LPL History

Chapter 149 Against the Wind, the Flag Pierces the Cold Pool; Obeying Fate, the Sniper Shoots at the Nine Heavens.

Mingkai's words left Zhou Li stunned.

He never expected that this repressed and sassy guy would utter such incredibly sassy words at a time like this.

Zhou Li believed that he was an enlightened ruler who was never jealous.

However, this does not mean that you, Mingkai, can steal your boss's prestige in public and embarrass him.

Fortunately, Zhou Li was no ordinary person; he recorded today's events in his notebook for the time being.

Mingkai watched as Zhou Li lowered his head and wrote something down in his notebook, and then he reached out to look.

Zhou Li had barely caught a glimpse of phrases like "great merit" and "such a good show-off" before he closed the book.

Mingkai smiled secretly to himself, his beauty breathtaking.

This should be a sure win.

"Lion, as the owner of the EDG team, is there anything you would like to say at the end? For example, your vision for the future of the team, and your expectations for its performance."

Upon hearing the question, Zhou Li coughed lightly.

He suddenly said something completely nonsensical.

"I'd choose Vayne for the championship skin. Because Vayne skins sell better."
-
Mingkai became the biggest victim in this interview.

They paid the heavy price of having 1,000 yuan deducted from their wages.

In Zhou Li's words, Ming Kai was disrespectful and overshadowed his superior. He had such good boastful words but didn't offer them to his boss. Instead, he kept them to himself, which made it impossible for Zhou Li to give a satisfactory summary. He was extremely despicable.

Mingkai protested against the exploitation he received from his boss.

Zhou Li also demonstrated his wise leadership by having the entire team vote on the matter of the fine.

Ultimately, the team unanimously agreed to keep Mingkai's fine and it remained unchanged.

Furthermore, Shenchao and Juanmao were each exempted from their 500 yuan fines because they demonstrated the correct stance on matters of principle.

This also brought a satisfactory conclusion to the controversy surrounding the fine.

After the interviews with the EDG players were released, the internet exploded instantly.

Fans in the European and American regions expressed their admiration for the EDG team.

After all, they don't care if it doesn't concern them, and they'd rather the fight be as heated as possible.

In the China and South Korea regions, EDG has been completely labeled as the villain of esports.

[I can't stand it anymore, the entire EDG team is such a show-off!]

All I can say is, if EDG has the ability, they should win the championship; if they don't, they're just plain clowns.

This is hilarious! It's the first time I've truly witnessed what it means for the upper beam to be crooked, and the lower beam to be crooked too.

[Damn it, EDG is trash, Najin will crush them!]

【Our Republic of Korea is invincible!】

In response to EDG's bold statement, Najin Black Sword naturally made a reply.

Pray, the ADC player for Najin Black Sword, in particular, used profanity on social media.

I'll crush Lion online, making him realize his ADC is like a three-year-old in front of me. I don't think LPL teams pose any threat to us; like in the All-Star game, they've probably forgotten how we thrashed them 2-0.

It's worth mentioning that Pray was the ADC player representing the OGN region at the All-Star tournament that year.

The topic of Clearlove's statement before the All-Star game, "I will prove who is the world's number one jungler," was brought up again after he was completely outplayed by Insec in the game.

Suddenly, EDG found themselves in a completely unfavorable position in terms of public opinion.

However, Zhou Li did not take this seriously.

One hour before the start of the match.

EDG's official Weibo account posted a message.

EDG only plays when they are behind!
-
September 29th.

7 p.m. local time.

Galen Center.

"Viewers watching the live stream! You are watching the 2013 League of Legends World Championship semifinals! The two teams facing off are Najin Black Sword from South Korea and EDG from our LPL region!!"

"I'm commentator Miller!"

"I'm the commentator, Waa!"

"I'm the commentator Ruofeng!"

From the commentary booth, Miller smiled and said:

"For today's crucial match, we've specially invited WE's captain, Ruofeng, to join us in providing commentary!"

"Ruofeng, before the match starts, could you help us analyze which team you think has a higher chance of winning today's game?"

Hearing Miller's words, Ruofeng nodded and said:

"We are quite familiar with the EDG team. Their strength is undeniable, which is why they have come this far. However, I am concerned about their inconsistent performance. They often win one game and lose the next. Facing a strong team like Najin, I think EDG must adjust their form today and absolutely not give the Korean team any opportunities. They are very good at seizing opportunities."

"Furthermore, EDG doesn't really have much experience in major tournaments. In such high-intensity matches, the players' mentality might also be affected. These are all problems that EDG must overcome."

Hearing Ruofeng's words, Miller sighed inwardly, realizing that WE had indeed been deeply hurt by EDG.

Ruofeng still hasn't let go.

In fact, anyone who watches the games knows that the reason why EDG's performance is unstable is not because of anything else, but entirely depends on whether their boss Zhou Li plays or not.

With and without Zhou Li, EDG is a completely different team.

Of course, this doesn't mean UZI is bad at the game.

In fact, under Zhou Li's tutelage, UZI is now fully deserving of the title of top ADC.

Zhou Li's appearance brought the biggest change to EDG, which was reflected in the transformation of the entire team.

His command decisions during the match made EDG an impenetrable fortress with virtually no weaknesses.

Therefore, it's not hard to see that whenever Zhou Li plays, EDG's games are often one-sided victories.

Establishing a significant advantage in the early to mid-game is not something that can be achieved simply by playing the ADC position well.

However, Ruofeng's words undoubtedly have a huge effect on the direction of public opinion on the internet.

After all, many people don't usually watch games.

Furthermore, the 60e members will naturally trust their Wind Team unconditionally.

Therefore, although Miller knew that Ruofeng's words were clearly biased, he would not take the initiative to jump out and point out the problems in Ruofeng's words.

On the contrary, he is now somewhat gloating.

For a hidden EDG fan like him, seeing EDG slap netizens in the face and advance is incredibly satisfying.

On the other side, Ruofeng continued to unleash his attacks.

"Najin Black Sword is a veteran powerhouse in OGN, and their offensive capabilities are incredibly strong. I watched their quarterfinal matches; their bot lane duo is extremely powerful. Pray's average damage output in the quarterfinals was a staggering 35% or more. Their top laner is also exceptionally strong in lane, especially adept at 4-1 split pushing, which is very difficult to deal with." Miller nodded, summarizing:
"In conclusion, Najin Black Sword is, after all, OGN's number one seed team. I think the intensity of today's semi-final will be no less than that of the finals! This is a clash between the top teams from the Chinese and Korean regions! I hope EDG can give us a good performance today!"

On the stage, both teams were now seated in their positions.

Soon, both sides entered the business process phase.

EDG, on the blue side, first banned Jax.

This hero is practically the signature hero of every top laner on Korean teams.

Faced with the early lane swapping pace, Jax can rely on Counter Strike to better withstand the pressure.

Then, in the mid-to-late game, they would start split pushing and use minion wave management to defeat the opponent.

It's worth mentioning that Jax has long been one of Shenchao's signature champions.

As someone with the ability of "foresight," it would be incredibly foolish for Zhou Li to only rely on the system's abilities to improve himself without using his own brain to help his teammates improve.

What was Shenchao's biggest problem during the World Championship?
The first problem is that his champion pool is too shallow, leading netizens to joke that if he can beat Renekton, he'll retire on the spot.

Secondly, their awareness of solo play was too poor, and they would often die in bizarre and unexpected ways during solo play, thus becoming war criminals.

Zhou Li had already given Shen Chao special training on these points.

However, it's only the semi-finals now, so it's not time to use it yet.

So he deliberately banned Jax, giving the impression that his team couldn't play Jax and split push effectively.

On the Najin Black Swords side, as the red side, they have to give up a ban to counter Zed, who is currently too strong.

Subsequently, EDG and Najin Black Sword displayed an unusual synergy.

In the next four rounds of player takedowns, the two teams took down a total of four ADCs!

They are Ezreal, Corki, Draven, and Varus.

Looking at the two men struggling, Miller spoke up:

"Wow! This banning spree on both sides is really interesting! It looks like Pray and Lion are locked in a fierce battle! They've banned a total of four ADC champions, including the current meta's strongest ADC and Lion's signature Draven! Now it's really going to test the champion pools of both ADC players!!"

The man with the big nose frowned and adjusted his glasses.

"Well, to be honest, Lion is at a disadvantage when competing against the opponent like this. We know that Lion has a very high proficiency with some of the heroes, but this high proficiency often results in a disadvantage in terms of hero pool. Because your energy is limited, you need to use your time and energy to master a hero, so you will have less time and energy to practice other heroes. If it comes to comparing hero pools, I feel that Lion will not have the advantage."

The doll thought for a moment and then said:

"But Zhou Li is also the BP commander for EDG, right? He must have had his own reasons for doing this?"

Ruofeng remained somewhat noncommittal about what the doll said, and simply said:

"The problem now is that Lion is young. He needs to stay calm in these kinds of big competitions."

At this point, the right to choose has fallen into EDG's hands.

Now that the crocodile had been released, EDG naturally had no reason not to take it, so they immediately locked the crocodile for Shenchao on the first floor.

Najin Black Sword, on the other hand, only picked Ahri, the T0 champion of the current version, and then added Thresh!
"Hey! Najin Black Sword has picked Thresh first! It seems like Pray was just saying before the match, he's probably really eager to have a real showdown with Lion in the bot lane!!"

The right to choose has returned to EDG.

Zhou Li immediately locked in Fizz for Lu Benwei in the mid lane, and then filled in Elise for the jungle position.

This is an advanced version of the zoo game he came up with after the match featuring a crocodile, a spider, and a leopard woman.

Nidalee is currently struggling a bit in the mid lane.

Especially when facing a fox.

They couldn't win in a fight, and they couldn't push the lane.

But it's different when it's the little fish.

Najin Black Sword, on the other hand, immediately added Nunu as a jungler.

Then, on the fourth floor, Pray confidently locked up the mouse for himself!

A cheer erupted from the crowd.

Pray's reputation as the Rat King is now well-known.

In the OGN region, any team facing Najin Black Sword will choose to eliminate Pray's Twitch.

This person's rat is incredibly powerful in team fights, which is why his damage output accounts for over 35% of the team's total.

In addition, Najin Black Sword picked Nunu for the jungle position in this game.

When the time comes, if you use W skill on the rat, and the rat activates its ultimate, the scene might be quite spectacular.

"Pray has also picked his signature champion. The bot lane matchup in today's game is going to be really interesting! Let's see what champion Lion will pick to counter it?"

The right to choose has returned to EDG.

Zhou Li hesitated for a moment.

If we only consider the laning phase, against the Thresh and Twitch combination, Sivir is actually the best choice.

However, picking Sivir basically means that the laning phase will enter a rather dull and tedious farming mode.

In the bottom lane, whoever gains an advantage depends entirely on which teammate provides more support.

Finally, Zhou Li no longer hesitated.

"EDG has locked in Caitlyn and Zyra!"

"Najin Black Sword, on the other hand, locked in Kennen! They've assembled a highly aggressive lineup!"

The lineups for both sides are now set!
Blue side EDG Esports Club VS Red side NJS Esports Club.

Top Lane: (godlike) Renekton VS (Expession) Kennen.

Jungler: (clearlove) Elise VS (watch) Nunu.

Mid Lane: (white) Fizz VS (Nagne) Ahri.

ADC: (lion) Caitlyn VS (pray) Twitch.

Support: (Fzzf) Zyra VS (cain) Thresh.

"It's quite obvious from the lineups on both sides that they're both early-to-mid-game focused! It seems like both sides are really heated today!!"

Upon hearing Miller's words, Ruofeng spoke up:

"Looking at the lineups, EDG actually has a slight advantage in lane, but in team fights, NJS has more ways to initiate fights and is more proactive. So if EDG can't establish an advantage in lane, the later stages of the game will not be very favorable for EDG."

At this point, both sides had already entered the game.

NJS played very aggressively, choosing to group up as a five-man team to invade EDG's jungle.

EDG initially just spread out and positioned themselves to defend key points.

After seeing NJS's actions, they quickly got moving as well.

Clearly, EDG doesn't want to give up their bottom jungle.

(End of this chapter)