LOL: What does it mean to torture players?

Ning Wang, who was leading the way, saw the EDG and FPX players not far away. He grinned and called out loudly:
"Hey, EDG and FPX, they're all here."

He turned his gaze to Doinb, and teased with a bit of gloating:
"Hey Jin Gugu, how do you feel about your group of death? Are you under a lot of pressure and can't sleep at night?"

Doinb didn't get angry when he heard this. He just shrugged and responded:

"It's OK, just do your best. As for Group D where your IG is, it seems to be quite difficult to beat them, with two tough opponents, DWG and TL."

Upon hearing this, King Ning showed a look of disdain on his face and waved his hand:
"TL? What kind of a rubbish team is that? Just beat them up!"

JackeyLove walked straight up to Meiko and greeted her familiarly:
"field."

Meiko seems to have a good relationship with JackeyLove, and she also smiled:
"Ashui, do you think it's difficult to play against DWG?"

JackeyLove's eyes were full of confidence as he analyzed:

"I have studied them carefully and feel that DWG's bottom lane combination should be a breakthrough point for them. If you EDG can play well against this point, there shouldn't be much of a problem."

He raised his chin slightly and continued, with an unquestionable certainty in his tone:
"As for our IG's bottom lane, there will definitely be no problem. The main strength of DWG's team is their mid, top and jungle."

As JackeyLove spoke, he subconsciously glanced at Theshy and Rookie beside him and added:

"However, our IG's mid and top are stronger than them! Therefore, we don't have much pressure against DWG."

Prince Ning listened to this and raised his eyebrows slightly, seeming a little unhappy:
"Wait a minute, Ashui, did you just say 'mid and top'? Are you sure you only meant the mid and top lanes, not the 'mid, top and jungle' linkage?"

JackeyLove spread his hands and said innocently:

"I'm telling the truth, is there any problem?"

Seeing this, Coach Abu stepped out to smooth things over and said:

"Alright, alright, everyone is here, let's go together and wait in the designated area."

So, the three teams from the LPL region set out together in a mighty procession, walking through the bustling crowd towards the player appearance area.

The simultaneous appearance of three teams representing the strongest forces in the LPL immediately attracted the attention of players from other regions around them, who cast glances of curiosity, scrutiny, or awe.

And Su Mo undoubtedly became the focus of everyone's attention.

"Brother Mozi! God Mo! Can you take a photo with me? Please, I'm your loyal fan!"

"Brother Mozi, I'm also your fan. Can I shake your hand?"

"Brother Mozi..."

Shouts came one after another, accompanied by burning gazes.

Along the way, Su Mo patiently greeted the contestants from other regions, shook hands with them in a friendly manner, and took photos with them.

After going through the whole process, the official game hasn't even started yet, but Su Mo feels that he has already consumed a lot of his physical strength.

When they were about to reach the end of the contestant corridor, a tall figure with a strong aura suddenly blocked Su Mo's way.

Chovy! GRF's talented mid laner!
He stood there quietly, his posture upright, like a sword drawn from its sheath, sharp and powerful, radiating aura that no one dared to underestimate.

Chovy's sudden action and his slightly cold expression might make people who didn't know the situation think that he was going to "bully" Su Mo in public.

However, the next second, Chovy silently took out his mobile phone from his pocket, still with that expressionless look on his face, and said in a slightly awkward tone:

"Can we... take a photo?"

Seeing this, Su Mo couldn't help but smile and agreed readily: "Of course."

So, the two top mid laners stood side by side and looked at the camera of Chovy's phone together.

In front of the camera, Chovy's usually slightly cold face actually revealed a shy and bashful smile, and he and Su Mo captured this precious moment together.

GRF jungler Tarzan, who was standing nearby with a stern face and a serious expression, waited until Chovy finished taking the photo with satisfaction, then walked over and said in the same serious tone:
"Hello, contestant Mo, can I take a photo with you?"

"Okay." Su Mo did not refuse.

Seeing that their two core players in the midfield and jungle took the initiative to come forward for the photo, the other GRF players could not contain their excitement and followed one after another, all wanting to take a photo with this legendary player.

Only after taking photos with everyone from GRF was Su Mo able to move forward.

“Faker.”

After walking a few steps, Su Mo met another old acquaintance who was very important - Faker, Lee Sang Hyuk.

Faker is currently leading the T1 players to gather in the designated area.

Seeing Su Mo approaching, Faker smiled from the bottom of his heart and took the initiative to greet him:

"Hello, contestant Mo."

Su Mo responded with a smile: "Just call me Su Mo, Brother Xianghe."

Hearing this, Faker also said, "Then you can just call me Sang Hyuk."

Su Mo nodded, and then said, with a hint of concern in his tone:
"The competition in the group that you T1 were assigned to this time is quite intense and it's not easy."

Faker seemed quite optimistic. He smiled gently and said:

"This is good, as it will help us improve the overall strength of the team more quickly, and also allow us to better understand and familiarize ourselves with the current version of the game."

Su Mo nodded in agreement: "Indeed, the S-League stage itself is a process of continuous learning and evolution."

The two were chatting leisurely when suddenly, another team of people in uniform came towards them.

I saw Showmaker leading the DWG players approaching this side.

In the DWG team, except for Showmaker, most of the other players, whether it is the jungler Canyon or the top laner Nuguri, seem to be rather taciturn. They either look down at their phones or have blank eyes, as if they are daydreaming.

In comparison, Showmaker appears to be much more lively and outgoing.

"Faker-senpai! Mo!" Showmaker greeted the two of them enthusiastically as he approached.

Nuguri also walked up to Su Mo and greeted him respectfully, "Hello, Mo."

Su Mo stretched out his hand and shook hands with Nuguri in a friendly manner.

This Nuguri player, while shaking hands with Su Mo, actually bent down slightly and bowed. His attitude was so humble and respectful that it was truly extraordinary.

While Showmaker was greeting Faker and Su Mo, he also inadvertently glanced at the IG members not far away.

After all, DWG and IG are in the same group and will soon face off on the field.

On the other side, Nuguri walked straight to Theshy and greeted him respectfully again: "Senior Theshy."

Su Mo watched from the side and couldn't help feeling a little strange.

This Nuguri seems to have a particularly special and respectful feeling for Theshy, but Theshy's attitude towards him is relatively cold and calm.

Su Mo suddenly remembered that he had seen an interview article about Nuguri on the Internet before.

In that interview, Nuguri seemed to have mentioned that he often watched the game videos of Theshy and Su Mo to learn and understand the top lane playing styles and techniques.

Perhaps it is for this reason that he has such deep respect for these two players.

At the same time, the audience seats at the competition venue were already packed with people.

Enthusiastic audiences from all over the world and from different regions are gathered together at this moment.

They held high in their hands a variety of cheering boards filled with blessings and cheers for the teams and players they supported, covering almost all the participating teams.

In the official broadcast booth of the LPL region, the passionate voice of commentator Wawa sounded:

"Okay, good evening to all the audience here and in front of the screen! Welcome to the group stage of the 2019 League of Legends World Championship on time!"

His partner Miller followed up with the same expectation in his tone:

"Yes, we've kept you waiting for a long time! We have finally waited for the official start of the group stage! However, before the group stage officially begins, there will be a simple and grand player debut ceremony."

"By then, a total of 16 top teams from all the major regions will appear on stage one after another! Among them, of course, are the three glorious teams representing our LPL region - EDG, FPX and IG!"

On the main stage of the competition, brilliant lights shone and the host walked onto the stage with confident steps.

After a brief and wonderful opening speech, the host began to invite each participating team to come on stage one by one in a high-pitched voice!
"Now, let us welcome the No. 1 seed from our LPL region, the legendary team - E! D! G, with the warmest and loudest applause!"

As soon as the host finished speaking, the audience seats were instantly ignited, and the roars like a tsunami swept over like a wave:

"EDG! EDG! EDG!"

Amid deafening cheers, EDG players, dressed in brand new uniforms, walked out of the player channel one by one and stepped onto the gorgeous stage.

The one walking in front was Su Mo.

Su Mo’s handsome makeup photos and personal close-ups also appeared simultaneously on the giant LED screen in the center of the main stage.

According to normal procedures, at this time, the screen will usually show the players' outstanding statistics achieved in the summer season that just ended.

However, unfortunately, since Su Mo played too few games in the summer season, the sample data is insufficient for effective statistics and display.

Therefore, the authorities made a very clever adjustment and chose to present the heavy personal honors he had won in his career on the big screen one by one.

2017 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational Champion!

2017 League of Legends World Championship Champion!
2018 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational Champion!

2018 League of Legends World Championship Champion!
……

In addition, there are various honorary titles such as league champions, cup champions, and personal MVP. All in all, there are more than twenty of them!

Every honor represents a glorious past.

A true honor!
After EDG made their debut, it was the turn of the other two teams from the LPL region - FPX and IG.

When the players of the two teams came on stage, they also received extremely warm welcome and cheers from the LPL fans on the scene.

After all, on the stage of the World Championship, all LPL teams are family members. Everyone will unite and work together to cheer for the LPL region.

"Next, let's applaud and welcome the No. 1 seed from the LCK region, the legendary dynasty - T!"

Following the host's introduction, Faker took the lead in leading the T1 players and stepped onto the stage with their heads held high!

"Ahhh! Faker! Faker!"

Countless Faker's loyal fans at the scene burst into shrill screams, expressing their love and admiration for this legendary player.

After the T1 team came on the stage, it was the turn of the other two strong teams in the LCK region - GRF and DWG.

Afterwards, representative teams from other major competition areas took the stage one by one.

A moment later, when all sixteen participating teams appeared on the stage and stood shoulder to shoulder on the wide stage, the lights on the scene suddenly dimmed.

Immediately afterwards, the official theme promotional video of this S9 World Finals began playing on the main screen!
The theme of this promotional video is "Nirvana" (Phoenix)!
In fact, long before the trailer was officially released, many players and fans had already been discussing and speculating enthusiastically online.

Last year's S8 World Championship, the theme of the promotional video was "Rise", which tells the glorious story of EDG team successfully defending the title and creating a championship dynasty.

This year's theme, "Nirvana", is obviously no longer directed at EDG.

Many people speculate that this theme is more like a reference to the legendary LCK team - T1!

Because this year's T1, except for Faker, the soul of the mid-lane position who still sticks with it, the other four positions of the team have undergone a major change. It can almost be said that it has undergone a reorganization like rebirth from the ashes.

Moreover, their performance in the LCK Summer Playoffs was exactly the same as EDG's in the LPL. Both of them had a mediocre record in the regular season, but eventually staged a miracle of winning the championship by defeating four teams alone.

From all aspects, T1 seems to perfectly fit the theme of "Nirvana".

Of course, these are just speculations and analysis from netizens. As for how Riot Games conceived and considered the production of the promotional video, outsiders have no way of knowing.

This time, the S9 promotional video does not have a single protagonist in an absolute sense.

Or it can be said that every participating team is the protagonist in this promotional video.

For EDG, this is the last and most crucial step in their pursuit of an unprecedented three-peat.

For Faker and his T1, this is the year they complete self-redemption, strive to be reborn from the ashes, and return to the top of the world. And for top European and American teams like G2, this may be their closest chance to the S-League championship trophy.

After all, over the years, the strength gap between the major competition areas has been narrowing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The LEC region, in particular, has put in every effort to form a star-studded "Galaxy Battleship" like G2, aiming to win the championship.

When the magnificent promotional video finished playing, the lights on the stage suddenly lit up again.

However, there are only two teams left on the stage at this moment - the two teams in the opening match, EDG and SPY.

Careful viewers will find that on the EDG side, the figures of Factory Manager and Su Mo have quietly disappeared.

The two of them have now returned to the lounge backstage, ready to enter spectator mode and cheer for their teammates who are about to take the stage.

Su Mo's mentality is relatively relaxed.

After all, judging from the strength on paper, the opponent in the opening game, SPY, still has a certain gap with EDG.

If they can't even beat SPY, then EDG will be in real trouble, but this is obviously unlikely to happen.

The players from both sides took their positions and the game quickly entered the BP (hero ban and selection) phase.

Because this is the first official game under the new S9 version, the coaches and players on both sides conduct BP according to their team's understanding of the current version.

The BP speed of both sides was very fast, with almost no hesitation or delay.

When the BP phase ended, the lineups of both sides were finally determined and the game officially entered the loading screen.

In this opening match, EDG's jungler Jiejie played with great enthusiasm and confidence.

He directly locked on the hero Lee Sin, making it clear that he wanted to focus on an offensive rhythm in the early and mid-term.

The opposing SPY team did not show any fear or retreat at all.

Their mid laner actually picked out a strange LeBlanc, and the support player surprisingly chose an unconventional hero - Steam Robot Blitzcrank!
When the factory manager saw the other team's lineup, he showed an expression of disbelief on his face and exclaimed:

"What's going on? Is the opponent so confident? They even dare to use a hero like Robot Support?"

Su Mo stood aside and analyzed calmly:
"This may not be entirely out of confidence, but it may also be a desperate gamble. The SPY coaching staff and players may also know clearly that if they choose a regular lineup and play against us step by step, then their hope of winning will definitely be very slim."

"But if they choose a lineup that is unconventional and unexpected, the result will either be a very ugly loss, or they may create a miracle and win by surprise."

The factory manager smiled as if he had suddenly realized something. "I see! Isn't this just gambling? Using this high-risk, high-reward strategy to try to achieve a miracle?"

Su Mo nodded and replied, "You can think so. In the face of an absolute power gap, the weaker party can only use this unconventional method to defeat the stronger party."

The game officially started, and Coach Abu returned to the lounge from the BP room. He walked to Su Mo and asked nervously:
"How is it? Xiao Mo, do you think we can win this time?"

Su Mo's tone was still calm and firm: "We can definitely win."

"That's fine, that's fine." After hearing Su Mo's words, Coach Abu felt a little relieved.

However, when the game actually started, the development of the situation on the field surprised everyone. It was not as simple as everyone expected!
The robot assist chosen by SPY actually worked wonders, and it wasn't just based on luck.

When the game reached the bottom lane, the junglers of both teams chose to GANK the bottom lane at the same time, but neither team knew the movements of the other jungler in advance.

Thresh, controlled by Meiko, was the first to cast his Death Sentence, trying to hook the opponent's ADC first.

However, the hook unfortunately missed.

However, at the same moment when Thresh released the hook, the robot support of the opposing SPY seized the brief moment of stiffness after Thresh released the hook and accurately threw out a mechanical flying claw, steadily hitting Meiko's Thresh!
Meiko was caught off guard and was pulled back from under the tower by the robot!

The three heroes of the opposing SPY immediately focused their fire on them. Although EDG also had three people on the field, Meiko was the first to be focused on, which instantly disrupted EDG's formation and made the situation completely different.

In the end, this 3V3 team battle in the bottom lane ended with three EDG players killed and one opponent's player replaced.

The SPY team made a lot of money in this confrontation.

When the factory manager saw this, he couldn't help but exclaimed: "Ah? No way! Are we going to lose this time?"

Su Mo still had a faint smile on his face and said calmly:
"SPY's strength is actually not as weak as we thought. Now all major regions are making rapid progress and development, so it's normal for this to happen."

In the next game, SPY's robot support seemed to have identified Meiko's Thresh and kept staring at him.

When Thresh casts the hook, his body will briefly stand still while casting, which gives the robot a chance to attack from behind.

As long as Thresh dares to use the hook, the robot's hook will almost always hit the target, unless Meiko uses flash to dodge.

After suffering two losses in a row, Meiko obviously became a little hesitant to act rashly.

Fortunately, Thresh's lantern skill can still rescue teammates at critical moments, so that this hero does not become completely useless.

The situation on the field was extremely tense at one point, with both sides fighting back and forth, and it was not as one-sided as expected before the game.

Coach Abu was so anxious watching the game that his palms were sweating.

Fortunately, however, EDG's players are more solid and sophisticated than SPY's players in terms of personal basic skills and operational details.

Despite being behind in kills in the early stages, EDG managed to catch up economically with better last-hitting and resource control, and gradually overtook the opponent in subsequent games.

Seeing this, the factory manager couldn't help but complain: "I have now discovered that although these European and American teams can often come up with some novel ideas in tactics and routines, their players generally have some problems in basic skills. Therefore, they can often play some advantages in the early stage of the game, but in the middle and late stages, it is difficult to win the game."

Su Mo agreed with this: "That's true. If the players in the European and American regions could practice their basic skills and reach the same level as our LPL and LCK players, then with their tactical innovation ability, they would definitely not be unable to win a single S-League championship for so many years."

Soon, the game came to a critical turning point.

EDG's mid laner Scout, controlling his signature hero Lissandra, seized the opportunity in a small-scale team battle in the middle lane and accurately completed a single-player kill of SPY's top laner!

Afterwards, he forced a team fight and cooperated with his teammates who arrived in time to successfully win this crucial team fight. He also pushed down the opponent's base crystal in one go, helping EDG to win the first victory of this S game with difficulty.

Seeing this, Coach Abu breathed a sigh of relief, with an appreciative expression on his face:
"At critical moments, we still have to rely on Scout's stable performance! It seems that we underestimated other teams in the same group before. This problem must be given enough attention in the future."

After winning the opening game, the EDG players walked down from the competition seats and returned to the locker room.

Although they won the game, there was not much joy on the players' faces.

Most of them had frowned brows and serious expressions. They were obviously not satisfied with their performance in the game just now and felt that they had not handled many details well.

Coach Abu stepped forward, patted the players on the shoulders, and gently comforted them:
"Thank you for your hard work, everyone. We did make a lot of mistakes in this game, and this is not the true level that our EDG team should have played at."

"But this is understandable. After all, this is our first game in this S League. Everyone may still be a little nervous and not fully relaxed. We just need to adjust our form after returning and play well in the next game."

The EDG players sat down quietly, ready to watch the games of other groups, while also reviewing their recent defeat in their minds.

Su Mo took out his mobile phone and habitually glanced at major e-sports forums and social media.

Sure enough, at this moment, LPL fans on the Internet have already expressed some pessimism about EDG's performance:

"Why do I feel like EDG's performance in this game isn't as good as it was in the LPL?"

"Are you having some difficulty acclimatizing? Or have you not adjusted to the time difference yet?"

"Oh my god, this is only the third seed team in the LEC region. Is it really so difficult for EDG to play?"

"Something's wrong! Something's wrong! Even if Mozi didn't play, EDG shouldn't be at this level!"

A moment later, the second game of the S9 group stage officially began.

The two teams facing off are T1 and FNC from Group C.

Coach Abu immediately said, "Okay, don't think about the game just now. Let's all take a good look at T1's game and focus on their understanding of the current new version and their tactical arrangements."

Upon hearing this, the EDG players put down their mobile phones and focused their attention on the big screen.

The players from both teams came on stage one by one. On the T1 team side, the players were wearing brand new uniforms with three shining stars embroidered on the chest, representing their supreme glory of having won the S championship three times!

The director was also very knowledgeable and gave a big close-up shot of the three stars on the T1 team uniform.

Meiko saw this scene, her eyes were full of envy and yearning, and she couldn't help but whispered:

"When will our EDG team be able to have three stars embroidered on their uniforms?"

Iboy, standing aside, responded firmly, "This year! Believe me, this year!"

He paused, then added with great enthusiasm: "No! If we want to do it, let's just get five stars! Let's win five consecutive championships and create history!"

Su Mo couldn't help but laugh after hearing this, and he also joked: "How about this, how about we just make a uniform with fifteen stars? Five big stars embroidered on the inside of the uniform, representing the five S-League champions, and ten small stars around the outside, representing the league champions of the ten LPL regions?"

Meiko exclaimed exaggeratedly when she heard this: "Oh my god! Brother Mozi, you don't intend to leave any chance for other teams? You want to take all the championships and leave none for others?"

After the players from T1 and FNC appeared on the stage, the game quickly entered the BP stage.

In this game, SKT (T1)'s lineup selection seemed very conventional and conservative, and they didn't come up with anything particularly novel.

It is estimated that they, like EDG, do not want to reveal too many tactical reserves too early in the first game of the group stage.

Faker directly locked in Akali in the middle lane to fight against the little mage Veigar chosen by the FNC mid laner.

When Coach Abu saw the choice of FNC's mid laner, he frowned slightly and felt something was wrong:
"Little Mage? Is this hero very strong in this version? Scout, what do you think?"

Scout thought seriously for a moment and replied, "As for strength, it's just average. I feel like FNC chose the Little Mage mainly to target the entry system of T1's lineup. Look at the heroes T1 chose, Vladimir, Akali, Kai'Sa, Minotaur, Lee Sin, almost all of them need to rush into the opponent's formation to deal damage. The Little Mage's E skill, 'Distorted Space', can effectively separate the battlefield and limit the entry of T1 heroes."

Coach Abu nodded thoughtfully after hearing this: "Well, what you said does make some sense."

The factory manager stood aside and said disapprovingly: "However, the individual strength gap between the two players is still there. In this case, I'm afraid that these fancy routines don't have much practical significance."

However, when the game really started, the development of the situation on the field once again exceeded everyone's expectations and was completely different from what they had imagined.

Both teams played extremely steadily in the early stages of the game, developing steadily without too many kills.

T1 also tried to initiate several attacks, but FNC's vision control was very good, and the players played very cautiously, not giving T1 any chance at all.

After waiting until the middle of the game, both sides finally had the opportunity to engage in a large-scale team battle.

At this time, the role of the little mage in the FNC mid laner was really reflected!

Whenever T1's heroes want to enter the field to start a team fight, the little mage's E skill "Distorted Space" can always be accurately released at a key position, causing T1's subsequent heroes to be unable to keep up with the output in time and the formation to be instantly disconnected.

The factory manager looked at the stalemate on the screen and couldn't help but muttered:

"T1... they can't lose to FNC in the first group match, right? Why do I feel like this is really going to happen?"

The final result was indeed shocking - the T1 team really lost to the FNC team from Europe in the first game of the group stage!

At this moment, everyone in the EDG lounge was dumbfounded.

Meiko couldn't help but complain: "I feel that T1 was defeated by FNC's little mage in this game! Moreover, it was not because of how brilliant the little mage player's operation was, but purely because his E skill was too restraining to T1's lineup!"

Iboy also said with deep emotion: "It's outrageous! The overall strength of the European and American regions has indeed improved visibly, and is much stronger than before."

The game is still going on. The next team to appear is the LPL region's second seed FPX team. They will face the CG team from the LCS region.

Su Mo picked up his phone, took a look at the LPL expedition group, and found that the FPX players were sending messages frantically in the group.

FPX, Doinb: "Brothers, brothers! Come on, cheer for us FPX! Withstand the pressure!"

FPX, Tian: "The current situation in our Group C is really a bit confusing! T1 can actually lose to FNC, doesn't that mean that FNC also has a great chance of advancing from our death group? This is completely messed up, it's all messed up! It feels very dangerous to lose to anyone, we must steadily defeat CG!"

IG, Ning: "Phoenix team, if you can't even beat CG, then I suggest you don't play in the subsequent games, just withdraw and go back to LPL."

EDG, Mo: “Yeah, I think so too.”

IG, Jackeylove: "Wow! Even Mozi said so. Brothers from FPX, do you feel the pressure now?"

Fortunately, however, things did not develop in the worst direction.

In the end, the FPX team relied on their superior strength to firmly defeat the CG team and achieved a good start in their S9 World Championship.

An hour later, the EDG team also ushered in their second group match of the day.

This time, the opponent is the JT team from the LMS region!

Facing the relatively weaker JT, EDG did not give the opponent any chances and finally passed the level relatively easily, successfully finishing all the games today.

The perfect record of 2-0 and two wins in both games is a good start for EDG's group stage journey. (End of this chapter)