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

Chapter 393 Is the Tree of Life Just a Mistake? RNG's Unexpected Top Lane Choice!

In the game, when targeting players in lane, the jungler is undoubtedly the first to act.

Mlxg's jungling style is almost "abnormal" when it comes to ganking.

He is undoubtedly a very suitable candidate for this kind of job.

In fact, Mlxg had already dealt a severe blow to LGD's bottom lane in the previous game.

However, in the end, Zhou Dian carried the game, and Uzi was not as good at carrying as Zhou Dian!

"RNG will definitely target you hard in the next game!" Dgc said. "I want to pick the blue side next game, and then pick a tank hero for you to withstand the pressure. We'll carry the bot lane this game!"

Since Zhou Dian is going to be heavily targeted, why not choose the blue side and take the advantage of the other positions in the draft?

“No problem!” Zhou Dian replied.

The other four teammates nodded in agreement.

Throughout the summer split, as the game version changed, LGD revived a playstyle centered around the bottom lane, and it worked quite well.

Isn't this the very moment we've been waiting for?

Teams that can adapt their playstyle have a higher potential.

As the break between games was about to end, everyone in the lounge got up from their seats.

Head coach Dgc and the players stood in a circle and said, "In the next round, let's try to win it outright and not give the opponent any chance!"

Then, he extended his right hand towards the crowd.

Zhou Dian and his teammates all extended their right hands and placed them together.

Dgc shouted, "This is it! Let's take this summer championship that belongs to us! Go, brothers!"

"Go for it!" the team members shouted in unison.

Then, Dgc was the first to turn around and walk towards the door, and the team members followed him into the player tunnel one by one.

The goal: the main stage.

To be precise, it's the LPL championship trophy displayed on the main stage.

The images on the four large screens hanging high above the Wukesong Arena switched from advertisements to promotional videos for the Summer Finals.

Then the commentary booth appeared on screen.

"Alright, everyone, welcome back!"

"What we are about to bring you is the third game of the LPL finals between LGD and RNG."

"At present, LGD is temporarily leading RNG with a score of 2-0, holding three match points. RNG can be said to be on the verge of elimination!" Wawa said.

"Of course, the game isn't over yet, anything is possible!" Miller added.

"Alright, without further ado, both players are ready, let's move on to the draft phase of the third game of this BO5."

"In the third game, LGD had the right to choose sides, and they chose the blue side, while RNG was on the red side."

"That's a bit unexpected. I thought they would choose the red side again, like in the first game!"

The live stream camera panned across the players' benches, and RNG's head coach, Feng, had a furrowed brow.

Besides the fact that RNG is currently down 0-2 in the score.

Also, LGD's decision to choose the blue side in the third game was completely unexpected.

He originally thought that LGD would definitely choose the red side in this game.

"Forget it, since we're on the red side, let's just let Letme pick his hero last and reduce the pressure on him in his lane. That might not be a bad thing!" Feng thought to himself.

At this moment, the BP interface popped up on the large screen at the scene.

The third game of the 2017 LPL Summer Split Finals begins with the draft phase.

First round of BP.

LGD banned Rumble, Jarvan IV, and Lucian.

RNG banned Taliyah, Kalista, and Thresh.

Immediately afterwards, LGD secured the Earthshaker on the first floor of the blue team's map.

"First pick the Minotaur? Choosing the Minotaur is definitely not a problem!"

“But I saw that LGD banned Lucian, and I originally thought they might be able to steal the plane,” Wawa said.

"Then let's see if RNG figured out how to counter Alistar during that short break. I think they must have made a contingency plan!" Miller added.

"However, since ancient times, there doesn't seem to be any particularly good or perfect way to counter the Tauren Chieftain."

Hearing this, the doll suddenly interjected, "Morgana!"

“Morgana is one solution, but Morgana is too one-dimensional!” Miller said. “Besides, Alistar isn’t strong in lane; his teamfight ability is too strong.”

"RNG will pick Gragas first, then Cassiopeia!"

RNG picked Gragas and Cassiopeia on the first and second floors of the red side.

“LGD banned Lucian themselves earlier, which was obviously intentionally letting RNG take the lead. They might have some secret weapon to use against the enemy, or they might not have any at all and just didn’t want to let RNG continue to play Lucian.”

"Even though LGD won with Lucian in the previous rounds!" Wawa said with a smile.

"But RNG is currently down 0-2, so they probably don't want to take the risk," Miller continued.

“RNG directly picked Cassiopeia for Xiaohu in the mid lane, which is a strategy of always keeping the same. I will pick Cassiopeia, no matter what you pick in the mid lane, I will not be afraid of laning against you.”

Then, it was the turn of the blue team to select people on the second and third floors.

"Big tree or big bug?" Dgc asked in the LGD team voice chat.

"Big Tree, that hero is better in team fights. When I'm laning against Letme, I don't have to worry about laning at all, I can just play however I want!" Zhou Dian said.

Upon hearing Zhou Dian's words, Eimy immediately locked up the Twisted Treant on the second floor.

As soon as the hero was selected, gasps of surprise erupted from the audience.

The posts were posted by both LGD fans and RNG fans.

"A big tree? Seeing this hero, I took another closer look at the team logo in the top left corner. It's definitely LGD, not RNG!"

After a pause, Miller continued, "What's this called? Is this teaching Letme how to play with trees?"

After LGD picked the big tree on the second floor of the blue side, it was time for the third floor to pick a hero.

After Kog'Maw, Xayah, and Tristana were revealed in turn.

Ultimately, Wei Shen locked in Varus on the third floor of the blue team.

Compared to the other heroes, Varus has a more comfortable early game.

In LGD's current competitive philosophy, they will not choose a pure late-game composition, as that would be too passive.

We still need to have some initiative in our own hands.

"LGD picked Varus on the third floor, but to be fair, Maokai could still be played in the jungle!" Miller said.

"I remember LGD used to really like this kind of 'top laner vs. jungler' strategy. Champions like Jarvan IV and Maokai are typical examples of champions that can be played in both the top and jungle!"

Next, RNG locked down Kog'Maw on the third floor of the red side.

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

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

RNG banned LeBlanc and Sejuani.

LGD banned Lulu and Renekton.

"Since you've already picked Kog'Maw, Lulu definitely won't be given to RNG. Now it's up to RNG to pick a support to pair with Kog'Maw!"

"Then RNG didn't ban any top laners in the second round, which seems to indicate they've decided that LGD's Maokai will be playing top lane," Miller said.

"Not necessarily!" Wawa shook his head. "Maybe RNG didn't even plan to ban top lane this game. Look, RNG didn't ban any top lane champions in the first round!"

"Oh right!" Miller said with a hint of surprise, "As LGD's opponent, RNG didn't ban a single top lane champion, which is very rare in LGD's matches!" As soon as he finished speaking, RNG picked Tahm Kench on the fourth floor of the red side.

Without Lulu, Tahm Kench is a decent replacement.

Moreover, compared to purely protective supports, Tahm Kench has the added ability to roam and provide support through his ultimate ability.

LGD locked in Syndra on the fourth floor of the blue side.

There was not much hesitation.

Wei Shen was very confident today and chose to go head-to-head with Xiao Hu.

Moreover, in terms of champions alone, Syndra's laning strength is not much inferior to Cassiopeia's.

Then, LGD secured the Kha'Zix on the fifth floor of the blue side.

"In that case, it's confirmed that LGD will be using Maokai as their top laner!"

"LGD actually picked Maokai top lane for Zhou Shen at this time, especially considering how well Zhou Shen carried in the first two games. This is quite unexpected!" Miller said.

"It's more than just a little unexpected, it's something I never expected!" the doll exclaimed.

"Now it all comes down to RNG's last counter pick. LGD has Maokai in the top lane, and Letme has a counter pick now. What top laner will he choose to counter them?"

On the RNG player bench.

Letme remained silent, awaiting the coach's final instructions.

For a moment, the thought of picking a champion like Camille or Fiora to "chop down trees" crossed his mind.

But it was only for a moment.

To be honest, he chickened out!

With the team on the brink of elimination, Letme didn't dare to take on the responsibility of carrying the team.

Let the coach choose!

I played whatever the coach told me to play.

For RNG's head coach Feng, LGD's choice of Maokai as a top laner disrupted their original plans.

LGD is currently leading 2-0. Zhou Dian picked Maokai, clearly indicating that he intends to stick with you in the top lane and not try to target me.

On the other hand, if you want your top laner to carry the game, it's actually a good thing if the opponent picks Maokai.

But the prerequisite is that your own top laner must have enough skill.

However, it's clear that Feng Ge no longer trusts Letme.

This can be seen from the fact that RNG built Kog'Maw on the third floor first.

Even though RNG had a counter pick in this game, Feng still wanted Uzi to carry the game.

The champion Kog'Maw also needs the protection of his teammates.

Therefore, after confirming that LGD would have Maokai as their top laner, Feng Ge couldn't help but waver a little.

He felt that targeting a large tree might be too inefficient!

After all, RNG is currently down 0-2 and on the brink of elimination, so they need to be more careful in their actions.

Since your LGD top laner is definitely stronger and has chosen to pick Maokai to play passively, why don't I join you in playing passively?

With only a few seconds left in the player selection countdown, Feng said, "Let's get Cho'Gath!"

Ming on the fifth floor quickly locked down the giant bug.

In the commentary box.

"Oh, they still chose Cho'Gath, a pretty safe choice! Then this game will be a battle between the two carries," Miller said.

"I believe both sides are fairly satisfied with the draft picks in this game!"

BP complete, now we're in the final minute countdown before loading.

The camera panned across the ten players from both sides, each displaying different expressions and making various physical gestures.

Even imp, who is usually quite calm during the game, blinked much more frequently.

After all, LGD is only one step away from winning the Summer Split with a perfect record, so it's understandable that they are excited.

Only Zhou Dian remained seated, motionless, with no expression on his face.

If his eyes weren't still open, one might have thought he was asleep.

Both head coaches took off their headphones, closed their laptops, stepped down from the players' bench, and came to the center of the stage.

After shaking hands, they each turned and walked into the players' tunnel.

At this moment, the game had reached the loading screen on the large screen at the venue.

Blue side LGD:

Top lane Maokai, jungle Kha'Zix, mid lane Syndra, bot lane Varus and Alistar.

Red Square RNG:

Top lane Cho'Gath, jungle Gragas, mid lane Cassiopeia, bot lane Kog'Maw and Tahm Kench.

The fans at the scene cheered loudly for their respective teams.

The voices of LGD fans generally conveyed a sense of joy and excitement.

However, the voices of RNG fans remained passionate.

Even though the home team is currently down 0-2, they remain steadfast in their support for their favorite team.

Shortly after, the loading process ended, and the ten heroes landed in the fountains at both ends of Summoner's Rift.

"It's here! The third game of the LPL Summer Split Finals, LGD is currently leading RNG 2-0!"

"Will LGD seize the Summer Split championship in one fell swoop, or will RNG pull one back and keep their hopes of winning the title alive? Let's wait and see!"

Miller continued, "Judging from the lineups of both sides, the offensive pressure in the early stages of this game is on LGD's side."

Both players quickly bought their starting items and controlled their respective heroes to leave the fountain.

At the start of the game, both sides maintained their defensive positions, which were lined up in a row along the river.

In this game, the enemy Cho'Gath was a melee champion, but Zhou Dian didn't choose Grasp of the Undying as his keystone rune; instead, he chose Courage of the Colossus.

This also expresses his attitude towards the top lane laning phase in this game.

That boils down to three words—no interest!

Don't talk to me about laning, I just want to team fight!

However, although both top laners were incredibly tanky, both junglers still opted to start with the bottom side buff.

In the early levels, both junglers will naturally farm and develop their jungles peacefully.

In the 7.16 version used in the LPL playoffs, Cassiopeia's E skill Twin Fangs received buffs in both base damage and AP scaling.

Cassiopeia is facing Syndra in the mid lane. Cassiopeia is naturally stronger in the first two levels, and the mid lane minion wave will slowly push towards LGD.

Both ADCs, Varus and Kog'Maw, started with Doran's Shield and took Bloodlust as their keystone rune.

The main point is to survive.

The bottom lane matchup naturally didn't yield any results either.

In this game, the early game tempo was basically entirely controlled by the mid and jungle players on both sides.

Eimy's Kha'Zix jungle route in the early game is double buff plus Raptors. After clearing the blue buff, Kha'Zix starts clearing the river crab in the top lane.

Mlxg's Gragas started with a jungle route of blue buff - wolves - raptors - red buff.

Gragas clears an extra camp, partly to avoid competing with Kha'Zix for the Rift Scuttler.

After all, in jungle skirmishes, Gragas is definitely no match for Kha'Zix.

(End of this chapter)