"Ah?" Jack's first reaction when he heard this was that he had been kicked.
But on second thought, he had just won the MVP yesterday, and his performance was not bad. There was no reason for him to not be allowed to play in the knockout round!
"Could it be …" Lin Weixiang's face lit up. "Is this for real?"
Could he, as a nominal substitute, really play in the competition?
Red Mi was still mumbling something, and Jiang Chenglu had not translated it yet. Lin Weixiang was quite pleased with himself.
"Aiya, I'm a starter in the secondary league, why am I in MSI …"
He had just opened his hands, and before he could fill his cup, he heard Jiang Chenglu's translation.
"Jack, delete all your friends in your European server account, and don't add anyone for the next two days. No one can get your friend list."
Shiba Inu immediately stood up when he heard this.
How was he trying to kick him out of the starting lineup? He was obviously trying to cause trouble!
"What about me?" Lin Weixiang heard this, and the little flame of hope in his heart was instantly extinguished.
"You …" Red Mi did not know what to say, but he did not want to hurt his teammate's confidence, so he could only say, "You also have a chance."
Lin Weixiang let out a sigh of relief.
Although the Internet said that he was only in Europe for a vacation, and even Lin Weixiang himself thought so before he left.
But when it came to the competition, Lin Weixiang could only sit in the backstage lounge and watch his teammates fight.
It would be a lie to say that he was not envious.
Ever since he won the S7 championship, Lin Weixiang relied on the prize money from the competition, and the skyrocketing advertising income from the live broadcast room to have more money than before.
If he added in the bonus from the VN champion's skin, even if he did not achieve financial freedom, he was not short of money.
Now that he had achieved his financial goal, Lin Weixiang was naturally pursuing personal achievements.
He also wanted to play in MSI this time.
"Jack, this is your EZ record, right?" Red Mi put the screenshot of the record on the big screen in the lounge.
Everyone saw a row of blonde portraits. The earliest European server ranking record was on the 10th of May, but there were only two matches, so it was probably routine.
Jack's EZ ranking record began to rise crazily after he lost to Dragon Ball in the first round of the group stage.
At first, everyone in the training room was laughing, because the results were too horrible to look at. The numbers were close to super ghost like 07 or 18. If others saw it, they would think that it was an actor.
However, as Red Rice scrolled up the screenshots, the time for the qualifiers was approaching. Everyone saw with their own eyes that the results had changed from a single red page to a mix of red and green, and the results were getting better and better.
"You've practiced EZ 39 times in 5 days." Red Rice stopped moving the mouse and said with praise, "Not bad."
Everyone saw this effort. A few days ago, on the day of the competition, Jack sat in front of the computer in the backstage lounge and began to practice ranking after the competition. He raced against time to improve his hero proficiency.
Thirty-nine EZ matches in five days. This amount of training was already very exaggerated.
Since it was not the off-season, the players still had training matches and official missions every day. On average, there were close to eight EZ ranking matches a day. Even Red Rice, who had strict requirements for the players' training, could not help but praise them.
After all, there was no other Time Assassin in the world who could dance hot and spicy, and Jack did not have the magical ability to backtrack time and space repeatedly for 50 training matches a night.
"Of course." Shiba Inu, who had worked hard these days, accepted Red Rice's praise. His claws were almost dancing in the air. "My ability to practice heroes is obvious to all, okay?"
The thing that worried him the most was the hero pool. Heroes like Kazuko and Dusk could be used in the competition as soon as they entered the Alliance. Although EZ was not good, the attitude of hard work in training was there, and it was admirable.
"How did you practice?" Big Eyebrows asked his own question.
He looked at the series of EZ ranking records and his eyes were dazzled.
Especially when he saw Jack lose to KZ in the first round and defeat Ezreal in 7 games in one night, he was even more impressed.
The interval between each of these 7 games was less than an hour. It was obvious that he had used the heroes consecutively. Was he still human?
Lin Weixiang thought that his concentration was definitely not enough. He might as well kill him with one hit instead of using the same hero for 7 consecutive games.
He could only practice after playing two games of Edis and a game of Swordsister to relax.
"Sigh, it's a long story …" Jack pretended to sigh.
Not only did Ezreal perform well in the professional arena, but his selection rate and win rate in random ranked games were also very high.
It was important to note that the characteristics of the servers in each region were different. For example, the Korean server was more focused on teamwork and stability in the online game, while support in the jungle was extremely fast. Another example was that the Chinese players were very good at playing the Summoner's Canyon as a polar free-for-all, following the principle of life and death and fighting if you were not convinced …
But there was one thing that was the same.
All the high ranking players in the server were slaves to the points. They would play whichever hero was easier to win.
Therefore, the high ranking players were the ones who chose the most suitable characters for the professional arena in the entire Alliance. This also caused Ezreal to be almost unbanned in the high ranking players.
In order to be able to use the Little Yellow Hair continuously, Jack racked his brains and used his limited English vocabulary to discuss with his teammates, asking them to lock down EZ in advance to prevent the opponent from stealing it.
Shiba Inu had put in a lot of effort to train a hero.
"By the way," he suddenly remembered something important, "Red Rice, why don't you let me continue practicing?"
After listening to Jiang Chenglu's translation, Red Rice replied, "Because it's not necessary."
"I've been watching your ranking videos for the past two days. Now your proficiency with Ezreal is not a big problem, especially in the online game. There are no flaws anymore. The main difficulty lies in the mid-game handling."
"You always like the E-face. You've died too many times." Red Rice hit the nail on the head.
Jack scratched the back of his head and smiled uncomfortably. "Don't embarrass me. The essence of EZ is the E-face."
"That's true." Red Rice did not refute Shiba Inu's words. He also knew Ezreal's characteristics. His face jumping could attract the opponent's firepower, and at the same time improve his skill accuracy and burst power. "But the problem is that you don't grasp the right time."
"Every time you jump up to annoy the opponent, you don't check whether your team's formation is set up properly. The key is whether the hero's equipment and summoner's skills are complete, whether the team can defeat the enemy …"
Red Rice talked a lot, pointing out Jack's mid-game mistakes one by one.
"The ranking matches can improve your understanding, but the speed is still too slow. We don't have time to wait for you to practice," Red Rice said.
Jack nodded when he heard the explanation.
There were three days before the finals, and he had to fight FNC. Time was tight, and he had no chance to practice.
"We have a lot of people here." Red Rice looked around the room. In addition to the team members, there were coaches, managers, translators, and several video teams in charge of shooting and editing. "Set up custom 5v5 to help you with targeted training."
"This way, you can quickly improve your mid-game understanding of Ezreal. Also, as long as you quit halfway through the customization, you won't leave a trace. Delete all your friends, and KZ will never know what we're doing."
Red Rice said with a smirk. "Their research on Jack EZ is still stuck in the few ranking matches where he doesn't kill or carry. Once they meet in the finals, they will definitely let their guard down."
Phyllostachys Pubescens's narrow eyes widened. "Damn, that's too cunning …"
Not only him, but the other team members also looked surprised. Lin Weixiang even had a puzzled look on his face. How did this guy come up with such a dirty trick? Am I too stupid or is he too smart?
"I have a question!" Lin Yan raised his hand.
"Go ahead." Red Rice looked at him.
"If we're going to play some kind of trick, I suggest that Jack play EZ twice in the ranking matches in the next two days." Lin Yan stood up and expressed his opinion. "He doesn't need to carry. Just keep playing like he did in the previous two days."
"Let's play to the end," he explained. "If Jack practiced so hard these two days and suddenly stopped playing EZ before the finals, it would definitely make the KZ coaching team suspicious. He would play two games a day, and the results wouldn't be good. It would make the opponent think that Jack couldn't practice EZ in a short time, and our strategy would succeed."
"What the f * ck … You f * ckers …" Lin Weixiang gasped, feeling that his young and innocent heart had been greatly shocked.
"Well, well." Jack liked to do such disgusting things. He was a bit excited when he heard Lin Yan's suggestion. "Then it's settled!"
…
In the Summoner's Canyon, Azriel charged forward and used Arcane Leap to rush towards the opponent's formation.
However, the teammates behind him did not react in time, causing their own team to fall apart. Even if Azriel had Flash, he would not be able to escape death.
"I …" Jack looked at his black and white screen, speechless.
He had been very cautious this time. Before he jumped to the opponent's face, he had deliberately moved to the back and then used E Arcane Leap to jump forward.
However, Red Rice had given the YM Competition Department's staff a strict order to only focus on Jack.
As soon as the Shiba Inu stepped forward, everyone's skills rained down on Jack.
Guo Hao, Gou Ba, and the staff of three video teams were in this group. Although they had different levels of skill in the Alliance, it was not a problem for them to focus fire on Edisi.
"Communicate, communicate!"
Outside the window, the Arc de Triomphe in the distance looked majestic under the lights. Red Rice slapped the table and shouted at Jack.
He had mentioned this word more than ten times this afternoon. He had even memorized the Chinese pronunciation from Jiang Chenglu. "Every time you use E Arcane Leap, you must report it to your teammates. Do you understand?"
Jack bit his lip and nodded, indicating that he understood.
"I know. Sometimes the opportunity to use E Arcane Leap is fleeting. If you hesitate, you may miss the opportunity." Red Rice, who had switched back to his native language, spoke quickly. Fortunately, as a Korean, Jiang Chenglu's professional skills were quite good. "I'm not saying that every time you use E Arcane Leap, you have to get permission from the commander …"
Red Rice walked behind Jack and patted him hard on the shoulder. "Listen, I believe in your on-the-spot judgment. What you need to do is to tell your teammates your judgment."
"They are mentally prepared in advance, so they will have time to react. You have to trust your teammates. They can protect you!" Red Rice shouted at Jack. "Do you understand what I mean?"
After giving him the carrot, Red Rice did not forget to give him a warning. "If you continue to use E Arcane Leap without discipline, I promise you won't be able to play in the finals …"
Before he finished speaking, Jack shivered. "I understand, I understand!"
"Let's take a break." Guo Hao was responsible for easing the atmosphere. He went to the corridor to retrieve the burger takeout. "I ordered a burger. Try it. What do you think?"
Lin Yan took a bag and opened it. Inside was a standard burger, fries, and drink package. There was a small box of avocado sauce on the side of the fries.
Although Jack had just been scolded, nothing could stop him from eating.
He opened the burger wrapper and took a big bite. The beef patty, cheese, buttered bread, pickled cucumber, and other toppings all went into his mouth. After chewing a few times, he savored the aftertaste for a moment.
"The taste is so-so. I think it's not as good as the burger we bought in Berlin."
Guo Hao poured the sauce on the fries. "When we win the finals, let's eat real French food."
"Who's paying?" Liu Qingsong took a sip of coke. He was still concerned about this question.
"Whoever wins the FMVP will pay," Jin Gong said. "We can't let our brothers help him win the honor and pay for his meal, right?"
Liu Qingsong's eyes lit up when he heard this idea. "Who's in favor and who's against it?"
He raised his arm first.
After all, he was a support. The probability of winning the FMVP was quite low. Only S4mata could win this honor. For Liu Qingsong, this was equivalent to freeloading.
He was still looking forward to the French food after tearing his wound. However, Lin Weixiang reached over, wiped the ketchup on his cheek, and ran away laughing.
"If I don't beat you up for three days, you'll become a troublemaker, right?" Liu Qingsong had never spoiled Big Eyebrows. He put down the burger and ran to Lin Weixiang, vowing to take revenge.
However, Big Eyebrows was simple-minded, but his limbs were very developed. His pair of long legs ran very fast. In terms of running speed, he was somewhat similar to Ancestor Savin's battle in the canyon.
"Come and catch me. If you catch me …"
The serious and tense atmosphere in the training room suddenly disappeared.
…
"Welcome to France!"
The local host invited by Fist stood in the middle of the stage in the Zenith Stadium. "Today, the grand League of Legends mid-season championship tournament will be held in Paris for the first time!"
"I believe that everyone present is very clear about the two teams that will be facing each other on the first day of the knockout stage." The host waved his arms, revealing his robust and powerful figure hidden under his suit. "Let us shout out the names of the two teams!"
This was completely a test of the number of fans in the stadium.
Even though YM was very popular in the European League of Legends circle, they could not be compared to a local team like Fnatic.
Not to mention, FNC had formed an all-European team!
This was the same as RNG's Jeonghua class. If the results were bad, then the lottery prize would be useless. However, once the results started to improve, then the attention and resources they received would be several levels higher than other teams.
Without the Korean support, the European audience showed unprecedented support for FNC. Including the substitute soaz, the six players stood in human form in all directions of the Zenith Stadium!
Hearing the male host's words, the live audience instantly burst into thunderous cheers and applause!
“LET'SGO！
FNATIC！”
The voices converged into a stream, and the momentum was no less than the Seine flowing in Paris.
YM's fans were like a small boat. When the audience shouted FNC's name, they struggled to hold on but could not do anything. They could only let the surging voices drown out their support.
"First of all, let us welcome Young Miracles!" The male host waved his arm, and Jin Gong stepped onto the stage with his teammates.
"Top laner GimGoon, jungler Tian, mid laner Ran, bottom laner JackeyLove, support Crisp!" He introduced the YM players in turn. "Also, support LWX, and coach Homme!"
It had to be said that the French pronunciation was an eye-opener for Lin Yan. He did not even realize that his ID had been read out until the end.
There was a burst of applause from the audience. There were also fans who supported YM holding black and red flags with the team's logo, cheering for their favorite players on the field.
However, other than that, there were no other sounds of welcome. There was even a small portion of the uncivilized European audience who booed them.
Seeing this, the YM players were a little embarrassed.
However, they were not at a loss. After all, this was a small scene for them. Compared to the boos at the Intercontinental Tournament in Kaohsiung last year, it paled in comparison.
"What's going on?"
Phyllostachys Pubescens mumbled. The cheers in the stadium were so loud that Lin Yan could hear him clearly.
"You'll have to ask Brother Ran and Red Rice about that. They're the ones who're commanding!" Jack was really an expert at resisting pressure. He could still laugh at this time.
Lin Yan pulled out a disdainful smile.
He had been surfing the Internet for the past two days. He had read a lot of Matryoshka Dolls on Reddit, so he naturally knew where the European audience's anger came from.
They were still holding a grudge against Lin Yan for choosing FNC in the semifinals.
If it was the same as last year, the European audience would not have thought that there would be a problem.
However, the choice of the semifinals was given to YM. Lin Yan chose FNC in this situation. Naturally, the Europeans would not be satisfied.
Most of the audience were still rational. The rules gave YM the right to choose, so they had no right to speak. Therefore, even though they were dissatisfied, they would not boo YM.
However, there were always a few weirdos in the crowd. The Zenith Stadium was much bigger than the LCSEU studio. Once the number of spectators increased, the troublemakers would gather in a pile.
"Today, we're going to turn this place into a European library," Lin Yan said to Little Tortoise. His tone was firm.
Little Tortoise ran his fingers through his bangs and bumped his fist against Lin Yan's.
"Next, let us warmly welcome the European powerhouse … Fnatic!" The French-speaking male host dragged out his words.
The sound waves in the stadium that had already converged into a river suddenly surged!
"Top laner Bwipo, jungler Broxah, mid laner Caps, bottom laner Rekkles, support Hylissang!" Every FNC player received cheers from the audience when they appeared.
The cheers for the mid and bottom laner completely crushed the cheers for their other teammates. The shy Caps was still not used to being called the European Mage King by the audience. He shyly waved his hand to the audience and then revealed Mr. Bean's signature smile.
Rekkles looked very arrogant. His blonde hair was combed neatly, revealing his chiseled facial features. When he heard the cheers from the audience, he clenched his right fist and hammered his chest.
"Substitute SoaZ and coach Youngbuck!" The host waved his arms. Lin Yan was afraid that he would accidentally tear his suit.
"Now, I announce that the 2018 mid-season championship knockout stage has officially begun!"
…
After the short opening ceremony, the LPL live broadcast channel's signal cut in.
"Good afternoon, Summoners!" An extremely recognizable voice sounded. "I'm Zeyuan."
"Hello everyone, I'm the commentator Remember!"
Remember even kept them guessing after his self-introduction. "There's a mystery guest here today as well!"
The mystery guest's unclear voice made it easy to guess who he was.
"Hello everyone, I'm TOP's mid laner Knight."
[GG, today's commentary lineup is a little comfortable.]
[With active pro bro, your understanding of the game is guaranteed.]
[How is it comfortable?
The Afghan mid laner is here. Even if he understands everything, you won't understand.]
[Let's be honest, Sparrow.]
[He's still better than Kris. What's with the Relativity of Canyons?]
Remember knew that Zhuo Ding was usually introverted, so he took the initiative to warm up the atmosphere.
"It's Left Hand's first time in our LPL commentary …"
Zhuo Ding nodded. He only reacted when he saw Zeyuan pointing at his microphone. "That's right, that's right."
"What have you been doing this off-season?" Remember wasn't in a hurry. He had to take it slow and bring Left Hand into his rhythm.
"Just … going home to spend time with my parents, and then I'll stream and play Rank." Zhuo Ding was an honest kid. He told the truth about his holiday plans. "If I have nothing to do, I'll watch the competition."
Remember found a breakthrough point and brought the topic back on track. "Knight, what do you think of today's match between YM and FNC based on the group stage of the mid-season competition?"
"The focus will definitely be on the mid lane. Caps versus Ran Bro. This should be considered a showdown between the top mid laners in the world," Zhuo Ding said, speaking much faster, "Whoever has the upper hand will win the game."
"Overall, YM is on the offense while FNC is on the defense. Whoever can't hold on first will lose."
Zeyuan finally spoke. "That's the case from the data. FNC's performance in the group stage can only be described as dragging. The average game time is close to 37 minutes. They're basically playing a weak game."
"On the other hand, YM's average game time is close to 30 minutes. This is enough to prove that the styles of the two teams are very different."
At this time, the caster showed the specific data of the two teams' mid laners on the big screen.
Lin Yan's damage output was slightly lower, but the rest of the data was in the lead.
"This is the difference between the team's style," Zhe Yuan said. He was really good at chatting. "FNC's average time per match is right there. If I had known earlier, I would've known that the core of the team would be able to deal thousands of damage in a single team battle after the upgrade of their equipment. This is something that Ran Bro can't do."
Remember added, "After all, YM is a team that focuses on the early game. The pace of the game has always been very fast. There's not much time to deal damage to Brother Ran."
As soon as he finished speaking, the first round of the semi-finals began with a clang!