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

DRX players' bench.

DRX coach Mowgli is also giving the team his final instructions.

"Ruican, this game is in your hands," Mowgli said. "You must win the lane."

Zoe has an advantage in the laning phase against Galio, especially since the opponent is a patient.

If they can't gain an advantage in the laning phase, the coach doesn't even want to think about how things will develop.
"Do not worry."

Scout remained as calm as ever. That's just how he is; he rarely shows any expression on his face during matches, but his words are quite straightforward: "There's no way we can lose this lane."

The coach didn't say much, but simply closed his notebook, took off his headphones, and went to the center of the stage to punch Maokai.

Before leaving the stage, Mowgli couldn't help but glance at the EDG players' bench.

In the center of the seating area, in the spot reserved for the two carries, there are two adorable miniature figures, Lucian and Aphelios, who were the champions of last year.

Coach Mowgli certainly understands how much damage COVID-19 can do to a person.

Back at the beginning of this year, the entire DRX team was infected once.

At the time, due to the impact of the virus, DRX suffered a painful losing streak, and their ranking plummeted, which directly led to the team's unsatisfactory performance in the Spring Split.

Mowgli was not spared either, lying in bed groaning for a week.

He deeply understands how much a high fever affects mental capacity. He can make a BP (Ban/Pick) in a daze, full of loopholes, let alone compete on the ultimate stage of the World Championship.

But then again...

Seeing the Lucian doll placed in the middle of the EDG booth, Mowgli still felt inexplicably flustered.

Phi's skill is beyond doubt; he's on a completely different level from other players.

Even if such a person is weakened, how much weaker can they really be?

Coach Mowgli shook his head, banishing all irrelevant associations from his mind.

Regardless, the advantage is on their side today, and they have absolutely no reason to lose.

When both coaches returned to the backstage lounge, the first game had already begun.

Both players rushed out of the fountain and took up defensive positions.

Because Akira was not in good condition today, the command position was handed back to Meiko.

Meiko was quite experienced in this area, and she instructed the team to take a defensive stance and start with normal laning.

Without needing to give commands, Ming Jing had much less to do. He stood at the entrance to the jungle, still mentally simulating the upcoming laning phase.

Under the influence of the high fever, Mingjing's brain inevitably became sluggish.

The old approach of using multiple threads to control the overall situation while simultaneously breaking through the opponent's lane is simply not enough.

However, if we disregard the overall situation and only focus on the laning phase, and don't aim to dominate the lane...
Even if one's brain is reduced to only 30% of its capacity due to a high fever, it is more than enough.

"I'm not going to care about anything else this time, I'm just going to focus on the laning phase."

Ming Jing said, "I should be able to win in lane, the rest is up to you guys."

"If you can win the lane, then what else is there to say?" Meiko laughed. "If you can win, the other team should be taunting you!"

Zoe was picked as a last resort to order food; if she didn't get to order food, then DRX's lineup would have crippled itself!
However, these words startled Viper.

Both being positive patients, Viper felt his strength was reduced to less than one-tenth of what it used to be due to a high fever, and he would consider it a success if he didn't get crushed in lane.

This guy actually thought he could counter-counter and dominate the lane?
Viper really wants to see if Mingjing can do it.

As the minions spawned, Mingjing, controlling Galio, spawned alongside the ranged minions.

On the other side, Scout's Zoe played quite aggressively, pushing forward as soon as the minion waves overlapped.

Scout played extremely greedily this game, even skipping the standard Electrocute rune and opting for Initiative instead.

Clearly, they wanted to make some extra profit outside of the laning phase.

Ming Jing remained calm at this moment, carefully controlling the distance between himself and Zoe.

For Mingjing, controlling distance is an instinct that requires no thought.

When the melee minions were low on health and Zoe was also attacking the minions, he finally pressed forward and unleashed a Q [Righteous Gale].

On the other side, Scout obviously wouldn't let Ming Jing finish him off so easily, so he quickly pulled up his flying star and hurled it at Ming Jing.

He wants both the finishing blow and the initiative!

However, Ming Jing looked at the distance between the two sides, showing no fear whatsoever, and didn't even seem to want to move.

The star continued to rush forward, but just before it was about to hit Galio, it vanished into thin air.

We've reached the distance.

Zoe's reach isn't actually that long; Q-Star disappears when it's 800 yards away from Zoe.

As long as you maintain this distance, there's no chance of losing.

Upon seeing this, a slight ripple appeared on Scout's otherwise expressionless face.

real or fake?

Did he really not move at all?

Galio dodging skills like this can only mean two things: either he's extremely confident in his distance control and is convinced that the Q isn't far enough away.

The second is a false alarm, where the player didn't actually realize what was happening.
Scout believes that Mingjing actually prefers the latter.

After all, this is consistent with the behavior of a positive patient.

If someone can maintain this level of distance control while suffering from a fever of 38 or 39 degrees Celsius, that would truly redefine Scout's worldview.

But Scout didn't let his guard down. He turned around and used a basic attack to finish off the remaining low-health minions, and then pushed forward again.

Both mid laners used their Qs simultaneously, but Zoe's Q had a shorter cooldown than Galio's Q. Scout wanted to try his luck again, so he quickly triggered the first strike.

Scout calculated the distance perfectly this time, not giving Galio a chance to dodge in a straight line.

But to my surprise, Ming Jing's positioning was still tricky.

Galio made a lateral movement, narrowly avoiding the flying enemy, and then, seeing Zoe pressing forward, he immediately turned his head to create distance!

Scout kept clicking the mouse, wanting to activate a passive skill, and even felt that the distance was enough, but he just couldn't activate the passive skill!
The second wave of minions had already arrived, and Scout, not wanting to tank them, had no choice but to turn and retreat.

But at that moment, Galio seized the opportunity when he turned his head and unleashed a Q [Righteous Gale]!
Scout seized the opportunity and immediately turned back.

However, Mingjing had predicted the position where Zoe would turn around, and the gale gathered at Zoe's feet, dealing maximum damage!
The damage is not high, but it is extremely insulting.

Because Zoe's initiative was broken.

"Wow, so cute!" Toothpaste's eyes lit up as he looked at the scene before him. "What a ruthless prediction!"

Only then did Zoe raise her hand to unleash a basic attack on Galio.

However, without the initiative, this basic attack is meaningless and may even have a negative effect.

This would allow Zoe to be focused down by EDG's minions, disrupting the balance of the minion wave and causing it to slowly push towards Galio.

"In that case, the laning phase feels much better." Zoom looked at the minion wave and was overjoyed. "Zoe can't push the wave, so the minion wave can be blocked in front of the tower!"

The subsequent plot did indeed develop in this direction.

Since Mingjing was still nearly at full health and had two potions left, he had an extremely strong advantage in the laning phase.

He maintained his health bar with precise distance control, aiming his skills at Zoe as much as possible, giving her no chance to trigger the first strike and steal gold.

He will only use his Q or passive ability to weaken the enemy minions when he observes that the minion wave is pushing too aggressively.

Under Mingjing's deliberate control, when the third wave of siege minion remnants slowly advanced towards Mingjing's tower, only one siege minion with low health and three ranged minions with half health remained.

Ming Jing was prepared. Galio forcefully held off the minion wave outside the tower, sacrificing only a third of his health to block the minion wave in front of the tower.

This deal was undoubtedly the most profitable.

For Galio, there's no more comfortable lane than being stuck in front of the tower. With his back to the tower, he can last-hit minions whenever he wants without the risk of being caught. On the contrary, the opponent will be worried and afraid of being caught!
Furthermore, Zoe's wave clear ability can't compare to Galio's. Zoe can smash a minion with her Q, while Galio only needs one passive to balance it out. If there's no outside interference, this minion wave can stay stuck here indefinitely.

For Zoe, the laning phase has undoubtedly collapsed.

In this situation, let alone pushing lanes to suppress the enemy and get the first gold, the lane is stuck in an awkward position. If Zoe can even last-hit ranged creeps, that would be considered a success!
It's worth noting that Mingjing used his signature Phase Rush in this game.

If you get hit by Galio's E while last-hitting a ranged minion, you're really in for a world of hurt.

"Holy crap." Kanavi was also astonished by what he saw. "Is he really positive?"

This player's handling of the game doesn't seem like someone with a high fever at all.

My buddy was playing a game with a fever and he still couldn't figure out how to farm jungle camps.
"I told you," Toothpaste laughed, "Even if Ming Jing only has 30% of his strength, he can still beat you easily."

This same question was also on Scout's mind.

Is this person really positive?

During those few minutes of laning, Scout couldn't find any openings at all; he felt like he was laning against a top-tier Galio!
Seeing the deadlock in front of him, Scout couldn't help but purse his lips, and then said, "Changxian, come help me clear the wave."

"Huh?" Pyosik was taken aback when he heard this.

Unraveling the lines?

Are you kidding me?!

Zoe has a favorable matchup against Galio, and the opponent is also a weak player, yet you still get stuck in lane?
"Come on." Scout didn't want to explain further, and of course he was too embarrassed to explain, so he could only exercise his seniority and command the juniors in the team.

"Here it comes, bro!" Pyosik had no choice but to quickly use Smite to take down the Gromp and then head to the mid lane.

But Pyosik couldn't help feeling somewhat depressed.

If we consider every action a jungler takes as a resource expenditure, then his first action in this game is a complete waste.

EDG's jungler could have taken advantage of his move to the mid lane to go to the bottom river and take the river crab that should have been his.

This back and forth resulted in a direct loss.

What's even more frustrating is that his attempt to go to the middle didn't even achieve the desired result.

On the way to the mid lane, top laner Kingen pinged a few signals and indicated in voice chat that Kennen had disappeared.

Kingen failed to pull off a comeback against a long-range opponent like Mingjing did, and Ornn was pushed down the lane by Kennen without any doubt.

This is normal, of course, since the top lane is long and Ornn, with his extremely short range, has no chance of turning the tide in the first few levels.

However, Kennen's disappearance did not attract Pyosik's attention.

After all, Kennen's normal rhythm against melee champions is to start with Doran's Blade, farm three waves of minions, then recall to base and buy Cull. This Vanish is most likely when he goes back to base.

Without much thought, Pyosik charged straight towards the middle lane.

The Hecarim + Zoe combination couldn't kill Phase Rush Galio, so he wasn't even thinking about killing him this time; he just wanted to push the lane quickly and then run down.

If we act quickly, we might not lose the crab.

Surprisingly, Galio, facing a two-on-one attack, did not retreat but instead advanced!

Galio's gameplay is quite unorthodox. He first strides forward, then immediately unleashes his passive + Q [Righteous Gale], attacking Hecarim and minions together!

This scene left Pyosik completely bewildered; what was going on?

Even though Galio won't die from playing like this, there's no need for it. Isn't this just wasting health?
But soon, as Galio landed another basic attack on him, triggering Phase Boots, he quickly understood.

Galio, with Phase Boots active, ran incredibly fast, quickly shaking off the Hecarim in front of him. While charging up his W, he headed straight for Zoe behind him.

The slow effect of W is negligible compared to the speed boost of Phase Boots. Galio charged forward with W, getting closer and closer to Zoe!

Moreover, the most fatal thing is yet to come.

Kennen, who should have returned to base to replenish supplies, also came to the mid lane.

Kennen burst out of the shadows of the upper river in his E-class vehicle, his dart crackling with electricity, his target also Zoe!
"Here it comes! A roam from Flandre!" Wang Duoduo in the LPL commentary booth was absolutely thrilled. "Looks like there's a chance!"

It was such a great opportunity! Flandre had specifically built up his W passive to roam over here. With Galio's W taunt, he could reliably use AQW to stun the enemy.

With Galio's E, the three-way crowd control from the two of them is more than enough to kill Zoe!

Scout was under immense pressure, but fortunately, he was the mid laner on the red side, and the laning screen was relatively to the left, allowing him to see Kennen's emergence immediately.

As the [Duran's Shield] skill effect drew closer, he had no choice but to use Flash without hesitation.

"Beautiful!" Wang Duoduo nodded in satisfaction. "A flash is enough! Holy Gun's roaming was incredibly skillful!"

This roaming maneuver was indeed quite ingenious, because it wasn't directed by Mingjing, but rather stemmed from Flandre's own ability to read the situation.

After seeing the mid laner complete the lane control, Flandre realized that the jungler might come to the mid lane, so he took the initiative to communicate with Mingjing, which led to this opportunity to use Flash.

“Beautiful.” Ming Jing coughed lightly twice after speaking. “Very crucial.”

For Galio, the best news is that the enemy mid laner doesn't have Flash.

With Galio and the jungler working together, killing a slow-moving mage without Flash is incredibly easy.

"Hehe. You created the opportunity well." Holy Gun stood next to Ming Jing, helping him to keep the minion wave in front of the tower before retreating back to base. "Keep it up, I'll come back when I have another chance."

Ming Jing smiled and agreed, watching Holy Gun Bro return to the city.

Meanwhile, the voice communication between JieJie and the bottom laner could be heard in the voice channel.

Just as Pyosik predicted, after wasting an opportunity in the mid lane, JieJie certainly wouldn't remain silent.

However, Jie Jie was more ruthless than Pyosik; he didn't want to just steal a crab and be done with it.

He wants heads!

In the bottom lane, the DRX Miss Fortune and Yuumi duo is firmly holding lane control, not only pushing the minion wave into the tower, but also relentlessly whittling down the EDG duo's health in front of the tower.

Viper had a terrible laning phase, and is currently down to half health and ten CS behind. Even if he finishes this wave of CS under the tower, he won't be able to catch up.

This is the state a patient should be in.

But this gave Jie Jie the opportunity to grab it.

As soon as Wang Duoduo saw the bottom lane, he immediately shouted, "Hey, the bottom lane has a chance! But DRX has wards in the bottom lane, and Miss Fortune runs very fast!"

In the video, Viper's Moon Spirit presses W to slash out with the purple blade, then flashes forward and unleashes an AQ combo!

Viper clearly understands his role today; if he can use his Flash to create opportunities for his teammates, then it's worthwhile.

Moreover, Viper wasn't the only one who used Flash.

Meiko's Thresh also flashed forward and then used his E to attack!

Aphelios's purple blade AQ and Thresh's hook are a fixed combo, but this combo cannot be used if the enemy AD has Cleanse, as it will be completely removed by Cleanse.

So Meiko's strategy was quite clear. Taking advantage of the opponent's Cleanse, Thresh used his counter-E to bring Miss Fortune and Yuumi back together!

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Jie Jie's prince was also successfully cut off from his retreat.

Only then did Meiko feel safe to make his move. Thresh shook his lasso and then hooked him right in the face!
Deft was still struggling. He used Flash to dodge the hook, but as soon as he flashed out, the Prince used EQ to knock him up and knock him into the air!

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Aphelios continued to follow up, using his purple blade with a slowing effect to keep attacking.

Beyrl could see the scene clearly. The cat immediately pressed W to get down and ran away!
It was only thanks to Deft using Flash that this happened.

If he hadn't suddenly appeared, his cat would have been trapped inside!

"Go to Xian and give him the head." Jie Jie crippled the female gunner and habitually gave the head to the center.

"No, no, no." Viper shook his head repeatedly. "You take it, you go and set the pace."

Viper really doesn't think he deserves to be in the lead given his terrible performance today; he'd be better off giving the lead to the jungler.

Of course, a warrior jungler like Prince can definitely secure kills, especially in the current Mythic meta.

Upon hearing this, JieJie didn't hold back and secured the kill with a single basic attack. (End of Chapter)