LOL: What does it mean to torture players?

Hearing this, everyone became even more conflicted, as it seemed that no matter who won, it would be bad news for EDG.

Ultimately, it's because I'm too weak; now I can only depend on others for my own benefit.

At this moment, in the TES team's rest room, Guo Hao was giving the TES team their final instructions:

"This is our best chance. If we can get over this mountain, the future is bright! As long as we can beat DWG, the rest will be easier. We, TES, are a very young team in the LPL."

"You are all new generation players. You have seen it since Mozi retired. Now the LPL is in dire need of rebuilding and morale is low. If we can win this championship and carry the banner, the future belongs to us!"

The TES members were already quite excited, and hearing this made them even more thrilled.

This is indeed a great opportunity. Su Mo's sudden retirement has left a huge void in the LPL.

This is true even on a global scale; audiences worldwide are now anticipating a new dynasty team that can continue the legend from SKT to EDG.

Guo Hao walked up to Jackeylove and said, "Wenbo, seize this opportunity. I look forward to your performance."

Jackeylove nodded: "Yes, I know."

This is an opportunity for Jackeylove to prove himself. After leaving IG, he was heavily criticized and relentlessly attacked by IG fans.

If we could win an S-series championship, perhaps we could silence all the doubters.

Guo Hao then walked up to 369 and instructed him, "DWG's top laner Nuguri is indeed very strong. You should play it safe in the top lane and not try to outmaneuver him."

369 hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself. He was also a young man, and he had a temper too.

He had already played many practice matches with Nuguri, trying to outplay him, but found he was no match for him. Hearing Guo Hao's words, he was a little annoyed, but he could only endure it for now.

Meanwhile, in DWG's rest room, the DWG members were also waiting for the match to begin.

Coach Daeny advised, "The core of TES is their two carries. The good news is that the top and jungle are more important in this version. We just need to play our bot lane steadily. Focus on the mid, top, and jungle."

"TES' top laner, 369, has many weaknesses and seems to have a bad mentality. We can start from this point."

Canyon, who plays jungle, said: "When I was playing scrims with them before, I could clearly feel his mentality fluctuating when I was targeting the top laner, which led to decision-making and operational errors."

Daeny nodded: "Yes, that makes sense. The knockout stage is much more intense and stressful than the group stage or practice matches. Players with poor mentality are more easily defeated."

"Keep an eye on their two carries in team fights, especially ADC Jackeylove. His playstyle is quite aggressive, and he's easy to exploit."

On the other side, in the commentary booth at the match venue, Wawa, Miller, and Remember were ready.

"Summoners, welcome to the 2020 World Championship semifinals. The exciting semifinals are about to begin, with LPL's number one seed TES facing off against LCK's number one seed DWG."

"Both teams are in excellent form, having fought their way up from the group stage to this point..."

Inside the backstage area, players from TES and DWG are preparing to take the stage.

After the explanation, the host came on stage and began to liven up the atmosphere.

Su Mo was at work at the time, but her phone was playing footage of the semi-finals.

Suddenly, someone sent a new message, which Su Mo glanced at.

Meiko: "Brother Mozi, are you watching the game? Who do you think will win?"

Su Mo: "There's a chance for everyone."

Just then, both players entered the arena, and screams and cheers erupted from the audience.

"Taobo! Taobo! Taobo!"

"DWG! DWG! DWG!"

There are many supporters for both teams. Since Su Mo retired, it has left a lot of room for other teams and players to develop.

Now, whoever plays well and wins the game will see their fan base grow rapidly.

After the contestants took the stage, the promotional video for the semi-finals was played.

The first to appear was Zuo Shou, after all, he was the number one among the top twenty contestants, so he had a lot of prestige.

Zuo Shou said, "Mozi's departure was a huge blow to our LPL. At the time, many people were worried that LPL might never win the S-series championship again."

"We hope that in this semi-final, we can prove ourselves to the audience and fans."

Then Jackeylove said: "DWG's bot lane is not their strong lane, which is a good opportunity for our bot lane. In this semifinal, we will prove that our bot lane is the best bot lane in the world."

The TES fans at the scene were already incredibly excited: "Jackeylove! Jackeylove!"

After the Sailors duo's performance, the next one to appear was DWG's top laner Nuguri: "The LCK region once dominated this game for four whole years, winning four consecutive World Championships."

"But we've had no results in the past three years, and we're more eager to win this championship than ever before."

Then, Showmaker appeared: "That year's final was EDG vs SSG, and the final score was 3 to 0. I saw Crown slumped in his chair and sobbing uncontrollably. I will never forget that scene."

"At that time, I thought that if I could become a professional player, I would definitely win everything. Now that the trophy is in front of me, I have to consider whether this is my only chance in this life. The predecessors made great contributions to LCK's past dominance. It is our duty to rebuild LCK's glory."

The DWG fans at the scene have been mobilized:

"DWG! Victory is assured!"

"Showmaker, lift up your trophy!"

"Once you cross this mountain, glory awaits you!"

After the promotional video finished playing, we moved on to the first business plan (BP) stage.

Both mid laners played conservatively in this match, with Knight picking Orianna and Showmaker getting Azir.

However, to everyone's surprise, Nuguri took Ornn in the top lane.

Therefore, TES picked Wukong in the top lane to counter Ornn.

"We've been tricked." Su Mo felt that TES had been fooled.

DWG's strategy is very smart. TES definitely wants 369 to pick a champion like Ornn so that he can just play defensively in the top lane.

If DWG bans Ornn, it's not a bad deal for TES, as they can get the champions they want in other lanes.

However, DWG deliberately picked Ornn, which hit TES's Achilles' heel. With 369's lane dominance, no matter what champion he picked, it would be difficult for him to really crush Ornn. Instead, DWG would be in more danger.

Moreover, TES mostly lacks a system centered around the top lane, such as the Twisted Fate/Camille system, which involves feeding a fed Camille to make Ornn unplayable.

But TES mostly didn't have that, so they were almost helpless against Ornn.

Ultimately, TES secured Renekton in the top lane, further confirming Su Mo's prediction.

Aside from certain special systems and strategies, top laners only pick Renekton when there are no other options.

Once the match started, TES didn't have any disadvantage in the early laning phase. The mid lane was just about farming and developing their two farming heroes.

In the bottom lane, TES's bot lane duo consisted of Ezreal and Leona, while the opposing team had Ashe and Pantheon. They couldn't push the minion wave effectively, and the lane control was in the hands of the enemy.

After gaining lane priority, BeryL's Pantheon began roaming frequently, helping the jungler invade and counter-ganking in the top lane.

However, nothing came of it. Karsa had good awareness and didn't make any rash moves. The situation became a bit deadlocked, with the economic gap remaining around 200-300, and the lead changing hands frequently.

However, judging from the lineup, Su Mo prefers DWG's teamfight composition.

After all, the top lane matchup is Ornn versus Renekton. Once the game progresses into the late game, it will be much harder for Renekton to make an impact in team fights compared to Ornn.

It wasn't until ten minutes into the game that the first kill occurred, with Karsa going to the top lane to help the Renekton kill Ornn.

The doll was very excited: "Nice! This game is a big stage for Renekton. In mid-game team fights, this Renekton is invincible. He's very tanky and has high damage output." Suddenly, Ghost's Ashe shot an arrow from the bottom lane, flying towards the mid lane.

In the mid lane, Orianna and Showmaker were laning normally. Showmaker took this opportunity to deliberately go up and trade blows with Orianna, drawing her attention.

The Ice Bite ultimate appeared from the side, but Zuo Shou reacted quickly and flashed back to dodge it!
Miller breathed a sigh of relief: "That's the reaction of young people! What a cunning magic crystal arrow, shot out from inside the wall, with very little reaction time!"

Without Flash, Left Hand can only play defensively and farm.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Showmaker chose to roam and support the top lane, cooperating with the jungler to gank the top lane three-on-one and take down the crocodile.

That wasn't the end of it. Two minutes later, Pantheon jumped from the bottom lane to the mid lane with his ultimate, and together with the mid and jungle, they caught and killed Knight, who didn't have Flash.

DWG suddenly found their rhythm.

Wang Duoduo commented, "Ah! It feels like a chain reaction. Ashe's ultimate forced ZuoShou to use Flash, causing the mid laner to lose lane control. Now TES needs to strengthen their support for the mid lane."

Su Mo glanced at the comments section, which were all saying:
"The gap in the bot lane is huge! The enemy Ashe and Pantheon are making such a big impact, what are we doing in the bot lane?"

"The mid-lane gap is huge! The enemy Azir has an assist and a kill, while Knight's score is 0-1-1!"

"If Ashe hadn't forced him to use his ultimate first, would Knight have been in such a passive position?"

"Just one ultimate, and before it even hits you, you're already out of the game? Tell me, how are you supposed to stop Ashe from using her ultimate in the bot lane?"

The match isn't over yet, and Jackeylove and Left Hand's fans have already started blaming and shifting blame onto each other.

However, things were not that simple. Although DWG gained an advantage in the early stages, TES quickly responded.

The two sides traded blows, narrowing the economic gap.

While TES was controlling the dragon, Karsa targeted DWG's top lane, continuing to help Renekton get kills and take tower plates.

Thirty minutes into the game, TES had a 1000 gold lead.

The arguing comments in the live chat also disappeared:

"Top Esports is awesome! This game is in the bag."

"The clockwork in the left hand is crucial."

"Waterboy's Ezreal is complete! Watch his performance!"

"369 Prehistoric Crocodiles!"

However, Su Mo was not so optimistic.

We've now entered the peak period for DWG's lineup.

If it's really a five-on-five situation now, unless TES seizes a great opportunity or DWG makes a huge mistake, it will be difficult for TES to win.

DWG controlled vision around Baron Nashor and began setting up an ambush.

Yuyanjia's Leona went to provide vision, and he saw Pantheon in the mid lane, so he felt there shouldn't be any problems.

However, this is clearly a trap!
Graves was lying in ambush in the jungle, and Orianna was also approaching. Pantheon retreated and immediately used his ultimate.

As a result, the heroine was arrested, and DWG decisively took Baron!
TES's decision to go and take over the team is indeed in line with their style.

The commentator also got excited.

The commentator, Wawa, said, "Although Top Esports has lost their support, the enemy Pantheon is only half a person without his ultimate. They also have to tank the damage from Baron Nashor. I feel that Top Esports still has a chance!"

"In the previous Summer Split finals, Top Esports' Mariners duo accomplished the feat of playing two against five opponents..."

Not only were the commentators excited, but the audience was also very excited. If you didn't know better, you would think that TES had gained an advantage and was about to take Baron, and that DWG was the one with fewer players.

Just as the TES team approached the Baron pit, Jackeylove's Ezreal used his abilities to poke and harass, while Showmaker's Azir began to prepare.

He was inside the Dragon Pit, close to the wall, when suddenly Azir used his E skill, Shifting Sands, to enter the fray, cut into TES's backline, and then flashed with his ultimate!

Jackeylove's Ezreal chose to use his E skill followed by Flash to retreat, but it was predicted and he was pushed back!
DWG members caught up with the skill and instantly killed the enemy!

TES suffered a crushing defeat in a team fight, resulting in a complete wipeout, and naturally, they couldn't hold onto Baron Nashor.

"It's over," Su Mo muttered.

The biggest difference between this and the final two-on-five situation between the Sailors is that the Tsar on the other side is more skilled!
In the previous TES vs. JDG finals, during the 2v5 situation, Azir was practically useless and was instantly killed without contributing anything. But this Azir is different.

After that wave, it was garbage time. DWG started to organize and push forward, unstoppable. Ornn stood in front of them like a wall, and TES couldn't deal with him at all. In the end, DWG ended the game in one wave.

The chat room erupted again:

"What kind of trash is TES? They've been hyping them up for so long and this is all they've got? I thought they were really going to win the championship."

"Hahaha, after getting completely thrashed by DWG, are they still going to brag about it?"

"What's the rush? It's only the first match, can't we give you a handicap?"

"The first game was just a warm-up, to test DWG's level. I feel like it was just so-so."

Most TES fans are still relatively optimistic.

After all, TES has fought too many decisive battles in the past year, and fans have become accustomed to the twists and turns of the process.

#DWG takes the first game

Su Mo turned off the live stream and continued working, planning to check the results after get off work.

Judging from the strength of the two teams, it is unlikely that TES will be swept; they still have a chance.

It was 7 p.m. when Su Mo got off work and picked up her phone to take a look.

A new message was found.

369: "Brother Mozi, please bless us so we can win the final game."

Sent three minutes ago.

At the same time, the app pushed several messages.

#TES pulls off an incredible comeback, tying the score!
#DWG's top laner stepped up and won the third game.

#TES Sailors reunite and create another miracle, tying the score!

#Currently airing, TES vs DWG's decisive fifth-round battle
They've already made it to the fifth game!

More optimistic than Su Mo had imagined, he chose to enter the live stream to see how the two sides were fighting.

At this moment, both sides are in the process of drafting and negotiating.

TES banned Ornn in this match!

Because DWG can pick Ornn on the first floor while on the blue side.

It's frustrating; TES suffered a huge loss in the draft phase, particularly in the top lane.

DWG banned Orianna, and picked Camille instead of Azir in the first pick.

This is putting pressure on the left hand; Tsar and Clockwerk is the most suitable combination in the current version.

Whether in the laning phase or in late-game team fights, Azir is no match for Orianna.

The only question is, can the left-handed player play Tsar? How proficient are they? (End of Chapter)