LOL: Can’t I play other games professionally?

Chapter 569 Luck Comes from the Lottery

Time passed quickly.

The day of the Samsung Cup main tournament opening ceremony.

Lin Ruo got up on time, put on the suit she had just bought the night before, went out, ate breakfast, and met up with her other teammates at the hotel entrance. Then she saw a face that looked rather haggard.

Lin Ruo tentatively asked, "Idol, did you not sleep well last night?"

Ke Jie rubbed his glasses, and after putting them back on, he found that they still couldn't hide the shadow between his eyebrows.

Forget it, it's not like it's sunglasses, how can I cover it up?

He could only manage a wry smile and say, "Yes, it was a bit noisy next door last night."

He couldn't very well say that he couldn't sleep all night because he lost to Lin Ruo, and then try to boost his confidence by beating some newbies on Wildfox, but that didn't work out much better.

Ke Jie must be devastated just thinking about it; how embarrassing is that?

Therefore, Lin Ruo must not be allowed to know that he still harbors resentment about yesterday's match.

But Lin Ruo insisted on bringing it up: "So that's how it is. I thought you couldn't understand why you didn't sleep all night because you lost to me yesterday."

"How could that be? Am I that kind of person?" Ke Jie smiled, trying hard to calm himself down after being exposed.

I am a very generous person.

It was just a regular match I lost. I haven't thought about it for a long time.

Yes, I couldn't sleep last night because of the noise from next door; the mosquitoes there were making a lot of noise.

Ok.

Lin Ruo didn't care at all, she just smiled knowingly, which made Ke Jie, who was watching, turn cold.

broken.

He probably found out the reason.

If you really knew that he didn't sleep all night because he lost a game, how embarrassing would that be?

Fortunately, the coach arrived quickly and told everyone to get on the bus, thus saving Ke Jie from feeling exposed.

The group boarded a bus provided by the Korea Baduk Association and arrived at the venue for the entire tournament in less than 20 minutes. It was also the Korea Training Institute where they would be staying for more than seven days.

The term "training institute" literally means a cultural institution, referring to the research and study of traditional Korean culture.

Ok.

Although Lin Ruo didn't know what specific traditional culture South Korea had, the training institute was built in a very impressive manner.

How can I describe it? It was just a huge, huge number of people.

The spacious and advanced Korean training institute is quite impressive, and those who have been there several times before, such as Ke Jie and his team, are very familiar with the place.

Although the training institute is very large, there is absolutely no possibility of getting lost.

Led by the chess academy's coach, the group's first purpose upon entering the training institute was to find dormitories to settle their belongings. For the next seven days of the competition, they would not stay in the hotel but would instead stay in the training institute's apartment dormitories.

When will they be eliminated and when will they leave?

This is also the biggest feature of the Daejeon Training Institute in South Korea, where food, accommodation, and other necessities are all fully provided.

It can provide food and lodging for all visitors, as well as various venues, whether for indoor or outdoor sports or competitions.

Therefore, when there are national team competitions, Korean Go players prefer to train intensively in quiet training centers. Samsung Training Center has a large space and many rooms, and during competitions, there are special research rooms available for players to focus on discussions.

That's one thing, but another is that you can do many other things in your free time.

For example, playing basketball, swimming, and table tennis, etc.

Even Chinese chess players who regularly participate in competitions seem to have done this kind of thing quite often.

The service was clearly very attentive.

Led by the national team coach, Lin Ruo and others quickly arrived at the second floor of the dormitory area of ​​the training institute. There was a bright and clean reception room at the entrance, which was convenient for setting up chess games and reviewing them at other times.

There are also research labs not far from the dormitory.

"Everyone, please take your own rooms, then rest for a bit before heading to the opening ceremony."

The coach made some arrangements and then left with the staff from the training institute to complete the check-in registration.

The others weren't idle either; after settling their belongings, they prepared to go to the reception hall to attend the opening ceremony.

"Not waiting for the coach?" Lin Ruo asked, puzzled.

Ke Jie replied, "He knows him better than you do."

Hearing this, Lin Ruo had nothing to say; it was indeed true.

The dormitory building is not far from the reception hall. The group only needs to walk to the first floor, turn left, and then pass through a sports building.

The training institute's reception hall was already packed with people, including many South Korean media reporters and staff members. The number of contestants was relatively moderate.

Unlike other opening ceremonies that are set up like classrooms, the reception hall has more than ten large tables in addition to chairs.

Just like a banquet.

Yes, Lin Ruo felt this atmosphere as soon as she entered the door.

Having a table is actually quite good for him; if the opening ceremony goes on too long and he gets sleepy, he can take a nap. The only downside is that there's nothing to eat on the table.

Besides tea.

Can you get full from drinking tea?

As Lin Ruo pondered this question, she slowly walked into the arena. Suddenly, she heard someone calling her. Turning her head to the left, she saw a relatively familiar opponent in the arena.

That's Liao Yuanhe.

Lin Ruomeng's opponent in the Lily Cup semi-finals.

In that match, Lin Ruo gave Liao Yuanhe, who was also born in the 2000s, a real taste of the gap in skill, and afterwards, he also gave him a lot of explanations about the details of the game in the post-match analysis.

Therefore, Liao Yuanhe was deeply impressed by Lin Ruo, and after witnessing her win the championship in the finals, he regarded Lin Ruo as his goal.

Lin Ruo probably never expected that he would leave such a deep impression on people, to the point that he would be recognized and called out to as soon as he entered the venue.

Since she had already shouted, Lin Ruo naturally had no reason to ignore it. She followed the sound and sat down at the same table as Liao Yuanhe.

Hmm, it seems like everyone here is a Gen Z, which is good. He likes to sit at the kids' table.

Those born in the 2000s are undoubtedly children in this world of chess players.

"Long time no see! I thought you wouldn't participate in the Samsung Cup, Lin Ruo. After all, you were just playing in the League of Legends World Championship. I didn't expect you to come so soon."

Liao Yuanhe appeared somewhat agitated.

Because they had to participate in the qualifiers, they all arrived in South Korea early. After advancing from the finals, they stayed at the training institute to continue their preparations. "Yeah, the World Championship is over, so I came whenever I had time."

Lin Ruo responded, while his gaze quickly swept across the entire venue. All the Chinese, Japanese and Korean Go players were present, including Shin Jinseo, Park Geun-hye, and the "Divine Move".

Everyone was sitting together in a group.

Chinese players sit at the same table as other Chinese players, and Korean players sit around each other as well, since it is very inconvenient for players from different countries to not speak the same language.

In that case, we should definitely sit with someone we're closer to.

However, players from Taiwan and those from other parts of the country are in a worse situation. It is difficult for their players to sit together at one table, so they have to sit together in a mixed group.

After all, there are no more than three Japanese players who have advanced to the round of 32, and probably no more than five Taiwanese players, which is just enough to fill one table.

Besides.

There are also seats for the media and seats for coaches.

The opening ceremony was not scheduled for a fixed time. Once all the rooms were occupied, the Korea Baduk Association, which was in charge of the opening ceremony, began to follow the procedures.

The first thing to do, of course, is to introduce the Samsung Cup, to pat themselves on the back, and then to state that there are generous prizes to encourage all players to actively compete for the championship.

Speaking of it.

Naturally, it's impossible not to mention Ke Jie, the champion of the Samsung Cup for the past three years.

Unfortunately, the Korean Baduk Association didn't want to boost the team's morale, but Ke Jie's unprecedented three consecutive championships have already made him a part of Samsung Cup history.

Not mentioning him would be tantamount to looking down on our own Samsung Cup, wouldn't it?

Okay, then I'll have to reluctantly mention it.

Then comes the next step, which is the explanation of the rules. This year's Samsung Cup has undergone many changes compared to previous years.

In previous Samsung Cup tournaments, with 32 players advancing to the main tournament, the round of 32 used a double-elimination system, the round of 16 and beyond used a single-elimination system, and the semifinals and finals used a best-of-three series.

However, this Samsung Cup has cancelled the double-elimination format and will continue to use the single-elimination system throughout.

Even in the semifinals, there was no best-of-three format anymore; losing just one game meant elimination. The best-of-three format would only be used in the finals.

This format obviously increases the excitement, leaving no room for error for any player, who might think they can turn the tide in the second or third game after losing the first.

Moreover, the competition schedule is very simple and efficient, and the champion can be determined in an absolute time-speed manner, without dragging out the cycle for too long so that many viewers will not feel a sense of continuity.

After the explanation of the competition rules, the ribbon-cutting ceremony began, followed by a fast-forward to the draw, with very little delay.

Lin Ruo thought it was pretty good that she didn't see any advertisements throughout the event, as it saved a lot of time. After all, sometimes too much commercialization isn't necessarily a good thing for an event.

The lottery process is also quite simple; it's completed by AI simply shaking the machine.

"I hope I don't run into Lin Ruo. I went through so much to get through the qualifiers. It would be such a loss if I went home in the next round."

As the lottery results were about to be announced, Liao Yuanhe, standing next to Lin Ruo, began to offer what he called a prayer in front of her.

Lin Ruo smiled helplessly: "Is it really necessary? What if we don't run into me but instead run into someone even more powerful than me?"

"Is there anyone more capable than you?" Liao Yuanhe asked with absolute skepticism.

Although rumors were circulating that Lin Ruo was slacking off in training and would pose little threat in the Samsung Cup, only Liao Yuanhe knew that this was no joke.
Liao Yuanhe, who had personally competed against the contestants, knew exactly how strong they were.

Even though Liao Yuanhe has forgotten the details of his matches with other players, he will never forget the two matches with Lin Ruo.

That was truly an old man beating a naughty child. Yes, he was that naughty child, and after two rounds, he was completely outmatched by Lin Ruo.

After the match, I still had to politely request a review of the game.

What if we don't ask for help? Wouldn't that mean we'd been beaten up for nothing?

Liao Yuanhe is not afraid of failure; what he fears is not being able to learn anything useful from failure, otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste of time to fail?

Fortunately, he learned a lot from Lin Ruo's detailed review.

That's why Liao Yuanhe naturally believed that Lin Ruo was truly unfathomable.

Why would he believe what netizens say? Sigh, unless he can defeat Lin Ruo one day, but right now, the last thing Liao Yuanhe wants is to run into Lin Ruo.

He was afraid he would die a terrible death.

Ke Jie may share the same thoughts as Liao Yuanhe. Considering yesterday's match and the uncertainty about whether it was an accident, he has developed a deep sense of apprehension about Lin Ruo's strength.

It was just a regular training match, so losing is fine. There shouldn't be too much pressure. A real match is not like a training game. But the real pressure is...

He was completely crushed in that training match, only managing to retaliate once.

When such a huge gap emerges and no obvious problems are found, then the content can no longer be regarded as a simple training match.

In short, that's it.

Ke Jie couldn't quite figure out Lin Ruo's playing style. He felt he needed more time to study it, and if they were to play against each other now, he would inevitably be caught off guard.

Fortunately, fate was on his side, and even on Liao Yuanhe's side. In the first round of the 32-to-18 match, Lin Ruo encountered an unknown player.

No, no, the opponent wasn't a man at all.

It was a girl.

That was Lin Ruo's first-round opponent, Yu Lijun, a female player from Taiwan Province, who was only a professional fourth-dan player.

【Wow, is Lin Gou really that lucky? He got a battle merit pet right at the start?】

The Go forum exploded the moment the match schedule was released.

[What kind of luck is this? The worst one is that Lin Ruo is the only female contestant in the top 32.]

But here's the question: how did a professional fourth-dan player make it into this tournament?

[He entered as a wildcard player awarded by Samsung, otherwise do you think he could have made it through on his own merit? Not everyone is Lin Gengxin, able to easily carve out a place for themselves in the early professional stage.]

Why did she receive a wildcard entry?

[It's very simple. Because she's already the best female player from Taiwan, you understand how rare she is? That's why she got a wildcard entry for the Samsung Cup.]

[Lin is making a killing; he could win even with his eyes closed. Giving up a few moves at the start probably wouldn't be a problem.]

[Support Lin Dog's brutal beating of the resource-backed individuals; let's see who's on the same level participating in the Samsung Cup.]

……

Clearly, with no possibility of Lin Ruo losing the game, the Go forum chose to unanimously support Lin Ruo in beating her opponent. They had no other intentions; they just wanted to see the girl shed tears.

However, when someone posted a photo of actress Yu Lijun in the forum, the sentiment in the forum instantly underwent a complete 360-degree shift.

Almost at that moment, everyone resolutely chose to support female general Yu Lijun.

Because... this person is so good-looking.

(End of this chapter)