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

Chapter 334 Even beating a provincial team requires a strategic approach, like the story of Tian Ji's horse racing strategy!
The first-ever Riot Games Asia Invitational has concluded its two-day group stage.

The LCK region finished first in their group and advanced directly to the finals.

The host LMS region is ranked second.

As for the LPL, only the Spring Split champions and runners-up, LGD and WE, each won one match in the group stage.

That was a complete disaster!
This also made many LPL viewers who were full of excitement and confidence before the match.

People are starting to feel pessimistic about the future of LPL matches.

There's nothing we can do; our performance in the group stage was just too poor.

Moreover, the schedule for this intercontinental tournament is very tight.

There are matches scheduled every day.

There simply isn't enough time for you to adjust your mindset.

The third day of this intercontinental competition.

That is, 7 PM on July 8th.

The LPL region, which finished third in the group stage, will face off against the LMS region, which finished second in the group, in a best-of-five (BO5) match.

The winner will face off against the LCK region in the finals for the inaugural Asian Games championship.

It's a best-of-five (BO5) knockout tournament, and it's a BO5 where each team takes turns playing, with each team playing at least one match.
In the past, this was the BO5 format.

Most LPL viewers would think that beating a few provincial teams is a piece of cake.

There's absolutely no need to consider the team's order of appearance or anything like that.

The four teams are randomly drawn and chosen to play, so it's all the same – they can all win easily!

But now, even LPL viewers have lost confidence.

After all, in the group stage these past two days...

LPL teams haven't really gained any advantage in these BO1 matches against provincial teams.

At this time, the Intercontinental Championship knockout stage features a unique best-of-five (BO5) format.

This has become a point of concern for LPL viewers.

Because a regular best-of-five (BO5) game is completely different from a best-of-one (BO1) game.

However, the BO5 in the Intercontinental Cup is essentially five BO1 matches put together.

LPL viewers are worried that the team's poor performance in the previous group stage BO1 matches against provincial teams will continue into the semifinals.

The semifinals between the LPL and LMS regions will begin in the afternoon.

Throughout the day, on major online platforms across China.

There was intense discussion about the order in which the four LPL teams would play when facing provincial teams.

The strategy of "Tian Ji's horse race" was originally thought to be used only when playing against the LCK region.

But now it seems that even when playing against provincial teams, you have to consider the order of appearance.

Although netizens are not as confident as before.

However, discussions on entry strategies have gradually reached a consensus.

That is to make the two relatively weaker teams, RNG and EDG, as strong as possible.

They faced off against the strongest provincial teams, Flash Wolves and AHQ.

As long as they can match each other, it doesn't matter if both teams lose.

Even if WE and LGD win three games, they can still win the semifinals.

The semi-final match will be held at 4 PM.

On the first night, several LPL teams still trained until very late.

The coaching teams, comprised of the coaches of the four teams, have also agreed on which team will be the first to play in the semifinals against the LMS region.

The rest is up to on-the-spot adjustments.

The time comes on June 7th.

The third day of the intercontinental competition.

The area around the Takakuma Exhibition Hall was teeming with people.

Most of the audience members who came to the event were there to support LMS.

After all, this time the LMS region is playing on home soil.

The eight teams from the LPL and LMS regions arrived at the competition venue early.

By 4 p.m., most of the audience had already entered the venue.

A ten-second countdown appeared on the large screen at the scene.

This also means that the semi-final is about to officially begin.

After the ten-second countdown ended, a short video began playing on the large screen.

The short video contains pre-match interviews for this semi-final.

One player and one coach from each of the LPL and LMS regions were interviewed.

In these pre-match interviews, the interviewee's qualifications are very important.

The first person to appear on the big screen was the factory manager—Clearlove.

"If we consider the three regions, LCK is generally a bit stronger!"

"LMS has been performing very well these past few days!"

"LPL's performance felt below par!"

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The factory manager gave a brief overview of the performance of the various competition zones during the group stage.

The second interviewee to appear in the short film is WE's head coach, Hongmi.

He is also the "decision-maker" of this LPL joint coaching team.

Redmi also mentioned right away that LPL's current performance is not good.

They also mentioned that WE was missing a key player, which affected their strength.

WE's main support player, Ben, was absent from this Intercontinental Cup, and the substitute support player, Zero, played the entire time.
Then there's Steak, the "spokesperson" of the LMS joint coaching staff.

He is the former top laner for the Flash Wolves and is currently the head coach of the Flash Wolves.

In his interview, Steak expressed strong approval of the strength of his LMS region.

He just hadn't been able to perform well in previous international competitions.

So far, they have also demonstrated their own style in the Intercontinental Cup.

Finally, there's AHQ's mid laner, Westdoor, who is the most senior player from the LMS side in this Intercontinental Cup.

In the interview with Ximen Yeshuo, he said some polite things like "keep it up" and "do your best".

Subsequently, the two coaching teams' "spokespersons," Redmi and Steak, announced the teams that would be playing in the first game of the semi-final BO5.

In the first match, LPL fielded a team.

After a dismal start to the group stage, Redmi hopes to get off to a good start and win the first game to stabilize morale.

However, he was also worried about sending LGD, currently the strongest team in the LPL, to play the first game.

What if you go up and encounter the weakest, lowest-ranking horse on the other side?

Wouldn't that be a huge loss?

It feels like LGD wasted their game!

So, they settled for second best.

They sent out WE, the runner-up of this year's LPL Spring Split, who now has the second-best record in the Summer Split regular season, second only to LGD.

LMS, on the other hand, is more conservative.

The team fielded in the first match was neither the stronger Flash Wolves and AHQ, nor the relatively weakest M17.

Instead, they compromised and chose the JT team.

In the first match, neither side dared to go all out, sending out their strongest or weakest players.

The matchups for the first semifinal game have been confirmed: WE will face off against JT.

LPL viewers felt this was acceptable.

Given WE's strength, they should have no problem defeating JT if they go all out.

We need to win the first game; we can't afford to lose again.

If we lose to the provincial team again, we'll really lose all face!

The Taiwanese audience can also accept this.

We all share the same ancestry, and they all understand the principle of "Tian Ji's horse racing strategy." For Taiwanese viewers, even if JT loses to WE, they've still achieved their objective of exchanging pieces—it's not a loss!
It's a pity that LGD wasn't fielded in the first match for the LPL.

If LGD is fielded in the first match for LPL.

Then JT can really lose with peace of mind.

The audience in Taiwan is mainly hoping that Flash Wolves and AHQ can win three games so that they can advance to the finals.

The same reason why LPL viewers expect LGD and WE to win all three games is the same.

But if JT wins the first match against WE, then they'll have really hit the jackpot!

The scene of the game.

After the interview video finished playing, the host came on stage.

Today's match is between the LPL and LMS regions.

The opening ceremony was co-hosted by LPL host Ren Dong and LMS host Anna Lee.

The two hosts, one male and one female, had slightly different accents.

But since the two spoke the same language, the situation was still relatively harmonious.

First, they thanked the sponsors.

This was followed by an opening monologue to warm up the audience.

Next came the moment for the contestants to appear.

"After introducing the two major regions, the first to appear is our LPL region. Let's welcome the first LPL team to play today!"

"Welcome WE!" Ren Dong shouted loudly.

WE's coach and five players walked through a flurry of flashing lights from the audience to the stage.

There was little applause from the audience.

There were no boos, and everything was calm.

"Next, let's welcome the 'strongest on earth,' JT, with applause!"

The Taiwanese female host, LMS, had a somewhat high-pitched voice when she shouted.

Even before Jay Chou's team appeared, the cheers from the audience were already rising in waves.

Compared to the fanfare surrounding WE's appearance, it was a world of difference.

Of course, if they don't even get this much treatment, then they don't deserve to be called hosts.

PYL, who was watching the game from the locker room, turned to Zhou Dian when JT entered the game and said:
"Jay Chou's team uniform is quite nice."

Zhou Dian nodded in agreement.

JT team's uniform features only one logo, making it simple and aesthetically pleasing.

The tri-colored five-pointed star printed on the side of the team uniform is quite distinctive.

Actually, the LPL in the previous two years was quite good at attracting attention.

Even the GT team wearing leopard print jerseys.

QG, nicknamed the "Rainbow Team" because its players have all sorts of colorful hair dyes, is another example of a team with diverse styling.

They are all a unique sight on the LPL stage.

However, the uniforms of LPL teams are now subject to increasingly stringent dress codes issued by the official authorities.

This has led to increasingly monotonous designs.

It was also covered with the logos of the sponsors.

Overall, it looks somewhat out of place.

Back to the competition venue.

After the two teams were positioned for the first match of the semifinals.

Ren Dong also gave a brief introduction to today's competition rules to the audience.

In terms of the mechanism, the semifinals will still be a best-of-five series.

However, the lineup of the two teams for the second game of the BO5 series.

I will submit it after the first match between WE and JT is over.

The live broadcast director zoomed in and revealed a sticker with the WE team logo on the back of Ren Dong's hand.

Such small details show considerable care.

The two teams took their positions, and the host was no longer needed.

The camera switches to the commentary booth.

The LPL commentators were unable to attend in person; they continued to provide commentary for the audience at the Hongqiao Tiandi Performing Arts Center in Shanghai, the venue where LPL regular season matches are usually held.

At this moment, this place is also filled with spectators who came to support LPL, so it can be considered a branch venue.

Today's semi-final match was commentated on by Remember and Rita from the LPL side.

I remember that, like Long Hair, he was also a Taiwanese. This arrangement is quite interesting.

Another special guest was PDD, who is also an old acquaintance.

The commentators began to review the matches from the previous two days.

And so, with the reminiscing interspersed with casual conversation, ten minutes passed quickly.

The players on the field are ready.

The first game's ban/pick phase begins.

After the draft phase ended, everyone in the LPL rest room, including Zhou Dian, held their breath for WE.

In WE's lineup, only Corki has late-game potential; the other positions are dominated by early-to-mid-game heroes.

The lineup selection was very aggressive.

As expected, WE exerted their strength in the early stages of the match and gained a significant advantage.

However, as the game progressed into the mid-game, JT's mid laner FoFo's Taliyah frequently roamed and exerted pressure, stabilizing the situation.

After 30 minutes, WE only had a 2,000 gold advantage.

At this point, apart from the plane, WE's other heroes began to weaken, and the 2,000 gold advantage was negligible.

The game is at the 31-minute mark.

Condi's Lee Sin used a Dragon's Rage in front of JT's mid-lane second turret, sending JT's support Tahm Kench flying back. WE then focused fire and killed him instantly.

At this moment, JT's mid laner FoFo had a meltdown.

FoFo felt that WE had used up a lot of skills in this round, and didn't want to let WE retreat smoothly.

So his Taliyah ran to the side to harass him.

Mystic, WE's ADC, is playing a game where he's swapping his boots.

Seeing that Taliyah had used both her W and E abilities, he decisively used his ultimate to pull back the support Braum.

Then, Blink close to Taliyah.

Braum flew out of Kalista's ultimate and crashed into Taliyah. Taliyah flashed to dodge, but was still hit by Braum's Q.

He was then hit by Braum's passive ability and stunned on the spot.

Taliyah, who had a score of 5-1, was killed, and JT's support also died. WE decisively started Baron.

Instead of going to Baron with his teammates, Xiye returned to base and picked up the bomb.

WE's four players who were fighting the dragon were all in poor condition, and the remaining three JT players came over to harass them.

Just as they reached the river, a plane swooped down, dealing massive damage that instantly killed JT's ADC.

The top laner was also chased down and killed by WE.

WE secured Baron Nashor, turning the tide of the battle.

In the end, after a hard-fought 43-minute battle, WE defeated JT, winning the first game of the Intercontinental Cup semifinals for the LPL region.

After the first game ended, when WE went over to shake hands, FoFo was sitting in his chair and forgot to get up.

He might still be thinking about that time he made a mistake that cost him the game.

In the post-match results chart, WE's output chart showed a "middle finger" gesture.

Aircraft-related damage is particularly prominent.

Xiye was indeed at his peak in 17, and his competitive form was excellent.

Xiye's plane dealt 48,000 damage, accounting for 47% of the team's total damage.

However, the MVP of this game was ultimately awarded to Condi's Lee Sin.

Perhaps they were considering that the situation would turn around, starting with that spinning kick.

(End of this chapter)