You've only been playing for half a year, and you've already reached the finals?

Chapter 150 Can't you just get off here and torture Lin Weixiang?!

"Congratulations to EDG! They've taken the lead and won the first game!"

"One to zero!" In the commentary booth, Gu Gu chimed in, "I have to say, Xiao Fei's performance was a pleasant surprise!"

“That’s right!” Wang Duoduo recalled the game footage just now, “Whether it was the laning phase in the early game, or the support and team fights in the mid and late game, he was impeccable! His godlike performance is the best proof!”

"After switching to the mid lane, his gameplay remained sharp, seemingly unaffected! This game was entirely his own performance!"

The director was quick to respond; after watching the players return to their respective rest rooms, he promptly switched to a highlight reel of the match.

It's called a highlight reel, but it's actually just a record of EDG's massacre of FPX.

Because FPX only had three kills throughout the game. The first kill occurred at 23 minutes, when they finally managed to kill Flandre by sacrificing two lanes of high ground. Then came the final team fight, where several players sacrificed their lives to secure kills for Flandre and JieJie.

Apart from that, it was all about EDG slaughtering FPX.

Among them, the fox used the EQW three skills to achieve a full-health kill multiple times, which made the audience feel unfamiliar.

"Wow, this hero can kill people instantly like that?" Toothpaste was now amazed. "This doesn't seem to make any sense."

“You don’t even know how to play Fox, what do you know?” Zoom chuckled. “Why don’t you hurry up and learn?”

The toothpaste immediately became serious: "OK, OK, let's start ranked practice right away!"

The director acted quickly, swiftly switching to the MVP of the game.

The MVP this time is undoubtedly Ahri.

A terrifying 11-0-6 K/D ratio, an excellent 31.25% damage share, and a 4639 gold advantage over the laner all demonstrate Ahri's outstanding dominance.

[Holy crap, let's fly!]

[Wow, you're killing people like this right away?]

[He hasn't played a match in five months and even changed positions, yet he's still so strong; it doesn't make sense.]

[That's normal. You don't think that Xiaofei's five-month absence is a nerf, do you?]

Indeed, wouldn't it be better for Xiaofei to have spent five months in seclusion improving his skills than to have to compete and fight with these LPL teams?

[I said it before, even EDG agreed to let Xiaofei play mid, so Xiaofei must be really good.]

[Junior, just keep an eye on the water dispenser, you might even get a skin in the end.]

But having their mid-laner benched is still a bit too much for EDG.

Sparrow food

Ming Jing had already stepped back into the backstage dressing room.

Mingkai, Abu, Maokai, and others immediately gathered around, all showing satisfied smiles to Mingjing and praising his excellent performance.

"Not bad." His cousin patted Mingjing on the shoulder. "The best-of-five series has just begun. Play well and try to win in three straight games!"

Ming Jing didn't seem to be under any pressure. "Don't worry, it's not a big problem."

The outcome of this match was entirely within his expectations.

After a long period of ranked training, Ming Jing believes he is three points stronger than he was during last year's World Championship, and is at a small peak in his professional career.

If he still can't beat an old man, then he really should start to doubt his own talent.

Of course, Mingjing was still not satisfied with his performance.

Although he performed perfectly in this game, he actually got the game going thanks to the support of his jungler and support teammates.

Doinb's laning skills are indeed solid enough, making it quite difficult for him to dominate the lane solo.

Mingjing plans to focus his efforts and try again next time.

In a corner of the lounge, next to the water dispenser, Scout looked at the joyful scene before him and felt that people's joys and sorrows were not shared.

Meanwhile, in the FPX lounge.

Xiao Tian also sat in the corner of the lounge, his helmet-like hair covering his head and casting a small shadow on his face, exuding a sense of depression.

Lin Weixiang was unusually depressed at this moment.

Even now, he's still replaying that Baron fight in his mind. His Kai'Sa used her ultimate to enter the fray, only to be intercepted halfway by Ahri's kiss.

If that wave had let him take down the cannon, he would have had a real chance!
"Was that kiss of his really a bit perverted?" Lin Weixiang couldn't help but say, "How was he able to kiss my ultimate move? Was his judgment that accurate?"

Standing to the side, Liu Qingsong sneered coldly: "He's the FMVP, and you're just a fifth-place champion. You definitely can't understand his skills."

"You're talking nonsense!" Lin Weixiang slammed his fist on the table. "You're the fifth-ranked champion!"

Up ahead, FPX's management didn't take the duo's usual bickering seriously, but simply asked them to quiet down and discuss the draft picks for the next game.

Coach Steak thought for a moment and then asked, "Next game, the enemy is on the red side. They'll most likely give the counter pick to the mid laner. Doinb, are you going to pick Viktor again next game?"

Although they returned to the blue side, the difficulty of the draft was not improved at all, because they still had to face the problem of selecting the first laner.

Generally speaking, Doinb usually selects the counter after taking the counter.

The champions he favors in this version, such as Akali and Galio, are basically chosen as countermeasures.

If Doinb has to pick the top laner first, then he can only pick Viktor.

This choice was not a problem in itself.

After all, this hero received a minor rework in the Mythic version, so he doesn't need to spend money to upgrade his core, allowing him to reach his power spike much earlier. He's a popular all-rounder, and in previous matches, both teams have been vying to pick Viktor.

But the crushing defeat in the first round made Steak question Viktor's abilities.
If I stubbornly keep trying, won't I get caught by the fox and the dragon again?
Doinb has high emotional intelligence; he sensed the doubt in Steak's words.

He was very unhappy, but he couldn't find a reason to refute it.

After this match, Doinb finally understood.

Phi is a pure talent-based playstyle. Teamwork and roaming are secondary. The primary goal of this type of player is always the laning phase. Crushing the opponent first is the only thing that matters!
To pick Viktor to withstand the pressure against this kind of opponent is tantamount to suicide!
To deal with this kind of person, you have to confront them head-on!

At the very least, he must gain control of the line, otherwise they have absolutely no chance of winning!
"Next game, get me Irelia," Doinb said seriously. "I'll counter-pressure him!"

Irelia's stats might be a bit lacking in the top lane, where she'd struggle against heavy fighters, but in the mid lane against mages, she'd be a game-changer!

If Doinb were to pick a mid laner who can secure lane priority even if they pick first, it would only be Irelia!

“Okay.” Steak nodded solemnly. “Then it’s up to you, Coin Bro.”

The break passed quickly. Because the first game ended quickly, it wasn't even 6 o'clock when the two players took to the court for the second game.

At the same time, Song Xuan also jogged all the way home, panting heavily.

The match started at five o'clock, which coincided with the time when school ended. Song Xuan rushed home as soon as school was over, and fortunately, he managed to make it to the second match.

This was only because Song Xuan had good grades, graduated high school early, and was an IMO participant, which allowed her to skip evening self-study sessions and go home early.

Otherwise, she wouldn't even be interested in the competition.

Song Xuan's parents were both busy with their own things, and the house was empty at the moment.

Song Xuan didn't seem to care, and went straight back to his room to turn on the live stream of the match.

Ming Jing was just about to take the stage.

The audience seats were empty, but Ming Jing still waved to the camera.

As Song Xuan watched Ming Jing's actions, the corners of her lips curled up slightly. She hugged her slender legs with both hands, rested her chin on her knees, and quietly watched Ming Jing take his seat.

Ming Jing had no idea how many gazes were fixed on him. Having debuted in the World Championships, he had seen his share of big events, so the current match didn't put too much pressure on him.

He put on his headphones, checked his status with the referee, and then the draft phase quickly began.

The bans for both sides were largely unchanged from the previous game.

Although they were defeated by Ahri in the last game, FPX did not intend to ban Ahri, because they had no intention of picking Viktor at all.

The only difference is that Hecarim and Udyr, two popular junglers, have been released, so the first round of bans and picks for both sides is clear.

FPX first picked Udyr, the most popular champion in the current patch.

One reason why Mingjing was able to kill so easily in the last game was that Udyr was indeed a bit overpowered; the stable control in bear form is exactly the skill that Ahri needs most.

EDG wasn't surprised; they locked in Hecarim and then picked Tristana.

FPX chose Irelia and Riven.

Irelia is a flexible champion, and her position is still unclear, so EDG is not in a hurry. They picked Renekton, who is not afraid of Irelia, to go to the top lane, leaving the counter pick in the mid lane for last.

After entering the second round of draft picks, FPX finally revealed their true intentions, locking in Gnar to counter Renekton and Ziggs to supplement their AP damage output.

Since Mingjing introduced the champion Ziggs to the public, this hero has immediately become a favorite among AD carry players this year.

Even JackeyLove, the biggest victim, has become a loyal fan of Bomberman. He no longer plays Dezi every day, but only likes to play Bomberman.

The key reason is that this year's equipment was revamped. While the designers changed the Great Mask to a Mythic item, they also added the Lost Chapter to its crafting path, increasing its mana attribute.

Although the burn damage of the Mask of Madness has been nerfed slightly, the mana bonus is just too good, making Bomberman even more comfortable.

"That means Irelia is locked into the mid lane!" Wang Duoduo nodded and said, "Then, let's see what hero Xiaofei will use to counter Irelia!"

At this moment, Maokai asked Mingjing the same question.

Gnar, Irelia, Ziggs.
It must be said that FPX's three-carry structure in this game was quite reasonable, with support points in the early, mid, and late game.

Fortunately, he has a hero who can defeat them all!
"Let's pick Akali," Mingjing said confidently. "This game will be easy."

Compared to Ahri, Akali is a much more normal choice, as she is a popular pick in this version.

Maokai didn't say much and simply nodded in agreement.

With that, the lineups for both sides are finalized!
Blue side FPX: Top lane Gnar, Jungle Udyr, Mid lane Irelia, Bot lane Ziggs and Garen. Red side EDG: Top lane Renekton, Jungle Hecarim, Mid lane Akali, Bot lane Tristana and Nautilus.

"With this lineup," Wang Duoduo, looking at the screen, said with a smile, "Akali seems to have a lot of room for maneuver! This pick is quite brilliant!"

"How so?" Gu Gu immediately chimed in, playing the straight man.

"We can look at it from three perspectives. In terms of early laning, Akali has a good matchup against Irelia. In terms of mid-game split pushing, Akali has little pressure against either Gnar or Irelia. In terms of late-game team fights, it goes without saying that Akali can easily take down carries like Ziggs!"

Wang Duoduo explained, "Although FPX has Udyr and Ryze, two reliable crowd control champions who pose a significant threat to Akali, Akali also has Twilight Shroud, which she can use skillful maneuvering to counter this threat."

With enough skill, Akali can dominate the battlefield!
Mingjing was also controlling Akali to walk out of the fountain, his mind still echoing Maokai's last words to him.

"Mingjing, you absolutely must establish your rhythm in this game. Your teammates in both the top and bottom lanes are at a disadvantage in their laning phase, but they both have the ability to lock down enemies. If it's really difficult to break through in the mid lane, then prioritize focusing on the side lanes. Your teammates will all help you."

Recalling these words, Mingjing was speechless.

I still don't quite trust him.

If it were JD.com's team, they would never say these things to him; they would only tell him to kill faster.

It seems he has to be more serious this time.

As soon as the minions went online, Mingjing, playing Akali, quickly pushed forward.

Akali is very weak at level 1, after all, her Q skill now has an extremely high mana cost, and at most she can only cast two Qs, which is not enough to get a kill.

Fortunately, the level 1 Irelia wasn't much better off.

Before Irelia's Q skill fully stacks her passive, Mingjing can still put on a show of arrogance.

If Irelia is a bit clumsy, giving him enough distance to use QA, that would be even better.

This way, he can easily break up the minion wave, causing the melee minions to lose health at an unbalanced rate. As a result, Irelia will no longer be able to quickly stack her passive by Q'ing three low-health melee minions as usual.

Doinb was clearly a smart man; his positioning was extremely rational, giving Akali no chance to whittle him down.

He waited until all the melee minions on both sides were reduced to low health before seizing the opportunity and using his Q skill directly on the three low-health melee minions!
Ming Jing reacted quickly. As soon as the Irelia Q hit the ranged minions, he immediately used his own Q, hitting the Irelia and three low-health minions at the same time, whittling down their health while also finishing them off.

But as soon as he cast his Q, Irelia turned around and landed a Q right in his face, challenging him to a duel!
Irelia, nicknamed "Female Darius," may seem like a hero requiring high skill, but she's actually a champion who relies on stats. Once her passive is fully stacked, her combat power is indeed a bit over the top.

Mingjing didn't try to fight Irelia head-on. Instead, he took the damage from Irelia's basic attacks and ran away. Even when he had a passive ability ready, he didn't turn back. At the cost of being hit by Irelia's basic attacks three times, he managed to escape Irelia's attack range.

Seeing that Akali didn't dare to turn around, Doinb, who was taking damage from the ranged minions' focused fire, didn't chase after her but turned away.

This player chased after Akali and landed a Q followed by three auto attacks, taking away nearly a third of her health in one go. This trade of health was a win for Akali no matter how you look at it.

But just as he turned to pull away, Akali immediately turned back and unleashed her passive skill, "Dragon's Mark," on his back.

Doinb's heart sank when he saw the stab.

No, is it that trick again?
Akali's passive ability grants her an attack range of 250 yards, which is slightly longer than Irelia's 200 yards.

A 50-yard attack range isn't actually that long, and in the hands of an average person, it might not be enough to create any significant kiting effect.

Phi is the only one who can calculate distances incredibly accurately; he seems to want to use that little range advantage to get a hundred free hits from you!

And this passive skill isn't over yet.

The passive recovery of 20 energy, combined with the previous natural regeneration, is just enough for Akali to throw out her second Q.

Akali threw a kunai, hitting Irelia again, and then easily escaped her passive by using her movement speed buff.

The result is still 250 > 200.

Akali swung her scythe and followed right behind Irelia, but her basic attack was slow to come out, so she maintained an ambiguous distance.

Doinb wanted to fight Akali to the bitter end while he still had his passive ability active, but Mingjing didn't give him the chance at all. He seized the moment when Doinb turned his head to pull away and hit him with another passive attack!

Doinb almost bit his teeth to pieces.

AD players are really disgusting!

Can you please go down and torture Lin Weixiang instead of me?

He thought he had gained an advantage by trading so many hits for free at the start, but who would have thought that Akali would use her range advantage to get another free AQA combo, and he would end up being the one who lost out?
A level 1 Irelia with maxed passive couldn't beat Akali? That doesn't make sense!
Now that he has lost all his passive stacks, he no longer has the ability to fight back, and the first-level exchange of blows between the two sides is a done deal.

Doinb took a deep breath, focusing even more intently, wishing he could bury his head in the screen, hoping to gain an advantage in the upcoming laning phase.

Irelia is indeed at a disadvantage in the laning phase against Akali, mainly because Akali has Twilight Shroud, making it incredibly easy for her to dominate melee champions.

However, there is still room for maneuver.

As long as E [Double Blades] hits, there's no opponent that Irelia can't beat!

Seeing that Akali was out of energy, Doinb stopped running and turned back to farm minions to reach level two.

In terms of securing level two first, Akali and Irelia definitely can't compete.

The second wave of minions arrived quickly. Doinb controlled the timing of his passive ability. When the melee minions of the second wave were low on health, he first pretended to retreat, and then quickly used Q to advance towards the minions, simultaneously achieving three goals: leveling up to level two with Q, accumulating his passive, and closing the distance with Akali.

Doinb's hand speed was faster than ever before. He quickly allocated skill points to E, and then placed the two blades on either side of Akali.

The timing of this E release is perfect. Under normal circumstances, a level 1 Akali who hasn't even bought boots yet would have no chance of getting out of this E!
However, Ming Jing was no ordinary person either.

The moment Akali's Q charged forward, he landed a Q straight into Irelia.

The passive effect of Akali's Q skill creates a ring around her that resembles the passive "Dragon's Mark".

Akali gains a 30% movement speed bonus when moving towards the circle.

With this speed boost, Ming Jing advanced instead of retreating, heading straight for the Blade Maiden and securing a passive ability.

Although his E skill missed, at this point in the fight, Doinb couldn't back down anymore, so he simply charged towards Akali.

He's not going to back down this time. As long as Akali dares to kite him like before, he'll immediately Q her face and go all out!

Ke Mingjing was much calmer than Doinb. He knew that a level 1 Akali couldn't possibly beat a level 2 Irelia. After dodging the Twin Blades, he didn't rush to attack Irelia. Instead, he used a passive attack to first strike the low-health melee minion next to him.

"Om."

Akali was also enveloped in a beam of light, leveling up to level two as well!
In the instant she leveled up, Akali landed another Q on Irelia, then walked in a perfect diagonal arc, and the distance between them was exactly 250 yards as she activated her passive.

Mingjing slashed at Daomei again!
Doinb clicked the right mouse button, hoping to close the distance while Akali was still stunned by her basic attack and then retaliate.

But Akali gave them no chance, throwing out a smoke bomb the instant she was forced to attack and disappearing without a trace.

Doinb typed away on the keyboard, but he just couldn't fight back!

When he reappeared, Akali had already created distance and, using the energy restored by her W, landed another Q on him.

At this moment, the three-stage damage triggered Electrocute, and a red lightning bolt struck Irelia.

Doinb immediately used his Q to rush over, but Akali remained calm and went invisible again.

When it reappeared, it was once again at the maximum distance of 250 yards. With its passive ability active, it slashed at the Irelia, then used the speed boost from the Twilight Shroud to turn around and pull away.

Throughout the entire match, Irelia only managed to land one Q from Akali.

But Akali landed three Qs and two passives on Irelia!
"Oh my, Doinb seems to be in a lot of pain from this!" Wang Duoduo, watching the scene in front of him, couldn't help but be surprised.

He wouldn't say Akali was treating Irelia like a dog, but that's the truth.

"The main problem is that after that combo, Irelia's health is really low!" GuGu exclaimed. "Her health is down to just over 30%, and even with potions, she'll only be around half health! It seems like she can't go into lane anymore!"

For Doinb now, just like in the previous game, using his T to return to base and heal is the wisest choice.

After all, his health was already within Akali's kill threshold.

Before he even learned W, his half-health couldn't even withstand a full combo from a level 3 Akali!
However, Doinb cannot accept being sent back to base after only two levels.

He's only managed to land seven hits so far, and he can't even afford a longsword if he goes back to town!
He has to finish off this wave of tower attacks no matter what.

Doinb decisively drank his only health potion, preparing to finish off this difficult tower dive.

Meanwhile, Ming Jing watched as Dao Mei drank the blood potion and nodded in satisfaction.

Taking the medicine is the right thing to do.

I was worried you'd go back to the city!
With Irelia's low health, without lane priority and unable to heal by last-hitting minions, even if she drinks a health potion, her health won't be much higher.

At this moment, the minion wave is still in the center. In order to ensure that the minion wave can be pushed into the tower by the third wave, he is not saving his skills. While ensuring that his energy is full, he will hit as many minions as possible with his Q skill to increase the pushing speed as soon as possible.

Finally, before the fourth wave of minions spawned, Mingjing successfully pushed the minions into the tower.

At this moment, it's a level 3 Akali at full health facing off against a level 2 Irelia at half health.

It would be unreasonable not to dive the tower in this wave.

Ming Jing acted recklessly, charging straight into the tower and using his Q to stab at the Irelia!
As soon as Q was cast, Doinb reacted like a startled wildcat, activating Spinosaurus form and decisively throwing Q at a low-health minion in the distance. During the Q skill's dash, E [Double Blades] was also cast, as he wanted to stun Akali!
He's not far from level three right now. If he can successfully reach level three and stun Akali under the tower, who knows who might die in this fight!
But Mingjing clearly saw Irelia's Q and E, and he made a judgment almost instantly, then threw out an E [Falcon Dance] horizontally!
Just like before, when Ahri used her E to catch Kai'Sa's ultimate.

Mingjing's E was perfectly angled, precisely calculating the displacement of Irelia's Q skill, and stabbed the shuriken directly into Irelia!
Furthermore, thanks to the reverse displacement of her E skill, Akali managed to dodge the Twin Blades.

Upon seeing the letter E, Doinb felt a jolt, as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

He knew he was already dead.

Akali used her E skill to hit the target the instant she landed, then used a smoke bomb to accelerate, took two steps to walk outside the tower, and then used her second E skill to launch a flying kick!

The most annoying thing about Akali in this version is that she can release Q during the flight of her second E.

The second stage of E's tracking ability makes this Q skill almost guaranteed to hit, and it also shortens the casting time of a Q in combos, making it faster to kill AD carries.

With the added boost from Mythic items, Akali can one-shot squishy targets in the late game with a single EEQ combo that triggers Electrocute, making her a dematerializer for AD carries!
The Q followed by the second E hits Irelia, triggering Electrocute. The three high-damage hits brought Irelia to low health.

Immediately afterwards, Mingjing right-clicked and unleashed a passive attack on the Irelia!
Irelia lies dead beneath the tower!
"First blood!"

(End of this chapter)