Starting with Zaozi Ge, a dream lineup

Chapter 279 The dust has settled, the semi-finals begin!
No sport or competitive activity, whether it's football, basketball, volleyball, chess, Go, or shogi, is without exception a sport that requires a young age to succeed.

This is especially true for esports. Before entering the esports industry, after completing his military service, kkoma, born in 1985, was already over 25 years old.

In the highly competitive Korean StarCraft scene, Coach Koma took to the stage under the ID Littleboy, but unfortunately, he ultimately became just one of countless unremarkable players.

By 2012, after failing in the GSL promotion tournament, he was almost 28 years old, having been born in 85.

An elderly esports player must make a choice at a crossroads in life: whether to give up his stubborn persistence in pursuing his dream, take off his jersey and bid farewell to the stage, becoming one of the countless ordinary office workers, or to find another way out.
Ultimately, SKT chose coach Kkoma, thus beginning SKT's dynasty.

Few people know that in the early days of Kkoma's coaching career, in addition to his diligent daily work, he also showed great care and concern for the players. It was under his guidance that the once "aloof" and "cold" Faker gradually became cheerful and warm, becoming the Li Guapi we see today.

In S3, Kkoma joined SKT, which was about to form its second team, SKT T1 K, in February. Kkoma naturally became the coach of this team.

The team members were exceptionally talented, because the K team's roster was built around players known for their individual skill, such as impact, piglet, poohmandu, and later three-time world champions Bengi and Faker.

The new team made its debut in the OGN Spring Season. The second team, which was not initially favored, completely outshone the first team. Under Kkoma's guidance, they defeated Najin White Shield and CJB in succession. Although they ultimately lost to MVP Ozone, their performance in the Spring Season has already proven the team's enormous potential.

Subsequently, Team K, after coming back from a 0-2 deficit to win 3-2 in the OGN Summer Split, secured their ticket to the S3 World Championship in their first year as a team.

It was also in this match that Faker solo-killed Ryu, the most popular player at the time.

Team K then continued their unstoppable momentum and won the S3 World Championship.

Then came the well-known defeat in S4, but no one could have imagined that Kkoma would lead a brand new SKT back to the world stage.

S5 and S6, two consecutive years. Before that, no team had ever been able to win the World Championship twice in a row, until Kkoma and his SKT.

With this, Kkoma has proven himself to be the world's best coach with three world championship titles, consistently improving the abilities of his young, outstanding, and talented players.

As a legendary coach who single-handedly built the League of Legends coaching system, created the once invincible Korean-style operational system, and established a rotation system that all top teams strive to imitate, how could he possibly have played a three-core strategy throughout the entire LPL Summer Split and still not be able to unravel its secrets!
Of course, the match wasn't over yet, and compared to the deeper considerations of other teams, the C9 team members were completely bewildered.

You played perfectly well in the first three games, but what happened in the fourth game? Did you switch to Saiyan mode?
As the high-energy music of the best-of-five series resumed, both teams took to the stage one after another. This time, the C9 coach no longer dared to underestimate kkoma.

After a tense draft, both coaches left the court.

As expected, although they broke through the Linglong Tower, the 13,000 gold difference between the two sides at 23 minutes already said it all.

3:2
"This loss is too painful, isn't it?" Letme frowned.

“Once SKT plays the game with their brains, the entire C9 team is like a bunch of reckless brutes with no way to use their strength. The key is that they don’t have any top-tier players who can break the deadlock,” Xiangguo shook his head.

"There's nothing we can do," Li Luo shrugged helplessly. "Leaving aside the gap between C9 and SKT in tactical execution, there are major problems just in terms of individual player skill. Their top laner has shown significant weaknesses, and if the jungler can't allocate resources, it's like a guaranteed disaster."

In the third game, with the help of the jungler, the difference between C9's top laner and Khan was not yet apparent, but it became very clear in the fourth and fifth games.

Without any other intervention, in a 1v1 situation, during the S8 period, Hanzi did indeed have the qualities of a top-tier top laner.

Unfortunately, SKT kept their strategy too secret. Their understanding of tactics was terrifying. They played the game perfectly according to the timing of the game and provided pressure in the lanes. C9 had absolutely no way to counter them.

"SKT, as expected of SKT. They managed to keep their tactics hidden until now. If C9 hadn't pushed SKT to the brink, this tactic would probably have been prepared for us."

Chris said:
"Little dog, what are your chances of winning against SKT's bot lane performance today?"

Upon hearing this, Li Luo smiled slightly and was about to humbly say, "If Wolf abandons Bang to roam, I can beat him so badly he can't take care of himself." However, on the screen, Faker and Wolf, who were being interviewed by the official team, suddenly made a bold statement.

You mean Uzi?

When the host asked Wolf, "How do you see RNG's bot lane chances against SKT's bot lane?", the usually talkative Wolf remained true to form, a slight smile appearing on his somewhat sickly face:
"Do you really think SKT's strength ends here? Trust us, in the finals, we have even more surprises waiting for RNG's bot lane to discover. Please place your trust in Bae Jun-sik!"

"Others can't handle RNG's bot lane, so we'll break their myth. I will prove that SKT is the world's number one team, and SKT's bot lane is the best bot lane duo in the world!"

"."

Seeing Wolf back on the interview stage after such a long time, Li Luo silently withdrew the humble words he was about to say and revealed a gentle smile.

"Chris, trust me, I'll annihilate them."

Unlike his confident and boastful remarks during the interview, Li Luo spoke calmly with a smile, as if he were just talking about what to have for lunch. But anyone who heard him could sense a murderous intent in his words.

Even during S7, MSI, and the Asian Games, the RNG team had never seen Li Luo so serious, and they were immediately reassured!
While SKT was strong today, they were definitely not strong enough to make RNG feel fear; at most, they were surprising and astonishing.

After all, in the semifinals of the top four, whether they face KT or FNC, SKT will surely reveal more tactical details.

After watching the match, the RNG players, feeling the pressure, spontaneously threw themselves into high-intensity training.

During the World Championship, well-managed teams would not have any entertainment activities. On the contrary, some managers with guilty consciences often allow their players to go out and meet female fans during the quarterfinals and semifinals breaks, under the guise of relieving stress.

Of course, many naive players also fell for the trick and were caught out by the team.

After the competition, if we win the championship, fine, we'll pretend nothing happened. If we don't win, then fine, you can just renew my contract with a low salary!

Not willing?
Professional players who lack experience and higher education often fall into this trap. The club directly exposes your misdeeds during the World Championship, fundamentally ruining your career.

Since you're not a championship-winning squad anyway, the club can just continue to buy players to strengthen the lineup next season.

"Lust is a double-edged sword." The more experienced a player is, the more shrewd they become. Naturally, no one in RNG would have the idea of ​​relaxing. They even spent their breaks between training sessions studying match videos and understanding their opponents' habits.

The quarterfinals have one last match left, with KT vs. FNC.

During this World Championship, in the top lane, besides TheShy's brief moment of brilliance and Khan's lane dominance, there was another top laner who also performed exceptionally well, delivering a world-class performance.

That's Smeb, the top laner for the KT team.

Smeb is a familiar face at the World Championship. Without the interference of a jungler, he even surpasses Khan in laning ability.

Following SKT's upset victory, many who had previously favored FNC switched their allegiance to KT. Even the bookmakers changed their odds from 1.45:1.28 to 1.16:1.66, with funds pouring into KT and artificially inflating FNC's odds, which at one point nearly crossed the 2 mark.

The match started as scheduled on Sunday afternoon. Before the match, the two sides kept exchanging trash talk. Until an hour before the match, FNC's official Twitter account was still arguing and constantly tagging KT's official Twitter account to challenge them.

The first game's draft was normal for both sides, but once the game started, what could be described as the bloodiest level 1 team fight in the World Championship broke out.

KT, relying on their support player Braum, aggressively invaded FNC's jungle on the red side, but FNC's support positioned himself well and knocked up four people with a single Q skill.

In this terrain, Caps' Tsar, having triggered Deadly Tempo, was relentlessly poking at the KT members.

As the two sides fought, kills came one after another, and in the end, the kill score reached 7 to 4.

Smeb teleported over to engage in a second level 1 team fight, and by the time he reached the top lane, FNC's top laner Bwipo was already almost level 3.

Smeb immediately put on a mask of pain. A level 1 Captain fighting a level 3 Sword Demon, the Captain couldn't even farm minions.

Score in the mid lane is also having a hard time against Caps who has two kills. Every time Azir pokes, it causes Ryze to suffer a huge loss in the mid lane.

To everyone's surprise, with FNC's top and mid laners putting up a strong performance, FNC easily broke through KT's defenses in just 25 minutes without even taking Baron Nashor.

After taking down one lane, KT's team, like the Calabash Brothers rescuing their grandfather, had their crystal destroyed in a bottom lane team fight, starting from the second tower.

1: 0.

Having learned from SKT's experience, LCK viewers didn't sigh this time. Instead, they began to hope that KT could unleash a potential that no one knew about, just like SKT.

Unfortunately, if KT's coach could hear this, he would definitely say, "I can't do it!"

SKT was able to win three championships and make history because they had all-around abilities, which is exactly what KT lacked.

In the second game, FNC once again relied on teamwork and resilience, and in the 33rd minute, they made a bold rush to Baron Nashor, pulling off a surprise victory.

By the time Mata realized what was happening and hurriedly directed everyone to go check, FNC had already taken down Baron Nashor. The game, which was originally even, began to tip in FNC's favor because of Baron Nashor.

At 38 minutes, thanks to Caps' Syndra performance, he took down Deft, who made a mistake in positioning. With one less carry, KT naturally dared not engage in team fights and could only retreat to their high ground.

FNC capitalized on the momentum and secured the Elder Dragon. At 40 minutes, in a 5v5 team fight, KT suffered a crushing defeat thanks to the Elder Dragon's true damage burn, resulting in a 2-for-4 exchange.

2:0
At the end of the second match, the camera first focused on the winner and the absolute protagonist of the match, FNC.

FNC members were all overjoyed. Caps and Rekkles threw off their headphones, laughing and high-fiving their teammates as if they had already won.

On the other hand, everyone on KT's side looked like autistic children.

Oops!

LCK viewers finally panicked. If they had a secret weapon, the KT players shouldn't be looking so hopeless. Their current performance demonstrates KT's helplessness.

There's only one game left, the third game of today's best-of-five series. If KT falls again in this game, then FNC won't need to work overtime and will directly advance to the semifinals to face SKT.

After absorbing the essence of LPL tactics and innovating their own, FNC's strength was so great that they were able to completely overwhelm KT in terms of tempo, leaving countless people speechless.

The final battle has begun.

After a series of draft picks, Kt ultimately chose to hand over the reins to Deft and Mata in the bottom lane in this do-or-die game that would determine their fate.

FNC, on the other hand, seemed to have found the trick to defeating KT through the first two games. They directly arranged for Rekkles to withstand pressure in the bottom lane and poured all resources into Caps, trying to break through KT's mid lane.

Rekkles' Ezreal and Hylissang's Tahm Kench, two seasoned veterans, made KT's bot lane duo seem to punch cotton.

With the help of Caps' mid laner Broxah's Gragas, they secured first blood against Score, and the momentum completely shifted.

For the next ten minutes, Aatrox was like a god descending to earth, hacking and slashing everywhere. After Score made a mistake in the first wave, his mentality was seriously affected. He even forgot to signal when Aatrox disappeared to gank the bottom lane.

At 18 minutes, Aatrox achieved a godlike streak, going 8-0. With a kill almost every two minutes, the entire KT team crumbled.

Even after KT's crystal base was destroyed, all the viewers were still in a state of shock and confusion.

How could KT be eliminated by FNC like this?

"Oh my God."

"KT has fallen! The KT team, on which we placed such high hopes, has actually fallen in the quarterfinals. The internal battle is over, but... I'm sorry, I still can't accept that KT was eliminated 3-0."

In the South Korean commentary booth, the three South Korean commentators shouted exaggeratedly, their eyes filled with disbelief.

At the scene, countless LCK viewers were also in disbelief. As fans of their own region, seeing their supported team ruthlessly eliminated 3-0, some viewers even lost control of their emotions.

As for the KT members, their minds were completely blank at this moment, devoid of any thoughts, and they had even forgotten their sadness and grief.

Mata, along with others, was in a daze, unable to believe that they had fallen in the quarterfinals.

This scene contrasted sharply with the FNC members who had already begun embracing and cheering.

October 24th became a dark day that LCK fans will never forget, as SKT was the only remaining team in the semifinals.

At the same time, the schedule for the semi-finals was officially finalized.

Upper bracket – RNG vs. Rw.

Lower bracket – Skt vs. Fnc.

(End of this chapter)