vrcanaries Chapter 30: How do you even play the top lane?!
Chapter 30: How do you even play the top lane?!
"This is a top laner's Kalista!"
"Butterfly!! I knew you still had something else!"
Guan Zeyuan shouted loudly, as if he had severed ties with the Guan Zeyuan who had previously questioned Chen Wang.
The reason we were so certain it would be Kalista for top lane and not Caitlyn was because WE picked Taliyah as their fifth pick, confirming Karma as support.
Karma support can only be paired with Caitlyn.
It goes without saying where those skate shoes will go.
"And this Taliyah pick is brilliant; it effectively counters TSM's split-push strategy."
Remembering comfortably: "We were talking about this last time. TSM's split-push strategy against WE was too aggressive. Picking a support hero can prevent Kennen from being so unrestrained in the mid-to-late game."
The fact that Taliyah was picked by Caitlyn really threw TSM off balance.
They never dreamed that WE would have this trick up their sleeve.
"What's the point of wearing these skate shoes on the road?"
TSM coach Part was also a bit bewildered: "Fuck, can't they just play some normal heroes?"
But now, even if it was completely unexpected, changes have to be made.
Parth crossed out Tahm Kench, which he had just wanted to give to his support, and changed it to Ryze instead.
That's the only way.
Galio was banned, and WE picked Taliyah again. Without a support-type hero, Kennen will have a hard time pushing the lanes in the mid-to-late game.
That's all.
Lulu will be forced to go down to the top lane.
Thankfully, it was Ashe. If the bot lane had been picked by someone like Twitch or Kog'Maw, they would have been getting completely dominated by Caitlyn and Karma in lane.
When they shook hands, Parth saw Redmi's squinting smile and, even before the fight, he already had a bad feeling.
If the bottom lane holds, the key to victory in this game still lies in the top lane.
Kennen is a long-range hero after all, so he shouldn't lose too much against Kalista, right?
The loading screen appears.
Blue side WE: Top lane Kalista, Jungle Lee Sin, Mid lane Taliyah, Bot lane Caitlyn Karma.
Red side TSM: Top Kennen, Jungle Kha'Zix, Mid Ryze, Bot Ashe Lulu
Both bottom lanes have a setup that combines Weakness and Heal.
This version of Weakness is very strong, especially with the prevalence of junglers like Graves, Lee Sin, and Kha'Zix, which can reduce a lot of damage, so it's rare to see bot laners taking Ignite.
"TSM! TSM! TSM!..."
The reputation of the North American cult TSM is well-deserved.
Whenever a competition is held overseas, regardless of the region, you can almost always hear the audience cheering.
However, rather than genuinely liking TSM, many viewers are actually just using the meme, which is why no matter where they go, they always give the impression that TSM has a large fanbase.
Amid cheers from the audience, the two teams entered Summoner's Rift.
"Shall I come and watch the red and blue frogs for you this game?" Ning knew exactly what to do this game.
"Okay," Chen Wang nodded. "Xi Ye, come over here and place a ward in his blue buff area to prevent the enemy Kha'Zix from getting in."
Xi Ye didn't understand: "Shouldn't I be placing the ward on F6? Besides, if we really want to prevent invading, isn't the top laner usually the one who places the ward in the blue buff area? Why didn't you place it?"
"My eyes are useful, so bring them over here."
Then my eyes are useless.
Okay, you're the older brother.
Xi Ye had no choice but to obediently come over and help click on the blue zone ward.
The bully of the esports world, what a bully!
Chen Wang immediately positioned himself in the mid-bush upon logging in, then placed a ward in the bush closest to the enemy's turret.
Skateboard's attack range is 525, while Kennen's attack range is 550. In other words, Skateboard's attack range is actually a little shorter than Kennen's.
A 25-yard attack range may not seem like much, and it may not feel very noticeable.
However, for skilled players, this 25 attack range is fatal. Many heroes have become top-tier (T0) heroes simply because of the added 25 attack range.
Chen Wang did not underestimate Hauntzer because he was not a champion top laner; on the contrary, he gave him enough respect.
He is the core; only by doing every detail well can the snowball roll in the right direction.
Kennen followed the minion wave to the lane, and it's clear that Hauntzer also respected Chen Wang, as he stood behind the minion wave and didn't touch it recklessly.
A level 1 Kennen can't bluff a level 1 Skateboarder.
The instant the melee soldiers made contact.
Chen Wang walked towards Kennan.
"You're trying to pressure me with this too?" Hauntzer felt that Chen Wang had lost his mind.
Please, he's not playing a brain-dead champion like Gragas, he's playing Kennen.
550 yards! Is this not respectful at all?
Both sides began exchanging basic attacks.
Hauntzer switched with complete confidence, saying, "At this distance, I can hit you without any problem, but if you try to hit me, just look at how much damage my minions do with their basic attacks."
But the skateboard shoes only touched him briefly before sliding into the grass.
Huh? That's it?
Hauntzer thought the opponent was going to fight to the bitter end, so why did they switch to auto-attacks? With that little bit of health, my Doran's Blade could heal me up quickly.
Chen Wang emerged from the bushes, attacked the minions twice, then traded blows with Kennen, before pulling out his spear.
Kennen's health dropped by more than fifty points.
Hauntzer was not about to accept this exchange of blows, so he attacked a minion and then instantly used his Q.
This is a very insidious infiltrator Q.
Using the blue minions as shields to lower their guard, then suddenly auto-attacking them and using Q, is a tactic that experienced bot lane Blitzcrank players would definitely know how to use.
However, how could Chen Wang be unprepared? He used a basic attack as a springboard to jump directly behind another minion, and then swung his spear at Kennen.
"You dare to learn Q at level one against me in lane?!"
"Finally, you tricked me out of it with your skills."
Without wasting words, Chen Wang immediately used a basic attack to jump forward, followed by a second basic attack in sync with Kennen, continuing to press forward.
Kennen retreated while attacking with an auto-attack, and then simultaneously launched his third auto-attack.
But by this time, Huantzer had already lost sight of skateboard shoes!
It's in the grass!
Huantzer retreated while auto-attacking, and as soon as he threw out his next Q, he immediately ran towards his own turret.
But soon, the words "slow down" appeared on Kennen's body.
It's three basic attacks followed by the spear being pulled out, and the health drops by several dozen points.
"Wait a minute, this damage isn't right!" Hauntzer finally realized something was wrong: "Even if my Q misses, the minion damage and the damage from pulling out the spear won't be that much different."
"How come his blood volume is still so healthy?"
"Where's the soldier? Why isn't the soldier attacking him?"
A!
A!
I'll A again!
The third AE minion used its spear, successfully reducing Kennen's health to one-third.
With his fighting spirit already at its peak, Hauntzer had no chance to retaliate and retreated directly into the range of the defensive towers.
Now check the skateboarder's health.
A little over two-thirds.
"This trade is going to ruin the top lane! That's so damaging, Hauntzer!"
When the camera focused on the top lane, Guan Zeyuan could hardly believe his eyes: "Hey! What do we do, Hauntzer? Are you going to take the experience from this front-line minion? If you don't, you'll be slow to reach level two!"
"Butterfly really knows what he's doing! He's not even farming creeps, he doesn't want Hauntzer to get experience!!"
If you don't eat, you'll be constantly pressured by the second-place finisher.
But if you eat, you'll still be pressured by A or A.
Hauntzer now understands why, when GAM played SKT, their top laner seemed to have lost his mind and went after a purely disgusting person.
My mentality was completely shattered.
In a level one battle, losing even a small point can lead to being completely crushed.
How are we supposed to play this way?!