LOL: What is a concept player?

Chapter 350 Chu Shen always appears before us in ways we never imagined!

In an instant, on forums in major regions around the world, countless people were discussing the words that Miller and others had just said.

A three-time champion, achieving three consecutive Grand Slams since his debut. If Chu Ran really achieves this, he will not only be unprecedented, but also likely unmatched in the future. No one can surpass Chu Ran.

Unless a player even more terrifying than Chu Ran emerges in the future, it will be difficult to surpass him, because if Chu Ran really achieves three consecutive Grand Slams, you would have to achieve four to surpass him.

Moreover, Chu Ran is currently at his peak.

This made countless Chu Ran haters afraid. They were worried that if Chu Ran really achieved this, wouldn't the entire LPL be dominated by Chu Ran?

There is nowhere left for them to breathe.

So they started spouting nonsense on various forums, constantly predicting the downfall of IG this year and praising other teams, since they didn't know whether the other teams would win or not.

However, all they knew was that if they could put some pressure on IG through public opinion, causing them to make mistakes or not perform at their best in the upcoming S-series, perhaps this small mistake would prevent the entire team from winning this year's S-series championship.

that's enough.

They'd do anything as long as Chu Ran didn't achieve three Grand Slam titles.

The most outrageous among them are Han Xiaozi and Ke Za. If Chu Ran surpasses their proud three-time world champion Faker, how can they face the LPL?
[This is ridiculous! The World Championship hasn't even started yet, and you guys are already bragging about the three-time world champions. It's making me laugh.]

[The outcome is uncertain, anything is possible, understand? What? SKT performed poorly at MSI, so they'll perform poorly at Worlds too?]

[You guys probably don't know how strong G2 is this year. All of Ran's commonly used jungle champions have been nerfed, and jungle carries are hard to play now. So why is Ran still invincible?]

This group of people just loves to ignore the facts and then lick the boots of scoundrels.

Such comments kept emerging, and many fans who supported Chu Ran found that for every one person they criticized, four or five more would pop up elsewhere. It's impossible that they didn't hire online trolls.

Besides those who are pessimistic about IG and Chu Ran, GSL players have started to become active again.

Because of LPL's outstanding performance in major international tournaments in recent years, they secured the third seed from LCK and qualified directly for the S-series group stage. This means that RNG, ranked third in points, does not need to play in the play-in stage and can directly participate in the group stage.

Despite being third, they are more confident than IG fans.

The world's number one ADC is about to shine again on the S-series stage. Mid Tiger, the last face of domestic mid laners, will show the world that LPL has more than just Chu Ran as a top domestic mid laner.

There's also the support player most suited to the world's number one ADC, and the most reckless jungler Ning Mazi. Basically, whatever title sounds impressive, they'll put it on their heads. As long as they have enough titles, there can be countless "world's number one".

At the same time, at RNG's victory celebration, Uzi saw these netizens' comments and was all smiles. "Ran Chu is really lucky. Most people don't want to see him win three Grand Slams."

"Definitely. If we let him achieve three Grand Slams, then we might as well disband the LPL and just let Chu Ran play in every World Championship." Manager San Shao chimed in.

The online mockery of RNG this time wasn't really a full-blown attack; it was mainly because other clubs were feeling fear, all trying to survive better in the LPL. Chu Ran's popularity was already suffocating many clubs.

If Chu Ran were to win three more Grand Slam titles, they might as well just disband the club on the spot.

Therefore, not letting Chu Ran win his third Grand Slam is something that not only Riot Games and other regions don't want to see, but even their own region doesn't want to see it either, except for some viewers, of course.

For a long time, some viewers have hoped to see someone in the LPL surpass Faker. Now they finally see hope, so they are leaving a lot of messages on Chu Ran's Weibo, asking when Chu Ran will return.

After the Summer Split finals ended that day, the biggest trending topic was not IG's victory, but the heated discussion about Chu Ran's three Grand Slam titles, which had already caused a huge uproar.

Moreover, some people are praising LCK, and aside from the three-time world champion SKT, the unexpected rise of GRF has amazed countless netizens.

Especially that evening, although Doinb lost the finals that day, he still acted as if nothing had happened and started streaming, interacting with his monkey followers.

"My God, don't underestimate LCK this year. Putting SKT aside, do you know GRF? Chovy, Doran, Viper, anyone who has watched their games knows just how terrifying this team is."

"Chovy is simply not human. He's already been hailed by the LCK region as Faker's successor, the second generation of Faker. Go look at Chovy's stats. I can only tell you they're exaggerated, extremely exaggerated. He's practically a hexagonal warrior. Viper is also incredibly skilled. I feel he can rival Bang."

"Besides this team, do you know DWG? You guys don't watch LCK, this team is just like the Tigers back in the day, it's a 'net cafe' team!"

When Doinb finished speaking, many viewers in his live stream gasped in shock. This was mainly because Doinb had pulled up Chovy's data, and Chovy had not yet reached the level of the 'Right Hand' in the future.

But it's still quite exaggerated; all the data points are top-notch.

Many viewers were not only amazed by Chovy's stats, but also by DWG, the internet cafe team. Despite being only the third seed from the LCK this year, they managed to fight their way up from an internet cafe team to the top three in the top league.

That alone is enough to prove their strength.

Especially their top, mid, jungle, and support players, who are among the best of the best.

Nuguri, hailed as the Korean TheShy, along with Canyon, the top-tier Nidalee player, Showmake, the diminutive mid laner, and the heavyweight BeryL.

"Yes, DWG's support is incredibly OP. According to my inside information, he hardly trains, you know? He trains through meditation and loves playing Genshin Impact. But you could say he's the best support in LCK this year without any problem."

[Holy crap! Original!]

Wow, I checked it out, this team is amazing!

That's not just exaggerated, I feel they have the strength to win the World Championship, as long as they get into form.

Is this another ROX?

[Not necessarily. Rox didn't succeed; they might just be a copy of Rox.]

Doinb's live stream chat exploded instantly, and after saying all that, Doinb added, "But I think they're still a little bit behind FPX, guys."

These clips from his live stream were immediately shared on the Anti-Japanese War forum, sparking heated discussions among countless forum members.

How would you evaluate Doinb's statement that LCK is truly making a comeback this year? Three-time champion SKT, rising star GRF, and DWG, comparable to ROX Tigers.

What do you all think? Has LCK really risen to prominence this year?

How should we view the emergence of so many outstanding talents in the LCK? Two years ago, there weren't so many talented players, but this year many phenomenal talents have appeared. Conversely, in the LPL, there are almost no newcomers.

Is this still the most promising year?

Netizens offered a variety of opinions, each arguing their point. However, a League of Legends video blogger posted a video titled "The Year with the Least Hope for LPL," which immediately went viral on the internet within days.

Based on his analysis from various aspects, he concluded that the European region and LCK are very strong this year, while LPL, although also good, does not have the terrifying dominance it had in the previous two years.

If you're not careful, you could very well end up losing your job.

Therefore, this is the year with the least hope for LPL. His words were recognized and agreed upon by countless people, and immediately became the mainstream voice on major LPL forums before the S-series. Gradually, those who couldn't stand seeing LPL do well began to praise teams like G2 and DWG.

Not so lively!

Chu Ran and the others were well aware of the hype surrounding them, but they ignored it. Jackeylove and the others trained like crazy, believing that even in the year with the least hope, as long as they were strong enough, they could silence the doubters.

"Damn, these people are spineless, always kneeling down. They think our LPL teams are no good, right? What is DWG anyway? They're just a 'net cafe' team, only third in LCK. Now they're hyping them up to be Rox by a million times."

Inside the IG club, Meiko was venting his frustrations when suddenly a brilliant idea struck him, and he opened the chat interface with Mingkai.

[Kai, what do you think of DWG compared to ROX? Especially their jungler Canyon compared to Peanut.]

[Get lost, go compare yourself to BeryL.]

【Kai, why are you resorting to personal attacks? Are you jealous that I went to the World Championship while you can only watch the games at home?】

Upon seeing Meiko's message, Mingkai, who was preparing for a vacation at the EDG club, was furious and wanted nothing more than to go and beat Meiko up right then and there.

"Brother Kai, what's wrong?" It was Spicy Hot Pot's voice. He was really worried lately. He had lost money on stocks again. If you were to ask who in the EDG club regretted Chu Ran leaving the most, it would definitely be Spicy Hot Pot.

Even if Chu Ran stayed with EDG, he couldn't save Mlxg. It's not like he didn't tell Mlxg which stocks to buy on the chat app, but the guy just couldn't grasp the wealth.

The stock price was rising overall, but he would immediately sell when he saw it drop slightly. Then, a few days later, he would find that the stock price had rebounded, so he would sell again, and this cycle would repeat itself.

In the end, you buy at the peak, then it plummets, leaving you with huge losses.

"That beast Tianye mocked me for only being able to watch the game at home." Mingkai was genuinely furious. "It's only Xiaoran who gave him that confidence."

"Of course it is! Sigh, why didn't Ran take me with him when he left?" Mala Xiangguo sighed, looking up at the sky. "By the way, where has Ran gone lately? I can't get in touch with him at all."

"I don't know, he might be playing somewhere, and he'll suddenly appear when the World Championship comes around."

Mingkai was filled with emotion. Some people can get the world championship spot that countless people dream of, or even the world champion, even without much training. That's the terror of talent.

To be honest...

As a former teammate and friend, he hopes Chu Ran will win the championship again.

As EDG's coach, he really doesn't want to see Chu Ran win the championship. If Chu Ran wins the championship again, other clubs will really be out of luck. Faker and SKT are examples of this.

Since S7, SKT and Faker have been losing one after another, eventually losing their godlike status. Otherwise, LCK would still be dominated by SKT.

"I'm jealous!"

At that moment, roars of envy, jealousy, and hatred echoed throughout the EDG club, including IG. Rooike and others were engrossed in their training when they saw the background behind Chu Ran in the video.

Snow-capped mountains and sunshine are enough to make anyone drool with envy.

"No, buddy, LPL just gave gold bars to every club owner, but Ran, you weren't here, so IG can't get them. Come back soon."

Hearing Jackeylove's words, Chu Ran smiled slightly, "Don't panic, I'll be back in a while."

And the "time" that Chu Ran mentioned actually meant quite a long time had passed.

A few days later, LPL held its S-series send-off ceremony, an annual event that is essentially a fan meet-and-greet under the guise of sending off the team, while each team delivers a powerful promotional message.

Although it's watched every year, the popularity remains high. After the LPL send-off ceremony, the entire internet is filled with people cheering for FPX and RNG.

Time flies, and in no time at all, the S-series qualifying rounds were over. As everyone expected, DWG, the internet cafe team that had been the focus of attention worldwide, successfully made it through.

It's fortunate that this year's DWG team isn't at its full strength yet; that guy who claims to have played 3,000 games in Silver rank hasn't joined yet.

Meanwhile, the results of the lottery were also announced very quickly.

Group A: SKT, FNC, RNG, CG
Group B: IG, JT, GAM, SPY
Group C: G2, GRF, C9, HKA
Group D: TL, AHQ, FPX, DWG
The results of this lottery shocked the world!

The forums of various competition regions were immediately abuzz with excitement and heated discussions, especially in the LPL, where fans of FPX and RNG began to claim that this was the best possible draw!
[My goodness, the puppy is going to run into SKT again! He's going to crush them this time!]

[Awesome! ROX II and DWG are no match for our FPX. We sent them straight to the top 16!]

[Tsk tsk, IG is really lucky; their entire group is full of noobs.]

Don't let these lousy bastards bring down IG.

Why is this considered the best draw? Look, Uzi led RNG to a crushing victory over SKT in Group A, then IG struggled to advance from Group B, and were ultimately eliminated by either the top team from Group C or Group D—either G2 or FPX. One of these teams is guaranteed to get revenge. Finally, the finals will be an all-LPL showdown between RNG and FPX. Isn't that the best draw?

[Oh yeah, yeah, oh yeah, Kuroko's fantasizing again. He should play less Genshin Impact and eat less fancy food; he's even hallucinating from overeating.]

【Wait, why is there still no news about Chu Shen? Is he not even going to participate in the World Championship?】

Amidst the heated discussion, many people still paid attention to Chu Ran's news, especially his Weibo. They kept refreshing the page but couldn't find any new posts.

Countless fans were calling for Chu Ran to come back soon, but even after the S-series group stage started, they still hadn't heard any news from Chu Ran.

In mid-September, the first day of the group stage of the S-series began, and the Verti Concert Hall in Berlin, Germany, was packed with people, while the live broadcast rooms of various competition regions were also extremely popular.

Many GSL and science magazines have been waiting for this day for far too long.

One person said they wanted revenge, to speedrun SKT and set a faster record than IG, while the other thought they would see Faker beat his son again.

Miller and Guan Zeyuan's voices suddenly rang out from the LPL commentary booth.

"Alright, welcome everyone to the first day of the group stage of the 2019 League of Legends World Championship. Next up is the match between SKT and RNG. I'm your commentator, Miller!"

"I'm commentator Zeyuan!!"

"Well then, we have a very distinguished guest today. Let's all give a round of applause to welcome—God Chu!!!"

After Miller finished speaking, the director's camera shifted to Chu Ran's face. "Hello everyone, it's been a long time. Did you miss me? How could RNG's World Championship be complete without me? I've been commentating every year!"

"I'm Easy!"

quiet!
At this moment, both the scene and the live broadcast room fell into dead silence!

(End of this chapter)