"Welcome to League of Legends."
Both teams entered the game.
Both sides dutifully headed into their own jungle to place wards, then returned to their lanes to wait for the minions.
After all, this was a scrim. To keep practice productive, the unspoken rule was no level-one fights.
Lu Chen's Caitlyn ran the standard attack damage, armor, and magic resistance runes.
For his keystone mastery, he took Warlord's Bloodlust to improve his lane sustain and pressure.
"Be careful when you push bot," Rookie reminded them. "Clearlove loves ganking bot. EDG plays around mid and the bottom half of the map."
As for EDG's top lane, four words summed it up: left to fend alone.
There was a saying that put it perfectly.
EDG was recruiting a Maokai. Top-lane experience required.
Put simply, the only requirement for an EDG top laner was to withstand pressure. Pick a tank that contributed in teamfights, quietly play out top lane, and wait for mid and bot to take over the game.
That had always been their style.
"I'll clear from top to bot this game," Ning Wang said. "That way I can cover bot while you push."
"Okay." Lu Chen nodded. "I'll be careful."
He was definitely going to push.
What was the point of picking Caitlyn if he wasn't going to push the lane?
Soon, the minions arrived.
The moment Lu Chen's Caitlyn reached lane, he started shoving aggressively.
He used his Q, Piltover Peacemaker, to whittle down the enemy minions while positioning well forward.
Notably, as Caitlyn auto-attacked the minions, she kept frantically weaving left, right, forward, and backward. She looked like a top spinning in place, bizarre no matter how you looked at it!
The opposing bot-lane duo stared in disbelief.
IBoy fired off three bewildered questions. "What is that movement? What the hell is West trying to show off? What's the point of all that weaving?"
Meiko was speechless too. "That's even more excessive than Uzi. Don't his hands get tired?"
Just then, as Xayah went for a last hit, Caitlyn slipped in a surprise auto.
IBoy was about to retaliate when he realized she had already backed out of range. He swallowed his frustration and continued farming.
Yet when he went for the next minion, Caitlyn caught him with another surprise shot!
This time, iBoy couldn't take it anymore. He immediately stepped forward to hit back.
But Caitlyn kept spacing away, never letting him get an auto off.
When he turned back, Caitlyn turned around and shot him again!
He tried to retaliate, but he still couldn't reach her!
After several rounds of this back-and-forth, Xayah's health plunged toward half.
IBoy was rattled. He hurriedly pulled Xayah back. "Hold on. Something's wrong with this guy!"
Was this really West?!
Since when could West space like this?!
Having debuted as a prodigy ADC, iBoy was confident his mechanics were second to none.
Even against Uzi, whose fame was at its peak, he didn't believe he was bound to lose.
Yet laning against this Caitlyn gave him an inexplicable sense of helplessness.
That terrifying control of distance made his scalp prickle!
More importantly, he had been smashing West in the previous game. How had the guy suddenly started hitting back so hard?
He had been caught completely off guard!
Beside him, Meiko's eyes filled with surprise too.
They were only level one. How were they already starting to lose their footing in lane?
Of the first wave's six minions, Xayah had missed three, and she was already down to half health. It was a disastrous trade!
Seeing how stunned iBoy looked, Meiko quickly reassured him. "Don't rush. Once we hit two, Xayah and Rakan come online. He won't dare pressure us like this then."
"Okay." IBoy snapped out of it and nodded through gritted teeth.
The second minion wave arrived.
This time, Caitlyn pushed even more recklessly.
"Back off, back off first," Meiko urged. "We can't beat them to two."
The pair hurriedly retreated, not daring to keep farming the wave.
Trying to outpush Caitlyn was clearly a terrible idea.
And so IG's bot lane hit level two first.
That made the situation even worse. With both Q and W available, Alistar began moving farther forward, while Caitlyn walked straight past the minion wave to zone them!
The opposing Xayah and Rakan barely dared stay in experience range, forced to keep retreating toward their tower!
"Fuck!"
In the end, iBoy couldn't hold back the curse.
This felt awful!
It was easily the most miserable bot-lane game he had played since going pro!
Even facing Uzi hadn't felt this bad. Yet West, whom he had never thought much of, was beating him like this. His pride simply couldn't take it!
"Easy, easy. I'll be there in a second."
"Just hold on!" Clearlove called quickly.
He hadn't expected his bot lane to get pressured this badly either.
Sejuani's jungle clear wasn't particularly fast. If he headed bot now, he wouldn't be able to finish red buff and reach level three.
But Clearlove wasn't actually worried, because the enemy bot lane was pushed far too forward.
Once he arrived, he could kill at least one of them.
He knew this situation all too well-the classic level-two bot gank.
Pushing came at a price.
On IG's side, Ning Wang noticed the problem too and couldn't help asking, "Aren't you two a little too far forward?"
"It's fine," Lu Chen said calmly. "Even if Sejuani comes, she won't help."
To get enough experience to reach level two, the enemy Xayah had taken several more autos from him. She was now below half health.
As long as he dodged the key abilities, they could turn the fight!
Just then.
The ward in the river brush finally spotted the approaching Sejuani.
Clearlove called over voice comms, "Go, go, go! I'm here, I'm here!"
"Go!" A sharp glint flashed in iBoy's eyes. "Focus the ADC!"
Meiko was just as decisive. With Caitlyn positioned so far forward, he sent Rakan flying straight at her with W, Grand Entrance!
If he landed this knock-up...
Caitlyn would die even with both summoner spells available!
However.
Under everyone's intent gaze...
Caitlyn, already weaving and spinning in place, suddenly took one step to the left!
That tiny step caused Rakan's W to miss its knock-up at the very edge of its range!
"Uh..."
"...What?" Meiko was stunned.
Rakan's missed ability immediately set off a chain reaction.
Behind him, iBoy had just stepped up, firing a feather with Q and preparing to auto-attack Caitlyn.
Lu Chen was already giving orders. "Baolan, engage on Xayah!"
"Got it!" Baolan answered immediately. Alistar used Flash into Q, Pulverize, launching Xayah's slight frame into the air.
Caitlyn promptly placed a trap beneath Xayah, then fired a Piltover Peacemaker through her already dangerously low health bar, forcing iBoy's Heal.
When Xayah landed, she couldn't even get Flash off before the trap rooted her, and she took another Headshot!
"Holy shit!" IBoy jolted in fright, instinctively hammering the D key for Flash.
Fortunately, Meiko had leveled E. He used Battle Dance to fly back to Xayah and shield her, preserving a sliver of health.
"I'm here, I'm here!" Clearlove's Sejuani finally arrived and charged straight toward Caitlyn with Q.
Now he wasn't even thinking about killing Caitlyn. He only needed to crowd-control her long enough for Xayah to Flash and escape alive.
At that critical instant...
Instead of continuing to attack Xayah, Caitlyn made another uncanny move, taking a step directly to the right at a ninety-degree angle!
As a result, Sejuani skimmed right past Caitlyn!
Everyone in EDG's practice room widened their eyes.
A moment later, the system announcement rang out.
First Blood! IG West has slain EDG iBoy!
Before you continue