Starting with Zaozi Ge, a dream lineup

Chapter 357 A Shocking Upset! First Impressions of the Jungle Carry

"Let's shout out the words everyone's been waiting for—Congratulations Edg! Congratulations to Edg for defeating Top Esports 3-0 and advancing to the semifinals, successfully securing the first semifinal ticket to the Demacia Cup!"

"Yes, all three matches today were very exciting. We can see a completely different Edg team than before, especially Clearlove's performance in all three games, which was simply invincible!"

"They're really impressive! Edg's strength in all three lanes is now at its peak. Whether it's the bot lane duo of Uzi and Meiko, the mid-jungle pairing of Scout and Clearlove, or the individual skill of Flandre in the top lane, Edg is virtually unbeatable."

After three rounds, even the stubborn Cat Emperor finally gave in.

Edg's current strength is obvious to all. Whenever Top Esports manages to gain an advantage over Edg in a game, Cat Emperor will insist that it's a tactical issue.

But in reality.
This is too cruel for the five players on Top Esports.

Congratulations Edg!!!

"Congratulations to Edg for defeating Top Esports and advancing to the semifinals. If they win both remaining best-of-five series, Edg will break their own record once again."

As the teacher finished speaking, a thunderous cheer erupted in the competition venue.

Countless LPL viewers shouted the players' names!

On stage, the Edg members had already stood up to shake hands with the five members of Top Esports.

The morale of the entire Top Esports team was not as low as one might expect.

Through their match against Edg, they gained a full understanding of the team's current problems.

There's still plenty of time to adjust before the Spring Split, which isn't a bad thing for the team; in fact, it could be considered a good thing.

Otherwise, it will be difficult to correct mistakes by the time the Spring Split starts.

As Li Luo walked over, Ka Ge gave an awkward smile. Combined with Ka Ge's earlier statement that he was a fan of the factory manager, the effect on the big screen in the center of the stage instantly became apparent.

"Factory, you're going a bit too far. You're attacking your fans like that?"

When Li Luo shook hands with Brother Ka, Brother Ka said something with a hint of reproach.

Zaozi Ge, who was behind Li Luo, also heard it and immediately started shouting:

"Hey, Hong Haoxuan, reason is reason and law is law. You can't beat the factory manager, but I still contributed a little, didn't I?"

"You bastard, you've got a whole repertoire of beating up your former teammate!"

Listening to the conversation between the two, not only did the Edg members laugh, but even the Top Esports members who were meeting for the first time couldn't help but sigh.

The relationship between these people is truly enviable.

"Alright, the first match of the Demacia Cup quarterfinals has ended. The next match will be between our S9 champion team FPX and JD Gaming. It's going to be an exciting match. Let's wish Edg and Top Esports the best of luck once again."

In the commentary booth, they began to review the results of the three matches that had just taken place.

On the other side, after returning to the rest room, Li Luo generously gave the MVP interview for the day to the bot lane duo.

This kind of attention-grabbing activity might seem like a cushy job to other contestants, but for top-tier star players like them, it's a real ordeal.

Not only do they have to be timid and submissive in front of the camera, but even if they want to say something witty, they have to consider that this is the Demacia Cup, where there is no influence and it would be a waste of breath.

After the group stage and the quarterfinals, the Edg team has a clear understanding of their own strength and the team's fighting power.

After the quarterfinals, the team returned to their base to continue training.

The quarterfinals of the Demacia Cup are all concentrated on Thursday and Friday, leaving the semifinals and finals for the prime time on Saturday and Sunday.

What is a holiday for others is working time for professional players.

Most clubs have their holidays on Mondays and Tuesdays.

As the first team to compete, Edg enjoyed a day and a half off.

Meanwhile, the match between FPX and JD Gaming also started on time in the afternoon.

FPX, who lost to Edg in the group stage, was furious and picked their signature lineup in the first game.

With the mid-lane Titan as the starting point for the rhythm, and Xiaotian's Lee Sin in tandem, it's definitely a championship lineup configuration.

As expected, JD Gaming struggled against this lineup that was almost invincible in S9, and after dragging the game out for 32 minutes, FPX took the first game.

In the second game, Coach Hongmi learned his lesson and this time JD Gaming's draft almost completely shut down Doinb's heroes.

As expected, Doinb's influence in the game was greatly reduced after he got the roaming champion, and JD Gaming managed to turn the tide in one game.

In the third game, Redmi continued the strategy from the previous game, giving Toothpaste and Zoom strong lane champions.

However, in this game, JD Gaming's rookie jungler Kanavi seized the opportunity presented by the strong top and jungle, and played Ekko with an extremely strong tempo in the early game.

By the mid-game, around 20 minutes in, Ekko, with a whopping 400 AP, was able to instantly kill anyone he encountered, securing the first pentakill of the Demacia Cup!

Suddenly, FPX's S9 championship empire, which had barely been established, began to falter.

"As expected, team attributes still counter each other. FPX's acquisition of Khan seems like a bad move; Khan is simply not a good fit for FPX."

Seeing the close match, Li Luo raised an eyebrow.

In the previous Demacia Cup, FPX didn't field any first-team players, instead opting for rookies to practice their lineup, and they didn't even make it past the group stage.

After winning the S9 championship and bringing together veteran top laner Khan, FPX was hyped up to the skies in the Spring Split.

However, the reality is cruel. In the semifinals of the S10 Spring Split, it was the same Redmi-led JD Gaming team that defeated FPX 3-0.

First, TES eliminated the S8 World Champions IG, and then JDG completely crushed the S9 World Champions FPX team, igniting the flames of S10.

If the MSI Mid-Season Invitational hadn't been forcibly cancelled for some reason, JD Gaming might have overtaken the two previous champions to enter the MSI and even win the championship.

"FPX is in serious trouble right now, picking compositions that are against the meta."

"Doinb, as the core of FPX's rhythm, continues the old version of the gameplay and style of S9 in terms of hero selection. In particular, White Crescent has made him use mid-lane heroes against the current version. For example, although he performed well with Ryze, it is not suitable for the current version. Just like in the game just now, even though Ryze had a big advantage, his short range and the removal of the skill to refresh the shield meant that Ryze would be killed as soon as he was focused. Ryze is also a T3 version hero."

Abu sat to the side, seemingly lost in thought, and said.

Although he has been away from the position of League of Legends coach for a long time, Abu's professionalism is still highly commendable once he gets into the zone.

"Mingkai, if we were to face off against JD.com, where do you think we could find a breakthrough?"

Abu used to be quite arbitrary, only believing in his own theories, but the strange atmosphere at Edg recently has made him start to accept other people's opinions.

"I feel the breakthrough should be with Toothpaste. Zoom is too cautious; if we try to gank him too aggressively, it might backfire. As for JD Gaming's bot lane, their support, Greenmao, is the shot-caller and will observe our movements carefully. Going to the bot lane rashly won't create much of an opportunity." "As for their jungler, we haven't faced him yet, but I've figured out their current playstyle."

"Jungle carry style?" Before Li Luo could even speak, Abu shouted out the core tactic.

"Um"

Seeing Abu's expression, Li Luo had an idea and began to try to give him a heads-up.

Although he doesn't currently have a jungle carry playstyle, he will definitely transition to a jungle carry build in the future, based on the meta.

Instilling the concept of "fist" in Abu beforehand will help the team smoothly transition its tactics.

"Toothpaste's performance in the mid lane was not good. You could see that Toothpaste's performance in the game was not good. His LeBlanc is only so-so among professional players. His skill release speed and accuracy are not 'top-notch'. He can only play harassment. But it was this LeBlanc that went on a rampage in the late game. He even solo killed Doinb and played around with all five members of FPX. This is the strength of the current meta champion."

"As for his Syndra play, he was also very casual. With FPX having Renekton to engage and deal damage, Yagao used his E skill 'Scatter the Weak' quite casually. He didn't save any skills and just used them on anyone he saw. But because it's a meta champion, as long as he catches a squishy opponent, he can kill them with a single combo, and he doesn't care about saving skills for a counterattack."

"So as long as we can suppress the enemy jungler's rhythm and use toothpaste as a weak point, we can win the game."

"You mean you want to play a jungle carry?"

Looking at the Kindred chosen by JD Gaming in the fourth round, Abu grasped the key point and asked with a wandering gaze.

Sitting next to Li Luo and Abu were Zaozi Ge, Mei Kou, and Xi Ye.

The three of them remained silent, and even when Zaozi heard the words "wild core," he did not react excessively.

Since joining Edg, Edg has never used the four-protect-one strategy, whether in regular scrims or official matches.

This also indirectly illustrates the club's attitude.

Besides, Zaozi is no newbie, so he naturally knows that there are different levels of jungle carry players.

Jungle carries like SofM are typical map-control jungle carries, ensuring their own development by constantly invading the opponent's map resources.

Peanut, who focuses on ganking and fighting, is a typical carnivorous jungler who ensures the game's progress and his own equipment through constant fighting.

"I can give it a try. The reason I regained my form this season is because I strengthened the jungle, right?"

Li Luo turned the tables on him, immediately silencing Abuka's words.

While Rank scores aren't that important in matches, they are indeed a crucial factor in evaluating a player's skill level.

The result of being the top player in the Korean server, who is several hundred points higher than the second-place player, is more convincing.

Abu remained silent, looking directly at the screen, clearly intending to leave the answer to the JD.com team on the screen.

In this game, Kanavi picked Kindred, Zoom in the top lane chose Ornn, and Yagao in the mid lane picked Zoe.

On the other hand, FPX still used Ryze, who had a dismal record in the previous game, Mordekaiser in the top lane, and Trundle in the jungle, played by Xiaotian.

At 2 minutes and 44 seconds into the game, Kindred from the red team took the initiative and launched a strong invasion of Xiaotian's jungle, catching Trundle off guard.

Although Hanzi came to help defend in time, Zoom, who came from behind, seized the opportunity and, together with Kindred, got the first blood.

In the current version, junglers need three camps of jungle monsters to reach level three (excluding F6 and Wolves).

It takes six groups of monsters to reach level four, so after Xiaotian cleared the third group, he was reduced to low health and had to go home.

On the other side, Kanavi secured the first blood on Mordekaiser and also gained experience while passing by the top lane, leveling up to level four and returning to base.

In terms of pace, both players are currently at an efficiency of 3 sets of jungle monsters.

But Kanavi was one level higher than Xiaotian and had 400 yuan more.

One step ahead leads to another; a Kindred with a jungle item will naturally clear jungle camps much faster than a Trundle.

By the time Xiaotian reached level 5, Kindred had already reached level 6 and began to recklessly invade the blue side's jungle, obtaining their own marks.

Kindred's gold is increasing, and his ganking efficiency is becoming increasingly terrifying, causing the economic gap between the two to widen rapidly.

The benefits of wild cores are obvious.

By the mid-game 22-minute mark, Kanavi's Kindred had two and a half, almost three, items, and was just as well-developed as Lin Weixiang's Senna.

On the other hand, Xiaotian's Troll Warlord couldn't even complete his second major item, Cinderhulk, which only provided armor and magic resistance, making him a useless tank in team fights.

As soon as the two sides made contact, Kindred, relying on his own development, almost killed Senna in two seconds, which startled the commentator.

Needless to say, Kindred, with her increasingly better equipment and unique ultimate ability, made it impossible for FPX to kill her instantly, leaving them in a vicious cycle.

The economic gap is widening due to a lack of vision. 28 minutes later, all JD.com employees gathered at the dragon's lair and arrogantly opened the dragon.

FPX tried to fight back, but after a struggle, they were all left with low health. They could only pin their hopes on Tian, ​​hoping that the Trundle could steal the Baron.

Unfortunately, the troll was two levels behind Kindred at this point, and in terms of vision control, he had no chance of stealing the dragon.

JD Gaming secured the Baron buff and pushed forward, leaving FPX with no chance to fight back. They lost 1-3 in the Demacia Cup quarterfinals, ending their campaign in disappointment.

Wow!
The screen showed FPX losing the game decisively, causing a huge uproar.

In the director's casual camera cuts, some viewers could even be seen leaving in anger, refusing to watch the subsequent interview segments.

Many others waved their tickets and shouted for refunds.

In all four games, FPX failed to display any fighting spirit, focusing solely on macro play and picking off key targets, yet still failed to achieve good results.

Not only was the viewing experience extremely poor for the audience, but even the commentator, Guan Daxiao, repeatedly expressed disbelief:

"At the stadium, please be patient. Viewers in the live stream, please don't worry. We can see that the S9 world champions lost the Demacia Cup, but I believe that this is just a temporary setback. Once FPX is in good form, they will still be the strongest Phoenix team in our hearts!"

Guan Daxiao's voice was very infectious, but unfortunately the audience did not buy it. Countless champion fans were still shouting and yelling that there was a conspiracy.

By S10, betting on match results was no longer a novelty. Not only were casual players involved, but even professional players were exposed for throwing matches.

Even before the tournament, Li Luo couldn't have imagined that the S9 champion Demacia Cup would be defeated so badly.

The DG team from the LMS region in S9 has been exposed for being involved in match-fixing for profit, along with its players, owner, and coach.

Later, Conti was banned for 18 months for betting on the sidelines, ending his career in disgrace.

Adding to the countless revelations about other players from the Backkick forum, FPX never expected that losing just a few games would cause them such huge trouble.

(End of this chapter)