Starting with Zaozi Ge, a dream lineup

Chapter 319 Re-election! Unprecedented!
Unlike the S7 awards ceremony, Riot Games gave the defending champions team ample respect.

This time, not only did Tryndamere, the Riot Games boss who appeared in S7, come to the event, but his other partner, Jayce, also made a personal appearance.

"Now, let us welcome Tryndamere, President of Riot Games; Jayce, Head of Design; Park Ji-hoon, Head of LCK Region; Mr. Liu, Head of LPL Region; and Mr. Zhang, Head of Asia-Pacific Region, to present the S8 individual honors to our champion team, RNG!"

Swipe!

As soon as the Roaring Emperor finished speaking, Tryndamere and Jayce strode forward, smiling, and walked to the edge of the stage.

On the other side, hostesses were carrying trays displaying honors, with the world silver medal, which only the defending champion could enjoy, prominently displayed on the trays!

This is also one of the innovative aspects of Riot Games.

Although the medals awarded to the champion team may appear to be gold medals from the audience's perspective, only the players know that the gold medals are actually made of bronze alloy. In terms of market value, they are basically worthless.

Only SKT has ever won the World Silver Medal; it's gold-plated on the outside and pure silver on the inside.

A group of people dressed in red suits went up on stage in a lively manner. Xiaotian and Xiaodongbei also walked out from the back of the stage shyly and stood on the stage with Rng, waiting in a row for the honor.

"From world runner-up to the brink of disbandment, from being underestimated to winning two consecutive championships, RNG has achieved everything in just two years. Now, the three letters RNG represent the strongest team in the world and a miracle. Today, they ascend the throne in this way, telling everyone in this domineering manner that this is the era of RNG. Now, please welcome our guests to present awards to these young men who created miracles!"

The Roaring Emperor drew out the last syllable, and before Tryndamere could make a move, Jayce stepped forward and walked straight towards Li Luo.

The other big shots followed with smiles as they walked out. Tryndamere picked up a gold-plated championship medal with silver hues and placed it on Letme's head.

With a constant smile, Letme looked at the medal around her neck, politely bowed her head, and shook hands to express her gratitude.

Meanwhile, as Jess walked over to Li Luo's side, he spoke from an angle out of the camera's view:
"Hey Uzi, nice to meet you. I'm one of Riot Games' CEOs and the head of the design department. I think you should know me and hate me, right?"

The authentic American accent paired with American dry humor made Li Luo laugh.

Yes, I know you!

"Congratulations! You and your teammates have caught up with the strongest team, SKT. I think you're definitely going to aim for a three-peat, right?"

"Believe me, son, you won't succeed, but I hope that after you fail, you won't hold a grudge against us, just like Lee Sang-hyeok did."

Jess shrugged and uttered a profound statement.

Before the start of the S7 World Championship, Jayce came up with the bad idea of ​​buffing Ardent Censer, creating a distorted version. But ever since that ended, RNG has been targeted by Jayce.

Riot Games wants to see LPL win the championship, but they don't want to see LPL keep winning, especially if it's just one team winning.

Only by maintaining competition can there be popularity. Therefore, in S8, RNG's signature champions were basically nerfed. Especially in the late game, Riot Games had no choice but to make unprecedented buffs to the top lane in order to counter RNG, attempting to use the strength of LCK teams' top laners to counter RNG.

A monopoly is never a healthy ecosystem, and these changes have indeed been effective.

But now RNG team still won the S8 championship despite the pressure and targeting, which is equivalent to slapping Riot designers hard across the face!
After saying this, without waiting for Li Luo's reply, Jess chuckled, picked up the medal from the hostess beside him, put it around Li Luo's neck, shook hands, and turned to walk away with a flourish.

Unlike the Summoner's Trophy in the center of the stage, which needs to be returned, these medals, representing personal honor, will accompany the players throughout their lives, becoming their glory and honor.

"S9 champion? Maybe?"

Li Luo smiled as he watched Jess's retreating figure.

Just as players will never understand what's going on in a designer's mind, designers will never understand a player's desire for and perseverance in pursuing a championship.

After everyone received their medals, the people waiting backstage also came up and, like S7, took a group photo that everyone loves.

Golden rain fell all over the ground, and the stage lights were dazzling. Although the venue was not perfectly tidy, the medals around everyone's necks and the Summoner's Trophy in the center of the stage shone brightly.

click!
A group photo destined to be forever etched in esports history was captured by the photographer. Looking at the several outstanding players in the photo, even the photographer shook his head, unsure whether he was too satisfied with the photo or regretted that he would never be able to capture such a classic moment again.

"Alright, congratulations again to RNG for winning the 2018 World Championship! Now, everyone has received their honor, but there is still one last mystery to be solved. I'm sure everyone is very excited about it right now!"

Looking at the RNG members bathed in the stage lights, Roaring Emperor said with a touch of emotion.

"Now that the exciting best-of-five series of the World Championship has come to an end, after a year of hard work, RNG has once again won the world championship. At the same time, an important award is about to be presented!"

So who will be the winner of the 2018 League of Legends World Championship Finals MVP?

"The official results have been released, wow, I'm sure everyone already guessed this result!"

At this point, there was no need to continue describing who this person was to raise expectations, as the audience erupted in thunderous cheers.

For RNG, there's no need for official selection, commentary, or even an evaluation team; the audience is enough to decide who this person is.

This is the highest individual honor in the history of the league, with only one spot awarded each year in the S-series, and it is an honor that everyone on the winning team desires.

The S7 FMVP was RNG's Adman Uzi, and this year RNG continued to defend their championship title. Judging from the performance of each player, Uzi's performance was undoubtedly the most outstanding.

Adding to that the roaring emperor's words, that's why the audience cheered so wildly.

"No way? Faker hasn't won the Finals MVP twice in a row, has he? Can Uzi really get a second Finals MVP?"

"Yeah, none of the three-time champions have won consecutive Finals MVP awards."

"But putting aside Uzi's performance in this World Championship, just look at his three games in the finals BO5. The pentakill in the first game, the Taliyah in the second game, and the Draven in the third game, he was a carry in every single one of them. If we don't give that to him, who else can we give it to?"

"Xiangguo played very well too, and so did Letme, but compared to the junglers and top laners of other teams, they weren't that much better."

The question of whether the FMVP will be defended is actually very simple:
Firstly, besides SKT, RNG is the second team to win the title of defending champion, so everyone habitually feels that no one else in history has been able to win this honor consecutively. Secondly, although SKT has three championships, the first one happened in Season 3, while Riot Games only established the FMVP award after Season 4, so Faker naturally missed his peak performance.

In S5, Ma Da Tou's performance was clearly superior to Faker's, so Faker lost his FMVP award in S5 and only won the individual honor in S6.

However, RNG's situation is quite special. Not only commentators and industry professionals, but even viewers who don't watch the games know about RNG's "four-protect-one" strategy. Coupled with Uzi's explosive performance from the beginning of the year to the end, whether they can retain their title has become a concern for everyone.

"Yes, you guessed right, we've already selected this year's highest individual honor. Wow, RNG has broken another record in League of Legends history! So, who is this year's World Championship FMVP?!"

As the time to reveal the answer drew closer, the Roaring Emperor drew out the last syllable, whetting the appetite of the entire audience, and then, with a sense of awe, shouted out his ID, which he hadn't wanted to announce:

“U~~~~Z~~~~~I~~~”

As the three iconic long notes fell, the crowd went wild the instant the first letter was uttered.

"Ah ah ah ah ah!!!!"

"My God, they really won again!!!"

"Double champion + double Finals MVP, wow, is that amazing?"

"The first person in history to win the World Championship Finals MVP twice in a row... That's outrageous!"

"With this honor, although RNG's historical achievements still can't compare to SKT's, Uzi's historical status is directly on par with Faker, or even surpasses Faker's. He's a defending FMVP!!"

The reactions varied across major regions around the world, but upon hearing the selection of this year's FMVP, millions of viewers were shocked and overwhelmed with mixed feelings, unsure of how to evaluate the selection.

RNG winning their second championship isn't exactly historic, given SKT's precedent. While everyone was shocked, it was still acceptable. However, this consecutive FMVP title has caused quite a stir in Western countries that highly value individualism.

S7 was a puppy, and S8 is still a puppy.

At that moment, the extremely ordinary ID "Uzi" resonated deeply in the minds of viewers worldwide.

"This is incredible! This defending champion title is a testament to Uzi's historical status, even Riot Games acknowledges it!"

In the LPL commentary booth, when Guan Zeyuan saw Roaring Emperor pronounce the name, he stammered after the audience's reaction, seemingly unable to believe that RNG could create such a powerful historical record in just two years.

"Deserved!"

The teacher standing nearby also let out a long sigh of relief:

"Xiaogou's FMVP award is truly well-deserved. His performance in the three games today, his performance throughout the year, and even his outstanding record in the last two years, coupled with the various surprises he has brought to all of us viewers, I have to say that in my heart, even if Xiaogou has not completely surpassed the impression Faker left on me, he is certainly on par with him."

"Seriously, now whenever I open a live stream and see Uzi's ID, I can't help but want to watch the whole match. His performance, his magic, the feeling he gives us—at least in China, I can't find a player who can replace him!"

"He holds the same status as Faker in the LCK region. I'm very happy to be able to commentate on RNG's matches and matches featuring Uzi. I'm grateful to this player for bringing us such a wonderful performance, and I also thank Riot for their fair and impartial selection!"

As she spoke, she seemed to recall the various exhilarating moments of watching RNG's matches, and she became so excited that she choked up and couldn't speak.

The emotional viewers in the live stream were also moved by this scene and subsequently sent their blessings in the chat.

"Yes, I am a member of RNG, and I participate in their training regularly. But I have to say, compared to the training intensity of domestic clubs in S3 and S4, RNG's diligence in China is undoubtedly number one!"

Having just won a championship, Wu Wukai was extremely happy and showed none of the sadness he displayed as a commentator.

In his heart, all of this belongs to everyone in RNG, and to Uzi; he deserves it!

"But no matter how difficult it was, Uzi did it. In the LPL region, we can see a rising sun. His spirit and honor will be forever engraved on the monument of LPL history. Now, Riot's FMVP individual award has been delivered!"

"Uzi!"

"Are you ready to defend your FMVP title?"

Wow!
The audience immediately stood up, trying to get a closer look at what this year's FMVP reward was, which was shrouded in mystery.

The on-site director was very considerate and immediately cut to a close-up of the FMVP trophy, displaying it on the big screen.

As the red cloth was gradually unfurled on the hostess's tray, a startled thought crossed the minds of all LPL viewers when they saw the bottom of the cloth—
"Holy crap, this is amazing!"

"No way, no way, they're really giving us that much face?"

"Was this prepared by Riot Games before the match?"

The Chinese audience members present were all incredulous as they looked at the sword hilt peeking out from under the red cloth.

Before anyone could react, following the Roaring Emperor's signal, Li Luo stepped forward, placed his hand on the hilt, and pulled out a seven-foot-long sword.

The first-ever unique FMVP trophy, its blade is entirely crafted from exceptionally precious sapphire, and the cost of this sword alone exceeds five million.

The sword's blade was also engraved with Chinese characters on both sides, which made all the viewers feel restless and bitter, unsure of what to say.

This kind of honor is probably only something Uzi has ever achieved in history.

Two runner-up finishes, two champion finishes, two Finals MVP awards!

Riot Games actually predicted RNG's potential victory before the tournament even started, and created this incredible sword to congratulate the reigning FMVP.

As Li Luo raised the sword above his head, the camera clearly captured two lines of poetry brimming with heroic spirit:
The inscription on the front reads: "If only the Flying General of Longcheng were here..."
I hereby declare: I will not allow the barbarian horses to cross the Yin Mountains!

Its sharp edge is fully revealed, and its domineering aura is unparalleled!
Upon seeing these two sentences, Li Luo tossed the exceptionally precious sword in his hand, raised his hand, and swung the sword tip directly at the Summoner's Trophy placed nearby!
(End of this chapter)