LOL: My talent is top-tier, my professional skills are unparalleled.

Chapter 100: A Deviant Choice!

In the EDG rest area, manager Abu was also giving his teammates a pep talk, saying, "LZ is the last wall blocking our way to the Bird's Nest. As long as we break them down, the first LPL championship will be right in front of us!"

Abu was too lazy to explain the importance of honor to the team members. He just talked about how valuable the title of the first S-series championship of LPL was and how rich the reputation and fortune the players could gain!

No one will remember the second place team. By surpassing LZ, they will face their final formidable opponent on the world stage!

The EDG members nodded, and when they returned to the stage, the audience gave them just the right amount of cheers and applause.

Soon, the draft phase of the second game officially began.

The first three picks from both sides surprised the audience. LZ picked Orianna, Jhin, and... a tanky support Nautilus!
This is the first time since the S7 quarterfinals that a match without Ardent Censer has appeared. LZ chose to fight against the entire meta by himself!
With this unorthodox drafting strategy, LZ will either become a stubborn fool who doesn't believe in the meta, or become the first team to try something new in S7.

If LZ wins this game, then the teams that follow will have to urgently practice a hard support system, and the coaches' draft strategies will also have to change accordingly!
EDG, on the other hand, made a standard move, calmly picking Janna, Caitlyn for a fast-push laning phase, and adding Camille to initiate team fights.

In the first three rounds of the draft, both sides demonstrated a certain understanding of the current version, and then the crucial second round of the draft began.

On the EDG team's side, the first button was placed on the Excavator, and the second on the Jarvan IV.

Such a decisive approach made Cuzz frown; his signature champion, Excavator, was still banned by EDG!
"Should we take the prince this time?"

Cuzz asked.

"No rush, just wait."

Coach Kim Jung-joo shook his head.

As LZ's coach, he keenly noticed that EDG had some weaknesses in their draft picks!
At this moment, LZ has already removed Scout's Syndra and Lucian.

BDD picked Orianna first, and Syndra had to be picked off in order to avoid being pressured in the mid lane.

Banning Lucian was also to prevent EDG from suddenly picking this mid laner to suppress BDD's development in lane.

"Give me Gnar this game."

LZ's top laner Khan said, "Their Camille is already built, and I think Gnar is pretty good, at least I can secure lane priority in the top lane!"

"Then let's pick Gnar and see what their mid laner and jungler will choose."

Jin Jingzhu nodded.

On the fourth floor of EDG, Viktor was immediately picked.

Viktor is an absolute core mage; in the late game, he can carry the damage output of an entire team!

"EDG directly picked Viktor, it feels like EDG is slowing down the pace of this game, their draft strategy is completely different from the last game!"

The senior officer on the stage was very surprised.

EDG's lineup and strategy for this year's World Championship are incredibly diverse, and they're capable of coming up with something new in almost every game!

Of course, this is also thanks to EDG's mid and bot lane duo, who have a large enough hero pool. Wang Yao and Xiaoxue are both players who can carry the game and are also willing to pick their heroes to fight.

"The three heroes LZ has chosen are intended to exert pressure and gain an advantage in the mid-game, but EDG's lineup seems to be planning to retreat and slowly develop alongside LZ!"

"What jungler might the factory manager pick? He can't take Sejuani this game, maybe Gragas... otherwise EDG's early game damage will be a bit low!"

Before the words were even finished, the heroes on the fourth and fifth floors of the LZ team had already been locked in.

Keng!
With a crisp sound, Gnar and Olaf stepped onto the stage! "Gnar! Olaf, locked in! This way, LZ's lineup is more cohesive, with initiation, crowd control, and damage output!"

"Pray's AD Jhin is a bit lacking in damage, but with Olaf and Orianna on the team, LZ's output is still okay."

In the last pick, the red team countered with Graves, but EDG didn't make any specific picks and just picked Graves!

The outlaw Graves! He makes his grand entrance amidst the spotlight!
On the LZ player bench.

"Has the other side gone mad? They can even pull out a four-core lineup? Do they even have the economic strength for that?" Cuzz couldn't help but complain.

Resources in Summoner's Rift are limited. If someone consumes more resources to carry the team, then someone else must sacrifice for the team.

If a team like EDG drafts a four-core lineup, their damage output will be extremely high if the game is dragged into the late game.

However, they also face a huge risk: if LZ breaks through them head-on in the mid-game, this multi-core lineup will not be able to develop at all!

"They picked this lineup because they're questioning our laning ability!"

Coach Kim Jung-joo sneered. LZ is the least afraid of playing aggressively in lane. Khan can definitely dominate Mouse in the top lane.

While it's hard to say about the two Xuanming Elders in the bottom lane, they should be able to farm safely and evenly in lane, and at least both sides will likely be able to trade blows.

According to Kim Jung-joo's calm analysis, it seems that EDG only has one option left in this match: a fast push.

By leveraging the lane advantage through the female police officer in the bottom lane, the team could accelerate their push and make it easier for Clearlove's Graves to invade the enemy jungle and farm by stealing their resources.

This gives the multi-core lineup a foundation to take off!
Clearly, EDG still placed their bets on the bottom lane in this game, with Kshine still carrying the burden of carrying the team!
On the LPL commentary booth, Guan Daxiao looked at EDG's lineup and seemed to realize something. His initially furrowed brows slowly relaxed.

EDG's lineup is actually quite good at positional warfare and kiting/poke. Even if Olaf charges in, EDG doesn't lack damage.

As long as the two carries pay attention to their positioning, EDG can completely overwhelm Cuzz's Olaf with a single burst of damage!

Now, both teams have completed their draft picks and bans, and the final hero selections have all been revealed!
"EDG, the blue team, has Camille in the top lane, Graves in the jungle, Viktor in the mid lane, and Caitlyn and Janna in the bot lane!"

"The red team, LZ, has Gnar in the top lane, Olaf in the jungle, Orianna in the mid lane, and Jhin and Nautilus in the bot lane!"

"Both teams are ready. Let's enter Summoner's Rift and look forward to the second match of the S7 semifinals!"

As soon as Guan Daxiao finished speaking, the cheers of the LPL audience erupted, and a wave of sound swept through the entire venue once again.

For the audience at the scene, this year's S-series is of extraordinary significance, and for the two teams on the field, the second game almost determined the outcome of the subsequent semi-final series!

If LZ can tie the score at 1-1, they still have a great chance to defeat EDG and advance to the finals at the Bird's Nest.

If EDG wins 2-0, their spot in the S7 World Championship will almost certainly be theirs!
At this moment, on the EDG's training ground.

"Come on, everybody!"

"Go, go, go!"

"Hehehe, Yao-ge carried us to victory this round!"

Before entering the game, the EDG team's voice chat was filled with relaxed and cheerful conversation.

Facing this crucial best-of-five series, they didn't want to lose a single game!

(End of this chapter)