Chapter 663
AD Top Lane Station!
The brief rest period passed in the blink of an eye.
Backstage at Busan Stadium, two corridors seem to separate two completely different worlds.
The KT break room was deathly still. Coach Acorn stood in front of the tactics board, his mouth dry as he gave his players a final pep talk on tactics. Top laner Kiin crossed his arms over his forehead, his eyes bloodshot. The Camille who had emerged from the shadows in the previous game had become a haunting nightmare for him.
Meanwhile, EDG's rest area was unusually calm.
"Drink some water, everyone, to lower your heart rate." Mingkai clapped his hands, his gaze sweeping over the five young men in front of him. "2-0 doesn't mean we've won. In the League of Legends arena, miracles like 'coming back from 0-2 to 3-2' have happened before. When it comes to match point, KT will definitely fight back like a cornered beast, so don't give them any chance to breathe!"
"Understood." Ah Chen and Xiao Yue replied in unison. Although they had won two games, their eyes still revealed the tension unique to the World Championship.
Su Mo sat on the far edge of the sofa, still holding that old thermos in his hand. He unscrewed the lid, took a sip of goji berry water, stood up, and straightened his neat black and white team uniform.
"Let's go." Su Mo's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an irresistible magic, instantly calming the last trace of restlessness in the newcomers' hearts. "The sooner we finish, the sooner we can go back and review the game."
This statement was made so casually, as if what they were about to face was not the third seed from the LCK, nor a crucial quarterfinal match point in the World Championship, but just an ordinary ranked game.
……
"Welcome back to the S13 World Championship, the quarterfinals!"
As the rousing background music resounded throughout the venue once more, the director's camera cut back to the commentary booth. Guan Zeyuan's voice was still full of energy, but it subtly revealed a hint of barely suppressed excitement.
"Currently, our LPL's number one seed, EDG, has pushed the host team, KT, to the brink of elimination with a decisive 2-0 victory! Holding three match points, they are just one step away from the semifinals!"
Miller adjusted his glasses and solemnly continued, "Yes. During the break just now, I listened to the sounds from the stadium. The entire Busan Gymnasium is still packed. Although the Korean audience is very quiet now, I can feel the atmosphere is very tragic. This is the cruelty of esports. In this China-Korea battle that concerns the honor of the region, one side is destined to shed tears of regret today."
"If KT wants to continue their World Championship journey, they must overcome that mountain called 'Su Mo'!" Remember shouted. "Alright, both players have taken the stage, let's move on to the draft phase of this match point game!"
On the big screen, the image switched to the BP interface.
"In this game, KT, forced into a corner, has the loser's pick option. Unsurprisingly, they chose the blue side!" Guan Zeyuan quickly got into the swing of things. "In a do-or-die game, LCK teams are extremely reliant on the blue side's first ban/pick advantage. This means EDG has fallen to the red side, and our Mozi will have the final, perfect counter-pick!"
BP officially begins!
KT (blue side) bans the first hero.
"when!"
Aatrox has been banned!
"Without hesitation!" Miller shouted. "Mozi's Camille in the last game was terrifying, but KT still hasn't forgotten his godlike Aatrox performance at the Asian Games!"
EDG, on the red side, made their first counter-pick, with Mingkai steadily shutting down Neeko, the versatile mid-laner in the current meta.
Immediately afterwards, KT banned Camille as their second ban!
EDG's second ban was against Azir, Bdd's favorite carry mid laner!
KT's third ban, once again without hesitation, sealed Su Mo's heavy tank Quesanti tightly!
"Three bans on top lane!!!" Remember gasped, his voice booming across the commentary booth, "KT, in dire straits, still chose the most respectful three bans on top lane! Aatrox, Camille, and Quesant! Coach Acorn copied KkOma's treatment at the Asian Games exactly in the quarterfinals!"
"There's no way around it, Mozi's dominance on the sidelines is just too despair-inducing. He's not just unreasonable with warriors, his Quesanti can even be played like an assassin," Guan Zeyuan sighed.
EDG's third ban was given to the jungler Jarvan IV, who had caused them a lot of trouble in the previous game, thus dismantling KT's aggressive engage strategy.
After the first round of bans, it was KT's turn to pick first.
"Get me Kai'Sa," Aiming gritted his teeth and said over the voice chat. This was his most confident champion, and in this do-or-die game, he had to take his fate into his own hands.
"KT first-pick Kai'Sa! This is a very solid choice, not only ensuring late-game damage output, but also providing extremely strong engage and cleanup capabilities," Miller analyzed.
"It's EDG's turn to choose between the first and second picks. The Xayah and Rakan combo is still outside, should they take it?"
Mingkai stood behind the crowd and waved his hand: "Just take it!"
"Feathers flying everywhere!" "A fleeting glimpse!"
Xayah and Rakan's icons lit up and locked on instantly! Although JackeyLove and Meiko were caught out in the previous game due to a mistake, EDG still gave their bot lane duo absolute trust!
KT's choice of the second and third floors was very decisive.
"Maoye, plus Orianna!" Remember frowned slightly as he looked at KT's locked-in lineup. "KT doesn't want to engage in early-game skirmishes this game! Maoye and Orianna, this is the most classic LCK Korean-style defensive and macro-oriented positional warfare system! Lots of crowd control, extremely fast wave clear, they're going to drag this out to the late game!"
On the third floor of EDG, A-Chen took a deep breath and locked in Lee Sin, a champion with extremely strong ganking ability.
The second round of the BP game begins.
EDG is on the red side, and their fourth and fifth bans are both for top lane: Jax and Renekton!
"Coach Mingkai really knows what he's doing! Since you're targeting our top lane, then nobody should play comfortably. Let's just shut down Kiin's signature Jax and lane bully Renekton!"
KT's last two bans were given to Syndra and Jayce for the mid lane, in an attempt to limit Xiaoyue's champion pool.
We've reached the final selection stage.
EDG's fourth pick: Xiao Yue looked at Orianna, his eyes hardened, and he immediately locked in Akali, the Rogue Assassin!
"Akali! Xiaoyue picked an assassin against Bdd's Orianna! EDG's lineup this game: Lee Sin, Akali, Xayah, Rakan, is extremely powerful. They're going to tear KT's defenses apart!" Guan Zeyuan shouted excitedly.
The pressure now rests entirely on KT's final two picks.
On the KT stand, coach Acorn looked at EDG's aggressive lineup that practically overflowed the screen, and a cold smile appeared on his lips.
"Since you want to charge, then we'll make sure you crash and bruise your heads. Lehends, take the bull's head. Kiin, take that one."
"Clang! Clang!"
KT's fourth and fifth floors locked in two heroes in a row: support Alistar and top lane Poppy!
wow——
The entire audience erupted in uproar!
"Poppy!!!" Miller exclaimed, "My God! Coach Acorn's draft is amazing! Poppy's ultimate and W skill 'Unwavering Demeanor' perfectly counter all of EDG's Lee Sin, Akali, and Rakan's engages! You dare to engage, I'll block you out completely! KT's lineup: Poppy, Maokai, Orianna, Kai'Sa, Alistar. It's so solid, infuriatingly tanky, and their counter-engage is simply unbeatable!"
"Yes!" Ji De gasped. "Kiin picked Poppy, which clearly means he's going to completely dominate the top lane. I'm going to build tanky and play defensively. Now it's EDG's turn to have a headache. On the fifth pick of the red side, Mozi has the last counter pick, but what can he pick? Warriors can't charge in, and tanks can't kill this lineup!" The Korean audience in the arena seemed to have also seen the brilliance of KT's lineup. The previously silent stadium erupted in thunderous cheers again, as if they saw a glimmer of hope for a comeback.
EDG's match lineup.
The countdown ticked away second by second.
"Poppy and Alistar, this defensive formation is a bit disgusting." Ah Chen frowned. "Brother Mo, how about you pick Darius this game? Or Gwen?"
Mingkai watched Su Mo's retreating figure, awaiting his decision.
Su Mo sat in his gaming chair, one hand supporting his chin, his deep gaze fixed on Poppy, the Yordle wielding a hammer on the screen. A rare, yet arrogant, sneer curled at the corner of his lips.
"They think Poppy can stop all drives, right?"
Su Mo's voice rang out in the voice channel, calm yet like a sharp blade about to be drawn.
"Then I won't rush in."
Su Mo turned his head and glanced at Meiko, who was in charge of selecting people for him.
"Field, get me the Night Hunter."
Meiko's hand trembled violently, her eyes widening instantly: "Brother Mo, are you sure?! The enemy jungler is Maokai, and the top lane is so long..."
"Lock." Su Mo said only one word, but it exuded absolute confidence.
"Alright!" Meiko didn't hesitate any longer and moved the mouse at lightning speed.
next second.
A female hunter's portrait, wearing red glasses and wielding a huge crossbow, suddenly lit up on the fifth floor of the red team's building!
Let us hunt down those who have fallen into darkness!
Vayne, the Night Hunter! Lock on!
boom!!!
The entire Busan Gymnasium seemed to have been hit by a bombshell at that moment! All the South Korean spectators held their heads in disbelief.
In the commentary booth, Guan Zeyuan jumped up from his chair, his voice cracking from a hoarse shout:
"Vain top lane?! My God!! In the quarterfinals of the World Championship, in a do-or-die match against the LCK's third seed! Mozi actually pulled out Vayne top lane on the fifth floor!!!"
Miller trembled with excitement, slamming his hand on the table: "What kind of extreme confidence is this?! You picked Poppy to counter dives? You picked Maokai and Alistar to be ridiculously tanky?! No problem! In the face of Vayne's three-hit true damage, all heavy tanks are just a fragile sheet of paper! Without dives, I'll just use auto-attacks, arrow by arrow, to nail you to the pillar of shame!"
"This is too arrogant! This is really too arrogant! But this is Su Mo!!" Remember shouted.
Inside KT's soundproof shed.
The moment Kiin saw Vayne locked in, his face turned deathly pale. Looking at the short-armed, short-legged Poppy in his hand, he could already imagine the torment she would suffer on the sidelines.
The director's camera cut to Su Mo's face.
He calmly adjusted his talents, as if he had just locked in an ordinary champion, not an extraordinary top lane Vayne.
The final lineup is confirmed:
KT (Blue Side) from South Korea: Top lane Poppy, Jungle Maokai, Mid lane Orianna, ADC Kai'Sa, Support Alistar.
EDG (Red Side) - Top: Vayne, Jungle: Lee Sin, Mid: Akali, ADC: Xayah, Support: Rakan.
"Alright! The lineups for both sides are now finalized!"
Guan Zeyuan took a deep breath and stared at the loading screen.
Although EDG selected an extremely extreme lineup, the atmosphere within the team instantly became quiet.
"Take a deep breath, brothers," Su Mo said. "Treat this like a regular training match at the base. Chen, the early game tempo is up to you; Yue, hold your ground in the mid lane and victory is yours."
Xiao Yue chuckled: "Brother Mozi, with you here, what am I afraid of? Just stay calm and we'll win, right?"
These words instantly made everyone burst into laughter.
Meanwhile, inside the KT soundproof booth on the other side of the stage, the atmosphere was incredibly oppressive.
Head coach Acorn stared intently at Vayne's image on the screen, his brows furrowed in a deep frown.
"This Vayne pick is too unfair..." Acorn quickly laid out the final tactics, "Kiin, you absolutely cannot die in the early game! Even if you miss some minions, you must maintain your health! Cuzz, Maokai's jungle clear is slow in the early game, but you must make sure to ward the top side of the jungle. They are a melee team, as long as we drag this out until Poppy and Maokai have their two core items, Vayne will have no chance to deal damage in team fights!"
"I understand, Coach." Kiin took a deep breath, his palms sweating profusely. Facing the top laner who had dominated the LPL for seven years, using the short-legged Poppy to fight Vayne was worse than killing him.
Welcome to Summoner's Rift!
As a solemn female voice rang out, the decisive game officially began!
The spring water barrier collapsed, and ten heroes shot out like arrows released from a bow.
Su Mo's Vayne bought a Doran's Blade and a Health Potion, skillfully switching screens to observe the movements across the entire map.
"Shall we engage in a level 1 team fight, Mo?" Meiko, controlling Rakan, was poised to make a move in the mid-lane river. "I'll learn W, and Achen will learn Q. We can charge in."
“No fighting.” Su Mo’s voice was calm and decisive. “They are a combination of a giant tree and a minotaur. Their level 1 team’s positional warfare and control chain are stronger than ours. Akali and I are both weak in level 1 combat, so there’s no need to take the risk.”
Su Mo drew a line on the minimap: "Spread out and form a long, single-file defensive formation. Ah Chen, you start with red buff and go straight down to farm; don't worry about me."
"Huh? Aren't I going to counter-gank top lane this game?" Ah Chen was taken aback. The enemy team had picked Maokai as their jungler, clearly intending to protect their top lane at all costs.
"No need." Su Mo, controlling Vayne, plunged into the first bush against the wall in the top lane, blocking the blind spot. His tone was calm yet exuded absolute confidence. "Maoya's jungle clear speed is slow in the early game, so Cuzz will definitely choose to clear from bottom to top and gank me around three minutes. You just need to help the bottom lane gain an advantage and control the dragon. As for the top lane, he can't kill me by himself." (End of Chapter)