Starting with Zaozi Ge, a dream lineup

Chapter 265 Bloody Civil War! The Beginning of the Devastation of G2

There is a greater than 60% chance that a civil war will break out, a scenario that the Chinese people have never wanted to see since ancient times.

Moreover, when LPL teams play against each other, regardless of which team wins or loses, the winning team is unwittingly burdened with a responsibility.

After two years of S5 and S6, the LPL region has come to deeply understand the importance of resource sharing and tactical synergy. During major tournaments, each team will act as a practice partner for other teams without any complaints.

Therefore, no matter which side wins, the remaining people will feel bad.

For professional League of Legends players, the glory of the World Championship is something they pursue throughout their lives. It is very painful to personally eliminate one of their own teammates.

Not to mention that Rw would also be drawn against an absurdly strong team like RNG.

Doinb may seem carefree and cheerful on the surface, but his inner suffering is no less than that of the other four members of Rw.

"Let's draw KT! At least we won't feel any pressure if we lose to KT. We can easily defeat them!" The usually optimistic A-Guang clasped his hands together and prayed devoutly.

However, what A-Guang said is true. In the entire World Championship, given Rw's current style, the team that can best counter them is naturally the team that focuses on macro-management.

The saying "a novice can beat a master with a flurry of punches" is not just a random saying.

If RW is drawn against IG and RNG, they really lack the confidence to maintain a calm mindset and perform at their best at the World Championship.

Furthermore, given the performance and form of the two teams in the World Championship, they couldn't possibly beat each other.

Teams playing against LCK teams are a different story.

Although KT had a perfect record in the group stage, RW had a precedent of defeating SKT in the group stage, so it can't be said that there is no hope at all against KT.

Drawing KT is the thing that LPL viewers, and even all RW fans, would be most happy to see. Even if RW loses in the end, it won't be too painful.

"It would be best if KT could get the best chance, but out of three teams, two are from the LPL. The odds are..." Chris shook his head and sighed. He and RW's coach, Steak, were old acquaintances, and he didn't think RW should gamble on this chance.

"here we go!"

As the group chatted idly, someone said something that instantly turned the relaxed atmosphere in the lounge into one of tension.

As the host took the stage, today's special guest also appeared, none other than former LCK jungler Watch.

That's right, it's Watch, the jungler for Najin White Shield who was swept 3-0 by OMG, and also one of the three most handsome men in LCK, recognized in South Korea.

The first round of the draw drew all the first seeds, so everyone paid special attention to the distribution of RNG and IG.

Unexpectedly, the first team to be drawn was the top team in Group D, IG.

In the first matchup frame on the left side of the court, the full name of the IG club gradually appeared before everyone's eyes.

"Wow, IG took first place first!"

He made a joke to ease the tense atmosphere, and then, as Watch reached into the transparent box containing Seed Pool No. 1 again, he took out another bullet and opened it.

The first team to appear in the right half of the bracket is Skt!

"???"

The IG members in the lounge breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a mix of tension and a sense of loss.

IG was placed in the left half of the bracket, while SKT was placed in the right half. This means that IG will not have to face this team, which has won three championships in history, before the finals.

If the two teams were to meet, it could only be in the finals.

This is undoubtedly very good news for Alexander's IG.

However, everyone also thought of another possibility: of the four top qualifying teams, two have already secured their spots, leaving only RNG and KT. If RNG is drawn into the left half of the bracket, although they won't meet in the quarterfinals, the two teams in the semifinals will definitely fight to the death.

Even if IG were to draw Rw as their opponent, then only one LPL team could make it to the finals.

The Rw members instantly turned pale with tension.

Please don't get assigned to the left half of the bracket!
Regardless of the outcome of the internal battle, this draw means that only one of the three strongest teams in the LPL region can enter the finals.

Teams that make it to the finals have undoubtedly shed the blood of their own people, and the pressure they face is immense. If they lose the finals, they will undoubtedly become the target of attacks from all League of Legends fans.

"Doinb, Doinb, right half, right half, use A-Guang's five years without finding a partner to exchange for Rw in the right half." Doinb had already stood up and was dancing and activating his powers.

But Watch seemed determined to eliminate the LPL teams with his own hands, and RNG was pulled out under everyone's watchful eyes.

Royal Never Give Up appeared in the second No. 1 seed position in the left half of the draw, waiting for his opponent.

"Holy crap! If both IG and RNG advance, the winner will be decided in the semifinals!"

"A real internal war? Does that mean KT and SKT will also have an internal war in the semifinals?"

"That's outrageous!"

The lounge erupted in uproar. The internal conflict between the LPL and LCK regions had prematurely turned brothers into enemies, attacking each other, in the World Championship.

With KT's name appearing in the lower bracket, the teams that qualified first in the group stage have been assigned. If nothing unexpected happens, given the strength of RNG and IG, they will inevitably meet in the semifinals.

Then it will be another epic battle, a clash of titans, to decide who will qualify for the S8 semifinals.

Although this draw ensured that an LPL team would appear in the finals of the World Championship.

"Please don't put us in the upper bracket, otherwise the three LPL teams in the left bracket will just have to go home," even the usually calm Ma Ge couldn't help but get agitated.

The coach, Steak, stood to the side, his lips turning white with nervousness.

If Rw does indeed appear in the left division later, with three LPL teams facing off in an early internal battle, or even if Rw is assigned to RNG, it could result in one team defeating two teams from their own region to advance to the finals.

"KT and SKT should have a tough battle, after all, KT's performance at the World Championship was obviously much better than SKT's," Li Luo said with a smile, calmly watching the draw results.

Compared to the internal conflicts in the LPL, the LCK is also an extremely bloody internal conflict.

Even though the second round of allocations hasn't been announced yet, everyone knows that S8 will be far more exciting than S7!

"My God, this draw is absolutely amazing!"

There were no matches today, but the organizers still invited several commentators to a separate live stream to discuss today's draw results.

Hearing the doll's slightly pained voice, Miller also started to feel a headache coming on.
"This watch hand is amazing! It directly produced the result that everyone least wanted to see."

"This is going to wipe out the LPL teams in the draw!"

"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this year's semifinals will likely involve an internal battle between the two major regions, determining the strongest player from each region to clash, while the rest will simply become supporting characters."

Longhair quickly said:

"Who knows, maybe one team in the top or bottom half of the bracket will suddenly unleash their power and defeat their opponent."

Longhair is a G2 fan, and his meaning was quite clear; everyone understood what he meant.

There are no weak teams in the World Championship. If the quarterfinals are upset, all the expected intra-regional battles will become empty talk, and the talk of a guaranteed spot in the finals will only result in a slap in the face to oneself.

"Then we can only wait and see how the second round draw goes. Hopefully, Rw won't be in the upper half of the bracket, otherwise we'll have to eliminate our own team in the quarterfinals—that's too cruel."

"Now the odds are 50/50; they'll either be placed in the upper half or the lower half."

The four commentators sitting on the sofa could only manage wry smiles, looking incredibly nervous as they watched the second round of the draw about to begin.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Watch didn't disappoint, swiftly and decisively pulling out the first ball from the second seed pool. Upon opening it, what he saw was...
Rw!!

Rw went directly to the bottom of IG's lane. The two teams, who had a close match in the LPL Summer Split semifinals, suddenly met in the quarterfinals!
IG's opponent in this year's quarterfinals has also been confirmed: the new team Rw, which is hailed as a "galactic battleship".

Rw consists of five players: Doinb, A Guang, Haro, Ma Ge, and Liu Qingsong.

"Holy crap, this is a conspiracy!!!"

The rest room was filled with groans. Although being drawn against IG wasn't the worst outcome for RW, it was practically a death sentence.

Even if RW defeats IG and advances, they will still face RNG, whose dominance is unprecedented!

Seeing the LPL internal battle, Watch revealed an enigmatic smile, full of cunning and treachery.

As the draw continued, RNG's opponent was also drawn, and it was not much different from the previous one. It was indeed G2, the team that made RNG laugh all the way to S9.

Upon seeing G2, Xiaohu was the first to smile, followed by the entire RNG team, whose smiles quickly turned into loud laughter.

That smile was full of provocation, almost as if it guaranteed a spot in the semifinals.

The photographer from the Riot Games, who was in the corner of the lounge, saw everyone's expressions and quickly turned on his camera to record them, which was then simultaneously broadcast to the bottom right corner of the draw screen.

This is Riot Games' usual practice; they will broadcast the reactions of each team after drawing their chosen players during the draw ceremony.

As the team with the most hype in S8, RNG's every move has attracted much attention.

Of course, it's fine if you win, but if you lose, these pre-match antics will immediately become the subject of everyone's attacks.

From an angle out of the camera's view, Xiao Hu, whose face was already cramping from laughing, nudged Li Luo.

"Keep going, don't stop, don't be so stiff, show your happiness!"

Upon hearing this, not only Xiao Hu, but even Xiang Guo and Xiao Ming, who usually love to laugh, froze, their smiles becoming increasingly stiff.

They only stopped when the camera finally turned around.

"Oh dear, what a terrible idea you came up with! Don't let it backfire and leave you with a stain you can never clear for the rest of your life."

While rubbing his face and pretending to complain, Chris picked up his water glass, took a sip, and said...

Li Luo said before the draw that if he drew G2, he had to smile very happily, and he had to smile directly at the camera, and the smile had to be natural.
Everyone was naturally puzzled, but since the team's star player had said so, and RNG was already very confident against G2, they didn't press the matter further.

Meanwhile, amidst the groans of despair from everyone in the LPL livestream, the draw results for the lower bracket were also announced.

Left half: Top: ig Vs Rw
Next: RNG vs G2
Right half: Top: Skt Vs C9
Next: Kt vs Fnc
RNG and SKT, the two strongest teams in this tournament, were both drawn against teams with the lowest predicted strength by the official organizers before the tournament.

If IG and RW could be swapped to the right half of the draw, this would be the perfect result everyone wants to see.

Unfortunately, God did not wish.

"Play well, and whoever is stronger will go to the finals. Don't be modest!"

"Hey Dog, don't mess up against G2. Look how happy you guys are after getting that draw. If you lose, you know what will happen."

It was already past 10 p.m. when the draw was finished. Ah Shui said solemnly as he packed his things.

If we're talking about the team under the most pressure, it's neither Rw nor Rng, but rather IG, which is caught in the middle.

IG has no guarantee of victory against either of these two teams, as evidenced by the serious expressions on Rookie and Coach Kim's faces.

"Like I said, good luck and do your best at the World Championship!"

See you in the semifinals!

Since the draw has been finalized and there's no way to change it, all the professional players have quickly accepted it. It doesn't matter who they're drawn against; what's the difference between the semifinals and the quarterfinals?
Those who cannot win the championship are nothing but ants.

As we can see, Royal Club was the runner-up in both S3 and S4, unable to win the championship, and was criticized like a dog.

Even Samsung, who was the runner-up in S7 last year, failed to even make it out of the group stage this year, ending up in the top 16.

Without much pleasantry, from the moment the draw results were finalized, the three teams were no longer allies without any conflict of interest; the next time they met, they would be at war.

Furthermore, we can't schedule any more scrimmages. We need to find LPL teams that have already been eliminated to practice with. Since we've already become opponents and that can't be changed, we can only start looking for each other's weaknesses and attacking them.

Whoever improves the fastest in the coming week will win; that's the cruel yet simple nature of esports.

Once on the bus back to the hotel, Li Luo took out his phone and started browsing the Backpackers forum with great interest.

As expected, the draw ceremony has ignited the hype surrounding the S-series.

Amidst various predictions and concerns in China, some people are quite excited, since RNG's strength likely guarantees them a spot in the finals.

Most importantly, SKT was clearly no match for RNG in the first half of the year, and by the time they reached the finals, the chances of RNG defeating SKT and successfully defending their title were off the charts.

If RNG can win the championship, the sheer scale of the event is unimaginable.

Opening Weibo, unsurprisingly, Li Luo saw the hashtag #RngConfidentSmile# trending eighth on Weibo.

The first thing you see when you click on it is the confident smiles of the entire RNG team after they were drawn against G2. They look a little stiff, and because of the compressed quality of the GIF, it's not very clear.

Li Luo nodded in satisfaction after opening the comments.

Sure enough, G2 started their antics immediately after the draw.

G2 Esports Club: G2 has advanced to the finals in the upper bracket, and FNC has advanced to the finals in the lower bracket. Oh wow, it's not just an LPL vs. LCK internal battle, even our European region is going to have an internal battle!

Ap, Jankos, Wunder, and others also reposted and mocked RNG's arrogance.

After reading everyone's comments, Li Luo, for the first time in a long time, edited a Weibo post and posted it.

The last time I posted on Weibo was for the S7 championship skin giveaway, which garnered a whopping 103 million reposts and 64 comments.

Uziqaq: To be honest, when I was drawn against G2, I was wondering how this team, which is clearly not as strong as TL, made it to the quarterfinals?
Let's have a poll! I'll pick the hero with the most votes during the quarterfinals against G2, including all heroes... #S8Quarterfinals #RngConfidentSmile

After checking twice to ensure there were no typos, Li Luo clicked "send" with satisfaction.

To punish this trash-talking team, we need more than just a physical, devastating attack; more importantly—
It ravages their young minds.

(End of this chapter)