You promised a top lane tutorial, but you're just using Worlds as material for your videos?

Chapter 113 The winning streak ends! Losing this game is the only real victory!
Soon, the first game of the regular season BO3 between LGD and WE began.

After LGD's Zhou Dian made his debut with a game where he completely dominated RNG with Fiora, his Fiora was banned in the ban list for the next few games and was never allowed to be played.

However, in the first game between LGD and WE today, WE did not ban Fiora.

For WE's head coach Hongmi, perhaps he felt that Zhou Dian's Fiora was not a threat.

Or perhaps they simply wanted to let Zhou Dian's Fiora test her strength; anyway, this was only the first game, and there were two more games to go.

But regardless of what WE thinks, for Zhou Dian, if you dare to let go, then I dare to take it.

When Fiora was locked down, cheers erupted from the crowd.

Some of them were even WE fans.

For any normal viewer, it would certainly be more pleasing to see some heroes with sufficient entertainment value on the field, rather than the same old farming heroes being picked over and over again.

"Wow, Zhou Shen's signature Fiora, even his signature move among his signature moves!"

Remember continued, "Zhou Shen first made a name for himself among players with a tutorial video on Fiora's A-Flash combo!"

I remember that I had obviously done some research and had some understanding of Zhou Dian's early life.

Furthermore, I remember that they were clearly the type of person who surfed the internet quite frequently.

These past two days, people on Tieba have just started calling Zhou Dian "God Zhou," and I remember that this term has been used immediately as well.

LGD now has three gods.

Zhou Shen, GodV, PYL.

Of course, these three are all false gods; there is only one true god in the LPL.
In fact, PYL was a veritable Grim Reaper before. Once he started dying in the game, he couldn't stop. He is also the current LPL death record holder.

However, since Zhou Dian started his first game, PYL's number of deaths in matches has decreased significantly.

Perhaps Zhou Dian is just too good at attracting attention!
However, regardless of the circumstances, PYL's title of "Grim Reaper" is now somewhat undeserved.

The first game of the BO3 lasted 36 minutes, which was a bit long.

LGD won the first game.

The match was similar to the game against RNG, with Zhou Dian's Fiora dominating WE's two side lanes.

This meant that even when WE managed to seize opportunities and gain an advantage in direct confrontations, they were unable to expand their lead due to the minion waves on the side lanes.

Sitting in the lounge, Coach Hongmi watched as LGD used a somewhat rough 4-1 split push to take down two Baron Nashors in a row.

As rough it may be, WE really has no choice.

It's because Fiora's split-pushing and control capabilities are too strong.

WE lost their first Baron Nashor because jungler Condi went to gank Fiora who was split pushing in the bottom lane, and Fiora managed to get a double kill in a 1v2 situation.

Redmi knew at that moment that the game was over, and thought to itself:
This guy's Fiora is definitely not someone we can let go; we have to respect his signature moves.

After the first game ended, both teams quickly returned to the rest room.

As soon as 957 stepped into the lounge, he said to Redmi, "No way, we have to ban Zhou Shen's Fiora in the next game. I really don't have any champions that can deal with his Fiora!"

Redmi nodded. "That's exactly what I was thinking!"

Xi Ye, standing nearby, laughed and said, "Leg Bro, are you chickening out? This isn't like you!"

"I chickened out!" 957 shrugged. "You know how overpowered this guy's Fiora is. It's not that it's completely unmanageable, but it'll definitely be a lot of work. It's better to just ban her, that'll save you a lot of trouble!"

"Alright then, Leg Bro, you just need to put up a good fight in the top lane, I'm not going to worry about you anymore!" said jungler Condi.

"How can you say I'm not putting up with the pressure! We'll most likely be on the red side in the next game, and I'll get the counter position. Let's see how I beat him!" 957 said confidently.

In the second game, LGD took the initiative to choose the blue side, while WE, as 957 predicted, was on the red side.

957 did indeed only pick a hero on the fifth floor of the red team, and his counter-pick came back to the top of the week.

But 957 was unable to do anything to Zhou Dian.

The two were evenly matched in the top lane!
However, considering the current overall strength of LGD and WE, there is an objective gap between the two sides in terms of cooperation and operational level.

When Zhou Dian and his opponent were evenly matched in the top lane, LGD naturally lost the second game.

The problem lies with GodV. He picked a late-game carry mage, but Condi ganked him relentlessly in the early to mid-game.

The core mage in this game wasn't someone GodV requested to pick.

On the contrary, Dgc took the initiative to get it for him.

After LGD won the first game, Dgc's hidden genius began to shine.

In addition, in the decisive game against EDG the day before yesterday, his draft picks really outdid EDG's head coach, causing Dgc to get a little cocky. Now he's thinking of going head-to-head with Redmi in terms of draft picks.

He felt that WE would definitely target Zhou Dian relentlessly in this game, so he decided to return to the traditional pattern of LGD's previous matches, with GodV picking a farming carry in the mid lane and passing the ball to imp.

So he took the initiative to choose the conventional blue side.

And as he predicted, WE did indeed reserve the fifth-floor counter position for 957.

Isn't this clearly targeting LGD's top lane?
From the perspective of team composition alone, Dgc's draft picks in this game were in no way inferior to Redmi's.

However, he overlooked the objective situation of the two teams, and he did not expect that WE would not focus on Zhou Dian, but instead targeted GodV, which directly ruined GodV.

Zhou Dian was countered by 957 in the early levels, and 957 made things very difficult for him.

957's skill level is indeed top-tier in the current LPL.

However, as the hero's level increased, Zhou Dian gradually turned the tide in the top lane.

Just as he was about to gain the upper hand, the disadvantage in the mid lane spread to the top lane.

Xiye's frequent roaming made it impossible for Zhou Dian to suppress 957 anymore, so he could only develop peacefully.

In fact, under these circumstances, it's already quite impressive that Zhou Dian was able to develop peacefully with 957.

But that's not enough.

This WE team is significantly stronger than RNG and EDG, the teams they faced before.

With GodV getting ganked and not fed enough at the top of the week, Imp, as an AD carry, lacked the ability to initiate the game on his own due to his position.

Online methods are generally no longer effective, so Eimy is like a headless fly, full of enthusiasm but often just giving away free wins.

LGD lacked rhythm throughout the entire game, so of course they were destined to lose!
Of course, in the end, it was WE's strength that mattered. After gaining the advantage, they never gave LGD a chance throughout the entire game. Otherwise, LGD might have been able to drag the game out and turn the tide.

Losing the second game should have brought Dgc to his senses.

They realized that their team still hasn't reached the level of a truly strong team in many aspects, and often relies on the individual abilities of the players to succeed.

Relying solely on the individual skills of Zhou Dian and imp, LGD is now capable of defeating some mid-to-lower tier teams in the LPL.

However, they seem to fall short against WE, the top favorite to win the Spring Split.

We need to combine the strengths of each path!

Trying to force your way through one lane won't work if you encounter a sufficiently strong defense. Without good teamwork and strategic execution, the only way to combine the strengths of all lanes is to focus on team composition.

Therefore, Dgc decided to take a different approach.

After recalling how they won the first game, Dgc suddenly had a brilliant idea: to play an ultimate four-protect-one strategy in the third game, with Zhou Dian, the top laner, playing the one role.

Trying to force your way through a single path won't break through the enemy's thick enough shield.
No way, I'll just use sheer force and a miracle will happen!
Dgc was well aware that LGD's ability to win the first game by pushing lanes was not only due to Zhou Dian's strong performance, but also to some extent due to the champion Fiora.

Fiora is a champion born for split pushing.

Under the same conditions, other heroes cannot achieve the same effect when split pushing as Fiora.

But what if there's a four-protect-one support system?
Everyone says that the potential of a four-protect-one strategy isn't high enough, but Dgc always feels that the reason why the potential of a four-protect-one strategy isn't high enough is because the right "one" hasn't been found.

Who says a four-protect-one strategy can only protect the ADC?
Just as Dgc was about to share his thoughts on the third game with his teammates, GodV suddenly said to him, "Xu-ge, can you give me the fifth counter pick in the third game? I want to pick an assassin and have Xiye play it out!"

WE has the right to choose sides in the third game, and will most likely choose the blue side.

Dgc was slightly surprised by how GodV addressed him.

GodV usually calls him Coach, but this time he's calling him Brother Xu. It seems GodV is really eager to have a head-to-head showdown with Xiye.

With LGD's recent three-game winning streak, head coach Dgc's status within the team has also improved. The veteran players have shown more respect for him, and the management has also increased their trust in him.

Of course, this is also inseparable from his ability to be a good person, to give motivational speeches, and to maintain good relationships with team members and management.

Upon hearing GodV's request, Dgc's first reaction was, of course, to refuse.

GodV, do you really have no idea what your current level is like?

Does he still think he's the Wutian who fought Buddha Pawn for three hundred rounds back in Season 5?

Your performance has already declined due to tanking.

In Dgc's view, GodV will find it difficult to rediscover his former peak self.

The best option for GodV now is to transform!
Mid lane isn't just about relying on mechanics and laning; other playstyles can also lead to the top.

Fortunately, LGD's current top laner is capable of carrying the team, and his ability to do so is extremely strong.

Resources are limited in a single game.

Allocating resources to those who are better able to carry the team is the most correct approach for a large sample size.

However, Dgc also knows that heroes are easy to master, but mindset is hard to change.

Saying "no" to your past self is often the hardest thing!

Dgc can roughly guess GodV's current mindset.

He was unwilling to admit that his skills had declined and was unwilling to transition into a utility mid-laner.

If in the previous match against EDG, after being outplayed by Scout in a battle of skill, he could barely convince himself that he was inferior to Scout and choose to play Lulu mid in the decisive game to "play passively".

After all, Scout is only eighteen years old and still young. He comes from SKT, the top esports team in LOL, and is favored by both three-time world champion Faker and three-time world champion coach KkOma. He won the LPL Summer Split championship with a perfect record as soon as he arrived in LPL, and his strength is obvious to all.

Moreover, since Season 3, LOL has been dominated by Koreans for several years. GodV can put aside his past pride and play the role of a support player in front of Scout, a Korean player.

But GodV couldn't quite convince himself to lower his stance in front of Xiye, who is also a domestic mid-laner.

After all, the two debuted in the same era, but GodV has already won the LPL championship, while Xiye can be said to have accomplished nothing so far.

Even though Xiye has been performing very strongly since the start of the Spring Split, he has clearly reached the peak of his career.

But those past arrogances are not so easy to let go of.

GodV felt that his performance in the first two games was not as good as Xiye's, and that it wasn't entirely his fault; he was indeed being targeted by Condi.

I have to mess with Xiye today and let him know that Dian Gun's "Xi La laughs at me" wasn't just empty talk.

Dgc eventually granted GodV's request.

When Dgc nodded in agreement, PYL glanced at his own head coach in surprise.

That can't be right. Does the coach not want to win anymore?
Moreover, it's unlikely that Dgc was accommodating GodV, although it's common for coaches to accommodate players in LPL clubs.

However, after GodV protested for a pay raise and then went through a period of poor performance, his standing in the eyes of LGD's management is no longer what it used to be.

If the two disagree on this matter, the management will definitely side with the coach.

This is a bit strange. What is the coach thinking?

However, Dgc believes this might be an opportunity.

If he can achieve what he wants, losing a regular season game won't be a big deal.

Losing now is for a better chance to win later.

Losing this round is the only way to truly win!
"Xi Ye, give it your all!" Dgc thought to himself, "Hopefully, Xi Ye will surprise me today!"

Zhou Dian was a little confused when Dgc asked him to play a tank hero.

Giving the mid laner a counter pick in the fifth position doesn't mean the top laner has to pick a tank!
This game doesn't require a strong front-line character to play.

This is a match against WE. I'm picking tank. Can we win?
Zhou Dian wasn't very confident about this.

Seeing Zhou Dian's hesitation, Dgc kept winking at him.

Zhou Dian and Dgc interacted frequently, and he actually had a vague understanding of what Dgc meant.

The coach probably thinks he can't win this game, so he's just taking the blame himself, right?

Okay then, Coach, if you're going to take the blame, I definitely have no objection.

So Zhou Dian locked up Poppy on the first floor of the red team.

"Ah, Poppy!"

I remember being a little surprised, "Isn't it a bit inappropriate to pick Poppy for Zhou Shen in the top lane?"

The implication is: who will carry LGD in this game?
Question marks kept appearing in the live stream chat, with almost all LGD fans not understanding their player selection.

Is Poppy not a top laner, but rather a character used to dodge and confuse opponents?
However, after LGD locked in Syndra on the fifth floor, the draft phase was complete. Judging from the lineups, LGD's Poppy was definitely for the top lane.

This left most viewers confused.

What does LGD's head coach mean by choosing a tank for their most carry player lately?

What kind of noob do you think WE is?
How do you win this?

As most viewers expected, LGD failed to win the match.

WE won the third game of the BO3 series, completing a reverse sweep against LGD.

LGD's three-game winning streak came to an end at the hands of WE, who currently hold the top spot in the Spring Split regular season.

(End of this chapter)