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

The brief break seemed to be fast-forwarded. The lights in the Paris Zenith Stadium suddenly dimmed, and then, accompanied by rousing and chilling background music, several blinding spotlights cleaved through the darkness like swords, fixing their light firmly on the Summoner's Cup in the center of the main stage.

The third game was a do-or-die match, a game of match point.

For RNG, this is already a precipice with no way to retreat.

On the big screen, the director's camera slowly panned across RNG's playing area.

Compared to the first two games, the atmosphere within the RNG team was so tense it felt like you could wring water out of it.

Uzi's face was pale, his eyes were bloodshot, he stared intently at the screen, and his chest heaved violently.

Ming was whispering something to him, but Uzi didn't seem to hear a word. He just chewed his gum mechanically, as if he wanted to crush and swallow all his resentment and anger.

On the other hand, the atmosphere at the SKT booth was relaxed and carefree.

"Let's finish this quickly." Xiao Yan spoke calmly in the team voice chat. His voice wasn't loud, but it exuded an absolute confidence that sent chills down one's spine. "I don't want to work overtime anymore. This round, we'll crush them in fifteen minutes."

"No problem, I'll listen to you." Faker chuckled and pushed up his black-rimmed glasses.

"I'm going to crush the top lane." TheShy's Chinese was still broken, but the killing intent in his tone was undisguised.

The business plan (BP) phase has officially begun.

RNG struggled immensely with their first three bans. They not only had to target Faker's Syndra and Galio, but also had to be wary of TheShy's Jayce, and even dared not let Peanut's Lee Sin pass. As for Xiao Yan, they had decided to let him run wild, as Xiao Yan's champion pool was too deep to be easily restricted.

SKT's bans, on the other hand, seemed much more casual, randomly banning several of the current meta's strong junglers and supports, leaving all the counter picks for the lanes.

"RNG has secured Sejuani! This is to give Xiangguo a jungler who can initiate team fights and withstand pressure, thus stabilizing the early game situation." Miller analyzed with a furrowed brow on the commentary panel.

Subsequently, the lineups for both sides were quickly finalized.

RNG (Blue Side): Top lane Ornn (Letme), Jungle Sejuani (Mlxg), Mid lane Azir (Xiaohu), Bot lane Vayne (Uzi) + Lulu (Ming).

The moment Uzi locked in Vayne, the entire arena erupted in thunderous cheers. Vayne, the Night Hunter, was Uzi's signature champion, his soul, and his last shred of faith in desperate situations.

"Uzi picked Vayne! He's going all out!" Wawa shouted. "Down 0-2, the Mad Dog has pulled out his most confident champion; he's going to carry the whole team on his shoulders!"

However, facing RNG's lineup, which leans towards mid-to-late game team fights and a four-protect-one strategy, SKT has yet to reveal their final counter pick.

Xiao Yan looked at the Dark Hunter wearing red glasses on the screen, a cold smile curving his lips.

"Trying to create miracles with Vayne? Too bad, I won't give you the chance to drag the game into the late game."

"Wolf, lock that for me," Xiao Yan said softly.

The next second, a hero's portrait, wielding two axes and sporting an arrogant smile, appeared on the fifth floor of SKT's building.

Welcome to the Dray League!

Draven, the Glorious Executioner!

"boom!"

The entire Tianzheng Arena erupted in cheers. Not only the audience, but even the three commentators were so shocked that they stood up from their chairs.

"Draven! Xiao Yan actually picked Draven against Uzi's Vayne in the match point game!" Long Hair's voice cracked with extreme excitement. "This is absolute lane dominance, this is an undisguised declaration of slaughter! Xiao Yan's intention is clear: he wants to completely crush Uzi's Vayne during the laning phase!"

SKT's final roster has been confirmed.

SKT (Red Side): Top lane Fiora (TheShy), Jungle Elise (Peanut), Mid lane LeBlanc (Faker), Bot lane Draven (Xiao Yan) + Thresh (Wolf).

"This lineup..." Miller gasped as he looked at SKT's five champions. "Fiora, Elise, LeBlanc, Draven, Thresh. This SKT lineup has absolutely no late-game potential. They've staked everything on the first fifteen minutes! This is an extremely aggressive lineup, a lineup born for speedrunning!"

"Either we crush RNG in the first twenty minutes, or RNG drags it out to the late game and pulls us back." Wawa's expression was grave. "Xiao Yan is too confident; he's walking a tightrope!"

The game loads, and the third life-or-death battle officially begins.

From the very first second the minions made contact, Xiao Yan showed the world what suffocating suppression truly meant.

At level one, Uzi's Vayne cautiously hid behind the minion wave, trying to gain experience. But Xiao Yan's Draven, wielding two spinning axes, directly crossed the minion wave and stood between RNG's ranged and melee minions.

This is an extremely arrogant positioning, completely disregarding RNG's bot lane duo.

Uzi tried to step forward and finish off a low-health melee minion with a basic attack, but the moment he raised his hand, Xiao Yan moved.

Draven's spinning axe whistled through the air and struck Vayne's delicate body with pinpoint accuracy.

"Snapped!"

A single basic attack, amplified by Vayne's Q skill "Spinning Axe," instantly reduced Vayne's health by nearly one-fifth.

Uzi reacted extremely quickly, immediately using his Q skill "Dodge Strike" to roll backward. But Xiao Yan's movement was like a ghost; he not only caught the bouncing axe steadily, but also used the refresh of his W skill "Blood Rush" while catching the axe to instantly accelerate, closing the distance again, and slashing Vayne with another axe!

Uzi reacted extremely quickly, immediately using his Q skill "Dodge Strike" to roll backward. But Xiao Yan's movement was like a ghost; he not only caught the bouncing axe steadily, but also used the refresh of his W skill "Blood Rush" while catching the axe to instantly accelerate, closing the distance again, and slashing Vayne with another axe!

"That damage is outrageous!" Miller exclaimed. "At level one, Vayne didn't even get a last hit on the minions, and Draven took away a third of her health! Xiao Yan's distance control was perfect; he positioned himself at the edge of Vayne's attack range and managed to get two free auto-attacks!"

Ming's Lulu quickly shielded Vayne, attempting to poke Draven. However, Wolf's Thresh stood like a gatekeeper beside Draven, his Soul Chains ready to strike, forcing Lulu to stay out of his way.

In just one and a half minutes, the first wave of minions ended, and Uzi's Vayne hadn't managed to get a single last hit.

"It's suffocating, so suffocating." Changmao shook his head repeatedly as he looked at the miserable state of the bottom lane. "Xiao Yan's Draven proficiency is ridiculously high. He doesn't even need to watch where the axe will land; he moves entirely based on muscle memory. Uzi is now finding it torture to even gain experience."

However, the disastrous situation in the bottom lane was merely a microcosm of RNG's overall defeat.

In the top lane, TheShy's Fiora displayed absolute brutal aesthetics against Letme's Ornn.

Fiora, having learned the Q skill "Skyfall" at level 1, relentlessly attacked Ornn's weak points. Letme attempted to counterattack with his Q skill, but TheShy's positioning was extremely agile, dodging Ornn's skills by the slightest margin each time and delivering another counterattack.

Three minutes later, the top lane minion wave was pushed under RNG's tower.