The third match began with China Telecom Team banning Irelia. At this point, CK Team seemed to have no special strategies left, and under ZGDX's overwhelming strength, they lost the match.
The score was now 2-1. Including breaks, the matches had taken about three hours so far. Tong Yao was playing in a best-of-five series for the first time, and though they had won the third match, she couldn’t help feeling exhausted...
Commentator A: "The fourth match is about to begin. For CK Team, this will be a do-or-die situation—win, and they can keep fighting; lose, and they’re out of the finals. They’ll have to pray for a third-place finish in the Summer Split while hoping ZGDX wins the Summer Season Championship to secure the highest annual points and a direct S6 slot... Meanwhile, we can see the China Telecom Team players don’t seem particularly excited."
Commentator B: "Even though they’ve pushed CK Team to the edge of a cliff... It’s honestly frustrating. You’re winning, yet you look so expressionless. How are the opponents supposed to face their life-or-death match like this?"
Commentator A: "Best-of-five series really test the players’ stamina. So I encourage everyone not to just be an Internet addict—make time to exercise, balance work and rest, and improve physical fitness... I remember most clubs have gyms, but I bet the treadmills are collecting dust by now."
Commentator B: "Hahahaha!"
Amid the commentators’ banter, the fourth match began. When Tong Yao took her seat, she noticed the fans’ cheering banners weren’t being held as high as before—their arms were probably sore, and their voices hoarse. She couldn’t help but sigh at how grueling long battles could be before slowly putting her headphones back on... The first ban slot once again went to CK Team’s top laner Haoyun Lai’s Irelia, under the guise of "showing proper respect." In reality, it meant: "We know you’re really good at Irelia and have practiced her hard, but we never want to see her again, thanks."
While Tong Yao searched for Irelia’s icon to ban, Lu Sicheng cracked his knuckles beside her. After she banned Irelia and the opponents banned her Syndra, Lu Sicheng suddenly remarked in a casual tone, "My hand hurts a little."
Tong Yao immediately let go of her mouse and looked at him.
Little Fatty chimed in with an explanation: "What Cheng Ge means is, let’s wrap this up in four matches. Everyone, focus up and finish this quickly—no need to drag it to five."
Ming Shen: "They banned Rumble. Gnar might be left open—should we first-pick him? Old Cat’s Gnar is pretty solid too, right? I’ve seen him land a godly four-man stun in Scrims..."
Tong Yao: "Why do you guys have so much jargon?"
Ming Shen: "Tong Yao, what are you picking? How about Lissandra? Last match, their Lissandra beat you black and blue—aren’t you tempted to return the favor? Or do you want Leblanc? Oh, Leblanc’s available now."
Lu Sicheng: "If we’re not careful, the backstage team will put this in Tournament Quotes, and we’ll get called arrogant again... That’s why we need to come up with code words no one else can decipher!"
Old K: "Next issue of Tournament Quotes is definitely going to be our greatest hits album."Tong Yao was about to say something with a smile when Ming Shen, standing behind them, suddenly erupted—smacking each of them in turn with a folder, starting from Old Cat all the way to Little Fatty: "……………………………………Why do you all have so much nonsense to say! Can’t you focus on the Ban & Pick? Shut up, all of you!"
The group: "……"
Only Old Cat muttered under his breath, "I didn’t say a single word and still got hit! Not a single word! Still got hit!"
After being wiped out by Ming Shen’s outburst, the team dared not chat anymore and obediently returned to the Ban & Pick phase, discussing the lineup in a lively manner. By the end, the selections were as follows:
ZGDX Team Picks: Gnar, Hecarim, Lissandra, Ezreal, Thresh.
CK Team Picks: Maokai, Rek’Sai, Twisted Fate, Sivir, Bard.
Tong Yao sniffled and cried foul: "You promised I could pick Lissandra and beat them black and blue! And now they counter with Twisted Fate—he’s gonna ult me again!"
Ming Shen: "Heh, he’s not good with Twisted Fate, don’t worry, really."
Tong Yao: "Really my foot, you’re all liars!"
The match officially began.
The early game was standard laning, so uneventful that even the commentators struggled to find things to say. They occasionally tossed in remarks like, "Lissandra went in for a trade, Twisted Fate backed off—oh, a flurry of action but nothing actually happened…"
Just as the two commentators were so bored they nearly started discussing dinner plans, Yang Shen finally stopped farming and made a move, heading top to gank Old Cat’s Gnar. The little Gnar hopped away—but Old K, the protective Hecarim, arrived just in time, stomping over Rek’Sai’s tunnel and charging straight at Yang Shen’s face!
Meanwhile, Gnar, who had pretended to retreat, turned back around. Mid-laner Tong Yao had also cleared her wave and was already passing the river crab on her way top. If she arrived, the top and jungle duo would surely die. Forced into a corner, Yang Shen and Hao Yun Lai had no choice but to burn their flashes!
Seeing them flee, Tong Yao didn’t chase. She just ducked into a bush and recalled.
At that moment, a fresh wave of minions was pushing into the enemy tower. If Hao Yun Lai wanted to farm it, he’d have to burn his other Summoner spell, Teleport. If he didn’t, he’d lose a huge chunk of experience and be bullied by Old Cat afterward! In other words, it was a great start—China Telecom had effortlessly forced CK to waste two Summoner spells without lifting a finger. With no Flash, they wouldn’t have to worry about Yang Shen ganking or Hao Yun Lai teleporting for a while.
Lu Sicheng: "Nice. Now I can play comfortably."
Tong Yao: "Why are you making dirty jokes during a match?"
Lu Sicheng: "I was speaking perfectly normally."
Tong Yao: "Then blame your face—everything you say sounds like a dirty joke. Even when you’re silent, it looks like you’re plotting one."
Lu Sicheng: "……"
While bantering with Lu Sicheng, Tong Yao kept the team comp panel open, meticulously tracking Xiao Hua’s Twisted Fate’s CS and experience, not daring to let her guard down. When her own experience bar passed level five and three-quarters, she pinged top and bot: "Twisted Fate’s almost six. Be careful."Once Twisted Fate reached level six, his ultimate ability granted him a global teleport, making his first roam crucial in competitive play—at 8 minutes and 11 seconds, Twisted Fate hit level six and immediately teleported bot lane. Landing with a flash into a yellow card, he coordinated with Bard and Jian Yang's premeditated Rek'Sai chain CC to lock down support Little Fatty, securing the match's First Blood!
After eight long minutes, the first kill finally arrived, and the crowd erupted in cheers!
Meanwhile, Tong Yao simultaneously rushed top lane. While Twisted Fate was collecting the support's head bot, she teamed up with Old Cat to take down the still-not-so-tanky Haoyun Lai—
It was a close call, nearly getting rooted under the tower and traded by Haoyun Lai. Tong Yao barely escaped with a flash, surviving with a sliver of health.
Not a loss, but not a gain either.
Though the enemy had burned many skills to catch Little Fatty—exchanging their support for a top laner, with Haoyun Lai's teleport still on cooldown and losing minion waves—upon reflection, it seemed CK Team actually came out slightly worse?
Tong Yao mentally calculated before refocusing calmly on the match.
Around the 17-minute mark, CK Team grouped up again, sending all five members top to kill Old Cat. Their plan was to quickly take the tower afterward, but since it was a Tower dive and Old Cat had just enough energy to transform into Mega Gnar, he slammed three of them into the tower wall. Hu Die tanked multiple tower shots and died, while Tong Yao, Lu Sicheng, and Little Fatty arrived in time to dodge Bard's ultimate, killing mid laner Xiao Hua and support Lao Wang. Only Yang Shen managed to tunnel away.
The kill score was now 4:2 in favor of ZGDX, with a 2,500 gold lead due to CK Team's frequent grouping and lost minion waves.
Caster A: "Despite CK Team constantly seeking aggressive plays, their tempo seems inferior to ZGDX's... Honestly, with a Sivir and Maokai comp against a non-early-game-heavy lineup, they're playing too impatiently."
Caster B: "They rushed it. That last play—they should've backed off when Gnar was about to transform. You can't just think, 'Well, we're already here, might as well go for the kill' and force it..."
Amid the casters' commentary, CK Team seemed to realize their reckless aggression wasn't working and decided to play safe and farm. But ZGDX, now with a solid gold lead, had no intention of letting them recover—they launched their counterattack!
At 25 minutes and 30 seconds, ZGDX moved to secure their second Mountain Drake. Seeing this, CK Team split—two pushed mid lane while three grouped for Baron. Twisted Fate, after taking mid turret, immediately ulted toward Baron. Meanwhile, ZGDX's top, jungler, and ADC abandoned the drake and rushed toward Baron.
Old Cat arrived first, transforming into Mega Gnar and slamming Yang Shen against the wall with an "Iron Palm." Lu Sicheng followed up, unloading all his skills to delete him. With Baron at one-third health and their jungler dead, CK Team hesitated—just long enough for Tong Yao's Lissandra to arrive, locking down Twisted Fate and bursting him down.
The sole remaining damage dealer, Sivir, escaped under Maokai's cover, leaving ZGDX to cleanly secure Baron.
At this moment—The arena erupted with frenzied cheers and excitement! On the live broadcast platform, a flood of "gg" live comments swept across the screen, while the forum instantly exploded with posts—
["CK Team's lane rotation was decent, but ZGDX was just one step ahead."]
["ZGDX is still dominant—their coordination is insane."]
["After watching today's CK vs. ZGDX and YQCB stomping Red Arrow next door, I suddenly feel like LPL might actually stand a chance against Korea in this year's S6."]
["ZGDX is unstoppable."]
["This teamwork left me speechless."]
Meanwhile, at the live venue, amidst the electrifying atmosphere, the passionate voice of Commentator A drowned out most of the crowd: ["This is top-tier team coordination! Whether it's CK's mid-lane rotation to Baron or ZGDX's split-push resource control—absolutely brilliant! Who said LPL is weak this year? I think they’ve got real potential!!!!"]
In the following match, CK fought back fiercely. At the 40-minute mark, Yang Shen stole back the Baron that had been taken earlier by Old K, pushing down three of ZGDX's outer turrets and closing the 4.5k gold deficit, barely keeping themselves in the game.
At 45:30, during the Elder Dragon fight, the gap in teamfight strength narrowed—ZGDX traded two for three, losing their Mid Laner and support but taking down CK's Mid Laner, Top Laner, and support. Once again, it came down to Old K versus Yang Shen. This time, Old K secured the Elder Dragon with a flawless Smite!
At 50:11, ZGDX finally destroyed CK's mid-lane High Ground.
At 52:18, CK's Maokai teleported behind the minion wave to cut off ZGDX's retreat, while his teammates seized the chance to ambush from their fountain, picking off ZGDX's weakened duo carry and support Thresh. Only the Top Laner Gnar and Jungler Hecarim escaped, allowing CK to counter-push and reclaim a mid-lane High Ground.
At 55:30, CK finally made a fatal misstep during their retreat—ZGDX gave them no breathing room. Gnar was just a sliver of energy away from transforming, and CK had clearly timed their retreat to exploit this.
They couldn’t be allowed to escape!
As the crowd watched in stunned silence, Tong Yao's Mid Laner Lissandra flashed in with her E, diving straight into the enemy backline and crippling Hu Die's Sivir. Just then, Gnar finally transformed and leaped in, trading one for five. After sacrificing Lissandra, ZGDX aced CK!
GG!
With the minion wave pushing forward, ZGDX stormed the High Ground, destroyed the Nexus, and secured their spot in the Summer Split finals—as expected!
One foot was already through the door of the S6 World Championship!
The moment Tong Yao took off her headphones and stood up, the deafening chants of "China Telecom, fight!" sent her pulse racing. Tossing her headphones aside, she glanced around and immediately spotted her captain, lips curling as he raised his water cup to hide his smile—
Her brain short-circuited. Before she knew it, she had snatched the paper cup from his hand, cupped his handsome, startled face, and planted a loud kiss on his cheek!
...The computer blocked most of the view, and only a few fans sitting at the front side could vaguely see what happened—just Tong Yao suddenly bending toward Lu Sicheng. But the fan girl holding a camera on the side saw everything clearly. She shrieked, hands trembling so badly she nearly dropped her expensive DSLR!Here, Lu Sicheng raised his hand to wipe his face with the back of it. Meeting those smiling eyes brighter than the stage's laser lights, he couldn't help but feel even happier than before. He patted her head in praise, "That flash engage at the end was well done."
Tong Yao's eyes curved into crescents.
During the handshake, the CK Team members couldn't hide their disappointment. Their support, Lao Wang, was an optimist though. Clutching ZGDX's own optimist Little Fatty's hand, he grinned and said, "You guys gotta go all the way, alright? Win the championship—then we can both make it to S6, you as champions and us as third place. Perfect scenario."
Little Fatty burst into laughter.
Lu Sicheng walked ahead of Tong Yao. After a perfunctory handshake with Jian Yang, he glanced sideways at the girl behind him—only to see this shorty not even look his way, boldly clinging to her ex-boyfriend's hand with her head lowered.
Lu Sicheng arched an eyebrow.
At the same time, he heard Tong Yao say cheerfully to Jian Yang, "Told you we'd meet again for another handshake. See? Here we are... Good luck in the third-place match. See you at S6."
Her tone was natural, completely different from the gritted-teeth "There'll be plenty more handshakes after this" she'd muttered during the Summer Split opening ceremony. Even her "good luck" carried genuine sincerity.
Jian Yang froze slightly before looking up. In the girl's eyes before him, stars seemed to shimmer.
Realizing she had truly moved on, that from now on she would no longer be restrained by their past—he should have felt relieved. Yet for some reason, his heart ached faintly.
Still, the young jungler smiled and nodded, his voice hoarse as he replied softly, "Alright. S6 it is. Promise."
OpenNovel