LOL: What does it mean to torture players?

When the giant “VICTORY” logo froze on the screen, the audience at the indoor stadium in Reykjavik, as well as the hundreds of millions of eyes that gathered here online, were amazed.

At the EDG players' bench, Jiejie was the first to jump up from his seat and rush towards the figure who was still leaning back in his chair with a calm expression.

Compared to the players' excitement, the EDG rest area was unusually calm.

The atmosphere in EDG's rest room was as relaxed as if they had just finished a regular ranked game.

The staff brought water and snacks, and the team members gathered together, chattering away as they recounted the shocking assassination attempt that had just taken place.

“Honestly, Mozi,” Scout said in his still somewhat broken Chinese, his eyes full of admiration, “when I saw where you were flanking, my heart stopped. I thought you could at most replace ShowMaker, but I didn’t expect you could still run.”

Su Mo unscrewed a bottle of mineral water, took a sip, and said casually, "Basic operation. He used Flash, and he was positioned too far forward. If I don't kill him, who should I kill?"

Coach Abu held the tactics board, but instead of immediately outlining the next game's strategy, he smiled and looked at Su Mo: "How are things? Are DK's mid and jungle feeling the pressure?"

“Not bad,” Su Mo thought for a moment. “Canyon’s sense of rhythm is indeed very good, and ShowMaker’s laning fundamentals are also very solid. But they are too superstitious about their mid and jungle, thinking that as long as they cut off our mid lane, they can win the game. Unfortunately, they miscalculated one thing.”

Factory manager Ming Kai leaned against the door, arms crossed, and took over the conversation: "They miscalculated. In this competition, who really calls the shots?"

In the entire lounge, everyone's eyes were fixed on Su Mo, filled with absolute trust. This was EDG's current confidence; no matter how the game version changed or how tactics shifted, as long as this man was there, they would always have the power to overturn the tables.

In stark contrast to the relaxed atmosphere on the EDG side, at the other end of the corridor was the DK team's rest area.

The moment the door closed, it shut out all outside sounds, plunging the room into a deathly silence. The team members sat in their seats, heads bowed, and no one spoke.

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

ShowMaker placed his hands on his knees, clenching them into tight fists, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force. He kept replaying the moment Akali instantly killed him in his mind, the kill so fast that he couldn't react at all, the feeling of being completely seen through, like a thorn deeply embedded in his proud heart.

Coach Kkoma stood in front of the tactics board, his face ashen.

He didn't get angry, nor did he blame anyone. He knew that the loss in this game wasn't due to one person's mistake, but rather that the entire team had been completely outmaneuvered at the strategic level by that man named "Mo".

“We underestimated him.” After a long silence, Kkoma finally spoke, his voice hoarse.

His gaze swept over each player: "All our pre-match analysis was based on the premise that he was a 'mechanical monster.' We thought that as long as we played better and played at a faster pace, we could limit his performance. But we were wrong."

He picked up a pen and drew a heavy circle on the tactics board, encircling Su Mo's portrait.

“He’s not just a monster operator,” Kkoma’s voice grew serious. “His understanding of the game, his ability to read the battlefield, and even his ability to anticipate the psychology of each of us, far exceed our expectations. That assassination at fourteen minutes wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision; he calculated that ShowMaker would lower his guard at that moment, and that we would focus all our attention on the Rift Herald. He’s a… tactician disguised as a player.”

These comments made all the team members raise their heads, their eyes filled with shock.

ShowMaker's lips moved, and he spoke with difficulty, "Coach, in the next game, should we... target him? Like RNG, ban all five top laners?"

Kkoma fell silent. It was a difficult choice. To counter meant abandoning their best strategy and falling into the opponent's draft trap. Not to counter, like in this game, was like unleashing an uncontrollable beast that could tear them to shreds at any moment.

Finally, Kkoma took a deep breath, his eyes sharpening again: "No. We can't panic. We are DK, we have our own strategy. In the next game, continue to target EDG's bottom half of the map! But Canyon, Khan, all your early game tempo should be directed towards the top lane! I refuse to believe that our strongest top and jungle in the LCK can't contain an Akali!"

While the two teams were making tense adjustments between the two games, live streaming platforms around the world were already in an uproar because of that shocking assassination.

In the official LPL live stream, the chat was so thick that the screen was obscured.

[6666666! I declare, whoever agrees, whoever disagrees, Mo is the world's number one top laner?!]

[What is a god?! (Leans back tactically) This is a god! Under the watchful eyes of the whole world, precisely locates the challenger and tells him: You are not qualified!]

[ShowMaker's pre-match trash talk was as scathing as his face is now! I don't know if gods bleed, but I know ShowMaker is definitely crying!]

[That felt so good! So satisfying! I love seeing the Korean team get completely overwhelmed!]

In the commentary booth, Miller and Wawa were also excitedly reviewing and analyzing the game.

“Let’s watch this replay again!” Miller’s voice still trembled slightly. “Mo’s Akali, from entering the fray to instantly killing ShowMaker, and then using Twilight Shroud to escape, the whole process took less than three seconds! This isn’t just skill, it’s muscle memory, it’s art! He has brought the assassin’s creed to its ultimate form!”

Wawa lamented, "DK's coach Kkoma must be having a terrible headache right now. He let Mo pick his hero to see what Mo was capable of, but he didn't expect to see not just a piece of gold, but an entire mountain of gold! What will he do in the next game's draft? Will he continue to be stubborn, or will he back down and give all the ban slots to Mo?"

In contrast, the atmosphere in the official LCK livestream in South Korea was completely different, with the chat filled with incredulous anger and skepticism.

[Holy crap! What is ShowMaker doing? A world-class Viktor got instantly killed by Akali in front of his four teammates?!]

Khan is the biggest problem! He was completely pressured from the laning phase and was utterly useless in team fights!

Is this really the top region in the LCK? Completely outmatched by a top laner? So embarrassing!

Don't worry, it's just one game. I believe Coach Kkoma will make adjustments. We'll definitely win the next game!

[Win it back? How can you win? That Mo on the other side isn't human! He's a monster!]

After a short break, both contestants returned to the stage.

The camera focused on the players from both teams again. The DK players looked less arrogant than before, and more serious with a do-or-die attitude. EDG, on the other hand, remained calm and collected.

The second game begins, the draft phase!
This time, it was EDG's turn to be on the blue side. And DK, just as Kkoma had predicted, didn't stubbornly stick to their strategy.

Their first three bans—Akali, Fiora, and Irelia—were all given to Su Mo's signature champions!

"Three bans on top lane!" Miller immediately noticed DK's change in attitude. "DK is scared! They were completely terrified by Mo's Akali in the first game! They chose respect, or rather, fear!"

EDG, on the other hand, calmly banned Rumble, Udyr, and Riven, still targeting DK's strong mid, jungle, and support.

EDG, on the blue side, immediately secured the meta pick for Viper – Kai'Sa!
DK's first and second picks quickly secured Zoe for mid and Rakan for support, a mid-support combination with strong poke and engage capabilities. EDG's second and third picks saw Scout choose Viktor for stable farming, while Jiejie opted for Volibear, a champion with exceptional jungle fighting ability.

In the second round of the draft, DK once again gave two bans to Jayce and Gnar in the top lane.

"Five bans on the top laner!!!" Wawa's voice changed tone. "DK has finally followed in RNG's footsteps! They were forced to use five bans to target one player! What glory, and what despair!"

EDG banned Lucian and Tristana, limiting DK's flex picks.

In the final champion selection phase, DK locked in Nidalee for the jungler position and Xayah for the ADC position in their fourth and fifth picks. Now, it's EDG's turn to pick their fourth and fifth picks, the highly anticipated top laner and support.

Under the watchful eyes of the world, Su Mo's character selection box lit up.

After a brief flash, a hero that no one expected was locked on!
Exile Blade, Riven!

"Riven!!" Miller's voice cracked instantly. "It's top lane Riven!!! Facing DK's extreme targeting with five bans on top laners! Mo has pulled out a champion known for her mechanics, but who hasn't been seen on the world stage for a long time—Riven!!"

"My God! Is this the ultimate hero pool?" the doll exclaimed excitedly. "You ban five of my heroes, but I always have a sixth one waiting for you! And every single one of them is a hero capable of carrying the game!"

For DK's final counter pick, Khan hesitated for a long time before finally locking in Gragas, a champion that is relatively stable against Riven in lane and has extremely strong utility in team fights.

When both teams' heroes entered Summoner's Rift, the tension in the match reached its peak.

"Alright! The match officially begins!" Miller's voice carried a hint of excitement. "We can see that DK's intentions are very clear this game. Canyon's Nidalee went straight for a red buff start, which is a move to quickly reach level three and gank top! Their strategy is to completely shut down Mo in the top lane!"

Upon entering the game, Su Mo's Riven started with Q, choosing Doran's Blade and a Health Potion as her starting items. Khan's Gragas, on the other hand, started with Q and took Corrupting Potion, aiming to gain a poke advantage in lane.

With the minion waves clashing, Khan's playstyle was indeed as Kkoma had planned, extremely oppressive.

Taking advantage of being a ranged hero, he constantly used basic attacks and rolling barrels to whittle down Riven's health, while keeping the minion wave firmly in front of his tower.

Su Mo wasn't in a hurry. He controlled Riven, using the three-stage Q dash and very small movements to constantly harass the edge of the minion wave. Every time Khan's Gragas attacked, he would anticipate it in advance, using a small dash to dodge the center of the explosion, only getting grazed by the aftershocks and minimizing the damage.

“Mo’s laning phase is terrifying,” Wawa said, watching the laning phase on the screen. “He barely misses any minions, but his health remains very healthy. Khan seems to be constantly pressuring, but he hasn’t gained any real advantage.”

At two minutes and forty seconds, Canyon's Nidalee finished off the red and blue buffs and the Gromp, successfully reaching level three. Without pausing, he made a nimble leap and disappeared into the river bush in the top lane, like a patient hunter waiting for his prey to make a mistake.

Khan understood immediately and began to act. He deliberately positioned himself forward, pretending to use his E skill [Meatball Impact] to harass Riven, trying to lure Su Mo into a counterattack.

However, Su Mo's Riven simply took a step back, finished off the last melee minion, and then retreated, as if she had eyes in the back of her head.

"Canyon's gank failed!" Miller exclaimed in surprise. "Mo didn't even have vision of the bushes, how did he know there were people behind him? That kind of jungle intuition is simply unbelievable!"

In DK's team voice chat, Canyon frowned slightly: "He's too cautious, he doesn't give us any chances at all."

“It’s alright, he didn’t dodge.” Khan’s voice was calm. “We’ll raise him like a pig; he’ll eventually slip up.”

The laning phase continued. After reaching level three, Su Mo learned the E skill [Charge Forward], which significantly improved Riven's trading ability. He began to change his strategy, no longer simply retreating.

Once again, Khan's Gragas used his Q skill to harass, and Su Mo moved at the very moment the Gragas cast the skill!

E skill dashes forward, the shield precisely absorbs the damage from the barrel, and then W [Soul Roar] is used at lightning speed to stun the barrel!
A! Q! A!

A smooth, damage-free combo instantly reduced Gragas's health by nearly a third, before gracefully retreating using the second and third Q attacks.

"Beautiful! What a great trade!" Wawa exclaimed excitedly. "That's the charm of Riven! Mo seized the opportunity during Gragas' skill cooldown and executed a perfect, damage-free poke! Khan is in a tough spot right now; his Corrupting Potion is almost gone!"

Khan was genuinely frustrated. He hadn't expected Riven to be so aggressive, with every attack perfectly timed. He started to get impatient, desperately hoping Canyon would come back and finish off this annoying guy.

The opportunity came at four and a half minutes.

Su Mo moved slightly forward to reinforce the artillery unit.

It's now!

Canyon, who had been lurking in the triangular bush, unleashed a predicted Javelin [Q]! At the same time, Khan's Gragas didn't hesitate, using E-Flash to launch his massive body straight at Riven's face with tremendous force!
This is a sure-fire trap!

However, in the split second between the javelin's impending strike and the barrel's imminent impact, Su Mo's reaction was incredibly fast!
flash!

Instead of dodging backward, he moved to the side and forward at an extremely small angle, thus avoiding the flesh-ball impact of the javelin and the barrel!
"He dodged it again!!!" Miller stood up from his seat. "What incredible reaction speed! Under the double attack of Nidalee and Gragas, Mo used Flash to dodge two fatal control and damage skills!"

The first attack failed, and DK's killing intent grew even stronger! Canyon immediately switched to cheetah form and followed up with W [Pounce], while Khan also activated W [Drunken Frenzy], trying to use the slow and basic attacks to keep the Riven, who had no mobility, in place.

But Su Mo's calmness exceeded their expectations.

The instant he landed with Flash, he didn't panic at all. He turned around and unleashed a QA combo at lightning speed at the oncoming Khan!

Immediately afterwards, the third Q [Broken Wings Dance] propelled Canyon high into the air, carrying a knock-up effect, and accurately slammed into the face of the Nidalee who had just pounced on him, interrupting Canyon's subsequent output!
Land, turn around, and create distance.

The entire process was seamless and full of violent beauty.

In the end, DK's top and jungle could only watch helplessly as the low-health Riven staggered back to the tower.

This 2v1 situation not only failed to secure a kill, but also resulted in Su Mo trading away most of Khan's health, forcing Khan to return to base, and Canyon had no choice but to retreat back to the jungle.

Su Mo, on the other hand, calmly ate a layer of the tower's crust at the foot of the tower before leisurely returning to the city.

This incredible maneuver ignited livestreaming rooms worldwide! (End of Chapter)