The Viewers Were Falling Asleep

After all, Lulu had burned Flash. If Blitzcrank found an opportunity to hook her, she was almost certain to die.

Junjia could only give up two jungle camps for nothing and turn toward the Rift Scuttler in the top river.

All three of his teammates' lanes were being pushed in, so he certainly didn't dare invade Wei's jungle. Wei, meanwhile, comfortably stole two camps, took the bottom river Scuttler, then went back to clear his own lower jungle.

That meant Dr. Mundo only needed to finish his second jungle clear to reach level six first.

That was crucial. He no longer needed to guess whether the second Scuttler would spawn in the upper or lower river; he could go straight for the First Dragon. Meanwhile, because Malphite had lost those two camps, even if he got lucky and the second Scuttler spawned in the upper river and he secured it, he still wouldn't reach level six. Without level six, Malphite had no chance whatsoever of contesting the First Dragon.

It looked like they had merely protected Wei while he stole two camps, but in fact, they had secured a firm grip on the First Dragon.

Meanwhile, TheShy was having a great time dominating Top Lane. Without Flash, Renekton was completely helpless under the pressure. Morgana cleared waves quickly with W, then used Under-Tower Demolish. When Renekton came forward, he couldn't stun her, and if he took a Q, she chased him down and hit him with a combo.

It was a miserable lane to play.

Meanwhile, Lin Heng found another chance in the bottom lane, hooking Lulu and giving Caitlyn the kill.

Top Lane couldn't be ganked, and mid was too mobile. JingDong Gaming's only chance was to make a breakthrough in the bottom lane.

Malphite finally managed to reach level six. Using the vision around the thick wall of the Red Side Tri-brush, he flashed in and charged at Blitzcrank, but Lin Heng reacted and flashed out of the way.

But as Lulu and Yunara both reached level six, JingDong Gaming's bottom lane entered its own power window. That was the appeal of Lulu and Yunara.

If the two sides went All-in, Yunara wouldn't necessarily lose even if she took a Blitzcrank hook and E-R. After all, she had Lulu's ultimate, and Yunara was a champion who could fight all the way to the end.

Out of respect for JingDong Gaming's bottom-lane duo and their champion picks, Invictus Gaming stopped pressing the fight under their turret.

The two JingDong Gaming players didn't seem eager to go on the offensive either. They positioned very carefully, hiding behind their minions and giving Blitzcrank no chance to throw a hook.

At the eight-minute Void Grubs, Junjia showed great discipline. He came over, stole one with Smite, then immediately turned and left without getting greedy.

At the eleven-minute Dragon Fight, JingDong Gaming made a tentative attempt. In the end, Malphite had no opening to use R. Dr. Mundo was always the one standing in front, and his Qs sent Malphite's health plummeting, but Malphite couldn't engage on him. Even if he did, Invictus Gaming still had stronger sustained fighting power at the moment, especially with the extremely explosive LeBlanc.

After a few attempts, it ended with a Blitzcrank hook forcing Malphite's Flash. Invictus Gaming successfully secured the Second Dragon.

The two sides were doing little more than pulling each other's hair, and the viewers were getting sleepy.

If there was anything worth mentioning, the only interesting part of the entire game was Top Lane. Xiaoxu was visibly getting tilted.

Morgana had built Blackfire Torch first, then boldly bought Cooldown Boots. Even more obnoxiously, she had picked up an 800-gold anti-heal Oblivion Orb, greatly reducing the already pitiful amount Renekton healed from using Q on minions.

Finally, at thirteen minutes, TheShy took the Top Outer Turret with Dr. Mundo's help.

His gold was absurd.

Xiaoxu wasn't the only one getting tilted. So were the viewers watching the match.

[Come on, guys, are we watching LCK? It's almost fifteen minutes and it's 1-0. What the hell are you playing at? Hurry up and fight!]

[This is seriously boring. You picked Malphite and Blitzcrank, so can you start a teamfight already!!!]

[Here's a joke: it's almost fifteen minutes in, and Malphite has only used his ultimate once.]

[Invictus Gaming is already up 2K in gold just from last-hitting and turret Plating.]

[What good is 2K? With JingDong Gaming's comp, it's all for nothing if Invictus Gaming can't rush Dragon Soul. They'll be at too much of a disadvantage in later teamfights. I don't see what use Blitzcrank and Morgana will be in the late game.]

[Hurry up and fight, I'm falling asleep. JingDong Gaming is still the same JingDong Gaming, but is Invictus Gaming still the same Invictus Gaming?]

[Refund!!!]

[You didn't buy a ticket. What refund?]

[Top Lane is still ranged versus melee.]

[It's too dry. Hurry up and rain already!!!]

[Rain, rain, rain!]

The viewers were bored, but Invictus Gaming played without any hurry or agitation.

The fifteen-minute Rift Herald Fight counted as the first proper teamfight between the two sides.

This time, Invictus Gaming showed everyone the right way to play their composition.

Invictus Gaming set up early at the Void Grubs. Caitlyn, their AD carry, stood at the very back, with Blitzcrank, Morgana, and Dr. Mundo in front of her.

Dr. Mundo was responsible for using Q to chip away at Malphite's health on the opposing front line, while the other two looked for chances to fish for picks.

That left the JingDong Gaming players somewhat reluctant to move forward.

Lin Heng and Wei had also established excellent vision, relying on their team's gold advantage to gain a vision advantage.

Malphite dared to push into the brush, but LeBlanc kept using W-R-Q-E to Poke JingDong Gaming's back line.

Malphite had only a little over one item at the moment. If he really forced his way in and got hit by Blitzcrank's hook and E, then Morgana's Q, followed by Caitlyn's trap and Blitzcrank's R silence, he could very well be killed before he got a single skill off.

So the back line didn't dare let Malphite walk ahead alone, either.

That gave Lin Heng his chance. Hiding in the C-shaped Brush with a control ward placed in it, he landed a hook that once again forced Gala's Flash.

Gala had reacted very quickly; if he had hesitated even a moment, he might have been hooked over and killed on the spot.

After the two sides postured for a long while, JingDong Gaming chose to retreat and went straight to the lower half of the map to set up vision around the Third Dragon in advance.

After taking Rift Herald, Invictus Gaming followed without losing a step.

The two sides continued to posture, and the atmosphere was extremely tense, but no real teamfight broke out.

Invictus Gaming had a much easier time pushing into the brush than JingDong Gaming. Dr. Mundo moved straight to the front, with Blitzcrank and Morgana following as his two guardians, and they pushed all the way to the vicinity of the dragon pit.

As soon as the dragon spawned, JingDong Gaming had its AD carry and Azir burn it down quickly, while Malphite held position against Invictus Gaming.

Rookie's LeBlanc went around to the top of the wall across from the Red Side of the dragon pit. She began using W to cross the wall, then used Q and E to Poke the two carries.

A fight was about to break out, and the casters described the situation.

"This fight is crucial for both sides. This is Renekton's last chance. If he can't make an impact here, he'll look more and more like a Super Minion afterward. And if Invictus Gaming can't take this dragon, JingDong Gaming can buy another five minutes for their two carries to scale. But if Invictus Gaming secures Soul-Point Dragon here, JingDong Gaming will be in a very difficult position at the next dragon. Yunara's damage is decent right now, but Azir is still a little too weak."

"Huh? Blitzcrank flashed in for the hook!!!"