China’s League of Legends Pro League (LPL), with its 17 franchised teams, is the first major region to kick off the Summer Split 2022.
In the first week, JD Gaming took on Top Esports, who finished in second place in Spring after they narrowly lost the grand final 3-2 to eventual MSI 2022 champions Royal Never Give Up.
JD Gaming also performed well in Spring, coming in third in the regular season. They were eliminated by Victory Five in the lower bracket Round 3.
Both of these teams are strong contenders for Worlds 2022 qualification, so it’s no surprise that this best-of-three series delivered. With the series tied at 1-1, Yu “JackeyLove” Wen-Bo went all out and picked his signature Draven in game three.
JDG, on the other hand, first picked Lucian on blue side for Wang “Hope” Jie, then completed their bot lane duo with Lou “Missing” Yun-Feng’s Nami, the best pairing in the current meta. Together, they showcased how to perfectly execute Lucian and Nami in the bot lane.
Against an engage support like Nautilus, Lucian and Nami still need to be defensive in the laning phase because if a hook, root, or stun lands on either champion, the trade will not go in their favor.
You should never Relentless Pursuit in unless enemy cooldowns are up, or risk wasting Flash. When Flash is down on either champion, that’s when enemy initiators will look to fight.
Of course, the reverse is also true. When engage supports miss their crowd control, that’s the best time for Lucian and Nami to strike. Three minutes in, JDG’s bot lane was getting pushed in. The moment Ling “Mark” Xu hooked a minion, all of Hope’s and Missing’s auto attacks focused on him.
JackeyLove retaliated and chunked out Hope’s HP. However, since Draven’s Spinning Axe leaves a mark on the ground, Missing threw an Aqua Prison at that precise spot, forcing JackeyLove to Flash.
With JDG’s bot lane pushed against their tower, Top Esports sent two more members down for a dive. Even then, both Missing and Hope continued to maximize their damage: Missing consistently auto attacked champions in range, and while low on mana, used his last Tidecaller’s Blessing on Hope to secure a trade kill onto JackeyLove’s Draven.
With JDG’s bot lane pushed against their tower, Top Esports sent two more members down for a dive. Even then, both Missing and Hope continued to maximize their damage: Missing consistently auto attacked champions in range, and while low on mana, used his last Tidecaller’s Blessing on Hope to secure a trade kill onto JackeyLove’s Draven.
This bot duo isn’t easy to master, especially on the part of the support. A high skill cap champion, the Tidecaller’s crowd control is entirely dependent on the player’s precision, timing, and situational awareness.
Aqua Prison (Q) is one of the hardest skillshots to land in League of Legends. It has a fixed cast time which doesn’t vary by distance, and a small AoE that can be easily sidestepped or dodged with mobility. Centering bubbles on enemy champions so that they hit or catching them right on the edge of its circle requires a lot of experience.
And even if you’re able to play Nami perfectly, the effectiveness of Tidecaller’s Blessing (E) is entirely dependent on your AD carry. Lucian applies its slow effect, which helps you land Aqua Prison. In this 2v2 skirmish seven minutes into the game, Hope and Missing demonstrate these mechanics beautifully.
It’s particularly important to deal max damage post-patch 12.10, because anything less may not result in a kill. Hope begun this exchange by sidestepping Draven’s Stand Aside, which allowed him to fully unleash Relentless Pursuit.
Once in close range, both Tidecaller’s Blessing and Aqua Prison were used simultaneously, which caught JackeyLove’s Draven on the edge of the AoE. The moment he disengaged, the duo continued auto attacking Marks’ Nautilus before Hope Flashed in for a Piercing Light (Q) execution.
Once in close range, both Tidecaller’s Blessing and Aqua Prison were used simultaneously, which caught JackeyLove’s Draven on the edge of the AoE. The moment he disengaged, the duo continued auto attacking Marks’ Nautilus before Hope Flashed in for a Piercing Light (Q) execution.
Not landing Aqua Prison in pro play is a crime.
Once team fights break out from the mid to late game and there are many enemy champions zipping in and out of range with utmost mobility (thanks Riot), both Lucian and Nami still need to be tight as a duo.
Naturally, they prefer playing out team fights from front to back, but when things don’t lineup, that’s when the enchanter support makes all the difference.
When a fight broke out at the tier two turret at top and Hope was targeted, Missing chose to wait for Gao “Tian” Tian-Liang’s Viego to use Spectral Maw before casting Aqua Prison and applying Ignite, saving his marksman and his gold bounty.
When a fight broke out at the tier two turret at top and Hope was targeted, Missing chose to wait for Gao “Tian” Tian-Liang’s Viego to use Spectral Maw before casting Aqua Prison and applying Ignite, saving his marksman and his gold bounty.
Snowballing through bot lane, JD Gaming held onto their gold lead and ended the game in just 24 minutes, much faster than the average game time of 31:31.
Missing’s Nami was practically perfect, boasting a 1/0/22 KDA, a testament to his mastery of the champion.
In a post-game broadcast interview, he rated Hope’s performance on Lucian 100/100. Everyone clearly agreed, because he was awarded the MVP of game three.
JD Gaming take on LGD Gaming on June 14 at 5 p.m. GMT+8. Catch the games live daily on the official LPL Twitch and YouTube channels.
