LPL History

Chapter 326 Zhou Yu Changes Hands to Fight His Former Master, Renewing Feuds on the Battlefield

There's one hour left before IG's first match of the Summer Split.

As is customary, since it's the start of a new season, the club will naturally release the player roster for this season on its official Weibo account.

Photos of the IG players were released one by one.

Kakao, Rookie, Kid...

Initially, not many people noticed what IG posted; it was just the players' fans commenting in support.

Until the last photo on Instagram was posted.

[IG's newest member: IG_Zhou! Welcome our new top laner! He will be making his starting appearance in today's match!]

At first, netizens didn't pay much attention.

Until the first person noticed this contestant named Zhou, whose upturned lips resembled those of a certain old friend.

[Why does this person look so familiar?]

[I feel like I've seen this before.]

[Holy crap! Isn't this LGD's weekly pick?!]

【Huh? Zhou came out on Instagram?】

[Haha, IG is really something else, they actually bought a mentally ill player.]

【No way, what are you doing, IG? Are you complaining that the club is too comfortable?】

[666, you think you can fool me just because you changed your username?]

As soon as IG's official Weibo account posted the message, even IG's own fans began to boycott it.

After all, Zhou Li was notorious for his bad deeds when he was with LGD.

He mocked his opponents during the match, and even stomped on their heads in the post-match interview. The most outrageous thing was that live-streamed 1v3 real-life fight!

This guy is a complete bully in the esports world. What was IG thinking when they bought him?

Shortly after IG posted this message, Zhou Li was trending on social media.

Of course, this was not solely due to Zhou Li's efforts, but also to the efforts of his former employer.

Because today, IG's first opponent in the opening match of the Summer Split is LGD Esports Club!
The feud between Zhou Li and LGD has naturally been brought up again.

The 1v3 video from the live stream started circulating wildly again on the internet.

For a time, the match between IG and LGD even surpassed the popularity of the EDG match!
Online, the discussion is all about this 1v3 match.

[Three against one and they were all killed?]

[This is hilarious! The key is that this lineup is actually quite reasonable: Wei Shen as the tank, Acorn as the warrior, and Taobao Quan as the marksman.]

All I can say is awesome.

[Haha, I'll probably never forget the scene where Taobao Quan appears on camera with a nosebleed at the end.]

[It's difficult to maintain composure; has Zhou Chu practiced this before?]

The LGD rest area at this time.

The people who received the news had mixed feelings.

Wei Shen, Acorn, and Taobao Quan's faces had turned ashen.

There was a Korean in the lounge who was watching Zhou Li's live stream video of 1v3 and laughing heartily.

This matter actually caused a stir when it was first exposed.

It made Wei Shen and his two companions feel like the world had become gloomy.

However, as the hype surrounding EDG's victory grew, the matter was quickly overshadowed.

Furthermore, the club had also suspended Zhou Li, so everyone thought that the matter was over.

To everyone's surprise, that man made a comeback in the Summer Split!
And this time, it's as an opponent!

LGD's official Weibo account is now filled with jokes and mockery from netizens.

If we lose today's game, it will be incredibly embarrassing.

"Taobao Quan, let's take a closer look at the road today. We can't afford to lose today."

Taobao Quan nodded upon hearing Wei Shen's words.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely kill him today."

Wei Shen nodded, then laughed.

"But this kid is really bold. He dared to go on stage even though he was supposed to be fighting us. Does he think he's really that good?"

“Exactly,” Taobao Quan sneered, “He actually believed netizens who joked that he had a 100% win rate as a top laner. If he hadn’t been hanging around here before, what would he be?”

Both Wei Shen and Taobao Quan are people with an extremely high opinion of themselves.

In their view, Zhou Li's so-called 100% win rate was nothing more than luck in following them.

Whether or not Zhou rituals were used made no difference to their group.

As for what Imp said in an interview, such as "If Zhou Li were here, we might have won the championship," just look at the comments from netizens. They all think Imp was drunk when he said that.

Can a blue-collar top laner really turn the tide?
2015 5 Month 22 Day.

One p.m.

Shanghai Electrical Appliance Industrial Park.

The stands were packed, and the cheers from LGD fans completely drowned out the cheers from IG fans.

Actually, the number of fans on both sides of the scene was about the same.

They might even have more fans on Instagram.

But IG fans have something on their minds today.

Because their top laner actually bought a player that everyone in the esports circle dislikes, and today he's going to replace Zz1tai as the starting player.

To the general public, Zhou Li's arrival at IG to avenge LGD was indeed exciting, thrilling, and generated a lot of buzz.

But what if we lose the game?
Then it won't just be Zhou Li who gets ridiculed, but their entire Instagram account!

Zhou Li is not an IG legend, but someone who joined halfway through the season. IG fans didn't have any feelings for Zhou Li to begin with, and some fans might even have hated him. Why should our team cover up your personal grudges?
Moreover, from the outside perspective, IG's win rate against LGD is actually quite low!
In their previous encounters, IG had a poor record against LGD, losing more often than winning.

Although they replaced him with Zhou Li, who is supposedly a "100% win rate top laner," the general public feels that this 100% win rate is highly questionable. In addition, Zhou Li is a blue-collar top laner, so it's hard to have high hopes for him.

IG fans were preoccupied, so much so that they forgot to even cheer each other on.

The EDG rest area at this moment.

Their match was scheduled for 3 o'clock, right after the match between IG and LGD, so the whole team arrived at the venue early.

After seeing the information on his phone, the factory manager said in disbelief:

"How truly proper!"

He had previously suspected that this Zhou was Zhou Li during training matches, but due to the opponent's playstyle and hero pool, he ultimately dismissed his idea.

Unexpectedly, it really was the Zhou Dynasty's rites.

The braised pork belly didn't look too good either.

This means that he has been completely outmatched by Zhou Li once again.

You should know that he had always felt that he was truly "invincible" after winning the championship, and he had always thought that if he met Zhou Li again, he would take revenge.

Unexpectedly, he lost again without his knowledge.

"IG has kept it well hidden."

"I can't help but sigh," Mei Kou remarked.

"By the way," Koro1, a popular player, unusually took the initiative to sit down and talk to his teammates, "have you guys been watching his ranked games? Does he play any other heroes?"

Upon hearing what the braised pork said, the factory manager shook his head.

Abu had previously mentioned investigating this person, and he and Abu subsequently found Zhou Li's ranked account, discovering that he had somehow reached the top rank in the Korean server. "His Jayce must have been practiced recently; I've seen him only play this one champion in ranked top lane."

Hearing the factory manager's words, Kou Rou breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems he has practiced diligently and mastered a unique skill.

But professional players need more than just a single signature hero; they need a wide hero pool!

Clearly, Kou Rou failed to notice the problem in the factory manager's statement.

The factory manager is right, the top laner only plays Jayce.

But in reality, he and Abu looked at Zhou Li's rank record and discovered something so outrageous it was almost terrifying.

Zhou Li plays every role from ADC to mid lane, jungle, and even support, and he carries the game!

On the contrary, he doesn't play the top lane position much, and when he does, he only plays Jayce.

This is ridiculous!

You're a professional top laner, so why do you play all other positions in ranked games?
Moreover, in the words of the factory manager, he didn't know about other positions, but after observing the enemy jungler in a few games, he found that the enemy jungler's level was absolutely world-class!
The factory manager at the time did not know that this Zhou was Zhou Li.

In retrospect, if Zhou Li had played any other position, he would never have earned the nicknames of "worst Korean player" or "most useless Korean player".

Moreover, this guy's Jayce is also exceptional, but it seems his top lane champion pool isn't very deep.

The problem is that LGD was unaware of this information.

Seeing both sides enter the business plan phase, the factory manager spoke up:

"If Zhou Li gets Jayce, LGD might be in for a tough time today."
-
"Viewers watching the live stream, you are now watching the 2015 League of Legends Summer Split regular season match! The two teams facing off are LGD Esports Club and IG Esports Club! I'm your commentator, Miller!"

"I'm the commentator, Waa!"

As the voices of the two commentators rang out, shouts of "LGD, keep going!" echoed once again.

Miller, of course, immediately spotted Zhou Li sitting on the IG players' bench and said with a smile:

“We see that IG has changed their top laner in their first match of this summer split! I believe that viewers who watch the games regularly will be familiar with this player, Zhou. He previously played for LGD during the spring split.”

The child, clearly having done little preparation before the match, asked in bewilderment:
"Hey, I remember Zhou Li is a Korean player, right? IG actually let him play? Does that mean they have three Korean players on the field at the same time?"

Hearing the doll's words, Miller shook his head and explained:
"The authorities have already checked and Zhou Li is a Chinese citizen, so he cannot be considered a South Korean aid worker."

Miller's words immediately sparked heated discussions among netizens in the live stream.

【what? 】

Wait, is this kid Chinese?

[Holy crap, they were mocking Zhou for deliberately embarrassing the Koreans by coming to the LPL, and now you're telling me he's Chinese?]

Oh no, we've become the clowns.

No way, I won't admit it!

[IG has something special; they can turn Korean players into Chinese players.]

[A cover-up!]

[What kind of "crown prince" team is IG?]

The doll was clearly puzzled by this as well.

I've never heard of a South Korean player changing their nationality by switching teams.

"Is he Chinese? But the official information did say he was a South Korean player."

"I'm not entirely clear on the details, but he's definitely not a South Korean player right now."

The doll smiled, with a strangely meaningful tone.

Amidst countless controversies, the two teams at the center of this media storm have begun their draft phase.

Zhou Li lay half-reclined in the chair and yawned boredly.

In fact, he didn't care at all about whether or not he sought revenge.

After all, if there's no enmity, where does the talk of revenge come from?
He didn't want to play in the match, and the 1v3 only resulted in a slightly dirty shirt. He really didn't have any complaints about LGD.

After all, he's never suffered a loss before.

But IG clearly wanted to capitalize on his popularity. Zhu Kai pestered him for four or five days, and finally persuaded Zhou Li to reluctantly agree to start in today's game with the tempting condition of "arranging for him to play a maximum of five training matches a week".

In Zhu Kai's view, he really couldn't understand what Zhou Li was thinking.

After spending some time with him, he discovered that this kid's gaming skills were far superior to what the outside world thought.

But this kid is incredibly lazy, and even unwilling to play in matches.

Zhu Kai has been in the e-sports circle for so long, and he has never seen such a selfless person.

After all, people play professionally for their dreams and for fame.

Zhou Li, on the other hand, seems to be obsessed with his takeout orders. Every morning when he wakes up, he says, "Xiao Zhu, my takeout is here!"

Seeing Zhou Li slumped in the chair, Zhu Kai couldn't help but remind him.

"Zhou Li, pull him up."

"Oh."

Zhou Li still didn't sit up; he simply moved the mouse and turned off the Spear of Revenge.

Zhu Kai's eyes widened when he saw Zhou Li's actions.

"No, I haven't said what I want to switch yet!"

Zhou Li replied impatiently:

"Are you going to pull back the Spear of Revenge or not?"

Zhu Kai hesitated for a moment: "We really need to turn it around."

"That solves it, doesn't it?"

After banning Yeti, LGD on the blue side banned Centaur.

Human rights have returned to IG's hands.

Zhu opened his mouth: "Pull..."

Zhou Li has already taken down Urgot.

"Should we banish Urgot?"

Zhu Kai was stunned for a moment.

"Aren't you going to ban Urgot?" Zhou Li countered. "Kalista and Urgot are invincible in the bot lane right now, aren't you going to ban them?"

Faced with Zhou Li's question, Zhu Kai looked at the folder in his hand and pretended to draw circles and marks.

"I was going to ban Urgot, I was planning to ban him too."

LGD's last move was to remove the tree, and when the right to remove trees returned to IG, Zhu Kai simply chose to remain silent this time.

He doesn't really know how to draft (BP) in the first place; most of the time, it's up to the players themselves to decide what they want to play.

This time, however, Zhou Li turned to look at him instead.

"Little Zhu, let me ask you, what's the last move?"

Zhu Kai was stunned by Zhou Li's sudden question, and his face turned red.

In fact, he had originally planned to ban three heroes, and he had a self-consistent explanation for it.

However, Zhou Li's first two moves disrupted his rhythm.

Unable to speak according to the content of the picture, Zhu Kai's mind had already begun to malfunction.

Zhou Li sighed and, with one last move, took down the Tsar.

"Xiao Zhu, watch carefully and learn well. Don't embarrass me when we go out in the future, or people will say you're impersonating a coach."

(End of this chapter)