LPL didn't want me? I joined SKT instead!

Chapter 134 No Clouds

In this game, RNG fought extremely hard.

In the early game, SSG relentlessly targeted the bottom lane, and Uzi's Vayne was once down by nearly 30 CS.

But RNG's mid and jungle players stepped up. Xiaohu's Ryze and Mlxg's Lee Sin pulled off a miraculous 2v3 at the Rift Herald, managing to stabilize the situation.

The game dragged on for thirty-five minutes, and Uzi's Vayne finally came online.

During the battle for the Elder Dragon, Letme's Ornn summoned his sheep and precisely knocked SSG's mid laner Crown away.

Uzi's Vayne activated her ultimate, and like an assassin in the dark, she rolled and dealt damage wildly in the crowd.

"Uzi! Uzi is still dealing damage! He dodged Ambition's ultimate! He killed Ruler!" Miller's voice was completely hoarse on the commentary desk. "RNG won! A 0-for-3 exchange! They're going for it!"

With SSG's crystal exploding again, RNG took a 2-1 lead and secured match point!

We're just one step away from the Bird's Nest, from the dream of all League of Legends players in China!

"That was so exciting..." Huni couldn't help but exclaim. "LPL teams really fight like their lives depend on it."

But at this moment, Coach Kkoma's brows furrowed even more deeply. He drew a heavy line on the paper with his pen: "RNG has already revealed most of their cards. But SSG... their most terrifying aspect is their adaptability."

In the fourth game, SSG, forced into a desperate situation, displayed breathtaking dominance.

They first picked Galio, completely shutting down RNG's engage strategy. Meanwhile, Ruler got his most popular champion, Varus.

This round was a complete one-sided massacre.

Ambition's Jarvan IV perfectly set the pace for all three lanes in the early game, while Ruler's Varus, boosted by Ardent Censer, dealt explosive damage in the mid-game. RNG's proud bot lane dominance crumbled in the face of SSG's tight defense.

In just 28 minutes, SSG, with a huge economic advantage, pushed down RNG's high ground.

2:2 tie!

The two sides entered a brutal decisive game!

When the stirring "Silver Scrapes" (battle song) resounded in the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center, the entire stadium was filled with a suffocating sense of tension.

Tens of thousands of spectators held their breath, praying for a miracle to happen.

The atmosphere inside SKT's spectator room was equally somber.

"It's the last game." Faker crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Whoever wins will be our opponent in the finals."

Xiao Yan's eyes were fixed on the draft phase on the screen. As an ADC, he possessed a more acute professional instinct than most. He had a premonition that the outcome of this match would be decided in this brief draft phase.

In the fifth game, RNG was on the blue side and SSG was on the red side.

"Alright, welcome to the final battle! The draft phase has begun!" Wawa took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice steady. "RNG banned Kalista, Sejuani, and Janna in their first three picks. SSG banned Jayce, Twitch, and Jarvan IV."

"Wait a minute!" Miller suddenly noticed a problem. "Xayah and Rakan! Neither side banned Xayah and Rakan! They're both free!"

These words caused an uproar in the room.

In this version, Xayah and Rakan are widely recognized as a top-tier (T0) bot lane duo. Rakan's strong engage potential combined with Xayah's survivability and burst damage, especially with the Ardent Censer buff, makes them virtually unstoppable. In previous matches, this duo was almost always banned or picked, rarely being allowed to be played together.

"RNG is on the blue side! They have the first pick!" Guan Zeyuan shouted excitedly. "Take Xayah! Or Rakan! If they can pick one of them and break up this combination, this game will be much easier!"

Inside the spectator room, Wolf nodded in agreement: "That's right, first-picking Rakan is the best option. Not only can it initiate team fights, but it can also prevent SSG from getting the Xayah-Rakan combo."

However, on the screen, RNG's first-floor avatar flashed wildly, and finally, it suddenly locked onto a hero that no one expected.

"Lee Sin, the Blind Monk!"

The entire room fell into a deathly silence.

Even the seasoned coach Kkoma was stunned. He jumped to his feet, staring at the screen in disbelief: "They...first-picked Lee Sin?! They let the enemy team have Xayah and Rakan?!"

"This..." Peanut's mouth dropped open. "Mlxg's Lee Sin is indeed amazing, but in a do-or-die situation like this, letting Xayah and Rakan through..."

On the commentary stage, the three commentators were also dumbfounded.

"Is RNG using a strategy? They first picked Lee Sin, so SSG will definitely pick Xayah and Rakan in response!" Wawa's voice trembled slightly.

As expected, SSG's first and second floors locked in Reverse Feather·Xia and Illusion Feather·Luo without any hesitation!

"They got it! SSG has secured the strongest bot lane duo!" The Korean commentators were already celebrating. "What is RNG thinking? They actually gave up on the meta picks!"

At this moment, the ball was thrown back to RNG's side. The second and third floors needed to respond.

RNG locked in Malzahar and Shen.

"They're trying to counter Xayah with Shen's protection and Malzahar's pressure." Faker saw through RNG's tactical intentions at a glance, but then shook his head. "That's too much of a stretch. Xayah's ultimate, 'Storm Blades,' can avoid all crowd control, and Malzahar's ultimate isn't much of a threat to her."

The draft continues, and the lineups for both sides gradually emerge.

RNG's last pick was a counter pick reserved for Uzi.

"What will Uzi choose? Facing the Xayah and Rakan duo, he must pick a champion who can hold his own in lane and take over the game in the late game." Miller stared intently at the screen.

Big Mouth? Varus? Or the female police officer?

Uzi's profile picture frame showed many heroes, and finally, it stopped at a woman riding a horse carrying a long spear.

"Ace sniper requests deployment!"

Policewoman!

Inside SKT's viewing room, Xiao Yan stared at the locked-on female police officer avatar, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

"He still doesn't know how to play Xia." Xiao Yan said softly, his tone carrying a cruelty that only someone in the same profession could understand.

"What?" Huni next to him didn't hear clearly.

Xiao Yan turned to his teammates and said, word by word, "Back in S6, Jhin was the meta pick, but he couldn't play him, and RNG lost. Now it's S7, and Xayah is the meta pick, but he still can't play her. As a professional ADC, if your champion pool is always missing that strongest, most decisive champion, you'll never reach the highest trophy."

"Six no Jhin, seven no Xayah." Coach Kkoma wrote these words in his notebook, then sighed heavily. "The draft is over. RNG's lineup has too low a margin for error. Facing SSG's impenetrable defense, the Corki and Lee Sin combination is too difficult to win."

The final lineups for both sides have been determined:

RNG (Blue Side):

Top Lane: Shen (Letme)

Jungler: Lee Sin (Mlxg)

Mid Laner: Malzahar (Xiaohu)

ADC: Caitlyn (Uzi)

Support: Taric (Ming)

Red team SSG:

Top Lane: Gnar (CuVee)

Jungle: Gragas (Ambition)

Mid Lane: Galio (Crown)

ADC: Xayah (Ruler)