“Congratulations to PNG for tying the series 1–1!”
The commentators were still riding the high from the game. Chao Mi said excitedly, “The only way to describe that match is absolutely exhilarating. After losing Game 1, PNG made adjustments in just fifteen minutes, and the result far exceeded all our expectations!”
“Exactly!” Qing Ci immediately picked up the thread. “PNG made extremely targeted changes to their draft in a very short amount of time! Astromancer Prophet in particular completely caught UG off guard! The kiting, crowd control, and resurrection he provides fit perfectly with what a competitive support needs, and the chemistry he showed with Fan'en and Fanlei was far better than anyone expected.”
With a grin, he speculated: “Moving forward, Prophet is probably going to become a major point of contention in the draft as well! The only question is what Amor thinks about all this—uh, Amor is watching, right?”
[??? Qing Ci, what are you even saying? How dare you doubt the friendliest brothers in the league?! Of course he'd watch the Finals!]
[I also think God A is definitely watching, but... are you sure 'friendly' is the right word? Those two aren't secretly having real-life PvP matches in the hotel every day? (laughing)]
[ Not even joking. A's wives are terrifying. Someone already dug up Erllit's smurf account match history. Recently, he played over a hundred custom 1v1 Astromancer Prophet games. There were only two opponents. One was a random gibberish ID that everyone suspects is Wind, and the other was an account named [KickTheLittleBrotherOutOfTheHouse]. Guess who that was…]
[Our league's biological brothers fight together like father and son in battle. We absolutely do not engage in ID-based attacks, so first let's eliminate Amor as a suspect. (laughing)]
[Help! Someone decoded Su-bao's new account name: [fwqgzpkwcz] = 'My useless big brother only deserves to watch my mechanics.']
[LMAO, they're running toward each other from both directions again???]
[IF THIS ISN'T LOVE, THEN WHAT IS?!]
[I declare that this game's support matchup beating Key was at least 0.001% thanks to big brother!]
The barrage of memes flew across the screen at lightning speed. While posting them, viewers kept tagging Cheng Wensheng and demanding that he respond.
Cheng Wensheng: ... :)
This generation of fans really needs discipline, huh?
Even Qing Ci couldn't help laughing when he saw the comments. After clearing his throat, he continued: “Besides that, PNG also gained a huge advantage in the draft itself.”
“Throughout the World Championship, starting all the way back in groups, PNG has played the Soulreaper composition many times. Their form on it has been incredible, and the win rate is extremely high. Given that situation, UG prioritizing bans against that composition is completely understandable. But the price of banning it is inevitably leaving other PNG comfort picks available.”
“Like this game. Did UG not know they shouldn't leave Fan'en open? I'm sure Coach Yoonsoo knew perfectly well. But after weighing the options, they judged Soulreaper and Stellar Sprite to be even more dangerous threats.”
After a pause, Qing Ci chose his words carefully. “Looking strictly at the result, though, UG was still a little too careless in allowing Fan'en and Fanlei through. At least in Game 2, we didn't see any strategic breakthrough against PNG's mid-jungle duo. Every time UG managed to regain momentum, it came purely from the individual brilliance of False and Leave.”
“And Leave was under tremendous pressure this game. Falling behind in development during the mid game made it difficult for him to have much impact.”
“Meanwhile, Reeco's Bombardier functioned mostly as a utility mage for the team. By late game, he simply lacked the ability to carry. You could honestly say UG only managed to drag the game to thirty-five minutes because False kept producing miracle plays.”
Chao Mi nodded. “Exactly. At this point, I don't think any team facing PNG can afford to leave Fan'en and Fanlei available anymore unless they're completely reworked! Especially Fan'en. This champion is probably destined to remain a greyed-out portrait in Wind's champion pool. Want to play him? If anyone actually lets him through, I suggest an immediate investigation!”
The audience burst into laughter. “Leaving Fan'en open basically means leaving both brothers open,” Chao Mi continued. “Separately, neither champion is worth two bans. Together, though, that's a different story.”
Da Ju considered it from a coach's perspective. “When Fan'en and Fanlei are in Wind and Cloud's hands, they don't just add together—they create a one-plus-one-greater-than-two effect. Sometimes even greater than three. UG's future drafts will probably need to account for situations where individual player skill amplifies a champion's strength far beyond what's normally expected.”
“Especially with Astromancer Prophet still available. That thing is disgusting too. It can function as an entire composition core by itself—a secondary carry support. When you think about it that way, UG's future drafts are going to be incredibly difficult.”
Yoonsoo was thinking exactly the same thing.
Ever since the break began, he had been sitting on the sofa staring at several champion names in his notebook. With a red pen, he circled them again. And again. And again.
Frustrating. It wasn't just the players and fans who were frustrated. As the team's head coach—the brain of the operation—he was just as conflicted.
There were only three bans in the first phase. There simply wasn't enough room. Every one of these champions was troublesome. The problems he hadn't solved yet were still sitting there, and now even more outrageous picks were trying to force their way onto the ban list.
Yoonsoo racked his brain. Sighing repeatedly, he absentmindedly wrote one name in his notebook: Wind.
This was the first time since acquiring Choi Hyun-woo that UG had encountered such a difficult mid-lane drafting situation.
It wasn't because Choi Hyun-woo was playing poorly. In fact, he had been UG's best performer across both games.
But historically, UG's greatest strength was opening up the game through mid lane. They would leverage Choi Hyun-woo's advantages to take over the jungle and both side lanes. Now, however, they had encountered a completely unprecedented problem. They couldn't create a mid-lane advantage.
Not only could they not create one—they were being dragged around by the enemy mid-jungle duo instead.
And Yoonsoo knew very well that eighty percent of the blame belonged to the draft. PNG was unquestionably a championship-caliber team. Their laners were every bit as skilled as UG's.
Against an opponent like that, falling behind in draft meant players had to spend enormous amounts of time and energy searching for opportunities to claw their way back into the game.
But what if they couldn't? What if the opponent simply never gave them an opening? Then you got Game 2. The players on both sides were evenly matched. No breakthrough could be found. Even Choi Hyun-woo ended up suppressed from beginning to end, his rhythm completely shattered.
“...Sigh.” Yoonsoo let out another long breath. Changing positions on the sofa, he continued scribbling notes while waiting for his players to return to the lounge.
Fortunately, all of these thoughts remained locked inside his head. Because if Chao Mi—the fully maxed-out PNG encyclopedia—had heard them, he probably would have jumped up in shock and shouted: “Open the game through mid lane, transition into jungle control, then pressure both side lanes... Isn't that just PNG?!”
No wonder so many coaches kept saying the two teams were alike. They really weren't wrong.
——
Game 3.
Yoonsoo quickly pulled himself together, demonstrating exactly why he was a championship-winning coach.
First, he made an uncharacteristic decision and chose blue side for his team. Then, with his third ban of the first phase, he decisively targeted a completely unexpected champion.
“Blue side?” The commentators immediately sensed something was wrong. “Both blue-side teams have lost so far in this Finals, and UG's win rate has historically been higher on red side as well. Why would the losing team suddenly choose blue side?”
“Do they have some special strategy prepared?”
Very soon, UG revealed their picks.
UG Bans: Mid — Specter of Shadow, Top — Verdant Treant, Jungle — Shadow of Vengeance
UG Pick: Mid — Stellar Sprite
“...Oh? WOOOOOOOOOO——!!!”
The moment the blue-haired girl was locked in, the audience froze. It took four or five full seconds before everyone realized what had happened. UG had just stolen the hero PNG wanted most.
This was practically treating PNG with zero respect.
The entire arena exploded. The roar of the crowd nearly pierced through the stadium's double-layered dome.
“OMG! OMG!”
“Ultimate! Ultimate——!!”
At this point, even spectators who weren't PNG fans knew the significance. It was the World Finals. Even someone browsing the internet on a 2G connection should know by now that Aeria, the Stellar Sprite, was Sui Ning's undefeated signature champion. Every team that had left it open against PNG had ended badly.
Even Sui Ning's parents, sitting in the audience, had practically memorized the champion's abilities by now.
“My god... what... what is this?” Chao Mi's throat suddenly felt dry. He carefully chose his words. “UG is...?”
The livestream chat had already exploded. Even Qing Ci didn't dare comment immediately.
After a long silence, Da Ju bravely stepped forward. “Ahem. I think this is a bold attempt by UG. Their first-round bans are simply too limited. Leaving Stellar Sprite available was obviously a decision made after weighing all the options. But if they let Wind have it, they're worried about repeating the same mistake they made by leaving Fan'en open in Game 2. So they simply released it and took it themselves for False.”
Da Ju continued: “False's skill level speaks for itself. That ID is one of the most famous names in Summoner's Rift. His Aeria is extremely well known on the Korean server.”
“That's true.” Chao Mi swallowed nervously. “The more you think about it, the more this seems like the best option available to UG. False's level is unquestionable. Before today, he was universally recognized as the world's best assassin mage player. There's nothing wrong with this pick.”
[...I know there's nothing wrong with it, but AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!]
[Holy shit, every single person in China who confidently tried to challenge Wind with Aeria got carried out on a stretcher!]
[If it were literally anyone else, I'd be laughing. But it's False... and somehow I'm actually nervous…]
[Wind knows Aeria inside and out, so he's not afraid of the lane matchup. But False can find advantages elsewhere. Aeria is a playmaking champion—thinking about it is kind of terrifying.]
[...Please no. Please no. Please no!!]
“Besides that, UG's first three bans are actually very deliberate.” Da Ju continued analyzing. “First, they banned the Treant top lane. I think there's a high chance they'll pick Wildfang again afterward.”
“In that case, PNG's top lane becomes very awkward. If they don't draft a frontline first, Aeria can freely poke everyone with nobody able to absorb the damage. But if they do draft a tank, Leave can simply lock in Shadowmoon Gun and make their life miserable.”
Da Ju looked increasingly concerned. “The jungle ban is important too. UG keeps banning Shadow of Vengeance not only because it's one of Cloud's signature champions, but because they don't want PNG to have a brainless engage tool. Aeria hates champions like that. If PNG's top and jungle end up lacking either frontline or engage, dealing with Aeria becomes even harder.”
That was exactly why PNG had been undefeated whenever they played Stellar Sprite domestically. In the hands of a master, the champion was arguably even more outrageous than Fan'en. Without three or four teammates coordinating together, stopping her was nearly impossible.
Too mobile. Too much damage.
The commentators had never expected UG to play it this way.
Letting another elite assassin specialist like Choi Hyun-woo take Aeria— using a pick as a ban.
“Holy shit. Holy shit.” Wei Ye stared wide-eyed. “What the hell is the other side thinking?”
“No way. No way. Don't tell me God False is about to give our Feng-bao a tutorial match?”
Wei Ye kept running his mouth. Lin Zhaoxu, however, looked like he was about to cry. “Please don't. Don't do some tutorial match nonsense. Am I going to become the tutorial dummy?”
He really didn't want to be immortalized in history like that.
After all, every assassin guide video on the internet used marksmen as demonstration targets.
The first two games hadn't felt too different. But now that the blue-haired girl had gone to the enemy team, Lin Zhaoxu suddenly shuddered.
He had developed a psychological stereotype toward Aeria. That champion was invincible. Whenever she appeared, marksmen disappeared from the screen within a second.
With that kind of trauma, how could a fragile marksman not be scared?
And when he looked at the opposing player's ID… Well. The more he looked, the worse it felt. Lin Zhaoxu summarized his thoughts in five words: Absolutely untouchable.
Sui Ning: ...
Speechless, Sui Ning exchanged a glance with Ji Yunyu. Then he turned toward the coach. “Coach?” he asked.
Chen Chen felt like his head was about to split open.
In truth, he had anticipated a situation like this.
But just like PNG's previous opponents, now that he found himself in the same position—facing another world-class assassin specialist—he genuinely didn't know what kind of composition could completely shut down Stellar Sprite.
If such a composition existed, were all the people in the HPL idiots? Wouldn't they have used it already?
After turning it over in his mind countless times, Chen Chen could only arrive at one conclusion: They had to draft a normal, powerful composition and fight it head-on.
However, many of PNG's most suitable champions had already been sent to the ban list one after another. UG's objective had been achieved, and PNG once again found itself trapped in the same drafting predicament as before.
Still, the first order of business was banning Shadowmoon Gun, Wei Ye's designated natural predator...
In the end, the drafts were finalized.
[Blue Side UG vs Red Side PNG]
Top: Soul-Sealing Blade Demon vs Wildfang
Jungle: Dragon Monk vs Void Devourer
Mid: Stellar Sprite vs Phantom Trickster
Marksman: Void Ranger vs White Bird
Support: Shadow Hawk vs Radiant Goddess
The moment the lineup appeared, Chao Mi's eyelids twitched. A bad feeling rose in his chest. “Reeco has abandoned the Bombardier and gone back to a standard marksman! Honestly, if you hid the title of this match, these two drafts feel a lot like an HPL Summer Split game!”
Qing Ci nodded. “And if you hid the team names and swapped out one of the top laners, the lineup on the left would honestly look pretty PNG-like too!” The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became. In the end, he could only comfort himself: “Neither side gained a huge drafting advantage, though. We'll have to see how the players perform once the game starts.”
——
The game begins
UG immediately proved to the world once again just how powerful PNG's 'Aeria-centered' system really was.
Even in the early laning phase, differences were already beginning to emerge. Aside from mid lane, which remained relatively even, both side lanes were under pressure due to champion matchups.
Top lane was self-explanatory. Park Se-woo had come into the game determined to put on a lesson. The moment he locked in Demon Blade, he looked completely in the zone.
Fortunately, Wei Ye's mentality was absurdly stable. He understood the art of playing defensively better than almost anyone. When given a weak laning champion like Wildfang, there was no chance he'd get baited into reckless trades. He simply farmed experience and waited for levels.
Unfortunately, Park Se-woo's Demon Blade was genuinely terrifying. By level six, he still managed to solo-kill Wei Ye and claim First Blood.
Bottom lane wasn't much different. When facing Lee Dong-il's Bombardier previously, both sides mostly focused on wave-clearing, making it difficult to notice any significant mechanical differences. But now that he was playing a conventional marksman, the intensity of the lane instantly rose by several levels.
On top of that, Void Ranger naturally had a stronger lane phase than White Bird. By the five-minute mark, Lee Dong-il had already built a ten-CS lead over Lin Zhaoxu and was steadily establishing control.
“But a ten-CS deficit is perfectly acceptable,” Da Ju explained. “They didn't lose experience. They didn't lose key cooldowns. Without the Shadow Hawk support partner, White Bird plus Radiant Goddess being only ten CS behind Void Ranger plus Shadow Hawk is already a very respectable result. Mior's laning has improved tremendously compared to the start of Summer Split.”
“As for top lane... that's simply hopeless.”
Da Ju spread his hands helplessly. “I’m not making excuses for Wei Ye. The champion is severely countered, and his opponent is UG_Leave. If he wasn't getting forced under tower and contemplating a lane swap by minute four, I'd call that a winning start.”
But that meant all of PNG's tempo pressure once again fell squarely onto their mid-jungle duo. Cheng Su was occupied protecting Lin Zhaoxu in bottom lane and couldn't leave.
At the eight-minute Rift Herald fight, PNG had only just approached the upper river when Ahn Seung-soo struck. Using fog of war perfectly, he maneuvered Dragon Monk into position and threaded a Q through all five PNG players—directly hitting Lin Zhaoxu.
Then came Q2 to dash in. A beautiful Flash Kick combo followed. The spinning roundhouse sent Lin Zhaoxu flying straight out of the crowd—and directly into Kim Seok-chan's waiting arms.
Watching the airborne trajectory, Ahn Seung-soo shouted excitedly: “Look at me! Look at me! ADC! ADC! ADC! ADC!!”
“Kill him!”
“Holy shit, Seung-soo hyung, that was amazing!!”
Lin Zhaoxu: ??? What the hell?!
Kim Seok-chan immediately treated Lin Zhaoxu like a priceless treasure. He rewarded him with a perfectly chained W-R crowd-control combo. Lin Zhaoxu never even got the chance to press his ultimate.
“Key! Ahhh, the crowd control was perfect!” The commentators groaned. “Mior couldn't even cast his ultimate!”
Lin Zhaoxu himself was equally frustrated. He was practically mashing the key for [R – Celestial Garb] hard enough to break it. Nothing. No response. Completely locked down.
Against a target that couldn't move or fight back, Choi Hyun-woo calmly waited for the perfect moment. No flashy mechanics were required. He simply stepped forward and secured the kill.
[UG_False (Stellar Sprite) has slain PNG_Mior (White Bird)!]
“SEEEEERPENT!!!” Chao Mi practically roared into his microphone. “Serpent, who was relatively quiet in the first two games, has announced his presence with that kick! That Q was unbelievably precise! How did he even hit Mior there?! Mior's positioning was already extremely cautious!”
“It's just a shame—”
Before he could finish speaking, the situation changed again. Park Se-woo's Demon Blade activated his ultimate and strode forward with sword in hand.
Three massive sword arcs crashed down. Combined with Lee Dong-il's steady chip damage, PNG's health bars were rapidly pushed lower and lower.
Sui Ning pressed his lips together. Spotting an opportunity, he immediately launched forward with a Q-W-R-R-W-E combo, aiming to instantly delete Lee Dong-il.
Lee Dong-il wasn't about to sit still. He immediately burned Flash and Heal together in a desperate attempt to survive.
“Yunyu!” Sui Ning shouted.
[PNG_Cloud (Void Devourer) has slain UG_Reeco (Void Ranger)!]
Lee Dong-il clicked his tongue in frustration.
Chao Mi's expression immediately brightened. “Beautiful!! Reeco going down here is huge! Both marksmen are dead now—what about the Herald fight?!”
However, with Lee Dong-il gone, PNG could send Sui Ning to keep Choi Hyun-woo occupied— but nobody could stop Park Se-woo's Demon Blade.
Under the effects of [R – Annihilation], Demon Blade didn't blindly chase the elusive Phantom Trickster. Instead, his blood-red eyes locked firmly onto Cheng Su and Wei Ye.
“Erllit counter-engages! [R – Final Spark] catches three people, but his positioning isn't great!” Qing Ci frowned as he rapidly narrated the action, his eyes fixed on Park Se-woo. “Demon Blade! E into Q1, Q2, W, and then an instant Q3!”
The massive soul-drinking greatsword came crashing down. For the first time, even Cheng Su's normally indifferent face showed a flash of shock.
0%!
[UG_Leave (Soul-Sealing Blade Demon) has slain PNG_Erllit (Radiant Goddess)!]
The commentators were stunned. “My god, Erllit got deleted! Leave's damage is insane! Why is it so high? His E has already refreshed, he can keep fighting, and his ultimate is still active! How is PNG supposed to deal with this Demon Blade?!”
Da Ju immediately recognized what Park Se-woo had done. “On the surface it looks like Demon Blade just dumped all his abilities. But Leave actually weaved in at least five or six auto attacks during that sequence! Demon Blade can animation-cancel and stutter-step between attacks. The movements are tiny, so it looks like he's just standing there casting skills!”
Wei Ye swallowed hard. “...It's more than that. The bastard can even hide auto attacks inside his skill animations. That's disgusting. Feels like this Herald is gone.”
At this stage of the game, PNG simply had no way to deal with Demon Blade.
And let's not forget—this monstrously fed Demon Blade was merely the bait. Choi Hyun-woo was still lurking nearby, waiting for his chance.
If Aeria's cooldowns hadn't been relatively long in the early game, then with the situation Park Se-woo had created, PNG's half-dead members would already have been cleaned up.
Fortunately, PNG decisively cut their losses and abandoned the Herald. Had they continued fighting, nobody knew how ugly the result would have been.
The three commentators all unconsciously swallowed. They couldn't help recalling all the times Sui Ning's Stellar Sprite had swept through teamfights and cleaned up entire teams.
——
After securing the Herald, UG used the strength of their composition to launch a fierce mid-game offensive. PNG resisted with everything they had, but around the nineteen-minute mark UG finally found an opening and forced out Wei Ye's ultimate.
When Wildfang knocked the enemy away with his ult, the audience relaxed. It's fine, it's fine. He used it to survive and save teammates. No summoner spells burned either. Not a big deal.
“It's a huge deal!!” Da Ju practically shouted himself hoarse. “Wildfang's ultimate cooldown is ninety seconds! With Myerii's build, maybe it's reduced to eighty-five seconds! But Baron is about to spawn!”
The crowd, who had been focused entirely on the fight, finally looked toward the game timer. 19:03.
Only 57 seconds until Baron.
Da Ju immediately understood UG's plan. He slapped the desk in frustration. “If Wildfang still had his ultimate, PNG could at least contest Baron! Even if they didn't start it themselves, they could threaten a fight if UG tried to take it! But now Myerii has no ultimate! PNG can't fight from the front or the flank. They can only rely on Cloud to steal it!”
The more he thought about it, the worse he felt. “The problem is that stealing Baron in a game like this is pure luck! Whether you get it or not often has nothing to do with the jungler's skill. It depends entirely on whether the heavens decide to smile on you!”
He wasn't wrong. The execute thresholds of both junglers were nearly identical. In fact, Ahn Seung-soo even had a slight advantage. His champion's burst was marginally stronger than Ji Yunyu's.
If one jungler could burst from 2,000 HP while the other needed Baron to drop to 1,800 HP— then wasn't the outcome basically left to fate?
Without Wildfang's ultimate as insurance, who would willingly gamble a twenty-minute Baron on fate?
UG certainly wasn't planning to. Kim Seok-chan established complete vision control around the pit. Just as expected, no PNG players appeared.
“Start Baron, start Baron! Just do it!”
“Okay, take it slow. We haven't seen them.”
“They probably aren't coming,” Lee Dong-il guessed. “They've likely given it up.”
Kim Seok-chan shook his head. “Who knows? We still haven't seen the enemy jungler. Stay focused.”
“Okay, okay!”
Ahn Seung-soo remained silent. He swallowed nervously and tightened his grip on the mouse.
Baron's health quickly dropped into dangerous territory.
2500，2300，2100……
2500. 2300. 2100.
His eyes never left the health bar. At the perfect moment, his left hand pressed his abilities.
At the same time—a strange scraping sound echoed across the Rift. It sounded like something tunneling underground. Something about to burst from beneath the earth.
Ahn Seung-soo's eyes widened. The Void Devourer erupted from the soil directly in front of him, leaping high into the air like a breaching fish. Several familiar abilities landed on Baron simultaneously.
Among them was the golden flash of Smite.
“?!”
Ahn Seung-soo's heart skipped a beat.
He didn't even have time to speak. Through his headset came only a meaningless shout from one of his teammates. “Oi—!”
Then he glanced at Baron's health. The color instantly drained from his face.
[UG_False (Stellar Sprite) has slain PNG_Cloud (Void Devourer)!]
[Red Team has slain the Dragon!] (Baron Nashor)
Red Side has secured Baron Nashor!
Seeing the announcement, Ji Yunyu licked his lips and tilted his head toward Sui Ning with a raised eyebrow, as if asking: Was that impressive?
Sui Ning couldn't help but laugh. “You're the best.”
“AAAAAAAHHHHHH—!! HOLY SHIT, CLOUD!!”
“WooooAoooo!! Cloud!!”
“CLOOOOOOUUUDD!!!!”
The veins on Chao Mi's neck bulged as he screamed himself hoarse, shouting Ji Yunyu's name again. “Cloud!! My—my god!!!”
He gasped for breath several times before continuing. “Sorry, everyone, I'm too excited! We were literally just talking about Baron steals, and then one second later Cloud actually stole the Baron!”
[HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT! I'm illiterate! The only words I know are HOLY SHIT!]
[My Jungle King! Rampaging without limits!!]
[YUN YUN YUN——!!!]
[My god, Serpent's face went completely pale. Getting your Baron stolen in a game like this absolutely destroys your mentality.]
[It has to be Cloud! Stealing Baron 1v4 against a Worlds jungler—who else can do that?!]
[Cloud has been performing at full power every single game this Worlds. Fine, his strength matches Wind's. I approve of the marriage.]
[ ??? Since when did they need your approval? Their fan tag has practically exploded in activity these past few days. Although it feels unusually quiet today…]
[All the Cloud Follows the Wind fans are actually watching the match. Anyone causing trouble right now gets exiled immediately. Win the BO5 first!]
“With this Baron, PNG can keep dragging the game out!” Da Ju exhaled heavily. Then he paused. “Wait a second. Why does this game feel familiar? How many dragons has Serpent lost now?”
——
After surviving the most dangerous stage around twenty minutes, PNG barely managed to stabilize.
Unfortunately, UG's ability to capitalize on opportunities was terrifying. Even with Wei Ye and Cheng Su throwing their bodies in front of Choi Hyun-woo's gun barrel, Park Se-woo's Demon Blade remained an enormous threat that PNG struggled to answer.
At 25:17, UG found an opening around the dragon pit and force-engaged. PNG's top and support immediately counter-engaged with a beautifully coordinated initiation. Sui Ning also locked onto Lee Dong-il at the first opportunity. But—
Lee Dong-il wasn't surviving. Neither was Lin Zhaoxu.
“You can kill me? You can kill me? You can Q me again?” As Aeria pulled out another Meteor Orbit, Lin Zhaoxu chuckled despite himself. His mouth was stubbornly brave. “Okay. You win. You have Q. I die. No chance of living whatsoever.”
“The threat level of Demon Blade plus Aeria against Mior is absolutely terrifying! Mior's [R – Celestial Garb] grants untargetability, but it's only one second—not permanent!”
“Demon Blade is right in his face! If he doesn't use ultimate, he dies! If he uses ultimate, False is waiting afterward! His living conditions are absolutely miserable!”
Da Ju wore a pained expression. “Reeco can't survive either. But Void Ranger has mobility. At minimum, Wind has to spend several abilities to kill him. These two marksmen are competing to see who can suffer more this game!”
Two world-class marksmen. Two players competing at the World Championship. Holding hands and going a beautiful 0/4 together.
After pressing Tab and seeing Lee Dong-il's scoreline, even Lin Zhaoxu felt the tiniest spark of sympathy. Just a tiny bit. A microscopic amount.
He still hoped his teammates would hit the enemy side even harder.
The problem was that UG had one more core carry than PNG. After Lee Dong-il died, Park Se-woo's fighter-build Demon Blade could fully assume responsibility for controlling space and lowering health bars. PNG once again had no choice but to retreat and preserve their lives.
Da Ju sighed. “UG isn't even trying to chase. False still hasn't fully come online yet. Once his build is complete, he could literally chase all five members by himself.”
The stalemate continued for some time as PNG desperately searched for opportunities through side lanes.
At 31 minutes, UG confidently secured another Baron. Their confidence came from a simple formula: [Baron Pit + River + Demon Blade.jpg]
At 32:30, empowered by the Baron buff, UG applied tremendous pressure. Wei Ye finally found an opportunity and landed a massive four-man engage. A perfect initiation.
But during that fight, PNG's late-game damage problems were exposed completely.
Once Lin Zhaoxu was restricted, the issues became obvious. Their top, jungle, and support were all more utility-oriented. Their mid-lane assassin mage couldn't provide large amounts of AoE damage. Then the enemy Demon Blade would stand in front, activate ultimate, heal back to full, and continue fighting. The symptom was simple: PNG didn't have enough damage.
At 35 minutes, UG pushed onto the high ground and destroyed both the mid and bottom inhibitors.
By 39:40, PNG finally found a chance to trade objectives. When UG once again grouped around Baron, Sui Ning made an immediate decision. “Gather at Elder Dragon. Take it quickly.”
It was an extremely dangerous call. Their base had already been breached. No one was left defending. If UG simply abandoned Baron and sprinted straight for PNG's Nexus, the game would end immediately.
“They won't.” Sui Ning pressed his lips together. “They're on Baron. We start Elder. Finish it and recall immediately.”
His decision wasn't reckless. For a long time, he had been carefully monitoring the minimap. He combined the state of all three minion waves, the movement patterns of the lanes, and the sparse vision available in the jungle Only after considering all of it did he make the call.
And his teammates chose to trust him.
Ji Yunyu didn't hesitate. “Okay. I'll tank.”
“Alright, alright! Start it immediately!”
“PNG are starting Elder Dragon! They've had almost no ability to establish vision in the enemy jungle! From the minimap alone, they can't see UG's movements! This is an incredibly risky decision!”
Chao Mi lowered his voice nervously, as if afraid someone might overhear him. “From the observer's perspective, we can see UG really is on Baron. They haven't noticed… They haven't noticed...”
Very soon— the dying cries of Baron Nashor and the Elder Dragon echoed through Summoner's Rift at almost exactly the same time.
“Nice!!” Chao Mi clenched his fist hard.
Ahn Seung-soo froze. “They went for Elder Dragon?”
“Yes.” Choi Hyun-woo had already taken over shot-calling by this point. His mind raced as he instantly adjusted the strategy. “Recall and reset. Push the lanes first.”
“Got it.”
“I’ll pressure top. I still have TP.”
“OK. Be careful once bot lane crosses the river.”
At 41 minutes and 35 seconds, the two teams met once again at PNG’s base.
With the massive boost from super minions and the Baron buff, the two Nexus turrets quickly dropped to critical health. At this moment, both teams had very clear objectives:
Destroy towers / Kill people.
“PNG has the Elder Dragon buff now—they actually have damage!” Qing Ci held his breath, afraid to miss a single detail. He immediately noticed Wei Ye stepping forward and shouted, “Myerii! What’s the play?!”
Wei Ye chose to engage immediately. They had no time to stall against UG.
The commentators roared: “PNG wants to fight—they have to fight! MYYYYE! Huge ultimate! He slams three people, and Erllit follows up instantly with crowd control!—Oh, wait, Demon Blade! Watch out for Demon Blade!”
Park Se-woo activated his ultimate and immediately forced Lin Zhaoxu into a dangerously exposed position.
“But PNG has Elder Dragon. What does Wi—”
Before the commentator could even finish saying Wind’s ID, Sui Ning and the Phantom Trickster had already made their move. Relying on Elder Dragon’s execute effect—targets below 20% health are instantly slain—he opened with W, followed by Q-R-R-E-W. Before the combo was even halfway finished, Lee Dong-il and Kim Seok-chan were both sent straight back to the fountain.
[PNG_Wind (Phantom Trickster) has slain UG_Reeco (Void Ranger)!]
[PNG_Wind (Phantom Trickster) has slain UG_Key (Shadow Hawk)!]
[Double Kill!]
The moment the combo finished, Sui Ning instantly returned to his original position using the second cast of W. For a moment, the audience had no idea where to look. Some viewers with slower visual tracking couldn't even find Sui Ning on the screen.
“For Phantom Trickster, the execute effect is a complete game-changer!” Chao Mi shouted, his face flushed red as he leapt to his feet. “Sometimes you're only missing one or two abilities to finish a kill!”
But soon he noticed the movement of UG’s remaining players and immediately yelled in alarm: “Hey, hey, hey—look at UG! Look at UG!”
They were all clustered tightly around PNG’s Nexus!
PNG’s voice comms instantly became deafening:
“They’re trying to end! They’re trying to end!”
“Holy shit! Holy shit! These guys—holy shit!”
“Stop them! Stop them! Kill this one!”
“Low HP! Low HP!”
[PNG_Wind (Phantom Trickster) has slain UG_Leave (Soul-Sealing Blade Demon)!]
[Triple Kill!]
At this point, only Ahn Seung-soo and Choi Hyun-woo remained alive on UG. Ahn Seung-soo decisively sacrificed himself to draw attention. Whether he lived or died no longer mattered. As long as the Nexus fell—
Choi Hyun-woo understood perfectly. His HP was down to only 8%, but that didn't matter either. He threw out a misleading Meteor Orbit, activated [R - Interstellar Leap] to switch positions, and delivered one final auto attack toward PNG’s Nexus.
[PNG_Wind (Phantom Trickster) has slain UG_False (Stellar Sprite)!]
[Quadra Kill!]
[PNG_Wind (Phantom Trickster) is Legendary!]
The announcement for the Quadra Kill and Legendary streak rang out. The Nexus still had 50 HP remaining. Just one auto attack away from destruction.
The audience in the arena and the viewers watching online fell silent at the exact same moment. The commentators barely dared to breathe. They blinked repeatedly to make sure they weren't seeing things. The Nexus was still standing.
UG’s fiercest—and most promising—assault had been repelled.
“PNG—”
“Winnnnd! Woooo—!!”
“PNG! PNG—!!”
Even though the game was not yet over, PNG’s incredible base defense had already ignited the crowd beyond imagination. Thunderous applause erupted throughout the arena. Cheers, excited shouts, and praise in countless languages blended together into a chaotic roar.
“Winnnnd!!”
Chao Mi was so nervous that he fumbled under the desk and pulled out a portable oxygen mask. He took two deep breaths.
“...My God.” Eyes wide, he inhaled deeply before finally finding his voice. “...They actually defended it!”
Qing Ci’s face was equally red from excitement. “UG still had Baron buff during that push! PNG defended that—do they have a chance to counter-push now?”
Unfortunately, all three lanes were still shoved into PNG’s base. With only Sui Ning alive, a counterattack was impossible. The Nexus was hanging on with just 50 HP. Sui Ning could only clear the minion waves inside the base before pushing the top lane back out.
At 44 minutes, PNG’s entire team respawned. Now neither side had any major buff remaining, and no neutral objectives were available on the map. The game once again settled into a tense stalemate.
However, PNG’s top laner and mid laner both held a two-teleport advantage over their counterparts, giving them a significant edge in side-lane pressure.
With that, both teams’ objectives became clear once again. PNG wanted to split-push, build waves, and break into the base. UG wanted to catch isolated targets and create a numbers advantage.
In response, Cheng Su offered a very simple solution: “Everyone buy wards before leaving base. Don’t ever wander alone into areas where we don’t have vision control.”
As long as they maintained vision superiority, they could minimize the risk of being picked off by UG. While UG’s composition excelled at catching isolated targets, PNG still had Teleports available, so UG couldn’t afford to get too aggressive.
Then, at 45:16, a ward Cheng Su had casually placed in the enemy red-side jungle spotted Lee Dong-il taking Red Buff.
At the same time, the top wave was nearly at UG’s inhibitor turret, while the mid wave was steadily advancing. It was obvious that Lee Dong-il was preparing for the next decisive teamfight.
[PNG_Wind] is on the way!
Without a word, Sui Ning immediately pressed Teleport.
The commentators’ eyes widened. They were just about to shout, “Wind, what are you doing? That ward is way too dangerous—it’s right next to the enemy!”
But the moment Wei Ye saw the Teleport channel, he instantly followed with his own. The rest of PNG immediately began converging on the red-side jungle as well.
The commentator’s words died in his throat. “???? Cough!”
Kim Seok-chan was the first to notice the Teleport beam. Sweat instantly broke out on his palms as he frantically spam-clicked toward Lee Dong-il. “Run, run, run! Reeco, run! Come toward me!”
“—!” Lee Dong-il immediately abandoned the Red Buff and retreated toward his base. The farther he ran, the harder his heart pounded. The walls and brush in the red jungle suddenly felt unbelievably disgusting. Twisting paths. Narrow corridors. Every turn seemed to force him to run farther.
If Flash had been available, he would have pressed it without hesitation.
Kim Seok-chan arrived first. But Sui Ning and Wei Ye arrived too.
Wei Ye took one glance at their positioning and immediately understood his role. Without hesitation, he charged straight toward Kim Seok-chan, intending to cut off the support from his marksman.
Meanwhile, Choi Hyun-woo was already closing in from nearby.
“The Teleports are arriving! UG’s reinforcements are almost here, PNG’s backup is almost here too! Just a few more steps!” Chao Mi barely dared breathe. “This is about to decide the ent—”
Before he could finish saying “entire game,” his pupils contracted. All he saw was a streak of dark violet light slicing across the battlefield.
Then came the thunderous announcement:
[PNG_Wind (Phantom Trickster) has slain UG_Reeco (Void Ranger)!]
The Phantom Trickster was simply too fast.
Sui Ning reached his target before the enemy reinforcements arrived. He even left his own teammates behind. At full build, killing a marksman with no Flash, no resurrection effect, and nowhere to escape with an ultimate was effortless.
“—FORTY-FIVE MINUTES! UG’S ADC IS DOWN!”
Chao Mi’s blood surged with excitement. He roared the two crucial pieces of information at the top of his lungs. Every viewer instantly understood. At this stage of the game, death timers had already exceeded sixty seconds. Lee Dong-il would not respawn in time.
This was the game-ending push.
“One wave! One wave! One wave!”
“Holy shit, they can end! End it!”
“Niiiiceeeeee! How did he kill him that fast? My GOAT is insane!”
“Hit the tower! Hit the tower! Hit the tower!”
“End the game! Ignore them! Just hit the Nexus!”
The entire situation flipped instantly. It was almost a perfect mirror image of what had happened five minutes earlier—except this time, the two teams had switched places.
PNG completely ignored UG’s harassment. No matter how much damage UG dealt. No matter how hard they tried to stop them. PNG had only one thing in their eyes: The Nexus.
In the blink of an eye, both Nexus turrets collapsed one after another.
“DESTROY IT—!!”
The commentators strained every muscle in their bodies. Faces red, veins bulging, nearly screaming themselves hoarse as they shouted the final word: “—DESTROY IT!!”
“Hurry, PNG! Hurry!!”
51 seconds. 52 seconds. 53 seconds.
Finally, the game clock stopped at 46:54.
The enormous VICTORY banner appeared on the screen. The players collectively let out long breaths. Their hearts, still pounding wildly from the tension, refused to calm down.
At the commentator’s desk, the commentators were practically in tears. Chao Mi fought back a sob as he stared unblinkingly at the score displayed on the giant screen. He was almost afraid that if he blinked, the numbers would disappear. 2–1.
They had really done it. PNG had taken the lead.
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