ATIBTF Chapter 92

【Did I see that wrong? Is this really a 13445?】

【What? Am I mistaken? Isn’t the Tortoise Warrior supposed to be 4? It can’t be 3, right? 3 already has the Centaur.】

Once the heroes were locked in, and the Tortoise Warrior landed in Jiang Min’s hands, everyone realized JW’s strategy.

【Are they really playing the Tortoise Warrior as a 2? That’s so risky.】

It’s no wonder the audience was so concerned.

The Tortoise Warrior is very dependent on resources in the 2 position. It needs to stack defensive items, but it also needs attack items, or else it’ll just be a tank with no impact in team fights.

Picking this hero for such an important match was undoubtedly a major tempo delay.

“JW’s pick of the Tortoise Warrior cleverly fooled Tigers. Tigers had initially thought the Tortoise Warrior would be a 4-position hero, so they picked the Death Prophet to counter it. But they didn’t expect the Tortoise Warrior to go mid, with Yu Hao’s Ice Dragon already selected, giving them an advantage in the lane,” Uncle Yuan commented.

Heroes in WOC have specific counters, and this is particularly noticeable in the laning phase.

Of course, hero counters don’t guarantee that the stronger hero will always dominate the lane; a lot of it still depends on the players’ skills.

“Sugar God has used the Tortoise Warrior before,” Ruby said. “But it’s not commonly used in the 2 position, and it rarely appears in mid-lane. Is there a special reason why JW would pick this lineup in such a crucial match?”

Lack: “Yeah, I thought that whether they’d go for their signature heroes would depend on whether it’s a homecoming game. After the patch changes, Elemental Spirit can still be played. I was honestly expecting to see Sugar God’s Elemental Spirit at the world championship, but it turned out to be the Tortoise Warrior mid instead.”

“And based on JW’s lineup, it looks like they’re going for a 4-protect-1 strategy, protecting the mid-lane Tortoise Warrior,” Uncle Yuan said. “Let’s see what kind of effect JW can produce with this lineup.”

The match officially began.

The laning phase was steady.

Jiang Min’s lane was solid, and with his teammates’ support, JW didn’t fall behind in the early game.

After the laning phase ended, the Tortoise Warrior started farming across the entire map.

Meanwhile, the other members, under Captain Yu Hao’s unified command, were each playing their role.

5-position Wei Yafeng was constantly roaming, securing vision and ensuring a safe farming environment for the Tortoise Warrior.

3-position Hao Qianyi and 4-position Yu Hao roamed the map, hunting down isolated enemy heroes, disrupting the enemy’s tempo, preventing their fast-paced lineup from executing.

In the early to mid-game, the 3rd and 4th positions were still very impactful. During the period when the 1st and 2nd carries needed resources to grow, it was up to the rest of the team to control the tempo.

And JW had learned to play very cleverly, killing enemies and immediately disappearing into the jungle, never sticking around for a prolonged fight, which frustrated Tigers greatly.

Tigers’ 1-position Death Prophet, already under pressure in the lane from Ice Dragon, had to constantly worry about being ganked by JW’s roaming players.

After being caught for the third time, Tigers’ 1-position player’s mentality began to crack.

Meanwhile, Jiang Min, recognized as one of the hardest carries to catch in WPL, was farming incredibly smoothly.

He roamed the enemy’s jungle as if it were his own.

Of course, this smooth farming was not just due to his experience in controlling the battlefield but also because of the vision provided by Wei Yafeng and Yu Hao, ensuring his safety while farming.

As the game progressed, even though there was no large-scale team fight, JW had already taken the lead in kills.

The game reached the point where the first Epic Monster in the Pit had spawned.

The first random Epic Monster that spawned had a buff granting the team that killed it one resurrection opportunity for any of their members.

Tigers, who were gradually falling behind, couldn’t afford to miss this chance to turn things around.

If they won the Pit fight, they could recover from their previous disadvantage and even make a comeback.

Of course, JW wasn’t about to let this Epic Monster slip away.

Thus, the two teams started maneuvering around the Pit.

Both sides were searching for a suitable opening to initiate a fight.

At that moment, Hao Qianyi made his move.

The Centaur Sniper flanked from behind, calculating the distance, and with a leap, landed his ultimate, trapping the enemy’s 1-position Death Prophet who had just managed to gather some damage output. The Tortoise Warrior followed in, jumping into the enemy’s crowd and quickly eliminating the squishy mage.

Tigers’ 1-position Death Prophet fell without buying back.

After losing their main carry, Tigers didn’t choose to retreat. Their plan was to at least take someone down with them, or else it would be a huge loss.

And the best target for them to kill was none other than Jiang Min, who was right in the middle of their group.

However, no one expected Jiang Min to be this tanky.

Once his defensive items activated, his armor shot up, and without their main damage dealer, Tigers couldn’t deal any significant damage.

Meanwhile, Jiang Min continued to tank damage while outputting steadily, and JW’s players followed his lead, relentlessly chasing down Tigers.

Tigers thought they could kill the enemy’s 2-position, the fattest target, to make up for the loss of their 1-position, but they ended up making a critical decision error and got wiped out in a 5-man team wipe.

JW successfully secured the Epic Monster, and the resurrection buff naturally went to Jiang Min.

From that point onward, the game’s momentum clearly swung in JW’s favor.

In the late game, JW pushed onto the high ground.

Jiang Min went in and out of battle, with only Yu Hao by his side and the other teammates pushing down different lanes, and yet Tigers couldn’t even kill him once.

Finally, Tigers couldn’t take it anymore.

They absolutely had to kill this invincible, fat Tortoise Warrior who hadn’t died once in the game!

With victory within sight, the WPL commentators were getting excited.

Uncle Yuan: “Tigers have gathered all five players at the bottom high ground! They’re going to make their move on Jiang Min!”

Ruby: “Actually, I think they could consider retreating here. The other two lanes are pushing as well, no need to stubbornly fight this high ground.”

Lack: “But Jiang Min is indeed unkillable here. He has the resurrection buff, so he’s not that scared.”

At this moment, Tigers made their move.

“Tigers’ 3-position player Ur activated his ultimate and locked down Jiang Min!” Uncle Yuan said at lightning speed, “Yu Hao’s Ice Dragon quickly placed an Ice Shield on Jiang Min, but Tigers didn’t care about the Ice Dragon, focusing all their firepower on Jiang Min! The Ice Shield broke! Jiang Min’s health is dropping fast! Death Prophet is dealing huge damage, and JW’s other players are rushing over! If nothing unexpected happens, this should be the most crucial team fight!”

“Yes, if Tigers lose this team fight, it’s pretty much over for them!” Ruby added.

However, although Jiang Min was surrounded, the Tortoise Warrior’s economy was far ahead of everyone else, which meant he had incredibly powerful equipment.

Standing under the enemy’s high ground tower, taking focus fire and hits from the tower for a long time, he still managed to keep pounding on the enemy without dying.

When he finally did fall, he still had the resurrection buff and came back to life at full health.

“That’s really painful,” Lack commented, “After so much effort to finally kill Jiang Min, they didn’t expect him to have a resurrection!”

At this point, JW’s teammates had arrived.

With the coordination between Jiang Min and Yu Hao, Tigers lost two players, who quickly bought back to prepare for the final team fight.

However, after the previous encounter, they had realized just how terrifying the Tortoise Warrior was—he was like a walking powerhouse!

Their only option was to try and bypass the Tortoise Warrior and target JW’s backline, hoping to kill their 1-position, Wei Yabo, to weaken the enemy’s damage output.

Of course, Jiang Min wasn’t about to let them have their way so easily.

But this time, without the resurrection buff, his playstyle wasn’t as aggressive as before.

JW and Tigers faced off under the high ground tower for a while, and JW decided to retreat first to recover some economy.

After all, it was Tigers who were stuck under the tower, not them. Plus, JW’s lineup, built around the Tortoise Warrior, was more focused on the late game, so there was no rush.

On the other hand, Tigers’ fast-paced lineup would only get worse the longer the game dragged on.

So, the Southeast Asian Tigers weren’t willing to sit back and let the game slip away. They saw JW retreat and boldly emerged, moving as a five-man squad, hoping to catch someone isolated.

However, not far from their high ground, they encountered the Tortoise Warrior clearing minion waves.

Instinct told Tigers’ commander and captain that such an important carry as the Tortoise Warrior must have other JW players lying in wait nearby, ready to ambush them.

Thus, Tigers decided to retreat decisively.

Seeing them leave the tower, Jiang Min immediately called for his teammates, and four TP scrolls lit up in the woods.

Jiang Min led the chase, using the Tortoise Warrior’s stun ability to catch them.

Then, a strange scene appeared on the screen.

The Tortoise Warrior, carrying a huge hammer, lumbered confidently, chasing after all five of the enemy players.

Such a dramatic moment was rare in a world championship.

Uncle Yuan couldn’t help but tease: “Jiang Min is chasing all five of them right now, looking like he’s shouting, ‘Come on, come and kill me!’”

Ruby and Lack couldn’t help but laugh.

JW’s players had also teleported in.

Jiang Min stunned Tigers’ 4-position and, with his teammates joining in, they ruthlessly took him down.

Tigers immediately retreated, showing no concern for their fallen teammates.

They couldn’t afford to stay and fight; otherwise, they risked getting wiped out in a team fight and losing the game right there.

But even with all their struggles, the disadvantage was too great to recover from.

In the end, in a final high ground team fight, JW executed a flawless 0-for-5 exchange, wiping out Tigers and demolishing their base.

After three consecutive losses in the group stage, JW finally secured their first victory in the world championship.

¹You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading! ❤️ -TL: Ysiad

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  You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading! ❤️ -TL: Ysiad