Chapter 649: Then we are going to lose

The opening match ended; Samsung, famed for its late‑game play and LCK matches averaging over thirty‑eight minutes, destroyed JT's base in under twenty‑eight minutes. After shaking hands, JT's players left the stage heads down amid the audience's boos.

The stage went dark for a few minutes, then lit up again as the teams for the second match appeared.

In the second match of the Asia Confrontation Tournament, LPL faced LCK, with VG taking the stage; their opponents were KT, who had just fought them in the MSI final the month before last.

Seeing his own brothers already seated in the player area on the screen, Wang Liangyi's expression visibly tightened. He asked the calm‑looking Liang Yan:

"Brother, do you think we can win?"

"Hard."

Liang Yan lightly shook his head; his assessment was just one word.

Wang Liangyi grew even more nervous: "But someone said KT was crushed by us in the Mid‑Season Invitational and has become much weaker since then."

"Hmm, but they've started to regain strength in their recent games."

"Is... is that so?"

"Yes, they recently went on a three‑win streak and surged in the rankings; otherwise, the fourth seed here today should have been MVP instead of them."

"...... Then we're going to lose......"

"Not necessarily; we still have about a thirty percent chance to win."

Liang Yan's prediction for this game is 7‑3; of the 30 % win chance, only 10 % comes from hoping Fu Lan Duo, the Marquis, or Sima Laozei will have a breakthrough, while the remaining 20 % is actually relying on the unfamiliar Ze Ze Tai to counter KT.

Although Liang Yan considers Ze Ze Tai's jungling rather average, this guy truly has high talent, a somewhat versatile feel, and since he was a last‑minute substitution, KT certainly didn't expect this; they necessarily know nothing about Ze Ze Tai's playstyle and habits, which gives Ze Ze Tai a chance to create a miracle.

At the start of the match, KT's three lanes were played very steadily; their jungler Score did not overly dismiss the opponent just because they were a substitute, and their early‑game invasions were mainly probing.

Around the eight‑minute mark, the economies were nearly even, with the top lane even having a ten‑plus creep‑score advantage; Fu Lan Duo picked Rumble and actually managed to hold down the former world‑class top laner Smeb, which made Wang Liangyi feel delighted and hopeful again.

"Awesome! Qiang Ge is back on his feet!"

Liang Yan was also somewhat surprised, but his assessment wasn't as high as Wang Liangyi's: "This patch's Rumble has been greatly strengthened; although Smeb is playing the relatively strong lane Prince, purely comparing lane ability, the enhanced Rumble is actually much stronger."

"Uh, are you saying Qiang Ge can suppress Smeb only because of the hero's strength?"

"No, that's not it; judging purely by lane performance, Luxuanjun is actually not weaker than Smeb."

"Oh......"

Wang Liangyi nodded, half‑understanding.

However, the top‑lane advantage was real, and the mid‑jungle development had not fallen behind the enemy; Wang Liangyi thought VG had a good chance to take the Rift Herald, and if they could then smoothly claim the first tower, VG would have a strong chance to win this game!

But the good times didn't last.

As the clock approached nine minutes, the two junglers met in the river.

Ze Ze Tai saw that Smeb's health was about half and wanted to cooperate with the pressuring Fu Lan Duo to dive the top lane, but upon entering the river he saw Score's Rek'Sai prowling from the edge of vision, so he gave up the tower dive.

Ze Ze Tai turned back to the slope, crouched in the Triangular Brush, and recalled to base to buy items, intending to re‑emerge and help secure the Rift Herald with the top laner; following the principle of not wasting time, he meanwhile guarded Fu Lan Duo while she pushed the wave during his recall, giving her a perfect recall opportunity as well.

However, due to misjudging Rek'Sai's ground‑listen range, Ze Ze Tai didn't realize Score was tracking him from vision and had guessed his recall position.

Score emerged directly from the top of the Dragon Pit.

Ze Ze Tai was playing Kindred this game; Kindred's resurgence in the summer season is mainly due to its mechanics fitting the patch and its ability to synergize with Galio, and it has actually received no buff adjustments.

Meanwhile, Rek'Sai was reworked in the two previous patches, changing its ultimate from a long‑range teleport to a pure‑damage skill; if only the ultimate had changed, that would clearly be a nerf for Rek'Sai, so the designers compensated elsewhere.

In the version used at the Intercontinental Tournament, Rek'Sai's base attack damage and armor growth were increased, its W skill received more AD scaling, and its R skill's execution speed was slightly increased, making its casts faster and harder to dodge.

In short, at equal level and itemization, this version's Kindred cannot beat Rek'Sai.

Ze Ze Tai obviously knew this, so he had no intention of fighting back; after Rek'Sai's combo took half his health bar, seeing Smeb's Prince walking toward the river, apparently intending to EQ‑wall‑bang him, he decisively flashed, aiming to flash‑wall‑bang from the Triangular Brush into the small path leading to the Stone Armor Beetle camp.

However, a shocking scene occurred.

"Ah?!"

"Wow! That hurts! Ze Ze Tai actually flashed into a wall!!"

"It's over, we're done for!"

"Sheng Qiang Ge fired a long‑range Scorching Seal to block the exit and cover Ze Ze Tai's retreat! But Ze Ze Tai's health couldn't hold! Rek'Sai unleashed its ultimate, leapt over the fire line from the void, and snapped up Ze Ze Tai's head in one bite!"

The Kindred that flashed into the wall was undoubtedly killed by Rek'Sai; Smeb didn't even lift a finger, merely tossing a buff from afar to give Rek'Sai attack speed, earning an assist.

When Kindred fell, the game time had passed nine and a half minutes.

From that moment on, Ze Ze Tai grew a little panicked.

At level seven, Kindred's respawn time exceeded twenty seconds, while the Rift Herald would spawn in less than half a minute; KT naturally wouldn't miss such a great opportunity, with their top laner and jungler grouping up, pushing the lane, then immediately heading home and marching straight to the Dragon Pit.

KT took the Rift Herald.

Afterward, Pawn's Syndra returned to base and teleported straight to the top lane, joined with the top laner and jungler, summoned the Rift Herald, and forcefully took VG's first tower.

The bounty for the first tower was settled, and KT gained a clear economic advantage.

Ze Ze Tai felt he had dragged the whole team down, becoming increasingly hesitant; several times he wanted to engage but, unable to confirm Score's position, he hesitated and missed chances, wasting his own farm time, causing his equipment gap with Rek'Sai to widen further.

By just past twenty minutes, Ze Ze Tai's jungle clear count trailed Rek'Sai by over thirty, his level was two behind, and his gold was over a thousand less; he had essentially reached the point where he could no longer face Rek'Sai.

In the LPL broadcast studio, Guan Zeyuan spoke in a low tone:

"This game……VG is probably done for."