LOL: What does it mean to torture players?

In the commentary booth, Miller spoke eloquently, "After losing the first game, TES is now on the brink of elimination. In this game, they deliberately chose the red side! This is a very interesting choice; they gave up the first-pick advantage of the blue side and instead kept the counter pick for themselves!"

“Yes,” Wawa chimed in, “This shows that TES has a clear tactical plan, and they hope to get the key heroes they want by playing second. Let’s see what kind of draft battle this will bring us!”

The expressions on the TES players' faces were more solemn than when they entered the game in the first round, but their eyes showed less confusion and more resolute determination.

"Alright, both teams are in position! In the second game of the BO3, EDG will be on the blue side and TES on the red side! The match is about to enter the draft phase!"

As the countdown ended, the BP interface suddenly lit up!

"Alright, we see that EDG, on the blue side, is banning the first enemy!"

EDG's first three bans were Udyr, Hecarim, and Graves.

"EDG's ban strategy is very clear!" Miller immediately analyzed, "Three consecutive bans on junglers! They're deliberately preventing Karsa from getting the most comfortable tempo champions, forcing him to play utility junglers!"

It's TES's turn to ban heroes.

"We'll proceed according to plan." White Crescent's voice was calm. "Respect him, give him full respect. Ban all of his Aatrox from last game, as well as Sett and Mordekaiser from the opening game. We won't play top lane with him this game, but we also can't let him get a champion that can snowball and affect the whole map."

Therefore, TES's first three bans were Aatrox, Sett, and Mordekaiser.

"Three more top laners!" Wawa said. "TES's tactical intentions are too obvious! They banned all the heroes Mozi had used before, clearly telling you, we're not going to play top lane against you this game!"

After the first round of banning, the player selection phase begins.

EDG has the first pick on the blue side!
“Viper, what do you want?” Abu asked.

“Tristana,” Viper replied succinctly and confidently.

"Tristana! EDG has locked in Tristana for Viper on the first floor!" Miller shouted. "This is an ADC with an extremely fast tower-pushing pace and self-preservation ability. EDG is going for a fast-paced early game!"

It's TES's turn to pick players on the first and second floors.

“They picked Tristana, we’ll pick Xayah and Rakan.” White Crescent made a decisive decision. “Jackeylove, Ming, your Xayah and Rakan are fine against Tristana in lane, and they’ll be even more effective in team fights.”

"no problem!"

On the first and second floors of TES, the classic combination of Xayah and Rakan was quickly spotted!

"Xayah and Rakan! TES has brought out their championship skin combination!" Wawa exclaimed. "This combination boasts top-tier laning strength and engage potential! It seems the bot lane will be the key to this game!"

EDG selects players on the second and third floors.

"They're playing Xayah and Rakan, we'll pick Alistar to protect Tristana. Scout, what do you want for mid?" Clearlove asked.

"Let's go with Clockwerk, it's more stable and easier to coordinate in team fights."

"EDG quickly locked in Alistar and Orianna! Orianna again! Scout really loves this champion! With Alistar and Orianna, EDG's teamfight control and margin for error are extremely high!"

The first round of player selection has ended, and the second round of player banning has begun.

TES (Red Team) bans first.

“We’ll ban junglers, banning Jiejie’s Nocturne and Olaf, forcing him to pick a scaling champion,” White Crescent said.

TES banned four or five champions, including Nocturne and Olaf.

EDG (blue side) bans the last enemy.

"They haven't picked their top and mid laners yet, so they banned Knight's Zoe and 369's Jayce." Su Mo's voice rang out in the team chat.

EDG bans Zoe and Jayce in the fourth and fifth bans.

"Both sides' second round of bans targeted the mid, top, and jungle lanes! Now, the pressure is on TES, the red side, during the draft!"

TES selects people on the third and fourth floors.

"Knight, take Viktor to ensure late-game damage output," White Moon said. "Karsa, you take Volibear and go gank the bot lane early game."

TES quickly locked in Viktor and Volibear!

"Viktor and Volibear!" Miller analyzed. "TES' lineup is very clear! Top lane to withstand pressure, mid and bot lane as dual cores, and Volibear jungler to focus on early ganks and control, all to protect the bot lane's development!"

Now it's EDG's turn to pick players on the fourth and fifth floors.

"Jiejie, what are you going to use to fight the bear?"

"Let's pick a troll, farm in the jungle, and his ultimate can counter him," Jiejie said.

EDG's fourth floor has locked in the Troll King.

All eyes were focused on EDG's last counter position, the fifth floor, which belonged to Su Mo.

Everyone held their breath.

Facing a TES team that clearly intends to abandon the top lane and protect the bottom lane at all costs, and facing a tanky top laner that is about to be selected, what will Mo choose?
Should I pick a Captain or Vladimir for a peaceful farming experience? Or should I pick Kennen to torment my opponent?
Su Mo's fingers tapped lightly on the keyboard, and soon, a hero was locked on.

On the screen, a bald figure carrying a huge scroll, with dark blue skin and eyes flashing with arcane light, was instantly selected!

Ryze, the Rune Mage!
"Ryze?!?"

In the commentary booth, Miller and Doll once again exclaimed in disbelief at the same time!

"Ryze top lane! Mozi's last pick is actually Ryze!" Miller blinked. "This champion as a top laner is an old relic from Season 7 and Season 8! In this version, he has no mobility and is very fragile. Can he really survive in the top lane?"

The doll was completely stunned, but he quickly recovered, a glint of light flashing in his eyes: "Wait a minute! I think I understand! I think I understand the terrifying nature of Brother Mozi's choice!"

Miller was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

"What do you think TES's strategy will be this game?" Wawa spoke very quickly. "Most likely, they'll abandon the top lane and protect the bottom lane at all costs! Right?"

"Correct."

"If they actually execute this tactic and ignore the top lane, what kind of perfect, undisturbed farming environment will Ryze get? What kind of monster will an unattended Ryze be in the mid-game, able to push the lane, farm, and take tower plates indefinitely?"

Miller gasped, instantly understanding: "I get it! This is a calculated move! A trap! If TES ignores Ryze, he'll grow into an unstoppable force! But if they try to control Ryze and send people to gank him, wouldn't that play right into EDG's hands and contradict their core tactic of 'abandoning the top lane'? Besides, Ryze has his ultimate after level six; killing him would come at too high a price!"

"That's right!" Wawa slammed his hand on the table. "This Ryze isn't just a simple champion pick; it's a challenge to TES's entire tactical system! He's thrown a huge problem right into TES's face! Now, it's TES's turn to make a choice!" After a brief moment of astonishment, the live stream chat exploded with excitement!
"Holy crap! Even the bald guy is here? Is this some kind of Renaissance?"

"I would call this draft a divine move! A checkmate!"

"TES Coach: I'm mentally broken! I just said I was giving up on top lane, and you picked Ryze for me?"

"369: Coach, can I still be a punching bag? I feel like I'm going to be beaten into a sand sculpture..."

Amidst the clamor of discussion, TES's final pick was finally revealed.

Faced with this tricky situation, 369, under the coach's instruction, locked in the most resilient hero – the Undead Warrior, Sion!

"Sion! 369's last pick was Sion!" Miller said. "It's a very safe choice! Sion can use his E skill to last-hit minions from a distance, has strong wave clear, and is tanky enough to be difficult to solo kill. His ultimate also allows him to quickly support the bottom half of the battlefield! This is the best response TES could make!"

With that, the lineups for both sides are finalized!
Blue side EDG: Top laner Ryze, jungler Trundle, mid laner Orianna, ADC Tristana, support Alistar.

Red team TES: Top laner Sion, jungler Volibear, mid laner Viktor, ADC Xayah, support Rakan.

"Alright, the lineups are set! The ultimate tactical battle is about to begin!" Wawa's voice was full of anticipation. "Will TES's tactics prevail, or will Mozi's Ryze be able to 'farm to the heavens'? Let's wait and see!"

As the familiar system notification sound rang out, the ten players officially entered Summoner's Rift!

Su Mo looked at the rune mage he had chosen, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

What he needs to do is not just win this line.

What he needed to do was to dismantle the opponent's entire tactical system.
Welcome to Summoner's Rift!

With the familiar system notification sound, the ultimate showdown of this tactical game officially began.

The ten contestants quickly bought their starting gear and headed to their respective positions.

However, just when everyone thought EDG would have a standard start, Su Mo made a suggestion in their team voice chat that surprised his teammates.

"Meiko, how about we go to the bot lane at level one and come to the top lane together?"

"Huh? Heading to the top lane?" Meiko's Alistar had just stepped out of the fountain and was taken aback by the question. "What? Are you going to cause trouble at level one?"

“No trouble,” Su Mo’s voice was calm and clear. “Just ward the bush in the middle of the top lane for me, then go back to base and head to the bottom lane.”

"Just place a ward?" Meiko was a little puzzled, but she still complied unconditionally. "Okay, no problem."

So, under the watchful eyes of all the viewers and commentators, EDG's support Alistar did not go to the bottom lane river entrance to stand guard as usual, but instead followed SuMo's Ryze straight to the top lane.

"Huh? What's going on with EDG?" On the commentary booth, Wawa keenly noticed something unusual. "Anuki followed Ryze to the top lane! Are they going to gank Sion at level one? But two people can't possibly kill Sion, right?"

However, what happened next shocked everyone.

Meiko's Alistar simply placed a trinket ward in the middle bush of the top lane, then immediately recalled without pausing.

"This..." Miller was also dumbfounded. "What kind of understanding is this? Making the support run all the way over at level one to place a ward, then recalling to base and running back to the bottom lane, just for a regular ward in the top lane?"

Just as the commentators and viewers were puzzled, Su Mo, controlling his Ryze, walked to the top lane bush near the TES turret and placed his trinket ward there.

At this point, EDG had firmly controlled vision over two of the three bushes in the top lane.

Including the bushes near EDG, Ryze essentially controls all three areas.

The minion wave slowly reached the top lane. 
On the other side, 369, controlling his Sion, also arrived at the top lane.

He ignored the river, and after finishing his posting in the jungle, he rushed to the lane and then dove into the bush he thought was the safest spot, close to his own turret.

His idea was simple: stay in the bushes, use the vision advantage to kite you, if you try to last hit me, I'll use my skills to harass you, if you don't last hit me, I'll just safely soak up experience. Anyway, I'm just a punching bag, as long as I don't give you a chance to get a solo kill.

Su Mo looked at Saien, who had suddenly appeared in his field of vision, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

He pretended to be completely unaware and began to systematically finish off the attackers.

Seeing Ryze start last-hitting minions, 369 felt his chance had come and immediately used his E skill to push a low-health minion from the bush. The slowed minion accurately crashed into Ryze.

"Hey, it's used up." 369 thought to himself with a delight.

However, just as he used his E skill, Su Mo's Ryze seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, and without turning his head, he threw his Q skill [Overload] into the bush!
boom!
The arcane orb struck Sion's massive body precisely in the bush!
"Hmm?" 369 frowned slightly. "Such good luck??"

Without giving it much thought, he continued to keep his line of sight hidden in the bushes.

Soon, Su Mo's Ryze started last-hitting again, while 369 continued to hide in the bushes.

But to his surprise, a few seconds later, Ryze came over again and hit Sion in the bush with another precise Q skill!
369 immediately sensed something was wrong.

"This guy... is he really that good at guessing locations?" 369 said in the team voice chat. "Or is there a ward in the bush?"

In the instant he was distracted, Ryze, who was standing next to the minions, used his Q skill to pass through the minions and accurately splashed onto Sion in the bush!
"I've hit it again!" 369 felt like he was going crazy. "Something's fishy! This person is definitely fishy! There's definitely an eye in the bushes!"

In TES's voice chat, Karsa could only helplessly reassure her, "Don't worry, he just placed a ward beforehand. Try moving to a different spot."

369 took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He moved two steps in the grass and moved to the other side of the grass.

However, what he didn't know was that Su Mo could see his every move clearly through the eyes of that little ornament.

Soon, the second wave of minions arrived on the lane.

Su Mo precisely calculated his experience, and the moment the first melee soldier in front of him was about to fall, he began to move forward aggressively.

369's nerves were instantly on edge! He knew Ryze was going to rush level two! He frantically clicked the mouse, trying to get out of the bush and move behind the turret.

But then, the melee soldier fell, and golden light exploded on Ryze's body!

Level 2!

Without the slightest hesitation, without the slightest doubt!
The instant he leveled up, Su Mo instantly learned the W skill [Rune Imprisonment] and charged straight at Sion in the bush!

This time, he's going to give them a good beating! (End of Chapter)