Starting with Zaozi Ge, a dream lineup

Chapter 282 One Man's Strength, Head-on Confrontation!

In the semifinals, they would lay a trap in the draft phase. Generally, when RNG got the blue side, they would prioritize locking in the jungler to help Xiangguo gain an advantage in the jungle.

However, at this moment, an Akali pulled out a champion and forced Xayah and Rakan to engage in lane pressure, which put Rw in a difficult position.

"Should we take it or not? Should we take it, or should we give it to them?" Coach Steak seemed to be asking, but his eyes were actually fixed on Brother Ma.

If Rakan roams with the jungler, then Xayah in the bottom lane will inevitably become RNG's main target for attack. If she can't withstand the pressure, she will be the first to face criticism from the outside world.

"Anything is fine," Ma Ge's answer remained concise and forceful.

But it was this very answer that put Steak in a difficult position.

"Let him pick. It's always the bot lane that gets sacrificed. Today we're facing RNG, so it's better to play it safe. It's too painful for them to get Xayah and Rakan," Doinb said at this moment.

Haro nodded in agreement: "That's right. We'll protect the lower road then. Who knows who will win or lose when that old thief gets going!"

Hearing several people say this, Steak gave an order and immediately locked in the Xayah and Rakan combination on Rw's red side.

Instantly, a deafening roar erupted from the scene, with screams rising and falling in waves.

By bringing out the Xayah-Rakan duo, Rw clearly told all the viewers that they were going to face off against RNG in the bot lane. Moreover, the Xayah-Rakan duo is extremely popular worldwide. Their backstories and popularity in ranked games meant that, before Rakan was significantly nerfed, they were both highly sought-after in solo queue and professional matches.

Moreover, who is currently recognized as the world's number one Xia?
Uzi!

In the best-of-five series against SKT in the S7 semifinals, her invincible pentakill was an insurmountable obstacle for all players using Xayah.

Some might say that relying solely on that one match in the S7 semifinals is a bit of a one-off argument, but throughout the entire S8 season, in games with RNG, Uzi managed to get the Xayah and Rakan combo 0 times! Especially considering his recent ranked performance on the Korean server, he has achieved a terrifying 100% win rate in 14 games.

By picking Xayah and Rakan in front of RNG, it's clear that Rw won't be avoiding the situation like they did against IG. Once the bot lane starts fighting, it will definitely not be a simple 2v2.

"A direct confrontation! That's so exciting!"

"I wholeheartedly support the two teams' bot lanes facing off. By the way, is Uzi going to pick Yasuo again?"

"I want Vayne! Vayne and Xayah, holy crap, this is getting exciting!"

The environment has a great influence on people. Audiences who are shy when watching games in China suddenly let loose and cheered loudly when they picked a hero at the LCK home stadium.

"Looks like they're taking the bait, Little Dog, what hero should we use to take them down?" Chris laughed.

"No rush, you guys pick first," Li Luo shook his head. Rather than picking heroes specifically targeting Rw's bot lane duo, he preferred to pick heroes that complemented the overall composition of the enemy team.

After all, even a powerful combination like Draven and Thresh would find it difficult to gain an advantage over the Xayah and Rakan combination in the current version.

Picking an ADC who can comfortably lane and team fight is perhaps more important.

The team's star player asked to be picked later, and no one else objected.

After all, Rw's overall team strength is not particularly outstanding, so the draft and tactics have a greater impact on the situation. The lineups of both sides were finalized quickly, and soon it was Li Luo's turn to choose.

The blue team's last two picks were the bot lane duo, while the red team reserved their last counter pick for jungler Haro.

After observing the opposing heroes, Li Luo locked in one hero.

"It's time to show some real skills!"

Explorer-Ezreal.

Xiaoming also locked in a hero that is almost never seen in the game: Bard, the Wanderer.

To be honest, RNG's bot lane duo is indeed designed to counter the overall composition of the enemy team, but outside viewers don't see it that way.

Ezreal + Bard vs. Xayah and Rakan: This laning matchup is going to be very interesting.

Bard is a champion whose nature is to roam, picking up notes in the jungle while invading with the jungler, leaving the ADC to farm alone in the bottom lane.

In this situation, Rakan will definitely have to go too, and inevitably, Xayah and Ezreal in the bottom lane will have to face off head-on.

With Rw's final pick, the lineups for both sides were finalized.

Rng (Blue Side) vs. Rw (Red Side)

Top Lane: Ornn vs. Shen

Jungle: Zac vs Taliyah
Mid-lane: Akali vs Kled
ADC: Ezreal vs Xayah

Support: Bard vs. Rakan

Overall, both teams' right flanks were very aggressive in the early to mid-game, especially in the early game. Rw seemed to have absorbed the essence of IG's strategy, perhaps because they had carefully studied IG's system beforehand.

When they beat IG, they relied on their bottom, mid, and jungle, while their top laner just had to play passively against TheShy.

Now, when facing RNG, they chose the same strategy, but made slight adjustments. The top laner and mid laner chose Shen and Kled, who are more functional.

Similarly, RNG made some slight changes. Although it is still a strong lineup that is no weaker than Rw's, it is more focused on mid-to-late game team fights.

Yes.

Rw needs to make changes when playing against RNG.

But Rng doesn't need it at all.

Because RNG is currently superior to Rw in all four lanes in terms of sheer strength. Of course, so far in the World Championship, no team has been able to force RNG to unleash their ultimate move.

"Rw's lineup today is very aggressive. Overall, both IG and Rw are very aggressive teams. The only difference is that Rw's top laner is more conservative. But against RNG, perhaps Rw's approach is the right one."

"Yes, just looking at the lineups, the early game of this match will likely be quite bloody and intense, which is precisely the biggest highlight of the current version. The game is currently loading. Just a reminder to everyone watching the live stream: Colonel Ki from KFC is supporting the semi-finals, broadcasting live. Bright Dairy and Lenovo Legion are also featured."

The hype surrounding the LPL internal battle drove up the price of an advertisement during the semi-finals to an astronomical level. The official fee for a 5-second ad was a staggering 350 million RMB, take it or leave it.

……

"The opponent has Ezreal." Liu Qingsong looked thoughtful. Ezreal is a familiar face in the competition.

As a versatile character, you could say he's strong, but his early and mid-game performance is just average; you could also say he's weak, but his mid-game power spike can inexplicably lead the team to victory. Of course, when it comes to the Xayah vs. Ezreal matchup, some say Xayah is better than Ezreal, while others say Ezreal is better than Xayah.

There are different opinions.

But one thing made Liu Qingsong a little uneasy.

That is the laning ability of MaGe and Uzi. As a support, understanding the opponent's bot lane is a must. This is not only reflected in RNG's match replays, but also in ranked games, RW's analysts have recorded special replays for everyone to study.

Compared to Uzi in S7, the current Uzi is indeed quite strange. No matter how disadvantaged he is in his lane, how many people come to gank him, or even in the worst-case scenario where the bottom lane tower falls in 7 minutes, he can still maintain an even balance with the opposing ADC in a 1v1.

Considering Rw's tactical points in this game, Liu Qingsong's sense of unease became even more pronounced, even when his bot lane duo was clearly stronger than the opponent's.
Liu Qingsong said:
"Doinb, I think it's better to play in lane this game."

"Play in lane? No, no, no, it's hard for me to kill him in mid lane. We'll just focus on supporting and fighting in the jungle so we can gain an early advantage and crush them." Doinb is Rw's strategist, and hearing Liu Qingsong say this, he naturally didn't want to play in lane.

However, this also reveals that Doinb has indeed neglected laning training and focused more on supporting other lanes.

If this were the standard S9 version, perhaps Doinb's approach wouldn't be wrong. But unfortunately, this is a heavily modified S8, and nobody knows what the outcome will be when taking such an unconventional approach.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of the bot lane this game," said jungler Haro, his eyes filled with killing intent. In terms of determination to win the championship, Haro is actually much stronger than Doinb.

Haro and A-Guang are fundamentally different, both having come from EDG.

A-Guang is a key player; before joining Rw, he was also Edg's starting top laner.

Although the two had a very good relationship, seeing his good friend perform every day while he could only stand silently in the shadow of the factory manager, he was naturally unwilling to remain ordinary due to his competitive nature.

Edg had never reached the semifinals before, but now they've made it to the semifinals, and they even want to continue. So, Haro's performance this time was better than ever before.

At the start of the match, both sides started with aggressive items, with everyone buying offensive items. Even Bard brought a support item that boosted AP, showing no signs of backing down.

Because of Bard and Ezreal's poke, and Rw also had Kled and Taliyah, neither side clearly intended to engage in a level 1 team fight.

RNG's five players lined up in a long, straight line, waiting for the game to begin.

After helping the jungler, the bottom lane matchup received the director's attention again. The top lane was a battle between two mediocre players. The mid lane was unlikely to fight before they leveled up. The jungler was focused on farming.

Sima Laozei is widely recognized in China as an ADC who excels in both laning and team fights, so his bot lane is sure to be a highlight as well.

Upon logging in, using the minions to block her movement, she landed a Q skill on Xayah, taking away a negligible amount of health.

On the other side, Sima Laozei took advantage of Ezreal's attempt to last-hit a minion, activated his W skill, and immediately closed the distance to engage in a direct fight.

WAA triggers its own lethal rhythm, preventing Ezreal and Bard from chasing it down. The standard Xayah and Rakan combo is an unstoppable force in the bot lane.

But Li Luo didn't let Xia go back like that either. He skillfully used his Q skill to pass through the minions and land on Xia.

Then, using the attack speed stacked up by his Q skill, Ezreal moved forward, seemingly wanting to both harass and last-hit minions, causing Xayah to hesitate for a moment before attacking him again.

However, Li Luo used the same trick again, taking a simple step back and pulling Xayah away from behind the minions, then followed up with a Q skill.

Ezreal unleashed a burst of yellow energy, which landed on Xayah, granting her an attack speed buff. He quickly distanced himself from Xayah and disappeared into the bushes to avoid minion aggro.

In this exchange of blows, the two level 1 supports could only watch helplessly. Under Ezreal's damage, Xayah's health dropped to 60%. Although Ezreal was the one chasing, he firmly controlled the minion aggro and damage. Although the two had similar health on their stats, Ezreal's health bar was 70%.

"Wow, this dog's blood exchange is so profitable!" Wawa exclaimed, looking at the money bag floating above Ezreal's head with +100.

"At level one, especially in lane, as long as you don't die, Ezreal can always win by using his Q skill to trigger Kleptomancy. The main thing is that those two backsteps are making things difficult for Sima Yi."

"It's not just the backstep; Ezreal's attack range is actually 25 yards longer than Xayah's. In solo queue, Xayah usually takes Fleet Footwork when playing against Ezreal, but today Old Thief took Lethal Tempo. Trading blows at level 1 is a bit unwise."

"Of course, Ezreal's Q animation is still very difficult to dodge with the current movement speed without boots. Sometimes, when chasing Ezreal, it's better to move to the side."

The Grand Marshal's explanation made many viewers suddenly realize the truth.

The two brothers, Doll and Miller, were responsible for creating a lively atmosphere and controlling the flow of the event, while Teacher Ma provided commentary on the details and the overall situation. Surprisingly, the results were excellent.

During this exchange of blows, both supports could only watch helplessly. Liu Qingsong, who hadn't leveled up any skills, was a bit confused. Seeing Xayah's health, he quickly leveled up his Q skill, nibbled at Bard, and barely managed to give Xayah a small amount of health.

Seeing that Rakan had used his Q skill, before the two could even react, Ezreal emerged from the bushes and stepped forward, hitting Xayah with his Q skill.

Ezreal's Q skill has a 5-second cooldown in the early game, but due to the 5% cooldown reduction from Cosmic Insight in the Artifact tree and the effect of reducing cooldown when the Q skill hits an enemy, it actually only has a 3-second cooldown.

The passive ability, Spell Power, increases Ezreal's attack speed by 10% with each hit of Q. By the time the fourth Q hits, the attack speed bonus has reached 40%.

Keep in mind that the attack speed bonus from the Statikk Shiv is only 35%, and Blade of the Ruined King is only 25%. Having a sudden 40% bonus in the early game is already extremely terrifying.

With these attack speed bonuses, Ezreal can land five attacks while Xayah can only land three.

"Oh no, let's go!"

Ma Ge's usually calm face suddenly showed a hint of surprise. He hurriedly told Liu Qingsong to retreat, but Luo was still chased down and hit by Ezreal's QA during the retreat.

He chased Ezreal all the way to the tower, and only left after Ezreal missed his Q.

This exchange of blows reduced Xayah to only 40% health, while Ezreal, having crossed the minion wave, still had 55% health remaining.

Wow!
Many people at the scene exclaimed in surprise, somewhat confused by the level 1 trade between the two sides in the bottom lane.

With the same equipment, the same level, and no difference in hero attributes, Ezreal is not the weakest hero at level 1 in the bot lane food chain, but how can he be so strong against Xayah and Rakan?

There are really a lot of people who don't understand this battle of the gods.

But those who can understand it, when they put themselves in Sima Yi's shoes, feel only a deep sense of powerlessness.

Q skill was too accurate?

No, it should be said that the Q skill interrupted Xayah's basic attack!

It sounds a bit far-fetched, but when the director cut to the replay of this suppression, those who had this idea became even more convinced of it.

Ezreal's Q skill was interrupted when Xayah was about to start her auto-attack. As a top professional player, seeing Ezreal's Q skill start animation would make one instinctively want to dodge it. But it was this subconscious physical reaction that interrupted her auto-attack rhythm!

Ezreal alone managed to overpower the Xayah and Rakan duo so much that they almost collapsed at level one.
(End of this chapter)