Chapter 35: GG

After securing the kill, the three members of EDG finally retreated to their second turret without further incident. The team fight ended in a one-for-one trade, and KT successfully claimed the bottom lane's first turret as they had intended. However, in the top lane, Shen, who had remained there, also took down the red side’s first turret.

The final outcome could hardly be called a victory for either side, but for KT, who relied on a fast-paced offensive, trading kills and turrets with a disadvantaged opponent—thereby stalling the game’s momentum—was clearly not a good development. Especially with Varus picking up the kill on Jayce, his growth had been further accelerated.

"That was a bit hasty; my fault," General Pawn said in the KT base, looking uncharacteristically annoyed. He didn't believe he had played recklessly; he had used his Flash to force his ultimate because he was confident the QE combo would land, intending to burst down the enemy AD without giving them any chance to escape. But what followed was unexpected: Varus’s scripted-level positioning had dodged the Scatter the Weak from three different angles. It wasn't a mistake on his part; rather, the mechanical awareness displayed by the opposing AD was simply too high. Instead of panicking and using his ultimate on him while he had no abilities left, Varus had waited for Jayce to engage before unleashing Chain of Corruption to catch them both. A player with that kind of composure was clearly an opponent not to be underestimated.

"Shibal, we just need to play it steady next time. There won't be any major issues," Smeb said, tilting his head back and tugging at his hair. He didn't know if his teammates were anxious, but he knew for certain that he had been. Knowing full well that Varus still had Flash, he had naively thought he could just walk up and trade damage. It was a bit arrogant. The guy was an AD player, after all; if he could predictively position himself to dodge Scatter the Weak, how could he not react to a simple hammer strike?

Smeb checked the scoreboard. Upon returning to base, Varus had purchased a Quicksilver Sash and Berserker’s Greaves. The opposing AD was already playing with extreme caution, and now with an item to negate hard engage, forcing a fight would become significantly more difficult. Meanwhile, Shen, who had been trailing by nearly 50 CS, had finished a Tiamat after taking the top turret. With his improved wave clear, it would no longer be easy to suppress him or force him to roam.

"Awesome, brothers! To think we could pull off a one-for-one there," A-Guang, who had been playing conservatively to farm, began his sycophantic routine. If he wasn't contributing in-game, he had to provide emotional support outside of it, didn't he? Otherwise, he would just be a dead weight.

"Nothing we could do; those 'oppas' on the other side were definitely getting a bit cocky," Lin Ruo said, his expression remaining perfectly calm. If the situation had been difficult before, after this sequence, they could now fully dictate the pace. Even he hadn't expected the momentum to shift so quickly.

Shen buying a Tiamat early was the major turning point. From here on, as long as they managed their lane swaps correctly—sending Shen to the bottom lane to push waves quickly, draw attention, and expand vision around the dragon pit, while Scout went top to farm and he held the mid lane—it would be KT who grew increasingly desperate.

Seeing EDG begin to rotate their lane pressure, KT immediately swapped their duo lane to the top. Score secured their first dragon at 16 minutes. Shen, meanwhile, became more and more comfortable in the bottom lane, completely unmanageable by Syndra, whose split-pushing ability was inferior. Smeb was forced to return to the bottom lane to match Shen. Without Jayce’s poke in the mid and top lanes, the pressure on EDG’s front line dissipated, and they gradually reclaimed vision in the top half of the map.

At 17 minutes, Score finally managed to take the Rift Herald. KT, their tempo significantly lagging, began to group up, constantly invading the top jungle in hopes of catching an isolated EDG member. By the 20-minute mark, Mata, whose Flash had returned, engaged hard on Ai-Loli near the Red Buff. Shen activated his ultimate, landing and chasing down KT’s bottom duo. Smeb, not having great vision, chose to Teleport into the brush near the Krugs. His arrival was much slower than the attachment of Shen’s ultimate, allowing EDG to group first and initiate their burst.

Seeing Shen latch onto him, Deft realized the fight was lost. He cast his ultimate to sacrifice his support and prepared to retreat. Suddenly, a Chain of Corruption erupted from the brush below. Varus, who had been clearing waves in the mid lane, had come up from behind. Deft, his reflexes still at their peak, burned his Flash immediately to dodge, but instead of flashing into the dragon pit to escape, he flashed toward the top lane’s tri-brush. Jayce had already teleported in, and he wanted to attempt a counter-attack.

Varus flashed in almost simultaneously, sticking to him and chasing him down. Lin Ruo, having bought a Zeal, didn't care if there were ambushes waiting behind them. He was determined to secure the kill on the Ashe. Deft, casting his W to slow him, retreated all the way, not daring to trade auto-attacks with Lin Ruo. Varus already had a significant item lead, and with Lulu’s buff behind him, his attack speed was so fast it created afterimages. Jayce arrived late and fired a Shock Blast over the wall, but the first to meet death was their own AD, who couldn't withstand the damage.

[EDG, Ling killed KT, Deft.]

Smeb switched forms, flashed over the wall, and used To the Skies! to smash toward them, hoping to take down the half-health Varus. But the next second, he realized he had been hasty again. Lulu, who had been following behind the whole time, cast her ultimate, Wild Growth, and Varus’s size suddenly doubled. Smeb’s ability was interrupted mid-air. He didn't land a single bit of damage. He had no choice but to frantically cast Thundering Blow to knock Varus away and scramble to escape. Lin Ruo chased him down, effortlessly picking up the kill on Jayce as well.

KT’s mid and jungle killed the Cassiopeia who had forced a split in the battlefield near the top turret, and then caught the low-health Lee Sin, which counted as a meager consolation. But both of them had nowhere left to run; Score used his agility to dash through the base turret and escape. General Pawn died once more. EDG ultimately won the skirmish with a four-for-two trade.

Looking at his humiliating 0-3 record, Pawn sighed helplessly in front of his monitor. Was it because I didn't wash my hair today? It’s a bit itchy.

Smeb lowered his head, tugging at his hair, and grumbled resentfully, "Shibal, what kind of game was that? I had such a huge advantage in the early game." Letting this Shen get a free win felt even worse than losing. Smeb felt like his blood pressure was rising despite his youth.

The veteran Score encouraged his teammates, "Let's respawn and take the Baron. Our team composition is still quite strong; we just got split up in that last fight. If we group up, we should be much better off." The others nodded.

At 23 minutes, KT forced a fight at Baron, only to watch Varus secure a quadra-kill, forcing them to type "GG" and exit the game.

"Always rushing Baron the moment the game stalls—the old tradition," A-Guang said, cracking up; he couldn't believe he had actually won this game. Lin Ruo’s expression went cold as he turned to stare at him. You couldn't win your lane, you couldn't participate in the team fights, you were dead weight that forced your teammates to carry you, and you still have the nerve to laugh?

A-Guang coughed, looking like a helpless Little Tiger seeing Uzi, awkwardly rubbing his face and pretending he didn't see anyone. In his eyes, Lin Ruo was a total team bully at this moment, absolutely terrifying.

"Well played, everyone." Nofe walked into the training room clutching his notebook. He really hadn't expected them to win this practice match. Excellent. Tomorrow’s draft would be just like this. If they could beat KT, how could they not beat a little team like WE?