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

Chapter 500 G2 at its peak! S9 MSI Finals!
In the group stage, SKT pulled out a surprise lineup in the first game, but were crushed by Wang Yao's Pyke!
In the second game of the group stage, SKT began to change their strategy, but Wang Yao's Master Yi was completely overwhelmed, achieving a double pentakill!

In the knockout stage, SKT showed their serious attitude, but they were completely overwhelmed by Wang Yao's Hecarim in the first game!
In the second game, SKT picked a lineup that could counter the opponent's lineup, but they failed to achieve any counter-effect.

On the contrary, he was chased and beaten by Wang Yao's prince the whole time, blocking shots every time they met.

In the decisive third game, SKT tried to change their strategy and specifically limited Wang Yao's jungle champion pool.

At the same time, they brought out their best lineup, picking Azir for Faker, choosing to trust Faker.

Then they wanted to gain an advantage in the game by crushing EDG's bot lane.

But the same question remains: no one knows what Wang Yao's true trump card is!
Wang Yao's individual skill and unfathomable hero pool are so overpowered that they can't handle him.

In the final game, Wang Yao surprisingly moved Neeko to the jungle position.

This hero, which even mid-laners don't practice much, is now being played to an incredible degree by Wang Yao!
As the mid-lane pillar of SKT, Faker is the core of support that radiates throughout the entire game.

But in this particular game, Faker was playing Azir, a champion whose early-game fighting ability was truly "touching"!
Although Scout's Kled didn't perform well in this game, even when he couldn't move, he still managed to keep Faker pinned down in the mid lane.

After losing Faker, a master of roaming, SKT has stopped winning games.

Teddy, on whom they had high hopes, performed only moderately and failed to make a significant impact even after gaining an advantage.

Although it's hard to accept, SKT has to admit that this is the best they can do.

The person who is most upset is Faker. He did not lose in the three consecutive games in direct confrontation, and even when it comes to supporting others, he was only slightly behind.

Wang Yao completely dominated him, making him the background character for three consecutive rounds.

When the final crystal exploded, he was still somewhat dazed and remained stunned in the player's seat for a long time.

It seems that he has no choice but to accept the argument that "you're old, times have changed."

At this moment, the EDG team had already walked to the SKT players' bench to shake hands. Only when Faker saw Wang Yao extend his right hand did he shift his gaze from the computer screen.

Faker also straightened up and shook hands briefly with Wang Yao, but his eyes were fixed on Wang Yao, as if he wanted to remember this person deeply.

Meanwhile, the commentators also began wrapping up their work.

Guan Zeyuan: "Let's congratulate EDG on once again successfully standing on the MSI finals stage."

"This is also Wang Yao's second time standing on the MSI Mid-Season Invitational stage. We hope Wang Yao can successfully defend his championship title in tomorrow's competition!"

Remember quickly waved his hand: "Don't jinx it yet! First of all, congratulations to EDG!"

"In the third game, EDG and SKT played a very tough match from start to finish, and EDG won the game in the most classic and unquestionable way!"

Uzbekistan nodded, thus concluding today's match:

"Yes, EDG played very meticulously throughout the game. They were not affected by their previous winning streak and did not give SKT any chance."

"I am very optimistic about Wang Yao's chances of defending his title."

After a brief celebration, the EDG team returned to their backstage lounge.

As soon as Flandre entered the room, he collapsed onto the sofa and said, "We won again. I felt that SKT didn't put much pressure on us, it was just so-so."

iboy nodded silently. He didn't feel much pressure facing SKT's bot lane duo.

Meiko, who had been quite excited, burst out laughing upon hearing this.

"Hehe, you two stop bragging! Khan on the top lane has been caught so many times, dying more and more each time."

"And your ADC, well, with Yao-ge backing you up, you obviously have no pressure!"

"Hey! We just won the game, so we're just bragging a bit!"

Saint Gun Bro gave an awkward smile.

Strictly speaking, this year's EDG roster is a star-studded all-time champion lineup!

The top laner, Flandre, the jungler, Wang Yao, the mid laner, Scout, and the bottom laners, iboy and Meiko, are all champion players.

The key is that they are all champions from the past two years, so even when facing the three-time champion SKT team, they don't feel much psychological pressure.

Today's match was a mediocre victory; we didn't exactly crush the opponent, but it wasn't particularly difficult either, so no one felt particularly proud.

It seemed like they had just easily defeated some ordinary team; they won, so what? There was nothing to care about.

Coach Maokai, standing nearby, was practically grinning from ear to ear.

At first, Coach Maokai thought that after Wang Yao switched to the jungle position, the team's integration would be a huge headache.

But unexpectedly, Wang Yao, who hadn't played for more than half a year, gave him such a big surprise!
In the blink of an eye, they were already standing on the stage of the MSI Mid-Season Invitational Finals.

As for his opponent in the finals, it will be either G2 or TL, he is not worried at all!
The West's "goods" are nothing but worthless dregs!

The match ended, and since it wasn't the final, the post-match proceedings were very short and concluded in a short while.

The interviewees for the semi-finals weren't Wang Yao, but rather Flandre and iboy. It's not like Wang Yao is always the only one being interviewed; his teammates need to get a chance to shine too.

After returning to the hotel, everyone was busy reviewing the day's match instead of resting.

But Wang Yao seemed rather idle, and he remained detached from post-match analysis.

There's not much to review about Wang Yao's jungle role; it's all just classic moments!

Wang Yao himself didn't really want to sleep yet. After all, everyone else was still awake, and if he went to sleep early, it seemed like he was an outsider. So he could only pretend to be very busy.

Bored, he started watching recent match videos of TL and G2, who would be playing against each other tomorrow, with Coach Maokai and his teammates.

I've started researching my opponents for the MSI Mid-Season Invitational finals.

Although Maokai had already led them to study and analyze a lot of game videos, now that they had entered the finals, he still wanted to help the team to deepen their memory.

For the next two years, G2 will be one of EDG's strongest opponents in the World Championship.

What sets G2 apart from teams in the LPL and LCK regions is that European and American teams like G2 tend to have more unconventional and unorthodox strategies, often employing unconventional tactics to gain an advantage.

The Taric-Sona bot lane combo and the Pyke mid-top lane combo were all first developed in the European and American regions.

However, teams from the LPL and LCK regions performed better in terms of details and had a lower error rate than European and American teams.

If it were any other LPL or LCK team, even if it were SKT, the two sides would be roughly evenly matched.

SKT has no guarantee of winning; an upset wouldn't be surprising.

From Wang Yao's perspective, the clash between the version and team style in SKT and even the LCK region is too intense.

It's not that the level of LCK teams is declining, but rather that the level of strong teams from other regions has caught up.

In particular, with each region assembling super teams and concentrating all the top players in one team, the LCK region's advantage has vanished.

When an opponent's strength and capabilities are roughly equal to one's own, the only thing left to fight between the two sides is the version of the game.

Before the new version was released, SKT just lacked that bit of luck to win the game, and veteran player Faker couldn't end the game like he used to.

Other carry players are not up to the task. They make waves in their own LCK region, but they seem somewhat mediocre when it comes to the World Championship.

This S9 season was particularly fast-paced, putting a lot of pressure on the mid and jungle players, but SKT's style was very moderate and versatile.

On the bright side, no matter how they play, this kind of team is guaranteed to achieve good results.

The downside is that SKT doesn't get any advantage from the version, because Korean-style operation has been deeply ingrained in their DNA.

When G2 catches up in terms of macro-management, which is the area where the LCK region excels, SKT will appear very powerless.

G2, in particular, is very aggressive, with a plethora of innovative and unconventional hero pools.

The conventional SKT is like a standard threshold; once everyone knows how to operate it, that threshold is crossed.

The teams that come later will compete on their own individual understanding of the game.

Teams with their own unique characteristics and strengths are definitely better at winning games than those from the rigid LCK.

But at this time, EDG had Wang Yao.

This is no longer a 50/50 situation; Wang Yao's deep dive into the Mariana Trench of hero pool is EDG's biggest guarantee.

No matter the situation, Wang Yao can always come up with a suitable jungler.

Unlike some junglers whose champion pool is as shallow as a turtle pond, only playing the same few champions over and over again, like Gragas, Sejuani, and Xin Zhao.

I finally mastered two heroes, but I didn't dare to use them because they weren't the meta heroes, so it was as if I hadn't practiced them at all.

This puts EDG in an invincible position in terms of lineup!
There were no upsets or miracles on the second day of the competition; G2 unsurprisingly swept TL 3-0.

Doublelift, the senior brother, boasted a lot before the match, but afterwards he couldn't hold back his tears and burst into tears on stage.

The main problem was that he lost badly, with no chance of winning at all. This happened for three consecutive games, which completely shattered his mentality.

It's not easy for the senior brother. He's always the god of North America, but he gets taught a lesson every year at the World Championship.

The family tragedy did not defeat him; on the contrary, it almost secured his position as the number one ADC in North America.

Seeing G2 playing so smoothly, many uninformed onlookers in the LPL region also became very nervous.

G2's growth rate is too fast, so fast that it seems everyone is still in the past when they were just a fun team.

They first decisively eliminated RNG last year, causing the biggest upset in the S8 World Championship, and then dominated the European and American regions in the S9 season.

They've once again made it to the finals of the MSI Mid-Season Invitational, challenging for the ultimate title.

They had already crushed countless powerful teams along the way, successfully standing before EDG. This gave the EDG players a sense of déjà vu, as if they were seeing their former selves.

However, they did not underestimate G2 from the beginning. They did everything they were supposed to do and were very stable in their mindset, doing what they were supposed to do.

Seeing the players like this, Maokai finally couldn't hold back anymore:

"Brothers, don't let your guard down! G2 is a very unpredictable team, be careful not to upset them! Don't forget RNG from last year!"

Maokai was even more nervous than the other athletes.

When Maokai used his previous experience with RNG as an example, everyone couldn't help but burst out laughing.

This is a dark history that RNG can never wash away; it will be brought up and used to criticize them from time to time.

Saint Gun waved his hand and said confidently:

"Don't worry about that. We definitely won't underestimate G2. This team seems to be much stronger than SKT."

Goodness, after a 5-0 victory over SKT, Flandre has already relegated SKT to the bottom tier, even worse than G2.

Meiko chimed in, "Yeah! That mid laner Caps on the other side is really good; he's a force to be reckoned with."

Meiko shuddered at the thought of Xiaohu being brutally beaten by the "Caps" at last year's World Championship.

Thankfully, their mid-laner Scout is reliable; otherwise, he might have been kicked out of RNG just like Xiaohu!
iboy was speechless:
"This team's draft picks are so unpredictable, who knows what they'll do? We might just fall into their trap."

"..."

Relaxing time always passes too quickly, and soon it was noon. After a brief chat, everyone boarded the bus together to head to the venue for today's finals.

As they got closer to the stadium, the crowd grew denser. Looking out the car window at the massive throng, one could see many spectators dressed as superhero cosplayers.

Everyone was somewhat amazed by the rapid development of League of Legends over the years, and they, as a group, had also benefited greatly from its success.

Without the game League of Legends, most of these delinquent teenagers who didn't study hard would be working in factories, screwing in screws.

As everyone arrived at the VIP entrance leading to the lounge, the main stadium officially reopened and began the ticket checking process. A grand opening ceremony awaited them shortly.

Upon entering the lounge, everyone found a seat and sat down. Maokai began the final tactical arrangements and gave some detailed instructions.

Meanwhile, makeup artists also arrived in the lounge to help the contestants who were going to participate in the opening ceremony with a simple makeup application.

It's difficult for ordinary people to look good on camera without makeup.

After all, not everyone is as "handsome and dashing" as Wang Yao, a handsome man with a powerful aura.

While he was getting his makeup done, Maokai began to give his little lesson.

He still focused more of his attention on the two players in the top lane.

The opposing G2's top laner, Wunder, was so badly beaten by Flandre last year that he was practically unable to take care of himself.

However, his skill level is top-tier among top laners in the European and American regions.

This year, Flandre's performance in the top lane has been quite average, showing signs of decline compared to last year, so they must be wary of him!
At the very least, we can't let Flandre become the team's Achilles' heel, dragging the entire team into the abyss.

Maokai gave instructions for the other routes as well.

As for Wang Yao in the jungle position, Maokai didn't even glance at him.

With nothing else to do, Wang Yao looked up at the television on the wall, which was broadcasting the live opening ceremony.

This year, Riot Games cleverly chose a violin and cello performance after the countdown ended, using deep and powerful melodies to reminisce about classic moments from previous MSI finals.

As the melody gradually reached its climax, the background shifted to a highlight reel of all the teams that made it to the group stage.

Naturally, the winners EDG and G2 had the most screen time.

And everyone's attention was drawn to the television screen.

Every time a new team appeared, the audience erupted in loud cheers, each one more intense than the last.

The atmosphere at the scene was also heated up.

At this moment, the staff knocked on the door and notified them to go backstage to gather and wait to go on stage.

Seeing his teammates' emotions already stirred by the music, Wang Yao smiled gently.

A company that can't make music is definitely not a good game company.

After the violin performance ended, Sara Skinner, the band that performed the theme song for this year's MSI Mid-Season Invitational, took the stage.

They performed the theme song, Brihe Glory, once again on stage.

At the end of the song, Riot Games seamlessly inserted an advertisement, truly mastering the art of monetization.

"First of all! Let's welcome the team from the European LEC region."

"G2!!!"

Ohhhhhh!!

"G2! G2!"

When the G2 players walked onto the stage from the backstage tunnel, the entire audience erupted in loud cheers, and the name of the G2 team resounded throughout the venue.

Although G2 has only been around for a few years, their antics have attracted a lot of fans.

Moreover, their performance improved with each game, and in the first half of S9, they delivered a dominant performance in the LEC region.
Not to mention the fallen North American team TSM, even FNC has been thoroughly crushed by them, swept 3-0 in one fell swoop, clean and decisive.

Oh, right!

G2 also managed to poach FNC's mid laner, Hat, showcasing a moment of blunder.

The team's optimistic spirit, and their proven strength by defeating SKT, RNG, and TL.

G2's fan base is growing rapidly worldwide, so their current momentum is understandable.

"Get out there! Wunder!"

"Jungler! Jankos!"

"Mid lane! Caps!"

"Marksman! Perkz!"

"Support! Minkx!"

Every time the host read out a contestant's ID, enthusiastic cheers erupted from the audience.

This made the entire G2 team very happy, with Perkz grinning so wide his mouth almost reached the back of his head.

The King of Hats also had a flush of excitement on his cheeks.

"Next, let's welcome their opponents, EDG from the LPL region!!"

"oh!!"

"EDG!!"

"EDG!!"

"Wang Yao, Wang Yao!"

The moment the host called out EDG's name, the cheers for G2's appearance were already high enough.

But when EDG entered the arena, the entire stadium erupted in cheers.

The deafening cheers continued until the EDG players stood still before gradually subsiding.

"Let's go! Flandre!"

"Mid lane! Scout!"

"Shooter! Iboy!"

"Support! Meiko!"

With each announcement, cheers erupted from the audience, and the individual personalities of the performers were clearly revealed—some were happy, some were shy, and some were composed.

The commentators deliberately created a little suspense here, not announcing the names in the order of top laner, jungler, and mid laner, but instead putting the jungler last.

"Jungle!"

"Kshine!!"

The cheers that had just subsided erupted again:

"Oh oh oh oh!"

"Ah ah ah ah ah!"

Wang Yao smiled and waved to the audience, looking around at the enthusiastic cheering crowd below. He was already used to such scenes.

Looking at the fans below, who were caught up in a frenzy, Wang Yao was filled with mixed emotions.

For athletes, only tangible honors are truly fundamental; only in this way can they gain recognition from others.

(End of this chapter)