as a group.

TheShy locked onto TheShy, immediately using E-Flash to charge in and forcefully collide with Uzi. At the same time, Galio activated his ultimate, forcing Uzi to use his ultimate [Storm Blade] to avoid [Hero's Appearance]!

But as soon as Uzi's ultimate landed, Baolan Braum rushed in with an R-flash, forcing Uzi to use Flash again!

Uzi used his E-flash to imprison Urgot and Galio in front of him, and then used his W to turn around and deal damage!

However, TheShy and Rookie are both top and mid laners with a significant advantage, leading in both level and economy. Uzi really couldn't auto-attack before he got his Infinity Edge and true damage items!

In the end, Rookie used a W-Flash to taunt Uzi, which ultimately sealed Uzi's fate!

Xiangguo and Xiaohu also had good equipment. Lee Sin and Syndra had a burst of damage, helping Uzi take down Rookie.

However, IG's Lucian and Braum duo continued to chase and control the enemy, resulting in Xiangguo being eliminated as well.

One for two, IG's economy has turned around again!

The next second, a message appeared on the map that Aatrox had taken the next tower, and the gold difference between the two sides was back to even!

Off the field, the cheers of countless spectators were already relentless!

The match has only been going on for fifteen minutes, but the two sides have already clashed and engaged in multiple rounds of play, making it a truly intense and exciting game!

Most importantly, despite the frequent fighting, the two sides' economies remained neck and neck, making the situation extremely tense!

That was really good!

This was the pinnacle of LPL history! Everyone from LCK, learn from this!

Of course, this excitement is for the audience.

For any player, no one wants a match to be evenly matched.

They'd love for the enemy base to explode right now!

At this moment, Uzi's expression was not good in the QG voice channel.

He said he was going to carry the team a few minutes ago, but the next second he was taken down by a powerful opponent.

What's the point of even fighting?

IG's offensive style is simply too strong, and it's impossible to defend against it.

They genuinely had no idea when Urgot had placed that ward behind his back; they hadn't even noticed it yet.

He has no skills right now, so they're not even qualified to compete for the dragon that just spawned in the lower half of the map!

After respawning, Uzi glanced at the situation and had no choice but to give up the dragon before heading back to the top lane.

The second dragon was a crucial earth dragon, which IG teamed up and secured.

This lost team fight, coupled with the loss of the dragon, made Uzi start to sense that something was wrong.

Just like when he faced IG in the Summer Split, although he had an advantage in the bottom lane, he couldn't control the situation and lead his team to victory like he could against other teams.

The players on IG are too wild; they can't be easily controlled.

But at this moment, Chen Dongqing spoke up instead.

"Don't rush," Chen Dongqing said calmly. "Take down the tower on the other side first and help me make some money."

"Wait twenty minutes, the third little dragon, then I'll come down from the mountain."

Upon hearing this, Uzbekistan suddenly felt much more at ease.

Right.

Their top laner is different now compared to the regular season.

It would indeed be very difficult for him to control IG on his own.

But if Chen Dongqing were here, then it would definitely work!

Since the opposing team was fighting for the dragon in the bottom half of the map, the top tower wasn't too difficult to take down and was easily destroyed by Uzi.

At this point, all three towers on the opposite side had been destroyed.

Destroying towers grants team competitive advantage, significantly helping Chen Dongqing, who was 0-2, recover a considerable amount of gold.

Of course, this is not enough.

Chen Dongqing remained invisible in the game, roaming back and forth between the lane and the jungle, constantly increasing his last hits while his extraction stacks continued to decrease.

At this point, Uzi stopped rushing to attack and take down the tower. He no longer thought about carrying Chen Dongqing to victory, but instead started to launch feints to put a little pressure on IG, ensuring his own development while creating space for Chen Dongqing to develop.

The game entered a brief period of calm.

During this period, IG launched some small-scale counterattacks, taking down QG's mid-lane tower and gaining some advantage.

Below the stage, countless QG fans even began to feel worried.

Will we really lose the first game of the final?

Of course, those who are worried are obviously not long-time fans.

New fans are still worried, but veteran fans have already entered the stage of believing in both fathers.

In the blink of an eye, 22 minutes had passed.

Chen Dongqing used a Q3E+ sword aura to clear out the three ranged minions and siege engines in front of him, and the extraction stacks in his hand finally reached zero, with 350 gold coins added to his account.

Although Chen Dongqing had a terrible start to the game, even having only 40 CS at the 10-minute mark, he managed to catch up to 210 CS by the 22-minute mark thanks to the development space created by his teammates.

Chen Dongqing decisively returned to the city and combined the small wooden hammer in his hand into the Black Cutter.

His item build remained unchanged despite the situation; it was still Youmuu's Ghostblade + Black Cleaver, the two items with the highest damage output!

At this moment, the third dragon also entered its 30-second countdown.

Chen Dongqing licked his lips: "Come on, let's take this one!"

(End of this chapter)