LOL: Can’t I play other games professionally?

Chapter 405 On-field Game: Is it okay for me to play even as a substitute?

After two hours of live streaming, as the sky in Berlin gradually brightened and the morning rush hour approached, Lin Ruo, who had only drunk less than a bottle of Red Bull, decided to stop the live stream.

It wasn't that he was particularly tired, but rather that the training match was starting that afternoon, and maintaining the same time interval was crucial for mental well-being.

After winning three games and gaining a significant number of points, bringing her one step closer to Platinum, Lin Ruo bid farewell to the audience and then turned off her computer to rest.

When I got up again, it was almost 11 a.m. I went to the hotel lobby for lunch at Abu's urging, and then came back to train.

Finally remembering something, Lin Ruo changed his clothes, washed up, and went out. He remembered that he was going to treat Xiao Huasheng to beef noodles, so now was the perfect time to do so.

What he didn't expect was that Xiao Huasheng seemed to have a real love for beef noodles. In the few days before he even made a purchase, he had already gone to a Chinese restaurant near Berlin to try it.

This caught Lin Ru off guard. Should she still go eat beef noodles...?

Well, considering that there wasn't much time left before afternoon training, Lin Ruo simply met up with Xiao Huasheng at the restaurant, said hello, and had a meal to get by.

Peanut was probably too busy with training matches to talk much with Lin Ruo.

Sitting with the KZ players, Lin Ruo could vaguely sense the hostility on the faces of the Korean oppas, especially Khan, even though they were communicating amicably in Korean.

It's obvious they desperately want to beat EDG; they're so eager to eat that they barely speak, and just seeing him ignites their fighting spirit.

Lin Ruo had no choice but to finish his meal and run away quickly. Almost all the teams participating in MSI were gathered in the hotel, except for FNC, who were playing on their home turf and could stay in their own base.

This year's domestic powerhouse G2 failed to make it to MSI, and without Perkz's trash talk, their Twitter buzz inevitably decreased significantly.

Western audiences have moved from discussing the pre-match trash talk to observing the preparations of all teams.

KZ is always the most diligent. According to spoilers from many European and American commentators, KZ has already played nearly 20 scrims in just three days.

More than half of the matches were against FNC, and the rest were against TL.

As teams that have just entered the group stage, FW and the Vietnamese team haven't had much time to participate in the initial scrimmages.

EDG also played scrims during their time in the LPL, against KZ, who hadn't even started their campaign yet. After a few days of scrims, they almost made KZ question their existence.

This is probably why KZ came to Berlin and put in so much effort to prepare; they really wanted to be in top form to face EDG.

"The group stage starts the day after tomorrow. Our first opponent is FNC, followed by TL and KZ. We have to play three games on the first day."

Before the afternoon training match began, Abu gave everyone a briefing.

The MSI group stage schedule is still running very fast, with each team playing a total of ten matches over five days to determine the top four teams in the group to advance to the knockout stage, following the same format and rules as last year.

"Who are our opponents?" Tianye asked, sitting in a chair. He only knew that they wouldn't be playing against KZ today.

Presumably because the two teams were scheduled to face off in their first match, KZ chose to decline the challenge and instead focused on practicing against other teams.

Abu, on the other hand, found the entire provincial team FW. They still quite like to clash with EDG, especially since Flash Wolves have maintained their dominance as always this year, even after losing Karsa.

The contributions of the new Korean jungler are indispensable, which has given the entire FW team confidence for their MSI journey.

However, after an afternoon, FW's confidence was completely dashed.

Their scrimmag with EDG ended in a 3-0 defeat, with no chance of fighting back. Anyone who hesitated for even a second would be disrespecting their own intelligence.

What made them even more devastated was that Lin Ruo only played in the last of the three training matches, and in the first two matches, EDG, with Haro on the team, still beat them so badly that they were left with mixed feelings.

Is this EDG? FW members silently changed their goal of winning the championship to winning the runner-up position.

After all, considering EDG's choice last year, if they could replicate that this year, wouldn't EDG have the right to choose their opponent once they advance from the group stage, and the semifinals would be another so-called China-Korea showdown?

They only need to defeat any one of the European or American teams to advance to the finals.

It's impossible for the FW players not to feel regret when they think back to last year's loss to G2 and missing out on a huge chance to reach the finals.

Two days of preparation passed quickly, and the opening day of MSI, May 11th, arrived in no time.

On this morning, a major event unexpectedly caused a sensation on forums both at home and abroad.

That is about EDG's starting lineup. Spring Split MVP Lin Ruo was relegated to the substitute position and became one of the spectators at the scene.

This sparked a heated discussion among Western audiences.

[Oh my god, without Lin Shen playing, the guys should know how much fun they lose and how boring it becomes.]

Yes, I've decided not to stream tomorrow.

[Everyone else is focused on whether or not they'll watch the match, but am I the only one wondering whether EDG looks down on FNC or not?]

[Dude, you're probably only trying to say one thing: EDG looks down on FNC.]

[You dare look down on our European teams? Well, sorry, Lin's image is already tarnished in my eyes. Well, he can only be redeemed if he doesn't play against KZ.]

Is it possible that Lin Shen's absence is a deliberate attempt to give us a chance? After all, FNC's chances of winning with Lin Shen on the field are less than 1%, so Lin Shen is clearly protecting us. I can't help it, my admiration for him has only deepened.

Western viewers, already hopelessly caught up in the memes, are completely oblivious to Lin Ruo, treating him like their god and showering him with praise.

As long as Lin Shen doesn't fail, they will never leave. Sorry, they just really admire the strong.

—

On the day of the match.

The audience at the European LCS studio was sparse, hardly befitting a world-class tournament. This wasn't due to a lack of enthusiasm from European viewers.

But...

"This studio is so small! Can it even seat more than 500 people?"

Scout, who is used to big events, was experiencing a mini-event for the first time.

Only Mingkai sighed with emotion: "Back when we first started out, we had competition venues even smaller than this. Our esports scene has indeed developed much better than that of European and American teams."

Exaggeration may be an exaggeration, but the LPL's rise to become a highly popular event in just one year does demonstrate its ability in certain match strategies.

Compared to the stagnation of the European and American markets, China and South Korea have given unprecedented support to the development of esports, which has led to the current situation.

They continued chatting in the break room, and when the match time came to around 17 PM, Riot Games staff promptly came to invite them on stage. On the small stage in the studio, a few hundred European spectators waited quietly with cheers for the start of the new year's MSI competition.

With the opening remarks of the blonde, blue-eyed female host, all the participating teams took the stage, starting with the host team FNC, who received a warm welcome upon their entrance.

Then came their arch-rivals, North American team Team Liquid (TL), where the genuinely passionate European audience booed them incessantly.

The senior player on stage smiled and remained silent, waving his hand. He would only use his strength to slap the faces of these European spectators, because they shouldn't forget that TSM had been invincible in scrims these past two days.

Oh, wait, I almost forgot I've already transferred to Team Liquid. Yes, it's Team Liquid who have been invincible in scrims these past few days.

Therefore, the senior brother has great confidence in achieving good results, but it's hard to say whether his other teammates have the same confidence.

Next up were FW and the Vietnamese team, who also received considerable support. Out of politeness, the European audience tried their best to create the greatest enthusiasm for any team except TL.

This includes KZ, who are participating in MSI for the first time and have gained a lot of support from European viewers due to their historical performance in LCK.

Finally, the entire EDG team made their appearance.

Holding the microphone, the beautiful European host shouted at the top of her lungs: "Next, let's welcome the team that won the Grand Slam last year and is the strongest contender for this year's MSI championship, EDG from the LPL!"

The spotlight shone on the entrance to the passage, and Lin Ruo walked at the front holding the championship trophy, causing the European audience to go into a frenzy.

This is far beyond what the cheers and applause from the front can compare to.

EDG's popularity is so high that the camera never stops rolling, and the cheers are even louder than those of the home team FNC, especially the European audience who are passionately chanting a single name.

"Lin God!"

"Lin God!"

Calmly leading the team to the center of the stage, he slowly placed the championship trophy on the high platform, leaving Lin Ruo, who was listening, somewhat dazed.

He knew he was somewhat popular in Europe and America, but he didn't expect it to be this popular.

Anyone who didn't know better would think this was EDG's home stadium.
So the question is, in the upcoming opening match between EDG and FNC, who will European viewers support?
Of course, we support FNC, because Lin Ruo is not in the starting lineup; he is just a substitute. European viewers will undoubtedly support their own region's champion.

After a short preparation, both teams quickly returned to the field and took their seats to adjust their equipment.

"Lin Ruo didn't start today, and I think that's a topic that's very worth discussing." The commentator, Maomao, was unusually excited.

The reason is simple: this may be FNC's best chance to defeat EDG.

If they can defeat last year's defending champions in the opening match, it will undoubtedly be a huge encouragement for the European region.

Perhaps FNC can maintain this confidence and deliver an even better performance than they have in the past.

Of course, this was just her opinion. Judging from Lin Ruoyi's smug expression in the lounge, he wasn't too worried about winning or losing the match.

At this time, Lin Ruo even had time to tweet in the European and American regions, transforming into a chat god: "Go EDG in the post-Lin Ruo era!"

Finally, unable to hold back any longer, Perkz passed by and liked the post, leaving his sincerest blessing: "If you can't beat FNC, then go home quickly. Look, our G2 has already gone home."

"Yes, we'll be home in ten days at most," Lin Ruo replied instantly.

Going home for ten days is actually quite good, considering that the MSI main event ended in a flash in just nine days.

Lin Ruo, who had closed Twitter, sat leisurely in the corner and started playing a screen protector game. He first tried to get the first win of the day by pushing the farm fast, and then looked up to take a look at the situation on the field.

Ten minutes passed without any movement from either side.

Haro's first game was so stable it was unnerving. He didn't even dare to invade Sejuani's jungle when playing Olaf, so he had almost no momentum in the early game.

Fortunately, FNC made a mistake at 11 minutes when Sejuani flash-topped Ryze, allowing Olaf and Tahm Kench to counter-attack. EDG secured the first blood and established a slight advantage.

Feeling that the rhythm was just right, Lin Ruo then switched to playing a mobile game, PUBG, and completed the daily first win mission. After Kuku finished his rampage and looked up again...

With the game nearing 25 minutes, EDG secured a significant advantage by taking down the mid-lane tower and securing two dragons, seemingly putting the entire tempo in their grasp.

However, European teams always seem to occasionally pull off some incredible team fights, managing to salvage the game somewhat.

In the blink of an eye, they were pushed to the edge of the high ground, and EDG seemed to have fallen into a disadvantageous position again.

However, a closer look at the economic situation reveals that this is merely a temporary resurgence for the FNC.

Ryze and Camille used the same double-push strategy again, and FNC had little ability to defend against it.

At this moment, Lin Ruo calmly started playing the third game, called Temple Run 2.

In the very first round, he fell into the abyss and died before he had even run 3000 meters. It wasn't that Lin Ruo was weak, but rather that Ming Kai's cheers next to him startled him.

Since FNC could pull off a miracle team fight, they could also easily send the game back; that's what happened next.

EDG capitalized on Camille's split push at 30 minutes, allowing Ryze to initiate Baron Nashor, securing the buff and bringing them within reach of victory.

Lin Ruo is also just a step away from breaking the running record. In the second round, he ran 5000 meters, which is already quite good.

Lin Ruo stopped playing after that, probably because the game had traps, minecarts, steel cables, and cliffs, making it incredibly tense and exciting, and the speed would increase as time went by.

This made his eyes feel a bit strained, and Lin Ruo had to admit that he wasn't suited to playing this kind of game; it was just too dazzling.

It is said that the current world record is held by someone who has run more than 20,000 meters. Lin Ruo doesn't know how anyone could run that distance with such a dazzling visual spectacle.

Does he have fiery eyes like Sun Wukong?

Anyway, he felt he couldn't do it, even if he could add some points to Deep Blue.

After a narrow escape with their first victory, EDG's entire team was eliminated. The match between KZ and TL followed closely behind, with the two European and American teams, both struggling, refusing to give an inch.

If we're going to lose, we'll lose together. We successfully teamed up and started the game 0-1, without wasting a single second.

Later, after the match between EVS and FW, EDG faced TL in the second round, with Haro still starting.

The audience didn't get to see Lin Ruo, but they did get to see her frantically tapping her phone horizontally in the scene where she was switching to the dressing room.

Is the substitute not watching the water cooler, but playing other games?

(End of this chapter)