YM had an extra day of rest after their victory over their First Senior Brother. Their next match was on October 8th, and their opponent was the first seed of the Vietnamese division, GAM.
GAM's chances of qualifying for the next round were not optimistic. After losing to TSM and Samsung in the previous two days, they were currently last in Group A with a score of 0-2. Their chances of qualifying for the next round were slim.
Although YM was cautious against such an opponent, they were not overly nervous. White Crescent and Su Cheng only watched the Vietnamese brothers' match on the night of their victory over TSM.
In the remaining time, YM's coaching staff planned to study their opponents for the quarter-finals.
In a large-scale competition like the International Finals, where time was of the essence, it was necessary to plan ahead.
Other than their Group A, the other three groups had a pretty good chance of qualifying for the next round as well.
Group B's Dragon Ball and RNG were going head to head with each other. Both of them had won all of their matches. Tomorrow, they would be fighting for the title of the top team in the first round of the group. In Group B, IMT from North America and FNC from Europe were unable to win a single match under the strong sniping of the Chinese and Korean teams.
Even the optimistic spectators in the other divisions thought that it would be the same as Group A, where the Chinese and Korean teams would qualify for the next round.
Group C was in a precarious situation. After defeating AHQ on the opening day, WE defeated Baidu Cloud C9 and continued to lead the group. As expected, AHQ also lost twice in a row. The problem lay with C9 and G2, the European and American teams in the same group.
They fought an epic battle and set the record for the largest number of viewers in the world. After all, the platform was used more by the Western players, so they naturally cared more about the teams in their own division.
G2 and C9 did not disappoint. They repeatedly jumped sideways and did sit-ups, turning the match into a turn-based game.
In the end, the two sides battled for 55 minutes with the high ground broken. C9 relied on the female crossdresser Sneaky and SKT's outstanding performance in the team battle to win the match.
Everyone thought that this was a group with similar strengths. Of course, this conclusion excluded AHQ.
As for Group D without a LPL team, the Lightning Wolves that had fought against Han Qixia two years ago could no longer withstand the assimilation of a group of hooligans in their own division. Their former glory could no longer be seen.
They had lost to SKT and MSF consecutively. On the last day of the first cycle in the group, they would be facing the publicly acknowledged weakest team in the group, Fenerbahçe. They could not afford to lose this match.
The LMS region had produced two top 8 teams in the S5 global finals. That year, their results were even more dazzling than the LPL region.
However, in recent years, Lin Yan led a large group of celebrity players to grow rapidly. The LPL region gradually became brighter, while the Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan regions were slowly sinking.
Until this year, the LMS division had yet to obtain their first victory in the group stage of the global finals. This was a humiliation to them.
Without a firewall to block it, the viewers of Wan Wan would be angered to death by the foreigners on the mouse platform every day.
[What are LMS's results now?
0-4？
Why don't they just give up their spot to us Europe? At least we can win LOL matches, much better than them and those North American losers.]
As long as the European viewers mentioned their results, they would definitely drag the North Americans down with them. The grudges between the two sides were even deeper than the grudges between China and Korea.
The North American viewers saw such comments and immediately mocked them. [What the f * ck are you talking about?
Europe's champion G2 can't beat North America's third seed C9. EU < NA!]
[Hahaha, they're in a mixed division and they're giving them 2.5 spots in the main competition. They won't be eliminated 0-12, right?
No way, no way, right?]
[If the LMS division gives up their spot in the main competition to us NA, we'll still be good brothers!]
Whenever Europe and America quarreled, Wan Wan would be whipped like crazy. Now, after every match, Wan Wan would have an intense discussion on their unique Underworld forum, PTT. The action of pressing hard on the keyboard was like carving words on a tombstone.
[F * ck, what's Lightning Wolf trying to do? It's fine if they can't beat MSF, but they can even lose to SKT?]
[This is too crazy. I knew Mimi Egg wasn't reliable. He played like an invisible person in the last match of the Baron. Can we kick him out next season and replace him with this year's Shiyi?]
The Baron battle sounded like slang. According to normal LPL terminology, it was a team battle in the Dragon's Den.
The Lightning Wolf's solo Mimi Egg was famous for controlling the Crocodile to make shocking moves against MSF.
The nine heroes on the field faced each other on both sides of the Dragon's Den. Mimi Egg tried to cut in from the side with his big move, and there were no problems there.
However, MSF's defensive formation was perfect. Their vision around the Dragon's Den was lit up by them, and Mimi Egg's movements were clearly detected by them.
It was extremely difficult for the short-legged Crocodile to cut in. Mimi Egg circled left and right, but he could not find a suitable opportunity.
Mimi Egg did not enter the battle until the Crocodile's big move ended.
Moreover, after leaving the battle, the Crocodile's rage points were slowly decreasing.
In the end, the Crocodile's rage points were reduced to 0. Under the gaze of nearly a million viewers in the stadium and in front of their computer screens, the Crocodile actually made an empty attack!
In the end, MSF took advantage of the opening to start the team battle. Mimi Egg valiantly rushed into the battlefield. However, a toy Crocodile without a big move was as fragile as a piece of paper. It melted within a second after entering the battlefield.
Mimi Egg made an unprecedented empty + 0 damage in the team battle. That night, the orders for Hungry Man and Beauty's group surged, and everyone was starving.
There were also many mainland netizens lurking in PTT. When they saw the comments urging Lightning Wolf to change players, they took the opportunity to sow discord.
[I'm dying of laughter. Why don't you change Fengtang to Shiyi's Ran? I don't dare to say that he can enter the finals, but entering the top four is not difficult. Anyway, for the Lightning Wolf, entering the top four is considered a success.]
Their eccentric comments were deeply twisted, and they immediately quarreled in the forum until the sky and earth were turned upside down.
However, Lin Yan obviously did not know about the forum war on PTT. He rarely slept in. After getting up, he slowly brushed his teeth and washed his face, and then went downstairs to eat lunch with Su Cheng and Jack.
They did not have a match today, so they would stay in the hotel and continue to train with the sparring group. Therefore, they were not in a hurry. The professional players in the sparring group were all night owls. Although they were not as outrageous as Lin Weixiang, the difference was not big. Everyone had to wait until the afternoon to start the training match.
It was lunchtime, and there were a lot of diners in the restaurant. Lin Yan's family of three had to share a table with Hanyi, who had just come downstairs.
Lin Yan put the roast beef and fruit plate in front of him and casually asked Hanyi, "How was your training match with Dragon Ball these past few days?"
"… Not bad." Although Hanyi was about to step down, she was still quite proud when talking about her team. "We only had a 60% win rate."
"60%?" Su Cheng, who had just returned to her seat, was surprised. "That high?"
Hanyi puffed out her chest proudly. "This is nothing. When we just started the training match, our win rate was 80%!"
"Hiss …" Lin Yan sucked in a mouthful of Liangpi in front of him and exclaimed, "Are you sure it was Dragon Ball?"
"Not really." Probably because she had been with Ning Wang for a long time in the past two years, Hanyi now unconsciously spoke with a Northeastern accent. "At that time, Dragon Ball's mentality was completely destroyed by us!"
Lin Yan was silent. He remembered the Dragon Ball version that he had met in the restaurant before the start of the group stage. That morning, Rat King and the little substitute Rascal had been quarreling over a bowl of porridge, making it seem like a bullying incident.
At that time, he had only been a little suspicious. Who would have thought that it was really IG?
A group of evil people!
Hanyi pulled out her phone to show them the results of the training match. "On the afternoon of September 29th, we played seven training matches with Dragon Ball, and they didn't win a single match."
Jack, who was munching on a sauce-flavored biscuit and braised pork, was stunned when he heard this. He leaned over and used his forelegs to look at the training match results in Hanyi's phone.
It was really seven consecutive wins.
"Sigh." Hanyi pretended to sigh heavily. "Now Dragon Ball is like a demon, pulling us to play training matches every day. We can't refuse even if we want to."
Her words were full of pride.
Lin Yan turned his head and saw The Hy grinning wildly. His originally cold aura had disappeared without a trace, and his black hair was messy everywhere. He looked like a Saiyan, and obviously, he hadn't washed his hair.
He, who was barefoot and wearing a pair of slippers, was glued to Broiler. The two of them were talking about some kind of joke in Korean. Meiko, who was at the same table as them and had the title of proficient in Korean, was smiling so much that the corners of her mouth were about to reach the sky.
Next door, Prince Ning's Korean skills were lacking. It was obvious that he couldn't understand the conversation between his two older brothers. He didn't even study hard. Instead, he sat with Bao Lan and West and ate his scrambled eggs.
"If you guys continue to practice like this, won't Dragon Ball become a big boss?" Lin Yan suddenly felt a little regretful.
According to Hanyi, IG's winning rate in the first few days of training matches was extremely high, but when the first round of group matches was about to end, their winning rate was only 60%.
Lin Yan had played against this IG team before, and he knew how frightening it was to have a team of mad dogs that didn't have any pressure and let themselves loose.
Originally, when the boorish guys were fighting alone, it would be suicide if they went head to head, but if three boorish guys went head to head at the same time, the strength they could burst out with was enough to change the situation.
It had to be known that YM and IG's winning rate in the training match was only 55%. If they continued to practice, wouldn't Dragon Ball take off?
In the afternoon, YM and IG had an unprecedented BO3 training match.
It was still a familiar feeling. IG mainly focused on the top half, relying on the three boorish guys in the mid, top, and jungle to forcefully control YM, destroying the mid, top, and jungle coordination that YM had focused on in this version, forcing them to focus more on the bottom lane.
But in the current version, the benefits and cost-effectiveness of helping the bottom lane in the early stages weren't high. In addition, the Canyon Vanguard, which had the biggest impact on the situation, was in the top half. Letting go of the Vanguard meant giving up a defense tower by default.
Once the tower pushing snowball started rolling, it would give The Sh or Broiler too much of an economic advantage, and YM wouldn't be able to withstand it at all.
Because it was a training match, there was no need to push to the last base. Basically, the game could be declared over after 20 minutes or so.
This BO3 training match took nearly an hour and a half, and YM finally lost with a score of 1: 2.
It wasn't time for dinner yet. White Crescent first used the projector to replay the training match video for everyone to review and find some flaws in the details.
"No, we can't beat them like this." Lin Yan looked at the video review and was still full of resentment. "If we don't fight in the top half in the early stages, we can only give up on the Vanguard and so on. The economic gap is too big."
White Crescent also frowned. "IG, a team that mainly focuses on the top half, is too popular now. They are basically invincible in the training match."
"What if we take the top lane heroes?"
Su Cheng took a different approach and put forward her own idea. "What I mean is to lower the priority of the bottom lane in the BP and give the top, middle, and jungle priority to choose the lineup that has an early advantage."
"We use the BP replacement to increase the strength of the top, middle, and jungle. As long as we get through the early stages, IG's ADC will be given away in the team battle," she said seriously.
"That's a way." White Crescent pondered for two seconds and recorded the idea in her notebook. "Lin Yan, try to use more Lulu and Karma. These heroes' early combat power is still guaranteed."
Lin Yan nodded to show that he understood.
This deformed version of Censer was forcing the midlaner to change, especially when facing teams like Dragon Ball and IG that used the top, middle, and jungle as the core of the offense. He could only adapt to the team's playstyle and overall tactics and choose some functional heroes that did not do any damage in the later stages.
The change from the output type in the first half of the summer competition to the support type in the second half and even in the international competition made many midlaners feel very uncomfortable. They felt that it was very difficult for them to adapt.
However, Lin Yan did not care. He was more adaptable to the version. When he advanced, he could use the yellow chicken Kassadin as a late game core, and when he retreated, he could use Karma and Lulu as tools for his teammates.
These tools were midlaners. In the early stages, they could control the lane and lock the opponent. This was very important for the top, middle, and jungle in the early stages.
Moreover, they did not consume the team's resources in the middle and late stages. They could give the minions and kills to their teammates who needed more development.
Lin Yan was eager to play as a tool. He had not used Titan in a long time.
After the review, the sky outside the window was getting dark. Since there were matches between WE and G2 and RNG and Dragon Ball, they did not want to go to the hotel restaurant for dinner.
They simply ordered a lot of barbecue. The group of people huddled in the lounge and projected the live broadcast of the competition on the big screen.
During dinner time, the first match in Group C was the match between WE and G2.
Lin Yan thought that WE was in good condition. After all, even with Karma's dark circles, they still crushed AHQ and C9.
Many of WE's players and fans thought so too. They felt that WE was invincible in the group. Their original goal before the match was to advance in the group, but now they dared to dream.
Advance?
Their goal was to win six consecutive matches in the group stage!
Many people thought that there was no suspense in this group stage. WE, who was in good condition, would definitely win against G2.
However, the direction of the match was completely different from what they expected.
Just like the team building at Wuhan's East Lake Beach before the match, WE played like a plate of loose sand.
After two consecutive victories, Karma was a little indulgent. Today, his dark circles were particularly eye-catching, and he played with more vigor.
He had even chosen Azriel as his successor.
Yellow Hair was indeed the son of Fist. Even though no one used him as an ADC in Censer, a version that relied heavily on normal attacks, someone still managed to develop EZ as a jungler.
When Ezreal had the red buff in the early stages of the game, he was the strongest jungler in the current version of the game.
With his E [Arcane Transition] and his talent [Storm Rider's Frenzy], EZ had unparalleled kiting ability in the jungle.
Princes, Wine Barrel, Pig Sis, and even Excavator, the four strongest junglers in the version of the game, couldn't even touch EZ. They had nowhere to vent their lust and could only be shot by the milky white arcane energy in Yellow Hair's gloves.
In the later stages of the team battle, EZ could be his archer. Although the effect of his combination with Censer wasn't as good as pure offensive heroes like Dusk and Little Pao, he was at least an ADC and could enjoy the bonus effect of Censer.
It looked good, but the disadvantages of EZ as a jungler were quite obvious.
First of all, it was difficult for him to initiate a gank when he didn't have the red buff. He was basically an invisible person in the jungle. Second, he couldn't provide stability and control for the team. In this version of the game, the junglers were all Slag Giants. Choosing EZ as a jungler would put pressure on his teammates.
This hero appeared more often in the group stage and had a good win rate. The main reason was that the strength gap between the teams in the group stage was too big. EZ was very suitable for those strong teams to quickly roll a snowball.
However, when it came to a real battle like the group stage, EZ wasn't as strong as he looked.
To put it simply, he was a noob jungler.
Lin Yan didn't know if Kandi really thought G2 was a piece of cake before the game, but the level they showed on the field was indeed like a pig being raised by their opponents.
After losing to Baidu Yun, G2, who had been in a desperate situation, finally showed their strength.
Ah P's Sindra controlled the lead and frequently harassed Kandi in the jungle. Without the red buff, EZ was a toothless lion and wasn't a threat at all.
Lin Yan was eating lamb skewers and watching EZ being chased to the ends of the earth. Under the camera, Perkz was grinning happily.
"Aren't they underestimating their opponents too much?"
Liu Qingsong licked the barbecue powder on his lips and then picked up a chicken wing to continue eating. "WE will definitely lose this time."
A qualified professional player watching the game from God's perspective was a spoiler. Liu Qingsong was an extremely sensitive support and had a strong grasp of the overall situation. He could see WE's decline at a glance.
Although G2 was a popular civil war team in recent years, they habitually pulled down when it came to the international competition. They looked similar to EDG's degenerate version. After all, although Electric Bao wasn't good in external battles, it was more than enough to stay in the top 8. On the other hand, G2 didn't even make it out of the group stage last year. However, they were obviously prepared today and their tactical arrangement was especially targeted. G2's coaching team had probably studied it for a long time.
The game went on for 30 minutes and the rhythm gradually shifted to the later stages. The Dragon and the Primordial Dragon that was about to respawn were neutral resources that teams had to compete for.
WE's formation was exposed even more thoroughly. The existence of the jungler Ezreal forced 957 to defend the front row. The big bug he controlled was like an old hen protecting the four chicks behind it.
However, there was nothing they could do. After 957 was blown up by G2's jungler Wine Barrel, WE's formation was wide open. The four backline players were exposed to the ferocious eagle that was G2!
In the team battle, one for five. G2 decisively teleported the Cannon Carrier and flattened WE's base Crystal!
The moment they won the match, Ah P smiled like an innocent child.
The audience sighed in disappointment. They had thought that they would be able to continue their undefeated record today.
Without YM, they could only place their hopes on RNG who was about to appear.
However, even RNG's hardcore fans felt that the team's chances of winning were not high. They were about to face the LCK Summer Champions, Longzhu, who had defeated SKT for the first time in the Pro League finals!
Before the start of S7, when the Rat Channel commentators ranked the strength of the international teams, 77% of them ranked Longzhu as one of the top two teams in the world. Longzhu was even called by the Korean commentators as the team that could break YM's dominance.
On the other hand, RNG was just an ordinary LPL second seed. Many people thought that they could enter the top four, but they did not think that RNG could go any further.
YM's takeout barbecue was not finished yet. The main reason was that the original main force of the team, Lin Weixiang, was not moving.
He was brainless and still thinking about losing weight. Even though he would jog for five kilometers every night, if he did not control his diet, losing weight would be a difficult task.
Lin Weixiang did not eat much. Jack was like Ye Gu Cheng without Ximen Chuixue, or Jerry without Tom. He had become YM's strongest glutton, but because of that, he had lost his appetite.
Today's main battle, RNG versus LZ, had finally begun.
Ever since Khan's Jess destroyed SKT in the LCK finals, everyone's consensus was to buy a house for this upper-class gentleman. Iron Head Baby FireFox did the same.
The BP game between him and Jin Jingzhu was quite exciting. White Crescent sat on the chair and watched attentively. From time to time, she would discuss with the team members beside her if there were any alternatives.
The whole process of the match was even more exciting. Dragon Ball relied on the strength of the top, middle, and jungle to almost crush RNG. LETME was suppressed by 50 attacks, a defense tower, and two kills in 15 minutes. Khan's economy was close to two thousand.
Whether it was the live audience or the YM players sitting in the hotel lounge, looking at the team's economic advantage, which was as high as 5K, they all felt that RNG's momentum was over.
The audience at the Wuhan Sports Center was almost frozen.
After two days of smooth sailing, LPL finally encountered a strong sniper.
The match on the screen was still going on. Just as the audience was about to lose all hope, Ouze's mouse finally stood up.
He focused on developing and eating, and with the help of Saucepan's hunger strike style, he obtained the Endless Hurricane attack shoes in 18 minutes. Then, he brought Xiao Ming and started to steal men …
Khan, who was too deep in the lane, was killed twice by the stealthy Ouze. Dragon Ball's rhythm was instantly interrupted.
Then, RNG, under the leadership of Spicy Saucepan, launched a desperate counterattack!
Princes took the lead and directly started the team. Fall of the Heavens and Earth covered the Xuanming Elders, providing the perfect environment for Ouze to attack.
Amidst the screams of the audience, Ouze went all out. Crossbow bolts wildly pierced through the bodies of Dragon Ball's players!
Xiao Hu and LETME also joined the battle. Their goal was very clear. They used their bodies to tank Dragon Ball's damage, allowing Ouze to safely deal high damage!
Mouse King Pray was already doing his best to protect his damage, but compared to Ouze who was eating, his damage was still a lot worse.
"3 for 3!
RNG played a beautiful team battle at the crucial moment! "Mille on the commentary platform clenched his fists and roared.
After a long silence, the audience finally saw RNG's counterattack. They suddenly burst into even louder cheers!
RNG's star player, Ouze, once again obtained two kills. At the 24 minute mark, he took out the Infinity Edge!
The speed at which this equipment was formed was much faster than Mouse King. He was even the player with the most luxurious equipment in the game.
Dragon Ball finally realized where the problem was. Their damage output in the team battle could not keep up!
In the hotel's lounge, YM put down the barbecue in their hands. Lin Yan looked at the team battle on the screen with a serious expression.
Ouze seemed to have a special way of dealing with Pray. It was as if he had some kind of magic in the dark.
In this team battle, after his mouse activated its big move, it shot fiercely. Using the penetrating splash effect of the crossbow bolts, it actually killed Mouse King.
Dragon Ball, who had lost their archer, was defeated in the team battle. Their formation instantly collapsed.
RNG actually made another 2 for 4!
They even took down a Dragon. Now the economy of both sides was on the same line again!
Mouse King's economy could no longer keep up with Ouze's expansion. In a version that relied heavily on ADCs to deal damage, Mouse King's disadvantage was equivalent to the entire team's disadvantage!
At the 33 minute mark, RNG and the opponent engaged in a Fire Dragon battle again. They successfully made a 3 for 5!
Dragon Ball was wiped out. RNG even took the opportunity to break through two lanes of high ground!
The audience was completely excited. They now realized that RNG was really going to make a comeback!
At the 38 minute mark, Ouze's mouse went invisible and found Mouse King's whereabouts alone. After activating its big move, it was sent back to the spring with four arrows!
RNG successfully defeated the Dragon and Primordial Dragon with numbers. Twin Dragons rushed to Dragon Ball's high ground.
Under the camera, Ouze's face was flushed red. He loudly ordered his teammates to protect him. RNG hugged the mouse and started the team battle again!
At this moment, Khan had the advantage of positioning, but the problem was that he had no way of killing Ouze. In a team battle, the six-god-equipped mouse was undoubtedly the most terrifying DPS machine on the battlefield!
Ouze finished off with four kills, leading RNG to win the team battle and flattening the opponent's base!
"RNG made a shocking comeback!"
Doll couldn't help but shout. "They gave Dragon Ball their first loss in the global finals!"
"They are now at the top of the group. Three LPL teams, three first place teams!" Mille couldn't suppress his excitement.
The YM members who were still in the hotel sighed with emotion at RNG's strong resilience. They faintly felt that something was wrong.
The opponents in the knockout round were not weak, but upon closer inspection, they felt that there was something strange about it.
What was the problem?
Lin Yan frowned and fell into deep thought.