LPL History

Chapter 157 A lone army braves the enemy's advance in a dragon's den and tiger's lair; a thousand fingers point at him, his keyboard shatters his icy heart.
EDG and SKT are arguably the two strongest teams in the world right now.

This "strongest" refers to being so strong that it completely overwhelms other teams.

But only SKT knows that today they might be the challengers.

Even though Zhou Li suddenly gave up the AD position and switched to the mid lane, SKT still dared not be careless in the slightest.

Both sides entered the game, and both appeared quite cautious in the first round.

They simply formed a long, straight line and did not choose to engage in conflict at level one.

After Zhou Li went online, he chose to stand with the backline minions and did not actively go forward to last-hit minions.

Faker also understood Zhou Li's intention.

Before reaching level six, Zed is actually at a disadvantage against Gragas.

Gragas deals very high damage in this version, and his poke damage in lane is definitely higher than Zed's.

Furthermore, it also has healing and damage reduction effects.

If the two sides were to engage in a trade of blows online, Zed would have a very difficult time gaining an advantage.

Faced with the barrel, Zhou Li chose to develop steadily until level six.

Therefore, before reaching level six, he would choose to play the role of a line player.

Because if you push the lane, you'll get ganked by Gragas and you'll also be vulnerable to Bengi ganking mid.

And Faker understands this too.

Normally, lane priority in the mid lane is very important.

Whoever controls the mid lane can quickly support the jungle and side lanes, thus giving their teammates an advantage.

However, in this game, it was clear that EDG's core was in the mid lane.

Compared to the advantages of other lanes, suppressing Zed's development is obviously more important.

Therefore, Faker also didn't want to push the lane.

After seeing Zed and the ranged minions standing together, Faker had no intention of using his Q skill to harass them.

Because once Q is used, the minion wave will inevitably push towards EDG's direction.

Both of them were scheming against each other, but the scene shown on the live stream looked rather dull.

Zed and Gragas simply stood in the middle lane, without making any extra moves, not even moving an inch.

This scene prompted Miller to speak up almost instinctively:

"Huh? Did the two mid laners disconnect?"

The two sides only started moving when the first low-health minion appeared.

At this point, Zed's advantage began to show.

Instead of going forward to attack the minions, Zhou Li used his Q skill to kill a minion while simultaneously brushing against Faker's Gragas.

He deliberately adjusted his position so that he could only hit these two targets.

Furthermore, the Q skill will not be affected by minion aggro.

But the barrel obviously can't do that.

His Q skill cannot be used to avoid damage from other minions by adjusting his position.

Meanwhile, Benji was farming in the jungle while keeping an eye on the mid lane.

Although he started with blue buff and Zed was already venting his lane, he still chose to gank mid lane immediately after clearing the wolves.

Zhou Li knew that Benji liked to grab the middle, but he didn't expect the other party to be this disgusting.

What Zhou Li didn't know was that Benji made this choice entirely because, in SKT's eyes, Zhou Li was simply too disgusting.

Although Benji came to the mid lane and didn't manage to do anything to Zhou Li, he still managed to reduce Zhou Li's health and lose the experience of two minions.

After that, Benji simply moved to the middle of the road.

Although Zhou Li maintained absolute caution, causing Benji to return empty-handed most of the time, he still inevitably fell into a disadvantage in the mid lane.

Seeing that the wine barrel had already reached level five while he was only level four, and even lacked half the experience to reach level five, Zhou Li finally couldn't hold back anymore.

"Mingkai, if you don't need your eyes anymore, donate them to someone in need. Stupid chickens have already taken over my mid lane, and you're still feeding mushrooms to your mother in the jungle!"

Mingkai was somewhat embarrassed and was about to speak when he heard Zhou Li continue cursing:
"You little dog, you're still pushing the lane, what the hell have you done? And you keep harassing the jungler? How many times have I told you, stop acting like a giant baby!"

"Mingkai, what are you laughing at? Did I tell you to laugh? You think a little dog will just tell you to get out of the way and you'll do it? Is he your father?!"

Mingkai looked aggrieved and began to defend himself:

"Brother Zhou, it's mainly because you used to play ADC, and I got used to ganking the bot lane."

Hearing Mingkai's explanation, Zhou Li became even angrier.

"Damn it! You can come up with such a brain-dead excuse? Are you blind or brainless? You call yourself a smart jungler? You're more like an idiot jungler!"

Mingkai scratched his head awkwardly.

"Don't worry, Brother Zhou, I'll catch it for you right away."

"You son of a bitch! What good are you now? Keep being Uzi's dog in the bot lane! You two are each fined 500!"

[Uzi has broken through. Your hand speed, reaction time, and awareness have been improved.]

[Mingkai has broken through. Your hand speed, reaction time, and awareness have all improved.]

Upon seeing the prompt that popped up in the Records of the Grand Historian, Zhou Li instantly felt relieved.

In fact, he deliberately did not give direct command to Ming in this round.

He didn't stop Mingkai when he heard Uzi repeatedly calling for him to go help in the bottom lane.

The purpose was to lure pigs and dogs in to be slaughtered.

Having Mingkai come to the mid lane to help relieve the pressure on him is indeed a good choice.

However, this means he has to worry about what might happen to the bottom lane.

Therefore, the best solution is—

Mingkai helped Uzi in the bottom lane, while he used his trash-talking ability to boost his stats to deal with the twins in the mid lane.

Unfortunately, no one understands his sacrifices.

Just a couple of friendly insults directed at pigs and dogs, and those two guys were completely taken aback.

Although it triggered an attribute boost, Zhou Li was still inevitably somewhat saddened.

Pigs and dogs are in cahoots, they have the heart of thieves and the courage to do evil.

He glanced at the road ahead.

"Shenchao, what are you doing? You let Rumble finish off the siege engine? He's firing a harpoon and you didn't use your body to block it? The cost of that siege engine will be deducted from your salary!"

[Shenchao has broken through! Your hand speed, reaction time, and awareness have been boosted.]

Seeing Zhou Li begin to exert immense pressure again in the voice chat, everyone trembled with fear.

Zhou Li glanced at Curly Hair.

Curly was diligently supporting UZI in the bottom lane, and for a moment, no one could see anything wrong with him.

The other party didn't do anything wrong, so you can't just criticize them for no reason, right?

Am I being too much of a jerk?

Thinking of this, Zhou Li spoke calmly:
"Curly hair."

"What's wrong, Brother Zhou!"

Curly replied very quickly, seemingly afraid that Zhou Li would seize the opportunity to scold him if he replied too slowly.

Zhou Li's voice came, as cold and piercing as if it came from the depths of the netherworld.

"I insulted your teammates, why are you so indifferent? Don't say you're afraid to argue because you're afraid of my position as boss. I just watched your gameplay, and there was nothing wrong with it. This shows that you're not even slightly affected. Do you even care about these teammates who fight alongside you? Are you really so cold-hearted? You have no empathy, no team spirit. You're fined 500."

Curly's emotions finally wavered, and with a tremor of his hand, he finished off Uzi with a cannonball.

"What are you doing?! Why are you attacking my siege engine? Are you kidding me?! I'm fed up!"

[Curly hair has broken down.]

Uzi has broken through again.

Mingkai couldn't stand it any longer and mustered up his courage to speak up: "Brother Zhou, I think we should just punish him, Curly is really..."

"Mingkai was fined 500 for talking back to his boss."

"..."

“Mingkai,” Zhou Li said with a smile, “you didn’t think I was going to say—Mingkai spoke up for his teammates, showing team spirit and brotherhood, so I’m rewarding you, right?”

Ming Kai instantly transformed into Red Kai.

"By the way," Zhou Li continued, "I wonder if you carefully read the terms when you signed the contract?"

Hearing Zhou Li's words, everyone's hearts skipped a beat again.

These internet-addicted teenagers, how could they possibly understand these things?

When signing a contract, the most I check is whether there are any problems with the salary; I don't pay attention to any of the other clauses.
Now, judging from Zhou Li's words, could there be a trap in the contract?
Seeing that everyone was silent, Zhou Li smiled.

If you slap someone, you should at least give them something sweet in return.

Otherwise, what if these bastards start a Yellow Turban Rebellion?

"As you all know, although I'm your boss, I've always treated you like family. And I certainly wouldn't mistreat family. According to the terms, the club won't take any cut of the prize money earned from various competitions. Oh, by the way, how much was the prize money for this world championship again? One million US dollars?"

As soon as Zhou Li finished speaking, everyone was stunned.

Mingkai was the first to react, and said in disbelief:

"Brother Zhou, you mean... the entire prize money is ours?"

Curly-haired man flicked his wrist and finished off another melee soldier from Uz.

But this time Uzbekistan didn't hold a grudge against Curly.

"Yes, it's all yours."

The Zhou Dynasty ritual system gave an affirmative answer.

Mingkai couldn't help but start calculating.

"One million US dollars...that's about eight million..."

With this share, each person can get over a million.

In an era where the average salary of professional gamers is only four or five thousand yuan, what does it mean to suddenly receive more than a million yuan?
You should know that he used to be with WE, and when he won the IPL5 championship with the team, the club took almost half of the prize money!
And now, Zhou Li is actually saying he won't take a single penny of the club's bonuses?!

"Brother Zhou, is it true?"

Shenchao couldn't help but ask.

What will happen to the club if they take all the prize money?
Are you doing charity?

Mingkai had obviously thought of this as well, and said:

"Brother Zhou, is our club... planning to disband?"

It's no wonder that people think that way.

At this point, everyone's thinking was still stuck on the idea that the club needed to rely on participating in various competitions to earn prize money to maintain its operations.

Adding to the mix is ​​Zhou Li, this mysterious "second-generation rich kid," which inevitably leads to him being labeled as someone who's just dabbling in things.

Upon hearing that the club didn't need bonuses, everyone's first thought was that Zhou Li planned to disband the club and wanted to find some benefits for everyone before that happened.

"Brother Zhou, no way! It's okay if we take less prize money. The important thing is to keep playing. With your ability, as long as our team doesn't fall apart, won't we be able to win the championship easily in the future?"

Zhou Li spoke impatiently:

"Who the hell said we're disbanding? We, EDG, are the national team! Can the national team disband? Don't worry about the club's funds, I have a way of handling that. Just focus on playing well and work hard for your own bonuses."

Hearing Zhou Li's words, everyone put their worries aside.

"Brother Zhou, I'm going to carry this game, wait for my three-item set!"

UZI was the first to shout it out.

If they can get the bonus, then their fine of a few hundred yuan is nothing.

He actually thought Zhou Li was a heartless boss before, UZI deserves to die!
Seeing that everyone was clearly in a state of excitement, Zhou Li stopped talking and focused on the battle—switching screens.

Zhou Li was willing to distribute all the prize money to the team members because, with his experience from the future, he had already found a more stable and healthy way to operate the club.

That is, to get sponsorships.

Esports teams today clearly haven't realized this yet, and they still rely on playing matches to cover their club expenses.

You get money if you win the game.

However, if a club loses too many games, it will face a shortage of funds.

This is why clubs often disbanded in the early years.

However, Zhou Li had already ushered in the era of capital for the club ahead of time.

Compared to sponsorship fees, the commission from those prizes is really nothing.

Moreover, the club's decision to forgo taking a cut of the profits clearly provides better incentives for the players.

SKT players' bench.

Piglet's brow furrowed more and more tightly.

He gradually sensed that something was wrong from the beginning.

"Oh, why does it feel like the other team is getting stronger as the game goes on?"

Hearing what Piglet said, Da Mu, who was on the road, also spoke up:

"Did you feel it too? It's like you suddenly got a hormone injection."

His Rumble was already at a slight disadvantage in the early game against Jax.

My head is still a little dizzy from being hit.

Lee Sang-hyeok then pointed at Zed in the mid lane and said:

"I'm almost six, and I feel like I can go even further. Can you come?"

Upon hearing Lee Sang-hyeok's call, Benji, who was still fighting the three wolves, simply stopped and rushed towards the middle lane.

From the Korean commentary booth, seeing Bengi's movements, Jeon Yong-jun spoke with slight excitement:

"Oh! Look at Benji's position, it seems SKT is about to make a move against Lion!"

Today, the Korean commentary booth has invited a special guest.

SKT's opponent in the OGN Summer Finals is Ryu, the mid laner of KT Bullets!

This mid-laner, who played a supporting role in the history of League of Legends and helped Faker create the iconic double Zed battle, also came to the commentary booth.

Sitting in the commentary booth, Yue Lun had mixed feelings.

Especially after seeing EDG's mid laner Lion pick Zed.

Watching Zed about to be tower-dived and killed, Yue Lun felt a strange sense of empathy.

"Lion doesn't seem to realize the danger yet. Zed is only at half health. Although he has a dash skill, if someone can control him, he can be killed instantly!"

Yue Lun analyzed the situation with mixed feelings.

"Yes, and we know that Zed had already used Flash during Benji's last gank! Faker had already reached level six, while Zed was only level five. Faker went over with a wave and a half of minions!"

"To be honest," Yue Lun analyzed, "EDG's decision to move Lion—oh wait, Lion is EDG's owner—to the mid lane was a very unwise choice! It's obvious that in today's game, he was at a huge disadvantage against Faker in the mid lane! Sometimes confidence and arrogance are separated by a single thought, and SKT clearly taught him a lesson!"

He thought of himself.

A double thief battle ruined his reputation.

Now, this Chinese player named Lion is likely to become a laughing stock because of the champion Zed.

In fact, Zhou Li had already been greeted by netizens on the Chinese internet long ago.

[Are you stupid? Why go to mid lane instead of bot lane?]

Zhou Chu has really become arrogant.

[It just goes to show that there are differences even among geniuses; Zhou Chu is worthless compared to Faker.]

Why did he have to show off in the finals? Would Zhou Chu die if he didn't show off?

(End of this chapter)