Jack was right. The Tigers' lineup had dragged on for more than 25 minutes. Once they entered the team battle, their damage output would be weak and they would not have the upper hand against YM.
However, ROX obviously did not want to drag the game into the mid to late game.
At level one, both sides wanted to go to the opposite jungle to scout the jungler's route. The ten of them clashed in the jungle and a battle broke out.
2 for 2. Jack and Xiao Ming each took a kill, while Smeb and Kuro took the kills for ROX.
After level one went online, Dragon King had an extra Ring of Kill for no reason. Lin Yan did not even have enough support money to buy Eyes of Truth. Facing Dragon King, Lin Yan could only choose to go into the tower.
"He's looking at the wall at F4." Lin Yan deliberately pulled the minions two steps closer to his own jungle in order to see Kuro's movements. "You can go around."
Xiao Tian originally wanted to go to the bottom lane with level three. However, the level one team exploded in the bottom half of the jungle and the monsters had just respawned after the fight.
It would be stupid to go around to the top half of the jungle to farm alone. He might as well take the blue buff with the help of the duo.
After hearing Lin Yan's suggestion, Phyllostachys Pubescens killed the three wolves on the way and then went around to the top half of the jungle. In order to hide his position, he did not choose to go through the bushes at F4. Instead, he went around the wall behind the second tower and entered the red zone.
Under his control, the Spider Queen headed toward the bushes directly facing the red buff. He used the movement speed provided by his spider form to hurry on his way. When he was about to reach the jungle camp, he changed into his human form and prepared to use his skills to kill small spiders.
"Oh no." Mille looked nervous in the commentator's seat.
Phyllostachys Pubescens dove in and saw a bald man with a red cloth over his eyes in the bushes.
It was Little Peanut's Blind Monk!
"Being blind doesn't affect my ability to hunt down enemies because I can smell their stench."
Blind Monk mumbled to himself. His normal attack with a red buff landed heavily on the Spider Queen's body, followed by a Heaven's Sound Wave!
Little Peanut's crouching was out of Xiao Tian's expectations. Caught off guard, he couldn't react in time and could only watch as the Heavenly Sound Wave hung above his head.
A Level 2 Spider only had QW and QW skills. It did not have Cocoon Spin or Flight. What could it use to fight against a Level 2 Blind Monk with a red buff?
Xiao Tian called for backup as he fled in a hurry.
However, the top and middle lines were being pushed back, and the pressure from the troops made it difficult for them to help Xiao Tian.
Lin Yan looked at Xiao Tian's status, then looked at the minions in front of him, and decisively chose to abandon Phyllostachys Pubescens.
Little Peanut used the red buff to slow him down, and the Blind Monk's attack speed, which was increased by the passive [Tempest], allowed him to land punch after punch on the ugly body of the Spider Queen.
The second Q [Echo Strike] followed up again, and Little Tian's HP dropped rapidly. He used Flash Over the Wall, and Little Peanut used Touch Over the Wall to continue with his normal attacks. In the end, he killed Little Tian at the foot of the tower.
This was a solo kill in the jungle!
"It's not a good start." Mille was worried. "Little Peanut can go back and start with three buffs, but Xiao Tian's jungle is going to rot."
In the player's camera, Little Peanut was showing off again as he swayed his body while eating the red buff.
"Mine, mine, I was careless." Beads of sweat beaded on Xiao Tian's forehead. His hands and voice were trembling after the solo kill.
He knew that he had been tricked.
Little Peanut's Blind Monk had only used one set of red buffs before coming here to camp. Clearly, he had been prepared.
The Dragon King on the other side deliberately let them see him looking around the F4 camp, pretending that he was looking for the location of the spiders to prevent them from catching him. But this was all part of the Tiger Team's strategy. The purpose was to make Little Tian lower his guard.
Lin Yan had chosen Clockwork. As a low-level player, he had no desire to make a move against the Dragon King who had taken a kill. The Dragon King had pushed back the minions and gone to the YM jungle to put pressure on him, so Lin Yan could only do his best to ensure that he developed.
Under the double pressure of the Dragon King and Blind Monk, Xiao Tian's days were quite difficult. He could only move around in the lower half of the jungle – after all, JKL and Xiao Ming's first-class teams had both gained a certain advantage and could shelter him to a certain extent.
But as a result, Jin Gong on the top lane was really having a hard time.
Little Peanut unscrupulously invaded the jungle and then rushed to the top lane, forcing Bobby to flash out when he wanted to push into the tower. He then successfully helped SMEB control the minions in front of his own tower.
"How is Jin Gong going to play?"
Doll looked at Bobby who was huddled under the tower and felt aggrieved for him. "This wave of minions will be blocked by Kenan for a long time."
"… About six waves of minions." Doll did a quick calculation. "Three minutes."
Jin Gong didn't dare to go forward at all. He had used his accessory eye earlier, and now the river was pitch black. If he forced himself to push the line and was caught by Blind Monk, he would probably be killed by the tower.
Bobby could only helplessly circle under the tower with his hammer, tears in his eyes as he watched his minions being killed by the enemy's minions.
"Isn't this too tragic?"
"How many times has Jin Gong been targeted in a best-of-five?
Little Peanut is really a bad guy! "
"Can't Kenan hurry up and let Bobby eat two minions?
Why are the Yodelers making things difficult for the Yodelers and starting a civil war?
Kenan, you're heartless! "
"He can't eat minions in three minutes. Why the hell is this top lane?
My heart aches. "
But Xiao Tian had finally found his rhythm. He took advantage of the time when Little Peanut appeared on the top lane to force his way down the tower.
Xiao Ming handed over Ignite, JKL handed over the healer, and they worked together with the Spider Queen to kill Gera.
They had originally wanted to kill the Rat King, but Gera was moved and flashed forward to help the Rat King block the Spider Queen's Cocoon.
As a result, although Gera died, the Rat King could still stay under the tower and eat minions while facing the three low-health YM players, so it didn't lose much of its development.
Xiao Tian then killed the F4 and Gargoyle in the bottom half of Little Peanut's jungle. He then ate the first earth dragon and returned to the city to get a green jungler.
At that moment, SMEB was gradually pushing the minions over on the top lane.
In three minutes, SMEB had already risen to level 6, while Bobby was a pitiful level 4. Little Peanut didn't appear for a long time, and Jin Gong didn't dare leave the tower to gain experience.
He watched as more than ten minions were about to enter his defense tower. He heaved a sigh of relief, thinking that he could develop properly, but when Jin Gong saw SMEB move forward to test the waters, he couldn't help but tremble.
Something wasn't right!
Jin Gong's sense of smell, which had been under constant pressure all year round, told him that the other side was about to pass the tower.
He hurriedly picked up his hammer and walked towards the grass behind the second tower, but Little Peanut had already walked out from the grass behind the first tower!
The level 5 Blind Monk and the level 6 Kenan killed a level 4 Bobby who didn't have a flash.
As the son of the tower, Jin Gong had already reached the pinnacle of his control. Before he was stunned, he cleverly moved at a right angle and picked up a passive. He turned around and used his E skill to knock Kenan, who was resisting the tower, into the wall, and then Q [Holy Hammer Bash] to hit both of them at the same time.
"Jin Gong's control of the defense tower was pretty good. SMEB has been replaced!" Doll was very excited.
"But Jin Gong's minions exploded," Mille added. Watching the game from a bird 's-eye view, he felt a little distressed as he watched more than ten minions being eaten by the defense tower. "Even if he teleported back, he wouldn't be able to make up for the loss."
Jin Gong, who had teleported back, ate the last four ranged minions and recovered a little HP, but the experience he had lost was real.
He had only reached level 5 after seven minutes, and had only dealt 25 hits. It could be said that his minions had exploded.
Xiao Tian looked at Jin Gong helplessly as he handed over the teleport. He pursed his lips and didn't say anything.
After the level of his Q [Command: Attack] increased, the pressure on Lin Yan's minions decreased significantly. He took advantage of Kuro's carelessness to force a round of attacks, and finally managed to reduce Dragon King's HP to zero, forcing him to teleport back to the city.
Lin Yan returned to the city to replenish his Devil's Codex and True Eye. Dragon King had already used his E [Overflowing Star]'s passive escape speed to get online in advance, clearing the minions before Clockwork returned to the middle lane.
Lin Yan finished his minions and went to the bottom half of the jungle to set up True Eye.
Now that Jin Gong had exploded, there was no point in helping him. It was better to invest in the bottom lane.
"Almost nine minutes, YM's kill ratio is 3: 4, but their economy is behind by 1.5K. The economy of the jungler and top laner is worse. Jack and Xiao Ming's equipment still have an advantage." Mille looked at the canyon that had temporarily calmed down and breathed a sigh of relief.
"If this continues, YM won't be weak until the team fight," Doll said.
Lin Yan looked at Dragon King, who was constantly pushing the minions in front of him, and felt a little disgusted. Kuro would roam away after pushing the minions, and most of the time, it would not give him a chance to exhaust his mana.
The last time he exhausted Kuro and teleported him back to the city was because Dragon King was too slow in dealing with the cannon.
"Xiao Tian, help me catch a wave of …"
Lin Yan wanted to, but before he could finish his sentence, a golden light flashed in the dark!
It was Little Peanut!
He was extremely fast, and with the help of W Flash, he teleported over a thousand yards. In the blink of an eye, he was behind Lin Yan!
R [Fierce Dragon Tail]!
Lin Yan was communicating with his teammates and did not have time to react. He was kicked directly into Kuro's arms!
Star String Fall!
Dragon King let out a low roar, and his ultimate skill, Azure Star Fire, poured onto the fragile Clockwork Devil.
Blind Monk used Heavenly Sonic Wave's second stage Q to take the kill.
"Little Peanut!
ROX deserves to be called the savior of the world! "
The Korean commentator was excited, and his voice was very loud. "In nine minutes, he killed a solo in the jungle, overran a tower in the top lane, and killed the mid lane. This is the world's top jungler!"
After killing Clockwork Devil, Little Peanut and Kuro rushed to the bottom lane without stopping.
"Team Tiger is attacking the bottom lane with a 4v2 …" Before he could finish his sentence, Little Peanut inserted an eye slot after YM went down a tower, and a red spiral light lit up.
"5v2!"
"Smeb is also rushing to the bottom lane. Jin Gong used Teleport to eat troops earlier, and Team Tiger hit Jin Gong with a teleport lag!"
Mille sighed. "Xiao Tian has been chased away by Dragon King and Blind Monk. Only Jack and Xiao Ming are left at the bottom lane!"
Xiao Ming looked at the members of Team Tiger who were closing in on him step by step, and tried to throw out a big move and a W to deal AOE damage. However, Little Peanut quickly opened up a distance after taking Fire Man's big move, and didn't cause a Fire Relayer tragedy.
Without a doubt, it was a 5v2. Xiao Tian, who had been chased away, could only look at the corpses of the two at the bottom of the tower and farm a group of three wolves.
"The powerful ROX team has taken down a tower at the bottom lane. They suddenly picked up the pace at the ten-minute mark, and YM was caught off guard!"
The Korean commentator was smug. "4.5K economy in ten minutes. Looks like we can meet in the fifth round."
After taking down another fire dragon, Team Tiger's lead would continue to expand.
Lin Yan was still slightly ahead of Dragon King in the last hit. His previous kill had been taken by Little Peanut, so the economy gap between him and Kuro wasn't that big.
At the thirteenth minute, he returned to the city to take out Ghost Book, and tried to solo the lane in the middle lane.
But Little Peanut came again.
In order to synthesize Ghost Book, Lin Yan's economy was too poor, and he didn't even have the money for True Eye. In addition, Xiao Tian was also at a disadvantage, so he didn't have time to set up his vision in the middle lane. It was only when Little Peanut appeared in the middle lane that Lin Yan realized he had to retreat.
But it was too late. Little Peanut showed no mercy, and his RQQ was extremely stable. Coupled with Dragon King Kuro's Resplendent Starfire, he killed Lin Yan with hard damage.
At the sixteenth minute, Xiao Tian was caught by Little Peanut and Gera in the jungle, and was sent back to the fountain by punching and kicking the Spider Queen.
"Team Tiger's offense is too fierce this round. They have a nearly 7K economy lead at the sixteenth minute. How are they going to fight?" Doll shook her head.
"To be honest, it's too difficult to make a comeback in this round. I hope this loss won't affect YM's mentality in the finals." Mille bit her lip, a little worried.
YM's team voice chat was dead silent, unlike the cheerfulness before the semi-finals.
"There's no way to fight," Xiao Ming said, his tone gloomy.
"Let's endure until the twenty-minute mark and wait for the next Dragon team battle," Lin Yan replied.
Jack controlled Ember to return to the city to replenish his equipment. He opened his headset and drank a mouthful of water. "Let's play a round. If we lose, we'll just wait for the next round."
Xiao Tian's expression clearly didn't look right. He exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, and without a word, he bought equipment and moved with his teammates, leaving the jungle resources to Little Peanut.
At the twenty-minute mark, ROX directly started fighting the Dragon team, and YM went to meet the challenge.
The team battle erupted in the Dragon River.
Even though Jin Gong was at 0: 20 and had been suppressed by SMEB by 50 attacks, his role in the team battle wasn't weak at all.
The moment Kenan entered the field, he sent Kuro and Gera flying with his Great Generals. SMEB flashed into the crowd of YM players, Jack used his Flash to speed up, and Lin Yan put on his shield.
Jin Gong flashed and used [Heroic Charge] to knock Kenan into the wall. Forced away from the battlefield, Kenan's big move didn't deal much damage at all.
Little Peanut still wanted to come in and threaten the back row with a roundhouse kick, but Jin Gong activated W [Firm Style] to block Blind Monk, who was flying in the air.
This wave of maneuvers was full of details.
Lin Yan's big move also swept up three people. Just as they had analyzed at the beginning, their lineup was much stronger than that of the Tigers.
However, the hole they had dug before was really too big, and it couldn't withstand the Tigers' exaggerated equipment advantage.
Three for five, YM was wiped out.
ROX's remaining Policewoman and Blind Monk started fighting the Dragon team. SMEB, who was the first to revive, teleported into the Dragon pit. After the Dragon was taken down, the economic advantage was pulled apart again.
"YM's Crystal has been broken. The time is fixed at twenty-four minutes. The winner is still unknown. We're about to welcome the decisive battle!"
The five YM players took off their headphones and hurriedly left the stage with paper cups. Their expressions were solemn, a stark contrast to the Tigers players who were laughing and chatting on the other side.
There was a lot of discussion in the Chinese live-stream.
"A reversal of extremes?
I remember that the Tigers also had a long face half an hour ago. "
"This is bad, this is bad. Don't tell me YM's mentality has collapsed?
Even if they win a small round and enter the finals? "
"To be honest, they're still too young. The other team has a bunch of professional veterans. In terms of mentality, they lose by a large margin. However, it's still acceptable to be in the top four in the first year of the international competition."
"Especially Jin Gong. He's been targeted so many times in this best-of-five. If he can't adjust his mentality well, won't he directly explode in the next round?"
There was indeed a problem with the mentality of a member of YM, but it wasn't Jin Gong, who was always under pressure, but Xiao Tian.
As soon as he entered the lounge, he buried his head under his arm and didn't say a word.
The considerate Hao hurriedly comforted him, but Hao's usual gentle style clearly didn't work on Xiao Tian right now.
Lin Yan stood in the middle of the lounge with his hands on his hips. He knew that Xiao Tian was blaming himself for the loss in the previous round. If it wasn't for the Phyllostachys Pubescens's jungle collapsing first, Little Peanut's rhythm wouldn't have been so good.
"What's the use of regretting it now?"
Hanyi looked at Xiao Tian's autistic appearance and couldn't help but frown as she said, "Adjust your mentality and prepare for the deciding game."
The coach's expression was solemn. The words "deciding game" weighed heavily on Xiao Tian's heart, and he buried his head even lower.
Ever since he started playing professionally, he had never played in a best-of-five deciding game. In addition, he hadn't played well in the previous round, so it was inevitable that he was under a lot of pressure.
Xiao Ming was biting his fingers on the side, his eyes dazed and his face blank.
If he continued to be dispirited like this, he was afraid that he would lose half the game first.
Lin Yan glanced at the time. There were less than two minutes left before he went on stage again.
He simply sat next to Xiao Tian.
"Do you still remember the Top 20 players list that Fist's officials released a month ago?" Lin Yan's topic of conversation was a little baffling.
Xiao Tian lifted his head from under his arm and glanced at him, his eyes a little red.
"Xiao Tian's early offense relies too much on the middle lane's help. It's still unknown whether he can step up when the middle lane is muted." Lin Yan had a good memory and repeated Fist's officials' evaluation of Xiao Tian.
"At the time, they said it was a toxic healer list, so just laugh it off. But are you willing to be evaluated like that?" Lin Yan asked lightly, hitting Xiao Tian in the heart.
He looked straight into Xiao Tian's eyes.
"Usually, when we play LPL, I can take you to the side lane. You can just be a tool and carry out orders. But now, the opponent is very strong. I can't help you suppress the opponent's jungler every game. You have to find your own way of playing.
"Gao Tianliang, you are yourself." Lin Yan said the last sentence. "You're not a subordinate of any of your teammates. You're YM's tian."
"Do you want to prove yourself?
Your chance will come soon. The delicate-looking Little Peanut opposite you is this year's brightest new star in LCK. "
Just then, Winston knocked on the door of the team's lounge. "YM player and coach, get ready. We're going on stage."
Xiao Tian blinked and wiped his face with his skinny arm.
Lin Yan was right. He was YM's tian.
"Let's go and play the deciding game."
His tone was firm. He didn't avoid this word anymore. He grabbed the tomato-and-egg colored Conquest jacket from the back of the chair and put it on. He took the drink Hao handed him, opened the door, and walked out.
"Brother Ran, where did you learn all this chicken soup?" JKL asked curiously as they walked through the dark player passageway. "Can you teach me?
I have a feeling that I'll be able to use it one day. "
He looked at Xiao Tian, who was walking at the front. Phyllostachys Pubescens's skinny body was straight. There was no sign of the effects of the previous loss.
"I made it up." Lin Yan glanced at Big-headed AD. "I was just trying my best. Who knew that this bowl of chicken soup would really wake him up?"
In the Korean commentary booth, the three commentators looked relaxed.
"The previous match perfectly demonstrated the difference between junglers," one of them said cheerfully. "As expected of Little Peanut, the pride of our Republic of Korea's one in ten thousand junglers. He crushed his opponent like an armored car!"
"If nothing goes wrong, ROX will win the match cleanly." There was another commentator beside him. "I've done my research. YM has never played a deciding game before. They were even tortured in the previous match. Their mentality must have collapsed."
"If ROX wins the match, we'll make history. The S League has never had two consecutive internal battles in the same division. Last year, KOO and SKT won glory for our country in the European continent. The scene of the audience cheering for Faker's arrival is still vivid in my mind. It's really the glory of the Republic of Korea."
The Koreans had always been patriotic. Everything they said was for the sake of their country. The three commentators were already happily imagining the internal battle in the finals.
When the Chinese audience saw Xiao Tian, who was the first to go on stage, his eyes turned red, their hearts skipped a beat. They had a bad feeling.
Was he crying from the scolding?
Then, when they glanced at the YM players behind them, they all had serious expressions. Xiao Ming and JKL, who usually liked to laugh, pursed their lips. Lin Yan was also no longer as calm as he usually was.
Oh no, his mentality had really collapsed?
For a moment, the bullet screen was filled with the word "GG".
Fortunately, Lin Yan could not see the bullet screen sent by the audience. Otherwise, he would have mocked them back.
The deciding game is so serious. Everyone is thinking of countermeasures. Do I have to keep smiling?
Sorry, I can't do that.
The three Chinese commentators saw the expressions of the YM players but did not point it out. They were also afraid of causing more trouble for the audience.
At this time, the LOL battle song "Silver Scapes" sounded. The live audience was stirred up by the music, and their cheers gradually rose.
Doll was a little emotional. "The familiar background music is playing. We're about to welcome the final round of the BO5. The winner will move on to Los Angeles, and the loser will return home!"
Mille opened his mouth and went straight to the BP segment. "YM has limited choice of sides in the fifth round. As usual, they'll take the blue side and ban Gunslinger first."
ROX had never changed banning Panther Lady.
YM then sent Victor to the ban position, and the Tigers blocked Ella. They had no better way to deal with this hero when the female gunner was banned.
For the last ban, YM chose Kenan. The Tigers had no choice but to ban Sindra.
"Can you help me get Spider first?" Xiao Tian finally said his first sentence since he went on stage.
Hanyi hesitated for two seconds.
"If you're confident, then take it."
"Trust me." Xiao Tian looked at Jin Gong.
"Taking Spider first with Olaf?" Mille frowned and was a little surprised. "This …"
"Olaf and Frost. The Tiger Team didn't hesitate to lock these two heroes," Remember said from the side. "Spider, this hero, is not bad against Olaf before level 6. It's up to Little Tian to seize the opportunity to break the game first."
YM then chose Ashen and Karma.
The Tigers chose Lambo and Nami, the two heroes.
"Nami is mainly used to counter Ashen's big move. Now that Ella and Karma are not here, Nami can really do it."
For the last two heroes to choose, in the face of Hanyi's inquiry, Lin Yan glanced at his team's lineup.
"Cards. I think cards are okay. They have some control and can grab the side lane."
"Card Master!
This is also Ran's signature hero. I still remember that in the group stage of this year's global finals, he used cards to kill Ximen Yeshui's Fishman. This choice is quite solid! "
"Jin Gong, what about you?" Hanyi asked. "Can Bobby do it?"
Jin Gong hesitated for a long time. When there were only 15 seconds left on the hero selection countdown, he said, "I want to use a swordswoman. Their lineup can't restrict me from carrying a single character. Their legs are very short and they don't have any displacement."
Hanyi looked at the 20-year-old top laner who had experienced the vicissitudes of life.
"… Choose. Don't leave any regrets," he said slowly.
Xiao Ming decisively chose!
The live commentator and audience exclaimed in disbelief.
Kenji was definitely an unpopular choice in the S6 finals. In this version, everyone had figured out that the key to wealth was to focus on the bottom lane and control the little dragon.
Therefore, the top laners were basically team fighting characters like Lambo, Kenan, Bobby, and Ike. Troll's rise was to counter Bobby and Ike, so it was not considered a traditional solo play.
Swordmistress was famous for being weak in team fights and carrying a single Deity. YM's choice of players in this version surprised them.
"What should we take for the last position?"
The Tigers did not expect Jin Gong to choose Kenji. After a short moment of surprise, they immediately began to discuss countermeasures.
"It's best not to choose Clockwork or Snake Girl. Our legs are too short. We won't be able to catch this solo Kenji," Coach Nofe said.
"How about Dragon King?
He can roam and restrict card masters. It's Kuro's specialty, "Daddy Gera suggested.
"Take it, take it. There's not much time left."
The two teams' lineups were confirmed.
The blue team's YM: top laner Kenji, jungler Spider, mid laner Card, bottom laner Lu Jin, and Karma.
The red team's ROX: top laner Lambo, jungler Olaf, mid laner Dragon King, bottom laner Ice, and Nami.
"ROX Tigers, do your best!" The five members of the Tigers shouted in unison. Everyone's eyes were filled with the desire to win.
"Play well." Hanyi was no longer serious when he took off his headphones. "Just do your best. No one will scold you."
Xiao Tian clenched his fists and pinched his fingers. His eyes were bright and bright.
The moment the Summoner's Canyon appeared on the big screen in the middle of the stadium.
In Madison Square Garden, tens of thousands of spectators shouted in unison, cheering for the team they supported. The stadium instantly became a sea of people. Their voices were about to tear through the roof and soar into the sky!