Taking Down AL

The two commentators had whipped up the atmosphere.

[I remember Ming used to block abilities for Uzi like this too.]

[So when top lane is the core, he really can suppress the enemy without worrying. He really can push all the way to the tier-two tower and take Plating without worrying...]

[The moment Shen recalled, he swapped for Teleport. He'd held onto Unsealed Spellbook all this time as insurance for Top Lane, saving it to protect Top Lane because he'd used his ultimate to gank.]

[At first I kept thinking he'd taken Unsealed Spellbook by mistake. Turns out he'd planned it all along.]

[During the laning phase, Shen and Nocturne also helped put down control wards for top. Now that's a strategy that treats top lane as the absolute core.]

[Whether it was because of their strategy or something else, they took it to the extreme.]

[Turns out some people aren't unable to protect you. They just don't want to.]

[The moment Teleport lit up, I knew Shen would Flash-E to block for him.]

[It used to be that when a fight broke out bot, the big brother up top would TP down to back up his bot lane. Now it's the support's turn to TP up and protect the top laner.]

The viewers were moved by the rescue from what had seemed like a hopeless situation, and messages flooded the chat.

IG's players onstage were also shouting "Nice!" over the play.

After that play, Ashe's gold and experience shot up, putting her in a league of her own on the field.

Anyone's Legend's attack, which had seemed certain to succeed, had ended with them slinking away in defeat, leaving them to pin all their hopes of victory on the upcoming Soul-Point Dragon that would put them one away from Dragon Soul.

At sixteen minutes, half a minute before the third dragon spawned, both teams' supports and junglers were already securing vision in the river.

Miller commentated on the situation.

"Anyone's Legend really needs this dragon. Their late game isn't actually that solid, but if they can get the Mountain Dragon Soul this game, Sion will become incredibly tanky."

"Sion just used his Teleport to go bot. Anyone's Legend sent Taliyah to catch the Top Lane wave Ashe pushed in, and she has her ultimate to get around."

"The dragon's about to spawn. IG needs to hold their ground and push into the brush, but they're a little slow getting into position. Ashe took Ghost this game and doesn't have Teleport, so she should've come earlier. This dragon is really important."

"Huh? Why is she heading to Top Lane again? The dragon's about to spawn. Are they trading it for gold? Her teammates don't have enough damage in the fight, and even if she does trade, Taliyah can stay out of the fight and hold the wave just fine. What's going on?"

"The dragon's spawned, and Anyone's Legend is taking it very quickly. Twisted Fate is moving top? Are they planning to trade objectives?"

"Nocturne and Twisted Fate have both used their ultimates! Here's another arrow from Ashe! Taliyah used Flash to escape earlier, and it isn't back up yet. Ashe's big arrow has stunned her in place.

"Twisted Fate is flying in with Shen's ultimate on him! A gold card as he lands, followed by Shen's taunt, and they instantly kill Taliyah!!!

"Shen built Steel Sigil first. Those hits after he landed hurt so much, and Twisted Fate's damage with two items is really high too. Ashe added a W, and that was enough to kill Taliyah.

"Then the dragon should be...

"Huh? Nocturne stole it! He combined his R and Smite with Ziggs's ultimate and snatched the dragon! I thought he was going to fly to Top Lane, but he flew into the dragon pit!"

"That dragon steal really added insult to injury!!!

"Even though Nocturne has Flash, he probably can't get out. He's stalling for time, and the three in Top Lane are pushing incredibly fast. Shen built Steel Sigil, and although it was for the cooldown reduction on his ultimate, the attack speed it gives him after landing makes him push towers fast too."

"Add in Ashe and Twisted Fate, who are also champions that push towers very quickly, and the Top Lane inhibitor tower is gone just like that. Anyone's Legend finally dealt with Nocturne and recalled, but one of their Nexus towers has already fallen!"

"Anyone's Legend didn't dare send only their AD carry back to defend, so it doesn't look like they have a chance to pincer them either. IG has made a killing off this play!"

"The three of them chose to retreat. They've already gained enough from this play. Then they took the Herald while Anyone's Legend went back to defend their base and recalled to resupply."

"Once their jungler respawned, they used the Herald and Ziggs to take the mid tier-two tower. IG has run Anyone's Legend ragged with their macro play."

"That shotcalling was risky but inspired. The worst they stood to lose was that dragon, and they still could've broken through Top Lane."

"This game has been so inspired."

"Honestly, it feels like they've got this game in the bag. It's not even twenty minutes in and Ashe is almost level sixteen. She even looks incredibly tanky, nothing like how squishy a normal Ashe is.

"She's also got three items: Kraken Slayer, Phantom Dancer, and Lord Dominik's Regards. At this point in the game, she can definitely damage tanks.

"And Shen even built a Knight's Vow specifically for Ashe."

"Next, Nocturne can use his ultimate to blind the enemy team, then Twisted Fate can use his ultimate to give his team vision. Anyone on Anyone's Legend except Sion will die instantly if they're caught alone. This combination makes it so easy to find opportunities."

The game played out much as the commentators had envisioned.

At twenty minutes, IG used the triple-fly strategy of Nocturne, Twisted Fate, and Shen to kill Jarvan IV in the jungle again. They also killed the enemy support before easily taking Baron Nashor.

They then used Baron Nashor to break through mid and bot. When super minions from all three lanes converged on Anyone's Legend's base, IG didn't back down because of their composition.

The moment Jarvan IV engaged on Ashe with Flash-R, Nocturne flew straight at Miss Fortune under the tower. Shen landed with him and used E-Flash, taking Miss Fortune down.

Meanwhile, Ashe used Flash in the main fight, then easily chased Jarvan IV down and auto-attacked him to death.

Finally, Twisted Fate stunned Taliyah with a Flash gold card, bringing the teamfight to a complete end. In just twenty-three minutes, the game was over.

"When IG sees a chance to end the game, they don't wait for the next wave."

With those final words from Miller, IG ultimately took the series against Anyone's Legend 2–0.

The moment the game ended, TheShy quickly put down his headset. Beaming, he walked over to Lin Heng and shook his hand.

"Hey, weren't you always the one who shook my hand after games before?" Ning said with a trace of jealousy and amusement.

"Oh? Lin Heng played well today, so I want to shake his hand. You shake it too," TheShy said.

"Wait, I have to shake it too? How did that saying go again? Am I part of your Play too?" Ning joked.

Then all five stood up and happily hugged one another before going to bump fists.

The scene was no different from winning a championship match.

Ever since this IG roster was formed, it had faced the greatest doubts. Even after they beat Weibo Gaming 2–0, the doubts had never stopped.

But Anyone's Legend's strength was beyond question, and they had crushed Anyone's Legend 2–0 with absolute dominance. Their teamwork had gone very smoothly, and so had their communication.

That meant what they had always feared—putting on a complete shitshow for the audience after the rebuild—would at least not come to pass.

And...

Today, TheShy seemed to have truly rediscovered his former self.

That "super top laner from 2018 and 2019," the super top laner with absolute offensive and oppressive power.