IRAJAS Chapter 137

DT did come prepared.

On the day when YTF was eliminated, they had in-depth discussions with the opponents, and they had already devised countermeasures against this tricky strategy.

Moreover, after multiple experiments with ENG, they indeed felt that the effect was quite good, so they were very confident in this lineup.

Fans didn’t know about their scrim content, so they were worried: can support Gragas really be effective? Can it really counter this tricky strategy?

In theory, this champion had no issues. But everyone’s understanding of the champion varies, leading to different playstyles. With the game constantly changing, the resulting effects also differ. No one can guarantee that they’re always right, not even top professional players. So fans were worried that Jiang Jin’s grasp of Gragas might not be good enough.

But soon they found their worries were unnecessary.

Gragas has decent tankiness, healing, crowd control, and damage, making it completely fine to mix it up in the lane.

By level six, it’s Gragas’s domain.

Jiang Jin’s control over this champion was very good, even surpassing everyone’s expectations.

He can blow up the enemy AD while choosing to knock back the support when the enemy AD and support stand together.

He can execute a beautiful E-Flash combo when the enemy jungler comes to gank, knocking them back and inflicting brutal and inhumane slaughter.

What’s even more impressive is during the engagement when Lin Lan activated his ultimate to engage, Jiang Jin preemptively threw his ultimate. While the enemy was airborne, Lin Lan landed a precise EQW combo, locking them down and taking them out with a full combo.

In the replay, it’s evident that Jiang Jin deliberately aimed his ultimate towards Lin Lan’s location.

And Lin Lan accurately anticipated the enemy’s landing spot, placing all his abilities in that direction. The moment the enemy touched the ground, they were dead, unable to even use their Flash!

This coordination brought the game to a climax. Anyone who has played these two champions knows how difficult this coordination is. It’s almost impossible to predict with just human eyes!

But DT managed to predict it!

In the split second of killing the enemy, you could see both Lin Lan and Jiang Jin smiling simultaneously. Clearly, they didn’t expect this coordination to work out so perfectly.

The domestic commentators were at a loss for words to describe this incredible play. They kept explaining how difficult this maneuver was, and even began to doubt themselves: “Did kiner just happen to predict it with good luck? Otherwise, how could anyone make such a prediction!”

In fact, what Lin Lan did was a subconscious prediction.

When a person’s mind reaches another level, they achieve what Shi Quan referred to as “third-level prediction”, which is the pinnacle of professional prediction.

Shi Quan once said that achieving this level of prediction requires not only a naturally gifted brain but also continuous practice. There are no more than five professional players worldwide who can reach this level.

Lin Lan felt like he was one of them.

In that brief moment, it was as if all his senses were heightened, and his mind entered a realm of freedom. That feeling made him feel invincible, free from doubt and fear.

When he snapped back to reality, he couldn’t believe he had executed such a play. He chuckled, “Wow, all that practice with Gragas really paid off.”

Jiang Xu, who was in the top lane, laughed heartily, “Coach Shi made you practice, and you weren’t happy about it. Now you see the benefits, right?”

Earlier, Shi Quan subjected them to brutal and inhumane training for this World Championship, each giving them a long list of heroes to familiarize themselves with and master, including Gragas.

It was understandable for Jiang Jin to practice Gragas, but Lin Lan couldn’t understand: “Why do I, a mid-laner, need to practice Gragas?”

Shi Quan solemnly told him, “What if you need it? Besides, Gragas is a super versatile hero for us. The probability of your teammates playing Gragas is high. So, being familiar with it is beneficial for you.”

During this daily training regimen, Lin Lan developed a reflex for Gragas. In the instant his ultimate was unleashed, he could instantly judge the enemy’s landing point. This proficiency led to some incredible synergy when he played Gragas jungle with Xiao Shengjing. They pulled off some amazing combos, even startling Xiao Shengjing.

Xiao Shengjing: “When did you become so good at playing Gragas?”

Lin Lan proudly replied, “There’s no hero I can’t learn.”

Only by deeply immersing oneself in playing this hero could one sense its rhythm and enter the realm of third-level prediction. So, the moment Jiang Jin made his move, Lin Lan had already predicted the enemy’s landing point.

After that engagement, Lin Lan soared, and the opposing team’s advantage completely disappeared. As the game progressed into the mid-game, Jiang Jin used his ultimate to initiate team fights endlessly, while Lin Lan and Xiao Shengjing seamlessly followed up, causing a headache for the enemy.

This was still the result of Jiang Xu not participating in team fights. When it came to the skirmish at the Dragon pit, Jiang Xu joined the fray directly and unleashed a devastating combo from above, decimating the enemy.

After securing the Dragon, Xu Shengwei unleashed his explosive output, constantly diving into the fray. With Lin Lan providing consistent damage behind him, DT always stayed one step ahead.

Facing DT, TO never expected them to be so formidable, with almost no weaknesses among their members.

They had indeed been careless and underestimated their opponents. Losing this game wasn’t unjustified at all…

DT took the first game, boosting their morale.

Amid cheers, the second game quickly began. TO didn’t dare to underestimate their opponents again, fielding a very solid lineup.

However, DT, on the other hand, changed their strategy, pulling out Gragas + Sylas jungle-mid duo, brutally declaring war.

When Lin Lan pulled out Sylas again, the barrage erupted once more.

[Is this the first Sylas in the World Championship?]

[Didn’t they say Sylas has too low of a margin for error, so nobody picks him?]

[Wow, Lin Lan is so courageous.]

Sylas is a champion who is strong in the early to mid-game but has a very low margin for error in the late game. Almost no professional players dare to pick him in the World Championship because one small mistake could lead to a disastrous loss.

Perhaps because Xu Shengwei chose Jinx, giving Lin Lan a signal that he had backup, he dared to bring out Sylas for bold plays.

The domestic commentators couldn’t help but jest, “Is kiner going to unleash himself again? I’ve noticed that in every major tournament, he’s not afraid to pick champions, not afraid to take the blame. Indeed, his strength is his confidence!”

Because it’s Lin Lan on the stage, everyone is confident no matter what champion he picks!

That’s the fearlessness of the strong!

As both sides entered the game, Lin Lan, who got Sylas, played extremely aggressively, pressuring the opponent so much that they couldn’t even farm properly in the first three levels.

The commentators chuckled and questioned, “Is Galio really this hard to play against Sylas? It shouldn’t be.”

Theoretically, it shouldn’t be that difficult. Perhaps the overwhelming pressure Lin Lan brought to the opponent made them appear more stiff than usual, allowing Lin Lan to seize the advantage even more.

He seized the opportunity, executing a combo so fast that the opponent couldn’t react in time and ended up using their flash, directly taking a turret shot.

With the advantage in hand, Lin Lan didn’t know the meaning of easing off. After buying his items, he returned to the lane and called upon Xiao Shengjing to ruthlessly bully the opponent.

Galio had never played such a difficult lane. Because of the previous loss, they intended to play a more stable composition this time, wanting to compete with the opponent in terms of strength. However, Lin Lan seemed to have unleashed some sort of seal upon himself, becoming extremely brutal. This forced Galio to give up more minions to ensure his own safety.

While he managed to stay alive, the jungle suffered greatly. If Lin Lan couldn’t kill him, he would harass the enemy jungle. The high mobility of Gragas and Sylas in the jungle allowed them to thrive, forcing the enemy jungle to constantly lose control of their territory.

After enduring until level six, Galio finally could go to support the side lanes. However, Lin Lan stole his ultimate. Wherever he flew, Lin Lan flew alongside him, as if they were competing in synchronized flight. Moreover, Lin Lan was always just 0.2 seconds slower, causing Galio’s ultimate to be almost completely neutralized, leading to his utter defeat every time.

No one knew how Lin Lan managed to control within that 0.2-second limit. His dynamic vision seemed to have reached a level only the game mechanics could capture, leaving his opponents trailing far behind.

As Lin Lan’s score reached 3-0, the entire TO team paled. It was clear that DT’s strength had exceeded their expectations. Even when facing a direct confrontation, they were still no match for their opponents.

Lin Lan, controlling Sylas, surged ahead. When this hero reached the peak of dominance, he single-handedly ended the game in one swift move.

Cheers echoed inside and outside the arena, almost drowning out the entire venue. At the start of the match, everyone was worried that DT would falter, but they hadn’t anticipated DT would secure such a significant advantage!

With two victories in two battles, it was no longer just a slight lead but a complete and total dominance!

In the third game, which was DT’s match point, TO, on the brink of desperation, unleashed tremendous energy and caught DT off guard with a combination of a Blitzcrank and Tristana.

Although TO won this round, it was more of a flicker of hope because as long as DT banned their Blitzcrank, they no longer had a counter to DT’s ace in the hole.

The game moved into the fourth round, still DT’s match point.

DT attached great importance to this game. Despite seemingly holding two match points, their chances of winning were not very high. If they lost, the scores would be tied, and the players’ mindset would definitely be affected.

Winning 3-1 and 3-2 are completely different concepts, so this game could only be won, not lost.

In this round, Shi Quan didn’t hold back. He boldly chose the combination of Lee Sin and Katarina in the mid-jungle, while Jiang Xu once again got his hands on Gnar. In the bottom lane, they also secured the coveted combination of Tristana and Lulu.

This lineup was very strong for DT. Firstly, it was a very solid composition, and secondly, these five heroes happened to be their five most skilled tricks.

Shi Quan’s choice seemed to convey a message to the fans: victory is assured in this round!

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