Nerves of Steel

After forcing Yunara to recall yet again, IG's comms came alive.

Uzi: "Lin Heng, your Varus skill shots are ridiculously accurate."

Lin Heng: "Of course. Playing lethality Varus as an ADC is such a waste. He's only strong for these first ten-odd minutes, and later on he has no way to get through the enemy frontline. He feels best as a support."

Ning: "I'll be there to countergank, so go ahead and pressure them."

Rookie: "We need to rush dragons this game."

Lin Heng: "King Ning, want to start the dragon as soon as you finish your second clear?"

Ning: "I'll come straight down to cover you after I finish the top half of my second clear. I think Tarzan will probably force a gank on you, even if it's just to chunk your health."

Lin Heng: "Okay."

Sure enough, Ning and Tarzan finished clearing their top halves at the same time, and Tarzan headed straight bot to try for a gank.

But Tarzan himself was level four, and his two bot laners were both level three, leaving them without enough crowd control to pull off a gank. Ning, meanwhile, simply showed himself before going to clear his Gromp, letting Anyone's Legend know he was nearby and could arrive at any moment.

Just like that, another encounter ended with nothing happening on either side.

After Anyone's Legend's bot lane returned for the second time, Neeko tried to step up and throw out Qs, while Yunara kept her health up as much as possible, even if it meant missing a few last hits.

Anyone's Legend understood perfectly well that IG had picked this lineup to rush dragons. If their health got too low, the other side could take the first dragon very early.

Even so, Lin Heng used Varus's long-range poke to knock a third off Yunara's health.

At the 4:50 wave, Varus and Sivir quickly cleared the minions with their abilities, then headed for the dragon pit.

Just after five minutes, both teams' mid and top laners had reached level six, while the bot lane duos were level four and the junglers were level five.

If a fight actually broke out, they would be sorely lacking in damage.

With IG's bot lane having pushed the wave, Lin Heng placed a control ward in the dragon pit and started the dragon with Xin Zhao.

After collecting a wave, Anyone's Legend's bot lane wanted to come take a look, but on the way there, Yunara was hit by Lin Heng's Varus WQ again and dropped below half health. With no other choice, she had to hurry back and push the wave, or she might not be able to contest it once IG finished the dragon.

"They're out of there. IG might not look quite like IG here, but Anyone's Legend certainly looks like Anyone's Legend. They won't take risks; they're playing it as safe as possible," Miller said with a laugh after seeing Hope head straight back to push the wave after getting hit by one Q.

"But the first dragon is really early, at five and a half minutes. If Anyone's Legend can't get this one, it feels like they'll have even less chance at the second. We'll have to see if Tarzan's first ultimate can turn things around," PYL said.

"I think they have a chance, but their bot lane duo absolutely has to reach level six and recall to restore their health before setting up a gank with Neeko's ultimate. Otherwise, their ADC loses his health a minute after they meet, and even if Tarzan comes, he can't fight two against one!" Miller said with a laugh.

"Exactly. It all comes down to that opportunity. Otherwise, this Varus can keep Yunara suppressed until the Dragon Soul comes out. His skill shots are just too accurate, and he's clearly building for damage this game, not utility," PYL said.

Before long, the opportunity the casters had mentioned arrived.

"Tarzan's in position. IG's bot laners are pushed up really far. This is a great chance to ult in behind them, but Ning is already waiting in the first brush on Red Side. There's no vision there. Ning really knows Tarzan! But Yunara's health is pretty good this time, so it feels like the team on the left is a little stronger if they fight. Neeko's ultimate at level six is just too dominant!" Miller watched the screen intently.

"Pantheon's used his ultimate! Neeko should R-Flash! The target should be Varus, who has no defensive abilities. Sivir has her E.

"Neeko's trying to bait him. He thinks Varus might R him, so he wants to Flash across him! Varus doesn't fall for it. Is he still not going to Flash? Sivir activates her ultimate for the movement speed, and Neeko uses Flash at the very last instant before her ultimate lands!

"Huh? What's Varus doing? He used Flash in the opposite direction!

"He's going for Yunara! He Flashed right into the face of Yunara, who had used RE to move forward and deal damage, then immediately rooted her with his R. Hope didn't expect him to Flash toward her! Since Varus's R is practically the only thing on the other team worth using Cleanse on this game, Yunara didn't take Cleanse. He took Barrier!

"Varus lands an auto and E, instantly taking a third of Yunara's health. Uzi has his ultimate active too and rushes straight over, opening with Q and quickly attacking Yunara. Her health is dropping fast!

"The root ends, and Yunara uses Flash!

"Xin Zhao charged straight at Pantheon after he landed and is keeping him occupied.

"Can they kill Yunara? It all comes down to Varus's WQ! Fully charged!

"It hits!!!

"A W-empowered Piercing Arrow claims Yunara's life!

"Once again, the youth draws his bow to the full, fearing neither the years nor the wind!

"In this situation, I believe ninety percent of people would choose to Flash back, but Lin Heng says no! He's fighting back, he's going on the offensive! He's killing your ADC!

"Pantheon Flashes in and stuns Lin Heng's Varus with W, and Neeko follows up with an E to lock him down, but do the two of them have enough damage to kill Varus? Uzi's Lethal Tempo is going wild with all those autos. If they don't leave now, they'll both die here!

"Pantheon uses his empowered E for damage reduction and movement speed and gets away, but Neeko can't escape. He already used Flash. Varus uses Heal to speed up both teammates, and Uzi takes down Neeko!

"After that two-for-zero, Anyone's Legend's bot lane is ruined. No one can stop IG from rushing dragons now!"

After his passionate play-by-play of the teamfight, Miller paused to catch his breath, leaving PYL to explain the details.

"First of all, Ning's countergank: he completely anticipated Tarzan's timing. He really knows Tarzan.

"But in this fight, level-six Yunara was actually stronger than Sivir. After Pantheon, Neeko, and Yunara instantly killed Varus, they would effectively have a three-on-two.

"Anyone who's played Neeko knows that when you R-Flash, you use R first, and there's a short delay. Good players usually wait until that delay is almost over before using Flash, so the other side can't react.

"That's what Kael did. He pushed straight forward and used R first. If Varus had immediately used Flash toward the brush or his own turret, Neeko would have Flashed onto Sivir, who was closer to the river. Even if they only forced out her shield, it would have been worth it, because Neeko could have followed Pantheon's W with E for reliable crowd control and killed Sivir first. They were almost certain to burst someone down first in that fight.

"And if Varus got nervous, he might have used R on Neeko immediately. Then Neeko could have Flashed right across him and baited out his R too.

"But Lin Heng's Varus was incredibly calm. He refused to use Flash until the very last moment. At the limit of Neeko's ultimate delay, at the instant Kael thought the opponent wouldn't be able to react to his Flash, he Flashed in the opposite direction. Not only did he easily escape the range of Neeko's ultimate, he also ended up right in the face of Yunara, who had just used RE to move forward and attack, and immediately used Chain of Corruption at point-blank range!

"That's a true combination of nerves of steel and monstrous mechanics!"