Chapter 97: Stealing Outside the Game?

"Congratulations to EDG for drawing first blood in this best-of-five quarterfinal, taking a temporary 1-0 lead!" Wang Duo, his tone impassioned, seemed as if he still had more to say.

"That final 'Mount Hua Sword Duel' was truly thrilling. When I saw Fiora land four vitals in one second, I thought it was a solo kill for sure. I never expected Sylas to be able to do it too!"

Guan Zeyuan took over: "Once upon a time, we remember that player Ye debuted as a one-trick pony, but now, after just a few short months, it feels like his champion pool has become quite deep! And it seems he can dabble in any type of champion!"

"What’s more, no matter what he picks, he always seems able to lead the team's tempo, tearing wound after wound into the opponent's defensive line. Even in his first time at the playoffs, his form remains scorching hot!"

Rita listened to the two beside her discussing and added: "He truly lives up to being the regular season MVP!"

The official casters were full of praise for Ye Bo's performance.

Primarily, the several brilliant solo kills by Sylas were indeed stunning enough.

After turning off his camera, Flandre let out a breath and said happily, "That last play was really cool, Master Ye. I feel like Chen Zebin probably can't handle that, haha!"

As a top laner, Flandre still understood this position well, as well as the personality of their opponent in this match.

Top lane is a position often emphasized as a 1v1 "orphan" lane, and Chen Zebin is the type of player with a playstyle extremely confident in his own mechanics.

Players of the "four sisters" champions should all have this feeling—they love to show off their mechanics on others, but find it hard to accept being shown up by others.

Otherwise, it’s practically more painful than killing them!

"I feel like if we keep playing like this, I'm going to turn into that kind of invading jungler like Third Uncle~~" Jiejie leaned back comfortably in his gaming chair.

"Reforging the glory of the National E-sports, it is our duty, right?" Ye Bo replied with a smile.

Perhaps it was because Jiejie's Jarvan IV games left too deep an impression.

It created a stereotype in the outside world, using the argument "Isn't a hero like Jarvan IV just a utility pick?" to believe that Jiejie only knows how to play utility-based engage junglers and cannot play jungle carries or invade.

But in fact, this was entirely determined by EDG's long-standing jungle needs.

Clearlove and Maokai walked through the door, shoulders brushing against the referees.

Witnessing the team members crush their opponents and successfully take the first victory of the playoffs, the joy on their faces was clearly unstoppable.

The two praised the team members in turn, with the focus placed on the mid laner.

After all, Ye Bo was the only pure rookie among EDG's starting lineup, participating in the playoffs for the first time, and was the absolute core of the team; they had to ensure his mentality remained stable to guarantee the team's form.

"Our mid lane is indeed fierce. In this patch, it feels like the bot lane just needs to farm and we win," Viper teased himself.

Previously, EDG's bot lane strategy always had a lighter weight; occasionally revisiting that feeling was quite nice too.

"Indeed, mainly because we have little Ye Bo now, I don't even need to use my brain~" Meiko joined in on the joke.

Come to think of it, Meiko was the one playing most comfortably right now.

All along, he had no problems with the mechanics of either engage supports or enchanter supports.

But the reason his engage supports were criticized was that his roaming awareness on engage champions was relatively weaker compared to other support players.

If one had to say, he was still too concerned with laning, too concerned with his own ADC.

Of course, to use the "harsh" words of netizens on the forums: "He treats the ADC too much like a human."

In fact, in the current durability patch, the mainstream bot lane picks are already things like Aphelios or Jinx, which significantly reduces the emphasis on laning.

Unless a matchup like Kalista versus Draven appears, the probability of a lane kill is extremely low, and even trading health happens rarely.

And after Ye Bo took over the command, Meiko basically only needed to accept instructions.

Just like that timely "inspired" flank in the mid lane, and the several gank coordinations in the mid-game to seize the tempo.

Ye Bo is not a support player, so at some key nodes, he is naturally not as good as a professional support.

But he also has his own way—

By creating high correlation between other positions and his own mid lane, he can use the tempo of his mid lane to influence other lanes, pulling off "mid-top synergy," "mid-jungle synergy," "mid-support synergy," or even "dual-carry synergy."

Not to mention that Ye Bo can often provide some key "trivia information."

For example, the final team fight, the synergy between Amumu and Zoe.

Amumu support is not an obscure pick; EDG had practiced it during the Spring Split, and naturally, they had encountered situations facing Zoe.

But previously, Scout had never told Meiko about the maximum range of the two skills, or that one could directly bypass the body to Q the landing spot.

Perhaps it was assumed to be common knowledge, or perhaps he was too lazy to say it.

Ye Bo was also full of joy watching this.

Because this game had an unexpected "surprise."

Initially, he was still wondering why his Sylas didn't trigger much experience point reward after this game ended, with only the "Flash over four walls" play receiving a base reward.

Could it be that those plays weren't extreme enough?

But just as Ye Bo opened the [Hero Compendium] in confusion, he discovered something eerie.

In the [Hero Compendium], only heroes with level 5 mastery have their portraits lit up; at other times, they are grayed out, which is a very obvious contrast.

Level 5 is a white frame, level 6 is a red frame, and level 7 is a gold frame.

And although Ye Bo had received the "minimum guarantee reward" from the old man, plus the extra practice he had done recently, he had already expanded his basic mastery of level 5 heroes for his champion pool.

But in reality, the number was still countable at a glance.

There was no helping it; before playing professionally, Ye Bo was indeed an ultimate champion-pool-limited player who only knew three or four heroes, and his time was truly limited.

But after this game ended, he was stunned to find—the portrait of [Fiora] had been inexplicably lit up!

You have to know, Ye Bo had never practiced Fiora.

Although as an old hero, everyone surely knows her various skill mechanics and small tricks, but in terms of actual operation, it was absolutely infinitely close to zero.

This meant that Ye Bo had inexplicably raised a hero with 0 mastery to level 5!

Level 5 doesn't look high, but the effect is quite obvious.

If nothing else, just say that in the future when he faces an enemy Fiora again, the success probability of "outplaying the W" will increase significantly due to familiarity, just like the effect he had when laning against Rookie's Galio and other heroes before.

And it didn't stop there.

That Zoe, which was only at level 6 past the mid-line, was now extremely close to level 7; it had clearly increased by a large margin!

It is not hard to infer that this is because, in the process of Ye Bo using Sylas to coordinate with these heroes, he gained a deeper understanding of the usage of their R skills.

For example, although he had never practiced Fiora's "four vitals in one second."

But now, if he were to open the training camp to try it out, he would probably be able to master it within three attempts at most!

This is a form similar to [Understanding Epiphany], and it was indeed a synergy usage he thought of himself in the moment.

"Can I steal them outside the game too~?"

Ye Bo only lamented now that it was a pity that in this patch, mid lane Viego wasn't very playable.

Otherwise, if he followed this path...

However, this special form of Sylas, although it required him to develop it on the spot, was undoubtedly still a very pleasant surprise, and perhaps it could bring unexpected gains.

The live stream was playing the highlight reel of the previous game.

If someone had just entered the stream, they would definitely think, is this damn thing a "personal highlight reel" for Sylas!

There was no helping it; the presence of Sylas in this game was simply too strong.

EDG's lineup was actually a proper team-fighting lineup. Logically speaking, the screen time for Sylas, who was picked for [BP strategy] purposes, shouldn't be that much; there should have been more beautiful team fights.

It was just a pity that BLG kept avoiding fights, and the only real team fight was the last one.

And from the first roam to the top lane, to that magical solo kill in the mid lane, the chain combo, then to the mid-game side-lane mechanical outplay solo kill, and finally the Mount Hua Sword Duel in the bot lane.

It could practically be said that every play was highlight-reel worthy!

The live stream screen showed the MVP player of the previous game, and unsurprisingly, the hero's original art jumped onto the screen.

The chat in the tournament stream was scrolling frantically.

[Fake Thief Saint: The Hand of Cup-Stealing]

[Real Thief God: Whatever you know, I know; whatever you don't know, I also know!]

[The streamer is so good at playing chains, bind me, qaq!]

[Don't rush! This is a best-of-five. Didn't the junior get crushed by Sylas in the early game? It was just luck! Wait for the next game!]

[Hey, didn't Bin post on social media before the match saying he wanted to prove who the king of mechanics is today, and even said he would use Camille to educate Master Ye? Brother Bin lied to us!]

[How did he lie? Didn't Song Bin already prove it with his life in that last play—that's right, it's Ip Man!]

BLG's preparation room was not as lively as the one next door.

Steak already had a bad premonition after the lineup was selected, but he was thinking about the failure in the resource team fight, so before leaving the stage, he was still urging them not to rush and to let Zoe poke before team fighting.

As a result, he didn't expect the problem to be in the mid lane again!

However, he still acted as the mood-setter, pacifying everyone's mentality: "There were many unexpected situations in the previous game, and my red-side BP wasn't done well. Everyone, keep a calm mind; anyway, we have a Guardian Angel."

"It's just that if there's another Sylas, the variables in the BP will be huge."

The tactical system that BLG re-established in the playoffs was actually very simple.

It was to have the bot lane take an AD that isn't easy to die + an engage support.

The mid lane takes a big carry like Azir or Corki that is also not easy to die.

BLG's newly replaced marksman, Doggo, had no other advantages, just "stability"—the kind of stability where he would decisively give up any minion wave that felt even slightly threatening.

It was also because of this that EDG didn't find any opportunities in the bot lane in the first game; of course, Viper also achieved a laning advantage by farming evenly because of this.

And Scout, needless to say, this type of hero was his most proficient style, which was equivalent to returning him to his comfort zone.

Then, give the top laner a fierce hero strong in early-to-mid game laning, and let the jungler's focus be entirely on the top lane.

Just camp the top and jungle to death!

It just so happened that the changes to recovery items + small dragons in this patch emphasized 1v1 laning even more; even if they traded resources in the bottom half of the map, it was easy to trade at a loss, making it a perfectly fitting change for BLG.

But in the first game, due to the surprise of Sylas, it was Scout who took the initiative to propose the idea of using Zoe to play the lane.

And the power of Sylas was also vividly reflected in the BP of the first game!

It wasn't just the strength of the hero itself; the most important thing was the restriction in the BP, which greatly increased the degree of mind games between the two sides!

You pick first on the first floor, and what awaits you is highly likely to be five ultimate abilities that are not powerful.

But if you don't pick it first, there's a chance the opponent will snatch it to counter your draft, and waiting until the second round carries the risk of it being banned.

The test for both the players and the coaching staff is significant.

Just like the Sylas in the first game; the purpose was already to suppress the draft, and even the ultimate was considered quite lackluster.

Being able to use Zoe's ultimate to such miraculous effect... Scout knew in his heart that even if he swapped over, he might not be able to perfectly replicate those plays.

"We only have three choices now," Chashao said quickly, explaining his understanding.

"First, pick a utility mid, and put all our draft resources into the top lane."

"Second, ban all three of the strongest early-game fighters: Akali, LeBlanc, and Sylas. They should only be able to pick Akshan or Zoe. We pick Azir mid for a pressure-free laning phase, and play according to our intended strategy."

"But the cost of this is that we won't have bans to target the top lane, and we likely won't be able to shut them down there."

"Third, we snatch Sylas, ban Zoe for the mid lane, and use the remaining draft resources to focus on the top lane." Chashao looked down at Scout: "I remember Sylas has an advantage against Akali and LeBlanc, right?"

Scout didn't speak, just nodded silently.

As a meta champion, Scout naturally had practiced Sylas, but his proficiency was still far behind the other champions he excelled at.

This was also the reason why BLG was surprised EDG would pick it in the first game.

In everyone's estimation, even if Ye Bo had practiced Sylas, he had at most practiced for half a month; what kind of level could he really reach if he actually picked it?

At the very least, it certainly wasn't worth a ban.

But the performance in the last game had already proven to everyone that they were wrong.

The speed at which Ye Bo practiced champions exceeded their imagination, to the point that it even made Scout tremble, not daring to think about it too deeply!

He was afraid it would affect his own confidence.

Through his peripheral vision, Scout caught a glimpse of his teammates and coaches looking at each other, clearly noticing their "worried" gazes.

This made him feel even more ashamed and annoyed.

He believed that, actually, his own laning in the previous game was still okay.

In the early game, Zoe was suppressing Sylas almost the entire time; if it weren't for Sylas going top to stir up trouble, he would have been forced to use his Teleport by level three!

That play at level six could also be said to be because Amumu came to help pressure the positioning.

Ultimately, the real reason for the collapse was going out after respawning to try and pick up Flash, dying in a chain reaction until the total collapse; everything after that was just an unavoidable chain reaction!

If those accidents hadn't happened, wouldn't I have succeeded!?

Scout no longer had the slightest bit of contempt for Ye Bo; he certainly knew the opponent's raw laning strength was terrifying, but he genuinely felt he wasn't bad either!

"Stop looking, just pick Sylas; it's the best strategy," he added, feigning composure.

"If I play Azir, I'll give him chances to roam, and if we can't shut down the top lane, there's no tactics to speak of. I've been playing a lot of Sylas lately, and I have no problem against the few champions he has left."

"As for utility, you might as well put FoFo in."

Although the last sentence was clearly said in anger, it actually moved Chashao's heart.

FoFo really did play utility champions better than him.

However, according to the BLG training staff's pre-match meeting, the draft difficulty for this best-of-five was already at a hellish level.

Everyone present was no novice; they knew well that as professional play had developed to this day, the draft was crucial in a series and could very likely decide the life or death of a best-of-five!

"Then let the junior handle it himself," Chashao finally made the decision, "Everyone play well next game; it's a rare opportunity on the blue side, we must cherish it."

If they fell behind zero to two, BLG would be no different from having one foot on the edge of a cliff.

"Think about how we won the previous three best-of-fives; our level won't be worse than theirs!" Chashao gave a pep talk.

"They have designs, and we have preparations!"

Hearing the coach's encouragement, all the members nodded in unison.

Bin reached out to adjust his trajectory, pursed his lips and took a few deep breaths, adjusting from the gloom of being outplayed in the final moments of the last game.

Fortunately, that play was already inconsequential, as there was still an equipment gap between the two sides.

He could comfort himself that it was all due to the equipment gap, not a matter of mechanics, so the blow wasn't too great.

They received the notification from the referee to begin the draft.

After the members of both sides signaled they were ready, the crisp, resonant sound immediately echoed in their ears!

"In the second game, BLG chooses the blue side and starts by banning Zoe!" Guan Zeyuan clapped and spoke, overlapping with the chatter at the commentary desk.

"As expected, it feels like Sylas will become a new draft focus for both sides in this match. This champion currently looks like he can play against anything; with his powerful skill mechanics and burst, as long as your skill accuracy is high, there are always opportunities to make plays!"

Wang Duo followed up: "EDG doesn't seem to have any intention of banning Sylas; they are still sending Gwen to the ban list!"

"This is also very similar to what we guessed. Although it seems there aren't many champions in Ye's pool that counter Sylas well, there are still those that can lane evenly; this is his confidence!"

The design of Sylas destined him to be a very special champion.

Strong, yet far from being impossible to deal with.

His strength within a match is extremely dependent on his ultimate; if there isn't a good ultimate to steal, the champion himself is at best a standard Tier 1 level, purely depending on the player's state in that specific game.

Hitting one extra E or missing one extra E can potentially greatly affect the laning phase.

Therefore, even if BLG is on the red side and can't take him first, as long as they don't mind being "draft-restricted," they won't ban him either.

However, BLG's draft this game is very intriguing.

Both sides' first round of bans————

BLG: Zoe, Kennen, Ornn

EDG: Gwen, Kalista, Galio

"EDG's final ban is Galio! This should be a choice made after seeing the opponent target the top lane with their last two picks!" Guan Zeyuan interpreted.

"BLG really did pick Sylas first! The junior is also very confident this game; he wants to win back the ground he lost with his own hands!"

"EDG counters by taking the Renata-Lucian combo; it seems they don't really care about Sylas stealing the ultimate."

Although the opponent picked Sylas, theoretically Renata's ultimate is definitely a "good ultimate."

Ye Bo's understanding is that one must indeed avoid picking champions with powerful ultimates as much as possible.

But, there's no need to deliberately weaken one's own lineup just to guard against Sylas stealing the ultimate; perhaps that would be counterproductive.

Everyone unanimously agreed with this view.

"BLG picks the strong Renekton-Sejuani combo in the second and third slots! It's another lineup where the top, mid, and jungle are all bruisers!"

EDG's third pick was slightly hesitant.

It's not hard to see that the opponent's first three picks are definitely aimed at targeting the top lane; if they wait until the second round of the draft, the top lane champion pool will definitely be reduced again.

The remaining meta top laners who aren't too afraid of "tower dives" and aren't easily "ganked" are actually just Gnar and Gragas.

What else is left?

Gangplank, Jax, Kayle, Fiora, Jayce, Camille.

Either they are incredibly hard to play against Renekton, or they get tower-dived every other minute!

Likewise, if they pick for the top lane in the third slot, with Sylas already providing some counter-pressure, the mid lane pick will definitely be affected.

"How about we give it to Ye Bo first..." Saintgun habitually offered.

"Pick for the top lane; they shouldn't ban those few champions of mine, I can play them," Ye Bo said, patting his chest confidently.

"Then let's give Xuanjun Gnar; it feels a bit better than Gragas." Maokai didn't agonize over it; considering the existence of Sylas, he felt Gnar would be better than Gragas.

Entering the second round of the draft————

BLG: LeBlanc, Syndra

EDG: Sivir, Tahm Kench

"Ah, this... now it seems the few remaining champions that can lane evenly against Sylas have all been banned," Guan Zeyuan counted on his fingers.

"Akshan is too squishy and his E skill isn't an instant displacement, making it hard to dodge E. Yone and Pyke are weak in the early laning phase and have very powerful ultimates, and Akali is even a common counter-pick we see."

"Oh, are they picking it directly! Akali!"

Seeing this, Wang Duo's voice suddenly rose: "Regardless of what champion counters what! If you dare to leave it open, he dares to pick it!"

Akali's ultimate is undoubtedly very strong, with two dashes, plus high damage, and it can perfectly benefit from Sylas's AP scaling.

Trading health in lane isn't hard to do either; as long as Akali appears from her shroud, Sylas's W will definitely be able to drain her, and if he gets drained twice, there's no way to fight back.

Of course, both of these champions belong to the absolute "mechanic-heavy" category, and there is no such thing as a 100% counter, only the difference in advantages and disadvantages.

BLG's bot lane continues to carry out their own strategy.

Since Sivir was banned, they pick Ezreal, and the support still emphasizes roaming with Nautilus.

And because the opponent's front-line defense is too solid, Jiejie subsequently chooses to bring out the Viego + Akali "Assassination and Possession" mid-jungle combo he has used before.

The lineups for both sides are confirmed.

《Blue Side: BLG || Red Side: EDG》

【Top: Renekton vs Gnar】

【Jungle: Sejuani vs Viego】

【Mid: Sylas vs Akali】

【ADC: Ezreal vs Aphelios】

【Support: Nautilus vs Renata Glasc】

"Looking at the lineups, EDG's lineup has more room for imagination, but actually, the room for imagination is just the synergy of a few ultimates... which Sylas can steal!"

"On the other hand, BLG's top-mid-jungle early-game fighting ability is extremely outstanding, and they deliberately left you the Renata-Lucian combo; it feels like it's because this combo is hard to get an advantage early, and enchanter supports can't compare to engage supports in roaming, so they want to fight hard in the top half of the map!"

"BLG has made a counter-attack in the draft on the blue side; let us look forward to the duel between the two sides!"

The commentary desk was still analyzing the lineups, and Summoner's Rift had already appeared on the big screen.

The sound of ping signals rose one after another, and the ten players quickly stepped out of the fountain.

BLG headed straight for the top jungle as soon as they left, clearly intending to imitate EDG's choice from the last game, invading the top jungle to force a swap of the starting jungle quadrant.

The commentary desk noticed this clue immediately.

"In terms of a level-one team fight, they are indeed a bit stronger than EDG," Wang Duo calmly judged. "Akali and Aphelios are both too weak at level one, and Viego will find it hard to get a chance to land his first transformation. This level-one fight probably won't happen!"

"Jiejie is also heading straight to the bottom half after leaving a ward in the red buff area; it looks like they are going to swap jungle starting sides, just like the last game."

EDG, of course, understands the strengths and weaknesses of both team compositions and did not choose to fight head-on, decisively giving up the jungle area.

However, it is quite obvious.

BLG's level-one design is not that simple; it is not just for the sake of gaining priority in a jungle starting side.

Sheng Qiang Ge's Gnar places a ward in the tri-bush.

Afterwards, he stands honestly under the tower, waiting for the minion wave to arrive so he can go to the lane together.

At 1 minute and 30 seconds, the minions reach the lane.

Renekton knows that Gnar would never dare to place a ward in the bush at level one, so he stands directly in the first lane bush, exuding an arrogant air.

Gnar stands below the minion wave, far from the bush, preparing only to use Q to farm the minions.

The three melee minions are about to die.

Gnar steps forward, aiming at the minion wave, and throws his boomerang as usual.

But the Renekton in the bush suddenly dashes out with a [Slice], and while sliding through and hitting the ranged minions, he follows up with a [Dice]—a double E—dashing right into Gnar's face!

Normally, Renekton using a double E like this at level one to close the distance wouldn't be a profitable trade, as he would be chased and kited by Gnar.

Sheng Qiang Ge thought the same, assuming the opponent was just desperate to chip away at his health.

But, at this very moment.

The vision he placed above the tri-bush clearly reveals—Nautilus!

The support Nautilus actually didn't leave!

If Gnar were to place a ward, it would inevitably be in the tri-bush, and Nautilus, taking advantage of the vision superiority gained from their level-one invasion, circled around via the Krugs as the minions reached the lane.

He was just waiting for the moment Gnar came to last-hit or soak up experience.

Liu Qingsong lands a hook steadily on Gnar, follows up with an auto-attack for a two-part crowd control, and {Glacial Augment} keeps him slowed.

Although Renekton only used his E for mobility, the damage from the two of them continuously chasing and auto-attacking still took away a significant amount of Gnar's health!

"BLG's level-one design! Their desire to attack the top lane is simply unimaginably intense! It started from level one!" Guan Zeyuan shouted excitedly.

"Look at Sejuani's position; this feels like BLG's moment of destiny!"

"Both mid-laners are running Ignite, and Viego is in the bottom half; it feels like Sheng Qiang Ge is already in great danger!"

Without Guan Zeyuan saying it, Sheng Qiang Ge himself feels that something is wrong.

Nautilus coming here like this is really just to annoy Gnar; the two of them couldn't possibly kill him at level one regardless.

But it is very obvious.

It is not just two people.

Behind them, Sejuani, who had long since finished killing the F6 with Smite, has walked out—

That's right, it's the F6!

Soloing a buff takes at least 12 seconds longer than soloing the F6, so it would be impossible to make it in time for the second minion wave at 1 minute and 55 seconds.

And Sejuani, having arrived early, successfully intercepted the second minion wave outside the tower.

Blocking Gnar's space to retreat!

This resulted in only the three ranged minions from the first wave being easily and quickly pushed in by Renekton.

"Sheng Qiang Ge is recalling inside the tower! Can he make it back!?"

Ye Bo quickly switches screens to assess the situation; even though he is only level one, he immediately retreats, wanting to go top to support.

But Scout naturally cannot let him have his way.

Sylas against Akali is meant to E onto the face at level one to trade; seeing the opponent retreat and intending to move, he immediately E-Es over the minion wave and throws the chain.

Because Akali actively created distance, there were no minions to block, and with no room to maneuver, she was hit by the E.

Ye Bo has no choice but to give up on supporting, turns around to Q, pull, and auto-attack to counter-chase, forcing a trade and breaking even with Sylas.

"Jiejie, go bottom! Circle around!"

Ye Bo quickly guessed what the opponent was trying to do.

While feeling alarmed, he immediately issued a counter-attack command, quickly marking signals on the map.

The tower dive on the top lane has already begun.

After receiving the warning, although Gnar retreated to the tower to recall at the first opportunity, it is clear that the opponent will not let him go back.

Sejuani enters the tower directly, tanking the tower shots, and throws out her W ice chain to interrupt.

Relying on the 20 points of dual resistances provided by her passive "Fury of the North" which lasts for 3 seconds, two tower shots only took off 320 health, still leaving her above half health.

Moreover, Gnar cannot possibly have the ability to turn the fight around.

Nautilus had retreated after one hit earlier, not helping Renekton push the wave, but instead backing off to regroup with Sejuani.

This is to avoid splitting Renekton's {experience}.

At the same time, Sejuani has already brought the first melee minion down to low health.

As soon as Renekton walks into the tower, that experience bar, which is only a sliver away, will immediately hit level 2!

And because Renekton's previous second-stage E grazed the minions and Gnar, after auto-attacking the ranged minions to death.

This will also be a level 2 Renekton with Red Fury.

The three ranged minions are brought into the tower.

Nautilus starts tanking the tower, then walks directly to the edge of the defensive tower, while Renekton steps up to slap him in the face with an AW Red Fury, instantly triggering the stun passive for Sejuani, followed by frost damage!

The still level 1 little Gnar has absolutely no power to resist!

First blood is claimed by Renekton, and Nautilus also walks out from under the tower safely.

"Nice!" Weiwei shouted excitedly: "Bin, you take the wave yourself, I'm going to level up!"

"Big Dog, be careful, I'm B-ing!" Liu Qingsong has already pressed recall to come over.

"Mm, I'll run as soon as they show up," Doggo nodded very steadily in response.

This design by BLG is not complicated, but it is very clever in its timing.

Because there was no awareness in the early stages, Ezreal even had a chance to eat the front-row melee minions; even if the EDG bottom lane realized it late and wanted to drive him out of the experience zone, they could no longer stop him from reaching level 2.

{Reaching level two only requires 5 melee minions}

More importantly, when Ezreal came to the lane, he left a ward at the tri-bush, ready to "abandon the tower and run" at any time.

The worst-case scenario for this wave is Viego going to the bottom lane to tower dive; the timing would be such that right after the top lane dive is finished, Viego would just be arriving at the tri-bush and would be detected by the vision.

Then Nautilus would cancel his 8-second recall, not letting Gnar use Teleport, or directly dive a second time.

Come on, let's blow each other up!

The so-called "blowing each other up" actually just means Ezreal loses some minion waves, but he won't die.

But if Gnar were to be killed after his Teleport lands, it would be a total catastrophe.

After Gnar respawns, he indeed doesn't dare to Teleport immediately—because Renekton, having gained the kill experience, is clearly about to reach level 3.

Gnar only dares to use Teleport after the minions under the tower are almost gone, and upon landing, he barely manages to soak up the experience of one or two ranged minions, but it's still not enough to reach level 2!

Sejuani is already hitting the Krugs, and turning to finish the red buff will allow her to reach level 3.

In BLG's design expectations.

This Viego must come to the top lane immediately.

Then, what would be the consequence if Viego comes to the top?

Viego's top jungle area would only have one monster left, his jungle pathing rhythm would be ruined, leading to his development in the jungle also falling into a disadvantage.

This would cause the already difficult top-jungle 2v2 situation to completely lose its balance!

Sejuani and Renekton can ride on their faces and play!

And even if one could see it at a glance, it is almost unsolvable; it is basically the "swapped version" of the 3-dive-1 that TES likes the most!

The most important thing is the ward that the BLG bottom lane left in the tri-bush to detect Viego.

Seeing that it is safe, Doggo waits peacefully under the tower for the minion wave to come in.

Anyway, the two opponents are only level 2, and they are a combination like Ezreal and Leona, which lacks damage in the early game.

Ezreal, holding {Barrier}, eats the wave solo and will soon be able to reach level 3.

A 2-dive-1 can at least trade for one!

Ye Bo understood this design—because he had also thought of a similar design, just a bit more "bizarre" than this one, but the principle is the same.

Therefore.

He let Jiejie take the detour!

The opponent's five people invaded the top half directly at level one, so the entire bottom half must be pitch black, and there is no way there could be defensive information.

Viego taking a detour from the enemy jungle, although it takes about ten seconds longer, is still well before the arrival of the third minion wave that allows reaching level 3.

Both sides are locked at level two.

Ten seconds early, ten seconds late, it makes no difference.

"Jiejie has snuck over! Ezreal hasn't noticed, and isn't prepared to leave! Then the EDG bottom lane should also have a chance to tower dive this wave!"

Guan Zeyuan poked his nose in surprise, seeing the intention clearly from the god's-eye view.

"Jiejie's move this time is so spiritual!! It's like he saw through the opponent's bottom lane preparation and then instantly made a counter-move!"

"If Viego had walked through the tri-bush, even if Ezreal didn't run, Nautilus would have canceled his recall, and Gnar wouldn't even be able to eat those few minions, and might even be stuck at level 1!"

This time, it was Rita who observed a strange detail: "That's not right, I just saw signals on the mini-map marking the route through the jungle; if it were Jiejie himself, he probably wouldn't mark it like that, right?"

Wang Duo focused his attention on the battlefield: "Viego has arrived under the tower! Ezreal has nowhere to run and can only try to fight to the death!"

This detour caught BLG off guard.

Nautilus has already recalled, but he definitely won't make it back in time.

No one would have expected the Viego to take the extra time to take a detour at such a critical moment of decision!

Nasus is trying his best to outplay, but when facing 3 people, there aren't many opportunities for outplays left.

Viego charges his W point-blank to initiate steadily, Renata follows up with crowd control, and Aphelios fires his double-Q dual-pistol shots; the raw damage alone is enough to kill the level 2 Ezreal.

Even though Ezreal uses Barrier to drag it out and trades one-for-one with Viego with the help of the defensive tower, there is still Renata!

In a 2-man dive on 1, when damage is insufficient, Renata's [Bailout] is completely useless.

But in a dive with more people, this thing is a god-tier skill for tower diving!

"A kill secured without any danger! EDG quickly regained their footing in the bottom lane, this is very crucial!" Wang Duo exclaimed excitedly.

"This is a trade between the top and bottom lanes; the bottom lane can even take the unprotected plating, and they even make a small profit in gold!"

But Guan Zeyuan saw the opponent's intention: "But actually, Gnar is heavily damaged. The bottom lane duo is returning to lane together, and Viego is already very low; EDG can't stop these two from returning to lane."

"Looking at the top lane, Renekton and Sejuani are both at full health. Although Gnar successfully teleported down and can reach level 2, Sejuani is already doing Red and is preparing to reach level 3, so Gnar might still not be able to stay under the tower!"

"The mid lane is also being watched very closely; Akali cannot be freed up, and Gnar's next wave under the tower is still in grave danger!"

Renekton controls the minion wave slightly, not letting it push into the tower.

The level 2 Gnar is pressed into such a dilemma that he can't even soak up experience from a distance.

Every top lane player knows that at a time like this, if no one can come to help break the freeze, you can only hang back and start pulling out your phone.

And Viego has only just finished the kill and started to recall, and he is still only level 2.

"Weiwei, come over as soon as you're done. I've frozen the wave on him; he definitely won't reach level 3," Bin said confidently.

"Understood, keep an eye on the mid lane, and no one will be able to save him!" Weiwei replied immediately.

"He can't leave," Scout answered coldly, equally full of confidence.

Sejuani is already doing the Red buff; in 20 seconds at most, the wave will push in, and it will be another forced dive with both at level 3.

But Sylas in the mid lane is watching very closely, constantly forcing trades and not giving Akali any chance to move.

If she tries to roam by force, she will only be surrounded by Sylas and Sejuani in the jungle!

Not only would she fail to save the top laner, but Akali herself would also be ruined.

Although she cleverly parried the opponent's level 1 design and helped her side avoid the situation where both the top and jungle would have collapsed, it could be said that she broke BLG's core objective and at least preserved the jungler's development.

But this second wave of offensive in the top lane seems impossible to break.

Ye Bo narrowed his eyes, meticulously trading health while gaming the distance of his Q skill, thinking calmly.

He is searching for a way to break the deadlock!

(End of chapter)