Chapter 377: A Strong Start
The match officially began.
As the game screen appeared on the big display, the holographic projection equipment also started showing the entire Summoner's Rift. The audience could see the champions on the holographic projection setting out from both bases and heading to their lanes, offering a complete view of the entire canyon.
FG had picked Blitzcrank but chose not to invade for a level-one team fight. Instead, NRG's Shen, Lee Sin, and Anivia slipped into FG's blue buff jungle and stole it.
After securing the blue buff, Lee Sin reached level two and immediately headed to the top lane brush. FG's Irelia, completely unaware and sluggish, was caught by a combo from Lee Sin and Shen and killed instantly.
"First blood!"
The system sound effect echoed throughout the venue, and the crowd erupted into thunderous applause and cheers!
The camera cut to NRG's jungler, K. He was a dark-skinned, skinny young man. Even after securing first blood, he showed no hint of happiness, maintaining a stern expression as he continuously spoke with his teammates.
Huiyi: "Wow! B God's level-two gank top was really unexpected, giving NRG a huge advantage early on. With this, both the jungle and top lane are fully ahead of their opponents, especially top lane. I think this Irelia is going to have a very hard time."
Ke Zhen: "This... to be honest, I think this Irelia was way too careless. Obviously, their mid-laner had given information; they should have known NRG was stealing their blue buff. In this situation, Xiao Hei's Lee Sin choosing to gank top was just a convenient move, but who would have thought it would actually work..."
Huiyi let out an awkward laugh: "This... well, it might have been a lapse in judgment."
Ke Zhen: "Also, when Irelia had such low health and got hit by Lee Sin's Q, she even used Flash. That was clearly a death flash, because her health was already near the kill threshold. Once Lee Sin Q'd in, she was almost certainly dead. That was a death flash."
Huiyi: "..."
The audience was already laughing uncontrollably. This Ke Zhen really didn't spare any face for their international friends!
"I'm dying of laughter. How does Keji not care at all about international relations? This match is being watched globally, and you're pointing out the bronze-level plays of a European team like that. Careful, you might damage international friendship!"
"Keji probably feels really bitter. With these scrubs, they might as well let my EC team play!"
"Give it a rest. With EC's trash top-laner, he's just dragging Keji down."
"But no matter how bad EC's top-laner is, he wouldn't die to a level-two gank and waste his Flash like that!"
"Should this team be called the European Trash Team? 23333"
The impact of this first blood was significant. After dying once, the top lane Irelia only had 4 CS when she returned to lane, while Shen already had 15 CS and was far ahead in levels. The jungler Lee Sin, having secured a kill, could invade even more aggressively.
In the bottom lane, Vayne and Sona had a slight advantage, constantly harassing from behind minions, leaving Blitzcrank with no good opportunities to hook.
In the mid lane, Anivia faced off against Diana, but with her own blue buff secured, Anivia's laning ability was greatly enhanced, allowing her to hold her own through excellent personal skill.
NRG had advantages in almost all three lanes, seizing the initiative in the early game.
Huiyi: "We can see that NRG's strategy played a crucial role. That level-one blue buff steal established advantages for the top, jungle, and mid lanes, especially making the mid lane very comfortable."
Ke Zhen: "Right. Because we know that NRG's mid-jungle duo is their star player combination and one of the strongest in the country right now. The mid-laner, Hu Jing, is regarded as one of the top three mid-laners in the country."
Huiyi: "And who's the other one among the top three mid-laners?"
Ke Zhen: "Yes, that would be me."
The live audience burst into roaring laughter. These two were playing off each other, patting themselves on the back!
But it was true. The three best mid-laners in the country right now were Hu Jing, Silver, and Ke Zhen. Ke Zhen was practically a one-man carry on EC, dragging four dead weights. If his teammates had been even half-decent, EC would have been the ones at the finals instead of FG.
Huiyi: "Indeed. The ER mid-jungle duo has been playing together since they started their pro careers, and NRG's owner poached them both at the same time. The fans have even given this duo a nickname: the SB Combo."
At the 7-minute mark, another fight broke out in the top lane. The minion wave naturally pushed toward NRG's side. The level-four, low-health Irelia thought Shen had recalled and recklessly tried to clear the wave, only to be taunted by Shen, ignited, and chased down to death.
Currently, the most popular summoner spells for top and mid-laners were Flash and Ignite, because no pro team had yet realized the importance of Teleport. Players preferred to secure solo lane advantages, feeling that taking Teleport would make laning too difficult.
The moment Shen hit level six, another fight erupted in the bottom lane. Shen immediately used his ultimate to teleport to Vayne, securing a kill on Ezreal.
The snowball had started rolling. FG had no way to reverse the current slump. Irelia's farm couldn't catch up, and every time Shen had his ultimate, he could support other lanes. The snowball grew larger and larger, and the match finally ended at 35 minutes with a kill score of 10-25.
FG had organized a few counterattacks, but none of them could turn the tide.
As FG's nexus exploded, the big screen showed NRG's players. All five of them had calm expressions, with only the mid-jungle duo exchanging a high-five.
Huiyi: "Alright, let's congratulate NRG on a clean and decisive victory, securing a strong start for our domestic teams!"
NRG's five players stood up from their seats and, following the match etiquette repeatedly emphasized by the organizers, went to shake hands with FG's players one by one. After that, they walked to the front of the stage and bowed to the audience.
The venue erupted into deafening applause and cheers!
"Ohhh! NRG is awesome!!"
"B God carries!"
"Amazing! This is what a perfect match looks like. I'm so hyped!"
"SB Combo, take the championship!!"
"NRG! NRG!..."
For those who had never watched esports, this sense of glory was hard to understand. But just by feeling the atmosphere in the venue, you could deeply grasp how exhilarating it was to watch your own team beat a foreign team on home turf!
The big screen switched to the post-match analysis segment.
Huiyi: "Alright, now let's move to the post-match analysis. The MVP for this match has been awarded to the jungler, Black. We can also see from the gold curve that NRG was ahead from the very beginning all the way to the end of the match."
Ke Zhen nodded: "Right. Because NRG's mid-jungle duo is arguably the best in the country at creating tempo. They secured advantages in the top, jungle, and mid lanes early on, and with Shen as a supportive top-laner, this match was basically decided from the moment first blood was taken in the top lane."
Huiyi: "But I have a question. If NRG is this strong, how did they lose to IF?"
Ke Zhen smiled: "Well, that's mainly because IF's five players are more well-rounded. Hu Jing in the mid lane doesn't fall behind against Silver, and IF's bot lane is stronger. While NRG can gain some early advantages, they always lose in late-game team fights against IF. So, 'League of Legends' is a five-player game. One or two people alone can't absolutely carry."
Genius remembers this site's address in one second: