You actually want me to...

Praise to death is also a form of criticism.

"Good heavens, so all that preparation was for nothing?" Ha Huang paced back and forth in the lounge with a bewildered expression, seemingly unable to believe the outcome.

According to the tiebreaker principle, if EDG wants to reclaim second place from TES, it's not as simple as just winning the game. Since there's only one best-of-three series left, EDG must defeat IG 2-0 in the next game, and IG must also defeat TES 2-0 for EDG to successfully reclaim second place.

Simply put, forget about second place, just go to sleep.

"Although I'm a little surprised, that's the truth. Of course, I don't think we can let our guard down because of this." White Crescent shrugged and gave his teammates a pep talk.

Although the banana army is bound to win, an arrogant army is bound to lose. What if IG suddenly has a surprise attack?

Emm

Thinking about IG's recent performance, well, there's no "what if," he was just overthinking it...

"What you mean is to perform normally, and we can skip one BO5 series in the playoffs, but don't fall behind in training, right?"

"Yes."

"And the victory celebration banquet..."

"Let's wait until we've really secured second place before making any moves."

Before Knight could finish speaking, Roland interrupted his spellcasting. In esports, it's considered extremely inappropriate to open champagne halfway through the game. Of course, this could also be interpreted as setting a flag or planting a goal. What if a ranking that was practically in their grasp is lost because of this one-night stand, or because the celebration party is held prematurely? They can't afford to lose face if it gets exposed online.

After a brief greeting, everyone went back to their respective training sessions.

Roland is a special case. As long as the version doesn't change, his stats are enough to handle most teams in the short term. If the version changes, he'll be on the same starting line as other teams, and everyone will compete fairly.

In that case, there's no point in continuing to bury yourself in working on the [Advanced Combat Record].

Therefore, he set his sights on expanding the pool of heroes.

"coach."

"What's wrong?" White Crescent looked up with some confusion, seeing Roland's solemn expression, as if he had something he wanted to say to her.

"Could you help me arrange a meeting with some of the top players in the Chinese server through a club-style arrangement, and see if they can spare an hour to contact me?"

"Are you serious about this idea?"

In just one glance, he understood what this guy was thinking. It was one thing to have teams from various regions play practice matches with them before, but those were professional teams. Now they're so desperate that they're even targeting top-tier players in the Chinese server?

And in the name of the club?

"I don't expect them to help me quickly master a particular hero, but at least... they know the strengths and weaknesses of their respective heroes, and they know it much more than we do."

As the saying goes: the more you ask for a favor, the less skill you'll have to learn.

How long does it take to learn a hero?

Even if a professional player is exceptionally talented, it still takes about 10 games to get started, 100 games to become familiar with the basics, 1000 games to master the skills, and 10000 games to develop a unique mastery.

But what if you found a pro player who was an expert on a particular hero and had them tell you about the hero's characteristics, strengths and weaknesses, burst damage, burst timing, and other data? Then, mastering this knowledge would only take an hour. This hour even includes hands-on practice, where the player doesn't need to learn everything and be able to use it; just having a general concept in mind is enough.

What?

Are you shy and feel embarrassed?

Who would think it's beneath them to have a way to quickly improve their skills? Even Lao Guo, who was listening in, overheard that they could do some extra work.

For example, they could sign a confidentiality agreement, and if they actually achieve good results, they could gradually release the information to create an atmosphere of TES learning and innovation; even if they lose, the incident could become an interesting topic and be gradually revealed years later, ultimately benefiting them.

Just do it!

When TES extended invitations to top-tier players in a club-like manner, more than half of them responded enthusiastically within half a day. Some were so excited that they wanted to reveal all their secrets to the TES players on the spot.

what is this?

This is verification!

If TES achieves good results and the club signals that it's time to let the news out, then these invited streamers will be officially recognized as the best in the Chinese server. If they also perform exceptionally well with their signature heroes on the field, it will further solidify their skills, and the viewership will skyrocket.

With the benefits clearly displayed, the six-man TES squad got busy once again.

Afternoon practice matches, dinner time for review, nighttime practice with various skilled players in solo matches, late night for further self-reinforcement and consolidation, and two ranked games to maintain their feel for the game – this is their daily routine before the playoffs.

It wasn't until 3 a.m. that everyone gradually dispersed.

Except for one person: Big Yellow.

Even though almost all of his teammates had disappeared from the training room, he remained there, burying himself in training, working like a tireless machine.

“To be honest, I thought it would be Haro.” Outside the door, White Crescent glanced at Big Yellow through the crack in the door, then stood up and said with a wry smile to Roland beside him. “You know, before this, I always thought Haro was the most competitive one.”

“That was true before, but after they finished talking that day, Da Huang woke up.” Roland nodded, gesturing for them to go to the other balcony to chat, so as not to disturb Da Huang inside.

Why do you say he's awake?

"It's simple. It's because he's rediscovered his original motivation for playing games." Roland lowered his voice, and in the gentle moonlight, even his tone sounded much softer. "Or, Coach, do you know what most professional players' initial motivations were three or four years ago?"

"Because of dreams?"

"No, it's just because I'm unwilling to accept it..."

Sedimentation: Chapter 84: The moment of awakening is the moment of change.

The esports environment we live in today is the result of the dedication of generations. In this era, playing games has gradually become a daily routine, and parents' responsibilities are limited to how much time their children spend playing games. Even mainstream television stations no longer ban esports-related information, and many esports majors have been established.

Perhaps this major isn't that specialized, and it's probably just a money-making project launched to cater to the times, but its greatest significance lies in the fact that it has truly begun to take root in universities.

Ten years ago, video games were called "electronic heroin," and there were signs of widespread condemnation of games. Those with severe internet addiction might even be sent to electrotherapy centers to receive so-called "internet addiction treatment training."

Five years ago, although the online gaming environment wasn't as bad as it was in the early days, investors were just starting to get involved. Large investors, represented by Wang Sicong, were the first to favor the development of esports. During that period, player income was guaranteed and the live streaming industry reached an unprecedented peak. However, for those kids who hadn't yet stepped into the professional world, they were still living in the era of 10 years ago.

Why was Dahuang able to regain consciousness so completely?

Because he has passed the age of 18, when he could forge ahead with passion, and is also approaching the retirement age of 25 for e-sports professionals, and now he has accomplished nothing.

He lived through an era when playing games was looked down upon by everyone.

He has experienced the criticism and whispers directed at him by those around him because of his professional gaming career.

He suffered the consequences of his stubbornness, including being shunned by relatives and friends and becoming isolated by his family.

He was even looked down upon by most of his peers. Put yourself in his shoes: six or seven years ago, if you had a classmate with poor grades who suddenly said he was not going to high school and wanted to go pro, how would you have viewed him?

A good-for-nothing? A street urchin? Or a delinquent daydreaming?

First impressions lead to endless discrimination. In an era when studying was the right path, esports was seen by most as a hopeless hell. Not to mention that a large number of kids could only start as internet cafe managers, power levelers in front of a computer, or so-called youth training programs that could be laid off at any time before becoming professional players.

When they enter society prematurely and realize that their choices are a hundred times more difficult than those of normal students:

Humility arises from the heart, and one feels inferior to others in every way.

The realization of the inferiority complex among mainstream students set the tone from that moment on, signifying that they had finally stepped into the first stage of their career path—the choice.

Later, he was lucky enough to receive an invitation from a professional team, lucky enough to pass the tryouts of a youth training team, and lucky enough to actually have the talent to compete on stage and dominate in LDL, but... how many LDL players can make it to LPL in a year?

Or to put it another way, how many League of Legends viewers actually watch LDL matches on a regular basis?

You overcome numerous obstacles and finally made it to the LDL stage, earning a reputation. But when you look back, although your income has increased to over 10,000 yuan a month, you can only hold that position for a few years before retiring. Your fame may be known to everyone in the LDL, but it is far from enough to attract the attention of your family and friends.

Faced with those few scattered comments, how could you possibly boast to the world that you've succeeded?

So you keep walking forward.

It is at this point that you have completed the second stage of your professional career – talent.

You need to wait for the new LPL teams to notice you, you need to expect their main players to make mistakes. You're like a sleepwalker, hoping day and night that a talent scout will discover your special talent on the field. But the reality is that even if you've become absolutely invincible in the LDL, you might not be chosen to join the LPL. In the eyes of LPL teams, the LDL is nothing more than a toy.

Okay, now you finally have a chance to enter the LPL, and you've joined a weak team.

You find that your invincible skills in the LDL are limited everywhere in the LPL. You find that the team's tactical adjustments no longer come your way. You find that strong teams are still strong and weak teams are still weak. You find that you can't even get a scrim with strong teams in this team. So you slowly become decadent and blend into the crowd.

If you can stay true to yourself, believe that you will eventually be discovered by a mentor, be self-disciplined, and train hard, then you have already completed the third stage of your career path—perseverance.

Later, during the annual transfer season when strong teams reorganize, a strong team finally discovered your strengths and felt that you were suitable as a piece of the puzzle to contribute to the team's success. So you came to one of the top teams in the league and started to be a utility player. Here, you will gradually become the target of other teams because of your weak strength. You need to try your best to endure endless insults and disdain. You need to accept all kinds of blame that may or may not belong to you. But you know that your strength is also growing rapidly during this period.

Then one day, hope finally came. You realized that everyone's hearts were working in the same direction, and everyone's strengths and weaknesses were complementing each other. You found that your teammates and coaches cared more and more about the cooperation between each player. You seemed to be the five most suitable people in the entire league. So, with everyone's joint efforts, you entered the World Championship together.

At this point, you have completed the fourth stage of your career – luck.

Every step from here on out is a transformation from individual to collective. Every opponent is paying the price for your past efforts, talent, choices, and perseverance. Of course, there is also the players' own will. No one knows how far this team can go, but you know that as long as you move forward steadfastly, with all your might, and with everything you have, you will have a chance to touch the highest peak.

There, countless riches and honors are within reach.

There, all grievances will be settled.

There, you can finally stand proudly in front of everyone and tell them that your choice was right, that you did what they couldn't do, and that you briefly changed a small part of the world.

You've finally succeeded.

From the moment you choose this path, your life will be like this, lasting only a few short years. In these short years, if you cannot climb to the highest or second highest position, then what awaits you is retirement and working in a factory as a screw maker, or even raising pigs will be a luxury, because you may not even be able to afford a pig.

This is generally true for other industries as well, but the e-sports industry is one that relies on youth, and it accelerates this process very, very quickly, to the point that one can see the end of life at a glance.

But it will let you know: this is life.

Sedimentation: Chapter 85: This is the power of the Stranger's Ring!

A few days later, after TES won the match against IG 2-1 again, the rankings for the entire regular season were finally settled. TES secured their place in the semifinals in advance, and also had a layer of resurrection armor on their body.

RNG and TES are ranked first and second respectively, EDG and FPX are ranked third and fourth respectively, RA and BLG are ranked fifth and sixth respectively, and WE, LNG, SN and OMG are ranked fourth from the bottom.

It can only be said that due to TES's unexpected rise, the rankings in the playoffs have completely changed compared to the original world.

Of course, as far as TES is concerned, they are almost guaranteed to qualify for the World Championship.

The four slots for the World Championship are decided by the Summer Split champion as the first seed, the team with the highest combined Spring and Summer Split points as the second seed, and the third and fourth seeds determined from the remaining teams. Since TES already has 90 points from being the Spring Split champion, and the runner-up in the Summer Split gets 110 points, the third place gets 90 points, and the fourth place gets 80 points, TES has already secured a spot in the semifinals. This means that even if TES finishes fourth, their total of 170 points will guarantee them a place in the World Championship.

Abbreviation: Admission by recommendation.

I don't need to steal headphones; I can buy the ones used for academic papers.

In other words, they are indeed studying their opponents in the World Championship in advance. Of course, they will try their best to win the LPL championship if possible.

then...

TES began researching the power of the alien ring:

Lily of the Valley Radiant Knight: Re-Light Form [Gragas + Yasuo]

42 Charmander: Blazing Mode [Diana + Rambo]