Chapter 29

Although JM had previously defeated numerous professional mid-lane opponents in direct confrontations, including OMG’s core player Cool, the latter never truly entered the ranks of elite mid-laners due to a lack of major tournament honors.

Now facing Wei’s newly crowned world champion, Ruofeng, many viewers wonder whether this streamer can continue his legend.

Since his emergence, JM has overturned player perceptions with his profound game understanding—he seems to effortlessly wield any advanced technique, from wave control to skill prediction.

Many players are curious whether JM can maintain his previous form today.

At level one, Ruofeng displayed the proper discipline of an experienced Twisted Fate.

He exploited the card-switching pattern (blue → red → yellow) to mislead his opponent, deliberately pausing 0.5 seconds after switching to the yellow card, attempting to bait Jiang Ming’s positioning with feints to gain lane control.

This blend of deception and truth allowed him to safely last-hit while punishing overextended opponents with the WA combo (yellow card stun followed by auto-attack).

Jiang Ming, well-versed in the intricacies of mid-lane play, naturally didn’t fall for it—he actively used his body to block the positions of three minions.

Trading with Twisted Fate is like a melee champion like Darius facing Ahri in mid-lane: at level one, the melee should simply focus on last-hitting and leveling, maintaining health and farming steadily until level three, when Gangplank truly gains power.

At level three in S3, Gangplank’s combat strength was incomparable to Twisted Fate’s.

His Q deals high damage with slow, W grants damage reduction and bonus physical attack, E provides mobility and damage; in contrast, Twisted Fate’s E has auto-attack delay, his Q is unreliable, and in direct trades, the two are not on the same level.

At the same time, Jiang Ming wasn’t just taking damage without retaliation.

After successfully positioning himself at the edge, he waited until the three melee minions were low, then used Q to wipe them all out—and also grazed Twisted Fate, who had moved forward to harass.

“To fight Twisted Fate, you must target his mind; his card-switching pattern is the key. If you surrender lane control out of fear of the yellow card, you’ll die slowly.”

Ruofeng’s lane pressure was average; he couldn’t apply enough pressure, allowing Jiang Ming to even take time explaining things to his livestream viewers.

“Also, to secure a solo kill with Gangplank at level three, you must lay the groundwork during levels one and two—there’s no full-health kill threshold early on, but half-health? That’s another story.”

Unlike later eras where everyone took Teleport, at this stage, both mid and top laners almost always picked Flash and Ignite, favoring aggression.

As Jiang Ming spoke, he instantly pressed EQ at level two, his bulky body ramming straight into Twisted Fate’s face.

“Wait, this guy is insane.”

After only a few minutes of lane pressure, Ruofeng felt sweat beginning to form on his forehead.

Isn’t JM supposed to be a mediocre Twisted Fate player? He seems to have an uncanny sense of Twisted Fate’s attack range and card-switch timing—almost better than I do.

At IPL5, even many world-class players struggled to predict Twisted Fate’s card-switches by fractions of a second—yet Gangplank never once got hit by the yellow card.

Also, in wave management: Mingming the advantage before level three should be his, yet the minions were held in a stagnant position—neither the Blind Monk could gank nor could he move to assist the Blind Monk in invading the jungle for the Prince.

As he pondered, another EQ combo launched—Gangplank’s belly slammed into Ruofeng’s face.

“Damn!”

After being hit by both EQ, Twisted Fate’s health dropped significantly. Though Gangplank was fragile in S3, you still had to consider who you were comparing him to.

Compared to the melee Gangplank, the ranged Twisted Fate had a weaker frame.

I have to use Flash.

Ruofeng swiftly activated Flash—he knew that if he kept taking damage like this, he wouldn’t be able to hold the mid-lane at level three, let alone dominate.

Remember, Gangplank’s E reduces its cooldown by half when it hits an enemy champion.

“Clever.”

Watching Twisted Fate’s decisive Flash to create distance, Jiang Ming felt a pang of regret—if Ruofeng had been greedy and stayed, he could have landed two more auto-attacks, and with his next E ready, he could have stolen level three and secured the kill.

But it didn’t matter—Ruofeng had used Flash early; it just meant the level-three pressure would be delayed until level four.

【？？？】

【What the hell, he got flashed!】

【Flashed at level two? Is this the world champion?】

【Bold! JM, what champion are you, daring to talk to my Ruoshen like that?】

【Hah, I’ve been praising Twisted Fate for so long—and this is all you’ve got?】

Ruofeng’s sudden Flash at level two naturally sparked unusual discussion among viewers and fans in the YY90001 channel.

【Since IPL5 ended, I’ve never seen Ruofeng train—he’s not even doing high-intensity rank like the jungler Ming Kai.】

【He’s gotta eat dumplings, right? After finally winning the title, he’s just doing events to make money.】

[Looking at this, professional players aren’t necessarily stronger than casual players—at least JM dominates the lane.]

【Dominating lane? So what? Can JM beat a Blue Team with four Wei players?】

Some Wei fans began commenting on the team composition.

But in reality, with the jungler yet to make an impact, the bottom lane combo of Smile’s Vayne and Blitzcrank had gained little advantage over Kuaixiao and Tabe.

In S3, Vayne’s EA mechanic still existed, giving her strong lane pressure; paired with Janna’s high-sustain support, the early-game low armor and magic resistance of Blitzcrank couldn’t pressure Vayne unless he landed a hook.

So the only current advantage on the right side was PDD’s Jax in top lane.

With long-range advantage over short-range, Jax slightly pressured the Crocodile.

Then the question arises: what does IG’s top laner have to do with Wei?

……

“Ming, be careful—Ming Kai’s Blind Monk is always near mid-lane.”

All champions reached level three, all basic skills fully leveled, and Jiang Ming’s jungler teammate warned him.

But Jiang Ming didn’t restrain his actions—he actually hoped the Blind Monk would come after him.

“Stone, come help me set a trap—I’ll bait him.”

Jiang Ming had no intention of fighting alone.

You call for help? So do I.

It’s a 2v2 mid-jungle clash: your Twisted Fate and Blind Monk against my Gangplank and Prince—let’s see whose play is sharper, especially since I have the advantage in health and one summoner spell.

“Come help me in mid.”

Gangplank was about to hit level four; Ruofeng was already struggling under two levels of Q harassment.

But with his summoner spell providing Ghost, returning to base would cost him too many minions.

Unlike that stubborn Top Emperor, Ruofeng, knowing his limits, directly called his jungler dad.

Choosing Twisted Fate means coordinating with a strong jungler to realize his potential—if you’re going for true 1v1, why not pick a stronger champion?

Both sides’ plans collided.

The Prince reached the edge of the F4 camp, while Ming Kai’s Blind Monk arrived simultaneously at the brush outside the blue buff wall.