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

Chapter 261, Game 1: LGD's Probing Move! SKT's Confidence!
After locking in Lee Sin.

SKT then picked Zyra on the second floor of the red side.

"Zyla!"

"SKT is very likely to want to pick the Ashe and Zyra bot lane combination!"

"Should we steal Ashe from him first?" Miller said.

The words fell.

LGD revealed the female police officer on the second floor of the blue team.

Then it was locked in.

"In that case, LGD didn't blindly try to pick Ashe to break up SKT's bot lane duo, but instead gave imp Caitlyn, a champion that has been working very well for him recently!"

"I'm just playing according to my own strategy! Besides, no matter how strong Ashe and Zyra are in the laning phase, Caitlyn is no match for them!"

Just as the commentators were discussing which support player LGD would pick on the third floor...

LGD, however, revealed Rumble on the third floor of the blue team.

"Ah, Rambo?"

"Is Zhou Shen going for the top lane in the first round of this game?"

As he spoke, Rambo was already locked up.

"They really chose!"

"It's quite rare for LGD to give Zhou Shen a hero in the first three picks!" Miller said.

"I wonder if LGD is thinking the same thing?" Wawa added.

"Anyway, LGD is on the blue side in this game. No matter which hero Zhou picks, SKT's Bin and Huni can definitely counter Zhou with their top lane picks if they want to!"

"So Zhou Shen thought, why don't I just pick the top laner in the first three rounds? That way I won't have to ban heroes in the second round, which would further reduce my options!"

“Hmm, that makes sense!” Rita nodded from the side.

Actually, the child's casual guess was quite accurate.

That's part of the reason.

There is another reason.

Zhou Dian should first pick a hero like Rumble, who has some versatility.

Instead of picking heroes who are more extreme or require a high-wire act.

The main point is that this is only the first game of a best-of-five series.

In a best-of-five (BO5) match, the first game is usually used to test the waters.

Playing a desperate, high-risk move right from the start is often seen in matches where there's a significant skill gap. The weaker side wants to gain an early advantage and increase their chances of winning.

However, this match.

LGD has also admitted that they might be underdogs.

However, there will definitely not be a huge gap between them and SKT, to the point that they would have to resort to desperate measures to win the first game.

Just follow the normal strategy for a best-of-five series!

Therefore, in this first game, LGD planned to let SKT choose some of the heroes that SKT is more used to and good at.

Even if you lose, you'll know which heroes your team struggles to handle.

This will allow for more targeted business plans in the future.

And if we win.

That would be a huge profit.

If they can't beat LGD in anything they're good at.

SKT will have a very difficult time drafting the remaining games in the BO5 series.

Of course, SKT's draft picks in the first game also had this probing element to them.

However, Zhou Dian did not want to follow SKT's strategy.

I'll go straight for a safer top lane build, so you can't test anything in the first game.

Back to BP.

After LGD picked Rumble.

SKT chose Ashe on the third floor of the red side.

If SKT doesn't pick Ashe this time...

In the second round, LGD will definitely have to ban [the item].

Therefore, SKT directly picked Ashe, without harboring any wishful thinking that LGD might not ban Ashe in the second round.

The first round of business matching (BP) has ended.

We've moved on to the second round of draft picks.

SKT banned Orianna and Nami.

LGD banned LeBlanc and Kennen.

“SKT banned Nami, and LGD banned Karma and Lulu earlier, so it seems like PYL won’t have any enchanter supports to play this game!” Miller said.

“Uh, there’s also Malzahar!” the doll immediately added.

"Malzaha is no good. He can only lane and has no protective abilities. LGD needs a support with protective abilities in this game!" Miller disagreed with Wawa's opinion.

"That leaves only Tahm Kench! But Tahm Kench is a bit weak in the laning phase!"

"Then LGD banned Faker's LeBlanc in the second round, and also banned Kennen!"

"Kennan is definitely the counter to Rambo!"

In the second round of ban/pick, it was the red team's turn to pick first.

After hesitating for a long time, until the countdown to the selection was almost at zero.

SKT just picked Galio on the fourth floor of the red side.

It was then locked.

"Hey, Galio?"

"Galio has a hard time laning against Rumble! Huni picked a counter-pick to counter himself?" Wawa said, puzzled.

"Galio has a tough time laning against Rumble, but he's not completely helpless either, just slightly disadvantageous!" Miller's opinion differed from Wawa's.

"Besides, Galio is only slightly disadvantaged against Rumble in lane; otherwise, he has all the advantages: tankiness, crowd control, and support capabilities!"

"Huni's use of Rambo was probably more for the team's benefit!"

Actually, playing the second hero counters my own situation, which is not very common in professional matches.

But you can still see them from time to time.

Miller felt there was no need to make a fuss.

This situation often occurs when some laning ability is sacrificed for the sake of the team.

"Furthermore, SKT might be giving Galio to Faker in the mid lane, not necessarily the top lane!" Miller added.

However, he also knew the truth in his heart.

Since Galio's rework over a month ago, he has been played mostly in the top lane in both ranked and professional games, with fewer instances of him playing in the mid lane.

Moreover, SKT at this year's MSI Mid-Season Invitational.

I've used Galio in the top lane several times already.

But I have never played Galio in the mid lane.

Therefore, SKT's Galio pick was basically used by Huni. Then...

LGD picked Tahm Kench and Taliyah on the fourth and fifth floors of the blue side.

"Oh, LGD really did pick Tahm Kench for the support role. They really didn't have a better choice!"

"Tahm Kench's laning ability is a bit weak, but Caitlyn's strong laning ability can still make up for it!"

"As for whether LGD has too many AP champions in this game, Wei Shen's mid-lane Taliyah is a bit much!" Miller said.

"The AP output is a bit too much, but it's okay. After all, Caitlyn's output is very high in the late game, and her physical and magical damage are still balanced!" Doll added.

When Wawa is commentating on LPL teams' international matches...

He can always find a way to turn any disadvantage for an LPL team around.

To put it bluntly, in his words...

LPL teams are never at a disadvantage!
Back to BP.

In their final move, SKT picked Cassiopeia on the fifth floor of the red side.

"Snake girl!"

"In that case, we can confirm that SKT's lineup for this game is Huni with Galio top and Faker with Cassiopeia mid!"

"Huni can't possibly play top lane Cassiopeia like Zhou Shen, can he?" Miller said with a smile.

“Probably not!” Rita added. “I’ve only ever seen Zhou Shen play Cassiopeia in top lane in professional matches; I haven’t seen any other top laners use it!”

At this moment, in the LGD players' seat.

When SKT picked Cassiopeia as their last pick, it became 100% certain that Huni would be playing Galio top lane this game.

Zhou Dian's lips involuntarily curled upwards, and a smile appeared on his face.

He played Rambo first in his first three moves.

It seems they actually found out something.

Huni picked Galio for top lane after that.

Zhou Dian knew that ever since Huni played the lane bully Jayce and was crushed by him with Fiora's counter-pick a few days ago in the last group stage match, he had been completely outmatched.

Huni doesn't seem to have much confidence when facing Zhou Dian today!

Of course, it's also possible that Huni wanted to go toe-to-toe with Zhou Dian, but KkOma insisted that he play top lane Galio.

However, Zhou Dian is more inclined to believe that Huni is afraid to engage in hand-to-hand combat right from the start.

In the first game, we chose to follow the best system that SKT is currently using, aiming to play it safe first.

OK, Huni, you're not confident enough and a little afraid of me, Old Zhou. That makes things easier!

Players like Huni are usually extremely eccentric, arrogant, and think they are incredibly awesome.

When facing a strong opponent, if you lack confidence and feel fear.

As the game progresses, there are essentially two scenarios.

With the team holding a significant lead, Huni began to embolden himself, his confidence swelled, and he became even more eager to prove his abilities.

Or, if the team is far behind and he has no advantage to rely on, his mentality can easily collapse.

No matter what happens.

In short, after this first game, Zhou Dian had a way to control Huni.

After all, today's opponent is SKT, not a second-tier strong team like Flash Wolves from the day before yesterday.

Zhou Dian didn't dare to charge in and attack recklessly right away.

Let's test the waters with the first game and adjust accordingly.

Losing the first game in a best-of-five series is something both Zhou Dian and LGD can afford to lose.

SKT, on the other hand, is a dynasty team that has been through many battles.

It's obvious that LGD deliberately let them play their preferred heroes and strategies in the first game to test their intentions.

Faced with LGD's probing, SKT displayed confidence.

You're letting me choose?
Then I'll choose!
Whatever you want to do, I'll take you down in the first round!
On the large screen at the venue, the BP interface entered the final minute countdown before loading.

Both head coaches closed their notebooks and took off their headphones.

No prompting from the on-site referee is needed.

Neither KkOma nor Dgc gave their teammates much of a "reluctant farewell" before the game.

Instead, he left the contestants' seats and walked directly to the center of the stage.

He exuded composure and calmness.

It's not surprising that KkOma, as a treble-winning coach, has this calm mindset.

Dgc, on the other hand, has calmed down quite a bit by now.

Whether it's genuine composure or a forced show of calm.

At least Dgc showed the same momentum as three-time champion coach KkOma.

This is already quite an achievement for him.

After the two head coaches shook hands,

They each turned and walked into the players' tunnel.

And on the big screen at the scene.

The first game of the BO5 series has entered the loading state.

Blue side LGD:

Top lane Rumble, jungle Ivern, mid lane Taliyah, bot lane Caitlyn and Tahm Kench.

Red team SKT:

Top lane Galio, jungle Lee Sin, mid lane Cassiopeia, bot lane Ashe and Zyra.

The live stream lingered briefly on the championship trophy in the center of the main stage.

The Summoner's Rift footage reappeared in the live broadcast of the tournament.

Cheers and shouts of surprise rang out from the crowd.

The Brazilian audience was indeed enthusiastic.

At any point during the game, or whenever a kill occurs, they'll let out a shout or two.

Back to the game.

After the ten heroes landed in the fountains at both ends of Summoner's Rift.

The players on both sides quickly bought their starting items, controlled their respective heroes to leave the fountain, and headed towards the river.

The initial positioning phase.

Neither side opted for an invasion; instead, they chose the most stable opening formation: a long, straight line.

Each player should guard their own jungle's strategic passes.

However, Wolf did not stay in the narrow pass between his own blue zone and the lower river for long.

He then maneuvered Zyra into the lower river and headed straight for the bottom lane.

He's going to plant seeds along the road!

Having seeds or not makes a world of difference to Zyra's laning strength.

(End of this chapter)