"Let us congratulate YM!" The three commentators shouted in unison. "They defeated their strong opponent SKT with a 3: 1 and won the MSI championship!"
Mille's voice was trembling with excitement. "Now, we have to introduce YM as the 2017 MSI champion!"
"They are also the second team after SKT to win both the global finals and the mid-season championship!" Doll's eyes were slightly red.
The prophet wiped his eyes, took off his headphones, and jumped down from his chair. He rushed over and hugged Lin Yan.
His face was red with excitement, and his mouth was moving as if he was saying something.
However, Lin Yan had his headphones on and could not hear him clearly.
After taking off his headphones, he wanted to ask the prophet what he was saying.
However, he soon realized that he was thinking too much.
After taking off his headphones, the cheers of tens of thousands of people in the stadium mixed with the sound of dry ice spraying around the stage. He could not hear the voices of his teammates clearly.
"Go shake hands!" Xiao Tian's mouth was wide open, and all his teammates could read his lips.
The moment YM left the players' seats, countless applause swept over them. The five players waved at the spectator stands.
"YM is only one Intercontinental Championship trophy away from their grand slam!"
Mille patted his chest, calming himself down. "They could have gotten that trophy earlier than SKT!"
"It's only been a year since YM entered the LPL's top league!"
Remember sniffled, and his voice was slightly choked. "I don't think anyone would have thought that YM would come this far a year ago!"
Lin Yan shook hands with the wolf-stick duo. When he came to Li Xianghe, both of them hesitated for a moment.
Then, they opened their arms and hugged each other gently.
Their faces were close, and they could finally hear each other's voices amidst the frenzied cheers.
"I didn't perform well today. We'll meet again in the Bird's Nest, and you'll definitely be the one to lose."
Li Xianghe said in English with a kimchi accent. His eyes were filled with unconcealable fighting spirit.
He would never admit defeat.
"Are you so sure that you'll enter the finals?"
Lin Yan laughed. "This game can't be won by one person alone. Teammates are the key."
"I alone am enough." Li Xianghe's broken English couldn't hide the determination in his tone. "I'll drag the team into the finals."
The two of them let go of each other, and Li Xianghe turned around to pack up the peripherals.
He knew very well that his performance in the finals was very average.
He had to hurry up and practice when he got back. There wasn't much time left for him.
When Lin Yan shook hands with Huni, he realized that Huni was still chewing gum out of habit, but his eyes were lifeless.
Li Xianghe's performance was not good, but at least he led his teammates to victory. As for Huni, his MSI performance was a disaster.
He had been killed in the first round, and in the next three rounds, Little Peanut would help him from time to time. Even if Huni got the kill, he couldn't lead the team to victory.
It could be said that she was possessed by a donkey sauce streamer. If you help me, I won't be a b * tch. If you don't, I'll explode.
Huni, who had always been arrogant, could not accept this.
The Korean netizens, who could not sleep because of SKT's loss, were furious when they saw that the camera was focused on Huni.
They fully displayed their true colors as trolls.
[Huni is the worst top laner in the Republic of Korea in recent years. Who agrees and who disagrees?]
[Does this even need to be said?
I feel my blood pressure rising when I see Huni's play.]
[In the first round, he couldn't defend against a gank, and his teammates got the Dragon. In the fourth round, he gave Kassadin a pentakill. Every Korean is responsible for this kind of person still being alive.]
[Every day that Huni lives in this world is a waste of our food.]
[He's the key to YM's victory. He's definitely the FMVP!]
Huni also knew that he would be greeted warmly by the Korean netizens for playing like a jerk in the finals.
His emotions fell at a rate that was visible to the naked eye.
However, no one in YM cared about him. After Lin Yan and his teammates shook hands with the SKT players, they ran straight to the center of the stage.
The MSI championship trophy was there!
At this time, Brainless, Unhappy, Guo Hao, and White Crescent rushed out.
Amidst the cheers of the crowd, the YM players held up the championship trophy!
Following a few low sounds, golden ribbons fell from the sky above the stage!
In this golden rain, the image of Lin Yan holding up the trophy was frozen in Cameraman Ichimura's camera.
The audience at the side of the stage gave a thunderous applause to the victor!
"This trophy is so light. It can't be compared to the one in the international tournament." Xiao Tian took the trophy and weighed it in his hands.
Before coming to Brazil, he was still thinking about the championship trophy. However, after experiencing close to two weeks of intense competition, Phyllostachys Pubescens felt that it was a little dull.
Xiao Tian did not linger and passed the trophy to the Prophet.
The Prophet had never held a Summoner's trophy before. When he saw the MSI trophy, he felt as if he had received a treasure. He held it in his arms and kept stroking it like a cat.
"That …" The Prophet looked at Ichimura next to him. He wanted to say something but stopped.
Lin Yan knew that the Prophet's social phobia was acting up again.
"Brother Ichimura, he wants you to take a picture of him." He took the initiative and said.
The Prophet smiled shyly. "Brother Ran, you know me best."
"No problem." Ichimura agreed with a smile. He picked up the camera and motioned for the Prophet to raise the trophy.
In the time it took for the YM players to pass the trophy in their hands, Tedamir and Ryze, the Fist executives he saw at last year's global finals award ceremony, walked into the stadium from the entrance.
In front of the two of them was a bald, fat man with brown skin and a brown head in a brown suit.
The cheers in the stands did not stop for a moment. The bald man waved and said hello to the audience with a smile on his face.
He came up and shook Lin Yan's hand. His attitude was very warm.
"Your ability in League of Legends is almost the same as my ability in football." He had a lot of strength in his hand. "You played well today. Congratulations."
Lin Yan was a little confused.
This fat man didn't know football from his body shape.
Lin Yan felt that this face was familiar. However, he had just won the championship and his brain was spasming. He just couldn't remember.
However, he still smiled and bowed. At the very least, he had to keep up appearances.
The man took out the championship medal with a blue ribbon from the side. Then, he shook hands with the YM players and management one by one and hung the medal around their necks.
"Who is this?" Jack asked from the side.
Guo Hao was looking at the bald fatty with a longing gaze. When he heard Shiba Inu's words, he immediately turned his head and glared at him.
"Big Luo," he said impatiently. "Ronaldo!"
Lin Yan just remembered.
It was Li, the Golden Throat Treasure!
He, who didn't play football, usually saw Messi and Ronaldo. Big Luo's era was relatively far away from Lin Yan.
However, Guo Hao was different.
He grew up watching Teacher Ronaldo play football and even saw him as his childhood idol.
When they shook hands, Guo Hao was so excited that he couldn't help himself. He stuttered in English as he discussed with Big Luo about an autograph and a photo.
Big Luo agreed readily.
He came to the MSI award ceremony mainly because he had invested in a club in the Brazilian league this year. He was worried that the management model wasn't clear and that he could learn from Guo Hao in private.
At this time, the female host and part-time translator Winston walked onto the stage.
"First of all, let us congratulate YM for winning the 2017 mid-season tournament!"
The female host faced the front. "This tournament, which has been held for three years, will welcome its third winner!"
Beside her, Tedamir and Ryze clapped and nodded. They were very satisfied with this.
The MSI had been held for three years and three championships. This had achieved the ecological environment that they wanted.
Fist had had enough of LCK's domination in the past two years. Recently, the designers had been thinking about how to weaken LCK's best operations and make the competition more suspenseful. This would allow teams from other divisions to become strong contenders for the world championship.
Unexpectedly, before they could do anything, YM appeared out of nowhere last year and broke LCK's dominance in the world championship.
This was a good thing, but also a bad thing.
The good thing was that LCK's monopoly was gradually broken and the competition's competitiveness was raised to a new level.
The bad thing was that the brave who slayed the dragon eventually became the evil dragon.
YM had won two league championships in a year, plus the two most valuable international championships.
They had the flavor of 2015-2016 SKT. The latter also won the world championship and the mid-season tournament.
However, would there be a team comparable to last year's YM stand up and stop them from moving forward?
The two looked at each other and felt that it was time for the designers to weaken YM.
It did not matter if there were no strong opponents comparable to YM's strength.
Fist would give them a little more difficulty.
"… Next, I will announce the MVP of this season's mid-season championship." The female host wanted to keep them in suspense.
However, the audience in the stands had already spontaneously shouted an ID!
Ran！
Many Brazilians were even playing with their tongues. The scene was spectacular.
"Looks like everyone already has their own answer." The female host smiled. "Fortunately, most of the audience has the same opinion as the judges."
She let her voice spread to every corner of the huge stadium. "The MVP of the 2017 mid-season championship — YM.RAN!"
The cheers in the stadium grew louder and louder. It was as if the entire stadium was going to be overturned.
"He deserves everyone's support!"
Mille on the commentary platform was very excited. "Ran has won over the audience with his outstanding performance!"
After all, ten minutes ago, Lin Yan had just scored a pentakill in the deciding match. How could the audience not be impressed?
The director also showed Lin Yan's statistics on the big screen in the stadium.
Lin Yan had scored 304, 714, and 1331 in his three winning matches. His battle damage ratio was extremely luxurious.
"Average damage of 911, damage conversion rate as high as 189%!"
Doll had never seen such terrifying statistics. "Ran has perfectly displayed his strong dominance in this final match!"
The Chinese live streaming channels were already overcrowded. YM's championship and Lin Yan's pentakill performance had washed away the sleepiness of the Chinese champions. They were constantly spamming the bullet screen.
[Getting a pentakill on top of Faker's head, I can brag about it for the rest of my life!]
[Li Xianghe never dreamed that this day would come, right?
Ran also stepped on him to get the MVP in the finals last year!]
[YMNB!]
The female host in the middle of the stage was still conducting the post-match interview.
"Contestant Ran, what are your thoughts on this MSI journey?
What are your plans for the second half of the season? "
Lin Yan had just picked up the microphone when he heard a tsunami of cheers from the stands.
“MVP！
MVP！”
Lin Yan thought about what to say before he opened his mouth.
"After all, we won the championship in the end. I think our trip to Brazil this time was not in vain. There's still a lot of prize money to be distributed …"
When they heard this, Brainless and Unhappy, who were standing on the side, laughed.
The two of them came to Brazil to play. In the end, they could still get a share of the championship prize money. Although it was definitely not as high as the other starting players, it was still a considerable income for them at this time.
"My teammates are as stable as ever," Lin Yan continued. "But the season is still long. This is just an affirmation of our results in the first half of the year."
"The international finals held in China this year is our biggest goal this season." Lin Yan's tone was firm. His eyes were like torches. "YM will pick up the Summoner's Trophy again there. There is no doubt about it."
The Chinese audience did not need a translator. They could not help it after hearing Lin Yan's interview.
[Crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy!]
[That's a good flag, Brother Ran!]
[But the Bird's Nest must win the trophy!
I don't want to see the Korean team win the championship in the Bird's Nest.]
Winston translated this sentence verbatim. The female host looked at Lin Yan with a strange glow in her eyes.
This was not some cliche drama of a sudden estrus in public.
She just felt that Lin Yan's image in her heart had changed completely.
The female host originally thought that East Asians were more modest and reserved in setting small goals in post-match interviews.
She did not expect that from Ah P's harsh words to his outlook for the second half of the season after the finals, Lin Yan's speech was not East Asian at all. Instead, it was very much in line with the style of European and American entertainment.
However, the moment this sentence came out, the smiles of Taitamir and Ryze instantly froze.
Good lad!
We were just worrying about how to weaken you. You set up a target for us to hit?
And even win the championship?
We'll let you win all of it!
You haven't seen the power of a patch, right?
The two of them prepared to contact their own company's senior weakening designer, Chun Li, and give YM a big package.
Lin Yan, who had just returned to the waiting room, was still unaware. He was busy dealing with the large number of congratulatory messages that flooded into his phone.
Lin Yan rarely posted on Weibo, and he did not set the threshold for private messages. This caused his phone to almost explode when he opened the app.
In a fluster, he quickly set it to "only accept private messages from people he follows." This way, he finally felt more comfortable.
As for his WeChat account, which he usually used, the people he added were all old fans who had followed Lin Yan since he was a live streamer, as well as some people in the industry.
It was more troublesome to deal with this part of the messages.
As the people on WeChat were closer to him, the messages sent in a group didn't seem too sincere.
Therefore, at the start, Lin Yan had considered that it wasn't easy for them to stay up late to watch the competition, so he carefully wrote a reply.
However, he immediately realized that the speed of his reply couldn't keep up with the speed of the incoming messages on WeChat.
Coincidentally, Guo Hao ran back after asking for Big Luo's autograph and photo. He was saying that he wanted to bring them out to eat barbecue to celebrate.
Lin Yan simply wrote a message on his Moments.
[There are too many messages, I can't reply in time. Unified reply: Thank you for your support.
PS: Are you guys that free?
Are you the champion of staying up all night?
Watching the competition at three o 'clock in the morning?]
He even attached a cat emoji, which looked very lifelike.
Then, he selected a few important people's messages to reply to.
The previous team's big boss, PDD, had probably stayed up all night to watch the competition, so he immediately sent a message after the competition ended. At that time, his message was at the bottom of the list.
Even though PDD was no longer YM's major shareholder from this year onwards, he had a good relationship with his teammates. Of course, Lin Yan had to reply to him.
Then, there were a few professional players who were close to him.
Xiao Hu sent him a few emojis, then congratulated Lin Yan for winning the MSI championship.
Lin Yan and his teammates walked out of the stadium and boarded the bus.
He kept the emojis, then his fingers quickly typed: [Don't you have to thank me?
I'm taking revenge for RNG.]
After all, RNG was eliminated by SKT in last year's MSI and S6 semifinals.
Xiao Hu probably did not want to sleep anymore, so he started chatting with Lin Yan.
[So-so. You're not good at flying, you're not as good as me.]
Lin Yan was unconvinced. [Stubborn duck?]
Just as he finished typing, he saw the word 'duck' and thought of something fun.
He pinched his throat and recorded a voice using a duck's voice. "I'm definitely not as good as you. The Little Witch was single-handedly killed by the yellow chicken, right?"
In the 2016 MSI, even though Xiao Hu single-handedly killed Faker in the group stage, his performance in the knockout round was more average. Li Xianghe even completed the strange achievement of "the yellow chicken single-handedly killed the Little Witch".
Lin Yan and Xiao Hu had a good relationship, so he had no qualms about making such jokes.
"Damn it, I thought it was Xiao Hu himself. You're good at imitating his voice, huh?" Xiao Tian sat next to him and passed Lin Yan some potato chips.
Lin Yan had not eaten in the afternoon, so he was hungry.
He looked at the traffic jam outside the stadium, and the familiar beeping of horns for the past two weeks once again lingered in his ears.
It looked like they would not reach the barbeque shop for a while, so Lin Yan gave up on the idea of making room for the barbeque, and took the potato chips to eat.
Five seconds after the voice message was sent, Xiao Hu replied with a question mark.
[Wait for the Summer Tournament, I'll teach you how to behave,] he replied again.
[Tsk tsk, I'll be waiting.]
His former teammate Xiao Ming also sent a congratulatory message.
Lin Yan chatted with him for a while, and realized that Shi Senming had also mentioned that he would teach him a lesson in the Summer Tournament.
What the hell?
Was he pretending?
Lin Yan replied with an emoji of "three days without a beating, you'll become a troublemaker" in response.
Brainless and Unhappy were still calculating how to split the prize money.
The prize money for this year's MSI champion was 676000 USD. The club would deduct a portion, and the starting players would take the bulk. The after-tax income for Liu Qingsong and Lin Weixiang was estimated to be 300,000 RMB.
It was not a small amount, much higher than the 60,000 RMB Lin Weixiang had received in the Spring Tournament, and was basically equivalent to his annual after-tax salary.
Moreover, the two of them had come to Brazil for a public holiday, so it was a huge profit.
"Brother," Lin Weixiang held the hands of Liu Qingsong, who was two months older than him, tightly, with tears in his eyes. "We're rich now."
"Yes, yes."
Liu Qingsong looked at the calculator on his phone, calculating in his heart, thinking about where to spend the prize money.
He glanced at Lin Yan's flawless, handsome side profile, and had an idea.
By then, the four rounds of the tournament had ended, and the award ceremony had ended. It was almost dawn in China.
Other than the large group of spectators who were attracted by the showdown between SKT and YM, there were also many netizens who had just woken up.
They had seen the news of YM's championship through various channels.
Nowadays, esports competitions were already very popular, and there was no other big news in the morning. The two headlines, "YM Championship" and "RanFMVP", dominated the Weibo hot search list.
Halfway through his meal at the barbeque restaurant, Lin Mingdong sent a message.
It was a congratulatory emoji.
The key was that it was a parody version. Lin Yan felt that it was a little weird.
He said one thing while he was putting away the emoji. [Didn't I tell you to send fewer emojis?]
Lin Mingdong replied quickly. [That's why I only sent one picture.]
Lin Yan quickly typed. [This picture is not good. Don't use it in the future.]
Lin Mingdong sent an understanding emoji, then continued to type.
[Congratulations to you. I also hope that you will not be arrogant and will continue to work hard. Your career can be even more glorious. I look forward to your good results.]
Lin Yan felt that a soft spot in his heart had been hit. [Thank you.]
The conversation between the father and son didn't last long. Lin Mingdong still had to catch a plane today, and he had to start working around the clock again.
Su Cheng was very leisurely. After the midterm exam, she didn't have anything important to do for the next two weeks. She went to class to study professional knowledge during the day, and when she returned to her rented house at night, she would video call Lin Yan.
After YM won the championship, her mood suddenly relaxed. Guo Hao took Lin Yan and the other team members to visit the major tourist attractions in Rio.
Su Cheng, who was on a video call with her boyfriend, treated it as if she was traveling in Rio.
The Jesus statue, the bread mountain, the Rio Cathedral that Lin Weixiang had introduced before … Lin Yan went around.
"Why do I feel that Brazil isn't that fun?"
Su Cheng was a little puzzled. "I wanted to travel there at the time."
"I think it's okay." Lin Yan climbed up the hill and looked into the distance. "Some of the attractions are still very spectacular."
"I'd rather look at your face." Su Cheng twirled her pen with a smile. "Turn the camera. I'll just look at your face."
Lin Yan had never seen such a request.
However, the considerate Lin Yan satisfied Su Cheng.
After staying in Brazil for three days, YM rushed to São Paulo by car, then boarded again. After 35 hours of high-intensity flight, they returned to their motherland.