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

Chapter 624: LPL's No. 1 Seed Team for Four Consecutive Years! Aiming for a Four-Peat!
At this point, the background music stopped completely, and the image on the entire large screen gradually dimmed.

Instead, the lights in the venue were turned on again, one by one.

Yu Shuang's resounding voice rang out again:
"The dramatic Spring Split is over, and the fiery Summer Split is about to begin!"

"Come on! Summoners here, let's welcome the players from the 17 LPL teams onto the stage with the utmost enthusiasm!!"

After he finished speaking, it was like a huge wave rising on the sea, and the entire audience in the stadium erupted in cheers!
Bang——Bang——

White smoke rose from both sides of the stage.

And right after the smoke, the players from each team, led by their captains who each held their team flags, began to appear from one side of the stage!
Furthermore, group photos of the team members from the corresponding teams began to appear on the big screen in real time!

Below the team name, the team's past achievements are also listed.

RNG! FPX! JDG! ...

One by one, well-known and unknown teams, established powerhouses and rising stars, took their places on the main stage under the watchful eyes of countless spectators.

Off the field, countless enthusiastic shouts rang out!
"RNG!! RNG!!"

"FPX!! FPX!!"

"..."

Every team's appearance is inevitably accompanied by the excited screams of the audience and fans.

Of course, teams like DMO and V5, which have only been in the LPL for one season, can't compare to these established teams in terms of popularity.

Even in terms of historical achievements, there is almost no record.

Even so, there were still fans at the scene supporting them, holding up signs to cheer on the players.

As the league has developed, its audience in China has expanded to a level that was unimaginable in the past!

Then another team will take the stage.

The background music in the venue has been changed without anyone noticing.

As the melodious tune played, the intro to Rise came on, giving everyone in the audience goosebumps!

"The next team rose like a comet, and they still shine brightly in the sky. They won the championship in the recent Spring Split, and they are just as spirited in the Summer Split..."

Yu Shuang hadn't finished speaking.

In the audience, the situation had begun to get out of control!
It's unclear who was the first to shout that:

"EDG!!"

It's like turning on a switch.

The entire audience was stirred up, and shouts spread and merged into a sweeping wave!

"EDG!! EDG!!"

"EDG!! EDG!!"

Along with that, there was the sound of various light sticks being waved, a dense, unstoppable cacophony!

This treatment, so different from that of the previous sixteen teams, is something only they can enjoy.

The other contestants who were already standing on the stage couldn't help but show expressions of envy.

Interrupted from her spellcasting, Yu Shuang could only wait helplessly for a moment until the scene quieted down before shouting again:
"Yes, let's give them a round of applause—EDG!!"

This seemed to energize the audience, with many clapping enthusiastically, as if they were afraid their applause wasn't loud enough.

On the field.

Led by Wang Yao, who was holding the team flag, the EDG team walked onto the stage and stood in the middle of all the teams.

This is commonly known as the 'C position'.

On the large screen behind them, a team photo of the six EDG players appeared prominently.

Below the team name 'EDG', a series of historical achievements are simply dazzling!

Champions of the 2014 LPL Spring and Summer Splits.

Champion of the 2015 LPL Spring Split and MSI Mid-Season Invitational.

2016 LPL Summer Split Champion.

as well as……

2017 LPL Summer Split Champion, World Champion!
2018 LPL Spring Split Champion, Summer Split Champion, MSI Mid-Season Invitational Champion, World Champion!
2019 LPL Spring Split Champion, Summer Split Champion, MSI Mid-Season Invitational Champion, World Champion!
2020 LPL Spring Split Champion, MSI Mid-Season Invitational Champion!!

Without a doubt, before S7, EDG was one of the most prestigious teams in the LPL, but after several setbacks in the quarterfinals, EDG fell into a slump.

But after S7, this team seemed to have awakened and won all the major tournaments!

And that's without even counting intercontinental competitions or the Asian Games.

It was this awe-inspiring achievement that excited so many spectators, who cheered deafeningly!
"All seventeen teams are ready!"

Just then, Yu Shuang walked to the front of the stage again, raised the microphone, and said: "They are about to continue their journey and write their own legend on this stage!"

As she spoke, she raised her left hand again: "Now, I announce the first match of the LPL Summer Split..."

"Let's begin!!"

Meanwhile on the other side.

Inside the official live stream room.

"Okay, this is the live broadcast of the opening match of the 2020 LPL League of Legends Summer Split. I'm your commentator, Miller."

"Hello everyone, I'm the commentator Wawa."

"After a summer offseason, we're back on the familiar stage, and today's first match will be between EDG and VG! We look forward to a great performance from both teams..."

In front of the camera, the familiar Haier Brothers have already begun their opening remarks.

The remaining 15 team members left the stage in an orderly manner, leaving only the members of EDG and DMO, who went straight to the players' room.

The opening match has begun!

……

Not long after, EDG defeated the VG team 2-0. After Wang Yao led Ah Shui to beat up iboy, the opening ceremony of the summer game came to an end.

But for all the teams in the LPL, this means their leisure time is over. Apart from rest days, there are matches scheduled almost every day!

In the first week, EDG's only match was against VG.

Without a doubt, this was yet another massacre.

Since returning from MSI, the entire EDG team has been incredibly energetic, with their training sessions being extended significantly in an effort to regain their form!
As the first to be sacrificed, VG's fate was clearly quite tragic.

One best-of-three series, two matches.

They didn't even last 50 minutes in total!

The entire game is characterized by violence and gore, with various fights and tower dives, and the pace is incredibly fast!

The show gave many viewers an adrenaline rush, with many exclaiming that the familiar EDG is finally back!

Week 2.

The best-of-three series against Suning will be much more intense.

Under the unique rhythm of Vietnamese jungler Sofm, EDG was somewhat overwhelmed in the early game.

Adding to the mix, their top laner, Bin, almost got solo-killed by Flandre in the lane. Fortunately, Flandre has become a seasoned veteran this year and didn't give him a chance to break through.

Jiejie managed to regain some of her form, stabilize her rhythm, and promptly shift her focus to the lower half of the table, which allowed her to turn the tide.

Final score: 2-1, EDG wins!
Week 3, Week 4, Week 5...

One match after another followed.

They easily defeated Top Esports 2-0. Without JackeyLove, Top Esports cannot be considered a top team. Their strength is still only at the playoff level.

They defeated IG 2-1.

It must be said that EDG, after its roster reorganization, is indeed quite strong.

This BO3 was extremely close, with almost every game going on for more than 35 minutes. In the end, EDG came out on top, with their three carries relentlessly looking for opportunities and breaking through IG's defenses.

Subsequently.

They defeated JDG 2-0 again, telling Duke and Toothpaste that it's not their time yet.

They won 2-0 against RNG.

……

Everyone can see that EDG's performance is improving at a visible rate!

For EDG, the Summer Split is not as important as people think.

Because with EDG's current points, they are already guaranteed to enter the playoffs!

However, the EDG players continued to play ranked games and practice matches intensively during the competition.

of course.

In this respect, all teams that have a chance to enter the playoffs are actually the same.

Every strong team is striving to become stronger, developing more strategies to compete for those only four spots!
Yes!

This year, four slots are reserved for LPL teams at the World Championship, one more than in previous years!
LCK, on ​​the other hand, still has three slots, which is definitely good news for LPL.

Soon, it was week 8.

EDG will face FPX once again.

This is practically a battle for first and second place in the standings!

The first two games ended in a 1-1 tie.

The third round.

FPX had a huge advantage in the early game, especially Xiaotian's Olaf, whose record once reached 5-0!

When everyone thought EDG was going to lose to FPX.

Against this backdrop, Jiejie stepped forward!

With his Prince pick, he initiated a perfect team fight at the Baron pit, unleashing maximum crowd control and causing an instant explosion, allowing EDG to pull off a perfect team fight where one player could exchange for five!
Bounty hunters, Baron Nashor, turrets, jungle resources – a single sweep turned the tide of the game and gave them an advantage!

Subsequently, the other members of EDG also began to exert their strength and continuously expand their advantage.

At the 31-minute mark, they successfully destroyed FPX's base and won the BO3.

And the game ended.

This also basically means that the team with the highest LPL points has been determined.

After all, the other teams are far behind in points, so it's unrealistic to expect them to catch up.

Further back.

As the weeks of matches went by, the situation in the LPL gradually became clearer.

The last regular season game was played on August 18th.

Eight teams stood out from the entire LPL!

EDG! FPX! SN! JDG! LNG! TES! IG! And finally, LGD!

These eight teams will battle it out in the playoffs to determine the final S-series spot!
Teams that did not make the playoffs enjoyed their longest vacation of the year.

but.

It hasn't even started the playoffs yet.

Some news about the S-series was released by the official channels ahead of schedule.

On the evening of August 20th, at EDG's base.

"Holy crap, they're playing in our local area this year?"

Saint Gun was scrolling through his phone when he suddenly made a sound that broke the silence of the training room.

"Play locally?"

Not far away, Ah Shui was the first to react, his eyes widening: "Where? The Bird's Nest or Chengdu?"

"neither."

Saint Gun shook his head: "It's right in front of our house, the Pudong Football Stadium in Shanghai!"

Hearing this, everyone looked at each other in surprise.

"hiss……"

Ah Shui took a breath: "Wow, we can get there by taking a bus! That's awesome!"

"indeed!"

Scout's eyes lit up. Playing a match on home soil was the best option, since there was no need to deal with jet lag!

"It's great, it's great!"

Everyone cheered with joy. Riot Games really put in some effort this year to support the LPL and create hype for EDG to win another championship!

Time passed again.

8 month 22 number.

The playoffs begin.

The first match is IG vs. LGD.

After five hard-fought games, IG, with TheShy, Rookie, and Ning, surprisingly lost to LGD!

Ning's performance in the jungle was particularly bad; he was completely outplayed by Peanut, and IG ultimately lost 2-3 and were eliminated from the playoffs!
But then, in the second game...

LGD was unexpectedly defeated by BLG.

In the third match, SN defeated LNG 3-1 and then TES 3-1.

Immediately afterwards, FPX defeated BLG 3:1, and then took down SN 3:2.

Ultimately, the two teams that met in the playoff finals were FPX and EDG.

The entire LPL ecosystem was showcased in its entirety!

And under the watchful eyes of countless viewers, an extremely bloody best-of-five final unfolded once again.

Both sides were like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each displaying their unique skills, fighting back and forth, making it extremely entertaining!
finally.

In the fifth game, EDG demonstrated amazing resilience and team coordination, dragging the game out until the 45-minute mark, where they forcefully defeated FPX in a team fight and secured the victory!
For the fourth consecutive year, EDG has qualified for this year's S10 World Championship as the top seed from the LPL!
after one day.

The qualifying rounds, also known as the bubble tournament, have begun.

SN defeated both Li Ning and TES to secure a spot in the tournament.

JDG secured the last World Championship ticket!

This is the end.

The LPL's spot in the S10 World Championship has been officially confirmed!

Seed #1: EDG!

Second seed: FPX!

Third seed: SN!

Fourth seed: JDG!

It's located at the Hongqiao Tiandi Cultural and Performing Arts Center.

A grand send-off ceremony unfolded, with members of all four teams donning their battle uniforms and embarking on their journey amidst the rousing narration.

And after the departure ceremony concluded.

Online.

From Baidu Tieba to Bilibili, and then to Weibo and other platforms, a terrifying frenzy has swept across them all!

"Here it comes! It's LPL's strongest year yet again!"

"You know what, this was truly the strongest year ever. Two e-commerce teams, EDG and FPX, I don't know how they could possibly lose!"

"I just want to pray that these two don't run into each other beforehand, and that they meet in the finals! It doesn't matter who wins!"

"Seriously, stop jinxing us! The competition hasn't even started yet, and you're already thinking about the finals?! That's ridiculous!"

"Indeed, it still comes down to this: first question, then question, and finally question!"

"..."

of course.

It's not just LPL.

The rosters of the teams participating in the S-series from other regions have also been confirmed.

LCK: GEN, DRX, DWG!

LEC: G2, FNC, RGE, MAD.

LCS: TSM, Fly, TL.

Apart from the ever-present European and American regions, the teams representing LCK and LPL this year have undergone significant changes compared to last year!
The former LPL Big Three, RNG and IG, have completely fallen on hard times, relegated to playoff teams, with RNG even failing to make the playoffs this year.

Last year's Griffin team, after being taught a lesson by EDG for two consecutive years, also completely fell apart.

Chaowei joined DRX and led Doran, Pyosik, Deft, and the up-and-coming support player Keria to the S10 World Championship.

As for the GEN team, they are a newly emerging strong team that has been dormant for two seasons after being reorganized by SSG.

The team's roster consists of veteran players.

For example, Rascal, whose nickname is "Brother".

Bdd, Ruler, Clid, and others—this year's GEN team is quite strong, squeezing out T1 and returning to the top of the world esports stage.

As for Faker, the legendary demon king whom countless people have been looking forward to, he missed the S10 World Championship and can only wait until next year!

There is a full month between the end of the Summer Split and the start of the World Championship!
For those teams that failed to qualify for the World Championship, they can take a long break until the end of the year, which is incredibly relaxing!

But for EDG, FPX, SN, and JD Gaming, this month has been the most tiring time for them.

The daily training schedule and match schedule are fully booked!

However, relative to the entire league circle.

This month, however, was the calmest time, or rather, the calm before the storm.

There are no games being played.

But the entire internet is filled with discussions related to the World Championship!

First, domestically.

On almost every platform, there are posts comparing combat strength and analyzing the championship!
A Brief Analysis of the True Strength of Each Team in S10: Who is Most Likely to Be the Dark Horse?

A rational analysis of LPL's chances of winning this year's World Championship, which team has the best chance of winning, and whether EDG can maintain its dominance.

Is this Deft's last dance? If he doesn't win the S10 championship, he might choose to retire?

"..."

These posts are all pretty much the same.

But the number of comments under each of these posts is frighteningly high!
Of course, this is in the context of such a heated discussion about the S-series.

Some unconventional posts also stood out and attracted a lot of attention.

The new Teamfight Tactics champion is born! Kshine tops the Chinese server! Is this the new Godv?

Is there solid evidence of discord within the EDG team? Did XX unfollow a teammate?

A scream was heard at the FPX base late at night, shocking passersby. Is it a sign of twisted humanity or moral decay?

and many more.

These posts also garnered massive traffic!

all in all.

If I had to describe the situation online in four words, it would be: chaos and disorder!

Correspondingly, besides the LPL, related topics from other regions are also generating a lot of buzz!
Phrases like "G2 is pulling a fast one, EDG, get up, everyone here is trash" and "Khan vows to never be one step behind the champion again, we will definitely win S10" are common.

It's clear that audiences worldwide are increasingly anticipating the S-series.

Meanwhile, the authorities were not idle either, using various promotional methods to push the popularity to an even higher level!

Under such circumstances.

9 month 15 day.

Riot Games has finally released this year's player rankings, also known as the infamous "jinxed" rankings!
At this moment, at the EDG base.

The group that was still training all gathered behind Wang Yao's seat, watching him scroll through web pages.

Unlike in the past, where each position was ranked separately.

This time, the official team put all the players in all positions together and then ranked them into a TOP20!

"Where am I? Where am I?"

Ah Shui looked at the screen expectantly and immediately saw his own ID.

TOP17: Jackeylove!

"Holy crap, this guy's only 17?!"

Ah Shui's eyes widened, looking somewhat incredulous.

He was the runner-up AD carry in the World Championship in Incheon, okay?

Only 17 places?!

He saw it; LWX and Perkz's IDs were both in the top 15!

Even Bin, a relatively unknown rookie top laner, is ranked 16th, ahead of JKL.

You should know that back then, Ah Bin was just a random fellow villager who ate JKL's leftovers!
That punch was like looking at a person through a crack in the door—it underestimated them!

"Ha ha!"

Beside him, Saint Gun couldn't help but laugh out loud, reaching out to pat Ah Shui on the shoulder: "It's good enough to be on the list, kid, just having fun!"

But before Flandre could even get a shot, Ah Shui squinted at him and said, "What are you laughing at? You're in last place."

"what?"

Saint Gun's laughter stopped abruptly as he looked down at the bottom of the list.

His ID was clearly displayed there.

TOP20: EDG-Flandre!

"Ah this!"

"no!"

This time, it was Flandre's turn to lose control of his facial expressions; his eyes and nose looked completely out of place.

"Dude, I'm a two-time top lane champion, and Riot Games gave me last place? I'm so angry I'm freezing!"

"It's okay, it's just for fun."

Ah Shui regained his composure.

As the saying goes, without comparison, there is no harm.

Although his TOP17 ranking wasn't great, there was a TOP20 ranking next to him, which made him feel much better!

Wow, I'm seventh!

At that moment, Meiko also saw her ranking and grinned.

"I'm exactly number 10."

Scout stroked his chin: "It's alright, I guess."

After that, everyone looked at the last spot, where the number one ID was displayed.

No one was surprised by this ID—Kshine!

"Awesome, Yao-ge."

Ah Shui chuckled and teased, "It's obvious that Fist really wants to jinx you."

After all, it's a "poisonous milk" ranking.

Naturally, the higher the ranking, the more potent the "poisonous milk" effect!
And the one ranked first is undoubtedly the one that has received the most support.

Wang Yao seemed somewhat surprised, and chuckled, saying, "I'm just a substitute, how can I be ranked first?"

If the previous ranking method had been used, with each position ranked separately, he wouldn't even have a definite position to be included in the list!

"Forehead."

Ah Shui paused for a moment, then stroked his chin and said, "Is it possible that the Fist League changed the ranking method of the 'Poisonous Milk List' just to exclude you?"

Wang Yao was speechless and shook his head, saying, "That punch was just too much of a waste of time."

"Hey, you just don't understand."

Ah Shui said meaningfully, "That's how it is with fists. When it comes to doing things other than your main job, you're even more skilled than Brother Yao."

This is quite true.

It's Riot Games, after all.

He is notorious for being a ne'er-do-well.

In any case, they are willing to put their effort into anything other than the game 'League of Legends' itself!
This includes, but is not limited to: music, comics, skin design, skin CG, background story modification, IP-derived games, etc.

It's perfectly normal for people to put in the effort every year to create a list of the most toxic predictions!
……

(End of this chapter)