LPL History

Chapter 100: The arrogant cards mock the world's best schools; the blade's edge is hidden, secretly gathering a thousand blades of light.
The quarterfinal match between AZF and WE was arguably the most watched match of this World Championship.

The two teams had just faced off a month ago, and their rematch has sparked endless speculation among netizens.

AZF's decision to unplug the network cable during the OGN match was once again brought up by netizens to criticize him.

Furthermore, with the leak of AZF's recordings during the competition, AZF suddenly became a pariah, hated by everyone.

The level of support for WE has reached unprecedented heights.

Many netizens expressed that after so many years of hard work in the Korean esports industry, AZF has repeatedly brought glory to the country in just one month, which is truly touching.

At this time, the Galen Center was already packed with people.

The stands were packed with people, who were excitedly waiting for the start of today's match between the two sides.

AZF players' bench.

MadLife nervously cracked his knuckles. Seeing the somewhat tense atmosphere within the team, he spoke up:

"Everyone, pull yourselves together! We have no way out!"

Because of a momentary outburst, AZF is now deeply embroiled in a media storm.

But what devastated AZF the most was that they immediately encountered Team WE.

If they lose this match, it's easy to imagine that AZF will be forever branded with shame.

Jungler CloudTemplar began:

"Damn it, how did things turn out like this? RapidStar, you better fight well. Don't let that kid start killing people, or he'll definitely shit on our heads."

Upon hearing what the other person said, RapidStar couldn't help but complain.

"When Xiba was playing against IG, you were the one who cursed the most. Now let me take the blame!"

CloudTemplar offered words of comfort:
"Don't worry, don't worry! I'll definitely help you gank him hard this time. I'm staying in mid lane! Let MadLife come too! As long as mid lane holds up..."

As he spoke, he suddenly began to daydream.

"If we win, just imagine, that would be the most awesome game ever! If we win, I'll curse him out!"

It's safe to say that CloudTemplar really doesn't learn its lesson.

Unbeknownst to him, his remarks were broadcast live by the director.

For Riot Games right now, they'd love for more conflicts and controversies to erupt between players.

When League of Legends was just starting out.

Controversy and controversy are what generate enough buzz.

During the match against IG, the entire AZF team was swearing throughout the entire broadcast, which was broadcast live by the director. It's hard to say that it wasn't intentional on the part of the director.

CloudTemplar's remarks immediately caused a huge uproar when they were broadcast.

South Korean netizens have now entered a state of morbid excitement.

In one OGN match, Zhou Li made the Koreans lose face, and he has long become the number one enemy in the hearts of the Koreans.

CloudTemplar's recent remarks have sent Koreans into a frenzy.

Wow! CloudTemplar! We have to win!

[I can't even imagine what would happen if CloudTemplar beat WE and then thoroughly humiliated Lion, haha!]

Just imagining that scene makes me feel refreshed.

Can we really win? We were up 3-0 before...

Do you know why South Korea's esports scene is always at the forefront of the world? It's because we're constantly improving!

It's said that AZF did nothing but review the matches every day for the past month.

[If we just beat WE, the world championship will be within our grasp. This was truly the most satisfying episode ever.]

On the domestic internet.

At first, netizens didn't understand what CloudTemplar was barking like a dog.

However, Korean-speaking netizens quickly translated it.

Immediately, Chinese netizens were outraged.

Just as netizens were about to start criticizing, the director turned the camera towards the WE players' bench.

Zhou Li's voice came out immediately.

“These bastards, I'll fucking fuck their mouths. A bunch of lowly beasts, eating kimchi every day, their mouths are full of E. coli. Today, your daddy will let these bastards know that Chinese people and Amerika soldiers are all their own fathers. A bunch of dogs dare to curse their own fathers, rebelling against the heavens, XXX…XXXX…XXXX…XXXX.”

It's hard to say that the director's decision to cut the camera angle was unintentional.

However, Zhou Li was indeed doing it on purpose.

Upon realizing the camera was pointed directly at his face, Zhou Li instantly transformed into a gaping maw, spewing five spittle in a second.

Hearing Zhou Li's extremely profane greeting, many Chinese netizens, filled with righteous indignation, silently deleted the words they had just typed.

[Damn, I was just about to curse, Zhou Ge is awesome!]

[Haha, with Zhou Ge's mouth, what use is this keyboard to me?]

[My brother Zhou is quite successful now; you guys have probably forgotten his old nickname, "Big Mouth Brother."]

[The loudspeaker blares, and the mother is sacrificed.]

[Good, good, good. I didn't expect that even with this status, my Brother Zhou would still stay true to his original aspirations.]

[Zhou Ge's words are more than just words; they're like the spring waters of the Seine, enough to make me wet with tears.]

[I'm so horny, I have an M.]

[That's how Zhou Ge is, but it always feels like something's missing.]

Don't worry, based on what I know of Brother Zhou, he always poops with his head on the ground.

Zhou Li's rap lasted for almost a minute, without him even taking a single breath.

Finally, he switched directly to Korean and launched into another barrage of comments directed at Korean netizens.

As long as the camera on his face doesn't move, he can continue to output.

It seems even the director couldn't stand it anymore and quietly moved the camera away.

Zhou Li was not afraid of being punished with a fist.

AZF only fined him $30,000 for swearing. Given Zhou Li's current status in the league, and Riot Games' need for such a controversial figure to boost their popularity, would they really suspend him?
Even before the match started, the intense atmosphere created by both players caused the official live stream to break viewership records.

Under the spotlight, the two teams finally entered the draft phase.

"Hello viewers watching the live stream! You are now watching the quarterfinals of the 2012 League of Legends World Championship, between the Korean team Azf and the Chinese team WE! I am your commentator, Changmao!"

"I'm the commentator Joker!"

In the Chinese-language live stream, Joker seemed somewhat excited.

Although he lost his coaching position at WE, he achieved his wish of becoming an official commentator for League of Legends, and this time he will be able to commentate on the World Championship.

His partner, Changmao, is also an official commentator for League of Legends.

"We see that both sides have entered the ban/pick phase! AZF, on the blue side, has banned Lee Sin, Shen, and Ezreal. This means they haven't blocked any of Lion's mid-lane champions!"

Hearing what Changmao said, Joker laughed and said, "Actually, AZF is very smart! We all know that Zhou Li's hero pool is not a hero pool, but a sea of ​​heroes. This is a fact that everyone agrees on. Anyway, we can't ban them all, so we might as well not ban them. And who knows, if you keep banning them, Zhou Li might come up with something new. At least the clubs have already done some research on the heroes that Zhou Li has used, but if he comes up with something new and catches you off guard, it will be even more difficult to deal with."

Longhair smiled and asked Joker with ill intent:

"We know that you were also a coach for WE before, Joker. Regarding Lion's hero pool, could you reveal which heroes we haven't seen yet?"

Joker's mind raced.

"Um... well, I definitely can't reveal that for now."

Joker's answer surprised Longhair.

He wondered when this kid had developed a brain. He had originally thought that Joker would just blurt out some inside information.

What Longhair didn't know was that if Joker had known, he would have already said it.

The problem was that he genuinely didn't know what other heroes were in Zhou Li's hero pool, so he said he couldn't reveal it for the time being in order to save face.

Having failed in their intelligence gathering efforts, the Taiping rebels could only refocus their attention on the game.

"We see that WE has chosen to ban Jax, Skarner, and Jayce. It's still a ban targeting the enemy's top and jungle."

With the drafting power in AZF's hands, they immediately locked in Twisted Fate for the mid lane.

“AZF locked in Twisted Fate, which I think was a very wise choice. If you can’t win a head-on fight in the mid lane, you can rely on Twisted Fate’s global teleport ability after level six to help open up an opening in the top or bottom lane. It doesn’t matter if you can’t win in the mid lane, I can just run away.”

Joker thought for a moment and then said:

"I remember in the last game of OGN, AZF also picked Twisted Fate, and they did manage to hold their own in the mid lane, but they still lost the game in the end."

Long hair cavity:
"Yes, Lion chose Diana for mid lane at that time. AZF focused all their resources on Jayce for top lane in the early game, but after a lane swap, Jayce was solo killed by Diana in mid lane, and then they completely collapsed. AZF continued to pick Twisted Fate today, probably because they felt that the main problem at that time was not in mid lane. Let's see if they make any adjustments in other positions in this game."

In fact, after a month of review, AZF also thought so. Looking at the three games in OGN, only the game where they picked Twisted Fate did not result in the mid lane collapsing to an irrecoverable degree.

Lion's dominance in the mid lane is simply too strong. Trying to lane against Lion with scaling mid laners like Karthus and Anivia is just asking for trouble.

Therefore, in AZF's view, there is no problem with the mid-lane Twisted Fate. The problem is to pick a champion in the top lane who can convert the advantage into team fights.

"Look at WE's picks, they first picked Maokai, and then added... Lux, the Lady of Luminosity!"

Upon seeing WE pick Lux, Joker paused for a moment, then immediately said:

"Now I can tell you, Lion actually has another special skill, and that's his Lux! His Lux..."

Joker thought for a moment about how to praise Lux, but he couldn't think of a way to praise her, so he could only bite the bullet and continue:

"Lion's Lux landed her Q skill with perfect accuracy!"

Netizens were undoubtedly somewhat disappointed by WE's player selection.

After all, it's hard to imagine Lux pulling off any amazing plays.

Watching Zhou Li's competition is all about seeing his slapstick humor.

On the AZF side, RapidStar breathed a sigh of relief after seeing WE's picks.

Against a champion like Lux, it's relatively easy to survive as long as you don't charge in.

AZF then locked in Amumu for the jungle position and Irelia for the top lane position.

"We see that this time, Shy chose Irelia for the top lane! There's a reason for this; compared to Jayce, Irelia can definitely play a greater role in team fights!"

The right to vote has returned to WE's hands.

However, WE's next hero selection stunned Changmao and Joker on the commentary stage.

Because after WE locked in Caitlyn, they immediately locked in Talon, the Blademaster!

"Hey! We see that WEZ has picked Talon, a champion we rarely see! This Talon is probably going to play mid lane! And Lux, is she support?!"

Joker looked a little embarrassed.

He had just awkwardly praised Zhou Li's Lux, but it turned out that the other person didn't play her at all; he played Talon instead.

"If it's Talon... does it make sense to use Talon as a card?"

It's not surprising that Longhair would ask such a question.

Because in this version, Talon is rarely seen, not only in competitive matches but also in casual games.

As the only mid-lane AD assassin champion in League of Legends, Talon's design seems to be somewhat flawed.

Although his E skill silences and has high burst damage, he is known as a mage killer.

However, Talon's pick rate is very low in high-level games.

Like Katarina and Akali, Talon is more often seen in lower-ranked games where skilled players use him to stomp on weaker opponents.

There are simply too many flaws to list.

Firstly, it is weak in the early game and lacks wave clear ability.

This made it difficult for him to adapt to the fast pace of the game, especially when facing cards.

Secondly, Talon is relatively weak in the early game, and even if he survives to the mid-game, his extremely low margin for error becomes his fatal flaw.

Furthermore, the teamwork and vision control of these professional teams during the match left Talon with no room to maneuver.

This made Talon an extremely unpopular champion.

Therefore, WE's selection of Talon is something that many people cannot understand.

Seeing WE's draft picks, RapidStar couldn't help but complain:

"Oh! What does he mean? Does he not treat me like a human being at all?"

CloudTemplar said with a smile:

"Isn't this a good thing? Do you want him to pull out Diana so you won't even dare to stand under your turret?"

RapidStar couldn't help but swear.

"Damn it, we have to win this game no matter what!"

WE's decision to lock in Talon surprised AZF, but it didn't significantly impact their pre-defined draft strategy.

They quickly locked down the bottom lane duo of the Japanese heroine and the plane on the fourth or fifth floor.

WE, on the other hand, added Olaf for the top lane at the last minute.

The lineups for both sides were thus finalized.

Blue side: Azubu Frost eSports Club VS Red side: WE eSports Club.

Top lane: (shy) Irelia vs. (caomei) Olaf.

Jungler: (CloudTemplar) Amumu VS (clearlove) Twisted Treant.

Mid Lane: (RapidStar) Twisted Fate VS (Lion) Blademaster.

ADC: (Woong) Valiant Bombardier VS (weixiao) Caitlyn of Piltover.

Support: (MadLife) Leona VS (FzzF) Lux.

On the WE player's bench, Zhou Li smiled and said:

"Brothers, if this game isn't over in twenty minutes, we'll consider it a loss. Let the Koreans see what Chinese speed is all about."

He smiled and nodded.

"I've disliked them for a long time."

This lineup was proposed by Zhou Li during WE's preparation for the World Championship, and it was a complete tactical system that underwent multiple rounds of practice and refinement.

Rapidly push the stream.

As soon as both sides entered the game, they each formed a five-person team, hoping to cause some trouble at level one.

However, one side entered the upper bracket and the other entered the lower bracket. In the end, they only met briefly before choosing to go home.

On AZF's side, the bot lane duo helped the jungler choose Malphite as the starting champion.

On WE's side, Mingkai opted for a four-ghost start, letting Olaf help him fight.

The bot lane duo opted to go straight to the lane and start pushing!
The female police officer's glorious system is known for its superior attrition and advance capabilities.

Although the turrets didn't have plating at this point, Zhou Li's choice of this lineup wasn't really to help the bottom lane develop quickly.

In reality, WE chose this combination primarily to serve their own interests!
Madlife's roaming playstyle meant that AZF could not revolve around the bottom lane.

Of course, Woong's personal abilities were also insufficient to shoulder the core responsibilities.

In addition to the lineup chosen by AZF, it's clear that AZF still hopes to find a breakthrough through TheShy in the top lane in this game.

The female police officer's strong push and poke can not only curb MadLife's roaming frequency, but more importantly, as long as Twisted Fate goes to gank top, Zhou Li will ride Ming Kai to dive AZF's bottom lane!

The combination of Caitlyn, Lux, Maokai, and Talon's silence and high burst damage creates a foolproof tower-diving combo that's virtually impossible to mess up.

This also solves the problem of Talon's weakness in the early game.

While this version of Talon may not have significantly higher burst damage than the reworked version, its area-of-effect (AOE) damage is definitely far more terrifying.

Once a fully developed Talon enters the fray and activates his ultimate, even a dog standing nearby will get slashed and skinned alive.

However, the old version of Talon was somewhat weak in the early game. Although his E skill had a silence effect, even if he used his EQW combo to deal full damage, he might not be able to take down half of the opponent's health.

Therefore, before reaching level 6, Zhou Li should focus on developing his character safely online.

Meanwhile, some players in the AZF players' booth were already laughing.

RapidStar's cards are played very aggressively!

Perhaps knowing that he wouldn't be able to suppress Talon like this after reaching level six, RapidStar cherishes the opportunity to suppress Zhou Li by using his long range to fight against his short range.

At level one, he simply learned the E skill and crossed the minion wave to aggressively pressure Talon's health.

Watching the timid Talon who could only passively take hits, RapidStar couldn't help but feel a great sense of satisfaction.

Everyone says Lion is the world's best mid laner, but now, facing me, he can only cower under the tower like a coward!

With a level 2 card and the W skill learned, he demonstrated unparalleled dominance in the mid lane.

Cool!
So cool!
RapidStar had already prepared himself to be a pushover in the mid lane.

Unexpectedly, the opposing team actually let him be the boss in this game!

RapidStar's mouth is getting more and more crooked.

And every time he landed an auto-attack on Talon, he would mutter something like this:
"Huh? Who's the world's best mid laner? Is that all there is to it?"

(End of this chapter)