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

Chapter 425 Again? Is Zhou Shen addicted to this?
“Yes!” Guan Zeyuan nodded in agreement. “In recent versions, the proportion of top laners choosing tanks has been increasing in major regions around the world.”

"However, Zhou Shen and Khan, compared to other players, are still the top laners who have chosen the most damage-dealing top laners in recent versions!"

"These two are the FMVP of the LPL Spring and Summer Splits, and the FMVP of the LCK Summer Split. I think the top lane matchup between Zhou Shen and Khan will greatly influence the outcome of this BO5!"

"Very likely!" PDD wholeheartedly agreed.

"Teacher Piao, who do you think is stronger between these two top laners?" Guan Zeyuan asked.

"To be honest, I think Zhou Shen is stronger. It's not that I'm trying to praise our LPL players, it's just my personal feeling!"

Backstage area of ​​the venue, lounge.

Riot Games staff informed both coaches and players to prepare to go on stage.

Before going on stage, at the entrance of the lounge, the five starting players of LGD formed a circle as usual, extending their right hands to shake hands.

"Dragon Ball is just a paper tiger, it's not as strong as they say. Let's play well online and win easily. Good luck!" Zhou Dian shouted first.

"come on!"

"come on."

The teammates joined in the shouts.

Stepping onto the main stage and looking at the many spectators cheering for LGD, Zhou Dian felt his heart rate and blood flow increase slightly.

This isn't nervousness, it's excitement!

What could be better than showcasing yourself on a stage where everyone is watching?

At this moment, Zhou Dian felt that he was in better shape than ever before.

For some reason, I have this feeling that I'm going to beat anyone who comes today!

The starting players from both sides took their seats and made some pre-match preparations.

Then it's time to wait for the draft phase of the first game of the BO5 to begin.

In the commentary box.

Guan Zeyuan said loudly, "Okay, we can see that the players from both sides have taken the stage. Let's take a look at the starting lineups for this match."

The starting lineups for today's BO5 between LGD and Longzhu were displayed on the four large screens at the venue.

"The referees are making their final preparations. The match is about to begin. Mr. Piao, I feel a little nervous!"

Upon hearing this, PDD chuckled, "It's normal to be nervous. I was nervous too. After all, Longzhu is the number one seed from LCK and advanced with a perfect record in the group stage. It would be strange if we weren't nervous!"

"However, I believe in God Zhou. I, Liu, will make this clear today: God Zhou will definitely crush the Khan today!"

PDD almost blurted out "TM's".

"Alright, both teams are ready. The first game of the final quarterfinal match of this World Championship, LGD vs. Longzhu, is about to begin!"

The image on the large screen changed from the commentary booth to the BP interface.

"In the first game of the BO5, Longzhu had the right to choose sides, and they chose the blue side, while LGD was on the red side," Guan Zeyuan said.

As soon as the BP interface appeared, continuous cheers erupted from the audience.

Many LPL supporters waited with a mix of tension and anticipation for the start of this best-of-five series.

If LGD can defeat Longzhu today, then there will be two LPL teams in the semifinals, and there will be more matches to come.

If LGD loses today, then this year's World Championship will be the same as last year's, with three LCK teams in the semifinals.

LPL's championship dream is likely to be dashed again this year!

BP starts.

First round of BP.

Dragon Ball banned Galio, Janna, and Cho'Gath.

LGD banned Kalista, Lulu, and Taliyah.

"Alright, the business process has begun!"

"Longzhu banned Galio, and LGD banned Taliyah. Both of them banned a roaming mid-laner with half-map support skills," Guan Zeyuan said.

Pray and Gorilla, the bot lane duo from Longzhu, are jokingly referred to as the "Two Elders of Xuanming" by LPL viewers.

The nickname "The Two Elders of Xuanming" refers to the fact that these two have worked together for many years and are not young, but their strength is still very strong.

That nickname is quite fitting.

However, these two are getting on in years. While they are fine in other aspects, their laning dominance is not top-tier; it's only average.

imp and PYL are actually not young, but at least they are not afraid of the "Two Elders of Xuanming" in lane.

As for Dragon Ball's absolute strongest player, top laner Khan...
LGD's absolute strength lies in the top lane, so they have even less to fear.

There's also Cuzz, the jungler from Dragon Ball. He's incredibly strong in ranked games, but he only plays by riding the momentum in matches, and he's basically silent when the game is going against him.

In Zhou Dian's view, as long as he can suppress Khan, the only thing Longzhu needs to pay attention to is mid laner BDD.

That's why Zhou Dian said Dragon Ball is a paper tiger, not as strong as it seems.

According to Zhou Dian, the main reason why Dragon Ball was able to advance from the group stage with a perfect record was that Group B was too weak.

Apart from Dragon Ball, the other three in Group B are all mediocre.

After banning the first three heroes, Longzhu directly picked Xayah on the first floor of the blue team.

Now that Xayah and Rakan are both out there, LGD wants Longzhu to make a choice: which one do you want to choose, Xayah or Rakan?

For LGD, it doesn't matter which of the Dragon Balls they pick: Xayah or Rakan.

imp and PYL were among the first in the LPL to play Xayah and Rakan, and their Xayah and Rakan were their signature moves.

“Okay, Dragon Ball has picked Xayah first, so LGD should be picking Rakan!” Guan Zeyuan said.

As expected, LGD secured the first kill on the red side.

Then they took down Sejuani on the second floor of the red team.

"Hey, LGD picked Rakan, that's one of PYL's signature picks!" PDD said. "They also picked Sejuani quite well, Sejuani is a really good gank champion."

Then, Dragon Ball secured Jarvan IV and Thresh on the second and third floors of the blue team, respectively.

"Take the prince first, then he'll have a backup plan; he could go top lane or jungle!"

After a pause, PDD continued, "Dragon Ball's Thresh... to be honest, in the current version, among tank supports, only heroes like Rakan and Taric who can heal and shield are worth picking!"

"Other hard supports, especially Thresh, are really just pick-your-own-champions."

"This champion is useless if he can't pick off any enemies in lane. Thresh is not like Alistar or Leona, who can still reliably engage even if they can't pick off any enemies in lane. Thresh is a champion that can easily become useless and can only provide lanterns from behind."

"I personally think that Longzhu's Thresh pick was terrible, which is good news for LGD!"

As soon as PDD finished speaking, LGD instantly locked down the Cannon on the third floor of the red side.

It also seems to be a way of expressing disdain for the opponent picking Thresh.

"In the first three draft picks, I think LGD's team had a much better draft," Guan Zeyuan concluded.

The first round of ban/pick (BP) is over. We move on to the second round.

LGD banned Gragas and Ryze.

Dragon Ball banned Kassadin and Lucian.

"LGD has taken precautions against the possibility of Jarvan IV being drafted to the top lane, so they banned a jungler, Gragas!"

"They also banned Ryze. It seems they want to lock BDD in lane and prevent him from roaming and supporting others!" Guan Zeyuan said.

“Yes!” PDD nodded. “LGD’s draft strategy is very clear: limit your mid laner’s roaming and then fight you on both side lanes.”

PDD then said in an exaggerated tone, "But what do you mean by banning Kaguya in Dragon Ball? You banned Goku and then Kaguya."

"This Khan is going too far. Does he think I, Zhou Shen, would pick a Cho'Gath or Maokai to lane with you?"

After a long silence, Zhihuan spoke up: "However, no matter what, Longzhu took three ban slots to ban top laners. In this version, if top laners get three ban slots, the other lanes' draft will be very comfortable. I just don't understand Longzhu's last ban on Lucian."

"Lucian performed very poorly in the first round of the group stage, basically unable to win any games, so in the second round of the group stage, almost no team will pick Lucian!"

At this moment, Guan Zeyuan suddenly said, "Do you think it's possible that Longzhu's Lucian pick was a ban on Zhou Shen's top lane Lucian?"

"Hmm, very likely!" PDD added, "But Zhou Shen probably hasn't played top lane Lucian for almost half a year, right?"

In the second round of player selection, the red team selects first.

LGD secured Malzahar on the fourth floor of the red team.

“Hey, Malzahar, he’s a mid laner who suddenly became popular at the World Championship recently,” Guan Zeyuan said immediately.

During the commentary session, Longzhu chose Syndra on the fourth floor of the blue team.

Zhihuan immediately said, "Syndra! LGD has achieved their goal of locking Longzhu's mid laner into the mid lane!"

"Longzhu still has one top laner they haven't picked yet; Jayce is currently out there."

"Yes, both top laners are masters of Jayce, and this version of Jayce is indeed very strong!" Guan Zeyuan said. "Now LGD has the counter pick, and they've put the question on Khan's shoulders: if you were given Jayce, would you pick it?"

"If you choose Jayce, I still have a counter pick. If you don't choose him, then I will!"

Dragon Ball didn't hesitate for long either, locking in Jess on the fifth floor of the blue team.

Meanwhile, the director focused the live camera on Khan, the top laner for Dragon Ball.

Khan is chuckling in the shot, seemingly quite happy to have been chosen by Jayce.

"Hey Khan, you love to laugh, don't you? Let's see if you can still laugh in a bit!" PDD teased.

Guan Zeyuan suddenly had a look of realization, "Since LGD let Jayce through, Longzhu immediately picked him too. Now I know why Longzhu banned Lucian."

"How to say?"

"I remember Zhou Shen saying a long time ago that although Jayce is a lane bully, he is not invincible in lane. There are still heroes who can counter Jayce in lane. Lucian is a typical example of a hero who can counter Jayce!"

"Of course, it seems only Zhou Shen can play Lucian top lane! If they face other teams, Longzhu definitely won't need to ban Lucian just for Jayce!"

Guan Zeyuan's prediction was quite accurate. During the group stage, LGD and Longzhu played several scrimmages.

Khan's Jayce, when facing a top-tier Lucian, couldn't gain any advantage whatsoever and could only take a beating.

In the commentary booth, Guan Zeyuan was still talking non-stop, "Anyway, the second round of drafting is just Malzahar and Jayce, with each side taking one!"

"LGD didn't ban Jayce, they picked Malzahar instead, leaving Jayce for Longzhu. Now we'll see what Zhou Shen picks in his last pick to counter Jayce."

“I think Zhou Shen definitely has more than one champion that can counter Jayce, Lucian,” PDD said confidently. “Zhou Shen must have other champions he can use, which is why he let Longzhu have Jayce.”

PDD's guess was spot on; Zhou Dian did indeed have a hero to counter Jayce.

Moreover, even if Lucian isn't banned, he wouldn't pick him in this game.

"Are you really going to choose this?" PYL's voice came through Zhou Dian's headphones.

"select!"

Then, the game voice line when locking onto a hero rang in Zhou Dian's ears.

"My sword has been thirsty for a long time!"

In the commentary box.

Guan Zeyuan looked bewildered. "Huh? No way? We still have to choose?"

"It seems like there's some truth to it, it's really locked!" PDD exclaimed dramatically.

The moment LGD revealed their hero on the fifth floor of the red team, the audience started to boo.

As LGD locked in the Barbarian King on the fifth floor of the red side, the cheers from the audience reached their peak.

Honestly, which hero is the most entertaining in a match?
Besides Teemo and Garen, the heroes that viewers most want to see are Tryndamere, Yi, and Xin Zhao.

In the last group stage match last week, Zhou Dian played Barbarian, and he's back with Barbarian again today.

"Wow, you're really daring to choose like this? Even the barbarians are here. I really didn't expect that!" PDD rubbed his scalp.

Guan Zeyuan shook his head. "Last week, Zhou Shen picked this hero in the group stage match between LGD and AHQ. Although that match was irrelevant to advancing, LGD still lost it in the end."

"I really don't have a high opinion of Tryndamere as a hero. It's been so long since I've seen him in competitive matches. Apart from Zhou Shen picking him once last week, no one has picked him in recent years, right?"

“However, last week Zhou Shen’s Barbarian was fighting Maokai, so it’s normal that he didn’t achieve the desired effect. This time, he’s fighting Jayce, who is a squishy champion, so it’s hard to say!” Zhihuan had a different opinion.

In the official live broadcast room, the moment LGD locked in the Barbarian King on the fifth floor of the red side, the chat immediately went crazy.

What is Zhou Shen doing? He lost to Barbarian last week and still hasn't had enough? It's already the knockout stage and he still wants to play?

Let's see, it might have a miraculous effect!

[What are you panicking for? A Gold II player's Tryndamere expert says he can easily beat Jayce, a total stomp!]

[Golden II still has a special skill? You must have a terminal illness!]

I'll eat my hat if your Tryndamere doesn't get destroyed by Jayce in the early game!

[How did he manage to wreck me? My Tryndamere was level six and I tower-dived to kill Jayce! Jayce has the guts to prevent Tryndamere from ever reaching level six!]

Okay, okay, you're right, gold!

[Dude, can competitive matches and casual games be compared?]

[No matter how different they are, the heroes are still the same. Do you think a player can start with ten more attack damage?]

【.】

The comments section was filled with heated arguments.

Guan Zeyuan and Zhihuan, who were in the commentary booth, also had different opinions.

So Guan Zeyuan passed the question on to a third person.

"Teacher Piao, what do you think of the top lane matchup between Tryndamere and Jayce?"

"Jayce can definitely pressure Tryndamere in the early levels, but if Tryndamere plays the same Ghost and Ignite build he does in solo queue, Jayce will get chased down and killed if he's not careful!"

Adjusting his glasses, PDD continued, "But in the match, the top laner should still take Teleport, so Tryndamere will be much less of a threat to Jayce. However, the good news is that LGD's jungler this game is Sejuani."

(End of this chapter)