LOL: My talent is top-tier, my professional skills are unparalleled.

Chapter 440: The S8 Finals Opening Ceremony! Exciting!
IG eliminated SKT, becoming the second team to advance to the World Championship!

This news dominated the headlines of major domestic media outlets and portals, making the e-sports community a darling of the internet once again.

The esports fan community has once again come into the public eye!
The first-ever LPL internal match in the World Championship immediately topped the Weibo trending list.

Topics such as IG eliminating SKT and IG advancing to the next round immediately jumped into the top five of Weibo's trending topics, overshadowing a host of news about young male celebrities and completely dominating the entertainment industry!
Traffic exploded on platforms like Baidu Tieba, Hupu, and Douban, even crashing their servers at one point. The sheer volume of traffic in the esports scene once again amazed many people!

It turns out that the e-sports community has unknowingly become a huge group!

Wang Yao had originally planned to check out the comments from domestic viewers as soon as possible, but he couldn't.

After finally waiting for the official emergency server repair, he couldn't wait to enter the stress-relief forum.

"Korean traitors, speak up for me!!"

"Hehehe, Korean trolls and dogs are not allowed in the Anti-Pressure Bar! Rao Luoxiang, you should add this to the bar rules right away!"

"They really won? They've really started a civil war? Holy crap! I can't even dream of that!"

"Two years ago, if someone had told me that LPL could win the championship, I would probably have laughed it off. If someone had told me that an LPL team would be having an internal battle in the finals, I would have thought that guy was drunk. I never expected it to actually be true?"

"Korean fans, get out of here! Even SKT, their own godfather, isn't enough for Korean fans. Let's see who dares to say LCK is the number one region now!"

"..."

Soon after, the semi-finals officially ended.

Wang Yao and his teammates arrived at the final destination of this World Championship as soon as possible.

That is, Incheon, the city where the finals will be held!

At this stage of the World Championship, the situation is actually not much different from last year, or even worse.

Last year, Tencent Esports specially assembled a super-luxury practice team by bringing together several domestic teams. Even in the final stages, EDG had no shortage of people to schedule practice matches with.

But this year is different.

With the World Championship being held in South Korea, forming a practice team is not very realistic.

It's highly unlikely that LCK teams would come to practice with LPL teams. Their fans aren't just talking trash; if this gets exposed and an LPL team ultimately wins the championship...

Labeling them as 'traitors to Korea' is a label that can never be washed away.

LCK teams would never do something so thankless and exhausting.

This is the first time since Season 3 that there has been a League of Legends World Championship finals without an LCK team.

The audience throughout the LCK league was furious, and nobody wanted to be the one to get caught in the crossfire at this time!
As IG is EDG's opponent in the finals, it's impossible for the two to have any related scrimmages.

The only thing I can do is play some high-elo ranked games on the Korean server to keep my skills sharp.

Actually, the impact isn't that significant.

With the World Championship reaching the finals, everyone's understanding of the version and hero priorities is already very clear, so scrims are no longer as meaningful.

The initial goal of playing a lot of practice matches is to compete against strong opponents to better identify problems, and it also serves as a channel to learn from other players' understanding of the game's version.

It's not as useful anymore.

It's simply that the intensity of scrims is slightly higher than that of ranked matches, which helps players maintain their form better.

Moreover, EDG doesn't have much time left. The promotional video for the finals needs to be filmed on short notice, and Wang Yao and others also need to film promotional materials, all of which will take a lot of time.

Rehearsals are also needed at the competition venue. There will be a grand opening ceremony for the finals, and some guests will be invited to perform.

The Korean Wave swept across Asia over the past decade or so, and the country has many boy groups and girl groups, so there is no shortage of guest performers.

Wang Yao was quite curious.

When they arrived, they discovered that the guest invited by Korean boxing this time was BLACKPINK, a girl group that has recently become very popular in Asia.

The Korean wave once swept across China, and when Wang Yao was in junior high and high school, the girls in his class were completely obsessed with groups like Big Bang, EXO, and BTS.

I've heard some news about Korean entertainment to some extent.

As for BLACKPINK, they seem to be Big Bang's junior group, a girl group launched by YG Entertainment, and they seem to be quite popular.

Seeing it up close in person, Wang Yao was once again impressed by the makeup artistry of the Korean artists.

However, there weren't that many filters. The four members of BLACKPINK are indeed quite pretty, but they certainly don't look as refined as in professionally edited photos.

The next few days were filled with filming, on-site rehearsals, and then playing ranked games to warm up – it was incredibly busy!

However, for the players on both teams, this was nothing new.

Whether it's IG or EDG, teams with good results are basically busy from the beginning to the end of the year, and everyone is already used to the busy pace.

As November arrived...

The finals are just around the corner.

The finals will start on November 3rd, which happens to be a weekend, so it can satisfy the needs of both working professionals and students.

Furthermore, since South Korea is located in East Asia, there is no time difference issue.

Domestic viewers will be able to watch the live broadcast of the match at a perfect time!
The night before the finals.

The entire EDG team is still gathered in the team's training room, just like a few days before the college entrance examination.

At this point, studying and reviewing are no longer very meaningful. The final score has already been roughly determined, and last-minute cramming is unlikely to result in a significant leap in the score.

In this situation, the better option is to adjust your mindset and approach the exam with a positive attitude; you might get an unexpected result!

However, the EDG team itself is very strong and has the ability to win the championship. They have been keeping a low profile before, simply because they were not in a good team.

Just like EDG last year.

Given a certain level of skill, in a team-based competitive game like League of Legends, five compatible players will create better chemistry than five players with the best skills in their respective positions.

Very simple.

Resources are limited; how else can they be allocated?

I'm the world's best top laner, why should I be your lackey, the world's best ADC? Why should I give you resources?

Even the jungler has something to say.

I'm the world's number one jungler, playing a carry jungler and wanting to farm more resources. You laners not only won't give me minions, but you also want to leech blood from my jungle.

Almost without exception, the "galactic battleships" in the field of competition have failed to achieve results.

Isn't it because everyone already had a reputation when they came, and no one was willing to make any sacrifices?

But EDG is different.

Saint Gun can withstand the pressure for the whole team, and iboy can also AFK in the bottom lane to free up Meiko.

Everyone is willing to sacrifice themselves to help each other succeed, which is why there is such a great team atmosphere and chemistry.

Wang Yao is well aware that esports players are essentially a group of young people who have not been toughened up by society.

Therefore, most players in the esports circle are, to put it nicely, quite 'authentic,' but to put it bluntly, they don't understand interpersonal relationships.

Of course, you can't expect a group of teenagers to know that much.

But Wang Yao is different; he really knows a lot.

This can be seen from the fact that he never takes credit for himself in interviews and always praises his teammates.

It sounds simple, but a closer look at the other contestants' interviews and their performance during the live stream will make it clear.

Zhu Kai didn't say much at this point; instead, he spoke like a school teacher:

"Everyone, get a good rest tonight. It's okay if you don't want to play ranked games. Just make sure you're well-rested."

Wang Yao ran out of the training room and happened to see Ning Wang and the others also coming out of their training room.

"Hey, Lao Wang."

Prince Ning greeted him casually, showing no sign of regarding Wang Yao as an enemy despite the impending direct confrontation.

"What? The match is tomorrow, and you're still training here today? Is the pressure of playing against us really that great? If you can't handle it, I suggest you surrender early. It's the rule in the underworld: if you surrender, you lose half the game."

"roll roll roll."

Wang Yao rolled his eyes. "Under pressure? Don't let your hands shake during tomorrow's match. You need to tell Rookie not to forget to buy his starting outfit."

"Hey."

Song Yijin, standing in the crowd, scratched his head sheepishly; this could be considered part of his embarrassing past.

"Old Wang, what you're saying..."

Yu Wenbo was about to say something.

But Wang Yao immediately retorted, "You little brat, just wait till tomorrow, I'll show you how to beat you up!"

This means that most of the players from EDG and IG have a good enough relationship with each other to be able to trash talk so freely.

The group chatted for a while and then the matter was dropped.

Back in his room, Wang Yao took out his phone and browsed some relevant news in China.

It's fair to say that the Incheon civil war this year garnered just as much attention as the Bird's Nest stadium last year!

League of Legends' popularity and viewership have skyrocketed, and Tencent Games is grinning from ear to ear. In any case, the S-series championship has already been secured by an LPL team.

Regardless of who wins, it means that the esports scene will once again be booming with viewership for Tencent Esports!

Next year, the LPL league will receive more sponsorships, and the amount of sponsorship money will increase further.

And everyone involved in the industry will have a bright future.

The date has arrived: November 3rd!

The eyes of League of Legends players worldwide are focused on Munhak Stadium in Incheon, South Korea!
The annual World Championship is coming to a close!
And today!
The 2018 champion is about to be crowned!!

Incheon Munhak Gymnasium.

Tens of thousands of spectators flooded into the venue.

Tickets for the finals are usually sold in advance. At the time, Korean viewers probably didn't expect that all three LCK teams would be eliminated and none of them would make it to the finals.

Since the tickets couldn't be refunded, aside from a small portion being sold to domestic audiences as scalpers, most of the audience members still chose to come to the venue to watch the game.

It's worth mentioning that domestic viewers immediately recognized this as an LPL internal battle!
The enthusiasm for watching the game is high. Many people who originally had no intention of going abroad to watch the game couldn't resist spending money to buy plane tickets abroad for this final, and then buying high-priced scalped tickets!
There were many audience members from China at the event. It's not difficult for them to come to Korea, and it's quite close by.

This was evident from the fact that when Wang Yao and his team arrived at the competition venue by bus, a considerable number of spectators were waiting outside the venue specifically for their bus.

As soon as the team members got off the car, fans swarmed in from all directions.

Good heavens, they've completely surrounded this area. If it weren't for the security personnel maintaining order, Wang Yao and his team would have had a very difficult time getting into the competition venue.

"EDG is awesome! Go EDG!!"

"Yao-ge, you'll definitely win the game today! You won't lose to IG!"

"Fish Man, you absolutely have to crush Q-Spicy Dance today! After you get back home, you can fly wherever you want, but you absolutely have to stay calm in the finals!"

"Xiao Tian! Focus on ganking mid lane! Focus on ganking mid lane! Focus on ganking mid lane! I'm saying it three times because it's important!!"

"..."

The EDG team arrived at the venue under the escort of security personnel!
"Wow! There are more people today than I expected." iboy smiled. "After all, it's the World Championship!!"

Before he could finish his reflections, the team members were immediately taken to get their makeup done backstage.

The makeup artist also happened to see today's performing guests, BLACKPINK, who were all dressed up and looking glamorous as ever.

The four members of BLACKPINK were dressed in cosplay outfits; Riot Games designed a virtual idol for them.

The K/DA girl group brought in four champions: Kai'Sa, Evelynn, Ali, and Akali, and even designed a special set of skins for them.

BLACKPINK also happens to have four members, perfectly corresponding to the four female heroines!

The audience was already being allowed to enter the venue, while Wang Yao and others waited patiently backstage.

The opening ceremony featured a big performance by the Korean boxers, who will later have to go through a promotion/relegation process to reach the stage.

In fact, when the performance was taking place on stage, Wang Yao and the others couldn't see it at all because they were in the backstage passageway and couldn't see what was happening in front of them.

Before long, the IG team members also came over.

"Hey, Lao Wang! Just wait until I get my hands on you and teach you a lesson." Ning Wang started trash-talking him from a distance.

Wang Yao just smiled and said, "You wait, you try to mess with me, and then you'll see if Xiao Tian will turn the tables on you."

Wang Yao had complete trust in Xiao Tian's rhythm!

In other words, the relationship between the two sides is good enough. Don't be fooled by the fact that their fans were very hostile online before the match, and they were hurling insults at each other.

In reality, most LPL players joke and laugh in private and have no deep-seated hatred for each other.

It can only be said that some fans are indeed a bit obsessed, exaggerating the conflicts between the players.

Compared to the grand opening ceremony at the Bird's Nest last year, the opening ceremony performance of the S8 World Championship was ultimately a little bit lacking.

However, South Korean girl groups are quite good at singing and dancing.

After the performance.

The Roaring Emperor appeared on stage!
"Hello, League of Legends Summoners around the world!!"

He still had a strong voice, and his voice was very loud.

"After a month of fierce competition, the 2018 League of Legends World Championship has finally reached its most crucial moment. Two teams have defeated numerous strong opponents to successfully advance to the finals, and today! They will compete for the championship in the final battle!!"

"First of all! Let's welcome the number one seed from LPL, ED Gaming!!"

"Top laner Flandre, jungler Tian, ​​mid laner Kshine, bot laner iboy, support Meiko, substitute Clearlove, coach Maokai!!"

A burst of dazzling fireworks flashed at the edge of the stage, accompanied by cheers from the audience, and the lift-up system began to operate.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the entire EDG team slowly appeared in the center of the stage after being promoted or relegated.

The five members were all dressed in black team uniforms, with Wang Yao standing in the absolute center position. Each of them was smiling and waving forward.

"The other team participating in the finals is IG!!"

"Top laner TheShy, jungler Ning, mid laner Rookie, bot laner JackeyLove, support Baolan, substitute Duke, coach Kim Jung-joo!"

The entire IG team also appeared on stage slowly, through promotion and relegation!

IG also received a lot of applause and cheers.

For LPL viewers, both sides are equally important.

For LCK viewers

Well, IG has three Korean players: TheShy, Song Yijin, and Duke, which is more than EDG. Naturally, they would support a team with more Korean players.

Furthermore, EDG showed absolutely no respect during their interviews, so LCK naturally hated EDG even more, or more accurately, hated Wang Yao even more!

After all, the rise of the LPL was due to the emergence of Wang Yao!

By a twist of fate, IG ended up enjoying the privilege of playing at home.

After both sides had finished their introductions, the Roaring Emperor finally spoke.

"A year's hard work will come to an end today! Will EDG achieve a consecutive championship, or will IG be crowned the new king? The answer will be revealed soon!"

"Let's give another round of applause to the two teams that are about to deliver an exciting match!"

"I hereby declare! The 2018 League of Legends World Championship is now officially beginning...!!!"

The athletes then came to the athletes' seats, just like at the Bird's Nest last year.

Because it's in a large stadium like this, with too many spectators, a separate soundproof room had to be built.

The team members all entered the soundproof room, put on their noise-canceling headphones, and the noisy ambient sounds around them were then uniformly replaced by white noise in their headphones.

The director then switched the camera to the LPL commentary booth.

Sitting in the commentary booth are the Haier Brothers and Wang Jide!

"This day has finally come!!"

Miller seemed delighted, a broad smile on his face. "Seeing this scene almost feels unreal! The finals have actually become an internal battle among our LPL teams!"

"Hahaha, isn't this just a rip-off of our LPL Summer Finals?" Wawa laughed even louder. "We've finally got this day!!"

The two of them were truly moved!
They went through the darkest two years, S5 and S6, and there was really no hope of defeating the Korean team.

But everything took a dramatic turn starting from Season 7!

First, EDG successfully defended their home turf at the Bird's Nest, breaking history and helping the LPL region win its first S-series championship!
Then, a year later!

That is at this moment.

IG and EDG once again performed steadily at the World Championship, turning the finals into an LPL internal battle!

This brought an early end to the suspense surrounding the championship outcome.

The S-series championship will once again belong to the LPL region, how could the audience and commentators not be excited?

(End of this chapter)