Chapter 631
Still too green
"JDG is strong, but T1 is in such good form right now. And Faker..." Su Mo narrowed his eyes, "that old man seems to be having a final burst of energy lately, it's a bit scary."
"So, it's highly likely we'll still be playing T1."
"Are you confident?" hope Ran asked.
Su Mo turned her head, looked at her female confidantes beside her, and suddenly revealed a bright smile.
"Originally, it was only 90%."
“But seeing how much stuff you guys bought… I also need to win the championship prize money to pay off these credit card bills. So now it’s 100%.”
The women blushed and then proceeded to give him another round of playful punches.
……
On May 14th, the second round of the group stage, JDG vs T1.
The entire EDG team did not go to the venue, but stayed in the hotel's conference room to watch the match on a large screen.
Su Mo sat in the middle, holding a notebook, and unusually became serious.
The match proceeded as Su Mo had predicted, and it was extremely intense.
369 did indeed listen to Su Mo's advice and chose tank heroes like Gragas and Sion to withstand pressure, and he did a pretty good job, even knocking Faker back in a team fight.
JDG once held a 2-1 lead and reached match point.
But in dire straits, Faker stepped up.
In the fourth game, Faker picked his signature champion – Azir, the Emperor of the Sands.
That push knocked down three people.
"Faker!! Lee Sang-hyeok in dire straits!!"
With the commentator's roar, T1 tied the score.
In the decisive game, the battle song began.
JDG's mentality seems to have been affected, with Knight making a positioning mistake and being instantly killed in a crucial team fight.
Zeus' Jayce dealt explosive damage in this game.
In the end, T1 narrowly defeated JDG 3-2 to advance to the winners' bracket final!
The meeting room was quiet.
We're all from the LPL, and it's a bit of a shame to see JDG lose, but what's even stronger is the fighting spirit to face our arch-rivals.
"It really is T1."
The factory manager took a deep breath and closed his notebook. "Its resilience is too strong."
All eyes turned to Su Mo.
Su Mo was smiling at this moment.
He fiddled with the pen in his hand, his eyes gleaming with excitement—the look of a hunter eyeing his prey.
"Good."
Su Mo stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the gloomy London sky.
"If JDG wins, it will be an internal war, and there will be no point in fighting it."
"Since it's T1... then we can go all out."
He turned around and looked at his teammates:
"Brothers, are you ready?"
"Let's do it!" Jiejie was the first to shout.
……
With a major battle imminent, Su Mo's "mental adjustment" methods are always unique.
He started a live stream the night before the match.
"Hello, hello, can you hear me? This is Su Mo, a reporter on the front lines in London."
Su Mo turned on the camera; the background was a hotel room.
The live stream instantly garnered millions of views.
[Brother Mozi! We're playing T1 tomorrow, and you still have the mind to stream?]
It's such a pity JDG lost, we relied on you guys!
Is this what a big heart looks like?
[Could you reveal what kind of "secret weapon" you've prepared for tomorrow's match against Zeus?]
Su Mo looked at the comments with a relaxed expression: "What's the rush? We've practiced everything we needed to. Now it's time to relax. We won't play LOL tonight; let's do something relaxing."
As he spoke, he opened a parkour game called "Only Up!"
"This game can train your mentality," Su Mo said, making up a lie with a straight face.
However, the appeal of live streaming lies not in the game itself, but in the "ambient sound".
Just as Su Mo was struggling to climb, he heard other people's voices coming from the room.
"Brother Mozi! Did you see my face mask? You didn't use it to prop up the corner of the table, did you?"
This is Rita's voice.
The live chat exploded instantly:
[Holy crap? Sister Ta is in the room?]
[Late at night! A lone man and a lone woman?!]
[No, there's more than one voice!]
Immediately afterwards, another gentle voice rang out: "Rita, don't shout, he's live streaming. Mozi, would you like some fruit? I cut some cantaloupe."
This is Yu Shuang.
"Oh, I want some too! Save me a piece!"
This is Luo Xin.
Su Mo calmly accepted the cantaloupe that Yu Shuang handed him, and shrugged at the camera: "Don't get me wrong, guys, we're just having a... pre-match tactics discussion. After all, they're also LPL staff, it's normal for them to care about the players' mental and physical well-being, right?"
[What kind of tactical seminar is this?!]
I'm so envious!
[You're not going to compete!]
[Zeus's eating bread in the training room, while you're eating cantaloupe in the hotel? Or is your nanny feeding you?]
[T1 in danger! Mozi is too relaxed!]
Su Mo played the game while arguing with the comments section.
"Zeus? Zeus is a good kid, just too young. Tomorrow I'll teach him what the treacherous nature of top lane is."
“Faker? I’m an old friend of Faker. I ran into him in the elevator yesterday, and he asked me where to find good fish and chips in London. I told him none of them were good and suggested he try Haidilao.”
Just then, the character in the game slipped and fell from a height of several thousand meters, returning to the starting point.
"Holy crap!"
Su Mo let out a miserable scream.
Several merciless sneers came from behind.
"Hahaha! That's awful!" Rita's voice was the loudest.
"With that kind of play, they'll be crying from T1's head tomorrow." Xiaoyu added insult to injury.
Su Mo shut down the game: "I'm not playing anymore! This game is targeting me! Tomorrow I'm going to take it all out on T1!"
……
5 month 17 day.
The winners' bracket final: EDG vs T1.
The Copperbox Arena was packed, with LPL and LCK fans each making up half the audience.
When Su Mo led the EDG team onto the stage, the cheers from the crowd reached their peak.
On the other side, the T1 members also slowly walked out.
Faker walked at the front, his expression serious and his eyes piercing.
Zeus followed behind, glancing at Su Mo from time to time, his eyes filled with both fear and fighting spirit.
Both parties took their seats and began adjusting the equipment.
In the commentary booth, Guan Zeyuan, Miller, and Ji De sat upright.
"Alright, let's begin the draft!" Guan Zeyuan's voice was loud and clear. "In the first game, T1 has the first choice of side, so they chose the blue side, and EDG is on the red side."
The camera pans to the EDG players' bench.
The factory manager, dressed in a sharp suit and holding his signature little notebook, stood behind Su Mo with his other hand resting on the back of Scout's chair.
"What do you think of the first game? Zeus on the other side has been on fire lately, so the blue side will definitely be going to pick a strong top laner." Clearlove spoke steadily, his eyes fixed on the screen through his glasses.
Su Mo adjusted his headset and said in a relaxed tone, "Let him have it. There are only a few tanky champions in the top lane this version. Let him pick first, and I'll teach him a lesson later."
"OK, then let's focus on the bottom lane."
BP phase:
First round of bans:
T1 (Blue Side) Bans: Lucian, Zeli, Kennen.
EDG (Red Side) Ban: Vi, Annie, Rakan.
First round of selection:
First pick for Tier 1: Maokai (the Great Tree). A Tier 0 jungler in the current patch, Oner is very comfortable with him.
EDG's first and second picks: Aphelios + Lulu. Since Lucian and Zeli are no longer available, EDG directly locked in this carry duo to ensure late-game damage output.
T1 second and third floors: Jinx + Tahm Kench. Gumayusi's signature move, Tahm Kench to protect the team, T1 is going to play a four-protect-one or dual-core kiting strategy.
EDG's third floor: Fryegor. Jiejie's signature move, coordinating with Aphelios to finish off enemies.
Second round of bans:
EDG Bans: Jayce, Ahri.
T1 Ban: Syndra, Galio.
Second round of champion selection: EDG's fourth pick: Lissandra. Scout picked a utility mid-laner, either to lock down Faker or to initiate team fights.
T1, fourth floor: Quesanti.
"Quisanti! It really is Quisanti!" Miller shouted. "Zeus has locked in Nazumman's Glory! This hero is now the top laner, tanky, high damage, and can even carry people over walls, with an extremely high margin for error!"
T1, fifth floor: Titan. Faker picked Titan mid! This is a dark horse strategy from MSI, focusing on control and initiation.
All eyes were on EDG's fifth-floor counter position.
The factory manager looked at Su Mo: "Quisanti, an old rival. We need to deal more damage this game. What do you want to pick? Gwen? Or Fiora?"
Su Mo looked at Zeus's ID on the other side of the screen; the young, talented top laner was nervously rubbing his hands together.
“Gwen is too slow at team fights.” Su Mo shook his head. “Since he picked a black guy and wants to fight me hand-to-hand, then I’ll show him what real damage is.”
"Get me Fiora."
Then, a dashing figure appeared on the screen.
"I crave worthy opponents."
Fiora, the Grand Duelist!
"It's locked!! Fiora!!" Guan Zeyuan instantly raised his voice, "It's Fiora again! She was also Fiora in the last match against C9! Mozi is going to use his ultimate skills to break Zeus's Quesant on a stage like the finals!!"
"This game is going to be incredibly intense!" Ji De exclaimed excitedly. "Zeus is a mechanical monster, and Su Mo is an even bigger mechanical monster. This top lane is going to be a complete mess!"
The lineups for both sides have been finalized:
T1 (Blue Side): Top laner Quesanti, Jungler Maokai, Mid laner Nautilus, ADC Jinx, Support Tahm Kench.
EDG (Red Side): Top lane Fiora, Jungle Fryegor, Mid lane Lissandra, ADC Aphelios, Support Lulu.
The game has finished loading and you are now in Summoner's Rift.
"Army attack!"
As soon as it went live, the director's camera was glued to the top lane.
Su Mo, controlling Fiora, didn't rush to go online, but instead positioned himself at the edge of the top lane river bush.
“Zeus has Grasp of the Undying this game; he’s trying to trade blows with me,” Su Mo said in the voice chat. “Jiejie, don’t worry about me. If I can’t kill him, I’ll take him down one-on-one.”
1 minutes 50 seconds.
The first opening is on Quesanti's left side.
Zeus, relying on Quesanti's level 1 Q skill [Peerless Spin] for its long range, wanted to come up and harass.
Su Mo's positioning was extremely tricky. He dodged Quesanti's Q1 with a small twist, and then used Q [Sky Slash] to thrust diagonally, accurately shattering the opening!
Speed up! Pull apart!
A set of smooth and flowing movements.
In the early stages, it was a back-and-forth exchange of blows.
Until 3 minutes and 15 seconds.
Both sides reached level three, and both had only half their health left.
Oner's tree was currently moving down to the bottom lane, trying to protect Jinx.
The top lane is a pure 1v1 battle between men.
Zeus was clearly a bit impatient. After Su Mo exposed two weaknesses, his health was at a disadvantage. He wanted to use his W [Block the Forest] to push Fiora away.
"Chance."
A cold glint flashed in Su Mo's eyes.
Just as Quesanti was charging up his W, Su Mo didn't retreat, but instead immediately used Q!
However, instead of poking Zeus, he poked the minion to the side, using his movement to dodge Quesant's W push range, and at the same time adjusted his position to come behind Quesant!
Basic attack! E [Deadly Thrust] resets basic attack!
The first strike slows you down!
Zeus was shocked and immediately used Q3 to try and pull Fiora back.
W【Laurent's Mind-Bending Knife】!
Su Mo's reaction was incredibly fast!
0.1 seconds before the knock-up effect appeared on Quesanti, Fiora parried!
"Ding!"
The sound of metal clashing rang out!
Counteract dizziness!
Zeus's Quesanti was stunned on the spot!
"He's stunned! Zeus's stunned!" Guan Zeyuan roared, "That's Mozi's reaction speed! Is he going to get a solo kill?!"
Su Mo followed up his A with a second critical strike using E!
Another opening has been exploited!
Zeus's health was almost depleted, so he used Flash to try and escape back to his tower.
Su Mo followed up with Flash, his Q skill was off cooldown, and he unleashed his final sword strike!
First Blood!
"Solo kill!!! 3 minutes and 40 seconds! First blood in the top lane!!" Miller slammed his fist on the table excitedly. "No jungle interference whatsoever! Pure individual skill! Mozi, with Fiora, is telling Zeus that when it comes to mechanics, you're still a newbie!"
Below the stage, Xiran and Rita excitedly waved their EDG flags, their screams drowned out by the crowd.
After securing the first blood, Su Mo went back to base and immediately bought two longswords, and even splurged on a control ward.
"Top lane is safe now," Su Mo said calmly. "Jiejie, you go control the dragon. Quesanti basically won't be able to lane against me."
The next five minutes turned the top lane into a scene of carnage.
If Zeus dares to come up and finish off the enemy, he'll get stabbed in the back.
That wave at level 6.
Facing Quesanti, who was at half health, Su Mo even tower-dived to secure the kill.
R [Unrivaled Challenge] is activated.
Four weaknesses lit up like a death countdown.
Zeus tried to use ER to pull Fiora to counter-attack, but Fiora reacted and blocked with W. The next second, Su Mo even knocked out the healing circle!
Then, Zeus died tragically beneath the tower.
Su Mo barely escaped the turret with a sliver of health remaining.
“This is too cruel…” Ji shook his head. “This is not even in the same league. Zeus is going to have a mental breakdown.”
15 minutes.
EDG is already leading by 3,000 gold.
Faker couldn't sit still any longer.
"Switch lanes, I'm going to gank him in the top lane."
Faker's Nautilus, along with Oner's Maokai and even Keria's Tahm Kench, formed a three-man gank on Fiora who was split pushing the top lane.
"Three against one!" the child exclaimed. "Brother Mozi doesn't have Flash! Can he escape?"
Su Mo glanced at the mini-map and a smile appeared on his lips.
"Good timing."
Instead of backing away, he disappeared into the bushes.
The moment Faker's Titan hooked into the bush with his Q.
Su Mo emerged from the bushes, dodged the hook, and stabbed at the tree with a backhand!
Oner's Great Tree activates W to bind Fiora.
Su Mo remained calm and aimed his W [Laurent's Mind's Eye] at the tree.
"Ding!"
The tree was stunned again!
At this moment, Scout's Lissandra teleports to the ground!
Jiejie's Fryego also arrived at the battlefield.
What was originally T1's three-on-one attack instantly turned into EDG's counter-encirclement!
"This is a trap!!" Guan Zeyuan shouted, "T1 has fallen for it! Brother Mozi is using his body to seduce us!"
Scout enters the fray, using his W to immobilize three enemies, then uses his ultimate to avoid damage.
Su Mo's Fiora was like a wolf among sheep, her Q skill weaving wildly through the crowd, the true damage value constantly fluctuating.
Double Kill!
Su Mo accepted the heads of Da Shu and Tam.
Faker barely escaped with a Flash.
After this wave of attacks, T1 was completely destroyed.
At 22 minutes, EDG secured the Baron Nashor.
Su Mo's Fiora now has a luxurious three-piece set of equipment: [Divine Separator], [Greedy Hydra], and [Dance of Death].
In the single lane, Zeus's Quesant didn't even dare to look at Fiora, and could only cower under the high ground tower.
25 minutes.
EDG pushed into the bottom lane high ground with the Baron buff.
Su Mo was clearing the high ground tower alone on the top lane.
T1 was forced to retreat to defend.
Zeus Quesanti wanted to use his ultimate to drag Fiora into the fountain to trade his life.
But Su Mo didn't give him a chance at all.
Just as Quesanti unleashed his Q3, Su Mo executed a QW combo, striking Quesanti directly behind him and blocking the control effect.
Flat A! E!
Zeus fell to the ground.
The EDG team swarmed in from the mid lane.
Viper's Aphelios, wielding a red and white sword, unleashed a barrage of attacks, melting down T1's inhibitor turret.
"One wave! One wave!" Meiko shouted in the voice chat.
With the explosion of T1's crystal, the first game ended at 26 minutes.
A crushing defeat with no suspense whatsoever.
Su Mo took off his headphones and casually swept his bangs back.
"Zeus is still too inexperienced." (End of Chapter)