You actually want me to...

The contest between Roland and Meiko officially began from this moment.

Hook-type assists are divided into three states. The first state is that you can hook however you want when the state comes, and you will get the assist no matter how you hook. This is called the mysterious hook mode, and there is usually no solution.

The second type is the normal, premeditated hook. Usually, the hooks are thrown slightly off-center from the predicted position in the first few hooks to see if you prefer to move up or down, or if you don't move much. For this type of support, the hooks in the beginning are just to collect data.

The third type is random hooking, characterized by hooks that are either extremely straight or extremely curved, with all sorts of strange angles, and it often appears in lower-level games.

Meiko was undoubtedly on the second level this time. From his very first hook, he was already modeling Roland's information in his mind.

Of course, the actual situation is definitely not that exaggerated.

Many things that can be discussed in retrospect are actually subconscious thoughts for professional players. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect, and these things can only be understood intuitively and cannot be explained in words.

Using the speed boost from his E skill, Roland also began testing Thresh's patience, constantly hovering at the edge of Thresh's E skill range with the speed boost active, waiting for Thresh to use E to interrupt.

The true test of skill often lies in the smallest details.

Just as Roland was pondering how to maximize his early-game advantage, a familiar system notification suddenly rang out above Summoner's Rift.

[TES_Knight9 kills EDG_Scout]

First Blood!

Roland: ? ? ?

Integration: Chapter 41: Choice is more important than effort

"Holy crap!? Knight, my Superman!"

"No, no, no, I only got help from Brother Ka. I really couldn't have killed him on my own." Knight said, scratching his head somewhat embarrassedly. To put it bluntly, the main reason was that Roland's use of a support character attracted most people's attention, causing the audience to overlook something more blatant and terrifying.

In this game, the mid lane matchup is Irelia versus Azir.

To put it simply, this kind of matchup where the mid-laner Azir only needs Irelia's E is a total stomp, the kind where one side completely dominates.

The Tsar doesn't deal much damage in the early game.

A typical WAQA combo only deals moderate damage to Irelia, but if you're not careful and get hit by her E skill, you might be dead or lose three-quarters of your health, making it impossible to even last-hit minions. The most tiring part of laning against Irelia is having to farm minions while also watching out for your own low-health minions. If you get hit by her E, even with your ultimate to push her away, you can still Q back, but the problem is you don't have your ultimate now, so there's no way to escape.

In short, the only optimal solution for Tsar in this laning phase is to control the minion wave under the tower. Never think about killing; if you do, you'll be the one who dies in the end.

Scout himself didn't intend to kill, but Knight did.

The main reason was that at level two, Knight's probing E skill stunned him, resulting in a trade of health, which gave Karsa, the jungler, an opportunity. Although Karsa plays a jungle carry Graves build, he's fundamentally a map control player, and in the early game, his focus is on how to better support his teammates.

Originally, because there was a ward at F6, his jungle route was Red-Blue-Frog Queen-and-then-depending on the situation, he would go up or go straight down to take F6, Krugs, and Rift Scuttler to level 4. This way, he could stall for the time it takes for the trinket ward at F6, and at the same time get the buff to level 4 quickly.

It's just that I've given up on the idea of ​​going there now.

As a result, the smoke bomb and red buff slowed her down, and Irelia's E skill hit her, leading to a solo kill.

As two top-tier mid laners, Knight definitely found his form earlier this game. While marveling at the mid lane victory, a conflict suddenly erupted in Roland's own bot lane.

With a low-health minion already dead, Meiko's Thresh unleashed his sneaky Q that went through minions, hooking JKL's Jinx cleanly.

His idea was good; he wanted to take advantage of the fact that everyone was still at level two to launch a full attack.

but.

Karma landed a basic attack, finishing off the low-health minion, and the glow of leveling up shone on both Jinx and Karma.

However, at this point, the other side was already on the verge of firing.

Thresh used Ignite, and after the Q control ended, he used E to pull back. BBD then controlled Miss Fortune to unleash a barrage of attacks on Jinx. Even though they were only level two, the damage from this combo was considerable.

When Jinx emerged from the crowd control, her health had already dropped to near zero, even after Karma's upgrade and the shield granted her additional health.

Of course, JKL didn't intend to just take the beating for nothing.

JKL, along with Roland, was relentlessly attacking Thresh, throwing bomb clips and then auto-attacking.

Since it was two level 3 players fighting two level 2 players, their side actually dealt more damage. The moment Ignite ended, the healer brought up the last bit of health. Seeing that the enemy's Thresh's health was also brought up by the healer, JKL was suddenly channeling his inner brave warrior and decisively used Flash to forcefully kill Meiko's Thresh.

Then he turned around and used his W skill on Miss Fortune, which was then easily taken down by BBD.

One for one, TES's bot lane suffered a huge loss in this exchange.

[Easy to catch!]

[The King spent ages twisting his hook, but the Ice King caught it perfectly in a second. No wonder he's known for his Q-catching skills.]

[The attempt to secure a third place ended in vain.]

[Knight: Mid lane booster, bot lane don't feed.]

Meiko, one of the top support players in the LPL, has truly mastered Thresh. Just now, in that hook, the enemy Thresh even aimed at him and then hooked towards JKL's position. The enemy team really figured out this feint attack strategy.

However... this AD seems to be quite a bit below your skill level.

Once the cooldown is over, re-link the chain, auto-attack, use Q skill, then auto-attack again. In the early game, the attack power of AD and support is similar. Even though Karma's base attack power is low, the difference won't be significant at level three.

On one side was Miss Fortune, who was using her potion and auto-attacking to survive until level three and recovering a bit of health. On the other side was Karma, who was barely trading blows with her shield and W. The two sides exchanged blows and finally managed to separate with each side having about 300 health left. Miss Fortune was on the left and Karma was on the right.

A few seconds later, Roland threw another skill that was off cooldown at the mob. Roland looked at his experience bar in the lower left corner, his eyes clearly showing that he was calculating something.

"Hmm? Isn't Karma leaving yet? Thresh will arrive first after she respawns." Staring at the screen, Cat Emperor also asked the question at the right time.

"Ah Ban was still too greedy. Meiko has already arrived here."

Looking at Thresh arriving on the battlefield on the screen, and then at the few minions left in front of Roland, and even seeing Karma auto-attack Thresh when he approached, the commentators felt that Karma was doomed.

"Ah Ban!"

"Don't worry, time is on my side."

Just as Thresh successfully bypassed the ranged minions and Miss Fortune moved forward to deal more damage, the low-health minion that Roland had been controlling finally died.

The experience of solo farming and Thresh dying successfully leveled him up to level four at this moment.

Learn Level 2 Q in seconds.

It appeared in a flash!

Burning Curse + Radiant Light + Ignite + Shield Set (self-accelerated pull)

No one expected that, just when everyone was about to die, Karma would be so bold as to turn around and flash to deal a combo of damage to Miss Fortune.

[TES_BAN kills EDG_BBD]

A counterintuitive move by the support player led to a successful kill!

[Holy crap! That's it!]

[If it were me, I probably would have just driven off in an E-class car. That was really daring.]

[This guy's Karma doesn't smell bad, something's not right, something's really not right.]

[No, am I the only one wondering why the AD carry still has Ignite after dying?]

[Hiss~ Bro, you've spotted a blind spot.]

Not to mention the chat, even JKL wanted to ask that question the moment he died. If he hadn't seen Roland constantly trading blows with the enemy AD and was worried about distracting him, he would have already started cursing.

But now... thankfully he hasn't said anything.

TES only had their AD die once, while EDG had both their AD and support die once. It seems like they came out ahead in this fight.

"Wow, you're awesome, you stinky dog. That was a great move."

"Absolutely, mainly because this newcomer is too eager to take action and hasn't experienced the harsh realities of the job market."

"No way, you're just a greenhorn, how dare you mock someone's attempt at maneuvering?"

"It's different. As a support, it's normal for me to die ten or more times in a game. He's an AD carry. If a rookie acts like this, isn't he just feeding?"

In a sense, Roland could actually understand the opposing AD's thoughts.

Hope was riding high, and his appearance was timed perfectly to coincide with the time when Hope was feeling unwell; it was his only chance.

Only by performing exceptionally well can they directly replace veteran players like Scout or Jiejie. Otherwise, if they underperform or perform only moderately, they will inevitably end up on the bench. Because everyone knows that EDG needs two carries who are top-tier players; anyone who doesn't reach that level of talent is just a temporary replacement.

Because they were in a hurry to operate, they created a flaw.

It was precisely because of this flaw that Roland was able to operate.

So you see, choice is always more important than effort. If you don't have the talent to choose the AD position and join EDG, it's no different from burying yourself.

If you pick a top laner and practice champions like Ornn, Sion, Maokai, and Mordekaiser like crazy every day, you're guaranteed to be the top pick in EDG's team without any fear.

Looking at the map, Karsa's Graves went straight to the top lane after leaving base, so Roland stopped roaming and chose to recall on the spot.

The playstyles of Karma in the top lane and Karma as a support are actually quite similar; the only difference is that the item build needs to be changed.

Having acquired a large sum of money, he first bought a pair of straw sandals upon returning home to increase his mobility.

Then there's the Lesser Chalice, which increases your mana regeneration.

The remaining money is barely enough for a spell power book and a health potion, but he can't buy them. Supports are inherently willing to make sacrifices; often, if you're greedy for that one small item, you won't gain any significant advantage.

But because of your greed, you created a vision problem, and the enemy jungler suffered a huge loss when they ganked.

So, I bought two True Sights, one Health Potion, and another Fairy Charm.

Just over five minutes in, Roland's five-piece support set was already in place.

Fusion: Chapter 42: The Pure Spirit of Martial Arts

Over the next few minutes, Meiko and Roland each engaged in several rounds of strategic maneuvering.

For Meiko, his own feelings are undoubtedly the deepest. The rookie support who used to call him "brother" has now grown to the point where he can compete on the same stage as him, although the players' laning is greatly affected by their form, and their performance is always fluctuating.

However, Meiko's skill floor during the laning phase is not low. Being able to lane against him to a standstill proves that the opponent has extremely terrifying gaming talent.

Moreover.

"Aban's positioning really doesn't feel like a support at all." Meiko couldn't help but complain after missing another hook.

Yes, that's why everyone says TES struck gold.

It's not because Roland himself is anything special, but his positioning is definitely problematic. As a support, no matter how he positions himself, he will more or less lean towards his own AD carry. This is a subconscious action that can help the AD carry block one or two key skills most of the time.

Or to put it more simply, it can at least trigger a Guardian talent.

But Roland is different. His top lane role was established early in the game, and he always sought the most suitable angle for closing in and escaping. For the support role, this positioning is actually fatal. Don't be fooled by TES's strong aggressive bot lane; if they had a different AD carry, only two things would have happened: