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

Chapter 459 The ultimate skill among skills, who isn't a master?

"We've come this far, we need to give Zhou Shen a carry hero," Wawa said solemnly.

“Yes!” Miller nodded.

"Samsung banned Taliyah and Jayce in their last two picks. With Taliyah banned, it feels like LGD's mid laner can only pick Ryze. After all, our AD is Caitlyn, so we can't pick Orianna or something like that to farm in the mid lane like we did in the last game. That would be too passive!"

Suddenly, the doll asked, "Hey, Samsung won the last game by letting Jayce through, and they also restricted Jayce very well. Why did they ban Jayce again this game?"

"I think it's still a difference between red and blue sides. In the last game, Zhou Shen's Jayce was played first on the blue side."

"In this game, LGD was on the red side and could pick Jayce as their last pick to counter, so Samsung banned Jayce again."

Miller sighed and continued, "I have to say, Samsung's drafting skills are amazing, especially when they're on the blue side. They really take advantage of the blue side's drafting strengths to the extreme."

"I have never seen any LPL team, when they were on the red side, have such a tough time in the draft phase, like LGD did against Samsung in those two games."

"Looking at LGD here, I think they should pick Gnar! Zhou Shen knows how to play Gnar!"

"Should we take Nar first?" the doll asked.

"Yes, let's pick Gnar first. I think Gnar won't be at a disadvantage in lane no matter who we face, and CuVee's Gnar is really strong. Let's not give Gnar to him."

"Please pick Gnar, please!" Miller couldn't help but say when he saw that LGD hadn't picked any heroes on the fourth floor of the red side.

Miller, a veteran commentator for the LPL for many years, is now fully immersed in the game.

He was afraid that LGD would be eliminated immediately in this match.

Fearing that LPL's last hope ultimately fell in the semifinals.

"Let's pick the mid laner first. There's no reason for LGD not to give the counter pick to Zhou Shen!" Wawa said.

"And it seems like Wei Shen can only play Ryze this game, whether he picks it first or second is the same."

The doll was a bit more sober than Miller at this point.

Or perhaps he understands Zhou Dian and LGD better than Miller does.

Whenever the situation is unfavorable, when LGD is on the red side, the fifth counter pick will definitely be given to the top laner.

Moreover, Zhou Dian never uses the habit of picking instead of banning; he is not afraid of any player's hero.

With five seconds left in the champion selection countdown, LGD revealed Aurelion Sol on the fourth floor of the red side and then locked him in.

A commotion arose from the audience.

"Mid-lane Aurelion Sol?"

Not only the audience, but the commentators were also surprised.

"If I remember correctly, in this World Championship, it seems that only one North American team picked Aurelion Sol once, but they lost that game with Aurelion Sol, I'm sure of that!" Miller said confidently.

“I think picking Aurelion Sol and picking Ryze are essentially the same in terms of strategy,” Wawa added. “But I really didn’t expect LGD to pick Aurelion Sol instead of Ryze.”

"But in a do-or-die situation, LGD has shown us all their courage by daring to try new things!"

Cheers erupted from the audience; the doll had successfully stirred up the atmosphere.

While the commentators were still discussing LGD's unexpected Aurelion Sol pick, Samsung locked in Lee Sin on the fourth floor of the blue side.

Another wave of gasps erupted from the audience.

"Hey, am I seeing things? Sect Leader An actually pulled out the Blind Man's Blade!" Miller exclaimed in surprise.

While Miller was speaking, Samsung instantly locked in Gnar on the fifth floor of the blue team.

"Wow, Samsung just got Blind Garen!"

Master An's blind trick was truly beyond Miller's expectations.

The last move, Gnar, was exactly what he expected.

Miller had already guessed that Samsung would definitely pick Gnar in the top lane when LGD didn't pick him on the fourth floor of the red team.

From Karma the policewoman, to the Dragon King, and then to the blind man.

The player selections made by both sides in this game were particularly unexpected, constantly surprising the audience.

However, the impact is not over yet.

Just three seconds after the blue team locked down Gnar on the fifth floor, LGD instantly locked down Fiora on the red team's fifth floor.

Wow~~~
The audience members gasped in surprise, then cheered.

The gasps were directed at the champion Fiora, and the cheers came from the player's ID—LGDZhou!

"My God, did they really pick Fiora? I really don't understand!"

Miller was completely bewildered and expressed deep incomprehension.

The players LGD picked, especially the mid and top laners, are quite strange on their own in this patch.

Putting them together only highlights the incongruity!
"Let's take it. We trust Zhou Shen, we must trust LGD!"

Along with the shouts from the commentators, there were also continuous and increasingly loud cheers from the audience below the stage.

However, amidst the cheers, there was a subtle sense of pessimism spreading outwards.

All viewers could see that LGD's hero selection in this game had a strong sense of leaving no regrets.

When you reach a point in a competition where you have no regrets, it usually means you've lost confidence.

Your courage is commendable, but your strength is undeniable!

"Fiora is a bit afraid of Lee Sin," Miller said hesitantly, "but she should have no problem laning against Gnar."

"Well, that's fine too. If Fiora can really push the lane and get ahead, even Samsung's lineup doesn't seem to be able to stop her."

That's what they say, but Miller's rationality tells him that Fiora, a top laner who can't gain strength in the early game and lacks tankiness in the mid-to-late game, is not really suitable for this version.

"I don't care about the lineup anymore," Wawa shouted. "All I know is that this is Zhou Shen's Fiora, and Zhou Shen's Fiora has had so many iconic moments!"

“Indeed, I hope so!” Miller nodded, then continued, “Fiora is indeed a champion who can ignore the team composition and carry the game single-handedly in certain situations!”

"I think all LPL viewers can see Zhou Shen's skill level with Fiora, even though he hasn't used it in matches for a long time."

"This is his true heroism, the ultimate skill among skills!"

On the large screen, the pager ended, and the countdown reached its final minute before loading.

As the near-boiling cheers from the audience subsided, Miller said, "Well, let's not worry about that now. Just like every time we're in a crucial game like this, we leave all the suspense and everything to the five players on the field."

“Yes, and I think that, especially in crucial situations, you don’t need to worry about or consider anything else,” the doll added.

"The players only need to focus on themselves, bring out their best, and demonstrate their full potential!"

The camera moved from the faces of the two contestants to the center of the stage.

After shaking hands, the two head coaches turned and walked into the players' tunnel.

As soon as Dgc stepped off the player's bench, Wei Shen turned to Zhou Dian anxiously and said, "Damn Zhou Dian, I haven't played Aurelion Sol in ages! What if I mess up? I feel like I should have picked Ryze."

"Hey Wei Shen, even you have your moments of fear!" Zhou Dian chuckled and continued, "Oh, Dragon King is so simple, just push the lane relentlessly and that's it. After pushing the lane, just disappear. Whether you roam or not is another matter, just don't stay on the lane."

"I'll carry this game, guys. Just put enough pressure on Samsung online!"

As for how to play mid lane, it's not up to Wei Shen or Zhou Dian to teach him.

Zhou Dian said this to ease the tension among his teammates. After all, this was a match where losing meant going home, and it was the semifinals of the World Championship.

It's impossible for a player to remain completely calm and composed in such a passive situation.

From the audience seats, cheers erupted once again.

"All my words can be summed up in one sentence—Keep going!"

Go LGD!

As the applause and cheers from the audience gradually subsided, Wawa continued, "I would say that, based on what I've seen so far, the atmosphere among all the S7 World Championship viewers in China has reached its peak in this match!"

The scene shifts, and ten heroes from both sides enter Summoner's Rift.

The fourth game of the semifinals between LGD and Samsung at the S7 World Championship has officially begun.

Blue team Samsung:
Top lane Gnar, jungle Lee Sin, mid lane Galio, bot lane Varus and Garen.

Red team LGD:

Top lane Fiora, jungle Jarvan IV, mid lane Aurelion Sol, bot lane Caitlyn and Karma.

As both players controlled their respective heroes to burst out of the fountain, the applause and cheers that had become sparse began to rise again.

As Wawa said, all LPL viewers, whether or not they are LGD fans, have given their full support to LGD at this moment.

"Come on, LGD! If you win this game, you'll have a real chance in the final game of the BO5!"

Miller continued, "If we can tie the score by a large margin, then the pressure will be on the other side."

"We absolutely have to win this one!"

Both sides started the game with a straight line along the river, a very solid defensive position.

Next, the keystone runes for both teams' real-name heroes in this game were displayed at the bottom of the big screen.

"Wow, this Cuvee is really slick, even using Bloodlust against melee champions like Fiora," said Doll.

"His Gnar is just so stable. With Bloodlust and Doran's Shield, it would be hard for any other ADC to pressure him in lane, let alone a Fiora like you."

It was precisely because Zhou Dian saw that Gnar had chosen Bloodlust as his starting item that he opted to start with Cull.

Against an opponent like Cuvee who plays extremely conservatively, prioritize ensuring your own development.

Anyway, there's no rush with Fiora; her true power comes in the mid-to-late game when she's good at split pushing.

imp's Caitlyn built a Doran's Blade this game; Caitlyn Karma is picked to relentlessly pressure the opponent.

Mid laner Wei Shen's Dragon King started with a Corrupting Potion.

Anyway, I don't care about cost-effectiveness; all I want is maximum early-game lane dominance.

After drawing pressure in the previous few games and causing the two carries to fail in the late game, the team had already achieved its goal of drawing pressure from the top teams.

Zhou Dian believes that letting the two core players take over the game is something that Samsung's operational challenges cannot be bypassed.

Let the two carries draw the pressure, while I, the top laner, can carry the game into the late game.

Who is C and not C?

If you lose, just take the blame and that's it!

It's unrealistic to expect your opponent to make a mistake and hand you the opportunity without taking the initiative.

You'll never win if you're afraid to fight.

Although letting the top lane carry playstyle is definitely not mainstream in the current LPL, it doesn't seem strange when applied to LGD.

They've done this many times before.

At 1 minute and 40 seconds into the game, the buff jungle monster spawns.

Both junglers chose to start with the blue buff in this game.

LGD's bot lane duo helped Jarvan IV clear the jungle, while Samsung's top laner Gnar helped Lee Sin clear the jungle.

The observer camera cut to the Samsung Blue Buff area, and Miller couldn't help but say, "I never expected Ambition to pick Lee Sin in this game. It really is Ambition!"

Miller hesitated, but ultimately didn't say anything.

Gnar helped Lee Sin jungle, but didn't go online immediately.

On the top lane, after the first wave of minions arrived, Zhou Dian neither went forward to block the lane nor waited for Gnar to come to lane. Instead, he controlled Fiora to start attacking minions and pushing the lane.

Assuming Gnar is helping Lee Sin get the blue buff, then during Zhou Dian's extra auto-attacks, the top lane will be able to push back the lane when Fiora reaches level three.

Of course, this is on the premise that no one else interferes with the laning phase in the top lane.

Nearly ten seconds later, Nar emerged from the river and onto the upper route.

When Zhou Dian saw that Gnar had around 20 points of rage, he realized that Master An had indeed started with blue buff in this game of Lee Sin.

The reason we only found out now that Lee Sin started with the blue buff is because just a few seconds ago, neither Samsung's mid nor bot laners had come online immediately.

Clearly, Samsung was trying to confuse LGD a bit in terms of jungle route selection in the early game.

It would be best if it worked, but it doesn't matter if it didn't fool anyone.

Samsung's mid, bot, and support players are not simply staying in the jungle and delaying their release.

The three of them took down five birds from their own F6 camp. Galio ate three, while Varus and Rakan each ate one, and they all gained some experience points.

With both the mid and bot lanes facing a clear disadvantage in the early game, Samsung employed some clever tactics.

Eat some experience from jungle monsters before logging back in; that way you can reach level two faster.

However, Wei Shen clearly had no intention of outsmarting Crown.

So what if your Galio ate the three little birds of F6 before you went online? It's none of my business!
Before the mid-lane minions had even met, and while Galio was still in the jungle waiting for the F6 to spawn, Wei Shen, controlling Aurelion Sol, proactively engaged the blue team's minions.

Once Starfall (W) is activated, Aurelion Sol begins to aggressively push the minion wave.

Both teams' bottom laners arrived at their lanes around the same time, and as soon as imp and PYL arrived, they began pushing the minion wave aggressively.

With one RQ combo from Sona and one Peacekeeper (Q) from Caitlyn, the blue team's backline minions were instantly killed, pushing the lane at an incredibly fast pace.

Zhou Dian clearly explained the strategy to them: push aggressively in the mid and bottom lanes, keeping Samsung's mid and bottom lanes under their towers.

Even if Master An has a good early game rhythm, he won't dare to do many things if the people on the lane can't support him.

After all, this is a competitive match, not a casual game.

While Zhou Dian was pushing the lane aggressively, he didn't place any wards in the river bushes.

In the previous game, Zhou Dian suffered a loss from being caught and killed at level one, but in this game, he still didn't take the risk of An Zhangmen's level two gank seriously.

Zhou Dian felt that Master An wouldn't use this tactic again in this round.

There was certainly an element of gambling involved, but Zhou Dian still did it anyway.

Fiora should save this trinket ward until level 3 or 4 before placing it.

Back then, preventing a gank would have been far more valuable than placing a ward now.

(End of this chapter)