LOL: What does it mean to torture players?

As Sumo locked in Jax, the roar of the crowd had not yet subsided when T1 quickly finalized their last two picks.

To counter EDG's bot lane duo of Ashe and Heimerdinger, which were full of "mischievous" playstyles, Keria locked in Lena as a counter pick, while Zeus, after a moment's hesitation, locked in Gangplank in the highly anticipated top lane position!
The lineups for both sides have been officially confirmed:

Blue side T1: Top laner Zeus, Jungler Oner, Mid laner Faker, AD Varus Gumayusi, Support Keria.

Red team EDG: Top lane Jax, Jungle Maokai, Mid lane Azir, AD Ashe, Support Heimerdinger.

Meanwhile, the live stream chat in China was already exploding with comments.

Holy crap! EDG stole their trick! They even picked Heimerdinger?!

Isn't this the same tactic Beryl used to torment EDG in the quarterfinals? Is EDG resorting to "if you can't beat them, join them"?

[Hahaha, this "fight fire with fire" tactic, does Meiko's big head have that vibe?]

[Zeus dares to use the Captain's weapon against Mozi? This top lane game is going to be a battle of skill!]

This is the final! No cowards, just pure skill!

In the commentary booth, Miller adjusted his glasses and spoke rapidly: "This draft is very interesting! EDG directly copied DRX's bot lane push strategy, obviously wanting Jiejie to focus on the bot lane. In this way, the top lane will truly become a 1v1 battle of true men! I just don't know if T1 will give them that opportunity."

Guan Zeyuan nodded: "That's right, Captain vs. Weapon, this is a classic matchup that tests your skills. Zeus's Captain has an extremely high win rate in this year's World Championship, and his mastery of the barrel is terrifying. But Mozi's Weapon... those who know, know, that's the kind of quality that can buy a house in the ban phase."

"Army attack!"

The wind in Summoner's Rift carried a hint of the grim atmosphere unique to the finals.

Su Mo controlled Jax, and his starting items were Doran's Shield and a Health Potion.

When facing a hero like the Captain who relies on attrition, you should still give him some leeway.

Neither side opted for a level 1 team fight invasion, and Su Mo went straight to the lane, standing at the very front of the top lane bush.

1 minutes 40 seconds.

The troops are gathering.

Zeus played very modestly, leveling up his E skill at level one and placing the barrels at his feet, indicating he was actually going to play defensively.

However, Su Mo was not in a hurry and developed steadily. Both sides seemed to be waiting for the arrival of level three.

And so, the top lane was almost peacefully developed.

3 minutes 15 seconds.

Both sides reached level 3.

The game on the road escalated instantly.

Zeus placed a barrel of explosives at his feet in an attempt to restrict Jax's movement.

Su Mo's movement was extremely skillful. In the intervals between last-hitting minions, he kept testing the edge of the explosive barrel.

Just as Zeus raised his hand to detonate the barrel and consume its energy, Su Mo suddenly pressed Q [Leap Attack]!
But instead of jumping over the captain, he jumped onto a ranged soldier to the side of the captain!

"boom!"

The explosive barrel was detonated, but it only blew up the air.

Su Mo, who used his Q skill to dodge the explosive barrels, instantly activated his E skill [Counterattack Storm] and headed straight for Zeus.

Zeus reacted extremely quickly, attacking creeps while simultaneously accelerating to create space.

However, the weapon's E skill still stunned him, but fortunately, he immediately used W to remove the stun.

The two exchanged blows, with the player gaining a slight advantage in weapon damage and managing to land a couple more attacks.

4 minutes 20 seconds.

The camera pans to the bottom lane.

EDG's "learning from others" tactic was a great success.

Meiko's Great Inventor set up three turrets, which, together with Viper's Ashe's barrage of arrows, directly suppressed T1's proud Varus + Lena Tower combination under the tower.

Gumayusi had an extremely difficult time last-hitting minions, and even missed several tower kills.

Oner's Fryego was forced to show up in the bottom half of the map in an attempt to relieve the pressure on the bottom lane.

“Jiejie, you counter-gank in the bottom lane, Oner will definitely make a move.” Su Mo glanced at the minimap. “Don’t worry about the top lane, Zeus isn’t fighting me, my health is perfectly fine, their jungler coming won’t help.”

5 minutes 10 seconds.

The top lane minions pushed back.

At this moment, both Zeus and Su Mo's Jax had half health.

Seeing that he had enough money to buy a Lightbearer, Zeus placed a double bucket in an attempt to clear the lane and return home.

In that instant, Su Mo took a step forward.

Zeus instinctively clicked on bucket A.

"It's now!"

Su Mo instantly teleported!

He dodged the explosion of the two barrels with a flash, and at the same time got close to the captain!
Zeus was shocked and immediately used Flash to create distance.

But Su Mo didn't have Q; he kept holding Q in his hand!

The moment Zeus used Flash, Jax leaped high into the air.

Follow up with Q-jump slash! Activate E skill.

AWAAEA!

Deadly Tempo was triggered, and Jax's lamp became a blur as he frantically pounded on the captain.

Zeus used the orange to break free from crowd control, but still managed to take a burst of damage. At this point, even after consuming the orange, his health was down to only 112 points.

On the other hand, the weapon still had half its health remaining.

Moreover, the weapon was still chasing Captain A, clearly ignoring the defensive towers behind him.

Seeing that Jax was so eager to kill, Zeus walked to the tower and slashed him with his Fire Blade, trying to use the tower's damage to take down Su Mo together.

Unfortunately, the turret only attacked the weapon once. Just as the captain fell, the weapon still had more than 30 health points left and narrowly escaped the turret.

First Blood!

Single kill!

"Solo kill!!!" Wawa shouted hoarsely in the commentary booth, "Just over 5 minutes in! Mozi solo killed Zeus without any jungle help! That Flash to dodge the barrel was so confident! It seems like he planned everything!!"

Miller was also shocked: "That courage... If he flashed into a barrel, he'd be blown up! But Mozi just dares to do that!!"

The live stream chat was instantly flooded with "666" and "that man".

[Zeus: Oh no, I've become a stand-in?]

Is this the dominance of the world's best top laner? He won't even let you blow up the barrels!

Zeus is still too young; he handed over the oranges too early and they're still holding a grudge now.

6 minutes 30 seconds.

After getting the first kill and returning home, Su Mo immediately pulled out the Radiant Blade and Cloth Shoes.

After Zeus respawned, he could only teleport back to lane, and he was already 10 CS behind.

Oner's Fryego had just finished clearing the top half of the map when he saw Zeus's miserable state in the top lane. He gritted his teeth and said, "Bro, I'll help you gank. He doesn't have Flash."

"Be careful, he might be level 6 already," Zeus warned, having only just reached level 5.

Oner activated his E skill, "Scorched Earth," and stealthily moved along the wall, eventually reaching the triangular bush behind EDG's top lane tower.

This is to coordinate with Zeus to tower dive and kill Su Mo!

"T1 is panicking! Oner wants to take down Jax!" Guan Zeyuan spoke rapidly, "But Mozi is already level 6! And he has his E skill! This 2v1 situation is going to be disastrous for T1!"

Su Mo watched this scene and a cold smile curled at the corner of his lips.

"Coming here to deliver a double kill?"

The troop line enters the tower.

Oner Foygo made the first move, unleashing W【A Thousand Years of Sighs】 after charging up.

Su Mo remained calm and activated E [Counterattack Storm] on the spot.

Oner dared not use his control abilities on Counter Strike, so he could only stop and wait for his E ability to end.

Just then, Zeus's captain placed a barrel under the tower to follow up with damage, preparing to detonate it with his Q.

Su Mo suddenly Q-jumped onto Oner!

Not only did he dodge the captain's barrels, but he also used the second stun of his E skill to stun Fryego, who was tanking the tower!

A! W! RA passively hits!

The defensive tower's laser beam fell.

Oner lost half of his health in an instant!

Oner was shocked and quickly used his ultimate ability to try to avoid the damage and move out of the tower.

But Su Mo, like a leech, dodged Foyego's ultimate attack and then countered with a basic attack.

Oner landed, barely clinging to life with a flash. Su Mo didn't chase, because there were too many minions under the tower.

He simply stood at the foot of the tower and flashed a "weakling" emoji.

Oner was forced back to base, and Zeus was unable to provide any support with his ultimate, completely disrupting T1's top and jungle rhythm.

7 minutes 45 seconds.

Although T1 suffered a setback in the top lane, they are still Faker's team after all.

After pushing the lane, Faker's Viktor cleverly roamed to the bottom lane.

Using the Captain's ultimate ability, T1 managed to gank 2-4 in the bottom lane.

Meiko's big head is strong in positional warfare, but it still seems powerless when faced with a four-person encirclement.

Faker used his W gravity field to block the path, and Keria's Lena hit Viper with her Q.

Ultimately, T1 scored a 2-for-0 exchange, eliminating EDG's bot lane duo, and then secured the first dragon.

"T1's counterattack came very quickly!" Remember analyzed. "They knew they couldn't control the top lane, so they abandoned it and focused on ganking the bottom lane. Viper and Meiko are having a tough time this game."

8 minutes 00 seconds.

Eight minutes into the game, the Rift Herald spawns.

The current situation is: EDG has a significant advantage in the top lane, T1 has an advantage in the bottom lane, and the mid lane is evenly matched.

Su Mo glanced at his equipment: Radiant Light + Small Wooden Hammer, Level 7.

Zeus only has a Lightbearer and a Longsword, and is level 6.

"Vanguard Regiment, I am invincible."

Su Mo only said these five words in the voice message.

Jiejie's big tree understood immediately and abandoned the lower half of the map, taking the newly resurrected Scout to move up.

T1 clearly didn't want to give up this vanguard, since it was related to the rhythm of the first tower kill.

Both sides assembled on the upper river channel.

Zeus carefully placed the bucket in the riverbed grass.

Su Mo controlled Jax, like a war god, directly at the forefront.

"I'd like to see who dares to cross this river."

He didn't drive an E-class car; he just stood there holding a street lamp.

Oner's Fryekov tentatively made a W gesture.

Su Mo used Q to dodge the minion's movement, and then used W to hit Foygo.

"Boom!"

The dull thud sent a shiver down Oner's spine.

The damage is too high!
"Let it go." Faker made a decisive decision. "Jax's fighting power is too strong right now, we can't handle it."

Although T1 was reluctant to give up, it had no choice but to retreat in the face of Su Mo's suffocating intimidation.

Jiejie easily secured the Vanguard's Eye.

"Send them on their way," Su Mo said calmly.

"understand!"

With a roar from the vanguard, the top lane was about to become Su Mo's personal stage.

T1's nightmare has only just begun.

8 minutes 35 seconds.

Jiejie's giant tree appeared in the top lane, with the Rift Herald's Eye behind it flashing purple light.

"Release it!" Su Mo said succinctly.

Without any hesitation, Jiejie crushed the Vanguard's Eye in front of the tower.

The enormous void creature roared as it crashed into T1's top lane tower.

At this moment, Zeus held a newly regenerated orange in his hand, looking at the huge wave of minions pushing into the tower and the aggressive EDG top and jungle, a trace of despair flashing in his eyes.

He was only level 7, while Su Mo was already level 8.

Level advantage, equipment advantage, and player advantage.

"I can't defend this tower," Zeus said hoarsely in the voice chat, controlling the captain to retreat to the secluded bushes in front of the second tower.

"boom!"

The vanguard charged headlong into the tower, which had already lost a significant amount of health to Su Mo, and it instantly began to teeter on the brink of collapse.

Su Mo activated AWA and slammed the street lamp in his hand hard against the fragile base of the defensive tower.

8 minutes 55 seconds.

With a loud crash, T1's top lane first turret fell!
Su Mo monopolized all the gold from the first tower, and with his previous solo kills and last-hitting advantages, his development was already somewhat unbelievable.

"He's so fed..." Guan Zeyuan gasped as he looked at the items Jax pulled out after recalling to base. "Nine minutes, Divine Separator! This is a game-changer for the Captain! Zeus doesn't even have the right to look at the minion wave now."

At the same time, T1 did not sit idly by.

Faker demonstrated his ability to read the game as a legendary mid laner.

Since the main road is ruined, we must find a way to make up for it on other roads.

9 minutes 26 seconds.

Oner's Foygo, in coordination with the bottom lane duo, forcibly tower-dived and killed Meiko's Great Inventor, and then pushed down EDG's bottom lane tower.

“Trading resources,” Miller analyzed. “T1 is smart; they know that going head-to-head with Jax right now would be suicide, so they’re using the dragon to buy time for development. But the problem is, T1 probably won’t be able to stop Jax’s development speed.”

10 minutes 50 seconds.

Both sides have entered the transition period.

Scout's Azir and Viper's Ashe rotated to the mid lane, while Su Mo, with his terrifying equipment, descended upon the bottom lane like a demon king.

This is the golden rule for split-pushing heroes: the top laner with the advantage should push the side lanes and apply pressure.

On T1's side, Zeus had no choice but to bite the bullet and go to the bottom lane to defend.

“Zeus is in a terrible state.” The doll felt a little sorry for him. “He only has Sheen and Caulfield’s Warhammer now, and Trinity Force is still a long way off. Facing Divine Jax, it seems he will have a hard time defending the tower.”

11 minutes 40 seconds.

Su Mo pushed the minion wave into T1's bottom lane tower.

Zeus carefully placed a double barrel to clear out the soldiers.

Zeus's forehead was already covered in fine beads of sweat.

Although he was under the tower, and although the tower was still working diligently, he felt no sense of security whatsoever.

Su Mo's Jax is too arrogant.

As the minion wave pushed into the tower, Su Mo didn't even look at anyone. He activated W [Charged Strike] and slammed the lamp in his hand hard against the tower.

"Boom!"

The Holy Separator's Cursed Blade effect was triggered, and the tower's health visibly dropped.

Zeus tried to fight back, hitting Jax with a Q [Negotiation], but it didn't hurt him much.

Next, Jax used AWA to trigger the passive of the Separator, instantly taking away a third of the Captain's health, and then used Q to jump out of the turret.

"How are we supposed to play this?" Zeus's lips twitched. "The damage is completely disproportionate! I can barely scratch him, while he can demolish towers like it's nothing."

Su Mo didn't even use his E skill; he just kept hitting the turret right in front of Zeus.

This kind of disregard is more painful than killing him.

Zeus gritted his teeth, placed a bomb, and tried to clear the minion wave and drive Jax away.

Just as he raised his hand to prepare to hit the A bucket, that ghostly tree emerged from the shadows behind the tower.

"Jiejie's here!" Miller shouted. "This is the final blow! T1's bottom lane tower is going to fall too!"

Jiejie's tree didn't even need to use its ultimate skill; it directly used W [Twisted Thrust] to transform into a clump of tree roots and bind the captain.

Zeus reacted incredibly quickly, almost instantly eating the orange to break free of the crowd control the moment he used W.

But, it didn't help.

Because Su Mo made a move.

Just as Zeus was momentarily stunned while eating the orange, Jax unleashed his QE [Leap Slash] right in his face!
By this time, Jax had already stacked his passive attack speed to its maximum, and he was wielding his lampposts with incredible speed and power.

A! W resets basic attack! Divine Split effect triggered!
It hurts so much!
Jax, possessing the Divine Separator, is now a numerical monster.

Zeus panicked and used his ultimate ability, Cannon Barrage, to try to slow down the two opponents, while simultaneously flashing towards the second tower to create distance.

But Jiejie countered with a R and caught up with him again.

Zeus knew that he was doomed in this attack. (End of Chapter)