LOL: What does it mean to torture players?

Su Mo entered the live stream room, where advertisements were still playing and the fifth session had not yet started.

The live chat was already buzzing:

"JDG is really bastard, they forced TES to play their cards, aren't they just helping DWG?"

"Are we JDG players even human? Can't we compete for the championship?"

"I don't care, whoever wins will carry the banner, and whoever loses to LCK will be the one I criticize."

"Whoever ruined LPL's four-peat, I'll hate them for life."

Fans on both sides are now debating who deserves to win the match.

TES is the number one seed, so they have an advantage.

However, JDG was not to be outdone and also wanted to gain the upper hand in public opinion.

Just then, Su Mo received a message.

Zoom: "Brother Mozi, I'm calling upon the gods! In this final game, please bless me to perform at my best and lead JDG to victory."

Immediately afterwards, another message came in.

369: "Brother Mozi, bless me in the final game, I'll treat you to dinner sometime."

A moment later, the match began, and the players from both sides took to the field.

Su Mo felt as if he were seeing the scene of the Summer Split finals again; it all seemed to have happened before.

Of course, the outcome is still uncertain this time, who knows...

Fifty minutes later, Su Mo realized he had been overthinking things.

TES defeated JDG 3-2 and advanced to the semifinals.

As expected, JDG fell in the decisive game.

The director gave close-ups of the five JDG players, and it looked like Toothpaste and Zoom were about to cry.

It just feels uncomfortable.

Meanwhile, TES fans and JDG fans clashed fiercely once again:
"Always second place, hahaha!"

"TES had better win the championship, otherwise just wait and see."

"Are we going to give JDG an IOU? Do we owe you a championship?"

"Come on, you played badly and you're blaming others?"

369 also sent a message to Su Mo to share the joy: "Brother Mo, nice, we won! Hahaha, we won! Take off!"

The following day, at the World Championship finals, backstage, in the EDG lounge.

The EDG players are waiting for the match to begin.

The factory manager was giving his teammates the final preparations: "We've already discussed the strategy and draft picks. As long as you follow my instructions, there shouldn't be any problems."

"Xiao Jie, are you all ready? We're here to see your performance."

Jiejie nodded: "I'm fine."

The factory manager continued, "Audi, you absolutely must play it safe in the top lane. Bin is a skilled laner; he likes to play warrior heroes. If he gets ahead, it won't be easy for us to fight him."

"But he also likes to give opportunities. Once Xiao Jie has Sofm pinned down in the jungle, he will come up to help you. Before he arrives, you just need to stay calm."

Aodi replied, "Okay, I'll try my best."

A moment later, the first match began, and the players from both sides took to the field.

In the official live stream room, the chat was filled with messages:

"SN had an easy time today, playing against EDG, the weakest team in the quarterfinals."

"It's a pity the factory manager retired, otherwise there would have been another chance to punish the richest man."

"As long as the richest man doesn't bet on himself to lose today, then there's no problem."

"Apart from the mid and jungle, EDG seems to be lacking in everything else."

Su Mo was also watching the game in his office, and now he had some free time.

After the players took the stage, the first draft phase began.

EDG got Ornn for top lane and Orianna for mid lane, which is fine.

Aodi picks Ornn to withstand pressure in the top lane and still be effective in team fights.

Scout's Orianna is also reliable, capable of dealing explosive damage in team fights.

The key is how to put pressure on Sofm in the early game, so as to suppress or even gank the top laner.
The card was taken by SNBAN, probably because they watched EDG's previous match against GEN.

That's not all, SN also stole Shen, and not as a support Shen, but as a jungle Shen!

EDG has chosen Graves as their jungler, and Ashe and Pantheon as their bot lane duo!
This lineup is somewhat similar to the one Su Mo previously recommended to EDG, and it has a strong early-game tempo.

However, there are some differences; the mid and jungle teams are stronger in team fights.

Meiko started normally at level one, and quickly got to level three, forcing Bin to use his Flash.

It seems that EDG has realized they need to target the top lane and prevent Bin from having too much of an advantage there.

Immediately afterwards, Jiejie, along with Pantheon, invaded the enemy's lower jungle, suppressing Sofm's development.

Shen's ganking and support abilities are mediocre before level six, but he transforms after level six, so it's reasonable to put pressure on him early on.

This is also because the bottom lane has lane priority.

Overall, EDG's playstyle seems fine.

However, after Pantheon reached level six, finding opportunities by using his ultimate was not as simple as they had imagined.

Meiko jumped to the mid lane in the first wave, but Shen's ultimate came to his aid. Instead, Meiko was pushed under the turret by Azir and killed.

Fortunately, Bin in the top lane gave them a chance, and Jiejie, in coordination with Ornn, caught and killed them.

Both sides have entered the acceleration phase. After ten minutes of development without a single kill, kills are about to explode.

The two sides fought for thirty minutes, and the score remained even.

However, although the economic situation was evenly matched, EDG managed to acquire the Dragon Soul.

After Ornn leveled up, he started upgrading his teammates' equipment.

EDG's advantage in time is widening.

This highlights the correctness of choosing Graves and Orianna as champions.

These two heroes are quite strong in the late game, so even though the bot lane consists of Ashe and Pantheon, and Pantheon has become a super minion, EDG's lineup is still very strong.

Another team fight broke out between the two sides, and SN was indeed struggling to keep up. They couldn't break down EDG's front line, and their front line couldn't hold on either.

Ultimately, EDG won the first game.

The live stream chat exploded:

"Huh? What are SN doing? They can't even beat a weak EDG?"

"Seriously, man? They can lose to EDG?"

"Oh no, SN might get knocked out by EDG, that would be a huge loss for the LPL."

"Aren't EDG players human? They won through their own skill, why can't they?"

However, things weren't that simple. In the second game, SN started to exert their strength and won back a game.

In the third game, SN rallied again, bringing the score to 2-1!

In the fourth game, EDG won back a game, and the two sides went into a decisive fifth game!

The entire internet was ablaze:
"EDG seems to be more powerful than I thought."

"Why does it seem like the richest man is struggling against EDG?"

"This is EDG! Who says EDG can't do it?"

"SN is much worse than I imagined."

Su Mo could already imagine how tense the atmosphere was in the EDG rest room right now.

The curse of reaching the quarterfinals seems to have returned.

If they really fall in the quarterfinals, you can imagine what the online public opinion will be like.

After a short break, both teams returned to the field.

One commentator remarked: "You can see that the EDG players have very determined looks in their eyes, especially Jiejie and Scout. For Scout, this is the most difficult moment since he joined EDG."

“EDG has faced countless desperate situations in the past, but back then Mozi was there to carry the team. Now, this heavy responsibility will probably fall on Scout’s shoulders.”

During the hero selection phase, SN also targeted the mid lane, banning heroes like Twisted Fate and Zoe, preventing them from playing.

Then SN also snatched Orianna, leaving Scout with few options.

Ultimately, EDG chose to pick Syndra in the mid lane!

The commentator said, "Here it comes! Scout chooses to trust himself and picks Syndra! This is a champion that relies heavily on lane dominance, but I have confidence in Scout's skills. Since he chose Syndra, he must be absolutely certain of success."

Once the game started, the early pace was similar to the previous four games, very close and evenly matched, with little chance of a clear winner.

Judging from the lineups, both sides have a chance to win in the late game.

EDG has Ornn, Kindred, and Caitlyn.

SN has Gangplank, Graves, Orianna, and Aphelios.

Of course, overall, Su Mo is better looking at EDG because EDG's lineup is more proactive, with Ornn and Pantheon to initiate team fights, and Syndra herself is also a relatively proactive hero, whose QE can be used to find opportunities to initiate team fights.

Just when the situation was at a stalemate, Jiejie chose to gank Bin in the top lane.

Moreover, by ganking twice in a row and creating a numerical advantage, they could do other things, such as taking the dragon once and the mid-lane tower once.

SN fans in the live stream couldn't sit still:

"What is Bin doing? Don't send it."

"Damn it, the enemy team figured out that Bin is easy to catch."

"Just gank the top lane and you can win? That's too easy."

"Could you please stop sending them? We have a chance to win."

Although the fans were very anxious, Su Mo felt it was too late.

Gangplank is quite vulnerable against Ornn. He has no mobility, and with Ornn's ultimate combined with jungle ganks, Gangplank is very difficult to control.

Soon, Bin's score reached 1-4, with EDG's mid, jungle, and support all ganking the top lane.

They directly turned the top lane into a weak point.

Feeling that this strategy wasn't working, SN decided to take the initiative and force a tower dive to target Showmaker.

However, it was manipulated!
DWG managed to stall until their teammates arrived to provide support, then launched a counter-attack, trading one for four and instantly widening the economic gap.

"Bin is still too young," Su Mo muttered.

Ultimately, EDG secured Baron Nashor, establishing a decisive advantage. Although SN put up a few fights, they couldn't change the outcome.

"Let's congratulate EDG! They did it! They defied the odds and defeated SN in the quarterfinals, completing a remarkable comeback!"

"The flame of EDG continues to burn! This is EDG! Never give up!"

Even the commentators were infected with emotion. It's truly remarkable that EDG has persevered all the way from the gauntlet to now.

In the official live stream room, the comments are now polarized:
"Who else! EDG is back! That EDG, they're back!"

"Brothers, the plan has changed. Next step: win the championship!"

"It was just luck. You guys beat SN, but you'll regret it sooner or later. Can you even beat LCK?"

"As expected, they're experts in domestic battles; EDG is still the same old team."

From the perspective of SN fans, EDG's victory over SN is a major blow to the LPL.

It's as if everything has gone back to before Season 7.

EDG only plays against their own people; they become weak when facing LCK teams.

The quarterfinals continued, and nothing happened overnight. The next day, DWG and DRX played their match.

Su Mo received a message from Chovy early in the morning, before going to work:
“Mo, we’re playing against DWG this afternoon. Are you coming to watch the game live? I have tickets. If you’d like to come, I can send them to you.”

Su Mo: "Huh? I have to go to work, and why do I have to go?"

Chovy: "I would be more confident if you were here, but it's okay if you don't have time, we will still win."

Su Mo felt that Chovy's second half of the sentence was self-consolation. In the Summer Split finals, DWG played DRX very easily in those three games, and the gap in strength between the two teams was quite obvious.

Although the versions have changed, each has also improved.

However, judging from the current situation, DRX's chances of beating DWG are very slim.

It was afternoon, and the first match began. Su Mo glanced at the lineups on both sides.

DRX gave Doran Jayce for the top lane and Chovy Orianna.

On DWG's side, the mid laner is Showmaker's signature Syndra.

Su Mo felt that DRX was doomed in this match.

Orianna is indeed a popular mid laner in this patch, but Chovy's Orianna... well, let's just say it's a mixed bag.

Sure enough, forty minutes later, Su Mo saw the app's notification.

#DWG takes the first game

The second match began, and Su Mo continued to watch the draft picks and bans on both sides.

DRX banned Syndra and Camille.

This is indeed DWG's signature move.

In the mid lane, Chovy picked Galio, while DWG opted for Twisted Fate.

It seems like Galio will have no problem laning against Twisted Fate.

But DRX's top laner is Jax, their jungler is Nidalee, and their support is Tahm Kench.

None of them can bring Galio into the game.

Although Jax has a Q skill that allows him to jump into the enemy's face, it is too easy to be countered.

So this is a defensive lineup, and Galio's ultimate can only be used to protect the backline during team fights.

This lineup can be played against weaker teams, but against stronger teams, if the opponent manages to kite you well, you'll get kited if you don't gain enough advantage after using your first wave of skills.

As the game progressed into the mid-game, when Showmaker pulled out a Rapid Firecannon, Su Mo knew that DRX was likely doomed.

With Twisted Fate building a cannon and engaging in kiting, DRX had a hard time retaliating.

Sure enough, in a mid-game team fight, DRX initiated the fight, and DWG's support Thresh sacrificed himself to absorb DRX's first wave of attacks.

Despite being outnumbered, DWG decisively chose to counterattack. Twisted Fate used his cannon and ultimate to lock down opponents and pick them off one by one, leaving DRX with no choice but to flee.

In the end, DWG easily won the second game.

Soon, Su Mo received a message from Chovy: "Ah...it seems like it's not going to work, Mo. I feel really bad right now."

Su Mo: "Yeah, this version is indeed a bit difficult for you, but there's nothing we can do about it."

The third match began, and DWG banned all the cards, which was a bit disgusting.

DRX's card system isn't very good, at least compared to DWG.

It's already considered good compared to other DRX systems.

Even so, DWG wouldn't let DRX play, ruthlessly eliminating them.

In this match, Showmaker chose Clockwerk, and his Clockwerk proficiency was much higher than Chovy's.

Moreover, the Tsar was also banned.

Therefore, DRX resolutely picked an unexpected champion for the mid lane: Vel'Koz!
As soon as Vel'Koz was picked, Su Mo felt that the game was over.

It's not that the hero himself is bad, but that DRX's lineup lacks any synergy or coordination, and they are just playing solo.

Once the match began, just as Su Mo had expected, DRX was not behind in terms of laning phase rhythm and even gained an advantage at one point.

However, in the mid-game team fights, due to the composition of the team, there was no synergy between the heroes, and DRX was completely outmatched by DWG in team fights, ultimately being swept 3-0 by DWG!
As a result, DWG successfully advanced to the semifinals.

DWG's opponent is TES!

Soon, Su Mo received a message from Chovy: "Player Mo, I'm sorry to disappoint you, you can't win a single game."

Su Mo: "That's how competitions are, there are winners and losers. Let's try again tomorrow. I look forward to your comeback."

After this best-of-five series ended, discussions about the finals began online. (End of Chapter)