LOL: What does it mean to torture players?

Meanwhile, Su Mo and his teammates had returned to the rest room.

Abu and the factory manager came up to greet them: "Thank you for your hard work, everyone has worked hard. Now we only need to take the last step."

"Maintain your form, and everyone must remain vigilant. We should strive to win 3-0 to avoid any unforeseen complications."

Su Mo could sense that everyone was quite excited and trying to control their emotions to avoid affecting their performance in the next match.

For veteran players, this is an opportunity to win two or even three consecutive championships; for new players, this is their first championship and a chance to prove themselves.

Su Mo looked at the factory manager: "Factory manager, are you going to play in the next game? If you don't play now, you might not get another chance."

The factory manager laughed: "You're so confident? What if you lose?"

Then the factory manager became serious again: "Forget it, this isn't child's play. You guys did a great job, what would I do up there?"

Abu said, "Let's review the game first, and then discuss how to play the next one."

So the EDG team gathered together to review the previous match.

Meanwhile, in T1's rest room, the T1 players were also reviewing the match.

However, Faker seems a bit lost in thought, as if he's considering something else.

On screen, Su Mo's Renekton was dominant in lane and constantly helped his teammates, crushing T1's bot lane.

At this moment, Teddy and Effort also looked very upset, and neither of them knew what to say.

They felt they handled their laning phase well, but the enemy Renekton was playing like that, and they couldn't keep up.

At the same time, it can be said that there is a problem with the mid lane, after all, the hero counters are there, and the opponent's mid laner is also a two-time champion, TOP0.

After the rematch, coach Zefa said, "EDG is more difficult to deal with than we thought, especially their top laner, who prepared a lot."

Faker suddenly spoke up: "I'm sorry, everyone, it was my fault in the last game. I didn't handle the laning phase well."

Zefa reassured her, "This isn't your fault. To be honest, I, as the coach, wasn't prepared. I didn't expect them to suddenly switch lanes and use Renekton to counter your Qiyana."

"Let's ignore the matches that have already been played for now. Our goal now is to win one more game. Judging from the first two games, our previous preparations were ineffective against EDG. They have ways to deal with it."

"So, for the next game, I'm giving you the choice. You can choose the tactics and draft picks you want."

The T1 players began to ponder, realizing that the coach's intention was nothing more than abandoning the current meta and popular heroes.

Choose what you like and what you're good at.

Of course, they weren't just randomly selected; they were all professional players, so they had a concept of team composition.

While everyone else was deep in thought, Khan hesitated, wanting to speak but losing his courage at the thought of Su Mo being on the other end.

It's a shame that time waits for no one. If it were three years ago, he would have been confident enough to say that he would be playing for Carey in the next game.

Just then, his phone beeped. Faker glanced at the phone on the table in front of him, hesitated for a moment, and then picked it up to take a look.

It turned out to be a message from Showmaker: "The opponent is really tough, they're impeccable. But for the glory of LCK, Faker, good luck!"

On the other side, the EDG team had also finished setting up their tactics.

Su Mo was sitting in his chair when he finished reading his phone. He received countless messages, and some people had even started celebrating their three-peat in advance.

At the same time, Chovy sent a message: "Mo, I didn't expect you to be able to create an advantage in this way. I suddenly realized that it doesn't matter whether you play mid or top lane. What matters is how to lead the team to victory. I misunderstood the key point before. Thank you, Mo, and good luck."

Su Mo laughed. This kid looks aloof, but he's not at all like that.

Just then, Abu's voice came: "It's almost time, are you all ready?"

Su Mo put down his phone, and everyone stood up.

Abu continued, "Strive for a 3-0 victory, treat this as the final battle. EDG is proud of you! Go for it!"

At the LPL broadcast booth during the match.

With the live stream about to begin, Rita took several deep breaths to calm herself down.

Her heart is racing, and she's even having some difficulty breathing—she's so nervous!
This is a historic moment! The first three-peat in league history is about to be born!

The live stream will begin after the countdown ends!
Guan Zeyuan spoke first: "Alright, viewers, what we are about to do is the third match between the two sides, which may also be the last match. I know what you are thinking, but please wait a little while and don't open the champagne halfway through."

The EDG fans at the scene were already celebrating wildly, chanting "EDG! EDG!" even before the player had taken the stage.

"Triple Crown Winner! Triple Crown Winner!"

Miller commented, "Judging from the first two matches, T1 is indeed very strong, but EDG is even stronger! EDG's response was perfect, especially Mozi."

"He always sees through T1's moves and counters them in the draft and playstyle. Now EDG is only one game away from their goal."

Rita said, "I don't know if you guys feel the same way, my heart is beating so fast, I don't know what to say... Go EDG! Go Mozi!"

On stage, both players took to the field again.

"EDG! EDG! EDG!"

"Brother Mozi! Brother Mozi!"

EDG fans were extremely excited.

"T1! T1!"

"Faker, keep going!"

"Cheer up, Faker! We believe in you!"

T1's fans did not give up, shouting themselves hoarse, wanting to give T1 one last bit of support.

Both players took their positions, everything was ready, and the third round of ban/pick began.

The director gave close-ups of the contestants on both sides.

At this moment, Faker was resting with his eyes closed, adjusting his breathing.

Commentator Guan Zeyuan said, "It's very tense. Faker has been in dire straits more than once in his career. In the S3 Summer Split, during the gauntlet match, SKT T1K faced KTB. SKT T1 was fast-forwarded in two games and was about to lose their S3 qualification."

"However, SKT showed amazing resilience, winning two games in a row and dragging the match into a fifth game, a blind pick game, which led to the two classic Zed moments and the S3 championship. This was the starting point for Faker's legendary career at the age of 17."

"Today, 23-year-old Faker faces a desperate situation once again. Standing in his way is Mozi and the two-time champion EDG. What choice will he make?"

As Guan Zeyuan was speaking, the first round of bans was finalized:
EDG: LeBlanc, Ryze, Galio
T1: Jayce, Angel, Kitty.

Miller analyzed: "EDG chose to go all out on the mid lane in the third game, which I think was the right choice. If T1 still has any hope, that hope definitely lies with Faker."

"T1's main focus is on Mozi. Although they banned Yuumi in the bottom lane, I think it was also to target Mozi. Mozi with Yuumi is too destructive."

During the hero selection phase, T1 on the blue side picked Kai'Sa on the first floor.

Miller commented, "Kai'Sa is here. Teddy's Kai'Sa skills are pretty good. Is T1 planning to continue focusing on the bot lane in this game?"

EDG secured Xayah and Rakan on the first and second floors.

Rita analyzed, "In order to block Mozi, T1 actually released a lot of OP heroes, which EDG could have picked up." "Of course, it was the same for T1. Instead of picking popular heroes, both sides chose to pick heroes that they were good at."

T1 got Titan and Lee Sin on the second and third floors.

Guan Zeyuan commented, "Clid's Lee Sin is absolutely amazing. He excels at early game tempo, and Lee Sin perfectly suits his style."

EDG secured the Prince on the third floor.

Miller cheered, "Here he comes! Jiejie's Prince, he finally has a chance to show his skills this game. However, the opposing ADC is Kai'Sa, and Kai'Sa is not very afraid of Prince."

In the second round of bans and picks, EDG banned Cassiopeia and Tristana.

T1 banned Gnar and Gangplank.

EDG locked in Akali on the fourth floor!

Rita got excited: "It's here! This Akali might belong to Mozi. Of course, Scout's Akali is also very strong. It's a flexible champion, which is giving T1 a tough time."

"What champion will Faker choose? Cassiopeia is gone, LeBlanc is gone too..."

Just then, T1 locked onto the card on the fourth and fifth floors: Camille!

Guan Zeyuan commented, "Faker, the Twisted Fate master, is indeed different from before. If it were the old Faker, he would definitely choose a more skillful champion in this situation."

"This time he chose Twisted Fate. Although most players may not have a deep impression of Faker's Twisted Fate, he is definitely one of the best Twisted Fate mid laners in the LCK right now."

Rita chimed in, "EDG still has five picks left. Akali won't face much pressure laning against Twisted Fate in the mid lane. Of course, they could also switch to a stronger laner, like Syndra against Twisted Fate, and move Akali to the top lane."

Miller cautioned, "T1's top and jungle are a huge threat to the top lane. Akali is indeed a good choice. Otherwise, if Camille and Twisted Fate gank the top lane, most champions definitely won't be able to withstand it."

As the three were talking, suddenly, EDG revealed a hero that no one expected on the fifth floor.

Lord of Shadow Streams, robbery!

Miller laughed and said, "EDG is starting to get mischievous. Does it feel like they're hinting at Faker's Zed?"

"This hero definitely can't be locked...? EDG actually locked him!"

Everyone thought EDG was just being playful, but EDG immediately said no, they were serious!
"The invisible blade is the most deadly!"

The hijacking has been detected!

The entire audience erupted in uproar:
"What's going on here? Aren't they going too far?"

"I have a feeling something's going to go wrong."

"EDG was clearly about to win the championship, why did they have to put on a show?"

"A comeback from 0-2 down to 3-2!"

T1 fans were initially quite nervous, but seeing EDG get Zed suddenly gave them hope.

After both sides locked in their ten heroes, they began to adjust the lane assignments.

The lineup was quickly finalized:
Red side EDG: Top lane Zed, Jungle Jarvan IV, Mid lane Akali, ADC Xayah, Support Rakan

Blue side T1: Top lane Camille, Jungle Lee Sin, Mid lane Twisted Fate, ADC Kai'Sa, Support Nautilus

Rita analyzed it as follows:

"It's Mozi's Zed, top lane Zed? Not necessarily! Mozi and Scout can switch lanes. The T1 mid and top laners need to think carefully about their item builds, runes, and masteries."

"Zed and Akali, one AP and one AD, will give T1 a headache."

The director gave a close-up of the five T1 players, and Faker's expression was very serious, as if he was thinking about something.

Summoner spells can be switched between Ignite and Exhaust.

His considerations were simple: if he was laning against Akali, he would take Ignite; if he was laning against Zed, he would take Exhaust.

Although both are assassins, Akali and Zed are very different.

Weakness isn't very effective against Akali. Akali has Twilight Shroud, so she can use her abilities depending on the situation after entering the fray. If she's weakened, she can wait until the weakness wears off, or even use Zhonya's Hourglass to stall for time.

However, Zed is different. Once Zed uses his ultimate, he must deal maximum damage in a short period of time, and Exhaust greatly limits Zed's effectiveness.

The Ignite buff can enhance the pressure on Akali, especially before level six.

This gives you more initiative before level six, allowing you to provide support and roam in advance.

The countdown has ended; the game is now in progress.

Su Mo tried to communicate with the system: "Max out my proficiency in Zed."

[Use one Prestige Mastery Card to raise Zed's Mastery to max level.]

The broadcast showed both teams their summoner spells and runes.

Rita provided the analysis: "In this game, both Zed and Akali used Flash Teleport. In the bot lane, EDG's bot lane duo had Xayah using Flash Barrier and Rakan using Ignite."

"On T1's side, Camille flashes and teleports, and Twisted Fate chooses flash and ignite? This... I thought he would take Exhaust."

Guan Zeyuan speculated, "It might be to enhance his laning pressure... Wait, look at what items Twisted Fate bought! He actually chose Doran's Blade!"

The director gave Faker a close-up of his equipment bar, and it was indeed a Doran's Blade!

Rita analyzed, "It's not just Doran's Blade; Twisted Fate's keystone is Press the Attack. Is he going to build AD? Or is it simply to enhance his laning ability?"

"With his item build, his teamfight damage output definitely won't be very high, because EDG's lineup won't let you just auto-attack all the time. Faker chose to trust his teammates, and he might be treating himself as a complete utility player, just for the sake of early game tempo."

On EDG's side, Scout's Akali went to the mid lane, while Sumo's Zed moved up.

Jiejie is setting the pace: "Just keep an eye on this card in the early game. The enemy top and bottom lanes are good at coordinating ganks this game. Pay attention to my signals."

Meiko replied, "It seems that before level six, our bot lane can only turt. After level six, we can even handle 2v3 situations."

Iboy was eager to fight: "As long as you can absorb the enemy Titan's ultimate or Twisted Fate's yellow card, we can counterattack. Kai'Sa has no damage output in front of her."

Su Mo cautioned, "Let's play it safe. Faker's Twisted Fate is something else. He must have a plan for bringing it out now."

Iboy joked, "Brother Mozi, so cautious? That's not like you."

Su Mo laughed and said, "I'm not being cautious, I'm just worried that you won't be able to handle the mental strain after you've been thoroughly investigated."

The first wave of minions appeared, and Su Mo went to the top lane to lane.

There's not much pressure laning against Camille; just keep your distance and poke her.

Camille doesn't dare to use her E skill to get close and poke, as she's vulnerable to ganks.

Therefore, the initiative was in Su Mo's hands, since he had long arms.

The minion was low on health, and Camille came out to finish it off with a tactical sweep.

Just as Su Mo had expected, Khan had indeed lost his edge and was playing very conservatively. (End of Chapter)