Starting with Zaozi Ge, a dream lineup

Chapter 208 The Second Pentakill, SKT's Trap!
After several overwhelming team fights, the bottom lane inhibitor tower fell first, even though the top lane second tower was still standing.

After respawning, the group saw Ornn teleport in front of them and watched helplessly as Ezreal destroyed the bottom lane inhibitor and made a powerful exit.

This kind of deterrent power gives the explorer, who can leave even top professional players helpless, a huge advantage.
This one-sided situation makes it hard to believe that the ancient four-protect-one tactic could produce such an effect.

Watching the match on screen and contemplating the changes to League of Legends in the latter half of the year after MSI, the designers saw this and discussed it extensively. Before long, they reached a conclusion:
"Nerf, it has to be nerfed. Not just Ezreal, all AD champions need to be nerfed, especially reducing the dominance of this 4-protect-1 strategy. It's just too overpowered."

Yes, RNG's four-protect-one strategy is not only strong in terms of heroes, but also in terms of its overall gameplay system.

Unlike poke and jungle carry, the four-protect-one strategy is a very easy-to-learn tactic that any team, even in a casual game, can understand at a glance.

Resources are allocated to one person, while the others play utility heroes to withstand the opponent's attacks.

Even if these ADCs are weakened, it won't make any difference. In the years from Season 3 to Season 8 of League of Legends, countless heroes have proven their potential to be a four-protect-one team.

Moreover, this playstyle is quite toxic. Everyone else picks a support or utility champion, leaving the outcome to be decided by one player. There is absolutely no interaction, which is exactly the kind of fighting extravaganza that Riot Games was pursuing in Season 8.

Under this tactic, it's impossible to tell which team is strong and which team is weak.

As for its entertainment value, it's just so-so. But once or twice, the audience finds this tactic fresh and interesting.

But if it's a four-protect-one situation for several games in a row, and you're watching one person's performance, people will quickly start cursing.

Ultimately, League of Legends is still a 5v5 game at its core.

However, the biggest problem with the nerf is that the "four protect one" strategy is developed based on the game's core.

Weakening or eliminating this tactic from League of Legends is extremely difficult and may even involve fundamental gameplay elements.

Many team coaches and analysts simply have no way to counter this tactic.

However, if it is not contained, RNG will become an unbeatable team like Skt was back then, leaving other teams in despair and unable to resist.

Every time this happens, it causes a large number of viewers to leave.

"Uzi is such a worry, but if we really need to target his bot lane, other ADC players will complain."

Lewis, the designer who was in charge of designing and balancing several heroes, said helplessly.

A significant nerf would inevitably provoke a backlash from a large number of players.

Many heroes that are not popular in casual games but are popular in professional games will be nerfed, and such nerfs will not provoke any resistance from players.

However, if you significantly weaken a hero in a certain position, it can easily incite public outrage.

It is precisely this weakening that requires designers to work through the night, countless nights, to achieve the right balance.

"Let's figure out a way to study this after MSI is over, otherwise this won't work. His individual contribution is equivalent to that of three people!"

Another designer looked at the output data from the backend and said with a headache.

What does it mean for an ADC to account for more than 60% of the damage in a professional match? Throughout the history of League of Legends, this has only happened a handful of times.

Such a large-scale weakening is unavoidable.

Simply shutting down a particularly strong hero is completely useless in the hero pool of a professional player.

"Perhaps we can release the changes to those heroes ahead of schedule?"

A designer sitting in the corner suddenly had a brilliant idea and said something that immediately caused a stir in the conference room.

"You mean those heroes that we haven't tested extensively yet?"

"Those heroes were the ones we planned for the World Championship. Wouldn't it be too rushed to include them in the Summer Split?"

"That's a good idea! We can shift the focus of the alliance's strategy and weaken the bottom lane's influence!"

Once the brainstorming session began, the designers shared their diverse opinions and started a heated discussion.

Li Luo was unaware that he had once again influenced some insignificant historical trajectories.

With his Mejai's Soulstealer fully stacked, Ezreal's AP reached over 700 after returning home and replenishing his AP with a potion.

Even more terrifying is that its attack power is over 200 points.

This kind of panel data, at this time, has already reached the realm of celestial beings.

When RNG grouped up to take down Baron, SKT tried to come over, but on the way, three of them were hit by Ezreal's precise barrage (R), and Xayah almost died. They quickly ran away.

"I just received news that Uzi has broken two world records: the most last hits in 20 minutes and the largest gold difference in a lane matchup within 20 minutes, making history in the League! You can check these records now by logging in and clicking."

Upon hearing the news from the director, Wawa said excitedly.

"Wow, although I had already guessed that Uzi would break this record, the fact that he can maintain this record within the LPL is enough to prove the strength of the LPL."

Miller also chimed in.

This equipment is too overwhelming.

Even without Janna and Karma's protection, Ezreal's survivability is off the charts.

The 10% cooldown reduction from Transcendence, the 20% cooldown reduction from Archangel's Staff, and the 10% cooldown reduction from CDR boots bring Ezreal's cooldown reduction to a total of 40%.

After defeating Baron, the team went back to base to replenish their supplies. Ezreal sold his cooldown reduction boots and bought his final item, Void Staff.

The French Open officially broke through 800 points.

Without even considering a tug-of-war, at 28 minutes into the game, RNG grouped up and pushed mid. In front of the high ground tower, they seized an opportunity, and Li Luo directly controlled Ezreal to unleash the classic triple combo of EWQ, charging in.

It's the same old routine.

But Xia, standing before the high ground tower, seemed to have had her major artery ruptured, and died instantly.

Upon seeing this, Letme's Ornn decisively used his ultimate. With Jarvan IV's ultimate, Skt's front line hadn't even begun to show its power before Hanzi was almost instantly killed.

Even after taking the blue buff, Ezreal's cooldown reduction remains at 40%.

With such constant bursts of assassin attacks, no one can withstand this level of damage.

As the sound effects of a pentakill echoed above the Rift, all the spectators at the scene, including those watching on their screens, were stunned!
A second pentakill!

In the last game, I got a pentakill playing Xayah against Ezreal, and in this game, I got a pentakill playing Ezreal against Xayah!

My God, are you a pentakill wholesaler?

All the audience members present exclaimed that the trip was worthwhile, and even the commentators shook their heads repeatedly, finding it unbelievable that LPL had suddenly risen to prominence.

Last year, RNG fought a full best-of-five series against SKT and managed to win with great difficulty. However, this year it turned into a one-sided stomp, which is truly surprising.

With everyone dead, a large wave of minions entered the high ground, sealing Skt's defeat in the second game. RNG took the lead in securing match point in the 2018 MSI finals.

When the crystal shone brightly and then shattered into pieces, even though Li Luo remained calm, a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Even a team as strong as SKT couldn't beat RNG at their peak during S8. Before Riot Games intervened, RNG was truly an invincible team.

Looking at his teammates beside him, they were all excited and in high spirits.

Last year's victory against SKT, their mental fortitude, was a narrow triumph, and everyone lacked a clear understanding of their own strength. But in this year's match against SKT, SKT was completely outmatched by RNG.

"Congratulations to RNG for taking match point. I think the MVP will definitely go to Uzi this game; his damage output should be amazing."

"Yes, wait, the puppy dealt 68% of the team's total damage, rightfully securing the victory. Most importantly, the puppy didn't die even once this game!"

"This RNG team is about to continue its legendary run. To be honest, I've only seen this kind of control in SKT during S5 and S6."

The baby laughed too.

"The fact that a league can produce such a dominant team is a great inspiration to the other teams in the league. If they can win the next game, LPL will bring home another MSI championship after three years!"

"Take a break, we'll be back in a bit. We'll continue with the third match, a clash of titans. Now, we'll hand over the commentary to the off-site broadcasters."

If Bang and Hanzi lost their fighting spirit after losing the last game, then after this game, even Faker was somewhat desperate.

This led him to do only two things during his wanderings.

Splat! Die!
The screen refreshes when it's on, but freezes when it's off!
This crushing defeat made Faker question his own playing style once again.

Is the support playstyle actually effective?
Actually, you can't really blame Faker. Some playstyles are very characteristic of the current meta. Doinb's mindless ganking, Pantheon, Kled, and Nautilus all have distinct styles. They are not afraid in lane and have fast ganking speed.

However, as long as you can see the changes in the S9 version, you will find that the mid-lane mage has very little say.

The buffs to AD items and the nerfs to AP items meant that during Season 9, Doinb could simply let you farm in the mid lane without dealing much damage.

However, in the S8 version, just like FPX in the S10 version, this support playstyle was not popular. As long as the mid-lane heroes were buffed, this playstyle would quickly become a trap.

Once a player begins to question their own playing style, it's like questioning whether they are normal, and they are very likely to break down.

Coach Kkoma sighed when he saw everyone like this, swallowing the words of encouragement he was about to say.

If there was still a chance to cheat in the first and second rounds, then in the third round, it was all about head-on confrontation.

There's an old Chinese saying, "A desperate army is bound to win." Whether they can withstand the pressure of match point and come back from a 0-2 deficit to win 3-2 depends entirely on themselves.

The second game ended, and it was match point time. The break time was extended from half an hour to 40 minutes.

As soon as the match ended, all sorts of memes about Ezreal from the previous match were immediately created.

For example, the small gun in EZ's hand was replaced with a cannon, accompanied by the caption: "Second Battalion Commander, how's my Italian cannon?"

Not only that, EZ's head was also replaced with Li Luo's confident smiling face, but the two tears hanging on either side of his eyes made people want to laugh at first glance.

It's so vivid and lifelike, especially those two goddess tears, which are the perfect finishing touch.

The netizens' happy time quickly made up for the waiting time, and as the director switched the screen, the third match officially began.

In this game, the two sides switched sides again. In the third game, RNG returned to the blue side, with the first ban and first pick, but no counter picks.

However, in the LPL, RNG is a well-known blue team, and when they get the blue side, they rarely lose a game.

RNG's balanced strength means that other positions don't need counter-picks, and the bot lane is even less so.

On the contrary, the blue side's first pick allows them to secure the strong heroes that RNG needs, which is very suitable for RNG's style.

Of course, even if that's what they think, SKT wouldn't be foolish enough to compete with RNG for the blue side; the red side is also something SKT needs.

The draft picks in this game completely baffled both Wawa and Miller from the very beginning.

RNG, on the blue side, banned Gangplank, Rakan, and Irelia.

Skt, on the red side, banned Ezreal, Syndra, and Ornn.

"this"

"Kasha, she's been released?"

Both Haier Brothers found it hard to believe.

Longhair, on the other hand, seemed a bit confused, looking at the two of them with a strange expression.

"Wow, is Xiaogou's Kai'Sa really that good? The stats look like Xiaogou's average level."

Upon hearing what Changmao said, the two smiled but didn't say anything more. Instead, the director answered Changmao's question.

Uzi's Kai'Sa win rate was displayed directly on the large screen.

His impressive record of 100% win rate in 14 games has earned him the admiration of everyone who has seen it.

It's worth noting how terrifying it was when so many teams shamelessly ganked the bot lane during the Spring Split. In that environment, achieving a 100% win rate further proves the skill of using Kai'Sa.

Moreover, in the 14 games he played, he achieved godlike status in 9 games and pentakills in 3 games. Although this record is normal for Uzi in the S8 regular season, it would be a record that other AD players could boast about for years.

But how dare Skt let this hero pass?

The doll raised an eyebrow and said, "Warfare is based on deception. Is this bpemmm something Kkoma is setting a trap for?"

From the group stage onwards, in matches against RNG, all teams implicitly gave one ban slot to Kai'Sa.

Everyone knows that Uzi's Kai'Sa cannot be allowed to play.

If other ADCs are only strong in team fights, then Uzi's Kai'Sa has unparalleled control from the laning phase onwards.

Kai'Sa, who has been banned by default, was released in the match point game of the finals, which was undoubtedly a provocation by Bang.

I dare to release it, do you dare to take it?
It's like a girl in bed saying to you, "I want to challenge you," which is incredibly exciting.

But
Who knows if this girl's penis is bigger than yours?
"They actually dared to release it. Was it a test? It seems like a trap prepared by Skt?"

Chris flipped through his notebook. He, who could usually guess what Kkoma was thinking, was a little confused today.

"What an obvious trap!"

"If we weren't told to pick Kai'Sa directly on the first floor, I'm afraid the other side is just trying to scare us and is planning to pick Kai'Sa themselves, using her as a way to ban her. Junze's Ornn has been pretty good these past two games, and they don't have enough ban slots."

"No need to take it!"

Li Luo shook his head.

"Kai'Sa has many weaknesses. She's weak in the early game, has a short range, needs a specific support, and is easily kited. We might as well first pick Nautilus to test the enemy's thinking and see if they'll pick Kai'Sa."

"arrow"

Letme, who was on the first floor, nodded and locked the Titan first.

Titan is the most suitable support for Kai'Sa in this version. Once you pick the Titan and Kai'Sa combination, the win rate in the bot lane is undoubtedly the highest.

There's really no rush with Kai'Sa. To be honest, several teams have used her at this year's MSI, but her record and win rate have been fluctuating around 40%.

Besides being unfamiliar with the system that Kai'Sa brings, it is also related to the fact that Kai'Sa has been nerfed three times in the MSI version.

(End of this chapter)