LPL History

Chapter 244 Lee Sang-hyeok's Busan Divine Sign, Zhou Chulan's Ambition Trapped in Love

This year's World Championship was significantly more exciting than ever before.

Chinese netizens celebrated wildly, while Korean netizens launched into a tirade of insults.

And the tearful accusations from Taiwanese netizens who lost their competition zone.

Together they form a symphony in Summoner's Rift.

In this enthusiastic atmosphere, the draw ceremony for the quarterfinals of the 2014 League of Legends World Championship began.

The star player invited for this draw was Faker, the champion mid-laner from last season, who will decide the fate of the eight teams.

According to the tournament rules, there are two core rules for the quarterfinals of the World Championship.

The first rule is to avoid teams from the same group. Two teams from the same group in the group stage will not meet in the quarterfinals. If the players are drawn by lot, they will be directly moved to the next group.

Secondly, there is the rule of avoiding contestants from the same region, which is consistent with the principle of avoiding contestants from the same group.

According to this rule, Riot Games will first select the four teams that finish first in the group stage.

Group A WE.A.

Group B SSW.

Group C, SSB.

Group D, Alliance.

Groups A and C are in the left half of the bracket, and Groups B and D are in the right half.

Under the watchful eyes of netizens worldwide, Lee Sang-hyeok reached his hand into the lottery box and then pulled it out, slowly unfolding the lottery paper in front of the camera.

TPA!
"Oh!"

The audience at the scene couldn't help but jeer and cheer with schadenfreude.

In the LPL live broadcast room, Miller and others almost jumped out of their chairs with excitement when they saw WE.A's draw.

Because TPA can be considered the weakest team among the top eight.

Given WE.A's strength, facing TPA would practically guarantee them a spot in the semifinals.

While some are happy, others are sad.

Taiwanese netizens immediately started cursing after seeing the first group's draw.

Holy crap, this is way too much!

[How did I even get selected? It's like a perfect 1-shot wonder!]

[Lee Sang-hyeok is such a disgusting bastard! What kind of hands did he have? Did he not wash his hands after pooping?!]

[Now look what's happened. Not only was their region stripped, but they also shamelessly made it to the quarterfinals, only to be eliminated in the end.]

Let's not be so pessimistic, everyone. We might actually win, though.

Wow, if TPA can beat WE.A, I'm almost convinced they can stage a comeback!

What does this even mean? This Zhou ritual is really weird!

[Lee Sang-hyeok, I'll fuck your mother!]

Who would have thought that the LPL and OGN regions, who had been locked in a fierce battle since the World Championship, would end up with TPA being the first to suffer?

Lee Sang-hyeok clearly hadn't grasped the full power of his divine touch, and reached out again towards the lottery box.

This time, he will draw the team that will face off against SSW in Group B.

"LMQ!!"

Amid cheers from the audience, perhaps feeling it was creating too much of a spectacle, the director immediately switched the camera to LMQ's backstage dressing room.

Upon learning that their quarterfinal opponent was Samsung White, the Chinese students studying abroad were devastated, their faces turning ashen.

Netizens expressed their understanding of this.

After all, they had just been humiliated by WE.A in the group stage, and now they were going to face WE.C, whose style was very similar to WE.A. Their bad luck was even worse than TPA's.

At least TPA had a good time in the group stage.

LMQ, having fought their way out of Group A, known as the "Hell Group," immediately faced another strong contender for the championship, SSW.

It can only be described as a life of misfortune and bad luck.

Lee Sang-hyeok then began drawing teams from Group C.

Now, out of the eight teams, only OMG and WE.B remain, both from the LPL.

So in fact, Lee Sang-hyeok didn't need to draw lots; the quarterfinal matchups were already set.

Because of the principle of avoiding opponents in the same group, WE.B and SSB were originally in the same group in the group stage, so they will not be drawn together as opponents in the quarterfinals.

In other words, SSB's only opponent can be OMG.

WE.B will go to Group D to face Alliance, the number one seed from Europe.

Finally, with Lee Sang-hyeok's symbolic draw, the quarterfinal spots were finalized!
Group A: WE.A Esports Club VS TPA Esports Club.

Group B: SSW Esports Club vs. LMQ Esports Club.

Group C: SSB Esports Club vs. OMG Esports Club.

Group D: Alliance Esports Club VS WE.B Esports Club.

Lee Sang-hyeok's draw has generated immense excitement among LPL fans.

After all, judging from the current results, this seems to be the best possible outcome of the draw.

In the quarterfinals, there were no internal matches between LPL teams.

Based on the current group standings, it's possible that by the semifinals, there could be three LPL teams among the top four!
The scene was absolutely magnificent.

For the Koreans, this grouping is clearly very advantageous.

After all, whether it's Samsung White or Samsung Blue, the opponents they faced in the quarterfinals were relatively weak teams.

The chances of successfully advancing to the semi-finals are very high.

Both LPL and OGN feel they've gotten a good deal.

So who lost out?
The moment the quarterfinals draw concluded, the final two protagonists of this year's World Championship were already decided.

2014, April 10.

Busan International Convention Center.

4 p.m. local time.

There is one hour left before the start of the first match of the quarterfinals of the S4 World Championship.

Today, the first team to compete here will be WE.A from the LPL and TPA from the LMS.

The stands were already packed with people, every seat filled. The red waves stretched out in waves, and the shouts of WE could be clearly heard by the players backstage.

WE.A Lounge.

Zhu Kai, Tabe, Xi Ye, and the others were sitting huddled together on one side, looking at each other in bewilderment.

Before the match began, the organizers arranged an interview for them.

But now, things seem a little off.

From the moment the female host walked into the WE.A lounge, they noticed that, for some reason, pink bubbles started appearing in the lounge.

Brother Zhou has been chatting with the host named Zhao Enjing for nearly twenty minutes.

What was supposed to be a team interview has turned into a completely individual interview with Zhou Li.

This is quite normal, after all, Zhou Li is the core and star player of WE.A, and many interviews focus on him.

This situation should be nothing new to the WE.A team members.

But something's not quite right today. To put it nicely, the two of them were chatting and laughing, having a great time.

To put it bluntly, they felt that if they and the photographer hadn't been there, the two of them would have started kissing right there and then.

Xiao Ming couldn't help but ask Zhu Kai:
"Isn't this Zhou Ge's first time in Korea? Why does he seem to know that female host so well?"

Zhu Kai looked extremely distressed. He shook his head and said helplessly:
"You know, we're just Brother Zhou's lackeys, not his confidants. There are some things we don't fully know."

Sima the Old Thief glanced at Zhu Kai and muttered:
Why are you talking in such a sarcastic tone now?

Zhu Kai sighed again.

"We don't know either. Anyway, everyone calls us Lord Zhu of the Eastern Depot. He's always doing the dirty and tiring work for Brother Zhou. There's a saying that goes, 'Lord Zhu, Lord Zhu, always helping out.'"

Saint Gun Bro also joined in.

"You're already a high-ranking official, and you still don't know what's wrong with your master today?"

The Khan also spoke:

"Brother Zhou is a bit scary today, he seems to be in heat."

Sima the Old Thief immediately smacked the Khan on the back of the head.

"Idiot, only monkeys are in heat, humans are called..."

Seeing that the old scoundrel Sima was stuck, the Khan scratched his head and angrily questioned:

"What's the person's name? Tell me! Tell me!"

Zhu Kai interrupted their argument and said:

"Brother Zhou is definitely acting strangely today. You know, before, even when Bella's two big balls were almost brushing against Brother Zhou's face, Brother Zhou could still look straight ahead and find the path to Summoner's Rift through the gap between the two peaks."

"Look, Brother Zhou even did a magic trick for her!"

"Oh no, it seems like Brother Zhou has fallen for him."

"Hey, what do you guys think!" Xi Ye widened his wise eyes and offered a constructive idea, "Could this be another conspiracy by the Koreans! Since they can't beat Brother Zhou, they're resorting to using their femininity!"

“That’s true…” Zhu Kai stroked the stubble on his chin, looking very serious. “Now that you mention it, it really is true.”

"Fuck," Flandre said angrily, "those stupid Koreans are disgusting. I feel like throwing up whenever I see Koreans now. Are there any other guys like me?"

Khan was the first to raise his hand, meeting Flandre's gaze without fear.

"Wow, bro, why are you looking at me like that? I didn't choose where I was born. If I had known I was Korean, I would have strangled myself with the umbilical cord. Look at me now, I'm a true Shanghainese."

Upon hearing Khan's words, Holy Gun's lips twitched.

It's so annoying. I wanted to take this opportunity to get rid of the Khan, but I didn't expect that this kid has developed an indestructible skin.

"What do we do now? The match is about to start, what if it affects Zhou Ge's performance?"

Xi Ye was still thinking about the match.

"It should be fine, it's just dating."

"How could nothing be wrong? Brother Zhou seems to have never been in a relationship before. He's still Xiao Chulan."

"Yes, I've heard that too. They say it'll be very tiring for Chu Lan since it's her first time."

"What can we do? We can't stop Brother Zhou from dating, he's the boss."

Sima, the old scoundrel, thought for a moment, then spoke coldly:

"I have an idea."

"Say it quickly."

"Let's find a big sack, put this woman in it, and release her after the World Championship."

Xiao Ming's eyelids twitched wildly.

He knew that if Sima the Old Thief could say such a thing, he probably really had such thoughts in mind, so he immediately said:

"Stop it, they have a photographer with them."

Upon hearing Xiaoming's words, Sima Laozei nodded.

Then, out of the blue, he said:

"Then we'll need to prepare two burlap sacks."
-
TPA Lounge.

Unlike the dating reality show next door that's bubbly with fans, the atmosphere in TPA's dressing room is more like a casual variety show.

This team, which once defeated South Korea's Azubu Frost as a dark horse to win the S2 World Championship and became the first Chinese team to win the League of Legends World Championship, began to decline after a brief period of glory.

From 2012 to 2014, in just two years, the team's former champions fell apart for various reasons, leaving only bebe.

Given TPA's current strength, their ability to reach the quarterfinals is largely due to good luck.

Because their group, D, really doesn't have any strong competitors.

If TPA were placed in Group A, they would likely not only fail to advance, but also finish last in the group.

They were brutally defeated by OMG, who would only be the third seed in the LPL, at this year's All-Star tournament.

They barely advanced in the group stage against weaker opponents, relying solely on their point differential.

TPA has many problems, including but not limited to poor individual player skills, poor teamwork, and poor understanding of the game version.

It's fair to say that they are not currently considered a top-tier team in the world.

In fact, everyone in TPA is aware of this.

After learning they would be facing WE.A, a favorite to win the championship, the TPA team quickly recovered from their initial despair.

If the two sides are evenly matched, with the other side only slightly stronger, then everyone will feel immense pressure.

The two teams are no longer from the same dimension, so what's the point of trying?

“Damn it,” Winds, the jungler, said with a laugh. “If I had known we would run into WE.A in the first game, I would have told the club to refuse Riot and give us some plane tickets to fly back. Now look what happened, we have to go home after just one game, and we even ruined the name of the region.”

Hearing Winds' joke, mid-laner Morning laughed and said:

"You can leave now, your legs are your own, and no one is stopping you. If you leave quickly, we'll say we don't have enough people and just forfeit, and then you can take the blame, sacrificing your happy family."

“Fuck your mother,” Winds punched Morning. “You wish! But to be honest, I feel like League of Legends is doomed here. We really need to consider moving to the LPL.”

"Going to LPL? You won't even be able to get tea eggs there."

The word "morning" drew another burst of laughter, filling the air with a cheerful atmosphere.

Bebe, the team leader, glanced at the time and muttered:
"That's weird. The pre-match interview was supposed to be there, but almost twenty minutes have passed. What's going on?"

He had barely finished speaking when he heard a knock on the door.

When the door to the lounge opened and they saw Zhao Enjing standing at the door with a slightly flushed face, the TPA members instantly became excited.

Wow, she's a beautiful host!

"Quickly, quick, I need to do the interview first!"

Bebe coughed lightly. As a former champion and now the core of the team, he holds the highest position.

Zhao Enjing looked at Bebe and asked her the first question, which left this seasoned veteran stunned.

"Bebe, what are your thoughts on today's internal battle between your two Chinese teams?"

"There are currently four Chinese teams in the round of 16. Do you think China has a good chance of winning this year?"

"I just interviewed Zhou Li, and he said that since it's an internal battle between Chinese teams, he'll go easy on them. What do you think of that statement?"

Bebe looked embarrassed and stammered in front of the camera, clearly regretting her decision to step forward and give the interview.

"Actually... I feel... you really can't predict games. What if, I mean, what if, we win?"

(End of this chapter)