BDD took off his headphones. There was a hint of sadness in his eyes that could not be erased.
A clean sweep.
A month ago, if someone had said that he would be swept to the top eight in the first global finals, BDD would have laughed the entire night.
They were the first seed in the LCK division. How could they be defeated in the top eight?
'Are you f * cking kidding me?
'Do you think our Dragon Ball is EDG?'
However, the noise that resounded throughout the stadium pulled him back to the real world. The tens of thousands of spectators around him stood up and applauded enthusiastically. Anyone who heard the cheers could not help but feel emotional. However, these applause and cheers were not for him.
BDD and Dragon Ball's first global finals journey had ended.
After shaking hands with the five YM players, who were full of joy, BDD rolled up the keyboard cable and wrapped his mouse with a mousepad.
He took big strides as he wanted to leave this sad place as soon as possible. However, before he left, he glanced at Cuzz who was rolling up the keyboard and shook his head as if he was lamenting about something.
The camera recorded everything. The domestic audience was greatly influenced by e-sports forums such as Carrying the Pot and Resisting Pressure. They had trained a pair of discerning eyes. Their vision was comparable to Leeuwenhoek's with a microscope, and their imagination was comparable to Aunt Qiong Yao's.
That gaze instantly made them excited.
[BDD: I'm looking at you, you noob.]
[The pot calling the kettle black, right?
Sindra was defeated by Lulu in the second round, and you still think it's reasonable?]
[If BDD took fifty steps, Cuzz must have run a marathon, right?
I've never seen such an outrageous jungler in an elimination round. Even Ancestor Saiwen is better at it than ICU!]
At that time, the five YM players had left Dragon Ball's seat. They went to the center of the stage and bowed to the audience in Guangzhou Stadium.
When the fans saw that their team won easily, they were ecstatic for a while. However, they soon lost interest as if they had entered sage mode.
It was too fast.
The total duration of the competition was less than one and a half hours. Including the intermission and the opening ceremony, it was only two hours.
It was not even six o 'clock in the evening. The sun in Guangzhou had not set yet, but Dragon Ball was already eliminated.
Many spectators drove here from around Guangzhou, and these two hours were not enough for them to drive home. They originally thought that it would be a strong showdown between the LPL and LCK1 seeds, but they did not expect that the dragon ball would be a useless piece of silver-like spear.
Could the dragon balls be a little more forceful?
Some of the audience members did not want to see YM leave the stage, but this was not a concert. They could ask Encore to return.
They could only use all their remaining strength to let the players in the center of the stage feel their passion.
Lin Ran felt as if his ears were being blocked by the clamor from the spectator stands. The cacophony of musical notes swarmed into his mind.
Even after he left the stage with his teammates, the noise didn't seem to weaken.
"This is too noisy. I can't stand it!" Liu Qingsong raised his voice to let his teammates hear him.
The cheers echoed, and he even felt that his ears were ringing.
"Liu Qingsong, stay back for a while. There's a post-match interview!" Winston, who was waiting backstage, took out a microphone and handed it to The Torn Wound.
Liu Qingsong couldn't take it anymore. Looking at the enthusiasm, the audience in the stands could swallow him alive.
However, it was not good for him to disobey the official interview arrangement of Fist, so he could only take the microphone and follow Ren Dong onto the stage.
"Today's interviewee was very unsuitable. Fortunately, I had the foresight to let The Torn Wound be the MVP of this elimination round." Lin Yan was very satisfied. This kind of situation had to be let Liu Qingsong go up. He still wanted to keep his ears for use.
"I really didn't expect you to say something like that." Phyllostachys Pubescens had a look of disdain. "I was thinking that your performance today was so-so. What do you mean by letting The Torn Wound be the MVP?
You can't beat him. "
Jack also nodded in agreement with his jungler. "It's hard not to support it."
"You can't say that …" Lin Yan disagreed with Mongoose's words.
The group of people went backstage and returned to YM's lounge. White Crescent, Guo Hao, and the others were already celebrating their victory.
"You played really well today. You're amazing."
Su Cheng hugged her boyfriend with a smile, then handed him a paper cup filled with water. She also stuffed the peripherals in Lin Yan's hands into her backpack.
Lin Yan glanced at Mongoose. Did you see that?
Phyllostachys Pubescens was full of question marks. "Sister Su, your fan filter is a little serious."
However, as soon as the words left his mouth, he felt a little sour in his mouth. Why didn't anyone praise him?
Mongoose turned his gaze to his silent old father.
"Brother Xiba, how was my performance today?"
Jin Gong pondered for two seconds. "Stupid jungler, I can't believe you played like trash."
Xiao Tian was speechless.
On the TV in the lounge, Liu Qingsong stood on the stage with a cautious expression, holding the microphone.
The host, Ren Dong, who often went on stage to see big scenes, looked much more at ease.
"Let's welcome contestant Crisp to our post-match interview …" As Ren Dong spoke, the director listed Liu Qingsong's data on the big screen.
Soul Lock Warden Hammer Stone 2017, Sunshine Girl Leona 4010, Rice Steaming Robot Britz 119.
A total of seven kills, one death, 36 assists, and a KDA of 43. He was successfully selected as the MVP of the quarterfinals between YM and Dragon Ball.
[These data are f * cking ridiculous!]
[To be honest, this support is really unique.]
[KDA 43?
777777 happens to be 43. This alms bowl, this alms bowl has its own meaning in the unseen world!]
"Today, YM cleanly eliminated the LCK summer champion, Dragon Ball. What does Crisp say about his opponent?" Ren Dong turned his head to look at the torn wound.
Liu Qingsong licked his lips, still a little nervous. Without any soundproofing equipment, the cheers in the stadium easily entered his ears.
"Well …" Liu Qingsong chose his words carefully before saying, "It's not that we played well, it's that the opponent didn't play well."
Ren Dong raised his eyebrows when he heard this. The audience in the stands screamed excitedly.
[Crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy!]
[He's getting cocky.]
[What's wrong with him? Why isn't Cuzz retired yet?]
[Dragon Ball can beat SKT with such a noob. I don't need to say who the champion is this year, right?]
"The opponent didn't restrict us. The jungler and I have more room to play, and we can roam around to provide support," Liu Qingsong said honestly.
Ren Dong, who was shocked by his last sentence, calmed himself down. "By winning this match, YM has entered the semifinals for the second year in a row. This is also the second team after SKT to achieve this great achievement. What does Crisp have to say about this?"
Liu Qingsong licked his lips out of habit.
"Is there something wrong with this guy?"
Phyllostachys Pubescens took advantage of Liu Qingsong's absence to mock him. "Licking your lips as if you're shaking your head before speaking?"
"Hahahahaha …" Lin Weixiang burst into laughter.
On the screen, Liu Qingsong thought of his words and said, "I don't think it's a big deal. After the next match, we'll tie SKT's record of entering the finals of the S Tournament for the second year in a row."
The bullet screen reacted quickly. They understood Liu Qingsong's subtext. They wanted to snipe the Double Champion SKT in the semifinals!
[Oh my god, he's done being arrogant.]
[Don't ask Brother Ran for an interview next time. Just watch Liu Qingsong be arrogant.]
[Brother Ran really can't do it. Last year he spoke a lot of dirty words. This year he's too restrained.]
[If you become the number one player in the league, you should restrain yourself too. Faker also spoke a lot of dirty words when he first debuted. Look at him now, other than the D flash team, what else can he say?]
The live audience's reaction was just as intense. Their cheers, which had just stopped, expanded once again. Liu Qingsong pursed his lips and regretted saying such dirty words. He felt that his ears were about to explode.
After hastily answering Ren Dong's question, Liu Qingsong quickly returned to the team's lounge. He was met with a punch from Phyllostachys Pubescens.
"What are you trying to do?
Raising a flag, right? "Mongoose took the opportunity to avenge his personal grudge." If you lose in the semifinals, you'll be f * cked! "
It was rare that Liu Qingsong did not retort. He did not take Xiao Tian's words to heart at all.
They were only one step away from the finals. Was it not reasonable to set a small goal?
They were already in the top four. They could not say that they had succeeded.
A group of people packed up their peripherals and filed out to participate in the post-match interview.
This kind of routine interview was a great opportunity for the winning team to say dirty words. For the losing team, it was no doubt a flogging of the corpse.
There was only one round of the top eight in a day. YM and Longzhu were being interviewed by the media at the same time. The backstage space was not big, and the post-match interview rooms of the two teams were closely connected.
"Wait for me here for a while," Lin Yan said gently to his girlfriend. "I'll be back in half an hour."
He patted Su Cheng's head and followed his teammates into the interview room.
As soon as he sat down, he heard the reporters whispering. Although this group of people did not run as fast as the Hong Kong reporters, they were still very well-informed.
"Cuzz is crying?" He was a little surprised.
"I heard that he was scolded to tears by the Korean media. They almost made him kneel and apologize on the spot."
A Play Esports reporter said with a smile. He was still sorting out the questions he would ask YM on his computer.
"Tsk, how cruel." The Team Fortress reporter next to him sneered. He obviously looked down on the Korean media.
"Forget it," the CCTV reporter said disdainfully. "If our LPL jungler played like Cuzz today, wouldn't you arrange a retirement ceremony on the spot?"
Lin Yan glanced at his CCTV work pass and knew that he was a reporter for the CCTV documentary "Esports in China."
CCTV was a very famous brand in the esports field. Although CCTV's standards had become more and more mixed, it was still a mainstream traditional media. Its status was much higher than Play Esports and Team Fortress.
Lin Yan straightened his back and held the microphone, ready to accept the interview in his best state.
The CCTV reporter was the first to ask a question. "First of all, congratulations to YM for winning the quarterfinals. Specifically, I want to ask the Ran players, what do you think of the performance of Dragon Ball today?"
This question seemed similar to Ren Dong's interview with Liu Qingsong on stage, but Lin Yan knew that the other party definitely did not want to hear something like "it's the other side that can't play well."
He thought for a moment. "This game is not so much about our individual strength as it is about the difference in understanding the version."
"In the five-week-long global finals, although the version has not changed, everyone's understanding of the version has kept pace with the times. From the qualifiers to the group stage, and then to the knockout round, every stage and every week, the teams will try new systems, put forward new ideas, and think about solutions. Therefore, the strong heroes that prevailed in the first half of the World Championship may not necessarily be applicable in the knockout round …"
"I think Dragon Ball is still trapped in the old way of thinking. Not only did they not improve in the entire World Championship, but their strength has deteriorated a lot because of the more abnormal playing style," Lin Yan's calm and peaceful voice passed through the microphone to every corner of the room. "Unless the World Championship version is tailor-made for Dragon Ball, their strength will inevitably be greatly reduced compared to the league."
The CCTV reporter listened while typing on his laptop. The camera next to him recorded Lin Yan's face and words.
Xiao Tian covered the microphone with his hand, turned sideways, and whispered, "So, is IG a great merit?"
"That's right, it's at least 13 merit points, right?" Jack replied in all seriousness.
Everyone knew very well that Dragon Ball's previous playing style was not as extreme as today's performance. They still liked to go to the jungle and tie up with Cuzz.
But after a month of training with IG, Dragon Ball's brain seemed to have been taken over by IG. Except for a few waves of support in the early stages, the two solo lanes in the mid and top lane spent the rest of the time trying to play match-up suppression.
Obviously, because of the poor performance in the training competition against IG, Dragon Ball's thinking gradually became distorted. He stole IG's way of winning the game and changed his style to focus on match-up.
But Dragon Ball was not IG after all. IG was the only team in the entire Alliance that gathered all the geniuses together and then allowed them to play freely.
Dragon Ball's approach was tantamount to imitating others. Not only did it not have a positive effect, but it also put them in a dilemma.
They could not learn match-up suppression, and they had forgotten the previous combination of top, mid, and jungle.
Moreover, this kind of match-up suppression play style was easy to be attacked by YM's many people one by one. Logically speaking, the best way to deal with this kind of match-up suppression play style was to rely on the mid or bottom lane to gain control of the lane.
As long as the mid or support could roam, this kind of match-up suppression play style would be useless. Crazy suppression would quickly turn into daring to grab and daring to kill.
It just so happened that they ran into YM, who used hard support to roam. It was completely reasonable for Dragon Ball to be swept away. Their style was too miserably restrained.
Lin Yan felt that if Dragon Ball did not change his playing style, they could still cause a lot of trouble for him if they followed the tactical system of the top, mid, and jungle in the league.
Although Dragon Ball habitually did not give the economic advantage to Rat King, which made it easy for them to turn the tables in the later stages, the situation would undoubtedly become more anxious.
It was all thanks to IG!
Other than thanking the IG team members, the rest was the IG management.
Hanyi, who was in charge of the training competition, made a great contribution. Manager Su, who was in charge of ordering first, was also worthy of respect. Thank you, Su Xiaoluo!
The interview seats where the YM team members were sitting were filled with laughter. The reporters below the stage looked at each other, not knowing what had made this group of celebrity players laugh.
The next two questions were directed at Liu Qingsong. Today, Hammer Stone, Leona, and Robot's three choices were undoubtedly beyond their knowledge of the version.
This was especially the case for War Zeal Leona, who was the focus of the reporters' questions. This was definitely a hot topic. After the competition, this topic would be able to reach the top five trending topics on Weibo. Even YM's Super Topic was dominated by this topic.
Although he was besieged by reporters, Liu Qingsong was not a leaky spoon. He did not leak any information about YM's tactics. He used the same words to repeat the two sentences back and forth.
After half an hour of interview time, Lin Yan successfully escaped. He took his bag from his girlfriend and left Guangzhou Stadium.
To everyone's surprise, there were still many spectators waiting outside the stadium. The moment they saw the YM team members appear in their field of vision, they waved the YM support items in their hands, their faces filled with excitement.
It looked like they would not be able to leave anytime soon.
Lin Yan and his teammates waited in place for the car to drive out. Since they had nothing to do, they chatted with the spectators next to them.
He was originally wondering why the spectators were waiting outside, but after chatting, he realized that the tickets had already been sold out by the scalpers. Many people did not want to buy the expensive tickets, so they could only wait outside to watch the live broadcast on the stadium's big screen.
Yesterday, the furthest tickets for WE vs Samsung's match were priced at 600 RMB. Today, the price of tickets for YM vs Longzhu was even higher. The scalpers also knew that YM's fan base was extremely high, so they did not have to worry about not having enough people to buy the tickets.
The ticket price for the peak area was as high as 1200 RMB, and the ticket price for the inner stadium was even higher than 3K RMB. This was ten times higher than the official ticket price!
"The scalpers are really disgusting. I'm going to vomit!" Mongoose defended the injustice. He looked like he hated the scalpers.
Many spectators next to him echoed, "That's right, that's right. And there's also that disgusting thing called barley …"
Phyllostachys Pubescens gnashed his teeth in anger. It looked like only by eating the scalpers' flesh and drinking their blood could he quell the anger in his heart. "The scalpers made almost a year of my salary from selling the tickets. Who can I find to reason with?"
The YM members on the side turned their heads away, pretending that they were not familiar with Phyllostachys Pubescens.
At this time, Longzhu's post-match interview had also ended. They also appeared from the exit tunnel. Jin Jingzhu, whose body was very eye-catching, walked at the front. He wore a black suit and looked like a fat Emperor penguin.
The distance between the two teams was not far. Lin Yan could even see that Cuzz's eyes were red. He was being comforted by Khan, Rat King, and Gera as he walked towards the parking lot.
Unlike YM who was enjoying the victory, not many people noticed the departure of the losers.
Five minutes later, the bus with the logo of the Fist Game headed west.
The bus gradually merged into the blood-red sun that had not yet dissipated on the horizon, as if it was sending Longzhu off.
At this time, five BMW SUVs with the YM team logo slowly drove out of the parking lot. Lin Yan waved goodbye to the audience.
Driving away from the audience and onto the main road, Lin Yan looked down at his phone, letting the Guangzhou Stadium in the corner of his eye quickly recede until it disappeared from his sight.
Compared to the Wuhan Sports Center, this stadium did not leave many memories in his heart.
After dealing with the congratulatory messages from Lin Mingdong and the others on WeChat, Lin Yan took advantage of the traffic jam to open the e-sports forum and continue to surf.
In addition to Liu Qingsong's strange support, the worst content on the forum was Longzhu's terrible performance.
Cuzz's terrible play was the first to bear the brunt.
[Frame by frame analysis, how ridiculous is this ICU jungler?]
[Shocking!
Following Old Savin's S6 Carrion Style, Spicy Saucepan's S7 Hunger Style, Longzhu jungler Cuzz actually created a new jungler style – Cerebral Hemorrhage Style!
Not only will his teammates have cerebral hemorrhage, but even his opponents and audience will be sent to the ICU!]
[How do you evaluate Longzhu jungler Cuzz's performance in the 2017 League of Legends Global Finals?
In the first game, Rexey's record was 0/80, 2200 damage; in the second game, Wine Barrel's record was 0/60, 2800 damage; in the third game, Wine Barrel's record was 0/61, 2777 damage. In total, 0 kills, 20 deaths, 1 assist, KDA as high as 0.05, total damage 7777!]
Lin Yan was shocked by Cuzz's data. Was a KDA 0.05 really something that could be achieved by a human?
Throwing a handful of rice on the keyboard, even a chicken was better than Cuzz!
Then he experienced what it was like to be a Cerebral Hemorrhage Style jungler. He didn't even need to play a game. If there was a jungler who could play with this kind of data in ranked matches, there wouldn't be enough of him.
The domestic e-sports forum launched round after round of humiliation on Cuzz. It was said that many people wanted to play professionally after seeing Cuzz's performance.
0201's jungler can play professionally and even win the championship in LCK. I'm really good at it!
If China's attitude toward Cuzz was to ridicule and humiliate him, then Korea's attitude toward this Thousand Points King jungler who had appeared out of nowhere and reached the top of the Korean server was endless malice.
Rat King and Gera's seniority in Korea's LOL e-sports circle was frightening. Other than Sect Leader An, there were almost no active players who could challenge them. Moreover, the Xuanming Elders' performance in the World Championship could only be said to be average.
Korea naturally had a layer of filter for these kinds of senior players. That was the case for Madlife, who was known as the God of Support. In their eyes, Longzhu's bottom lane was naturally not a problem.
Khan's top lane had a very small problem. Other than frequently being caught, there were no other flaws. Naturally, the Korean audience would not target him.
Midlaner BDD was also considered a genius. In their eyes, the problem was even smaller. After Lin Yan defeated Faker several times in a row, he had gained a lot of fans in Korea. In their eyes, Lin Yan was an opponent that even Xiang He could not defeat. Why would they expect a newbie midlaner to do more?
Cuzz, who had broken the KDA record in reverse, naturally became the target of public criticism.
The Korean forum did not stop insulting him. They thought that he was dragging Longzhu's progress down. The netizens even borrowed the ICU jungler's joke from China's Tieba.
[If Cuzz's goal this year is for Longzhu to win the World Championship, then why don't you give your position to Score so that Longzhu can really have a chance to win the championship?]
The Korean netizens were also good at being sarcastic. In this regard, Weihai's jungler Xiao Tian, who was just across the sea from them, was from the same school. At the same time, these people also planned to collect money to send razor blades and dead rats to Cuzz, bringing online violence to the three-dimensional world.
In an instant, Cuzz was in deep trouble.
"Look up!" Guo Hao, who was sitting in the front row, suddenly shouted.
Lin Yan looked up. It was Liude Bridge.
From Guangzhou Stadium to their hotel, they had to cross this bridge. He had passed it a few times during rehearsals in the past two days, so he did not find it strange.
However, Liude Bridge was different now.
The bridge tower was like a giant shell rising from the river, standing tall on the Pearl River.
The bridge tower was dyed black and red by the lights, and the words "League of Legends Global Finals, YM Go" were written on it.
Under the light, the bridge tower shone brightly. In the distance, Guangzhou Tower's slender waist was particularly eye-catching in the evening.
Needless to say, this was a joint effort between Fist China and Teng Jing.
"Wow …" The bridge itself was spectacular. When the crowd saw their team's name appear on the magnificent structure, they were indescribably excited.
Lin Yan took out his phone and took two photos as souvenirs.
"Liude Bridge cheered for WE yesterday … What a pity." Guo Hao sighed softly.
"The day after tomorrow will depend on RNG. They won't fall in the quarterfinals like Longzhu, right?"
October 21st, SKT versus C9.
No one thought that this would be a close match. The only highlight of the match was the battle between SKT's champion, Impact, and SKT's new top laner, Huni.
Huni was slightly inexperienced in front of Big Wood. In the first match, he was soloed once. In the end, he had to rely on Faker Galio's heaven-defying fate to win the match.
The following matches were similar. SKT either relied on Faker or Bang Bang. Even if they were at a disadvantage in the early stages, they would be able to fight back in the later stages.
"3: 1, congratulations to SKT!"
Oxygen Tank Hao Kai was out of breath. "Their next opponent is YM from our division!"
With the three semifinals confirmed, there was only one match left.
October 22nd, Guangzhou's sky was clear and boundless. Combined with the deep autumn sky, it looked extremely deep.
RNG would be facing the second seed of the European division, MSF!
Guangzhou Stadium was once again filled with people. The audience jostled their shoulders as they entered the stadium, waiting to see who would get the last ticket to the semifinals!