“Replay, replay, replay—!!”
Chao Mi bellowed with a ferocious expression, “Hurry up, observer!! What’s going on? If this happens again next time, your salary’s getting docked!”
The observer quickly pulled up the replay of the first blood.
There wasn’t much mechanical trickery to this first blood. Sui Ning had already used laning details to pressure Xiang Jin’s HP down below the 70% warning line and forced him to drink his only health potion.
In truth, 70% HP isn’t particularly dangerous for a Stone Sentinel. But Xiang Jin hadn’t expected Ji Yunyu’s movement to be that much faster than Pei Xingyi’s. Seventy percent was safe against Sui Ning alone—but two people were a completely different story.
Following habitual thinking, Xiang Jin had placed his vision totem in the upper river to prevent Ji Yunyu from “dropping by” mid after counter-ganking top. But who could have expected the opponent to recall directly, come out from the lower half of the map, and walk through the lower river into the brush—perfectly avoiding vision—
A very plain, unadorned mid-lane gank. Sui Ning forced Xiang Jin’s positioning downward, opening with Q-A-W-A to summon the Specters of the Nether to assist with damage.
“Fan’en starts in the standard way here, pulling the Specters of the Nether’s position. Very stable… wait a second!!” Qing Ci stared in shock at Xiang Jin’s HP bar. “Why is Fiw’s health dropping so fast?? No, wait—Wind’s basic attack damage is so high!!”
“Wind started this game with a Long Sword!!”
What kind of brain-damaged mage starts the game with marksman gear?? Qing Ci was so shocked he nearly started babbling incoherently. But when he saw the ID PNG_Wind, how could he dare question it? Besides, it really was working!
[666666——]
[Holy shit, those auto-attacks—both bot-lane marksmen would call that professional.]
[Feng-bao always has something in his game sense. Do you even understand the value of the league’s solo-kill king??]
Xiang Jin panicked for half a second, forcing himself to calm down. He planned to counter with an E-W combo to taunt and root Sui Ning, then retreat.
But it was a nice idea—before he could even press the keys, Ji Yunyu had already leapt out from the brush. One slash of his Q skill cut straight into Xiang Jin’s artery, instantly triggering the synergy-enhanced effect between Fan’en and Fanlei’s abilities.
Xiang Jin’s HP instantly plummeted below 25%.
Sui Ning stepped forward and added the final bit of damage.
[First Blood!]
“YES!” Chen Chen shouted excitedly, slamming his fist into the sofa hard enough to dent it. “Beautiful!”
The analysts beside him—who had been praying while taking notes—finally let out a sigh of relief, the worry on their faces easing considerably.
“Cloud’s [Q – Omen of Death] synergy enhancement is insanely strong. The three nearby Specters of the Nether instantly cast three [Q – Omen of Death]s at Fiw! The enhancement works like this: when the Specters of the Nether is far from the enemy, it casts Fan’en’s [Q – Abyssal Path]; when it’s close, it casts Fanlei’s [Q – Omen of Death]. The former deals magic damage, the latter physical damage—but the scaling depends on Fan’en’s stats!”
“Wind’s Fan’en handled every detail of that play perfectly. He deliberately pulled the Specters of Nether right next to Fiw, because he bought a Long Sword and stacked physical attack—so the close-range Q deals higher damage!”
Under the replay’s 8 slow motion, Chao Mi could finally see it clearly—and he was completely convinced. “Although we didn’t get to see more details from the earlier laning phase, this one play alone proves how meticulous Wind’s handling is at every stage! Thinking what ordinary people wouldn’t dare think, doing what ordinary people wouldn’t dare do. It’s incredible—and terrifying!!”
“In clashes that last only a dozen seconds—or even just a few seconds—an ordinary person’s brain simply can’t process that much information. And even if you understand the theory afterward, it still takes time to translate that into execution.”
Qing Ci wore the same admiring expression as his partner—nothing but respect. “But Wind is different. In such a short moment, he can calmly analyze the difference in damage between the two Q variants at different distances—and then execute it perfectly!”
“From buying the Long Sword right at spawn, to using auto-attacks in lane to pressure the HP line, to securing first blood—everything links together like a chain! In comparison, Fiw’s reaction just wasn’t quite enough—luckily he didn’t flash at the end, otherwise it would’ve been a death Flash!”
“Wind spent 350 gold on a Long Sword and, in return, got his team 400 gold for first blood, 200 in assist bonuses, and a whole chain reaction afterward…”
The commentator thought for a moment. “I don’t even know how to evaluate it. But in this situation, there’s only one phrase I can think of: dimensionality reduction strike.”
Game sense, macro awareness, mechanics—dimensionality reduction across the board.
[Damn, did the commentator skip dinner? Shout the name louder for me—Winnnnd!!!]
[Feng Feng Feng Feng—!!]
[As a PNG fan I think I’ve been spoiled. Feng-bao popping off feels natural—if he didn’t, that would shock me.]
[Went to check the foreign broadcast. The shocked faces of those commentators made me feel so good ^^.]
[The international server forums already exploded. The Fan’en-Fanlei combo that beat them into the ground before—who else could it be? Feng-bao finally dropped his disguise (lol)]
[After today, if a foreign team still doesn’t know PNG, I’ll assume they live somewhere without internet]
But given the level of attention on the China region finals, it was actually hard not to know PNG. The international server forums—which had once exploded because of Fan’en and Fanlei’s nerfs—were once again flooded with tens of thousands of new posts about the same person.
[Thread: Is anyone watching the China broadcast? PNG vs Navic…]
[Thread: Fan’en’s strength is way too overtuned!!]
[Thread: OMG, the China region looks really strong this year—is it just me?]
……aaaa
[Thread: Is PNG_Wind the same Wind from before?]
Original poster: The one who used to play Fan’en. But he seemed like a flash in the pan—haven’t seen him in a long time.
Comment: I’ve been lurking on Chinese forums. They seem to say it’s the same person. Wind changed his international server ID and also runs a bunch of smurf accounts.
Comment: Over there they’re saying the #6, #10, and #17 peak-rank accounts on the international server right now are all his. The #1 account on the Aeria ladder is also him.
Comment: Holy crap, you’ve got to be kidding—he’s that good?
Comment: Bro, you’d better take a look at his match history… [attachment: Weibo link]
Comment: Oh no, don’t do this to me. My favorite team finally made it to Worlds this year—please don’t put PNG in the same group as us.
It wasn’t just the foreign viewers who felt the pressure. In the lounge, Pan Pan, who was watching the match, hadn’t relaxed his frown for a second.
As the saying goes, “you can tell a lot from a child at three”—and the same goes for matches. As a coach, Pan Pan could see it clearly: Ji Yunyu’s gank was indeed brilliant, but the truly fatal part was that Sui Ning had not only pressured Xiang Jin’s HP extremely low, but had also completely burned through all his recovery items!! Otherwise, with Fan’en and Fanlei’s early-game damage, they simply couldn’t have killed a full-HP or potion-healing Sentinel!
Likewise, in theory, a Stone Sentinel should never be beaten this badly in lane by Fan’en at just level 2.
Showing weakness in lane already said a lot.
“Fiw’s going to have a hard time from here on,” Pan Pan said, glancing at Meng Xiyue, who sat calmly beside him.
Meng Xiyue replied indifferently, “Xiao Jin’s laning is too rough. His game understanding and decision-making are also a step behind. He’s not Wind’s match. These gaps can’t be made up overnight.”
Too rough? Pan Pan couldn’t help but complain inwardly. Compared to Wind, Fiw’s laning was practically unwatchable! The coach asked again, “Then… what do we do?”
“Let’s keep watching.”
——
With first blood secured, PNG’s mid-jungle tempo in the early game was fully unleashed.
At 5:30, both junglers were about to hit level 6. Pei Xingyi timed it perfectly, calling Xiang Jin to coordinate mid-jungle pressure on Wei Ye again—but they couldn’t spot any sign of PNG.
Pei Xingyi frowned. “Be careful, their mid and jungle might be waiting in ambush…”
“They’re not.” Bian Cheng suddenly spoke. “We just saw Cloud in river vision heading toward red side—he’s going bot. At most, there’s a Wind top, but probably not. They’re going for a 4-man dive bot. We fall back first—you guys go straight for the dive!”
He spoke concisely, words coming out as fast as a rapper, yet his instructions were crystal clear. Their mid and jungle were already in position—if they turned to support bot now, they’d have to burn Teleports. Passing up a guaranteed 3v1 kill top to turn it into a 4v4 bot fight while wasting two Teleports? That would be brainless.
Of course, this judgment was based on Bian Cheng’s confidence that he and Zou Jiayou could withstand the gank pressure.
Pei Xingyi: “OK.”
“Truik and Fiw have both reached top—this is going to be a tower dive—”
The commentator’s voice rose with tension. “But bot lane—Wind and Cloud are here too!! Liome and Nx realize something’s wrong and start retreating. Both sides’ mid-jungle are making mirrored ganks!! Myerii is only level 5—facing a 3v1, he has no way to fight back. This kill is almost certainly going to be given up!”
The commentators felt regret for Wei Ye—but that wasn’t what Wei Ye himself was thinking about.
In that instant, he made several moves at once: first, he cleared the wave as best he could to minimize losses after dying; then he lured the enemies toward his tower to stall for time; finally, he locked his focus onto Xiang Jin—
The Verdant Tree’s W skill has a brief knockback that can interrupt a Teleport. Among Navic’s top and mid, Wei Ye chose to watch mid, because the Stone Sentinel is extremely strong in small skirmishes. He couldn’t guarantee his teammates could handle it if Xiang Jin was allowed to join.
By comparison, a level-5 Wildfang top laner without his ultimate was far less threatening.
Of course, the ideal scenario was to keep all three of them tied up in top lane.
Wei Ye: “Bot lane can dive! They don’t have time to TP!!”
Sui Ning: “OK.”
“Both top and bot have retreated under their towers, but neither PNG nor Navic is backing off—both sides are fully committed to the kill!”
Qing Ci sounded anxious. “But isn’t PNG forcing this bot dive a bit too hastily? None of the four players have reached level 6—diving isn’t that easy! If they get stunned under tower by Nx’s Spirit of the Forest Q, they’re dead for sure! Nx is very calm—he hasn’t thrown out Q recklessly, just waiting for PNG to take the bait!!”
“This also highlights the weakness of picking Erllit’s Storm Goddess—she can’t tank tower shots, nor can she provide reliable crowd control. Her impact in small skirmishes is really lacking. How are they going to lock anyone down?!”
Sui Ning’s experience bar sat at 94% of level 5.
A wave of minions slowly pushed out from under Navic’s tower. Just before engaging, the young man said one last sentence to his teammates: “Hit one minion in a moment.”
The commentator roared, “Wind makes the move—!! Wait, why is Wind the one engaging first??”
Bian Cheng was also puzzled. The one who engages first tanks the tower—and a mage going first? Is he crazy? Wind wouldn’t make that kind of mistake… unless he had his ultimate to swap with a shadow—
Bian Cheng’s gaze dropped to Sui Ning’s level indicator.
A bolt of realization struck his mind, and he shouted a warning: “Watch out, he—”
“What?”
Zou Jiayou didn’t have time to process it. Before he could finish speaking, PNG’s mid and jungle had already charged under the tower.
Relying on instinct and coordination, Lin Zhaoxu, trailing behind, last-hit a minion—and in that instant, Sui Ning leveled up to 6.
At the same time, pressured by the damage from Fan’en and Fanlei, Bian Cheng instinctively targeted the closer Sui Ning and cast his Q skill—
“That Q from Nx is guaranteed to hit—I don’t understand why PNG let Wind tank first—”
Qing Ci was still worried, but the moment the golden glow of leveling up flashed, his tone flipped completely “—Level 6!!”
“This level 6 is absolutely crucial—Fan’en has his ultimate now. Is there room for a play?!!”
[R – Shadows Upon Shadows]: Summons three Specters of the Nether at the caster’s position, the nearest enemy hero, and the cursor location, lasting 7/9/11 seconds. The Specters of the Nether will automatically attack and move toward enemy heroes within range. If too far away, they will automatically cast [Abyssal Path].
During the skill’s duration, Fan’en can swap positions with any shadow once every second. The shadows inherit 20% of the hero’s max HP and 40/60/80% of attack power. They are not controlled by Fan’en and can move freely, ignoring terrain.
Synergy Enhancement – [Twin Shadows]: When Fanlei is nearby, Fan’en can make Fanlei swap positions with a shadow once every second. After each swap, Fan’en can also reposition one of the Specters of the Nether summoned by the ultimate.
Fan’en and Fanlei cannot use [R – Shadow Upon Shadows] swaps consecutively.
Like a classic replay of past matches, the moment he leveled up, Sui Ning immediately pressed his ultimate—blocking Bian Cheng’s control for his teammate while completing the position swap in the same instant.
Zou Jiayou’s crucial auto-attack also got canceled due to being out of range. His reaction was already incredibly fast—within just 1.5 seconds, he had brought Sui Ning, who was tanking the tower, down to the last 3% HP. Just one more auto-attack was all it would’ve taken.
“Just one more hit—Wind didn’t die!!”
Chao Mi was completely fired up. “Nx’s Q only brushed the edge in its animation—before the stun effect could even apply, Wind had already swapped out of tower range!! That hand speed completely toyed with the turret! Liome did everything he could—if that had crit, he would’ve traded for Wind. Such a pity! But now Liome and Nx are in a terrible position—they’re both only level 4!”
“They’ve already used Flash and Heal—Li can’t even run now! And most importantly, Wind hitting level 6 also boosts Cloud’s combat power. Fan’en’s ultimate swap works for Fanlei as well—it all depends on how many summons are on the field! This Fanlei charging in to cut people down is basically unstoppable—”
“Can you get out?”
The teammates on top lane noticed the danger bot and asked anxiously, “We can’t TP right now!”
“Don’t know,” Zou Jiayou replied.
In truth, he knew the chances of escaping were almost zero—but the more desperate the situation, the more a marksman has to outplay. Right now, he was only thinking about trading at least one kill.
Bian Cheng thought the same.
Everything had happened too fast. The reversal of advantage came almost instantly—just one level-up, one ultimate, and they were already unable to handle it.
Fortunately, Zou Jiayou’s proficiency on Gunslinger Caitlyn was extremely high. Even while being chased and collapsed on by multiple people, he still dealt enough damage. When Ji Yunyu brought him below 15% HP, he had also reduced Ji Yunyu to a sliver of health—just one more turret shot would finish him—
A dark shadow appeared under the tower.
Fan’en Specters of the Nether took the fatal turret shot.
“Damn—fuck, I’m gonna throw up!”
Zou Jiayou couldn’t hold it in anymore, completely breaking his cool persona. “What kind of bullshit… ghost hero is this?! Infinite mobility or what?!”
Two kills right in front of him—both just a sliver of HP away!! He really couldn’t take it!
Bian Cheng: “They have to rotate swaps. He swapped Cloud just now—next time it has to be Wind himself. But all his summons are under tower right now, so he can’t swap anymore. I think.”
In such chaotic, high-pressure conditions, even Bian Cheng wasn’t sure if he remembered correctly.
But whether it was right or not didn’t matter anymore.
[Nv_Truik (Lost Ninja) has slain PNG_Myerii (Verdant Tree)!]
[PNG_Mior (White Bird) has slain Nv_Liome (Gunslinger Caitlyn)!]
[PNG_Wind (Specter of Shadow) has slain Nv_Nx (Spirit of the Forest)!]
Three kill announcements rang out in succession.
“Winnnnnd—!!”
“PNG! PNG—!!”
“PNG—! Let’s go—!!”
“—A beautiful tower dive!! Myerii stalled long enough in the top lane that Navic’s bot lane never got their support in time!”
The commentator finally let out a breath and resumed speaking. “That play from PNG was pushed to the absolute limit—both Wind and Cloud escaped on slivers of health, especially Wind—he probably had less than 20 HP left just now!”
Qing Ci added, “I didn’t expect him to play it like this! Staying at level 5 to bait Nx’s skill and create space for his teammates, then instantly flipping the situation after hitting level 6… this is way too bold, way too aggressive. Doing this right in front of the strongest bot lane in the region—half a second slower and he would’ve been stunned and killed for sure!”
Hearing this, Chao Mi chuckled. “And I think it’s exactly this kind of personality—daring to make plays in any situation—that’s given us countless iconic moments from Wind! In a previous interview, Wind also said: if you want to carry, you can’t let go of any opportunity to make a play. It’s fine if you make mistakes—you can try again next time. But if you don’t make mistakes—”
You become a god.
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