Second-Rate Captains Play Guns, First-Rate Play Swords, Top-Tier VCs Are Off the Charts!

"Achoo~"

At the EDG player seating, Chu Ran suddenly sneezed, prompting Deft to ask with concern, "Are you catching a cold?"

"No, I think someone's badmouthing me behind my back."

For some reason, Chu Ran's first thought was Uzi. Perhaps it was fate.

The match began. The starting items were Doran's Blade and a health potion, with the Resolve mastery "Grasp of the Undying" and standard AD, magic resist, and armor runes.

Signals kept sounding from the jungle.

"Enemy F6 start." Meiko reported after spotting Sofm's movements, "Brother Ran, I want to shotcall this game. I think I can do it again."

"Shut up, you single-threaded brain. Let Ailuo shotcall. Just farm this game, and come over when I call you."

Hearing Chu Ran's words, Ailuo was slightly displeased.

Who was the EDG crown prince, anyway?

Oh~

His crown prince status was about to be usurped. Pawn, Deft, and Ming Kai all favored Chu Ran.

Their affection for him had vanished.

But it was fine!

Ailuo gritted his teeth. He would prove who the LPL's number one jungler was this game. Their affection would eventually shift back to him.

"Oh, we see neither side has any major plans at level one. Both supports are warding in the enemy jungle. Both junglers are starting at F6, so it's an open book," Miller analyzed. "However, we see Zz1tai has a plan. He's already arrived at the top lane, occupying the mid bush. He's even placed a barrel in the bush and attacked it until it has only one HP left."

"He wants to ambush player Easy's Fiora early. Player Easy is completely unaware. We don't know if his Fiora has faced Gangplank before or if he can sense this situation."

At 1 minute and 35 seconds, Chu Ran arrived at the first tower, walking ahead of the top lane minion wave. However, he couldn't find Gangplank's figure.

This immediately made him frown. Although he didn't play Gangplank much...

He might not have eaten pork, but he'd seen pigs run, right?

A second-rate Gangplank plays with guns, a first-rate Gangplank plays with swords. One barrel explosion could refresh a fiery sword strike.

Level one Gangplank, level two Renekton, level three Renekton will take your life.

Although Gangplank wasn't as overpowered as before, there were indeed few champions that could withstand a few fiery sword strikes from Gangplank in the early game.

"How dare you! Do you really think I'm stupid?"

Chu Ran analyzed the situation and immediately knew Zz1tai's Gangplank was in the mid bush, waiting for him to approach for a last hit so he could unleash a double barrel combo to blow up both him and the minions.

The barrels provided armor penetration and slow, plus Gangplank's Stormraider's Surge.

Anyone who reacted a little slower might get hit by a fiery sword strike. If he took a double barrel combo and a fiery sword strike upon laning, securing level two would be impossible.

"Come here, quickly."

Looking at Chu Ran's Fiora, Zz1tai's eyes were filled with anticipation, waiting for Chu Ran's Fiora to take a few more steps forward.

Seizing the opportunity, Zz1tai saw Fiora approaching and immediately attacked the barrel at his feet with one HP left. He placed a second barrel at Fiora's feet.

"I'll blow you up!"

Seeing the barrels ignite, Zz1tai's lips curved into a slight smile. But the next second, his smile vanished.

Just as the double barrel combo was about to hit Fiora, Fiora instantly dashed forward with a "Blade Waltz" and then walked towards the mid bush.

"Such great awareness and reaction?"

"Oh? Player Easy's reaction and awareness are excellent. He used Fiora's Q skill to dodge that double barrel combo," Miller said with a hint of surprise. He and Wawa had thought Chu Ran would be at a disadvantage, so this scene left them somewhat astonished.

At the player seating, Chu Ran's lips held a faint smile. With the blessings of Brother Ale's Blessing and the Innate Sword Body Dao Embryo, dodging a double barrel combo was a piece of cake.

"There's still one barrel."

Chu Ran glanced at the three remaining melee minions in his lane and pushed forward directly.

Zz1tai immediately deployed the third barrel in the bush. He saw Chu Ran's Fiora's positioning, seeming to want to pressure his health while he had lost two barrels.

If he dared to chase deeper, this barrel could make him pay. Attacking the barrel to detonate it, triggering two fiery sword strikes, even if Fiora hit him to proc her Riposte and trade, he would still profit. Moreover, he had started with Corrupting Potion this game.

No matter what, the advantage was definitely his.

Chu Ran had also guessed Zz1tai's intentions. He directly placed a ward in the bush and immediately spotted Gangplank and a barrel.

Gangplank couldn't retreat this wave. His barrel had already damaged the three melee minions. If he retreated further, he might lose experience.

"Trying to get a double fiery sword strike?"

At this moment, seeing Gangplank's barrel, Chu Ran felt a surge of power within him. He seemed to be incredibly familiar with the barrel's decay rate. The money-bringer had activated.

He entered the bush directly.

Gangplank immediately hit Fiora with a fiery sword strike. He was just about to attack the barrel to refresh his fiery sword strike when Zz1tai's pupils suddenly contracted.

He found Chu Ran's Fiora's sword strike to be faster than his. Before his Gangplank's sword strike landed, Fiora's sword had already hit the barrel.

Gold +10

"Damn it!"

Zz1tai's eyes widened. How could he fight this Fiora without his double fire blades? Even though he started with Corrupting Potion, his attack power was still lower than Fiora's.

Ding~

The sound of a broken weakness echoed. The weaknesses on Gangplank's body cracked open. Although Gangplank was positioned against the wall, he couldn't hit the subsequently spawned weaknesses.

But Gangplank had used all three of his barrels, and his fire blade passive was on cooldown.

He could just grab him and beat him up.

Zz1tai gritted his teeth and drank a bottle of Corrupting Potion, his face contorting in discomfort.

Whether to retreat or not had become a dilemma.

If he retreated further, he would not only lose lane priority, but more importantly, the three melee minions on the red side were about to die.

"Damn it!"

In that instant, Zz1tai understood Chu Ran's intention.

If he retreated, he would lose experience from three minions.

If he didn't retreat?

How could his Gangplank fight a Fiora with higher attack power? Furthermore, with the added bonus of Doran's Blade, Fiora also had more health than him.

The most crucial part was that he couldn't leave the brush right now. Leaving the wall would mean giving the weaknesses behind him to Fiora.

"So disgusting!"

[Red Temperature +154]

Right at the start of the game, Zz1tai's mentality was already starting to crumble.

Seeing this, Miller's eyes instantly widened as he realized what was happening. He exclaimed in disbelief, "Ah! Zz1tai in the top lane! He's stuck right now because his double barrel combo didn't hit Fiora. Instead, Fiora used Q to push his position. Now Zz1tai is in a lot of trouble."

"He can't retreat, or he'll lose experience. But if he doesn't retreat, he can't beat Fiora! He essentially blew himself up with his own double barrel combo!"

"The most important thing is that Zz1tai's Gangplank didn't get his double fire blades off. Otherwise, this Fiora wouldn't dare to play like this!"

For a moment, many viewers, upon hearing Miller's commentary, realized what was happening. They all widened their eyes, some in disbelief.

[Holy crap, that's so precise?]

[Playing mind games with Zz1tai using minions right from the start?]

[6666, first time seeing a Gangplank blow himself up with his own barrels.]

[And he even gifted Fiora ten bucks.]

[Is this the Gangplank that Zz1tai talked about carrying every game on stream?]

[LOL, one shot at a time?]

Zz1tai was naturally unaware of the audience's heated discussion.

He gritted his teeth and held on. He still had two bottles of Corrupting Potion. He would gain experience from these three melee minions before retreating.

Although his health would drop significantly, he had the Corrupting Potion to recover.

He could still play!

"Still not leaving? What are you thinking?" Chu Ran chuckled and continued his basic attacks.

With max stacks of Grasp of the Undying, he would gain extra damage. There was no way he would lose to this Gangplank.

Zz1tai was completely bewildered. Seeing that the three melee minions had died, he quickly retreated. However, Chu Ran had no intention of letting him go.

He directly chased after Gangplank and attacked him.

Gangplank's fire blade was on cooldown. He immediately chugged his second bottle of Corrupting Potion and landed another fire blade. The Stormrider's Surge was triggered again, and he placed a barrel that had just finished charging at his feet.

He auto-attacked the barrel. He would wait for the barrel to decay naturally. If Fiora dared to Q forward, his barrel would explode. Combined with the Corrupting Potion and the refreshed fire blade, he would make back the losses he had just incurred.

Piercing Strike!

Chu Ran saw Gangplank accelerating away and directly used Piercing Strike to chase him.

Zz1tai's eyes lit up. He was about to aim his sword at the barrel to detonate it, but then he saw Fiora once again auto-attack his barrel.

"Damn it..."

"No, how is this Fiora more familiar with the barrel's decay cooldown than me? She hits it faster than I do every time." Zz1tai's face flushed slightly, and his mentality exploded by another three points.

This wasn't playable anymore!

"Over here!" Miller's face was filled with astonishment. "Fiora in the top lane has once again auto-attacked Gangplank's barrel! This prevents Gangplank from refreshing his fire blade. In this case, Zz1tai will have to flash!"

"Easy is flashing! Oh my god! Is he going for a solo kill at level one?" Miller's eyes widened as he exclaimed.

The next second, under everyone's gaze, Chu Ran's Fiora moved her hand, and Zz1tai's Gangplank fell to the ground, dead.

Not leaving?

Then we'll send you off.

A kill message clearly appeared on the big screen!

"EDG's Easy killed Snake's Zz1tai!"

"First blood!"

At that moment, countless viewers were utterly shocked, some left speechless.

On the commentary desk, Miller's eyes widened, his face filled with amazement. "My goodness! He got the experience from the two-barrel combo, but he lost his life for it!"

"Zz1tai!!"

Wawa couldn't quite believe it. "Is this a rookie? You call this a rookie? Which rookie goes straight for a solo kill in their debut?"

"Uh, it's hard to believe, but it's okay. Even though he was solo-killed, Gangplank has TP. It's a clean kill for Fiora, not too much of a loss."

Wawa said with a smile, and Miller quickly agreed, "It's a small loss. Fiora also lost her flash, but she's facing an Elise jungle. Once Elise comes, she'll be in even more danger."

Instantly, the live stream's bullet comments began to scroll.

[666666! Holy crap, a rookie? Is this a rookie?]

[I really like Miller and Wawa's reactions. Fiora should be under a lot of pressure early on, right?]

[Ahaha, turns out Gangplank is the one under pressure, you guys cracked me up.]

[Classic, still saying it's not a loss, still saying it's not a loss. Maybe it only counts as a loss when Snake's base explodes.]

[LPL commentators are just like this, anyway, only two words: not a loss. I suspect I could commentate better than them if I went up there.]

[Now, let's hear from all those haters! Why aren't you guys posting comments anymore? Don't you have keyboards!!]

Many Snake fans and Uzi fans, upon seeing this, although finding it hard to believe, still lashed out.

[Isn't it just Zz1tai's mistake? Stop yelling.]

[Exactly. Do you really think Chu Ran's Fiora played well? If Zz1tai hadn't made a mistake, could he have killed him?]

[This is getting ridiculous. It's just one solo kill, you'd think Snake lost the game.]

At this moment, major live streams erupted in discussion. In EDG's backstage, Ming Kai and the others were somewhat shocked, but more so, they were pleasantly surprised.

"Holy crap, Xiao Ran is really fierce. Ming Kai, what do you think? Do you believe in my judgment?"

"You got lucky, drawing an SSR. Ming Kai chuckled, "I wonder why RNG let him go."

At the same time, in RNG's backstage.

Uzi's expression instantly turned grim as he saw this. He angrily punched Xiao Hu's thigh. "What is Zz1tai even doing? If I were playing, I would have solo-killed this Fiora long ago."

Although somewhat shocked, he, like many who supported Zz1tai, chose to believe that Chu Ran's Fiora was strong and Zz1tai's Gangplank was too weak.

Snake's player booth.

Upon seeing the good news from the top lane, Sofm and the others trembled. Instantly, countless question marks were sent to the top lane.

Zz1tai's mentality exploded even further. "Mistake, no flash top!"

"No summoner spells bot lane!"

Sofm pressed Tab and found that Gangplank was out of summoner spells, still 0-1, with 0 cs.

As for the bot lane, he glanced down.

Hiss—!

Deft and Meiko were pressuring Crystal Brother and Mo, in a much better state than them.

Then he saw that his AD and support were both out of summoner spells.

"This is what you call 'no summoner spells bot lane'?"

"Are you f***ing telling me there are no summoner spells!!" Crystal Brother roared, his mentality also starting to crack.

Damn it!

They couldn't win!

It must be that they hadn't fully recovered from the bloody Bo10 series, otherwise, the situation wouldn't be like this.

Sofm's mouth twitched. He glanced at the mid lane and found that mid was also being suppressed.

What a mess!

Start farming!

Directly protect his KDA.

On the other side, in EDG's player booth.

Ailoli and the others were somewhat shocked. He hadn't even made a move yet, and Chu Ran had already solo-killed?

"Brother Ran, I don't have a calculator, so I can only give you a manual 666." Meiko praised.

Deft and Pawn also exclaimed 'Nice' in unison. Their mid and bot lanes were still working hard, and Chu Ran had already opened a breakthrough in the top lane?

Their beloved little brother had not disappointed them!

"Nice job, little bro!"

"Oh! What a fantastic start, cheer for me, root for me, okay?"

"Ran Ge, can you stop making me laugh?"

By the time Chu Ran recalled to base, bought two Doran's items, and TP'd back to lane, Zz1tai's Gangplank was completely unplayable.

Placing a barrel was equivalent to gifting Chu Ran 10 gold.

"Ah—!"

Seeing Chu Ran destroy his barrel again, Zz1tai was going a bit mad.

He didn't want to play anymore!

"Sofm, why the hell aren't you ganking! This Fiora is pushing so hard, and you're still farming, still farming!"

Sofm completely ignored Zz1tai's words.

Gank? Impossible.

Farm first!

As time ticked by, Miller, Wawa, and many viewers fell silent.

Seven minutes into the game, Snake was losing on all three lanes, their jungler was farming like crazy, how could they possibly play?

Let's just call it at 8 PM.

"Sigh, Pawn and Deft are too strong here, Snake is under a lot of pressure, but it's okay, they have Gangplank this game. Although Zz1tai's Gangplank died once, thanks to Gangplank's Q passive, he's still farming quickly. As long as Snake plays steadily, there's still a chance for a comeback."

As Miller finished speaking, the director immediately cut the camera to the top lane.

Instantly, countless people gasped, and Miller's face was filled with embarrassment.

What the heck?

Why is this Gangplank constantly hiding under the tower eating oranges?

Are oranges that delicious?

If you like eating oranges so much, go buy some and eat them, why are you playing in a competition?

Some viewers were dumbfounded at the sight. Even more so, they heard the defense tower repeatedly go 'ding ding ding' but couldn't attack, like they were constipated.

"Damn it, tower, attack him! Have you betrayed us!"

Zz1tai watched his health being continuously depleted by Chu Ran's Fiora using Q, but the tower could barely hit Fiora. His mental state was about to explode.

His barrels were already being "withdrawn" by Chu Ran, and now his own defense tower was acting like a mole.

How can I play like this?

At this moment, Zz1tai's face was like a mask of suffering. He couldn't understand how a newcomer could have such oppressive strength.

"Oh! It's Easy! This Fiora's under-tower poke is incredibly proficient. He's using the intervals when the defense tower attacks minions to use Piercing Strike to poke Gangplank without taking damage. By the time the defense tower reacts, Fiora has already pulled out of its attack range."

"He's kiting the tower!"

"Wow!" Wawa exclaimed in shock upon hearing Miller's explanation, "There's such a play?"

"Sigh. Wait! What is Easy doing!" Miller exclaimed in a daze, "He's pulling to the river, pretending to recall to make Zz1tai let his guard down. Oh my god! He wants to solo kill Gangplank under the tower, that's impossible!"

As Miller finished speaking, Zz1tai saw the Fiora, which had disappeared from his vision, reappear. A double barrel.

Laurent's Riposte!

Seeing Fiora block his double barrel with W, and simultaneously the blade of W piercing him and slowing him down, a bad premonition surged in Zz1tai's heart.

"Prepare!"

Zz1tai froze. Before he could react, he saw the Fiora's figure flickering around him like a ghost.

In an instant, the healing zone was already cast.

RAE flashed and Q'd!

Immediately after Gangplank flashed, the critical hit from E2 also landed on Gangplank, and the massive Gangplank instantly fell. The kill information appeared on the big screen.

"EDG-Easy killed Snake-Zzltai!"

For a moment, the audience at the venue and in the live broadcast were stunned. Looking at the fallen Gangplank, they instantly gasped, causing a massive stir across the entire internet!