The YM members got up to shake hands with the H2K members.
Yue Lun's expression was still calm, but his ears were ringing. After taking off his headphones, he could still hear Lulu laughing in his ears.
Lin Yan bowed at the center of the stage and went back to pack up his equipment.
Just as he walked toward the players' tunnel, he was pulled in for an interview by Fist's official, Vincent.
JKL also had an interview. The LPL team had invited him.
The person interviewing Lin Yan was still the tall blonde female host. She was about the same height as Lin Yan in her high heels.
The person standing next to Lin Ran was still Winston. He had multiple roles. He was the manager of the Fist team as well as the Chinese-English translator.
He worked two jobs for one job and was known as the Little Broiler of Fist.
"First of all, congratulations on achieving six consecutive victories in the group stage and advancing to the top eight as the first in the group …" Vincent translated. "What do you think about breaking Bang's highest KDA record in the global finals?"
He saw that Lin Yan was confused and quickly reminded him, "Your KDA in the group stage is 73, higher than Bang's 71 last year."
"Hmm …" Lin Yan was silent for two seconds. "This isn't strange. After all, the opponents in the group stage didn't give us much pressure. The participation rate of the mid laner is higher than that of the ADC to begin with. As long as the number of deaths is low enough, it's fine."
"What do you think about the opponents in the top eight?" Vincent asked the second question. "Or rather, which team do you want to meet more?"
"EDG, ANX, and Samsung, right?"
Lin Yan didn't hesitate. "There's nothing special about it. It's the same no matter who we meet."
"If you want to go further, you'll meet a strong opponent. There's no point in worrying about this." Lin Yan rubbed his wrist. He was wearing the wrist guard that Su Cheng gave him on his right hand.
"If you're not as good as others, you'll be eliminated sooner or later. The key is to increase your own strength." Lin Yan added, "Of course, this is just my personal opinion."
After the interview, Lin Yan was asked to remain as the representative to draw lots for the quarterfinals.
He sat on a bench in the backstage corridor, surrounded by staff members.
He started chatting with the Tigers' support, Gorilla A. Nicknamed the Nanny Dad, he had a gentle temperament and was always kind to everyone.
Not long after, Factory Director and Ouze rushed over. Beside Gorilla A was the three-star Cuvee. Finally, SKT's Faker sat down with a can of coke.
At first, Yue Lun had planned to communicate with the other contestants, but halfway there, he saw Faker appear.
He quickly turned around to look for the Russian brothers from ANX. Both of them spoke English with a strong Korean and Russian accent.
"Where did you get this can of Coke?" Lin Yan was a little greedy. He hadn't drunk Coke for several months, so he couldn't help but miss it.
"Isn't there a fridge in the team lounge?" Cuvee asked curiously.
"It was closed a long time ago. We were all chased out." The Nanny Dad's English was passable. "But I remember there was a vending machine outside."
"I didn't buy it … I got it from Jun-shik." Faker hesitated for a moment. "I saw that he didn't want to drink half of it, so I brought it."
Jun-shik was Pei Jun-shik Bang's real name.
After saying that, Faker gulped down the Coke.
It was fifteen minutes later when the lots for the quarterfinals began.
The two hosts raised their microphones and introduced the eight teams and their representatives to the audience in front of the live broadcast room.
When it was Lin Yan's turn, the audience applauded and cheered loudly. Even though he was still a distance away from the players who had been famous for a long time, it was still not easy for Lin Yan, who was entering an international tournament for the first time.
"Let us once again welcome the eight teams that have entered the S6 knockout round!"
The host raised his voice. "They are the first place winners of the group stage, Rox Tiger, SKT, YM, and RNG!
"And the second place winners of the group, ANX, EDG, H2K, and SSG!"
The audience applauded.
Lin Yan and the other three representatives of the first place teams stood on one side and looked at the four second place teams on the other side.
The hosts of the lots for the quarterfinals were Zeyuan and Zhou Kole, the two commentators for the second half.
"Europe and America are in a tough spot this year," Zeyuan said as he looked at the Asian faces in the lot drawing ceremony. "Three LPL teams, three LCK teams, and a wild card from the Commonwealth of Independent States. That's a total of seven spots in the quarterfinals."
"North America is completely wiped out this year." Zhou Kole nodded in agreement. "Europe is mainly being held back by G2. They're experts in internal battles, but they're amateurs when it comes to external battles. This year's MSI2-8, they didn't even make it out of the group stage."
At this time, there were nearly a million viewers in the live broadcast room, waiting for the results of the lot drawing ceremony.
Su Cheng had just returned to her rented apartment with her backpack. She turned on her computer and was ready to watch the lot drawing live.
She looked at the black wrist guard on Lin Yan's right hand on the screen. She pursed her lips and smiled unconsciously. Her clear eyes were sparkling.
Today's lucky draw guest was the famous North American AD player, Tortoise Bro.
Without hesitation, he reached into the first pool and drew the first lot.
The yellow-red wing team logo — SKT.
The big screen in the center of the stadium showed the real-time groupings.
After SKT was drawn, they moved to the top left corner.
The second team to be drawn was RNG. They were placed in the bottom left corner.
"This lot …" Zeyuan analyzed. "If SKT and RNG both beat their opponents, they'll meet in the semifinals."
"Then the other side will be the Tigers and YM," Zhou Kole said nonsensically.
After that, ROX and YM were placed in the right area.
The first place teams of the four groups were separated and reorganized. They looked at each other from a distance, longing for the Summoner's Trophy in the middle.
"Next, we'll draw lots in the second pool to determine the opponents of the four first place teams." Zeyuan explained the rules to the audience. "Of course, we'll still adhere to the principle of not meeting each other in the same group.
"For example, YM and H2K. They're the first and second place teams in Group C, but they won't meet in the quarterfinals. Once they're drawn together, their positions will be shifted."
"Let's draw an LCK team, please!"
"The probability of 24/7 should be very high, right?
Can't Samsung compete with the two LCK teams first?
This way, at most two LCK teams will be in the quarterfinals. I can still accept that. "
"Look at SKT's opponent … H2K!"
Zeyuan looked at the lot in the guest's hand. The H2K team logo was very eye-catching. "This match is going to be interesting!"
"Yue Lun against Faker, it's really unavoidable," Zhou Kole said while holding back her laughter.
The bullet screen in the live broadcast room was exploding.
"Yue Lun:???
WDNMD, he can't avoid it for the rest of his life, right? "
"Hahaha, Yue Lun is really pitiful. They'll probably stop here, right?"
"Can't Faker pick a trick in the quarterfinals to mess with Yue Lun's mentality?
I love watching a good show. "
Faker smiled and walked down the stage to find Yue Lun, then left the stage hand in hand.
However, before they left, Lin Yan clearly saw that Yue Lun's face was as black as coal. His expression was the same as Broiler and Kakao's when they were mining coal.
The second was RNG's opponent … ANX!
"Good draw!"
Zeyuan clapped his hands and exclaimed. "ANX in the wild card area is the weakest of the eight teams."
"It's mainly because this team doesn't have mature experience in the League S tournament," Zhou Kole explained. "They can rely on small tricks to win the BO1, but in the BO5, they'll have to fight with their real strength. They're probably no match for RNG."
"That's right, the next team should be YM's opponent," Zeyuan said. "Let's choose between Samsung and EDG. I'll pray for YM, okay?"
"We'll definitely pick EDG this round. Let's fight and guarantee a spot in the quarterfinals!" Zeyuan's voice was sonorous and powerful.
"I think so too. We'll pick EDG this round!"
Zhou Kole nodded in agreement. "This way, the second half will be a two-on-one battle between LPL and LCK. This way, LPL can guarantee two spots in the top four, which is a lot better than S5."
"Shut up, I beg you!"
"What the f * ck are these two dumb commentators talking about?
Stop it! "
The audience was saying stop it, but in their hearts, they were all thinking that it would be best to draw a battle between the top eight teams. They could still vaguely remember the scene of Samsung's brutal defeat of RNG in the last group stage.
None of the LCK teams that participated in the global finals were pushovers!
Lin Yan, who was standing on the stage, felt his heart pounding. He could not tell whether he was nervous or excited.
Admittedly, the pressure of a civil war against EDG was very small. After all, they had just defeated their opponent in the summer finals, and EDG's current state was visible to the naked eye …
However, as he said in the previous interview, if they wanted to go further, they could not be afraid of any opponent.
The guests who drew lots quickly picked the opponent that YM would face from the second pool.
The guest took a peek and could not help but laugh.
He unfolded the banner in front of the camera and the live audience.
An asymmetrical blue shield was printed on the orange bottom of the banner. It looked very beautiful.
Samsung, SSG!
"Ah, this …" Ze Yuan opened his mouth in surprise.
"This is bad, this is bad," Zhou Kole shook her head. "What should we do?
Samsung is very strong. This time, even EDG will suffer. "
At this moment, countless viewers who were watching the live broadcast let out a heavy sigh.
Samsung was quickly assigned to the upper left corner, below the YM team's logo.
Lin Yan and Cuvee shook their heads in unison. The two of them had a strange expression that could not be determined whether to cry or laugh.
The two of them held hands together.
"See you in the top eight," Lin Yan whispered in English as he walked backstage.
"You too." Cuvee, the little fatty, looked deeply at Lin Yan.
Both of them knew that they would face a tough battle next.
The last lot was symbolically drawn, and EDG was the Tigers' opponent.
"With this, the results of the top eight have been decided." Ze Yuan quickly calmed down and said loudly, "The first half is SKT versus H2K, RNG versus ANX."
"The second half is YM versus SSG, ROX versus EDG."
"I hope that our three LPL teams can perform their best in the top eight and break through our limits!"
"Friends in the audience, see you in the top eight on the 14th!" Zhou Kole waved goodbye to the camera.
"F * ck!
Can't Teng Jing do something about it?
Why did he have to put Zhou Kole, the B * stard, in the draw ceremony? "
"Don't just talk about Zhou Kole. I think that Ze Yuan is not a good person either. He's trying to tank our LPL team, right?"
"Brothers, the main culprit of the draw for the top eight has been found. His Weibo name is' Bring Senior Brother '. Everyone, let's take him down!"
"This wave, this wave is called the LPL semifinals 1 vs 3."
"Only RNG can guarantee a spot in the top four, right?
EDG is definitely out of the picture. I think YM and SSG have a 50: 50 chance. Let's see how they perform. "
"A 50: 50 chance?
Don't they know the standard of Samsung's BO5? "
Even though the draw ceremony had ended, the bullet screen of the live stream was still full of comments. Everyone was venting their emotions.
Su Cheng looked at the results of the draw and subconsciously bit her lower lip. She flipped open the notebook beside her. Ever since she became an assistant analyst, the contents of the thin notebook had become two to three times thicker.
Just as the netizens had said, Samsung was definitely a strong opponent in a BO5. Their ability to turn the tables in the summer's Bubble Show was a clear indication of their strength.
YM's top eight match was scheduled for the 15th of October. They still had five days to prepare.
However, there was not enough time. There were too many things to prepare for the BO5.
Outside the stadium, the YM players were still waiting for Lin Yan to return from the draw. Mongoose came up and gave him a slap.
"Ouch … I shouldn't have let you go. If I were on stage, this wouldn't be the result!" Phyllostachys Pubescens complained. "Isn't it better to play EDG and be guaranteed a spot in the top four?"
"Stop complaining. Let's hurry back and prepare the information for Samsung," Hanyi said with a frown. "We don't have much time left."
They took a car back to the hotel. They would be heading to Chicago the next day. The top eight match would be held at the famous Chicago Theater.
As soon as they returned to the hotel, the YM players began to practice ranking. They had already drawn the lot. They knew that they could not backtrack and change the established facts. They could only choose to accept it.
Hanyi and the main analyst had been huddled up next to Su Cheng in a voice chat, collecting all the information they could about their opponents.
Even Lin Yan, who usually went to bed early, practiced until midnight before returning to his room to catch up on sleep.
The next evening, they finally arrived in Chicago. They found a burger restaurant outside and made do with dinner.
However, the YM players did not expect that something would happen as soon as they entered the hotel.
The thirty-year-old main analyst had a stomachache.
"Ouch …" After rushing to the bathroom for the fourth time in a row, the main analyst pushed open the door and bent over in bed. Hao hurriedly handed him the diarrhea medicine.
The main analyst took it and swallowed it with a cup of hot cocoa.
"I must have turned the air conditioner on too much last night. My stomach is cold." He sighed. "Everything is not going well …"
"Rest well first." Hao wrapped the blanket on the bed around him. "Recover as soon as possible so that you can resume work."
The main analyst still wanted to be brave, but the throbbing pain in his stomach told him that his body was not capable of high-intensity work.
"I know what you're worried about," Hao said. "Hanyi will be in charge of the training plan for the next two days. I'll leave the tactical arrangements to Little Su."
"When she lists out the tactical outline, I'll show it to you." Hao patted his old friend on the back. "When the time comes, you can suggest changes."
He saw that the main analyst was still worried, so he added, "After these few days of communication, you know that Little Su's ability is not weak. We've all seen her progress, so don't worry."
The main analyst could only nod. "I'm really getting old. Back in the day, I was always drinking and smoking all night … I didn't think that I'd reach the age of making goji berries and hot tea."
In China, Su Cheng was also worried.
She had to make a reasonable plan in the face of danger. She had to find the weaknesses of Samsung from the few matches they had and fight for YM's chance of victory.
This was not an easy task.
Samsung … Su Cheng first searched for the two matches they lost in the group stage, trying to find the problem.
However, there was nothing special. The two losses in Samsung's group stage were normal. They were snowballed by their opponents and died slowly.
Cuvee, Ambition, Crown, Ruler, and Corejj. In terms of individual strength, other than Cuvee, these five players were not the best in the world. They were only at the level of first-rate goalies.
How did they destroy RNG in 23 minutes?
Su Cheng couldn't figure it out.