After a long time, Lin Yan would stand on the stage of the finals and look at the Summoner's Cup in front of him. Hearing the deafening cheers of the fans below the stage, he would always think of that distant night in 2015 that had completely changed the course of his life.
In the evening of October 17, 2015 in London, Wembley Stadium was a boiling cauldron of voices. The League of Legends S5 global finals were being held here.
On the huge screen in the middle of the stadium, a skinny girl in a purple dress carried a Rocket Launcher on her shoulder and a machine gun in her hand. She laughed maniacally as she ran forward at lightning speed. The Rocket Launcher blasted the crowd and bright red numbers appeared one after another. The health bars of the characters in the game were quickly emptied. The skinny girl's laughter became louder and louder.
She switched forms and the machine gun tapped on the huge Crystal on the Highland Plaza. Accompanied by the girl's maniacal laughter, the Crystal was announced to be shattered!
"Although I really don't want to say this, we still have to congratulate FNC." The male commentator, Curly Hair, was full of regret. His words were filled with bitterness and helplessness. "They swept EDG with a 3: 0 score and entered the semifinals …"
"This is also the last match of the LPL team in S5. The champions of this year's mid-season invitational tournament, EDG team, are the only LPL team in the top eight." The female commentator, Little Yan, sighed. "We have too many problems to solve when we return to China."
"The main problem is mentality." Curly Hair hit the nail on the head. "We have to figure out how we went from being the champions of the MSI mid-season invitational tournament in May to being in the current situation. One in the top eight and two in the top sixteen. This is the most painful failure since the establishment of the LPL …"
On the other side of the live broadcast, it was already late at night in China. Countless netizens who had been unable to sleep because of the competition were either cursing or feeling melancholy when they saw EDG's Crystal explode.
After experiencing two consecutive second place finishes in S3 and S4, they had been eager to win the global finals. The success of the MSI had given them a faint glimpse of hope, but they had not expected that it would be a flash in the pan.
FNC's post-match interview made the netizens even more furious. Due to the fact that EDG's manager had been spouting nonsense on the internet before the match, and even gave birth to the "nimensidingle" meme, FNC's players were also very arrogant in their post-match interview. They kept belittling the LPL team in their words, and the speed at which they were slapping faces in the article was just as fast.
Angry, the netizens closed the competition interface and returned to the League of Legends division interface on the SharkShark platform.
The female streamers who used to dance and sing in the game division of the alliance could no longer attract the attention of netizens like before. They all rushed into the live broadcast room of Big Brother Dousha.
The platform's number one, Liu Mu, had a round appearance and a simple and honest appearance. He used to be the top laner of the Extreme Battle Team. His professional ID was Chubby. During the S2 era, he was invincible and had limitless glory. After retiring, he relied on a video that became popular all over the internet. He quickly became the number one streamer of the Fighting Shark platform, but his standard had declined.
The title of the livestream was — The last round of the Master Advancement Competition, we must win it!
Blue formation: Top Laner Demacia Princes, Jungler Excavator, Mid Laner Lisandro, Bottom Laner Jinx, and Bull's Head.
Red formation: Top Laner Hand of Noxus, Jungler Blind Monk, Mid Laner Sindra, Bottom Laner Hammer Stone.
The one controlling Ice Maiden was Lin Yan. This was a wonderful chance encounter. He met the key person who would change his future.
In just 22 minutes, he had already obtained the four-piece set of Shoes of Sorcery + Ghost Book + Zhongya's Hourglass + Useless Stick + Level 13 Killer Book. He had 230 last hits and a total of 606 points.
In Chubby's live broadcast room, the big round face in the lower right corner of the screen was full of seriousness. Chubby was seriously controlling Princes and his three teammates to pull the enemy in the middle lane.
At this time, the kill ratio between the two sides was 15: 21. Chubby's blue side only had two towers left in the middle lane, while the red side only had one tower in the middle and the next tower. From the situation, the blue side was obviously at a disadvantage.
Chubby nervously glanced at the minimap, then used Q Dragon Ram to wipe out the three backline minions in the middle lane.
The four blue players were wandering around the middle lane, and only Ice Witch Lisandro was leading the bottom lane.
[Ice Maiden, don't get caught.] Chubby's fat fingers quickly tapped on the keyboard.
This was Lin Yan's advancement competition, but it didn't affect his practice of heroes. He had only played Lisandro twice before, and felt that this hero was very suitable for him. He could push and move quickly, and it matched his ID: Push Line Tool Man 02.
Seeing his teammates' doubts, Lin Yan also began to tap on the keyboard.
[Don't worry, I'm very steady. I won't be reckless.]
He was definitely a weirdo. Even when typing online, he could still type out punctuation. Just as he described himself, even the period exuded a sense of steadiness.
At this time, the live stream was filled with all kinds of EDG being swept, and Chubby's big round face was completely covered. However, he didn't have time to look at it now.
There hadn't been any kill notifications in Summoner's Canyon for nearly two minutes. Other than the key players who were replenishing their strength and equipment, the rest of the players were setting up their vision and looking for opportunities. One by one, the fake eyes were swept away by True Eye, and then scanned by the opponent. The atmosphere was getting more and more tense, and a team battle was about to break out.
Finally, the red side support Hammer Stone seized the opportunity in the F4 area's blind spot and decisively used a hook from a dark corner, directly hitting Jinx, who was carelessly moving to cover for the minions!
"Ya 'er yo!" Chubby cried out in grief and indignation.
Twenty-one minutes later, Jinx had just gotten her hands on the Infinite Speed Shoes and the Blade of Greed. She didn't have time to make the Mercury Belt at all. The moment she stiffened after being hooked, the red team's jungler, Blind Monk Touch Eyes, kicked the weak and helpless little girl straight into the crowd.
Bad Uncle Hand of Noxus laughed sinisterly, raised his sharp axe, and began to scratch the tender girl's body.
Under everyone's focused fire, Jinx couldn't even use Flash. She let out a scream, and the light machine gun in her hand fell limply.
The red side continued to chase after her. Even though Bull's Head's Magnum was amazing, it still couldn't stop the other party's desire to eat beef.
In a situation where there was a lack of damage output, Chubby decisively used EQ and jumped away to avoid Blind Monk's follow-up attacks.
Lin Yan was controlling Ice Maiden to grind down the bottom lane's second tower. His view cut to the middle lane and saw the bottom lane duo fall. He had a teleport in his hand, but he didn't use it. Jinx's position when she was hooked was too bad. Even if he teleported down, it wouldn't change the fact that the team was defeated. At most, he could exchange for two or three kills.
It was very not worth it. He still had Level 13's Killer Book, and dying once would break the rhythm.
The five red side directly entered the Dragon's area and started fighting without stopping.
At this time, only Princes and Excavator were left on the blue side's battlefield. The two of them were not well-developed, so their damage output was not high. On the other hand, the red side, except for Blind Monk, all had big moves and had enough capital to not panic. The five-man team of Nuo Hand, Blind Monk, Sindra, Kenan, and Hammer Stone was not slow either.
"I'll beat you, Geoduck!"
Chubby was infuriated. He could only scratch his head in frustration and control Princes to accompany Excavator outside the Dragon's Pit.
[Sorry,] Jinx typed.
He was very guilty. He had recognized Chubby's ID before the game started. He wanted to show off in front of the audience, but he didn't expect it to be a breakthrough.
"We're in trouble …" Chubby was also very anxious. They were already at a disadvantage. If the other side got the Dragon, this promotion match would be over.
At this time, Lin Yan clicked "On the way" three times into the Dragon's Pit. At the same time, he calmly destroyed the top lane's second tower and took the opportunity to push the minions to level 14.
Chubby's skill level had decreased a lot after retiring, but he was still a professional player. He knew that he had to make a prompt decision at this time. When he saw his teammate's signal, he immediately inserted the army flag into the Dragon's Pit and lit up the view. The Dragon had 3,800 HP left.
The moment the army flag fell, a blue whirlpool rose from the army flag. It was Lin Yan's TP.