Starting with Zaozi Ge, a dream lineup

Chapter 198 The Finals Begin! Arch-rivals Skt!

Meanwhile, on other Weibo posts that didn't address whether esports was politically correct, the focus of discussion was more on the selection of personnel.

"Is this outrageous? My dad loves watching the Asian Games, and now you're really going to make him watch League of Legends with me?"

"Who from our LPL will go? Seriously, shouldn't Korean players be excluded from the Asian Games? Otherwise, the entire Chinese team would be Korean."

"This is a national-level sports event, and athletes need to register their qualifications with the General Administration of Sport. Are you an NT (non-professional) or a Korean import?"

"Regardless of how strong or weak they are, I'm voting for the factory manager."

Suddenly, the debate over whether RNG or SKT was stronger, which was just yesterday, has become the Asian Games.

Of course, esports wouldn't have made it to the trending topics if the official Asian Games schedule hadn't been announced. The specific details haven't been released yet; we'll have to wait until after MSI to find out.

Even so, major media outlets, eager for buzz, rushed to report on the story, grabbing everyone's attention.

As for the League of Legends World Championship (S-Series), the highest stage, it's on a completely different level compared to the Asian Games.

Just like basketball, the S-series is like the NBA, the highest level of basketball, while the Asian Games is on the same level as the Olympics.

Both are the biggest leagues, but they are different in nature. One is the world's top competitive stage, while the other is for representing one's country and is full of solemnity.

Given that all members of RNG are currently Chinese citizens, the General Administration of Sport will likely take this into consideration and allow the entire RNG team to participate in the competition to ensure a higher winning percentage.

Upon seeing the news of the Asian Games, Li Luo's joy was no less than anyone else's, and perhaps even greater.

The opportunity to represent the country in a battle is only available once a year, during Season 8. Being able to come to this time and space and represent the country in battle fills one with an overwhelming sense of honor.

Several people who read the Weibo post were also energized.

"Little dog, we absolutely have to take down Skt, please!" These were Little Tiger's words.

"Hey puppy, give it your all! We'll treat you to a big meal in Paris this time," said Xiangguo.

To outsiders, SKT is a legendary team that has won three championships and narrowly lost last year. But in Li Luo's eyes, the current SKT is probably no less dominant than at its peak. It is the only team in all of LoL that can be called a "dynasty" and has a foundation that RNG has not yet been able to possess.

In their past lives, LPL teams lost every single World Championship they participated in, without exception.

Even though SKT was in poor form at the time and lost to SSG in the Bird's Nest finals, they still defeated RNG in the semifinals, extinguishing LPL's hopes.

In this timeline, spanning ancient and modern times, the only LPL teams that have ever managed to defeat SKT in a best-of-five series are RNG and Edg.

SKT's only losses at Worlds were:

EDG in the 2015 MSI Finals
SSG in the 2017 World Championship Finals
2019 MSI Semifinals G2
Even IG, the first champion of the LPL, expressed their biggest regret in an interview after winning the championship as not having faced SKT head-on.

This is a team with a legendary history.

In this MSI final, RNG can only win, they cannot afford to lose.

The MSI Grand Finals are drawing ever closer.

For global audiences, the opening ceremony of this year's finals was far less impressive than the World Championship held at the Bird's Nest last year.

Unfortunately, even though the venue has changed, the final match is still a battle between China and South Korea.

From S3 to S8, every official tournament's finals were a battle between China and South Korea, while North American and European wildcard regions were always the runners-up, never even making it to the finals.

However, this year's European and American audiences were not lacking in interest. The match between last year's champion and the three-time champion SKT, whether in terms of the controversy of the match or the strength of the two teams, can be described as the pinnacle of League of Legends.

The finals took place as scheduled on May 20th.

It was another Saturday, a day when everyone rested, and the MSI finals opening ceremony started promptly at 3 p.m.

Inside the Zenith Stadium, there were many Chinese people who had booked tickets specifically to fly over to support RNG, but even more were international students who stayed in Paris.

Everywhere you look, there are light boards and banners cheering for RNG.

On domestic live streaming platforms such as Xiyu and Xiya, top streamers have wisely either shut down their own streams or provided commentary and analysis from a second-person perspective.

The official live streaming platforms were already packed with people. The viewing environment was much better than it had been a few years ago, and the atmosphere was quite good.

As soon as I clicked in, several professional commentators started analyzing the situation between SKT and RNG. Even viewers who had just joined were able to keep up with the pace of the game without any difficulty.

After a three-year hiatus since 2015, LPL teams have once again successfully entered the MSI finals.

As the saying goes, in esports, even if your previous record is exceptionally good and you've reached the pinnacle, when facing new opponents, no one can say for sure that team XX will win the championship until the very last moment.

Many longtime LoL fans, even though they haven't played the game for years, clicked on the post after seeing it by chance. The scene before them seemed to be the beginning of Edg's invincibility and dominance of the LPL.

Edg started their legendary run after returning to the LPL region following the conclusion of MSI.

While the opening ceremony was taking place outside, the team members from both sides had already arrived at the venue and taken their positions.

Each person ate a Snickers bar. In order to maintain absolute focus, neither team chose to eat, but instead familiarized themselves with the venue in advance and prepared for the competition.

After more than half a year of recuperation, everyone's health has improved a lot. Even though they ate very little today, they are still full of energy and eager to get back to work.

In the Parisian morning, the warm yellow lights were still on at the sidelines. Although it was still summer back home, people on the other side of the ocean were already wearing sweaters.

The chill of the early morning had not yet subsided, and the gusts of cool wind could not dampen the enthusiasm of the audience.

Parisians, who used to see mostly Europeans and Americans on the streets, suddenly noticed a large number of Asians with yellow skin and black hair.

Chinese people!

Many Chinese people spontaneously came to the venue to wave flags and cheer.

The RNG members, still in the waiting room, listened in astonishment to the deafening roar of Chinese cheers outside.

Even though it was a foreign land, the familiar dialect of my hometown was right in my ears, and I immediately felt like I was playing on home turf.

Chris, too, looked anxious. After three springs and autumns, he was once again standing on the world stage in the finals.

The coach on the other side was still his nemesis, Kkoma.

After stints in the LPL and LDL, enduring hardship and biding his time, Chris felt a mix of emotions.

1268 days. This is RNG's battle to become a legend, and also their own battle for revenge.

The tense tactical arrangements were taking place simultaneously in the rest rooms of both teams. On the other side, in SKT's rest room, Kkoma dared not be careless at all.

As the strongest team in the current version, and with Chris, whom they had faced off against several times in the past, kkoma was also excited.

Despite having several practice matches before the competition, everyone brainstormed and discussed how to defeat the opposing team.

But even now, the coach patiently repeats the key points that were discussed earlier, time and time again.

Both junglers quickly recalled the opposing jungler's jungle route, habits, recent performance in ranked games, and other psychological details in their minds.

Time flies, and the half-hour entry period quickly came to an end, and it was noon in the blink of an eye.

At midnight in Paris, it was exactly 6 PM in China. After everyone finished their dinner party, lay down, and officially began watching the game.

The stadium, which can hold tens of thousands of people, was packed to capacity, with a constant stream of voices. Some Chinese people who hadn't eaten breakfast were also hurriedly eating the fast food they had brought with them.

Less than 4% of the audience today came from Europe and America; the majority were Chinese and Koreans who had traveled from afar. As the two competing teams, their fans even outnumbered their native European audiences. Furthermore, this was the first time in history that domestic commentators had come to the MSI finals to provide commentary, with a six-person rotation system – an unprecedentedly impressive lineup.

At this moment, Guan Daxiao and Rita, who were still providing commentary in China, immediately steered the conversation toward the opening ceremony upon hearing the director's notification.

Inside the Zenith Stadium, the countdown began precisely on time.

Fans far from home were both unfamiliar with the place and influenced by the enthusiasm of European and American audiences, making them exceptionally passionate.

"10~"

"9~"

"."

"3~"

"2~"

"1~"

boom!
The Riot Games logo descended from the sky, officially announcing the start of the 2018 MSI Mid-Season Invitational Finals!
In the brightly lit venue, dry ice was suddenly sprayed out, and a hazy mist enveloped the entire stage.

The background music for the 2018 MSI began to play. The dimly lit venue flickered as the camera slowly panned across the excited audience. The dry ice on stage gradually dissipated as the temperature rose.
When the background music reached its first climax, the big screen suddenly lit up, showing a classic match between EDG and SKT from the MSI tournament.

Morgana's counter to LeBlanc became a classic moment.

There's also the factory director's legendary hero, the widow.

Faker's Ryze and Bang's Ezreal—watching the dazzling moments on the big screen, all the viewers seemed to have returned to their innocent teenage years.

Then, back in Shanghai, Skt lifted the MSI trophy and won the world championship.

Then came S7 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Inside the Olympic Stadium, the five members of SKT once again returned to their peak, relying on their strong strength to win the MSI championship, still crushing the LPL teams under their feet.

For a full three years, no LPL teams participated in the MSI championship finals.

Promotional videos featuring the champion teams from each of this year's major competitions, including footage of their victories, were also shown.

"Fnc!! They're back, the kings have returned! They destroyed the enemy base and ended this lopsided massacre! They will represent the Eu region at MSI!"

"Invincible, the only dynasty in LoL, SKT, has returned to the top. This time, they will go to MSI to avenge the shame of S7 and achieve the honor of a three-peat at MSI!"

"The most dominant bot lane in history, undefeated in the Spring Split, their fangs have been bared, are you ready?"

"."

After all the promotional videos for each region were played, the game ended with a series of drumbeats.

In the nine-grid image, Flash Wolves and the Vietnam region were the first to be highlighted, with a red cross appearing on the promotional videos of both teams.

As the drumbeats intensified, more and more red crosses appeared.

Until only the last two screens remained lit, Skt and Rng!

The camera gradually moved away from the big screen and to the center of the stage, where a familiar yet unfamiliar Summoner's Cup radiated golden light and twinkled in the lights.

The trophy was given various close-up shots without any expense.

But the next moment, all the spectators began to cheer.

"Summoners here, are you ready?"

Compared to the home crowd in China, the European and American sides are undoubtedly much more open.

As soon as the bearded host started speaking, the atmosphere immediately became as lively as an electronic music festival abroad.

"After two weeks of intense competition and training, only two teams from the fourteen regional champions worldwide have made it all the way to the Zenith Arena in Paris to compete for the final championship."

As he spoke, the bearded host pointed with one hand at the MSI trophy placed in the center, eliciting gasps from the audience.

"Today, standing to my left is RNG, the champion team of last year's S-series, and standing to my right is SKT, who have won the MSI championship for two consecutive years. Today's champion will be decided between these two strongest teams. Let's wait and see who will be this year's MSI world champion!"

"Wow!!"

“Rng!!! Rng!!!”

"SKT!!! SKT!!!"

"First of all, welcome to RNG, the champions of last season's World Championship. I don't need to say more about the individual strength of the RNG players."

"Let's welcome S7 FMVP, AD Carry Uzi!!!"

After he finished speaking, Li Luo took the lead and walked out to the left side of the stage, followed by the other RNG members who filed out and stood in a row.

The LPL team uniforms for the MSI were exceptionally gorgeous under the lights, exuding a strong sense of Chinese national pride even at midday.

The scene went wild in an instant!

Countless Chinese fans stood up from their seats and cheered for RNG with their loudest voices.

Looking at these adorable faces, even though RNG members were used to big scenes, they were still excited and couldn't wait to defeat SKT and lift the championship trophy.

On the other hand, Skt's appearance also received the loudest cheers from the audience.

"Welcome to the MSI Finals stage! Watch RNG vs. SKT. As LPL's first match of the year after last year's victory, the audience here is very enthusiastic!"

"Hello everyone, I'm LPL commentator Wawa, I'm Miller, and I'm Changmao."

The three LPL commentators arrived at the finals venue and stood on a suspended commentary platform, looking at the enthusiastic cheering audience below, feeling quite emotional.

Miller and Longhair looked around, their faces filled with awe.

It's rare to see such a scene of Chinese people abroad.

After a few days in Paris, the three commentators have come to fully realize RNG's current influence, which is truly terrifying.

"Miller, which side do you think has a better chance of winning today?" the doll asked with a sinister smile.

This is not a simple question; a good answer and a bad answer will have completely different effects.

"Let's be modest, RNG has a 60% win rate, haha, but SKT is also very strong this year, so it depends on the performance of both teams on the day."

"After playing this BO5 against TL, RNG seems to have realized some internal issues. If they can address these issues in the finals, I'm still quite optimistic about RNG, the strongest team in our LPL region."

Miller, as expected of a veteran commentator who has been in the LPL for many years, said something that was absolutely correct.

"Oh? What do you think, Longhair?"

Seeing that her old partner's remarks lacked any surprises, Wawa was clearly dissatisfied.

"I still think RNG will win 3-1 or 3-0, after all, they're a team that won all their matches in the Spring Split."

After commentating on the RNG vs. IG finals, Changmao has now become a complete RNG fanboy.

(End of this chapter)