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

Welcome to Summoner's Rift!

A majestic female voice echoed through the stadium, accompanied by a tsunami of cheers from the audience, as ten heroes were born from the spring.

Having purchased the Doran's Sword and the Red Sword, Xiao Yan, controlling the small cannon, was the first to rush out of the spring.

"Wolf, follow me into the jungle. Peanut, start with red buff, head straight down."

Xiao Yan's voice rang out in SKT's team voice chat, leaving no room for discussion and carrying an irresistible certainty.

"Going into the jungle? We're going to fight at level one?" Peanut was taken aback.

"RNG picking Trundle is an open invitation to tell us they want to drag the game into the late game and play a 4-1 split push strategy. If they are allowed to farm comfortably in the early game, by the 30-minute mark, Huni's Cho'Gath won't even last three seconds against Trundle."

While rapidly switching screens to observe RNG's movements, Xiao Yan coldly analyzed, "Uzi's Twitch is extremely weak in the early game. If Mlxg's Jarvan IV wants to make plays, he'll definitely focus on the mid and bot lanes. We must seize control of the tempo from the very first second. Purge the bot lane, invade their jungle, and give them no chance to breathe!"

Faker glanced at the bottom lane, adjusted his glasses, and calmly said, "I'll secure lane priority in the mid lane to cover you guys."

At this moment, the three commentators in the commentary booth also noticed SKT's unusual movements.

"Huh? SKT headed straight for the lower river! Five of them grouped up! Are they trying to invade RNG's red buff jungle? This isn't like SKT at all!" Wawa exclaimed in surprise.

"RNG's defensive positioning is very spread out. Mlxg is in the blue buff area, while Uzi and Ming are providing vision in the red buff bushes. Oops! We've run into them!"

On the big screen, the five SKT players sneaked into RNG's lower jungle like ghosts. Wolf (Lulu), who was at the front, used his Q skill "Shining Spear" to precisely slow down Ming (Janna), who was setting up vision.

"Janna flashed! SKT's invasion was very strong, directly stealing Mlxg's red buff! Mlxg had to trade for SKT's red buff, but this completely disrupted Jarvan IV's early jungle clearing route!" Miller explained at lightning speed.

"Not only that," Long Hair frowned, "look at the bottom lane. Xiao Yan's Tristana went straight across the minion wave and started harassing the enemy! She's incredibly aggressive!"

The camera cuts to the bottom lane.

Xiao Yan's little cannon seemed to have no idea how to write the four words "peaceful development".

Having learned the E skill "Explosive Spark" at level 1, whenever Uzi's Twitch dared to come forward to last-hit, he would immediately hang the bomb on Twitch's head and spam attacks while under Janna's shield.

Uzi's brows were furrowed tightly, and the mouse clicked loudly as he tapped it.

"Does this kid think I'm made of clay?" A flash of anger crossed Uzi's eyes, but reason told him that a level 1 Twitch was no match for the combination of Tristana and Lulu. He could only suppress the urge to fight back and retreat, missing three melee minions.

"Proud, hold on, wait for me to reach level three and then go down," Mlxg said in a deep voice over the voice chat. His prince was forced to start with red buff and was now seething with anger.

"I know. He's holding on so tightly, if you come, he'll surely die," Uzi said through gritted teeth.

However, Xiao Yan's suppression was not just a partial victory.

Two and a half minutes later, the third wave of siege minion troops entered the tower.

Xiao Yan pressed a large wave of minions firmly against RNG's bottom lane turret.

At this point, both he and Xiaopao had reached level three.

"Peanut, come to the bottom lane, tower dive," Xiao Yan suddenly said in the voice chat.

"Tower diving? You're only level three!" Peanut was attacking his own frog when he heard this and was startled.

"The prince is definitely heading to the bottom lane right now. He's trying to catch me pushing the lane too far. Come over here now, and we'll counter-gank under the tower. Faker, be ready to use your ultimate at any time." Xiao Yan's brain was like a sophisticated computer, instantly calculating Mlxg's position and intentions.

As expected, from God's perspective, after Mlxg's Prince finished off the Krugs, he immediately activated his scanner and crept along the wall towards the bottom lane's tri-bush.

"Xiangguo is here! Xiao Yan is pushing too deep, there's no vision! Prince has flanked!" Wawa shouted excitedly.

"But Peanut's Gragas is also lurking in the bushes! This is a 3v3 situation! Who will make the first move?!"

The air on the field seemed to freeze.

Uzi's Twitch suddenly activated his Q skill "Stealth," entering a camouflage state and stealthily approaching Xiao Yan's Tristana. Ming's Janna also began charging up her Q skill "Hurricane Howl."

"He's made his move! Xiangguo immediately used his EQ combo to knock up Xiaopao!"

The moment the prince's banner fell, Xiao Yan's eyes suddenly sharpened, and his slender fingers typed a dazzling series of actions on the keyboard.

"W! Rocket Jump!"

Instead of jumping backward, Tristana jumped to the side and forward at an extremely strange angle, perfectly dodging the Prince's EQ combo and even landing her E skill "Explosive Spark" on the exposed Twitch's head in mid-air!

"He dodged it! My God! Is Xiao Yan's reaction speed monstrous?!" Miller gasped.

"Fight back!" Xiao Yan shouted coldly.

The barrel, heavily pregnant, burst out from the bushes, its E skill "Meatball" precisely stunning the Prince who was carrying the turret's aggro. Wolf's Lulu immediately cast Pix's Shield on Tristana and applied Exhaust to Twitch.

"SKT's counter-gank! Mlxg is in danger! The turret is attacking him!"

The prince's health plummeted, forcing Mlxg to use Flash to escape the turret's range. But Xiao Yan had no intention of letting him go. Tristana activated her Q skill, "Rapid Fire," causing her attack speed to surge and unleashing a torrent of firepower.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

As the layers of explosive sparks overlapped and exploded, the prince's health instantly plummeted to zero.

"First Blood!"

The system notification sounded throughout the venue.

"First Blood! Xiao Yan got the first blood on Xiang Guo! SKT's planning was too deep! They not only guessed Xiang Guo's gank route, but also used the turret to complete the counter-kill!" Changmao exclaimed.

Seeing the situation was not good, Uzi and Ming had no choice but to use their summoner spells to create distance, watching helplessly as Tristana swaggered under the tower and attacked it.

"This kid is playing like a madman!" Huni saw the battle in the bottom lane while switching screens from the top lane and couldn't help but comment.

But his smile quickly faded.

Because he discovered that Letme, who was on the other side, was also acting like a madman today.

The Troll King wielded a massive ice pillar, recklessly crossing the minion wave, and unleashed his Q skill, "Razor Bite," to bite down hard on the giant Cho'Gath, stealing attack damage and inflicting a brief slow.

Letme's eyes were glued to the screen, his mind replaying Feng's pre-match instructions: "Junze, your only task this time is to crush Huni! Don't worry about the team, don't worry about supporting, just stay in the top lane and wreak havoc on SKT's top side!"

Although the giant worm is tanky, it's as clumsy as a sitting duck against a troll with a full stack of the "Fervor of Battle" talent in the early game. After a few rounds of trading blows, Huni was actually pushed out of the experience range and had to use his teleport back to lane.

"Is there pressure on the road?"

Faker keenly sensed Huni's predicament.

"This troll is so unreasonable! He doesn't even last-hit minions, he just keeps attacking me!" Huni was covered in sweat.

Xiao Yan glanced at the situation on the top lane and frowned slightly.

Letme's resilience and execution exceeded his expectations. If things continue as they are, by the fifteen-minute mark, the Troll will be able to solo-take down the top lane's first tower, completely freeing him up.

"We can't wait any longer." Xiao Yan took a deep breath, a resolute glint in his eyes.

"Peanut, let go of all the jungle camps in the top half of the map, go straight to the bottom lane at level six, take down the bottom lane tower, and secure the first dragon. Then, group up and push mid!"

Xiao Yan's commands were like a raging storm, giving his teammates no time to think and RNG no chance to catch their breath.

For the next ten minutes, the entire audience at the Wuhan Sports Center witnessed SKT's most ferocious and suffocating early-game tempo in history.

Xiao Yan's Little Cannon completely abandoned the traditional lane control and development strategy. He was like a tireless bulldozer, frantically pushing the minion wave under RNG's tower.

As long as Uzi dares to go forward to farm the lane, he'll dare to jump in and deal damage even under the turret's attack.

Eight minutes in, Peanut's Gragas flanked and used his ultimate, "Explosive Gragas," to knock up Janna. Xiao Yan followed up with damage and killed her, then pushed down the bottom lane's first tower.

At nine and a half minutes, SKT secured the first Infernal Dragon.

Ten minutes later, Xiao Yan's Tristana and Lulu switched lanes to the mid lane. Faker's Galio went to the bottom lane to withstand the pressure.

"SKT's pace is too fast! They don't want to drag the game into the late game with RNG at all! Xiao Yan pushed down the bottom lane and then the mid lane. Tristana's tower-pushing speed is terrifying!" Wawa looked at the tower's health being eroded on the screen, his voice tinged with anxiety.

The atmosphere at RNG's booth was extremely tense.

"We can't let them push like this. Once the mid tower falls, the jungle vision will be completely lost." Xiaohu's Malzahar, hiding under the tower, watched the enemy Tristana recklessly attacking the tower and said through gritted teeth.

"I'm here." Mlxg's Prince crouched in the F6 bush, his eyes fierce. "My ultimate is ready, Xiaohu, flash and ult him, I'll follow up with crowd control, and we'll kill him!"

"good!"

Just as the cannon went forward to attack the tower again, Xiaohu moved.

"Flash! Hades' Grip!"

The grasshopper transformed into a purple lightning bolt, instantly traversing the distance of the flash, and the suppression effect of the ultimate skill locked onto the little cannon!

"Xiaohu made his move! A very decisive flash-ultimate! Xiangguo's Jarvan IV also rushed out from the side! EQ combo! RNG is about to counterattack!" Miller stood up excitedly.

The entire audience held their breath.

If RNG can quickly eliminate the best-developed and most aggressive Tristana, they can disrupt SKT's push rhythm!

However, at exactly 0.1 seconds after the grasshopper's ultimate skill was connected.

"Ding!"

A crisp sound echoed through Summoner's Rift.

A silver-white light flashed across Xiao Yan's little cannon.

Mercury ribbon!

"My God! Mercury! At the eleven-minute mark, Xiao Yan actually skipped the money for an Electric Blade and went straight for a Mercury's Emblem?!" Long Hair shouted incredulously.

The moment the suppression effect was lifted, Xiao Yan displayed an extremely terrifying muscle memory.

Facing the prince's EQ combo, Tristana used her ultimate "Devastating Shot" almost simultaneously!

The massive cannonball slammed into the prince in mid-air, forcefully knocking Mlxg back from the air and perfectly interrupting the prince's movement, preventing him from even casting his ultimate skill, "Cataclysm"!

"Damn it! This reaction!" Peanut couldn't help but swear in the voice chat.

"Counterattack! Leave no one alive!" Xiao Yan's voice was as cold as polar ice.

Having averted a fatal crisis, Tristana activated her Q skill and became a killing machine, relentlessly attacking Malzahar and Jarvan IV, who were without skills. Faker's Galio ultimate, "Heroic Entrance," lit up at Tristana's feet, and a giant stone statue descended from the sky, knocking up two RNG players.

"Double kill!"

"Double Kill!"

With Tristana securing the kill on Jarvan IV with a single auto-attack, RNG's mid-jungle synergy was completely ruined.

"boom!"

The central tower collapsed with a crash.

"It's suffocating..." Wawa slumped back into his chair. "Xiao Yan's instincts are terrifying. Not only are his mechanics top-notch, but he's also incredibly steady. At eleven minutes, he went for a Mercury's Treads, specifically to guard against Xiaohu's Flash-Ultimate combo. He completely shut down all of RNG's counter-attack routes."

At this point, the game time has reached nineteen minutes.

SKT's economic lead has reached four thousand.

This is almost a hopeless number when facing a team like SKT with strong operational capabilities.

But RNG did not give up.

The camera cuts to the top road.

Letme's Trundle has already taken down SKT's top lane turret and is now advancing towards the second turret with a wave of cannon minions.

His finishing blows even surpassed Xiao Yan's, and his equipment inventory contained a Tiamat and a Trinity Force set.

"Junze is still pushing! RNG is pinning all their hopes on the top lane split push!" Miller's eyes reddened as he looked at the lone, determined Trundle figure. "Huni's Cho'Gath is impossible to defend. As soon as Trundle uses his ultimate, Cho'Gath has to run. SKT needs to send someone to deal with this Trundle!"

This is precisely where RNG's resilience lies.

Even when the main battlefield was riddled with holes, they still searched for hope of turning the tide in their desperate situation.

As long as the troll can keep the game going and drag it out until Uzi's Twitch gets his three core items, RNG will still have a fighting chance!

Xiao Yan frowned deeply as he stared at the red dot on the minimap that was constantly deepening.

He knew that the real test was coming.

If they send someone to catch the troll, it would take at least three people to guarantee a kill. But once SKT splits up, RNG will immediately counterattack, taking the dragon, pushing the mid tower, and might even use Twitch's invisibility to launch a perfect surprise attack.

If left unchecked, the Troll hero can demolish towers at a speed comparable to a demolition genius; second towers, high ground, and even the crystal can be reduced to ruins within minutes.

This is a dead end, a dilemma known as the "Troll Dilemma".

"Coach, is this what you meant by the foundation of a powerhouse team?" Xiao Yan murmured to himself. He could feel that the five people opposite him were tightly huddled together, biting SKT's throat with an almost tragic posture.

"Huni, can you defend the high ground tower?" Xiao Yan asked in the voice chat.

"I...I tried my best. But I really can't withstand his ultimate move." Huni's voice trembled slightly; he had been traumatized by Letme's attack.

"Ignore him." Xiao Yan took a deep breath and made the craziest and most radical decision of his life.

"Everyone, buy control wards and head back to base for supplies. Meet at Baron Pit in one minute."

"What?!" The entire SKT team was shocked.