League: I really didn't tank!

022. Skills are tested in the heat of battle?

Chen Dongqing was immediately stunned by the several IDs in front of him. He turned around and said, "Is this what you meant by 'a little tough'?"

This is EDG's starting lineup!

The current EDG represents the highest level of LPL. Even Chen Dongqing, the number one top laner in the Chinese server, is only considered by them for whether or not to bring him into the second team. They don't even consider him for the first team.

Playing against a team like this puts a lot of pressure on Chen Dongqing.

"No problem, it's just a little tough," Linko said cheerfully. "But it's okay, the coach isn't asking you to win today, just play your own style."

"walk slowly."

...

Meanwhile, on the other side, EDG Club.

Abu looked at the ID in the room with interest and said with a smile, "So he's QG's new top laner?"

"ilex," the factory manager repeated the ID, "Is he the top laner who immediately rejected our tryout invitation?"

Abu smiled and said, "Yes, it's him."

The factory manager chuckled and said, "Should I give him some special treatment?"

"There's no need for that, it goes against our tactical system," Abu said. "Just play normally, but Yuhao should be careful, that top laner is very skilled."

"Okay." EDG's top laner, Mouse, gave a warm and comforting smile: "Don't worry, I can handle it."

...

Both teams are ready and the training match has officially begun.

Chen Dongqing wasn't wearing headphones; he was just sitting there normally.

Uzi was the AD carry in this game, while Lin Weixiang stood in the back watching.

Meanwhile, tactical coach Banbazi (Choi Myung-won) started doing the drafting and banning (BP) process.

The training matches are mainly to see the abilities of both sides, so neither side bans their signature heroes, just randomly banning some heroes like Garen and Xin Zhao.

At the same time, Banbazi, standing behind Chen Dongqing, said:

"For professional players, a large champion pool is very important. I've watched many of your ranked games, and you seem to be using Fiora and Riven all the time. Let me give you a test."

"If the enemy picks Maokai, besides Fiora and Riven, what other champions can you use to counter him?"

No sooner had they finished speaking than EDG, the blue team, picked Maokai on the first floor.

It's obvious that EDG's top laner only needs Maokai; even the Korean coaches know this...

Is this a test for me?

Indeed, Fiora is currently too strong, so although Chen Dongqing reached the top of the national server with Fiora, the coach still needs to consider whether it is because Fiora is a powerful champion or because Chen Dongqing himself is skilled.

Chen Dongqing felt no pressure at all. Having played LOL for so many years, his biggest advantage was his champion pool.

He thought for a moment and replied, "Captain, Crocodile, Darius, I can play them all."

Meanwhile, Chen Dongqing was also thinking: Actually, I can also use Quinn, Vayne, and Kalista to make sure that I can crush the big tree so much that it can't take care of itself.

However, he didn't mention these three options...

"Not bad." Banbazi was quite satisfied. He said, "Then you can play Captain this game. Let me see your farming ability."

In Banbazi's view, the Captain vs. Maokai matchup is a game where the player has a slight advantage in the laning phase, focuses on farming, and then carries in the late game. It's very difficult to get a solo kill in a professional match.

In order to achieve the desired effect, Banbazi also picked Graves in the jungle position.

Graves was only reworked in Season 6, along with other champions like Kog'Maw (who can fire five shots in one second), Corki (who has a new explosive charge), and Quinn (whose ultimate has no cooldown).

When Graves was first reworked, everyone still used him as an AD carry based on their usual thinking, but he was weak in lane no matter how they played him, and everyone thought that the champion had been ruined.

Until a player named Zhang Jiawen quickly climbed to the Challenger rank in the Chinese server using Graves, introducing a brand new strategy called Jungle Graves to the world.

This idea quickly became popular worldwide and became a popular choice for jungle carry junglers.

The Captain paired with the male gunner, a double pirate combination, is a combination that only becomes effective in the mid-to-late game.

Banbazi wanted to see how well Chen Dongqing and mlxg developed their skills.

As for the outcome of this game? That really doesn't matter.

Even if they lose the match, as long as the top laner and jungler can perform well under the pressure from EDG, they are willing to take on these two players.

Following that, EDG selected their signature lineup: Lulu in the mid lane and Lee Sin in the jungle. They relied on Lulu's early laning ability to gain control of the mid lane, and then coordinated with Clearlove's Lee Sin to create opportunities.

After a back-and-forth exchange, the lineup was quickly finalized.

Blue side EDG: Top lane Maokai, Jungle Lee Sin, Mid lane Lulu, Bot lane Tristana and Alistar.

Red team QG: Top lane Gangplank, Jungle Graves, Mid lane Corki, Bot lane Caitlyn and Thresh.

Regarding talent, Chen Dongqing thought about it briefly and ultimately chose to select the Undying talent.

First of all, Wind Rider is definitely the most suitable rune for the Captain, as the movement speed gained from taking off with a barrel in the late game can bring the Captain terrifying mobility.

But this situation is special.

Since his rework in Season 4, Maokai has been a top-tier top laner. He has sustain in lane, allowing him to easily stay in lane, and he's incredibly tanky in the late game.

Since Chen Dongqing has chosen the captain as the second pick, he must crush the big tree and leave a good impression on the team.

Therefore, he can only use the Undying, which has a very OP attribute in this version.

"Don't engage in the level 1 team fight, just log in normally." Banbazi added a reminder from behind.

In order to ensure the stability of the game, training matches generally do not involve level 1 team fights. These are all about surprise attacks, so practicing level 1 team fights in training matches is completely unnecessary.

Meanwhile, Xiangguo also said, "Chen Dongqing, I'll start with red buff and farm downwards. Be careful on the top lane."

The top laner was playing solo against Maokai, while the mid laner was playing against Corki. Neither side could really do anything about it, and the jungler couldn't help much either. The only breakthrough for both sides was the bottom lane.

Both Caitlyn and Tristana are highly aggressive AD carries, and Deft and Uzi are also quite fierce players, so the first battle between the two sides can only take place in the bottom lane.

If Xiangguo isn't in the bottom lane during the first fight, then his trial today can basically be considered a failure.

"Yeah, it's okay. I'm just playing casually in the top lane." Chen Dongqing nodded. This situation meant that Clearlove could only farm in the bottom lane, so his laning phase was very easy. "But I'm not helping you with the red buff."

"Yeah, it's okay. My Graves took no damage from the red buff."

After the communication ended, Chen Dongqing set off ahead of schedule.

Immediately afterwards, he moved the mouse over the skill and looked at the skill data.

He hasn't played the captain role since he traveled back in time...

The Captain has undergone several minor reworks in later generations. When he was first reworked in Season 5, he was still the Captain with five barrels, plus a melee-type Q (with higher damage from Undying).

This version of Gangplank is the strongest. In the early game, he's unstoppable in lane thanks to his Q, and in the late game, he can unleash a barrage of attacks with his five barrels.

Later in Season 6, the number of barrels was reduced from five to three, a major nerf that didn't affect the early laning phase but weakened the late game.

Then at the end of Season 11, the Captain was changed back to five barrels, but as a trade-off, his Q skill became a ranged attack (the main impact was a 40% reduction in the Undying effect, weakening the laning phase), and his health was also reduced.

This version of the Captain has a completely new look. Although the five barrels are back and his late-game ability is back, his early-game laning ability has plummeted.

Starting from the end of Season 11, Gangplank has been unable to beat Maokai in lane.

In the later S12 World Championship Finals, Flandre's Maokai played against Zeus's Gangplank. Despite having an advantage in the laning phase, he was completely dominated and killed by Zeus's Gangplank, which sparked considerable discussion at the time.

Chen Dongqing vaguely remembered that the number of gunpowder barrels was reduced from five to three in the early stages of Season 6, but he couldn't remember if it was now.

He carefully read the description of the E skill.

（最大充能数2/3/4/5，随大招等级增长，火药桶存在时间60秒。）

Hmm, still Captain Five Barrels, not bad!

Five-barrel Captain is the pinnacle version of the Captain, excelling in both the early and late game!

Seeing this, Chen Dongqing's confidence increased considerably.

At this moment, Xiangguo turned his head and glanced at Chen Dongqing, who was looking at the skill description.

"..."

Xiangguo couldn't help but say, "Dude, is it really appropriate for you to be looking at skills at a time like this?"