LOL: I just turned 18, let me fight back and be reborn

Chapter 367 Swiss Round Thrilling Grouping! A Draw or a Round-Robin Tournament?
Even after the opening ceremony ended, the atmosphere at the venue remained incredibly lively.

Standing at the backstage entrance, Ye Bo secretly listened to his name being called from the platform through the gap in the curtain, and couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement from the atmosphere.

As the lights came on, the host walked onto the stage.

"Good afternoon, Summoners both at the venue and in the online live stream! Welcome to Seoul!"

The powerful voice easily identified it as the familiar Roaring Emperor: "The wonderful opening ceremony has come to an end. Before the first qualifying round begins, let's first invite the defending champion to return the trophy!"

As everyone's attention turned to the entrance.

Jie Jie walked onto the stage from the exit, holding the trophy, but he didn't look very happy. After all, EDG didn't even make it to the World Championship this year, and he had to come back alone to represent the team in this segment, which must have been a bit tough for him.

After EDG confirmed that they would not qualify for the S13 World Championship, Meiko and the club jointly issued a statement announcing his departure from EDG, where he had been for 8 years.

An informant from the anti-racism forum's restroom revealed that he was likely invited by Guo Hao to join TES next season as the brother and sister duo of "The Boatman's Love".
This is why, as the only remaining member of EDG, JieJie doesn't even have anyone to accompany him.

We can't exactly call Uzbekistan!

However, it's not the first time a former S-series champion team that failed to qualify for the World Championship has had to come back to return the trophy—FPX did the same thing in S10 two years ago, successfully making Khan the only "top laner with a negative one-title record" in history.

But just then, screams suddenly erupted from all around the scene.

It turned out that the director in charge of the live broadcast suddenly switched gears and focused half of the live stream on Ye Bo, who was secretly observing from the backstage entrance!

Although he was not suitable to play because he went to another team.

But at this moment, the two are standing separately on the big screen, which really looks like a "cyber crown return"!
Ye Bo was slightly taken aback when he saw his face appear on the big screen, then waved at the camera.

Thanks to the hype from the promotional video, the already excited audience was instantly ignited, and soon a tidal wave of shouts of "YE! YE! YE!" echoed from outside.

but.

This scene was clearly somewhat awkward for the South Korean audience, who were the hosts, and for the "Roaring Emperor" on stage.

After all, the music video for the theme song of "Ascension to Godhood" was indeed a powerful wave of nostalgia for viewers from other regions and the LPL.
But for them—that was all their own “humiliating history” from last year!

The Roaring Emperor could only gather his strength and forcefully use the megaphone to drown out the noise from the audience: "After a year of fierce competition, we have finally arrived at the qualifying round. Eight teams are about to give their all to compete for the precious Swiss round spots!"

"Then the first opening match will be between LCK's fourth seed DK and LPL's fourth seed WBG!"

"Please welcome both contestants to the stage!"

After all, it was just the qualifying rounds, so there was no grand entrance ceremony.

The two teams walked out of the passage together, and the fans on both sides shouted at the top of their lungs to compete in volume.

Although DK's fans are certainly not as numerous as WBG's, the Korean fans, who were seething with anger, were determined to get back at WBG. Their desperate shouts actually managed to somewhat suppress the cheers from WBG's fans back home.

The first qualifying round has officially begun.

Everyone's attention was drawn back to Summoner's Rift.

The match between WBG and DK was undoubtedly the most suspenseful in the play-in stage, and it served as a reference for all teams in the main tournament to understand the game version.

"Quisanti isn't played much anymore, Neeko support was nerfed but is still banned, and the bot lane is still mainly dominated by two marksmen."

Ye Bo looked at the drafts and replies from both sides and pondered deeply.

"For now, it seems that there haven't been many changes in other positions. The main change is in the top lane, which is now almost entirely composed of warrior-carry types. Everyone has noticed this."

"Of course, we can't rule out the possibility that someone on their team is hiding something, after all, it's just the qualifying rounds."

Beryl, sipping an ice pop, muttered, "The lineup looks pretty good, DK seems a bit tough to deal with~"

Saint Gun Bro jokingly said, "Although I also hope WBG can win, why don't you even believe in Brother Xu, Genshin Impact Bro?"

"Hey, this guy said he's prepared a secret weapon, that he's going to come to the quarterfinals and kick my ass!" Beryl shook his head. "But I don't think he'll even make it to the quarterfinals~~"

It's not surprising that Beryl doesn't approve of his good friend.

To be fair.

If we only look at the roster, apart from Xu Xiu, everyone else on DK's side is a rookie from the Youth Storm. It can be said that making it to the World Championship this year is already a rather unexpected achievement.

Compared to WBG, which boasts TheShy and Xiaohu, as well as the Asian Games bot lane duo who just returned from winning gold medals, their lineup is definitely much weaker.

But I didn't expect it.

The opening match unfolded in a way that exceeded everyone's expectations.

WBG seemed to have encountered a problem with "integration," with the entire team appearing disoriented in the first two matches. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought this was a team that had just qualified for the World Championship.

TheShy's aggressive playstyle led to him being directly countered by "Little Zeus" Siwoo, who, like a newborn calf unafraid of tigers, even managed to secure a solo kill in his lane.

Xiaohu and Weiwei's midfield and jungle, along with Xu Xiu and the rookie Lucid, were locked in a fierce battle and found it difficult to break free.

These are all minor issues.

Most importantly, WBG's most stable and relied-upon bot lane carry seemed to be "lost" in this game, and was completely suppressed by the newcomer duo of Peyz and Delight!

WBG ultimately lost the opening match, drawing outrage from the live chat.

[Brother Xu isn't from that region! He's the mid-laner for the S10 World Championship! According to Incheon locals and Icelanders, he's from Shanghai!]

[Nobody noticed the criticism of the tiger? What did he do?! Is it true that the less ability you have, the less responsibility you bear?]

Fly larvae can't fly through sewers, and E. coli can't swim through petri dishes—who has the heart to blame them?

[Character Profile: Little Tiger, Paramecium, capable of simple biological activities]

This match once again proves the value of mid-lane players in the Asian Games; even with this bot lane, they can win a gold medal!

Is it possible that the little corner and the welcoming pine tree haven't recovered yet, still thinking they're sitting next to Master Ye, and are playing around without thinking, only to get completely confused!

This time, there was actually a Conan comment on the screen.

WBG's poor performance in the first game was due to the fact that its team members are somewhat unpredictable.

The main problem is that the bot lane duo hasn't recovered yet.

The Asian Games gold medals come at a price, as they take up a whole month of training time. The last time this five-person lineup competed in a tournament was two months ago!

WBG even had to play in the qualifying rounds a week earlier—meaning they only had a little over a week to adjust after returning.

It's understandable that the bot lane duo hasn't corrected their "brainless habits" developed during a month of intensive training.

And apart from that.

The live chat was also furiously attacking Xiaohu, who seemed to be "invisible" throughout the entire match, criticizing him for becoming a classic "softie" in the World Championship, and some even worried that he might not make it to the top 16.
"It shouldn't be a big problem, right? There's still double loss, so I don't feel any pressure~" Xun said casually, leaning on his gaming chair.

"Unless they lose to GAM, who among us would lose to a decent person?!"

A loud bang suddenly came from the side, drawing everyone's attention.

A figure had already tumbled to the ground, chair and all, looking disheveled and grimacing, clutching his buttocks and head in obvious pain.

It felt like I had been punished by the heavens!
Everyone rushed forward to help.

Kitagawa couldn't help but chuckle and tease, "Hey Xun, take it easy. I want to earn my starting position through my own ability, but if you really want to give me my spot, there's no need to hurt yourself. I'll just get you two bowls of beef noodles."

Everyone burst into laughter.

The qualifying rounds are packed with matches, starting immediately and lasting only four days.

Unfortunately, the Vietnam War veterans that everyone hoped would "go down in history" did not appear.

While GAM is certainly not weak among the many wildcard regions, for the LPL and LCK, this team is like the "cleaning room" on the international stage every year.

Losing a game is no different from being stabbed in the back when you become a eunuch in the palace.

—After all, once you lose a match, unless you get the latest "Rama's remains" and are reborn from limbs, you can never get rid of the "eunuch" label for the rest of your life!
Just when everyone thought the qualifying rounds were over and the subsequent matches were no longer suspenseful and meaningless...

No one expected it.

The most exciting and memorable match of the qualifying rounds, and also the match where another team made history.

It's the loser's bracket final between France's BDS and Taiwan's PSG!

With Maple and Junjia, the former champion substitute of EDG, PSG, as the last representative of the Taiwan region, has already brought the score to 2-0, and has a huge advantage in both games.

Anyone watching would have thought victory was assured. Even the BDS players on the bench seemed to have given up, their expressions dejected, as if they were about to say goodbye to this World Championship.

Only one young player with curly hair, sitting on the very edge, was still arguing excitedly with his coach.

And then came the third game.

BDS suddenly abandoned the norm and gave up competing for the so-called "powerful" Crocodile weapon Rumble.

He pulled out a champion that had been absent from the competition for four years, an absolutely underrated hero: Olaf for top lane!
前两把全都是0-2-0战绩的BDS上单选手亚当，在拿到了自己的绝活后，竟然直接砸出8-2-7的傲人战绩打穿上路，力斩下MVP带领队伍拿下胜利！

Then came the fourth game—again, the top lane Garen, who had been away from the competition for so long that it was hard to remember!

This match was even more outrageous, with a godlike score of 7-1-5, as if he were stomping on noobs, once again dominating the top lane and securing the MVP.

Until the fifth match, Adam's third signature move.

Hand of Noxus!

"The Noxian Guillotine!!"

"They did it! They did it!"

"The third time in League of Legends World Championship history that a team has come back from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2! BDS from the French region did it!"

In the history of the World Championship, there have only been two instances of a team coming back from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2: TES defeated FNC in S10 and DRX last year.

And the way this team won was truly thrilling.

This kind of performance—believing in oneself, pulling out a champion that's out of meta or even one that only one person in the world uses—and ultimately leading the team to victory, is definitely a moment that will get all LOL fans excited!
Ye Bo, watching from the sidelines, was quite excited.

However, after the initial excitement, he discussed his latest ideas with his teammates.

This match also provided everyone with a very clear understanding of the current meta – the importance of the top lane in the S13 World Championship meta!
The changes to Teleport, hero buffs, equipment buffs, and the prevalence of utility heroes in the jungle role are all factors contributing to this.

The workplace.

They have clearly become the team's two most important and irreplaceable key carries!
The logic here is that if your top laner wants to play passively, the enemy top laner, due to the characteristics of warrior heroes, will have a much faster power spike than ADCs and mages.

In the current version, a fed top laner can almost single-handedly carry the entire team's fighting power throughout the early, mid, and late game!
Whether you're playing an early-game fighting composition that requires a top laner, or a late-game farming composition that needs a top laner to control the tempo, or even if the mid-game is the peak period for a top laner, you can't do without a top laner!

And to know.

Adam's raw skill level is barely among the top in the top lane at this World Championship, yet he still manages to carry the team thanks to his "signature skill" and "counterplay".

For example, in the third game, Olaf faced Gnar, and in the fourth game, Garen faced Jax. These were all top-tier hero counters!
This is perhaps something V5 could consider.

Of course, V5 had actually made many preparations as early as the start of the Summer Split.
While waiting for the lottery to begin, Ye Bo took out his phone and started browsing the internet.

The recently concluded defeat match, between two teams with relatively low profiles, generated just as much discussion as the opening match, proving that most viewers still prefer to see exciting matches.

In the name of the Holy Sword! Charge!

Those who regularly play Garen are generally sharp-eyed, extremely confident, and their IQ increases year by year, eventually making them true geniuses. Playing Garen optimizes physical structure and triggers various invincible superpowers. Once someone starts playing Garen, it means that, apart from their appearance, their intelligence and character are all top-notch; their only destiny is to dominate the competitive arena.

[Those people who only care about versions and data should be shown what true skill is! Ignoring versions! I'm the version that gets selected!]

This is the real League of Legends!

[Good BDS, congratulations on entering the Swiss round! You've made tremendous progress—your first opponents are V5 and GEN!]

[Holy crap! Adam didn't have any hair in the post-game interview! Turns out he's also one of my 'Calabash Brothers' brothers!!]

Ye Bo saw the last one and curiously clicked on the attached redirect link.

The interview shown was Adam's post-match interview.

Facing a South Korean reporter, he sincerely recounted his emotional journey after being down 0-2 in the second game, and what he had been arguing about with the coach.

"Because I listened to the coach and picked Sion in the first game and lost, I listened to the coach again and picked a strong champion in the second game and lost again."

"So in the third game, I told him, 'I want to choose my own hero.'"

"My absolute number one and my favorite player, YE, said something like this. I don't remember the exact words, but it was something like, 'I prefer to trust my own heroes rather than the version.'"

"I think Garen, Darius, and Olaf heard my response back then too."

Ye Bo looked at the frenzied English comments in the comment section above. Although he couldn't understand them, his ID was everywhere.

He doesn't actually remember when he said that; it could have been during a live broadcast or in a post-game interview during a regular season game.

But receiving recognition, or even admiration, from players in other regions is undoubtedly a very pleasant thing.

When asked which opponent he most wanted to face in the Swiss round, the other person frankly replied, "I most want to face V5, and I hope to have the opportunity to play against YE in the top lane."

It is worth mentioning that.

The draw rules for this year's Swiss Series are completely different from those of the previous 12 years of the S-Series.

简单来说，就是将16支队伍按照进入世界赛的“实力排名”，分成1/2/3/4四个分组。

V5、GEN、G2、NRG四大赛区的一号种子为1组，二号种子们为2组，三号种子们为3组。

The four teams that advanced from the qualifying rounds are divided into four groups.

The first round of matchups will be Group 1 vs. Group 4!
Anyone familiar with the Swiss system knows that it is actually quite fair compared to the "group of death" that used to happen every year.

只因为到了第二轮开始，所有队伍都会按照《同积分抽签》：即2-1只有可能打到2-1，绝不可能打到1-1或是2-0的队。

In any case, you either win 3 games to advance or lose 3 games to go home; there's no difference in the order of priority.

At the main venue.

Ghost, the trophy king in charge of the draw, has taken the stage and laid out the members of Group 1 first, preparing to draw them one by one from the fourth seed pool.

Since it was already decided that the fourth seed would be drawn, the V5 players weren't too nervous. At most, they just hoped they wouldn't be drawn against their own team, WBG.

Only Beryl kept clenching her fist and muttering, "Brother K! Brother K! Brother K! Brother K!"

When the Ghost King reached out towards the first four-piece brocade pouch, preparing to place the first one in front of V5.

The four fourth-seeded teams, who had just finished their match, were so quiet backstage that you could almost hear them swallowing; they seemed even more nervous than during the game itself.
And then the team emblem in the brocade bag was unfolded.

The familiar black double-door flag was clearly displayed on the large screen.

"The first match has been decided! LPL's number one seed V5 will face off against LCK's fourth seed DK!"

The camera feed to DK's backstage area revealed rather intriguing expressions on the faces of the people there.
The results of the first round of draws were relatively standard, and all the matchups were quickly determined.

The first and fourth seeds will face off.

NRG vs WBG, G2 vs BDS

V5 vs. DK, GEN vs. GAM

Second and third seed match-up —

T1 vs TL, HLE vs C9

MAD vs FNC, JDG vs LNG

The chat was already starting to get excited, and people started speaking freely when the final draw results were announced.

[Holy crap! They rigged the fortune slips!! They definitely rigged them!!!]

[To the person upstairs: who exactly made the draw? WBG really seems to be manipulating the draw, managing to pick the worst person in pool number one!]

[Who told you they're the worst? Try combining those names, NRG. RNG is back to hunt down your account again!]

[KR is unbeatable! They drew wildcards for all three of their own teams, then gave an LPL team an all-Chinese match. They're really taking advantage of their home advantage, aren't they?]

[Did the person upstairs really understand the rules of the Swiss system? This is clearly a draw designed to disadvantage V5. It looks like there's a 90% chance V5 will have to play against the Korean team again in the second round!? Are they planning another attrition tactic of using a series of matches to wear them down?!]

So, isn't DK's life just a matter of life? Brother Xu!! My Brother Xu!!

[Ghost King: Haha, I told you not to kick me! Die!]

[Haha, likes to pop champagne before matches? DK was first in the play-in stage! And BDS could beat PSG, so why can't DK beat V5! Just wait for my brother Xu to writhe and utterly annihilate YE!]

(End of this chapter)