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

Chapter 525 Graves Pantheon! Let's get serious! You call yourself Big Turtle?!
In the second round of drafting and banning (BP).

EDG continued to target the bot lane, which hadn't yet appeared, by banning Yuumi first.

The strength of newly released or reworked champions in League of Legends is something those in the know will understand.

Then they banned Xayah. Xayah's self-preservation ability is too strong, and her margin for error is too high!
On the other hand, DWG banned Jarvan IV and Lissandra, denying EDG's mid and jungle players any opportunity to perform.

DWG then confirmed their ADC champion: Kai'Sa.

This version of Kai'Sa is playable, but she's too late-game focused. Without three or four items, her attacks are like scratching a nerve.

DWG reserved the last counter pick for support player beryl.

When it was EDG's turn to play on the fourth and fifth floors, EDG also started to prepare their big move.

Graves!

Pantheon!

Without any hesitation, the two heroes locked in their heroes immediately!

"Wow? What's that? Graves? Pantheon?!"

EDG's choice instantly ignited the scene, and Wawa was once again shocked.

"Huh? I can understand Graves, he's pretty strong as a jungler, but what is Pantheon?!"

"The last time this hero appeared in a match was probably the last time."

Even Rita, who doesn't have a great understanding of the game, was shocked by EDG's champion selection.

"But you know what, Pantheon may be an unpopular champion, but he's not weak at all!"

"Pantheon is often criticized in ranked games, but he seems to be viable against Irelia in lane."

"And it's also a bit targeted at Irelia. Most importantly, when Pantheon coordinates with the jungler to gank Karthus in the jungle, they can take him down one by one!"

Miller, however, offered a different perspective.

Hearing Miller say this, Wawa rubbed his chin and objectively analyzed, "That's true. Jungle Karthus is afraid of those who come in recklessly."

"Furthermore, Kshine was playing Graves jungle this game, which in a way counters Karthus. She's not afraid of Karthus in the jungle at all, so Conyon won't have a good time this game!"

……

Meanwhile, DWG was also a bit confused by EDG's big move.

Graves? Pantheon!
Graves is understandable, but Pantheon is truly incomprehensible!
Showmaker also frowned as he watched.

He will definitely pick Irelia for mid lane in this game, but he probably hasn't encountered Pantheon in a long time.

He even forgot how to lane against Irelia and Pantheon!
But time waits for no one.

DWG originally gave the counter pick to beryl, who was in the support position.

They also want to keep a big surprise in mind, to give Sivir and Lux ​​a big surprise.

BeryL has the R&D capability!

However, at this moment, they were completely overwhelmed by EDG's Graves and Pantheon, and it was no longer appropriate for the support to do any research!

Otherwise, Karthus and Kai'Sa would be destroyed by Graves and Pantheon!

Left with no other option, DWG had to pick Alistar for their support, who could knock away Kennen or Pantheon in team fights.

Protect the backline while strengthening the team fight initiation capabilities.

The lineups for both sides have been finalized.

EDG (blue side) fielded Kennen (top), Graves (jungle), Pantheon (mid), and Sivir and Lux ​​(bot lane duo).

DWG (Red Team) fielded Camille in the top lane, Karthus in the jungle, Irelia in the mid lane, and Kai'Sa and Alistar in the bot lane.

After seeing the lineups selected by both sides, Maokai nodded in satisfaction. He thought the lineups were quite good.

Especially the unexpected combination of mid and jungle, Graves and Pantheon!
Then Maokai took off his headphones and patted the few young men next to him.

"Just do your best and don't be too nervous!"

He then walked confidently to the center of the stage.

Meanwhile, the opposing DWG team, with their chubby faces, were also walking onto the stage, but they looked rather gloomy.

This is none other than Coach Kim Jung-joo.

It was Kim Jung-joo, IG's head coach last year.

However, he is not as spirited as he used to be.

Last year at this time on Instagram, he always walked with his head held high and never looked down at people.

However, since IG lost to EDG in the S8 Incheon World Championship finals last year, Coach Kim Jung-joo has lost confidence in IG.

So he left the LPL and returned to the LCK region, but he also found a job by taking advantage of his status as the runner-up coach.

He happens to be DWG's head coach!

And this time at the Intercontinental Tournament, he happened to run into Wang Yao.

To win this game, he put all his effort into the draft phase.

He watched Wang Yao's matches when he switched to the jungle position over and over again, and studied Wang Yao's jungle clearing and ganking routes repeatedly.

He wasn't the only one doing the research; coaches and analysts from all four LCK teams gathered together and worked through the night.

But it's no use.

They hadn't figured anything out, and Wang Yao's various special skills and heroes were still being revealed one after another.

At that moment, Maokai looked at Jin Jingzhu walking with her head down, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily curled up.

Although the two didn't say anything, the meaning was quite clear!
I have Wang Yao, you don't!!
As the coaches shook hands and left the stage, the entire arena erupted in excitement.

The live stream chat was flooded with comments.

"DWG is going to give EDG a run for their money!"

"DWG's first three picks—Irelia, Karthus, and Camille—are pretty aggressive!"

"However, EDG's strategy is a bit unconventional. Graves and Pantheon, even I wouldn't pick like that in my usual ranked games!"

"Pantheon should have a slight advantage in the laning phase, or at least not at a disadvantage. Yao's Graves against Karthus is just right! This is the EDG style!"

"EDG and DWG both came fully prepared!"

"Fight, fight!"

"Bibo is awesome!"

"This match is interesting!"

"Hehe, why is Yao-ge playing with body odor? It's so cute."

"I don't have time to mess around with you."

"..."

In this game, Wang Yao's Graves rune choice was not Conqueror or Dark Harvest, but Fleet Footwork.

Because of its fast movement speed, strong pulling force, and high fault tolerance.

The reason Wang Yao didn't choose Phase Rush is because Phase Rush requires three attacks to trigger.

It's impossible to create distance immediately, and Phase Rush has a long cooldown, making it impossible to trigger continuously in team fights.

While Graves can stack Conqueror quickly, he's a kiter, not a fighter.

If a skirmish occurs in the jungle, Graves's output environment will be very poor.

Furthermore, Graves doesn't rely on Conqueror's lifesteal; his most important attributes are movement speed and kiting. Conqueror is too clunky and easily kited.

Triumph restores Graves' health and grants him bonus gold after participating in a kill, shortening Graves' development period.

Joy increases the attack speed of the Graves, raising his attack frequency.

Fatal Strike increases Graves' damage output against low-health champions, enhancing his finishing ability.

The secondary rune, Domination, combined with Sudden Impact and the dash effect of Graves' E skill, enhances his armor and magic penetration, increasing his burst damage.

The Relentless Hunter provides a movement speed bonus outside of combat, increasing Graves' map traversal efficiency.

In this version, Graves is arguably the biggest counter to Karthus.

On OPGG, Karthus has a pitiful win rate of less than 40% against Graves.

Graves's exaggerated jungle clearing speed and ability to invade the jungle allow him to easily control the entire jungle.

A strong Graves can even prevent Karthus from getting a single blue buff for the entire game!

Graves' excellent scaling makes his damage output in the mid-to-late game comparable to Karthus'.

A one-versus-five situation with a huge advantage is definitely not just talk.

Of course, this requires a close, brotherly approach to the game.

The match started with a strong sense of tension between the two sides.

Because they were at a disadvantage in the mid and top lanes, DWG firmly held their position in the jungle to prevent the opponent from placing wards.

It also prevents Graves from invading Karthus' jungle.

Scout and Showmaker bumped into each other in the mid lane and exchanged a thumbs-up.

Wang Yao was crouching in the bushes at the entrance to his own blue buff area, while EDG's bot lane duo lingered at the entrance to the bot lane jungle.

At 0 minutes and 41 seconds, Canyon's Karthus appeared in the upper river, intending to place a ward in EDG's jungle, but Wang Yao's Graves happened to be there.

Karthus was caught red-handed, and Graves stepped forward and shot Karthus, triggering Graves' Fleet Footwork and giving him a speed boost.

Then, Wang Yao pressed his advantage, instantly learning his E skill and shoving the gun barrel into Karthus's mouth.

Canyon wanted to retaliate, but Graves dodged it with a slight twist.

Canyon frowned. He had launched the attack from the bushes, so Graves couldn't have seen his hand movement.

But Graves managed to dodge Karthus's Q skill, which means that the opposing player dodged Karthus's Q skill purely through his own reaction.

However, at this point, everyone is only level one and their movement speed is not high. Karthus's Q, which suddenly appears from the bushes, is not so easy to dodge.

However, after Graves fired two shots at Karthus, he had no ability to chase and retreated back to his own jungle.

Karthus didn't dare place any vision in EDG's top jungle either, since Graves was right there. If they placed a trinket ward in front of Graves, wouldn't that be asking for trouble?

Wang Yao then boldly placed his fake eye in the grass in the middle of the upper riverbed.

After that, Wang Yao did not return to the city to change the scanner, but instead turned around and walked towards his own lower jungle area.

His Graves was just taking a stroll in the upper jungle and camping there; he didn't plan to start with blue buff.

1 minutes 10 seconds.

Graves and the bot lane duo met up in the bot lane, along with Scout's Pantheon from the mid lane. At this moment...

Meiko's Lux, seeing that all her teammates had arrived, immediately pinged the vision of the enemy's bottom lane river bush.

"Come!"

"Kasa might be here!"

"Huh? How did you know!"

iboy spoke somewhat naively, but his Wheel Monk didn't pause for a moment, closely following Lux.

Meiko rolled her eyes in annoyance: "Of course I studied the replays of the enemy's level 1 positioning!!"

Meanwhile, Pantheon and Graves in the mid lane flanked from that direction.

Since the buff hasn't refreshed yet and we're just killing time anyway, we might as well gank the enemy bot lane duo on a rainy day.

Five seconds later, all four members of the Nakano team blocked the view of the bushes at the bottom half of the river mouth.

At this moment, a wild little Kai'Sa is dancing in the grass, and she'll be online in 20 seconds.

The support player went to the upper jungle to provide vision and is on their way back.

"Wow, EDG came prepared! They clearly knew Kai'Sa was in this bush!"

Seeing EDG's encirclement, Wawa exclaimed in surprise.

"Yeah, this Kai'Sa is a bit dangerous! Here she comes."

As soon as Miller finished speaking, all four members of EDG made a move.

Meiko's Lux made the first move, throwing out a Q skill without any vision.

Kai'Sa, who was dancing and twisting in the bushes, bumped right into Lux's Q skill.

"bingo!"

Rita immediately shouted.

"Then Kai'Sa is dead!"

Lux's Q skill has a control duration of up to 2 seconds!

Then, the other three members of EDG rushed forward.

iboy's Sivir dealt maximum damage with a simple AQA combo.

What's even more disheartening is the performance of Graves and Pantheon.

Scout's Pantheon immediately placed a ward on the wall above the bush.

This cut off Kai'Sa's escape route in advance, and placed vision in advance at the location where Kai'Sa would flash.

Pantheon then immediately selected his W skill, holding back and waiting for Kai'Sa's next move.

Wang Yao's Graves also fired two shots at point-blank range.

At this point, EDG was no longer concerned about whether Kai'Sa was alive or dead, but rather whether they could force Kai'Sa to use her Flash!
Who should get Kai'Sa's kill?

Once Kai'Sa recovered from Lux's imprisonment, Nuclear was caught in a dilemma.

Should I use Flash or not?!
If you hand it over, you might not survive; that's when the real disaster will happen!
But refusing to pay also means certain death.

At this moment, the support Alistar appeared in Nuclear's vision.

The next moment, Nuclear seemed to have made some kind of decision.

flash!
He has to make a move, otherwise it would be unacceptable if any of EDG's Sivir, Graves, or Pantheon got first blood.

Sivir got First Blood, so Kai'Sa in the bot lane is out of the question. Sivir and Lux ​​already had an advantage against Alistar and Kai'Sa, let alone getting First Blood.

Similarly, with Pantheon securing first blood, the mid-lane Irelia was essentially out of the game.

Graves got first blood, so Karthus had no chance in the jungle.

DF double!

Without any hesitation, Kai'Sa flashed up to the top of the wall.

But EDG was just waiting for him to use Flash.

Pantheon, who instantly learned the W skill, jumped over the wall and used W to immobilize Kai'Sa.

Wang Yao's Graves also used his E skill, closely following Kai'Sa over the wall.

Kai'Sa, who had just been given a boost by the healing, saw her health plummet again.

"Minotaur! Help me!"

Nuclear's voice was mournful, like that of a vengeful ghost.

Berly couldn't help but roll her eyes.

His Tauren wasn't far enough away from Kai'Sa, but fortunately, BeryL's Tauren hadn't learned any skills at level one.

If you learn the W skill, even a god couldn't save Kai'Sa.

The next moment, Alistar instantly learned the Q skill.

Q flash!
Alistar used his Flash to save Kai'Sa, and Pantheon was knocked up.

However, at the same time as Alistar flashed, another golden light flashed, and Wang Yao's Graves flashed in sync.

Although Pantheon was knocked up by Alistar's shockwave, Graves didn't; instead, he flashed into Kai'Sa's face.

boom!
The Graves fired the final shot!
"Firstblood!!"

"Graves the Outlaw has killed Kai'Sa, the Daughter of the Void!"

Despite Kai'Sa and Alistar's best efforts, they couldn't escape being killed.

"First Blood! It was Kshine's Graves who got First Blood!"

Seeing the bright red First Blood notification appear on the screen, Rita shouted excitedly.

"Wow, the bot lane duo is completely destroyed!"

"The ADC used both summoner spells, the support used Flash, and the crucial point is that nothing could be saved. ADC Kai'Sa is still dead!"

Seeing EDG's smooth start, Wawa finally felt relieved.

"Yes, it's 1 minute and 20 seconds now, the minion wave is about to reach the lane, and Kai'Sa's minion wave is already affected."

"Kai'Sa and Alistar already have relatively short range, and now they can't play against Sivir and Kai'Sa at all!"

Miller was also analyzing the situation rapidly.

"It's not just about the bot lane matchup! If Kai'Sa dies, Graves might start a fight right there in Karthus's blue buff jungle!"

"In that case, the impact on jungle Karthus will be significant!"

Wawa brought up another point: in short, before the laning phase even started, DWG already seemed to be at a huge disadvantage.

Meanwhile, Karthus, who had just returned to base to replenish his health and mana, had only just arrived in the lower jungle.

After seeing his own Kai'Sa give away first blood, he rushed straight to the red buff in the upper jungle without thinking.

There's no way around it, this blue color is definitely unacceptable!

Sure enough, in less than 10 seconds, the minion waves were about to meet, and the red and blue buffs spawned.

After Wang Yao's Graves killed Kai'Sa in the enemy jungle, he naturally started jungling at DWG's blue buff.

Knowing that the enemy couldn't defend the blue buff, Sivir and Lux ​​helped Graves clear the jungle a bit.

Although Graves is very suitable for solo jungle clearing, Sivir and Lux ​​still choose to help their team's carry clear the jungle.

Having the bottom lane help initiate is a good option, as it saves time, preserves health, and increases the chance of making mistakes in the jungle.

Meanwhile, Canyon's Karthus was having a miserable solo red buff start!

At this moment, the previously lively atmosphere in South Korea suddenly fell silent, as if everyone realized that something was wrong.

In just 1 minute and 30 seconds, DWG's entire rhythm had completely gone off track.

But as the minion waves converged, their spirits gradually began to sink.

Canyon's Karthus showed excellent adaptability. Although he couldn't defend his own blue buff, fortunately, Karthus' jungle clear speed was fast enough.

After starting with the red buff, he immediately rushed to Wang Yao's upper jungle blue buff area to switch jungle camps.

This operation was very risky.

Keep in mind that Scout plays Pantheon in the mid lane. If EDG is really determined to gank Karthus in the jungle, they'll catch him dead every time!

But Canyon did it anyway!

Otherwise, if his Karthus had started with a single buff, then it would only be a matter of time before DWG's Nexus exploded.

Fortunately, EDG wasn't interested in his Karthus.

Scout's Pantheon started pushing the minion wave aggressively as soon as the minion waves met.

EDG's bot lane is also pushing the lane; Sivir and Lux ​​naturally have strong wave-pushing capabilities.

Nuclear's Kai'Sa seemed to have lost her composure after giving up First Blood.

After his Kai'Sa came online, it's unclear whether he misjudged the attack range or was distracted.

He was hit directly by Sivir's AQA combo, taking two hits from Sivir's Q.

Although she dodged Lux's Q skill, she was still hit twice by Lux's auto-attacks.

Furthermore, BeryL's Alistar only learned the Q skill at level one, which is equivalent to getting beaten up for nothing!

Kai'Sa's health dropped by more than a third in an instant, and she immediately used her only health potion!

At the same time, a signal appeared above Kai'Sa's head.

"Come on! Overtake him!"

Wang Yao's voice came through.

The game has progressed to 2 minutes and 15 seconds.

Scout's Pantheon in the mid lane had only pushed two waves to reach level two when he couldn't wait to rush to the bottom lane.

The opposing Irelia still had room to maneuver, but she had no way to deal with Pantheon, so she could only spam ping signals to the bottom lane.

Meanwhile, Wang Yao's Graves quickly leveled up to level 3 in the lower jungle and met up with Pantheon at the tri-bush in the enemy jungle at 2 minutes and 20 seconds.

All of a sudden.

Ding! !

Countless PIN signals rang out in the bottom lane.

(End of this chapter)