LOL: What does it mean to torture players?

The business proposal (BP) phase began quickly.

LNG, without hesitation, locked all three ban slots onto Su Mo's hero pool.

First, they banned Fiora, who was invincible in the opening match.

The second move was to ban Gwen, who had a terrifying dominance at the end of the regular season.
As their third option, after a moment's thought, they ultimately chose to disable Weapon Master.

"LNG's ban strategy is very clear!" Miller's voice was high-pitched. "They directly banned three heroes that Mo has been performing brilliantly recently and have super strong split-pushing ability! This is an extremely targeted ban! However, as everyone knows, this is only a temporary solution for Mo, because his hero pool is too deep."

EDG, on the other hand, seemed much more relaxed.

The first move was to ban Jarvan IV, the Prince of Demacia.

The second pick was to ban Lee Sin, the Blind Monk.

The third pick was to ban Fiorentina, the King of Ruined King.

Wawa analyzed, "EDG's response was also very direct! They directly targeted the early-game tempo-oriented junglers that Tarzan excels at and that LNG relies on the most! Obviously, EDG also wants to create an opening in the jungle to limit Tarzan's performance!"

First round of selection:

As the blue side, EDG immediately locked in Ezreal, the "Explorer"!
"Ezreal!" Miller's eyes lit up. "EDG's pick is very solid! As the first pick for the blue side, Ezreal has strong self-protection capabilities in the early and mid-game, and also has good damage output in the late game. There's no need to worry about LNG's offensive in the bottom lane!"

On the first and second floors of LNG, they decisively locked in "Daughter of the Void" Kai'Sa and "Phantom Feather" Rakan!

"They're here! LNG's bot lane duo!" Wawa's voice suddenly rose. "Kasa and Garrosh, this is a very strong combination in terms of both initiation and damage output! They're going to tell EDG that this game, we're going to focus on the bot lane!"

EDG's second and third floors featured Viktor, the "Mechanical Herald," and Thresh, the "Chain Warden."

Rita analyzed, "With Thresh and Ezreal, EDG's bot lane focuses on kiting and counter-engaging. Meanwhile, Viktor in the mid lane ensures the team has a stable late-game mage carry. EDG's draft is very solid; they're waiting for LNG to make their move!"

Second round of bans:
LNG's fourth move was to disable Vladimir.

EDG banned Senna as their fourth pick.

LNG's fifth transaction involved disabling Atatrox.

EDG's fifth pick was to ban Twisted Fate.

Miller: "The second round of bans for both sides was still full of strategic maneuvering! LNG continued to target Mo's late-game carry champions, and Vladimir was also banned! EDG banned Senna and Twisted Fate, limiting LNG's bot lane options and their ability to provide global support in the mid lane."

Second round of selection:

LNG locked in Olaf and Ornn almost without hesitation!

"Olaf jungle! Ornn top!" Wawa said. "LNG's intentions are obvious! They want to counter Tarzan's Olaf jungle carry, invade early, and then, with the help of mid laner Icon's champion pool, gain an advantage in the mid and bot lanes! As for top lane Ornn, he's a pure tank, meant to make Ale withstand the pressure! This is a typical 'sacrifice top lane to protect bot lane' tactic!"

In the last two picks, EDG chose Evelynn, the Blessed One, for their jungler Jiejie, and Jayce for Sumo!
"Evelyn jungle! Jayce top!" Miller's voice suddenly rose, filled with unbelievable excitement. "On EDG's side, Jiejie picked Evelynn! She's a scaling jungler, but her burst damage in the late game is terrifying! And in the top lane, Mo picked... Jayce against a pure tank champion like Ornn! This is textbook-level lane dominance!"

The commentator excitedly shouted, "Jayce versus Ornn! A lane dominator with long range, high burst damage, and fast wave clear, facing a clumsy tank lacking early-game damage! LNG wants Ale to play defensively? Mo is here to tell you, your towers, your minions, your jungle, I want them all!"

Rita's beautiful eyes sparkled with excitement: "Jayce vs. Ornn! This isn't just about champion counters, it's the ultimate response to LNG's 'sacrifice top lane' strategy! EDG has made it clear that even if you leave the top lane to fend for itself, Mo can single-handedly dominate the top lane!"

The final lineup is confirmed:
Blue side EDG:

Top Lane: Jayce, the Future Guardian

Jungle: Evelynn, the Embrace of Pain
Mid Lane: Viktor, the Mechanical Vanguard
Marksman: Ezreal, the Explorer
Support: Thresh, the Chain Warden
Red Team LNG:

Top Lane: Ornn, the Mountain Hermit (Ale)

Jungler: Olaf the Berserker (Tarzan)

Mid Lane: Seraphine, the Untamed Delight (Icon)

Marksman: Kai'Sa, Daughter of the Void (Light)

Support: Phantom Feather Luo (Crisp)

"The lineups for both sides are now finalized!" Miller concluded. "EDG has chosen a lineup that focuses on late-game power, but also boasts extremely strong lane dominance in the top and mid lanes! Jayce, Viktor, and Evelynn—once these three cores scale up, their late-game damage will be devastating! LNG, on the other hand, has chosen a lineup centered around the bottom side of the map, focusing on early-game tempo and mid-game team fights! Olaf, Seraphine, Kai'Sa, and Rakan—they're all about providing more control and burst damage! This is the ultimate showdown between speed and scaling, early and late game!"

Online viewers' comments kept flooding the screen:
[Wow! Mo Shen pulled out Jayce! How are we supposed to play Ornn like this?!]

[LNG's draft was clearly designed to let the top laner run wild, but Mozi picked a lane dominator – this is practically a suicide mission!]

Tarzan's Olaf will definitely be camping the bot lane early game, and Jiejie's Evelynn... is at a disadvantage in early jungle skirmishes.

[No matter the lineup, with Mo Shen on the field, EDG is invincible!]

Go LNG! The dark horse can't fall! Crush EDG!

Amidst the expectant gazes of countless viewers, ten heroes loaded into the game and descended upon Summoner's Rift, the place that would soon determine their fate!
As the system message "Welcome to Summoner's Rift" sounded, the first game of this highly anticipated semi-final officially began.

In the commentary booth, Miller immediately went into high-speed mode: "Alright, the match begins! We can see that neither side chose to invade at level one; both started with standard positioning. LNG's five players are grouped together, with Olaf and Rakan standing in the mid-lane river bush, seemingly protecting their jungle, but they might also be looking for an opportunity to engage at level one!"

Wawa followed up with her analysis: "On EDG's side, Thresh immediately went to the river bush in the blue side's bottom half of the map to place vision and prevent Olaf from stealing or counter-jungling. Mo, the top laner, went straight to the lane with Jayce, showing no intention of helping Jiejie jungle; he wanted to push up and suppress the enemy as soon as possible!" The director's camera precisely focused on the intersection of the top lane minion waves.

"Mo's Jayce started with a Doran's Blade and a health potion, and took Conqueror runes, aiming for maximum damage and sustained combat ability. Ale's Ornn, on the other hand, started with a standard Doran's Shield," Rita analyzed. "From their starting items, we can see that these two players have completely different goals today."

At one minute and thirty seconds into the game, the first wave of minions clashed.

Xiaohu's Lucian, when facing Mozi's Jayce, was at least able to withstand the pressure thanks to his long range and positioning.

But Ale's Ornn is a nightmare start against Jayce, a champion with long range, high burst damage, and fast wave clear!

Su Mo's Jayce didn't hesitate at all, immediately switching to cannon form, landing a basic attack on Ornn, and then unleashing his Q skill [Sky Leap], accurately hitting Ornn and triggering the passive armor reduction effect!
Immediately afterwards, Ornn fired two basic attacks in cannon form, reducing his health by a small amount!

Ale's Ornn didn't dare to go forward to last-hit minions, and could only stand cowardly in the distance, watching Jayce easily last-hit every minion while constantly pressuring the minion wave.

"Mo is playing too aggressively!" Miller shouted excitedly. "He's been dominating since level one! Ornn will get hit by Jayce's combo as soon as he dares to show his face!"

Wawa also lamented, "Ale's Ornn is having a really tough time right now. If he wants to last-hit minions, he has to be willing to be harassed. Plus, Jayce's wave clear is too strong. Ornn's turrets might lose health very quickly!"

Meanwhile, the battle in the jungle also quietly unfolded.

Tarzan's Olaf, after clearing the red buff, did not choose to clear his own blue buff. Instead, he directly controlled Olaf to quietly circle around to EDG's blue buff jungle, trying to steal Jiejie's jungle monsters!
However, EDG's vision control strategy had already anticipated LNG's intentions!
Meiko's Thresh, after helping Viper push the first wave of minions, did not immediately recall. Instead, he went to the river early and placed a control ward in the bush behind EDG's blue buff!

When Tarzan's Olaf cautiously approached the blue buff, the true sight ward had already clearly displayed his figure on the EDG players' minimap!
"Gotcha! Tarzan was spotted!" Miller's voice suddenly rose. "Jiejie's Evelynn, after finishing the red buff, guessed Tarzan's movements and abandoned the blue buff to counter-gank in the enemy's lower jungle! This was a back-and-forth jungle battle!"

Jiejie's Evelynn, upon seeing Tarzan's location on the minimap, did not hesitate at all and immediately activated her Q skill [Hate Spike] to begin clearing Tarzan's Krugs jungle monsters.

Seeing this, Tarzan's Olaf felt a chill in his heart.

His counter-jungling plan was perfectly thwarted by EDG!
He had no choice but to give up EDG's blue buff and turn to farm his own top jungle, successfully slowing down the pace of the game for EDG.

Meanwhile, in the top lane, Su Mo's Jayce had already pushed the minion wave firmly under Ornn's tower.

He even dared to brave the attacks of the turrets and go forward to whittle down Ornn's health.

Ale's Ornn was powerless against this unreasonable Jayce. His health was suppressed to a dangerous level, and he could only silently use health potions and pray that the jungler would come to his rescue.

"Jiejie has gained an advantage in the jungle!" Rita analyzed. "After Evelynn secured two camps, she's already ahead of Olaf in both level and gold! EDG's jungle control is now completely in Jiejie's hands! And in the top lane, Mo is suffocating Ale! Jayce is already ten CS ahead of Ornn!"

Three minutes into the game, both junglers reached level three.

Tarzan's Olaf, after clearing the top jungle, immediately set his sights on the mid lane.

He knew that the situation in the top lane was beyond saving, and the only hope was to help Icon open up the game in the mid lane!
Icon's Seraphine, despite being at a disadvantage in the early laning phase against Scout's Viktor, maintained a healthy health level and, with the help of vision in the mid-lane bush, attempted to lure Jiejie into ganking.

"Tarzan's Olaf is here! He's heading towards mid!" Wawa's voice suddenly tightened. "Icon's Seraphine is still using her Q to push the lane, seemingly trying to lure Scout forward! This is a well-planned mid-jungle gank by LNG!"

In EDG's team voice chat, Scout's voice was calm and swift: "Olaf is in mid lane! Jiejie, he's behind me!"

Jiejie's Evelynn, although she had just gained an advantage in the jungle, was not at low health.

He knew that Evelyn was no match for Olaf before reaching level six.

Therefore, instead of rushing to support the mid lane, he quietly circled around to FPX's blue buff jungle and stole Tarzan's blue buff.

"Jiejie didn't choose to provide support! He chose to steal Tarzan's blue buff!" Miller said. "This was a bold yet rational decision! He knew that Evelynn is very vulnerable before level six, and rashly supporting the mid lane could easily result in her being counter-killed by Olaf. It's better to take the opportunity to steal the enemy's jungle camps and continue to expand their economic advantage!"

Seeing that Jiejie had no support, Tarzan's Olaf charged out of the bushes without hesitation, activated his W skill [Reckless Swipe], and rushed towards Scout's Viktor!

Icon's Seraphine also used her Q skill [High Note] and E skill [Beat Continuation] from the back to deal damage!
Scout's Viktor's health dropped rapidly, forcing him to use Flash and flee towards the tower!

"Scout flashed!" Rita exclaimed. "Although LNG didn't get the kill, they successfully forced Scout to flash! This is a very important breakthrough for their mid-jungle synergy!"

However, just as LNG's mid and jungle players retreated, Su Mo's calm voice rang out in EDG's team voice chat: "Bottom lane, be careful. They'll definitely go to the bottom lane after they finish mid."

RNG has chosen to focus on the bottom lane, so there's no reason why LNG wouldn't.

His prediction once again accurately pinpointed LNG's next move!
Tarzan's Olaf, after forcing Scout to use Flash, did not choose to recall. Instead, he directly controlled Olaf and quietly circled around to the bottom lane river bush of EDG.

Icon's Seraphine also moved towards the bottom lane after clearing the mid lane minion wave.

"LNG is about to make their move! They're going to pull off a classic four-man gank!" Wawa's voice suddenly tightened. "Tarzan's Olaf has already circled around to the tri-bush behind EDG's bottom lane tower! Icon's Seraphine is also heading towards the bottom lane! This is a premeditated four-man gank!"

Alarms went off instantly in EDG's bot lane!
"They're here! Jiejie, watch your position!" Meiko's voice was urgent.

"I'm here, we can fight!" Jiejie's Evelynn, after clearing the jungle monsters, had already arrived at the Explosive Cone in their own jungle in the bottom lane with her keen sense of smell, ready to provide support at any time.

FPX's attack has begun!

Crisp's Rakan seized the moment when Viper's Ezreal went forward to last-hit a minion, and used his W skill to try and lift up EDG's bot lane duo!

However, Meiko's reaction was incredibly fast! (End of Chapter)