LOL: Can’t I play other games professionally?

Chapter 550 The Finals Begin

The final battle of the 2018 League of Legends World Championship!
EDGvsIG.

With the semifinals over and only two days left until the World Championship, Chinese news was filled with official League of Legends hype for the finals.

As the first time LPL has had an internal battle in the World Championship finals, it is undoubtedly of great significance. Therefore, the LPL officials have done a lot of marketing and promotion in the past two days.

There were at least seven or eight trending topics on Weibo every day in the five days leading up to the final.

The two teams participating in the finals were not idle either. After arriving in Incheon and resting for less than half a day, they began filming the promotional video for the finals.

Fortunately, unlike the LPL, which requires filming in an entire city, the LCK only needs to shoot promotional videos at two or three locations.

Perhaps because no Korean teams made it to the finals, the LCK officials started to concede defeat.

However, this was a good thing for Lin Ruo; running around and wasting another day was better left unsaid.

In the two days leading up to the final, both sides spent less than half a day on promotional videos, with the remaining day and a half dedicated to preparation.

At this point, neither side had any intention of holding a training match.

According to past practice, the two teams that have entered the finals have basically stopped playing practice matches. The so-called adjustments for the finals are nothing more than tactical adjustments on paper and maintaining their ranked performance.

After all, it's impossible for us to be opponents in the finals, and then play practice matches every day as if we know each other inside and out before the finals even begin.

Unfortunately, that's how it was for EDG and IG; they still played nearly three days of scrims before the finals.

They haven't played for the past two days since arriving in Incheon.

It's not that they're not going to play anymore, but rather that IG doesn't want to play anymore and is worried that they'll mentally collapse if they continue.

Once the training matches were suspended, the promotional video was filmed, and the EDG players returned to the hotel after dinner, all they could do was play Korean server games to maintain their skills.

Of course, for Lin Ruo, who never plays ranked matches, it was practically impossible to do anything else. Responding to the call from Weibo users, Lin Ruo calmly started a live stream that she hadn't done in almost two months.

It wasn't for any other reason than that she hadn't received any gifts in a long time; Lin Ruo simply wanted to chat and torment her online friends.

Is that Lin Gou? Lin Gou is live streaming! Oh my god!

[After the semifinals, he posted on Weibo, went on stage to talk trash, and even did a live stream today. Is the Lin Dog from 17 back? Is it a limited-time comeback or a permanent one?]

I think it's just a last gasp before he dies; Lin might never stream again after the finals.

Whether you don't know or not, when the audience saw that familiar three-cut sequence in one second, and Lin Ruo started the classic scene of playing a game of Dou Dizhu when she had nothing to do.

They knew that at least the taste was right.

"How do we play the day after tomorrow? Play whatever you want."

"What are my chances of beating IG? It's about 50/50. I can catch them five times in five minutes."

"What's the score? It'll definitely be 3-0. If the streamer loses one game, he should just retire on the spot, okay?"

"What, you think the streamer is bragging? Well, that's right, I am bragging."

Lin Ruo smiled and took a sip of water, seemingly unfazed by the barrage of questions: "I never said that what I said was definitely the truth. Since you all insist on asking me, let's just say whether I answered or not. Didn't my answer make you find it very interesting?"

That would be interesting, of course.

Although Lin Ruo later clarified that it was a joke, it didn't stop the marketing accounts that were waiting in the live stream from immediately cutting off the beginning and end and posting it for mindless passersby to see.

[Shocking! Lin Shen said he wants to gank IG five times in five minutes during the finals. If IG wins one game against him, he'll retire on the spot and never play League of Legends again.]

...

what.

In another training room at the hotel, Ning Wang was shocked when he saw the news.

"No way, that's seriously underestimating IG. They actually retired after just one loss."

He seriously doubted that Lin Ruo was human.

Ning then entered Zhanqi's 4396 live stream room during a break in the queue to find out what was going on.

At this moment, Lin Ruo was still interacting amicably with the comments: "Sure, sure, making JK super bad is no problem."

"Go all out and arrest them? No problem."

"Target Ning in the jungle, are we going to chase him down and kill him all game? We can cover for him, no problem."

This involves ganking the top lane and constantly targeting the jungle; normally, no one could do that. But unfortunately, if Lin Ruo is just bragging, then there's no problem.

"Brothers, I have clones in the game, not just two lanes, I can gank three lanes at the same time. What you guys were hoping for was too conservative."

amount.

"What is he doing?"

After watching the live stream for a few minutes, Ning suddenly became confused. He said that beating IG was no problem, but the way they were beating them was ridiculous. Was he playing God?

Is he about to cast a spell? And even create clones…

Okay, he probably realized that Lin Ruo was being awkward.

Lin Ruo didn't have any bad intentions; he just wanted to fulfill the audience's dream of hearing him talk nonsense. What did he do wrong?

Whether they were wrong or not, I don't know; all I know is that the marketing accounts had a blast tonight.

The marketing accounts weren't idle the next day either, because with only one night left before the competition, the EDG members actually went shopping and had barbecue in the afternoon.

Because IG is an opponent in the LPL, the team had already completed their battle strategy against IG three days before arriving in Incheon, having basically devoted themselves to preparation without rest.

During the two days in Incheon, there weren't many preparation requirements. Instead, the focus was on adjusting one's mindset, controlling one's schedule, and ensuring that one's mental state was at its peak for the final day of the competition.

Back at the hotel that night, the EDG players didn't make any further adjustments and all rested around 22 PM. They didn't play two or three ranked games in the training room until the next morning to warm up.

Online marketing accounts may spread rumors that EDG has become arrogant, but only EDG members themselves know that they are truly ready.

If we have to go through all that trouble to understand IG like we do with other foreign teams, then we must be really unfamiliar with them.

...

The morning of November 3rd passed just like that.

As the afternoon approached, the final day of the World Championship Finals arrived as scheduled amidst much anticipation.

Around 14 PM, the EDG team boarded a bus to the competition venue, and the journey took only a dozen minutes to reach the Wenhe Arena.

Outside the packed stadium, tens of thousands of spectators were braving the cold wind to queue for entry, and the EDG members, carrying backpacks, pulled up their team uniforms as they got off the bus.

Although it wasn't winter yet, the biting wind was already chilling. "There were quite a lot of people, but it's not as big as the Bird's Nest. However, South Korea has done its best to host the finals in such a large venue."

Tianye, wrapped in a coat, entered while looking around.

It's obvious that LCK officials are trying to sell tickets, but because of the two teams facing off in the finals, there wasn't much shouting in the noisy crowd today.

However, since the goal was to sell tickets, this aspect has definitely been achieved.

Because Chinese tourists have much greater spending power than South Koreans, especially with the added influence of scalpers.

If there were any South Korean spectators present today, they would probably only be the families of the few South Korean athletes on the field.

For example, Scout's family came to the event and, with the help of staff, entered the venue early to avoid long queues.

When the EDG team entered the venue through the back door, the interior was still somewhat empty, but it would likely be packed with people within half an hour.

Without lingering, the group arrived at the lounge. The first things to do were touch up their makeup and draw lots for the red and blue teams, before they could relax and wait for the match to begin.

The IG team arrived 20 minutes later than EDG. When they passed by the rest room, the two sides greeted each other. Ning made a throat-slitting gesture, indicating that he would finish the game with Bloodthirster.

Lin Ruo smiled, brandished the gun, and indicated that he would take down IG cleanly with one shot.

When the draw results were soon announced by both coaches, and IG won the right to choose sides in the first game by flipping a coin, the prelude to this final was officially launched.

Judging from the red and blue teams, it is clear that the blue team has a much higher probability of winning, so IG actually benefited from the draw.

However, for the battle-hardened EDG, choosing a side is not a big deal.

With an hour to go before the match started, Lin Ruo was really thinking about doing a good job of warming up the atmosphere; if the official organizers were doing it, he had to do it too.

Ok.

So Lin Ruo decisively posted a selfie and caption on both Weibo and Twitter.

"They've made it to the finals again. Could they accidentally win the championship again?"

Having anticipated this, Prince Ning liked the Weibo post and responded with a sarcastic thumbs-up.

JK also liked the post, commenting in a very positive tone: "What does it feel like to win a championship at seventeen?"

Last year, Lin Ruo won his first world championship at the age of seventeen, and this year, the seventeen-year-old boy is named Yu Wenbo.

Many LPL viewers were surprised that, instead of just wanting to watch the finals, there was a prelude of players posting on Weibo before the finals.

LPL internal matches are great!

Before the battle begins, the two sides will first have a hundred rounds of fighting on Weibo.

It would have been even more interesting if Lin Ruo had responded, but Lin Ruo did not.

I didn't have any other thoughts, because it was time to make my appearance.

At 4:00 PM sharp, the grand final, held at the Munhak Stadium in South Korea, officially kicked off. The venue, without a roof, looked like broad daylight, but it couldn't dampen the massive enthusiasm that usually only exists at night.

Most of the fans from China created a wave of cheers at the scene. As the countdown ended, the exciting opening ceremony slowly unfolded with the shouts of the host, the Roaring Emperor.

The opening ceremony lasted only about 10 minutes, with 4 minutes dedicated to the K/DA girl group's performance.

This was followed by a 4-minute performance of the S8 World Championship theme song, "Peak of Perfection," and in the last 2 minutes, a recap of past championship wins.

With that, the opening ceremony ended, and the flags of the two finalist teams waved at the competition venue.

Beneath the fluttering flags stood the players from the two teams participating in the finals.

Neither side spoke much, but the battle between the two sides was already being shown on the big screen at the venue, including the classic trash talk segment of the final, or rather, the segment where each side cheered each other on.

The first voice to appear was that of the commentators from this year's LPL Summer Split Finals.

"The winning streak continues. EDG won the Summer Split championship and will compete as the number one seed in this year's World Championship. They are still the undisputed absolute hegemon of our LPL."

The camera lens captured EDG's glorious years of winning the championship.

Then the scene cuts again, and Lin Ruo has already walked out of the ancient palace in Korea.

"I've forgotten the scene of winning the championship last year, but it doesn't matter, I can experience it again this year."

The words fell.

The scene was already extremely chaotic.

In the official LPL live stream, the screen was filled with the word "handsome" in the chat.

Tell me, isn't this cool? Strike the coolest pose and say the coolest things.

On foreign websites where the number of viewers is equally high, European and American netizens are expressing themselves more directly.

[Linshen, MYGod! 】

Guys, after hearing that, I'm pretty sure EDG will win the championship.

Isn't it normal for God's Son to win? Let's all worship our divine hand before the competition and look forward to God lifting the second championship trophy!

Until Lin Shen loses this match, I will be his most loyal follower. Lin Shen's words will be the most convincing, and no one will be able to question them to my face.

Western netizens are practically bowing down in admiration of Lin Ruo's charismatic speech.

Even on Korean online forums, where they've always had a strained relationship, LCK fans couldn't help but sense the overwhelming confidence in those words that they were certain to win the championship.

[Let's give out the awards. Can we just give the award to EDG directly? I have no idea what the suspense will be in this final. Is it possible that EDG will lose the game? No, it seems impossible for them to lose even one game.]

Although IG defeated KT, the gap between KT and EDG is at least as long as a river, or perhaps two rivers, so IG's chances of winning the championship are extremely slim.

[To be honest, I really hope IG can beat EDG. Not for any other reason than to let EDG, who beat us LCK teams every day, experience what it's like to suffer. But it seems so difficult.]

[It feels like the FMVP is already beckoning to that little brat Lin Ruo. How could EDG possibly lose to IG? They practically turned GRF, who had previously crushed IG, into bots.]

Indeed, you can tell just by watching the promotional video.

Rookie, who came on next, spoke with less of a commanding presence, adopting the attitude of a challenger: "We're standing on the final stage, facing the strongest opponent ever, and we're just one step away from getting past the last hurdle. We need to do our best."

Yes, we should focus on doing our best.

This is clearly IG's winning formula. Instead of thinking about how strong the opponent is or what obvious weaknesses they have, it's better to adjust your own best condition and face the opponent with the best mindset.

As long as our own people don't make mistakes, victory can be achieved in an instant.

However, there is another argument to support this statement: sometimes many mistakes are not of our own making, but rather are caused by the pressure from our opponents.

(End of this chapter)