LOL: Do I have to be a spinning top too?

The barrage of comments scrolled wildly, with question marks filling the screen.

Is this correct? Huang Kun is on the road??

How did you manage to get the Tsar onto the top lane?

[Big Tiger, what are you up to?!]

Time ticked by, and the Tsar remained firmly in the top lane position.

There is no intention to exchange anything.

The adjustment period has ended.

Everyone was forced to accept this established fact.

TES's top laner is Azir, the Emperor of the Sands.

The screen was flooded with comments.

[What kind of retro playstyle is Tsar top lane? Does anyone still play this after Season 5?]

Wait, isn't Aatrox a counter to Azir?

[You've got it backwards. Azir has a long range, while Aatrox has short legs. Azir has the advantage in the laning phase against Aatrox!]

[Advantage my ass! After reaching level six, Aatrox can just hack and slash at Azir at point-blank range. How is Azir supposed to fight Aatrox?]

[Oh no, Big Tiger has started doing scientific research! If he loses this round, Big will become a tiger beast! He finally built up some reputation! This is utter nonsense!]

The lineups for both sides were finalized.

[Blue side TES vs TT Red side]

Top Lane: Azir vs. Aatrox

[Jungle: Lee Sin vs. Blade of the Ruined King]

Mid Lane: Demon-Sealing Sword Soul vs. Liberator

[AD: Arrow of Retribution vs. War Goddess]

[Support: Alchemist Baron vs. Great Inventor]

The child held his head in his hands, his glasses glued to the screen.

  

"I know!!"

"I really need to study you, Big Tiger! You really think you're someone who's going to shut down your account?! Do you even know how to play Huang Kun? Just pick him!"

AJ scratched his head: "No, can Azir really win against Aatrox in the laning phase?"

The range of Aatrox's three-stage Q is quite long!

Although the Tsar has a long reach, he's in danger if the Sword Demon gets close if he's not careful with his positioning!

Letme narrowed his eyes: "But to be honest, there's one advantage to playing Azir in the top lane..."

"Aatrox only has a short-range dash with his E skill, so Azir's sand soldiers can basically harass him without taking any damage."

"As long as the distance is well controlled, the Sword Demon will never be able to touch the Tsar."

The barrage of questions and doubts was overwhelming.

[Azir top lane, stop developing Big Tiger!]

[TES fans are trembling with fear, Tiger, please don't mess with this, isn't it better to just win steadily?]

Trust Big Tiger! If he can pick it, he can definitely play!

[Believe in me, Qin Shi Huang, not him! If Tsar can play top lane, I'll eat him!]

[Screenshot taken. Get ready to eat upstairs.]

The game has finished loading, and ten beams of light descend upon Summoner's Rift.

Li Hu looked at the encyclopedia panel on the side of his field of vision.

Tsar Proficiency: 89%.

Although it's not 100%, it's more than enough for the Demacia Cup.

The draft picks for this game were actually a three-lane flexing strategy.

TT's coaching staff clearly wanted to make him uncomfortable by using counter-positions, thereby limiting his ability to carry his teammates.

The opposing team had clearly devised a strategy to counter the heroes they chose to release, so Li Hu opted to pull out something new.

If Hoya picks champions like Gnar or Gangplank, he'll pick Yone.

If Hoya chooses Aatrox, Camille, and Jax, he will pick Azir.

Hoya ultimately chose the Sword Demon.

The hero Aatrox is not a big threat to Azir. As long as there are no major mistakes, Azir can basically keep spinning his top and develop safely, while suppressing Aatrox's development.

"Tiger, can you hold your own in the top lane this time?" Xiao Fang's voice came through the earpiece.

Li Hu said calmly, "Don't worry, the Tsar has the advantage against the Sword Demon."

"You should help the mid and bottom lanes in the early game!"

"Haoyang sacrificed a lot for me!"

"Remember to help out, you don't need to come back on your way."

"As long as we don't make any mistakes in the early game and can drag it out past 25 minutes, we'll definitely win. Let's go, brothers!"

Everyone replied, "Understood."

Meanwhile, at the TT players' bench.

Hoya stared at the Tsar's Summoner Spells on the screen...

Flash and teleport.

If you play Tsar in the top lane, you can indeed pressure me before level 6 with your range advantage, but what about after level 6?

Aatrox has three knock-up attacks from Darkin Blade, a dash attack from Shadow Rush, and healing from Devastate.

What did the Tsar have? A displacement, and a wall of imperial guards.

After reaching level six, as long as the Tsar dares to use his movement ability, I will have a chance to kill him in a one-on-one fight.

However, Hoya also knew that the newcomer on the other side had not made it to the Demacia Cup finals by luck.

He watched all the recordings of the previous matches, and his distance control and positioning details were indeed top-notch.

So his strategy was simple... play it safe before level six, and look for opportunities after level six.

At level one, both sides went to their respective lanes as usual, placed standard defensive wards in the jungle, and did not choose to engage in a level one team fight.

TES's lineup was weak in the early game...

Azir, Yone, and Varus all need to farm, while Lee Sin is the only pillar of early game tempo.

Initiating a level 1 team fight is suicide.

Li Hu controlled the Tsar to sneak into the top lane bush along the wall, then crouched down in the toilet bush.

In the fight between Tsar and Sword Demon, level one is Tsar's absolute advantage period.

The Sand Soldiers have a long attack range. Aatrox learns Q at level 1, and his three-stage "Darkin Blade" can't even touch Azir. He will suffer a huge loss if he gets stabbed by the Sand Soldiers a few times.

Hoya clearly understood this as well, which is why his Aatrox stood under the tower, not in a hurry to log in.

The first wave of minions converges.

Li Hu didn't rush out. He hid in the bushes by the toilet, waiting for the Sword Demon to come out and finish him off.

Hoya waited for nearly five seconds, but the Tsar still hadn't appeared.

He had no choice but to bite the bullet and control Aatrox to step forward, landing the first part of his Q skill "Darkin Blade" on three melee minions.

Just as Aatrox unleashed his Q skill, Azir emerged from the toilet bush.

W "Sand Soldier Appears" summons a sand soldier, which is precisely placed behind and to the side of the Aatrox.

Use your long reach to auto-attack the Sword Demon.

As the Tsar unleashed his basic attack, the sand soldiers simultaneously thrust out their spears.

The Sword Demon's health dropped slightly.

Hoya immediately retreated.

But Li Hu wouldn't give up and poked him twice more.

The sand soldiers' attacks deal magic damage that scales with the Tsar's level. After three hits at level one, the Sword Demon's health was reduced to two-thirds.

Hoya frowned slightly, thinking to herself:

"Damn it! That bastard!"

"How come you're so skilled at playing the Tsar?"

"Are you even a top laner anymore?! Damn it, if you're so tough, show off your skills in a real 1v1 melee top lane battle!"

He subconsciously forgot about Darius who had come on, since he was playing Eyjafjalla and felt that the opponent's victory was somewhat unfair.

Hoya looked down at the Tsar from the tower.

No wonder he was so angry; the Tsar's kiting was just too smooth.

It's worth noting that Tsar is one of the most difficult mid-lane heroes to play.

Apart from Faker and Chaowei, almost no other professional mid-lane player can perfectly utilize this hero!

However, Hoya felt like he was facing Super Might and Faker when playing Glory as the Tsar, as the aftercast animation of each of his basic attacks was canceled perfectly.

The summoning position of the Sand Soldiers was also extremely tricky, perfectly positioned on the retreat route of the Sword Demon.

He thought of his opponents from the previous matches...

Neny, Breathe, and everyone online were overwhelmed by this newcomer.

Now it's his turn.

However, Hoya had a much better mindset than those two.

He's played in the LCK and also spent quite a while in the LPL. What kind of situation hasn't he seen?

Hoya immediately adjusted his mindset. When playing top lane and getting pressured, he stayed calm, waiting for level six, waiting for the jungler, and waiting for team fights.

As long as you maintain a good mindset and don't collapse and burden your teammates!

You can succeed even if you just coast along!

With that thought in mind, he calmed down and began to diligently accumulate experience points to finish off opponents.

In the next few minutes, the top lane entered a phase of absolute dominance under Azir.

Li Hu's Tsar stands on the side of the minion wave, with two sand soldiers intersecting at the front of the wave. If Aatrox dares to go forward to last hit, he will definitely be stabbed twice by the sand soldiers.

From the commentary booth, Guan Zeyuan's voice was filled with surprise:

"Glory's Tsar is playing incredibly well!"

"His distance control is too precise; Hoya's Aatrox can't even touch him!"

The trend of comments on the screen began to slowly change:

[This Tsar is having such a solid laning phase; Aatrox has absolutely no chance to trade blows.]

Is Big Tiger truly a master of all heroes?

[Don't get too excited, the laning phase isn't over yet! Wait for Aatrox's ultimate!]

At level three, Aatrox learned his E skill, Shadow Dash, finally gaining a means to close the distance.

This is the opportunity Hoya has been waiting for.

He took advantage of a gap in the siege minion wave, using Q to dash forward while simultaneously using E, attempting to close the distance and unleash a QA combo.

But as soon as he made his move, a sand soldier was already standing in front of him.

Immediately afterwards, Azir unleashed his Q skill "Sandstorm," sending sand soldiers charging forward and stabbing Aatrox in the face with their spears, applying a slow effect.

Then the Tsar took two steps back, remaining at the edge of the furthest range of Aatrox's Q skill.

Hoya's Aatrox Q second swing missed again.

Q leaps high into the air, but the Tsar sidesteps and misses again.

All three Qs missed, and Aatrox's Q skill went into cooldown.

Li Hu's lips curled up slightly, a 14-second vacuum period.

The Tsar's sand soldiers began to stab and thrust wildly, once, twice, three times.

The Sword Demon's health was reduced to below half, forcing him to retreat back to his tower.

"pretty!"

Guan Zeyuan's voice rose: "Glory's maneuvering was textbook perfect!"

"The moment Aatrox used his EQ combo to close the gap, Azir used his Q to slow him down and retreat, perfectly avoiding all the damage from Aatrox's three-part Q!"

Rita's tone was excited: "And did you guys notice? The Azir didn't even lose any health in this exchange! It was a completely damage-free attrition!"

In the live stream, Erzi slammed her hand on the table:

"I made it!"

"This Tsar's pulling and tugging...it's kind of like TheShy's style!"

"Don't eat! Don't eat! Don't eat!"