LOL: The world’s best red-temperature mid laner!

On the other side, in the commentary booth at the match venue, Wang Duoduo, Gu Gu, and Guan Zeyuan were ready.

Guan Zeyuan then announced, "Alright viewers, thank you for your patience. What we are about to begin is the opening match of the 2024 League of Legends Pro League Summer Split."

"The two teams facing off are Top Esports and WBG."

Wang Duoduo continued, "I'm sure the audience is already impatient. It's been a long time since we've watched a game, especially a Top Esports game. Now let's turn the camera to the scene."

The stadium was packed, with the vast majority of spectators there specifically for TES, holding TES support signs.

Host Luo Xin took the stage and, after a brief opening, invited the players from both sides: "Let's welcome Team Top Esports!"

Lü Yi led the TES team onto the stage, and all the TES fans in the audience got excited:
"Taobo! Taobo! Taobo!"

The director gave Lü Yi a close-up, bringing the atmosphere to a climax.

Immediately afterwards, Luo Xin announced, "Top Esports' opponent today is WBG!"

WBG's starting five players made their debut.

In the commentary booth, Guan Zeyuan began to introduce: "There were personnel changes at WBG before the start of the Summer Split."

"Tarzan joining WBG as their starting jungler is definitely a boost for WBG, but this is the opening match, so we don't know how well they're gelling together."

Wang Duoduo began to analyze: "I've noticed that in recent Korean server Challenger ranked games, the pick/ban rate for AP jungle carries has increased significantly, and Tarzan seems to have a strong advantage in this regard."

"I wonder what hero he will bring to the game today."

After both teams took the stage, they stood facing each other in the middle of the stage. Lü Yi faced off against Xiao Hu, and the two shook hands.

Xiao Hu looks very honest and simple. He used to look quite sharp, especially when he was wearing tactical goggles, but now he doesn't look like that at all.

Both teams took their positions, put on their headphones, adjusted their equipment, and everything was ready.

The first match has entered the draft phase.

In this match, TES is on the red side and WBG is on the blue side.

Ban status:
TES: Zyra, Lillia, Quesanti

WBG: Yone, LeBlanc, Corki

Guan Zeyuan began to analyze: "Both sides have very distinctive targets for banning players. Breathing Bro's Quesant is probably his trump card, and Top Esports banned it directly."

"Then they also banned two AP junglers, while WBG mainly targeted the mid lane."

During the hero selection phase, WBG, on the blue side, picked EZ on the first floor.

Wang Duoduo commented, "EZ is one of Light's signature champions. If we help him pick EZ first in this game, we can look forward to his performance."

TES secured Gnar and the bounty on the first and second floors.

GuGu analyzed: "Missile vs. Ezreal seems to be a very fixed matchup. Missile has an advantage, especially after Missile gets Bloodthirster, he can hold the minion wave in the mid lane."

"EZ's poke is only effective against ADCs who can build Bloodthirster directly; his poke becomes useless then."

WBG has locked onto Leona and Scorpion on the second and third floors.

Guan Zeyuan analyzed: "The Scorpion is a newly reworked version of the Scorpion. Now his ultimate skill is a group control skill, and it also has a super armor effect that can be used to resist control."

"At the same time, the E skill is a dash that can pass through walls, turn corners, and travel a long distance."

Gu Gu muttered, "Is this hero good for top lane or jungle? I feel like he can be played in both."

Guan Zeyuan replied, "Top laners are more common. I've noticed that top laners are the most frequent picks in solo queue games because they have stronger lane sustain."

TES locked down Nar on the third floor.

Entering the second round of BP.

TES banned Blademaster and Treant Protector.

WBG has banned Tristana and Yasuo.

GuGu commented, "Hey, is Yasuo banned? I feel like Xiaohu wants to pick some special heroes, otherwise there's no need to target Yasuo."

"Yasuo hasn't been buffed in this patch, and not many people play him in solo queue."

TES got Karthus on the fourth floor!

Wang Duoduo exclaimed, "No more pretending! Xiaotian picked Karthus for jungle, this is what we call an AP jungle carry, here it comes!"

WBG locked onto Brand and Lucian on the fourth and fifth floors.

Guan Zeyuan commented, "Here it comes! Tarzan's Brand jungle. I've seen him play it quite a bit in solo queue, and it's no surprise he's bringing it out."

"This Lucian should be a mid laner, right? It can't be Ezreal in the mid lane, so it can only be Lucian in the mid lane."

GuGu analyzed, "Lucian is quite strong in the mid lane. The most important thing is that Xiaohu knows how to play him. When he used to play top lane, Lucian was his most suitable champion."

"Now we need to see how Top Esports plans to respond. What hero will Yi Shen pick in the mid lane?"

Top Esports gave Lv Yi a close-up shot, and just then, TES locked onto Kai'Sa on the fifth floor!
Guan Zeyuan exclaimed, "No way, mid lane Kai'Sa? I have seen him play her before, but this time against Lucian, I feel like Kai'Sa is unplayable in lane."

"Mid lane matchups are different from bot lane matchups. In bot lane, it's a 2v2 situation. If the ADC isn't doing well, the support can help carry the team. As long as they can farm, that's fine."

With all ten heroes selected for both sides, the lane assignments began to be adjusted.

However, the situation is not what most people imagine.

The bounty hunter went to the mid lane but didn't go to the bottom lane.

With twenty seconds left on the clock, no more lineup changes are allowed. The lineups for both sides are now finalized:
[Format: BO5]

【TES】VS【WBG】(0:0)

Top Lane: [Lost Fang] VS [Ancient Lord]

Jungle: [Deathsing Singer] VS [Blazing Vengeance]

Mid Lane: Bounty Hunter VS Lucian

ADC: [Daughter of the Void] VS [Ezreal]

Support: [Melting Iron Girl] VS [Dawn Goddess]

GuGu was quite surprised: "It really is mid-lane Miss Fortune? Let's see how YiShen plays it. I feel like it won't be easy to handle."

Once the game started, Xiaotian began to stir things up: "You're doing okay in the top lane, right? Have you played this new version of Skarner before?"

369 replied, "Of course I've played it. It's pretty overpowered. After a hero is reworked, their stats are usually ridiculously high."

Meiko laughed: "Aren't you just making excuses in advance? If you can't win in lane, you'll say it's the champion's fault."

369 argued forcefully: "If you don't believe me, then so be it."

Lu Yi joked, "It's okay, we can play the next game. We're on the blue side, and we'll help you win it then."

Now 369 is in an awkward position. If that's really the case, then if he doesn't get the desired effect with the Scorpion in the next game, wouldn't he be contradicting himself?

Neither side intended to engage in a level 1 team fight. As the minion wave spawned, Lü Yi moved to the mid lane to lane.

The director's camera focused on the jungle, and Guan Zeyuan commented, "Both sides are using AP junglers in this game, so the speed of clearing jungle camps is crucial."

"I heard that Brand clears jungle camps very quickly, especially after level 3. His area of ​​effect is very strong, making it very comfortable to fight the raptors and the stone golems."

Tarzan's Brand jungle clearing speed is indeed very fast, visibly fast.

Of course, Xiaotian's Karthus speed was also fast, and both of them were scrolling from bottom to top.

In the mid lane, Lü Yi is facing off against Xiaohu's Lucian.

Xiaohu was quite confident; this was probably one of his most confident heroes. He kept repositioning from level one, trying to use his Q skill to chip away at Luzian's health. However, Lü Yi was prepared. Although he didn't have boots, his passive speed boost meant he wasn't slow. With a swift twist of his waist, Lucian's Q missed.

The female gunslinger used her Q skill to hit a low-health ranged minion.

Xiaohu sensed something was wrong. He knew the mechanics of Miss Fortune's Q skill, so he immediately moved forward, trying to get in front of the minions to avoid being bounced off.

But it was too late. Miss Fortune's Q skill hit a ranged minion, and the second hit hit Lucian.

Wang Duoduo commented, "Ouch, that hurts! A skinny person really can't withstand being hit like that."

"I feel like Xiaohu has tried his best to kite and maneuver, but I'm not optimistic, after all, he's facing Yi Shen."

The second wave of minions has arrived, it's time to try and reach level two.

Lu Yi should attack minions in turn to maximize the damage of his passive ability.

The speed of pushing the minion wave is relatively fast.

Miss Fortune and Lucian leveled up to level two almost simultaneously, and Lü Yi used the same trick again, unleashing another Q skill.

Xiao Hu tried to move aside, but still couldn't dodge and was bounced again.

"So accurate?" Xiaohu felt a bit uncomfortable, having taken two full-damage second-stage Qs in a row.

In the top lane, Gnar is trying to suppress Skarner, after all, he is a ranged fighter against melee.

However, Breathing Bro was very careful. When he wasn't last-hitting minions, he would hide in the bushes to prevent Gnar from having a chance to harass him.

Even if Skarner comes out to last-hit minions and gets hit by Gnar's auto-attacks, he can activate his shield to absorb most of the damage.

Wang Duoduo commented, "It feels like Scorpion is a very strong champion in terms of resilience. No matter how much 369 tries to suppress him, it always seems to fall short."

The match lasted three minutes, marking the first battle for the river crab.

In the mid lane, Miss Fortune and Lucian are both trying to push the minion wave.

Lu Yi used the same trick again, casting a Q on a low-health ranged minion, intending to bounce it off.

However, Xiaohu was already prepared. The moment Miss Fortune cast her Q, Lucian used his E to close the distance, AAQAA...

However, Lü Yi was prepared. The moment Lucian used his E skill, Lü Yi used his E skill to slow him down, and retreated while fighting.

After Lucian unleashed his QAA combo, he followed up with W, but he couldn't land the next two auto-attacks because Miss Fortune had already created attack range.

With no other option, Lucian had to retreat, but Lü Yi turned around and shot Lucian again.

Lucian turned around to try and auto-attack, but couldn't because Miss Fortune was still pulling him away!

Moreover, Lucian was slowed down by Miss Fortune's E at this time.

Although the damage of this E skill is very low, its slowing effect is very obvious.

This makes it impossible for Lucian to catch Miss Fortune, but it would be very easy for Miss Fortune to catch him if she wanted to.

Lu Yi turned around and attacked Lucian again. This time, Xiao Hu didn't fight back because he was still being attacked by ranged minions. If he continued to stall, he would only suffer more losses.

Guan Zeyuan commented, "Xiaohu was completely outmaneuvered in this round. He seemed quite daring, but his skill in terms of execution was noticeably inferior to Yi Shen's."

Lu Yi continued pushing the minion wave, while in the river, the river crab had already been taken by Brand, and they won by using Smite.

Xiao Tian said regretfully, "What a pity, it was just a little bit short."

With no other option, he could only go down and try his luck at the bottom.

After Brand secured the Rift Scuttler, he headed up the lane, seemingly intending to gank the top lane.

Guan Zeyuan analyzed, "Can they gank top lane? Gnar also has his E skill, I feel there's not much of a chance."

"Of course, if 69 makes a mistake and loses the game, then there's nothing we can do."

Brand moved closer to the top lane and signaled to Skarner to prepare to make a move.

Nar is currently positioned a bit too far forward.

Suddenly, he saw the Fire Man approaching, and the Scorpion became restless.

So he chose to retreat decisively.

He still had his E skill ready and wasn't in a hurry to use it. Just then, Brand used his Q skill on him.

369 was stunned for a moment. He felt something was strange. Didn't Brand need to apply his passive with other skills before his Q skill could trigger the control effect?

He felt something was off? Brand flashed and used his E!

"Hey!"

369 tried to Flash and reposition, but it was too late. He was controlled, and Skarner used his E skill to push him against the wall. Brand followed up with W, triggering his passive.

Wang Duoduo exclaimed, "What amazing plays! Brand used Q-Flash-E to control Gnar, whose health was almost depleted. Brand used Flash, E, and then Q to slow down Brand."

"But he's still burning, can he survive? He's dead! He's given up his first blood!"

[WBG's Tarzan (Blazing Vengeance) has killed TES's 369 (Lost Tooth)!!!]

GuGu commented, "Tarzan's Brand is fine. He clears the jungle very quickly, can gank, and his gameplay is very smooth. It all comes down to team fights."

Guan Zeyuan chimed in, "Brand is a great champion in team fights. He just needs to unleash his skills, and the damage will definitely be high."

On TES's side, Xiaotian asked the top laner a question mark: "Wait, you have Flash and E skill, how can you die?"

369 was extremely frustrated, having been outmaneuvered by a Brand player.

Brand is considered one of the more brainless and skill-intensive mages, yet people can still play him skillfully. Isn't that a disgrace?
The game continues, and in the bottom lane, Ah Shui and Meiko are under pressure.

Unfortunately, Kai'Sa is relatively weak in the early game, so it's normal for her to lose to Ezreal in lane.

Meanwhile, in the mid lane, Lü Yi pushed Xiao Hu back, finished pushing the minion wave, and then returned to base to replenish his supplies.

Wang Duoduo commented: "Yi Shen's Miss Fortune gained an advantage in the mid lane, which was unexpected but reasonable. It seems that it still depends on the skill of the player. Just being good at the hero is not enough."

Xiaotian's Karthus secured the river crab and continued farming, unless the opportunity was exceptionally good for him.

Otherwise, he wouldn't need to actively gank; he could just clear the jungle monsters.

The mid lane matchup has resumed, and Xiaohu is still very confident.

Just like before, taking advantage of Lü Yi using his Q skill to try and whittle down Lü Yi's health, he decisively used his E skill to engage in a fight.

However, this time it was even worse than before. Lü Yi's Miss Fortune decisively used her E skill to slow down Lucian and retreated.

This resulted in Lucian being unable to land two auto-attacks after using his Q, as the distance was too great.

On the contrary, the female gunner started kiting, taking advantage of her 50-yard range to gain an easy advantage.

Wang Duoduo commented, "Confidence is a good thing, but I feel that Xiaohu should be a little more cautious."

"Yi Shen has already figured out his moves. If he continues like this, he might get solo killed."

Lu Yi pushed the mid-lane minion wave towards the turret and began attempting to take turret plates.

Five minutes into the game, in the mid lane, Lü Yi was still applying pressure, and Xiao Hu was already low on health.

The bottom laner suddenly sent a signal: "The enemy support is missing, be careful."

Lü Yi realized that the opposing support was most likely coming to the mid lane, so he moved back a bit.

As expected, Liu Qingsong appeared, coming to help push the minion wave and cover Lucian's recall to base for supplies. Lü Yi did not stop him. (End of Chapter)