Stealing the Dragon

North America's SD Team's jungle Lee Sin and mid-lane Zed coordinated flawlessly, allowing Zed to narrowly outplay and kill NJSeal Team's mid-lane Talon, played by Pone.

Whether it was Lee Sin's Flash-W Safeguard and ultimate kick, or Zed's timely ultimate to follow up with his burst combo, both were brilliant plays executed to perfection!

For a moment, not only did the entire three-thousand-seat stadium erupt in excitement, but even the viewers watching the stream from their computers were thrilled and deeply shocked.

Particularly, editors from major gaming websites were busy in their offices, shouting and calling out in a rush:

"Did you clip that play just now?!"

"Make sure it's in ultra-HD!"

"Holy crap, that is easily the number one play of the tournament so far!!"

Meanwhile, in K City, at the Tiansi Net Cafe.

Looking at the screen showing Zed and Lee Sin's clutch outplay on Talon, Kang Zi grinned.

"Oh, not bad."

"Those two, their synergy is still as flawless as ever..."

S City, in a female dormitory at Huadong University of Finance and Economics.

"Ahhh, so cool!! SD.Two's play was so cool!! Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu, did you see that?! A clutch outplay!!"

The girl with the mushroom-cut hair got so excited she started shaking her roommate beside her.

"Alright, alright, I saw it... Don't shake me so hard."

Qiao Xinyu was a bit helpless, but looking at the screen, a visible smile appeared on her face:

No. 3, No. 4, well done~!

...

At the 25-minute mark, the kill score stood at 12-10 in favor of the Blue Team, with the gold lead hovering around 1,000.

By this time, both ADCs had scaled up in levels and items, and the game was entering the teamfighting phase.

"In terms of teamfight comps, NJSeal actually has a slight advantage here—"

In the VIP room of the Changcheng Net Cafe, Brother Liu said with a frown.

Old Xiao beside him agreed. "Yeah, the core damage of the Blue Team, SD Team, relies on Twitch, but the opponents have dive champions like Jarvan IV and Talon, which heavily counter an immobile ADC like Twitch—"

Mao Zi chimed in, "And they have Rumble too. If that Rumble lands a good ultimate, Twitch is going to have a miserable time!"

A Chuan nodded. "So the Blue Team's only hope is for Twitch to get a pick out of stealth, or for Zed to ult and assassinate the enemy ADC, Tristana..."

Lin Xiao sat beside them happily eating chocolate, not joining the discussion.

However, Brother Liu and the others were right. In terms of teamfights, the Purple Team, NJSeal, indeed had an easier comp to execute.

On the other hand, relying on Twitch to get a stealth pick wasn't very realistic... If Twitch tried to assassinate Talon, he might just get instantly deleted by a heavily geared Pone's ultimate. And if he targeted anyone else, Rumble's ultimate could easily zone out the rest of SD Team, preventing them from backing Twitch up.

With these thoughts in mind, Lin Xiao swallowed his chocolate with a satisfied gulp.

In short, it's going to be really tough~

...

At the 25-minute mark, the fourth dragon spawned.

Both teams began posturing around the dragon pit, looking for an opening.

Shortly after, the Purple Team, NJSeal, started the dragon, pulling it out of the pit to burn it down.

Just as the dragon's health fell below one-fifth, the Blue Team, SD Team, made their move.

Top-lane Maokai activated his ultimate, forming a massive magical vortex around himself, and led the charge.

At the same time, the stealthy Twitch crept forward from the backline, aiming his venomous crossbow at the center of the Purple Team's formation.

However, what drew the audience's attention most was the Blue Team's jungle Lee Sin.

Before the teamfight erupted, who would secure this dragon?!

25 minutes and 49 seconds.

The dragon's health bar was down to its last sliver.

Boom!—

Lee Sin landed his Q, "Sonic Wave", on the dragon, activating the second cast to fly in.

With a swift ultimate, "Dragon's Rage", he kicked the opposing Jarvan IV away!

Almost at the exact same instant, Kaos, the Purple Team's jungle Jarvan IV, reacted incredibly fast and Smited the low-HP dragon. A flash of purple claws struck the dragon, chunking its health.

However—

The dragon still had a sliver of health left!

Kaos had Smited too early!!

But in reality, Kaos couldn't be blamed. If he hadn't Smited then, Lee Sin's kick would have knocked him out of Smite range anyway, leaving him with zero chance.

Regardless, the early Smite was an undeniable fact.

Thus, the ownership of this dragon... was no longer in question.

Lee Sin kicked Jarvan IV away while his fingers flew across the keyboard, pressing his own Smite!

The last sliver of the dragon's health vanished instantly!

The fourth dragon was successfully stolen by the Blue Team!!

"Haha, beautiful!!" Mao Zi shouted excitedly. "Lee Sin came through again!"

However... the dragon steal was merely the prelude to the battle.

In the next second, a full-blown 5v5 teamfight erupted!

...

Boom boom boom boom boom!—

A barrage of explosions echoed as the Purple Team Rumble's ultimate, "The Equalizer", rained down, creating a burning path of death across the river, catching three Blue Team champions and cutting off their retreat!

Jarvan IV, who had been kicked away, strode back into the fray, unleashing his EQ combo to dive the Blue Team's backline—

And at the exact moment of execution, another flash of golden light appeared!

EQ-Flash!

Jarvan IV's mid-air figure suddenly extended its knock-up range!

The knock-up effect still registered!

Where he landed, the Blue Team's support Janna and ADC Twitch were both knocked into the air by this sudden EQ-Flash!

The mid-lane Talon, Pone, closed in instantly with his E, appearing behind Twitch.

He unleashed his ultimate!

First cast, second cast!

His W, "Rake", sent a fan of blades tearing through the air!

The burst damage exploded instantly!!

Before the Blue Team's support Janna could even cast her ultimate to protect her ADC, Twitch was instantly deleted by Talon's burst!

In the VIP room of the Changcheng Net Cafe.

In front of the screen, Lin Xiao sighed with regret:

"This teamfight is lost..."