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

"Ah? Here it comes!"

Looking at these two choices, Colonel Guan couldn't help but widen his eyes: "T1's trump card was revealed in the very first game of the finals!"

Miller narrowed his eyes: "In that case, the bot lane's strength is maxed out!"

No one would question Ashe's laning strength.

There are only two things to consider when laning in the bottom lane: range and stats.

The reason why the Karsa-Lie combination can dominate the bottom lane is that, in addition to being ranged heroes, they also have top-notch stats, making it easy for them to secure kills.

The Ice Songstress's group also possesses these two qualities.

As an AD carry with a 600-range attack and a Prestige Edition Sona, both have even longer ranges and possess the ability to secure a kill with a single combo.

In addition, these two heroes have an extra chemistry.

Seraphine's E skill, when used alone, is just a slowing skill that is thrown forward. However, if it hits a slowed target, it will also cause a root effect.

This is why Seraphine always builds Rylai's Crystal Scepter, because the slow effect of Rylai's Crystal Scepter triggers before the skill's effect is applied, allowing Seraphine's E to directly apply the root.

Seeing this, it's not hard to figure out where the collaboration with Ice Songstress lies.

The Frostbolt slowed them down, Seraphine's E rooted them, and then the two of them unleashed a devastating combo from 600 yards apart, leaving most of the bot lane completely helpless!

Inside the EDG voice chat, everyone was currently discussing these two options.

“This is indeed difficult.” Ming Jing shook his head at this moment. “The bottom lane matchup is unwinnable.”

The synergy between Ashe and Kalista is one thing, but another point that cannot be ignored is that Ashe is a regular counter to Kalista.

This is clearly a T1-tailored solution for the Karl-Heinz duo.

However, no one had ever been able to force T1's lineup to play this way before, making EDG the first victim.

"Then we don't have much of a choice, do we? Should we just pick a third pick to initiate a team fight?" Maokai said helplessly.

“That’s the only way.” Ming Jing nodded. “Give me Silas.”

The top three picks in T1 are Azir, Ashe, and Healer, all of whom have very powerful ultimate abilities. Picking Sylas is definitely a no-brainer.

With the mid and bottom lanes on both sides confirmed, the draft phase also accelerated.

The two carries form the backbone of the lineup; the rest is simply a matter of filling in the gaps.

In the second round of the draft, with Sejuani banned, EDG chose to lock in Jarvan IV, who also has strong engage potential.

T1 added Gragas for top lane and Lee Sin for jungle.

"Then it's EDG's final counter pick! Flandre chose Ornn. No problem."

On the LPL commentary booth, the three commentators nodded, showing their approval of Flandre's choice.

The more important the competition, the more talent matters.

After playing for so many years, everyone already knows the true level of Flandre's talent.

If he were truly a top laner with exceptional talent, he wouldn't have waited until joining EDG to make his first appearance in the World Championship.

For EDG, Flandre was a key piece of the puzzle in their championship run, while for T1, Zeus was the transformative factor that revitalized the entire team.

Therefore, expecting Flandre to use a counter pick to crush Zeus is unrealistic. His ability to stabilize the top lane and utilize his strengths in other areas is already an extremely good performance.

So Ornn is definitely right.

With that, the lineups for both sides were finalized.

Blue side T1: Top lane Gragas, Jungle Lee Sin, Mid lane Azir, Bot lane Ashe and Seraphine.

Red side EDG: Top lane Ornn, Jungle Jarvan IV, Mid lane Sylas, Bot lane Kalista and Natasha

T1 coach Bengi looked at the lineup in front of him and nodded in satisfaction.

In terms of roster comparison, T1 is definitely superior. They not only have a reasonable roster composition, but also a strong rhythm support.

In contrast, EDG was much weaker. Their core bot laner, Karlie, was completely countered, and their top lane counter pick was Ornn, which put almost all the pressure on the mid and jungle.

If Sylas in the mid lane fails to make any plays, then EDG is doomed to lose!

What an unconventional business plan!
This reminded Bengi of the years when he was still competing.

In the history of League of Legends, there have only been two three-time world champions: Faker and Bengi. The two of them went from Season 3 to Season 6 and created the feat of winning three world championships together.

During those years when they were drafting, T1 habitually based their draft strategy on the premise that Faker could win the mid lane.

And Faker has never let his team down.

“You must be very careful with this Silas,” Bengi finally cautioned. “You should understand what I mean.”

All five members of T1 nodded upon hearing this.

They certainly understood who the biggest obstacle in the finals was.

Meanwhile, on the EDG players' bench, Maokai and Mingkai didn't do anything fancy. The two patted Mingjing on the shoulders, one on each side, and everything was understood without saying a word.

The two coaching teams exchanged punches in the center of the stage before leaving amidst cheers from the audience.

Before the competition started, the director switched the camera, showing a panoramic view of the audience seats at the Grand Central Stadium, before cutting to a promotional video for the finals that had just been recorded a few days earlier.

In the darkness, background music begins to play.

Unexpectedly, the music this time was not the theme song of this year's World Championship, "Star Chaser," but a track that countless viewers are familiar with.

"Legends never die when the world is calling you"

This is the theme song for S9 – "Legends Never Die".

Among the finalists, there is no doubt that only one fits this theme.

The screen then lit up, showing two Zeds dodging and weaving on the high ground. One of them, despite being brought to low health first, dodged all of the other Zed's skills and ultimately turned the tables and killed him.

This is the world-famous battle of the two Zeds, and also the battle that made Faker famous.

After this victory, Faker and SKT seemed to have awakened, sweeping through the subsequent World Championships and winning their first title in team history.

What followed were countless more amazing plays.

In the S5 finals, Faker picked Ryze, who had just been reworked. After solo killing Kuro, he teleported into the jungle and killed Pray, instantly eliminating both of Ryze's carries and helping his team win the game!
In the final lift of the S6 finals, Faker locked in Viktor, and in the ultimate late-game team fight, his lightning storm swept across the entire field, delivering a mid-lane performance that was off the charts, securing his third championship!

A voice-over narration then began.

"The last time the World Championship was held in North America was in 2016, and he won it all. Six years later, the king has returned. Faker will lead his young teammates to once again challenge for the championship trophy."

The scene then shifts to an empty movie theater, where a boy in a black team uniform sits in the front row, the three white letters "Phi" on his back standing out prominently.

"The first decade of the World Championship undoubtedly belonged to Faker; League of Legends became more exciting because of him."

The boy's voice was clear and steady, "But now, the legend must come to an end."

As Mingjing finished speaking, the screen went dark again, and the background music that was about to reach its climax suddenly stopped, switching to another song. The rhythmic electronic music as the prelude invigorated countless LPL viewers.

"Welcome to the wild no heroes and villains"

This time it's the theme song for S8 – "RISE".

Although they are two songs with different tones and rhythms, thanks to the efforts of Riot Music, the transition between the two songs feels incredibly natural.

Lee Sang-hyeok represents a legend that will never fade.
Mingjing represents reaching the pinnacle of achievement.

Also appearing were highlights of Ming Jing's gameplay.

In the final team fight of the S10 World Championship, which determined the champion, Jinx, wielding her heavy cannon, single-handedly wiped out all five members of DK, and then single-handedly pushed down the base.

In the S11 World Championship, Lucian, facing a three-way encirclement by DK's mid and jungle and Jhin's ultimate, dodged countless skills with his nimble movements and then killed DK's mid and jungle!

In the S12 World Championship, Caitlyn of Piltover faced the charge of the entire DRX team, using various means such as Flash, Whirlwind, and traps to pick off all the DRX members as if strolling in a garden.

The camera cuts back to the movie theater, and the perspective slowly moves backward until it reaches the last row.

A figure wearing the same black team uniform appeared from behind, this time with the ID "Faker" on the back.

“I’m very happy to have met a real challenger at the end of my career.”

Lee Sang-hyeok's words were also full of arrogance: "Even if there are a thousand paths, you can't escape meeting me. Phi, if you want to be number one, then come and defeat me."

The promotional video was already at its most intense from the very beginning.

Phi and Faker, watching each other's iconic moments, each uttered some harsh words.

At this moment, the scene shifts again, and the background music changes drastically once more, returning to "The Legend Never Dies," and immediately cuts into the climax!
"Legends never die! When the world is calling you!"

Amidst the rousing female voice, the scene shifts to the San Francisco sky, with the Golden Gate Bridge clearly visible in the background as seen from above.

Two skydivers jumped from the sky, each dragging a flag of EDG and a flag of T1, with the two huge flags fluttering in the sky above San Francisco.

The camera pans down to the ground, and the five members of T1 are now in the frame.

"Phi, our meeting was destined." Faker didn't speak to the camera, but his voice still echoed, "Are you ready?"

The camera then pans to the skies above Twin Peaks, where the cityscape of San Francisco is clearly visible.

The background music also changed for the last time, switching back to "Peak of Perfection"!
"Prove yourself andRISE! RISE!"

Amidst rousing music, the five members of EDG appeared on the mountaintop.

"Faker." Mingjing looked at the distant cityscape, his voice ringing out at the same time.
"You must be nervous too, right?"

The promotional video ends here, all background music stops, and the screen gradually darkens.

The Chase Center was now filled with endless cheers.

This year's promotional video for the finals is quite different from previous years, focusing entirely on the two mid-laners with almost no shots of other players.

But nobody thought there was anything wrong with it.

That's how it should be!

Inside the LPL live stream, the chat was overflowing with comments.

[The others really didn't say a word? Riot Games knows how to make promotional videos.]

Indeed, it really maximizes the sense of destiny and legend.

["Faker, you must be nervous too, right?" This guy's awesomeness is amazing!]

Isn't Faker's "Prove it to me" line cool?

[We've been criticizing Dafei for half a year now, but I have to admit, Dafei's three championships are just awesome!]

The winner becomes a legend, the loser is forgotten. Go for it, Flying God! Take down Big Flying!

A promotional video sparked a frenzy of comments, and amidst the heated discussion, the game footage was finally brought to the fore.

The first game has officially begun!
Ming Jing, playing Sylas, stood at the entrance to the jungle. After confirming that T1 had no intention of engaging in a level 1 team fight, he raised his hand to adjust his headphones, making sure the soundproofing pads fit his skin as closely as possible to further isolate the cheers from the audience.

In the first game of the final, he needs to focus as much as possible.

However, just as he raised his hand, something unusual happened in the scene.

Suddenly, ice arrows and sound waves spread from the small dragon pit, directly targeting Ming Jing, who was crouching in the grass!

Meanwhile, Lee Sin and Azir also appeared on the front line.

T1 actually had some clever team fight tactics at level 1. The ranged duo of Ashe and Songstress circled around to the dragon pit and even tried to attack Mingjing, who was crouching in the bush!
Interestingly, this tactic was actually first used by EDG. In the first game of the semifinals against GEN, JieJie's Sejuani used her Q to dash over the wall from the dragon pit, knocking Ruler away from the bush and securing first blood for MingJing, which directly led to the subsequent solo kill in his lane.

As the commander of that wave, Ming Jing really didn't expect this surprise attack, but fortunately he reacted quickly enough. He quickly put his left hand on the keyboard, pressed Ctrl+E, and while allocating skill points to E, he used E to graze and narrowly dodged Seraphine's E.

Seeing this, countless supporters with an omniscient perspective felt reassured.

"Oh my, that's scary!" Miller laughed. "You can't eat that E, Flying God, it's worth millions!"

"But it's still a bit of a blow!" Colonel Guan frowned as he looked at the scene before him. "Sylas was forced to learn E at level one, which might put him at a disadvantage in the laning phase!"

Sylas would normally have a very comfortable time leveling up Q against Azir.

After all, the Tsar usually summons Sand Soldiers to push the lane and secure level 2.

If Sylas deliberately maintains distance from the minions and uses Q from the side, Azir will lose a sand minion if he retaliates, thus reducing his wave clear efficiency; if he doesn't retaliate, he will simply lose health for nothing.

Now that I've learned E, things aren't nearly as comfortable as they used to be.

If the Tsar simply stands behind the minions and summons sand soldiers to relentlessly harass the lane, even if Sylas uses his E to trade blows, he'll be fighting across the minion wave, making it impossible for him to gain an advantage in the trade.

The subsequent laning phase did indeed unfold in this direction, and the problems were even greater than expected.

Without Q, Sylas will have a problem managing to farm three melee minions.

Ming Jing unleashed his ultimate strategic prowess, accurately calculating the Tsar's basic attack intervals and the time it took for the sand soldiers to disappear. Only then did he manage to seize the opportunity to finish off the three melee soldiers.

Even so, he still lost over a hundred points of health.

The fact that the laning phase was so intense from the start meant that Mingjing was unlikely to make any significant impact in the first few minutes.

Of course, this is normal, after all, it's a case of a short-armed opponent fighting a long-armed opponent.

Despite being at a disadvantage, Mingjing remained incredibly focused, carefully analyzing Faker's playstyle.

Everyone has their own operating habits. As long as you understand your opponent's habits, you can more easily achieve the desired results, whether you are dodging skills or using skills.

If he were laning against someone else, Mingjing wouldn't need to know so much; he could just crush them with his talent.

But today, he still needs to make more preparations.

However, this period of time will not be too long.

The situation in the middle lane will soon reverse. (End of Chapter)