TCWSITD – Chapter 27.2

Chapter 27.2 – Lin Jiang’s Hand Injury

After a brief chat, everyone quickly snapped back into training. Tomorrow, they would be up against XIG.

This team was a different beast compared to the previous three—solidly mid-to-upper tier, with overall strength far surpassing FOU.

Their top laner was especially formidable. Although stronger teams had tried to poach him, he was a man of gratitude and chose to stay loyal to his old club.

Lin Jiang had dined with their top laner a few times and was relatively familiar with him. “Hore’s individual skill is exceptional. Without him, XIG would barely qualify as a second-tier team. They’re known as the litmus test for strong teams—only truly strong teams can beat them. Their performance is incredibly consistent.”

Nowadays many people online say when OT faces XIG, they would immediately reveal their true form. KUG’s fans are eagerly waiting for this match to happen.

Lin Jiang, although reluctant to admit it, had to acknowledge: “If we lose to XIG, it’s basically proof that OT doesn’t have what it takes to make it to Worlds.”

His teammates fell into a stunned silence. Song Zhixu timidly asked, “Captain, what do you think the odds are of me beating Hore?”

He expected Lin Jiang to say zero, but after careful consideration, Lin Jiang told him, “Around 30%. If you perform better in team fights, it might go over 30%. The rest will be up to me and Shen Ju.”

Song Zhixu’s eyes lit up.

Why did he suddenly feel so hopeful?!

The next day, OT arrived at the venue early.

Once again, the organizers had scheduled KUG’s match on the same day as theirs. This time, KUG played first. By the time Lin Jiang arrived, KUG had already secured a 1:0 match point.

“Don’t you think Alike is playing way too recklessly? He’s not using his brain at all.”

After training with Lin Jiang for a few days, Song Zhixu’s game sense had sharpened considerably. “Look at him. If he’d just gone back to buy items, he’d keep the lane pushed on his side and hold the advantage when he got back. But he’s refusing to back down, pushing without clearing properly, and risking a jungle gank. It’s just not worth it.”

After speaking, he noticed Lin Jiang staring at him and suddenly grew nervous. “… Captain, was I wrong?”

Lin Jiang laughed and patted his shoulder approvingly. “Not bad, Song Zhixu. Your understanding of wave management is even stronger than Alike’s now.”

Song Zhixu: !!!

I’m really this strong now?!

Suddenly, he felt fired up for the upcoming match!

The large screen in the break room showed that Alike did indeed lose out on the minion wave, was ganked and forced to Flash out. Later when he went back in lane, he lost half a wave of minions again.

Yet his skills were sharp. Despite the disadvantage of missing half a wave and burning his Flash, he managed to outplay the enemy mid laner and secure a kill.

Unfortunately, the enemy jungler arrived right after. Without Flash, Alike had no choice but to accept his death.

After this play, Alike’s score was 2/1/0. It wasn’t bad, but it felt like he was always just a step away from playing perfectly.

In this match, both sides exchanged blows back and forth. KUG lost the second game, then won the third, ultimately winning with a 2:1 score.

At this time, KUG’s ranking had risen to third place. Second place was YIT, who had only lost one minor game. First place was TG, who so far remained undefeated.

“TG is seriously strong this year. They haven’t dropped a single game. Looks like they’ll take first in the regular season for sure.”

Lin Jiang remembered that in his past life, TG had also gone undefeated in the regular season and won the Summer Split championship.

Unfortunately…

They suffered a shocking upset at Worlds.

Lin Jiang looked at OT’s current ranking. Their matches were scheduled mostly later, so because of the score differences, they were pushed to the bottom.

If OT managed to win today, whether it was a 2:0 or 2:1, they’d jump up at least to…

Second place.

Just enough to knock KUG out of the top three.

Lin Jiang suddenly realized how crucial this match was.

The arena music started playing. As the host entered and introduced the teams, both sides took their seats.

“Up next is the match between OT and XIG. OT has priority pick for the first game.”

Don’t underestimate this small choice of sides—it determines what tactics OT can use to launch their attacks. In other words, OT had the upper hand going into game one.

Both teams entered the Champion Selection screen. OT wasted no time banning Hore’s three signature top lane picks. XIG fired back by banning three of Lin Jiang’s favorite mid lane champions.

Lin Jiang thought that after the match against ZOG, XIG would prioritize targeting the jungle role, but unexpectedly they still chose to target him.

Well, if that’s how they want to play, he wouldn’t hold back.

Amid the screams from the live audience, OT instantly locked in Akali.

Barrage—

[Huh? What kind of pick is this?]

[First-pick Akali?]

[Isn’t Lin Jiang afraid of getting countered?]

[Even though this champion has been buffed, shouldn’t river pick later? This makes it too easy to counter.]

At this moment, the commentators on stage suddenly noticed the highlight: “But XIG doesn’t have any champion that can counter Akali!”

Akali’s an incredibly agile assassin, and there’s hardly any champion that can truly counter her. Usually, the choice is to pick strong laners to apply pressure early in the game.

But XIG had banned three mid lane champions, all of them strong early-game picks, leaving themselves with no better options.

This was the first tactical move Lin Jiang had prepared for them—

Suffer the consequences of their own actions.[mfn]自作自受 (zì zuò zì shòu) – a Chinese idiom that translates to “reap what you sow”[/mfn]

XIG decisively abandoned the mid lane and secured the Xayah-Rakan bot lane duo, preparing to play a farming-oriented bot lane.

Meanwhile, OT grabbed the Lucian-Nami combo with extremely high burst damage in the early-to-mid game.

Such strong champion picks made XIG feel uneasy. They still had Azir available, but this Lucian-Nami combo forced them to choose a strong mid laner to get through the early-to-mid game.

What should they choose?

After careful consideration, XIG pulled out Tristana mid.

Tristana could indeed somewhat suppress Akali in lane, but her late-game performance was questionable. Still, they had no other choice but to pick her.

As the bans rolled around again, OT shifted focus away from Hore and instead took out two junglers.

XIG, not wanting to hand Lee Sin over to their opponents, grabbed him outright—ready to use him to shut down Lin Jiang’s dives.

Finally, it was OT’s turn, and they simultaneously locked in Renekton and Vi, a strong top-jungle combination.

OT’s top-jungle combo had very high burst damage, but there was one champion who could effectively disperse their firepower—Gnar, a top lane champion Hore excelled at.

Not only was Gnar nimble in lane, but he also had the power to completely shut down OT’s Lucian-Nami combo in mid-game team fights, preventing them from dealing damage!

XIG almost instinctively hovered over Gnar, but just as they were about to lock him in, they suddenly realized a fatal problem!

The commentators on stage had a flash of insight. “Ah, Gnar won’t work! XIG can’t pick Gnar! If they pick Gnar, their team will become a full AD comp!”

A full AD comp[mfn]菜刀队 (cài dāo duì) – lit. kitchen knife team; a lineup composed of melee or short-range champions who only deal physical damage (AD) and no magical damage (AP).[/mfn] is a lineup with only physical damage and no magic damage. This is a major taboo in competitive play—if the opponent builds armors and physical defense, XIG’s entire team would struggle to deal any meaningful damage!

Tristana in mid, the jungler, and the bot lane—all dealing physical damage. That meant the top lane had to fill the AP role with some crowd control, leaving Hore with only Kennen as a viable option.

But Kennen doesn’t handle Renekton well in lane! His mid-game engages will also be limited by Nami! It was like pushing Hore into a trap.

Suddenly, every player on XIG’s team went pale. Their cursor hovered over Gnar, but none dared to commit.

From their frantic mouse movements, it was clear they truly hadn’t anticipated this tactic. What was supposed to be their final counterpick had turned into a death sentence!

This was the second tactical move Lin Jiang had prepared for them—

Turning their own strategy against them.[mfn]将计就计 (jiāng jì jiù jì) – lit. turn one’s trick against him; or to beat somebody at their own game (idiom)[/mfn]

The commentator let out a long sigh. “XIG has fallen into OT’s tactical trap, but there’s nothing they can do. Even if it’s a trap, they have to take the bait! A full AD comp is absolutely unplayable! All we can hope is that XIG can rely on individual skills to pull through!”

In the end, XIG reluctantly locked in Kennen.

OT secured an unprecedented strategic advantage.

The broadcast cut to a close-up of Lin Jiang on the big screen. He was grinning like a fox, looking harmless on the surface but undeniably cunning underneath.

The crowd erupted once again.

[Absolutely dominated!]

[No surprise from a four-year veteran!]

[Such a smart play. I’ve got a feeling XIG is going to GG[mfn]GG – lit. slang from “good game,” here used sarcastically to imply XIG is about to lose.[/mfn] this round.]

[The comp advantage is just too huge. XIG can’t win this.]

[All I can say is Lin Jiang is one sly fox.]

Both sides entered the game.

Lin Jiang couldn’t win the early game trades, so he could only play passively and cautiously. Relying on his top-tier understanding of wave control, he hardly missed any XP or last-hits.

The enemy Tristana grew increasingly impatient to jump Lin Jiang at Level 3. But Lin Jiang calmly dropped a smoke bomb using his W[mfn]Twilight Shroud (W) – ability to use smoke bombs and creates a circular area of smoke that obscures vision and grants Akali bonus movement speed and slowing down the enemy within it.[/mfn]. Not only did he nullify the opponent’s damage, but he even turned it around and chunked him back in return.

Song Zhixu’s top lane matchup wasn’t easy either, but after weeks of getting beaten down by Old Mao and Lin Jiang, he had developed a cautious, adaptive playstyle—and managed to hold his own.

Down in the bot lane though—

Shen Ju was a total madman.

The Lucian-Nami combo could dominate almost any bot lane duo in the early-game. Lucian’s high burst damage and Nami’s attack speed buff, they opened fire the second they saw the enemy.

Level 1? Fight.

Level 3? Dive and fight.

Level 6? Flash in and kill.

XIG’s scaling-focused bot lane was getting absolutely steamrolled under Shen Ju’s relentless aggression. He played like a man possessed, dancing on the edge of disaster. If he caught even a sliver of an opportunity, he’d bite down without mercy.

XIG’s bot lane was on the verge of tears and had no choice but to call for their jungler. But the moment the jungler shifted focus to bot lane, A’Deng gained full control over the map.

In this game, A’Deng was playing Vi—a hard-engage, no-escape type of jungler. Once she locked onto a target, there was no getting away.

Following Lin Jiang’s plan, he camped top lane relentlessly, targeting Kennen every chance he got.

Despite Hore’s strong individual skill, the oppressive top-jungle pressure left him miserable.

Kennen is a champion that desperately needs farm, and his squishiness meant a single mistake could send him back to base. And in the top lane, once you fall behind, clawing your way back is nearly impossible.

With a long sigh, Hore burned his Teleport to return to lane.

Knowing that the opponent had no Flash, Song Zhixu, controlling Renekton, made a feint and then suddenly Flashed forward to strike down Hore.

A’Deng followed up decisively, locking him down with crowd control and bursting Kennen to pieces in an instant.

Watching the grayscale screen, Hore exhaled slowly.

He hadn’t expected someone like Song Zhixu to play Renekton with such precision and decisiveness. This caught him off guard.

And then there was their jungler, A’Deng. His overall map control had always been shaky, but in a match where the two junglers barely crossed paths, and with Vi—a champion that required only one click to lock you down—he’d managed to cover all his shortcomings flawlessly.

Hore smiled bitterly.

Lin Jiang lived up to his name.

Behind the scenes, where the audience couldn’t see, he was always orchestrating every move, positioning every seemingly “useless piece” exactly where it needed to be.

A man like Lin Jiang—his brilliance was so far ahead that the rest could only trail behind in his shadow.

KUG must be choking on regret by now.

XIG’s jungler stayed camped in the bot lane, but unfortunately, both Shen Ju and Zhou Wen had escape abilities. At best, OT could only sacrifice Nami as tribute.

Yet OT merely lost their support, while XIG lost their precious top laner! Where was the justice in that? XIG’s players held their heads in despair.

As the game reached mid-game, XIG—known for their map control—finally began to find some footing. While A’Deng took the Rift Herald to push top, XIG seized the opportunity to secure the dragon and aggressively pushed mid.

Watching the enemy quartet converge mid, Lin Jiang showed no intention of retreating.

He activated his smoke bomb and concealed himself within it.

The enemy, backed by a wave of minions, pushed down mid and began attacking the turret.

Mist silently curled around Tristana’s boots. Overconfident in their numbers, she failed to sense the looming danger.

Lin Jiang’s Akali glided forward through the shroud. Suddenly, he raised his scythe—her ultimate[mfn]Perfect Execution (R) – has two parts: a point-and-click dash to an enemy champion and a follow-up skill shot dash. The first part deals damage and reveals the target, while the second part deals increased damage based on the target’s missing health[/mfn] burst forth, and with a lightning fast AQA combo[mfn]The AQA combo is the most efficient way to trigger Akali’s passive, “Assassin’s Mark,” which is crucial for both damage and mobility.[/mfn], Tristana’s health was slashed in half before she could even react.

Tristana instinctively used Rocket Jump[mfn]Rocket Jump (W) – Tristana’s signature mobility skill, allowing her to leap to a target location, dealing magic damage and slowing enemies upon landing[/mfn] to escape, but Lin Jiang reversed his E[mfn]Shuriken Flip (E) – involves two parts: a backward flip and a forward shuriken throw, followed by a dash to the marked target. This time LJ did it the opposite way to reposition.[/mfn], re-engaging while simultaneously dodging Lee Sin’s Q[mfn]Sonic Wave (Q) – is a skill shot that deals damage to the first enemy hit and marks them[/mfn].

The commentators shouted, “Beautiful!”

Lin Jiang landed, then immediately activated the second cast of his ultimate with Flash—his blade slicing through Tristana’s vitals, instantly dropping her HP into the danger zone!

It was Akali’s signature move—R-Flash!

Akali’s second cast of her ultimate is untargeted and travels a fixed distance, only activating once she lands.

But if your mechanics are fast enough, you can hit Flash right before the second cast lands—extending its range and unleashing a devastating burst of damage!

It’s an incredibly demanding move—only players at their peak can reliably pull it off. Lin Jiang had done it the very first time he debuted!

No one expected that, four years later, his hand speed would still be razor-sharp!

Tristana’s screen grayed. With her ultimate and Flash already burned, she had no escape—only death awaited.

Akali, lifting her deathly scythe high, let out a soft, chilling laugh: “I can make this fast, or really fast. Choice is yours.”

A light and playful tone, paired with a gaze that looked down on everything—brought the sarcasm to its absolute peak.
Lin Jiang raised his hand and finished him off in one smooth AQA combo—swift and decisive.

Just then, Tristana’s teammates rushed in to avenge him. Lee Sin ward-hopped forward, aiming to land a “cool kick” and send Lin Jiang flying.

Just as everyone thought Lin Jiang was doomed, a sudden shout rang out: “See ya!”

It was Akali’s second E trigger line!

Could it be…?

In an instant, Lin Jiang turned into a streak of light and flashed straight back to his own turret. Lee Sin’s kick had accidentally helped him escape.

The audience: !!!

Not only had Lin Jiang secured the kill, but he had also safely returned to his original position!

Akali’s first E marks a target whether an enemy, minion, or even her own smoke bomb. Triggering the second E turns her into a streak of light, sending her back to the marked spot.

When Lin Jiang had cast his E in the opposite direction, everyone assumed he was simply chasing Tristana and dodging Lee Sin’s Q.

No one expected the third layer of his play: an escape route!

Lin Jiang, surrounded on all sides, killed Tristana and calmly returned to safety—seizing control of the entire game in one move!

At first, the commentator didn’t even realize Lin Jiang’s E was still active. He was still analyzing: “river’s reverse E was beautifully executed—Tristana had no way out.”

It wasn’t until the second replay that he suddenly reacted: “He planted his E in the smoke! That was his escape route! My god, that Akali play is absolutely legendary!”

Every Akali player watching must’ve felt chills. This wasn’t just a visual spectacle—it was a ruthless demonstration of mechanical mastery at its peak.

Lin Jiang hit every sweet spot the audience craved.

Even the haters who used to say his gameplay lacked flair had no choice but to shut up and join the crowd cheering for his mechanics. After all, it’s human nature to admire the strong.

After Lin Jiang’s escape, the enemy still tried to push mid to minimize their losses.

But in the next second, Shen Ju dashed in like lightning and unleashed his ultimate—The Culling[mfn]The Culling (R) – allows Lucian to fire a barrage of shots in a target direction for a short duration, dealing damage to any enemies caught in the line of fire.[/mfn]. A barrage of bullets rained down, slicing through the air and forcing the enemy team to scatter in chaos.

XIG’s tower push ended in a complete disaster, while OT successfully took the first turret on the top lane!

Song Zhixu’s excited voice crackled through the headset. “Captain, did you see that? If I’d been just a bit faster, I could’ve killed Hore one more time!”

Shen Ju immediately snapped back, “With your trash mechanics, you have the nerve to show off in front of Lin Jiang?”

Song Zhixu was baffled. He’d been focused on pushing the tower just now and hadn’t seen Lin Jiang’s play.

“Huh? What did I miss, Captain?”

Lin Jiang replied calmly, “Just killed someone.”

Shen Ju and Zhou Wen, who had witnessed the whole thing, stared in disbelief: Just took someone out—?

Momentum had completely tilted toward OT. Even if their individual mechanics weren’t the best, with such a strong lineup, they still made XIG suffer miserably.

The most tragic was Hore—not only did he have to sacrifice for the team by picking Kennen, but he was also getting crushed in lane by someone like Song Zhixu—a total goofball.

To make matters worse, every time he tried to dive in with Flash to start a fight, he enemy Nami would land her bubble[mfn]Aqua Prison (Q) – a skill shot that launches a bubble to a target area, dealing damage and stunning enemies on impact.[/mfn] with pinpoint accuracy!

Why did it feel like the enemy support had him locked in their sights the entire time?

Quiet. Invisible. As if he’d vanished completely from the battlefield.

Just the thought made Hore’s scalp tingle. Before he could confirm his suspicions, the game was already over.

OT claimed victory in the first game, taking the first match point.

XIG took a deep breath.

This… was nothing like what they had expected.

For the second game, with side selection in their favor, XIG chose the blue side. They drafted a solid comp and relied on tight macro play and precise timings to take the win.

Undefeated until now, OT finally lost a game. The haters who’d been waiting all this time finally got their moment and started going wild online.

But their celebration didn’t last long—the third game was already underway.

OT had side selection this time and opted for blue.

Once again, the gears of fate began to turn.

Seeing that XIG was about to repeat the same mistakes from the first game, their coach was at his wit’s end.

Lin Jiang’s draft strategy was too strong—practically tailor-made for this matchup. Maybe it was originally designed specifically for them, which is why there wasn’t the slightest weakness to exploit.

In the end, the coach decided to bet everything on Hore, giving him first pick Renekton, then complementing the mid lane with Syndra for AP damage, hoping to change their current predicament.

At first, Hore didn’t disappoint and forced Song Zhixu back again and again.

But he just couldn’t wear down Song Zhixu’s Ornn.

Song Zhixu’s Ornn thrived under pressure—he’d mastered it through countless games alongside Old Mao and Lin Jiang, his defense forged in fire. Now, he was a walking wall.

Despite Hore leading by a full 2,000 gold, he couldn’t do anything to Song Zhixu. In the mid-game, Song Zhixu did nothing but focus on Hore, forcing his Renekton to burn Flash every time he tried to engage.

And even after Flashing in, he’d immediately get caught in Zhou Wen’s bubble!

It was a nightmare loop he couldn’t escape.

Hore had always thought Shen Ju was the only terrifying one, barely having any impression of the support. He never expected Zhou Wen to be this formidable!

As for XIG’s mid laner Syndra, their sole source of AP damage, she had already been crushed in lane by Lin Jiang, and couldn’t deal any meaningful damage in the mid-game.

Their defeat in the third game was even more devastating than the first game.

And at some point, Hore began to wonder—was all of this part of Lin Jiang’s elaborate trap?

At this point, overthinking was pointless.

All they could do was swallow their pride and accept the loss.

And so, with a dominant 4:0 victory, OT climbed to second place in the rankings—knocking KUG all the way down to fourth.

KUG fans watching the match were so furious they slammed the tables on the spot.

To hell with that trash team KUG!

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