LOL: What does it mean to torture players?

RNG's team voice chat was completely silent.

One of the three packages was replaced.

Strategically speaking, RNG has suffered a huge loss from this outcome.

“My…” Wei’s voice was a little hoarse, “I got impatient and shouldn’t have given him the chance to trade Syndra.”

“It’s not your fault,” Xiaohu took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. “This person… his operations are too meticulous.”

He glanced at the two fresh kills on Viper's Kai'Sa in the bottom lane, his eyes serious: "Viper has gotten strong too, this game is going to be tough. We have to speed things up and not let them drag it out past thirty minutes, otherwise it will be very difficult to win."

EDG, on the other hand, was jubilant.

"Holy crap! Mozi, what kind of play is that?! You took on three opponents, got a kill, and even managed to bait out a Flash! 666!" Jiejie was so excited he almost jumped off his gaming chair.

"Standard procedure." Su Mo's calm voice came from the fountain, as if he wasn't the protagonist of that amazing play just now. "Don't be reckless, we've made a huge profit this time. Viper, you're the big man now, bot lane, focus on farming and wait for the next dragon."

"Understood!" Viper nodded emphatically, his confidence soaring as he looked at the new pickaxe in his inventory.

This earth-shattering exchange of map resources completely changed the course of the game.

EDG sacrificed their top laner, allowing their ADC to take off and their bottom lane tower to fall. This successfully shifted the game's tempo from RNG's preferred "top-mid-jungle synergy" to EDG's more comfortable "protect the carry and develop" strategy.

Fifteen minutes into the game, the second dragon has spawned.

Having lost their bottom lane turret, RNG found themselves at a significant disadvantage in terms of vision control in the river.

EDG's five players easily positioned themselves, and Jiejie's Volibear activated his scan, clearing out the vision around the dragon pit.

"Is RNG going to give up this dragon?" Miller looked at the big screen. "They can't establish vision, so it's too risky for them to fight it head-on."

RNG had no choice but to watch helplessly as EDG secured the second dragon.

Su Mo's Vayne, after respawning, immediately teleported back to the top lane to continue pressuring Xiaohu. By this time, he had already acquired Blade of the Ruined King, significantly improving his dueling ability.

Xiaohu's Lucian is so bad that he barely has the right to even hear about experience in front of him.

The game has entered EDG's favorite operational rhythm.

Su Mo split-pushed and pressured the top lane, while Viper's Kai'Sa farmed aggressively in the mid and bottom lanes. Jiejie and Meiko set up vision around him, and Scout's Orianna sat firmly in the mid lane like an insurmountable mountain.

RNG's aggressive lineup couldn't find a breakthrough against EDG's "ironclad defense + split-push attack" strategy.

Their prized "Hecarim + Riven" engine was unable to start for a long time due to EDG's impenetrable vision and Meiko's Nautilus' counter-attack threat.

At the 20-minute mark, EDG held two dragons, and their economic lead had reached 4,000 gold.

The third dragon and the second dragon are about to spawn.

"This dragon is an Earth Dragon, RNG can't let it go!" Wawa's speech quickened. "If EDG gets the Earth Dragon Soul, their three-core lineup will be much tankier, and RNG will have even less of a chance!"

The atmosphere in RNG's team voice chat was extremely tense.

"We have to accept it," Captain Ming's voice was firm and resolute. "This is our last chance. Wei, you find the opportunity, we believe in you!"

"understand!"

The battle horn sounded at Xiaolongkeng.

RNG's five players rallied, going all out, and forcefully squeezed into the river from the jungle entrance in an attempt to seize a position.

Meanwhile, EDG had already laid a trap.

"Brother Mozi, are you going to teleport?" Jiejie asked while pulling on the dragon pit.

"No rush," Su Mo's Vayne was pushing the bottom lane, sending the minion wave into RNG's second tower. "I'll put pressure on them. You guys hold them off head-on and wait for them to make the first move."

No sooner had he finished speaking than RNG made their move!

Ming's Riel seized on Meiko's slight positioning mistake when his Titan moved forward to set up vision, unleashing a powerful W [Armored Charge] followed by a Flash to lift the Titan up!

"They've got it!" Miller's voice suddenly rose. "Ming has got Meiko! RNG is going to take down Titan in one hit!"

Wei's Hecarim activated their ultimate abilities at the same time, charging out from the flanks like ghosts, heading straight for EDG's two carries positioned at the back!

However, EDG's response was equally astonishingly fast!
Just as the centaur charged out, Scout's Orianna used his E skill [Command: Protect] on Meiko, who had been engaged, and pressed the R key at the same time!
"Give me the ball!" Meiko shouted in the voice chat.

[Command: Shockwave!]
A near-perfect backflip! The shockwave from Clockwork exploded outwards, centered on Meiko's Titan!

This perfectly pulled Wei's troops, Ming's Reil, and Cryin's Syndra together at the same time!
"Beautiful! Scout's godlike ultimate!" Wawa excitedly slammed his fist on the table. "He predicted RNG's entry route and pulled in three with one ultimate! RNG's formation was instantly torn apart!"

Just then, a dark blue teleportation beam lit up behind RNG's formation!
It's Vayne!
Su Mo TP!
His choice of ward placement behind the enemy lines was extremely cunning, perfectly blocking RNG's only escape route!

"It's over!" Gala cried out in despair over RNG's voice chat.

The moment TP landed, Su Mo activated his ultimate, and Vayne's figure disappeared into the shadows.

He was like a hunter dancing on the edge of a knife; every roll, every appearance, was accompanied by a deadly crossbow bolt.

Gala's Xayah used her ultimate to try and avoid damage, but Su Mo's target wasn't him at all.

Su Mo's target was Syndra, who had already been severely damaged by Orianna's ultimate!

Q skill: Roll, become invisible, and approach.

Syndra appears, uses a basic attack, and then uses her E skill to pin her to the wall of the dragon pit!

dizziness!

Basic attack, basic attack!
With the three rings exploding, Cryin's Syndra didn't even get to cast a second skill before collapsing to the ground.

After killing Syndra, Su Mo immediately turned his attention to the Centaur, who were being focused down by Scout and Viper.

RNG's formation crumbled under the relentless barrage of EDG's three core players.

Ultimately, EDG pulled off a spectacular 4-0 exchange, with only Gala's Xayah managing to escape with her ultimate and Flash.

EDG took advantage of the situation to secure the dragon and the baron, instantly gaining an economic lead of over 8,000.

The outcome of the match has already been decided.

With the Baron buff, EDG pushed down the mid lane with all five members. Due to the huge economic gap, RNG was powerless to resist. At the 25-minute mark, RNG's base crystal exploded.

2: 1!

EDG takes the lead and secures match point!
"Congratulations to EDG for winning the third game!" Miller's voice resounded throughout the arena. "Despite being banned five times by RNG for top lane, Mo's incredible Vayne play showed everyone what a vast champion pool truly means! What absolute individual skill looks like!"

On stage, Su Mo took off his headphones, a calm smile on his face, and high-fived each of his teammates who rushed up to him.

The atmosphere at RNG's booth was incredibly tense. Xiaohu stared at the gray screen, remaining seated for a long time.

He tried his best, but the feeling of powerlessness almost suffocated him.

During the brief break between matches, the player tunnels of the two sides presented completely different scenes.

On EDG's side, Jiejie practically skipped back to the rest room, hooking his arm around Su Mo's neck while still chattering away.

Su Mo felt a little helpless as he shook her, and lazily slapped his hand away.

Captain Meiko walked behind, a composed smile on his face, and patted Jiejie on the back: "Alright, don't get too excited yet, the match isn't over yet. RNG won't give up so easily."

Viper and Scout followed behind, excitedly exchanging details of the flanking teleport in Korean, their faces full of admiration. For them, being teammates with a player like Su Mo provided an unparalleled sense of security.

In contrast, the corridor leading to the rest room for RNG seemed incredibly long and heavy.

The team members all kept their heads down and remained silent.

The air was so still it seemed as if water could drip from it.

Xiaohu walked at the front, his fists clenched tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

As the opposing player, he felt that suffocating pressure the most. It wasn't hero counters, nor tactical design, but a pure, overwhelming individual ability that made all his responses seem futile.

Jungler Wei pursed his lips, repeatedly replaying the three-man gank in his mind. He couldn't understand why the opponent had managed to turn a seemingly hopeless situation into such a disastrous one. Captain Ming tried several times to say something to boost morale, but the words he uttered seemed utterly inadequate, ultimately turning into a heavy sigh.

RNG lounge.

With a bang, the door slammed shut, shutting out the deafening noise from the outside world and making the deathly silence inside even more jarring.

The team members slumped in their chairs, staring blankly at the ceiling, their eyes vacant.

Coach Tabe stood in front of the whiteboard, staring at the lineup that Vayne had wrecked, and remained silent for a long time. He didn't immediately get angry, nor did he rush to review the game. He knew that what the team needed most right now wasn't tactical analysis, but regaining their confidence.

He turned around, took a deep breath, and broke the silence: "I know everyone is feeling very upset right now, and it's frustrating to lose."

His voice was calm, without a trace of blame.

“This loss is my fault.” Tabe’s gaze swept over each teammate. “My draft was completely trapped by the opponent. I was too eager to target Mo, so I used five bans to limit him, but what happened? Not only did we fail to limit him, we also dismantled our own best system. We were using our weaknesses to attack their strengths. It’s my fault that you had such a difficult time.”

These words made the team members raise their heads, a hint of surprise flashing in their eyes.

Tabe walked over to Xiaohu and patted him on the shoulder: "Xiaohu, don't take all the blame on yourself. You've done your best. Any other top laner facing Mo like that would probably have the same result. His plays are beyond what we can predict with common sense."

He then looked at Wei: "And you, Wei, that flash was fine. In that situation, if I were in your shoes, I would have used it too. We lost not because of a single play, but because of the wavering of our entire strategy and the imbalance of our mentality."

Tabe returned to the whiteboard, picked up a pen, and erased everything on it completely.

"In the next game, we won't target him anymore." His voice became firm and strong. "We'll treat the opposing top laner as an ordinary player. We don't care what he picks, we'll only pick the heroes we're most confident in and best at! We're going to play our own rhythm! Whether it's macro play or protecting our team, it's all fine! But it must be RNG's rhythm!"

He looked at Ming and Wei: "Jungle and support, bring out that reckless spirit we had in the Spring Split regular season!"

He then looked at Gala and Cryin: "Double DPS, believe in yourselves, your damage output is second to none!"

Finally, his gaze settled on Xiaohu: "Xiaohu, next game, pick the hero you want to play the most and play aggressively! Even if you get crushed in lane, the other four will find a way to help you get back at him! We're a team!"

His words were like a shot of adrenaline, injecting strength into everyone's hearts.

The oppressive atmosphere in the break room began to ease, and a faint but determined spark rekindled in the team members' eyes. They knew they had no way out; they had to fight to the death.

EDG Lounge.

The atmosphere was much more relaxed. Staff brought drinks and snacks, and the team members chatted casually while replenishing their energy.

"Well played. Scout's ultimate with that backflip was key and directly secured the victory." Clearlove leaned back on the sofa, praising the team, but his expression remained serious. "But don't relax too much. RNG is a very resilient team, and they will definitely fight hard in the next game."

Abu, holding a tactical board, walked over to Su Mo and said, "Brother Mo, what are your thoughts for the next game? RNG's draft will definitely change. They might let you pick your heroes and then choose their own system to go head-to-head, since your hero pool is too deep."

Su Mo was drinking cola when he heard this, he burped, and waved his hand nonchalantly: "Whatever, let's see what they ban. If they don't ban, I'll just keep playing with fancy stuff."

He paused, then added, "Let's finish this quickly, I haven't decided what to have for dinner yet."

These words made the teammates around him laugh.

The tension of the match point game vanished with Su Mo's relaxed attitude.

This is EDG's pillar of strength; as long as he's there, the sky won't fall.

The short break is over, and the decisive game is about to begin.

When the two teams of players walked out of the player tunnel again, the entire audience erupted in thunderous applause and cheers.

The camera zooms in on both players.

On the EDG side, the players had confident smiles on their faces, and Su Mo even made a "V" sign at the camera, appearing completely at ease.

While the RNG players still wore serious expressions, their eyes no longer held the confusion and despair they had at the end of the previous game. Instead, they displayed a resolute determination and a ruthless spirit of fighting for survival.

"Alright! Welcome back to the 2021 LPL Spring Split Finals!" Miller's voice rose again from the commentary booth. "EDG has match point in hand, just one step away from another Silver Dragon Cup! RNG, on the other hand, is backed into a desperate situation! Can they withstand the pressure, pull off a miraculous comeback, and drag the match into a fifth game? Let's wait and see!"

Wawa added, "We can see that after a short rest and adjustment, the RNG players' mental state has changed significantly, and their eyes have become very determined! I believe the fourth game will be incredibly exciting!"

The contestants took their seats and began adjusting their equipment.

On the giant screen, the final pre-match promotional video and data comparisons began to play. The lights dimmed, leaving only spotlights sweeping across the stage, creating an atmosphere of impending battle.

Finally, when the countdown ended and the BP interface appeared, the entire venue erupted in cheers!

The fourth game begins! (End of Chapter)