LOL: Can’t I play other games professionally?

Chapter 444 Abu is very humane.
This was probably the most correct and decisive decision Byun Sang-il made throughout the entire campaign, at least preventing him from being left with no one to command.

He had no choice but to persevere as long as there was even a sliver of hope of winning.

The problem is there isn't any, not even a penny, so it's better to castrate it sooner rather than later.

Seeing Byun Sang-il's serious expression, Lin Ruo thought he was about to unleash a powerful move and began to consider all sorts of possibilities for a comeback.

As a result, Byun Sang-il ordered it, which was completely contrary to his expectations.

Seriously, officer?

That's how you play it.

Even though Lin Ruo racked his brains to find a way for Black to survive, the conclusion was that it would be better to just restart the game, as the winning rate would be several times higher than this game.

Therefore, it is quite reasonable to believe that the vote was cast.

Lin Ruo, who hadn't exerted much effort throughout the match, felt that his game had been quite weak. Despite having played over 160 moves, his opponent was too busy running to give him any real chance to exert his strength.

This was an outcome he hadn't anticipated, which resulted in neither a dominant game nor a satisfying game of fighting spirit.

Fighting is fun!

Yeah, I'm not happy today anyway.

In a sense, Byun Sang-il also won, because he successfully disgusted him.

Under the media's lens, the two briefly stood up, shook hands, and exchanged greetings before each putting away their chessboards.

Byun Sang-il had no intention of requesting a review of the game, because he knew exactly how badly he had played today.

It's like a hybrid of two halves; he hasn't developed any distinctive style of play.

So what's the point of reviewing the game? Just to see how pathetic you looked running around? Isn't that just giving your opponents a chance to laugh at you?

Having lost many times, Byun Sang-il was filled with complex emotions. He found it hard to accept this kind of defeat. Perhaps it was the pressure before the match, or perhaps he had become too engrossed in studying his opponent.

Completely abandoning the original approach, my mind went blank and I couldn't perform anything.

Actually, it's better to put it another way: he was completely brainless in this game, probably already eaten by zombies on his way here.

"I was unprepared, and I performed poorly today."

"No, you're just too well-prepared." Lin Ruo was practically saying that you overthought things before the competition, so look at how pathetic you are now.

Playing like this is not as good as studying the rules; you might have a much higher chance of winning.

Playing like this, is the pressure I'm putting on you really that much? I've already tortured you to the point of being unrecognizable before the match even started.

Indeed, Lin Ruo felt that she was someone who easily put pressure on others.

There's nothing he can do; being too outstanding has its limitations, and he's helpless about it.

In conclusion, Lin Ruo easily defeated the 9-dan player and advanced to the semifinals of the next round without any pressure.

It's once again generating a lot of buzz online, accompanied by uncontrollable excitement.

Having eliminated Shin Jinseo and Byun Sangil, both strong figures in the Korean Go world, the significance of their advancement is self-evident.

Now the Go audience was completely relieved. Lin Ruo really had the skill, and it seemed to be on the verge of becoming invincible.

Suddenly, the internet was flooded with memes again.

[What was that line again? "Call Park Jung-hwan!" I told you to call Park Jung-hwan!]

[The classic "calling out" moment, but this time, if it's Lin Shen, speak louder!]

[Lin Ruo: You know, Ke Jie is my idol. I will trample Park Jung-hwan under my feet to avenge him.]

[Ke Jie would definitely be unhappy if he saw this; he's so proud he doesn't need anyone to avenge him.]

[Can we fast forward to the championship win? It feels like Lin is out of control! I'm already imagining his face when he wins. Holy crap, he's so arrogant! I really want to give him a good beating.]

[Wow, they're already fantasizing about Lin winning the championship before the semifinals even start. How arrogant! I know it's really asking for a beating, haha.]

[Let's settle things with Park Jung-hwan in the semifinals, thank you. I'm afraid my heart won't be able to handle it if we drag it to the finals.]

[Let's have a final match. Actually, I prefer a 3-0 score.]

Park Jung-hwan is already trembling with fear. Guys, stop talking. Look, he's already recovered from his mistake.

...

During the break between the two matches, the other three tables were still in progress, especially the match between Park Jung-hwan and Ichiriki Ryo, the top players from Japan and South Korea.

Although it didn't garner as much attention as the match between Lin Ruo and Byun Sang-il, the quality of the game was indeed much higher than Byun Sang-il's completely uncontrolled play.

Park Jung-hwan plays white, and Ichiriki Ryo plays black.

White's opening was generally stable, while Black, who had the initiative, was relatively aggressive. After White exchanged moves 10 and 12, White jumped up at 14 and began to pursue efficiency on the right side.

After both sides established their footing, Black 23 invaded, and Park Jung-hwan initiated the battle.

Black played move 31, which was a push, and White played move 32, which was another cut, and the situation became chaotic.

When Lin Ruo came to rest off the court, the game had reached the crucial stage of the mid-game, and there was still no clear winner.

However, Ichiriki Ryo's continuous pressure in the middle game caused a major problem. Although it was satisfying, it allowed White to capture a large number of stones on the upper side. It is clear that his thinking here was too simplistic.

Park Jung-hwan, on the other hand, is a very steady person who can easily seize fatal opportunities. After Il-ryo made a mistake, he quickly gained momentum and took the initiative on the board.

Many people think that the situation is pretty much settled.

...

At this moment, inside the EDG club.

Last night, Mingkai played a few ranked games on the Korean server to study the current version. When he woke up, it was already past midnight and the sun was high in the sky.

Mingkai, who was paying attention, checked the progress of the Mengbaihe Cup competition as soon as possible.

as predicted.

Lin Ruo won again when she woke up.

And they won so quickly. Beating a professional 9-dan player is as easy as eating and drinking. Don't forget that the other matches are still going strong.

Without bothering to tidy up, Mingkai got up, quickly washed up, and left his room, heading straight to Abu's office. Lin Ruo had made it into the semifinals, and the Summer Tournament was only three days away.

Lin Ruo definitely won't be coming to the first match.

"This kid, how can he be so fierce? Is he even human?" This result clearly left Abu in the office dumbfounded.

He used to think Lin Ruo's reminder was just bragging, but now he has actually made it into the top four and is starting to move towards becoming the champion.

This means I won't be able to play the first match of the Summer Split, and I probably won't be able to make it for the second match four days later either.

“Deduct his salary. This kid is not doing his job properly. We must deduct his salary.”

Abu was completely numb. He had only joked about sending Lin Ruo before; he never imagined that they could actually make it to the very end and become the hope of Chinese Go...

A League of Legends pro player becoming the hope of Chinese Go is absurd, no doubt about it.

Abu was starting to panic when he saw the live interview in the chat room.

A reporter tactfully inquired about the scheduling conflict between League of Legends and Go competitions: "The League of Legends Summer Split is about to begin. If Lin Ruo continues to participate in the upcoming matches, it may delay the regular season. How do you plan to adjust this?"

Should we adjust it?
Lin Ruo answered simply, "Since I'm already here, of course I won't participate in the regular season for now."

Lin Ruo can still distinguish between the regular season champion and the Mengbaihe Cup champion; after all, it's a difference between 180 million and no prize money.

This made Abu certain to explode, but fortunately Lin Ruo immediately bailed him out: "Our club's manager, Mr. Bu, is very humane. He approved it in advance and even said that if I win the championship, he will give me an extra 200,000 yuan bonus on behalf of the club."

Abu's mood improved considerably after hearing the first half of the sentence, but the second half changed his tune, causing his face to darken and him to transform into Dark Bu in front of Mingkai.

"No, who said we were going to give him a bonus? A League of Legends player playing Go and I'm supposed to give him a bonus? Is there any justice in this world?"

It all boils down to repeating those three words: "I'll deduct your salary when you get back, you absolutely have to deduct your salary!"
But little did anyone expect that the interview wasn't over yet, nor was Lin Ruo's talk about controlling her temperature.

Despite remembering nothing, he eventually recalled Abu's previous instructions amidst his excitement: that he should also take advantage of the match's influence to promote the club.

So he simply said a few words: "I am very happy to participate in professional competitions and join EDG. It is rare to see such a good club. Thanks to the boss's strong support, I am able to stand on the Go competition stage in my spare time."

"Also, our EDG team is still missing two sponsor logos on our chests. We welcome all interested friends to join the EDG family."

Lin Ruo spoke very frankly. After all, the interview was only a few sentences long, and the next question would follow immediately, so it was really inappropriate to be subtle.

Just write a few random words to give Xiaobu an explanation.

Abu clearly appreciated the publicity from the public for EDG, so it's not a big deal that they didn't participate in the first two matches of the Summer Split.

There's no way around it, Go is just too popular right now.

As an ancient cultural symbol of China, once it breaks out of its niche, its influence on the audience is indeed much greater than that of games like League of Legends.

Based on Lin Ruo's few words alone, if EDG were a company, their stock would inevitably rise by several percentage points.

"Okay, cough cough, I forgive him. Actually, it's a good thing to win the Go championship against the Koreans and bring glory to the country. It's just the first two games of the summer tournament. Just prepare well, and with Haro on the team, there won't be any problems."

Abu, who was in a great mood, quickly changed his expression and didn't forget to call Lin Ruo after the interview to comfort him: "Great job, great job, you performed very well. It's okay if you come back a little late. Remember to win the championship and don't embarrass EDG."

If Lin Ruozhen wins the championship, it will give EDG another boost, and they can buy trending topics to hype it up.

Their EDG team is probably more than just the number one League of Legends club in China.

"Why are you pushing your luck?" Lin Ruo thought, ignoring the phone as she hung up. "At least pay some advertising fees, right?"
Why didn't you mention the 200,000 yuan bonus you just talked about? That makes it very unmotivating, you know?

The match lasted until around 13 p.m., when the quarterfinals of the Mengbaihe Cup finally came to an end.

In the end, Park Jung-hwan prevailed over Japanese national player Ichiriki Ryo, narrowly advancing to the semifinals of the Mlily Cup as South Korea's last hope.

The remaining three seats were all occupied by Chinese players, who had a larger share of the player population.

Fan Tingyu, 9-dan; Liao Yuanhe, 7-dan; and Lin Ruochu, 1-dan, who advanced early.

Without wasting any more time, the draw for the semi-finals took place immediately after the match.

The rules will be changed this time, and it will be converted to a best-of-three system, with one game per day, and the games will not be played every other day, but will be played quickly on the second day after a short interval.

In other words, the four players who just finished the quarterfinals will not have any rest time.

"Let's have Park Jung-hwan, I'd love to see that." Li Weiqing was already guessing the result from the sidelines as soon as the draw started. He couldn't wait to see Lin Ruo and Park Jung-hwan battle it out and stage a final showdown ahead of time.

But things don't always go as planned. In the draw results that the media was watching closely, Lin Ruo's opponent in the semifinals will be Liao Yuanhe, a 7-dan player.

"Liao Yuanhe, 7th Dan, and Lin Ruo have finally run into their own player. This is a showdown between two top players of the new era."

Wild Fox commentary first introduced their opponent, Liao Yuanhe, to the many viewers who hadn't paid enough attention, before starting to look ahead to the match.

As long as the duel between the two is exciting, the winner will represent the ultimate goal of Chinese Go.

In comparison, perhaps the other match between China and South Korea should be their more pressing concern.

Will the Chinese Go players who have already secured a spot in the finals be able to meet in the finals and sweep the so-called championship and runner-up positions?

If the opponent is Park Jung-hwan, the difficulty can only be described as very high, but since the competition has not yet started, there is already a certain level of hope to look forward to.

"It's alright, as long as Park Jung-hwan didn't run into him." Unlike Li Weiqing, who only wanted to see Lin Ruo fight Park Jung-hwan, Zhang Ruo could accept this result.

Liao Yuanhe is also a fledgling post-2000s Go player. If it weren't for Lin Ruo, he would probably be the youngest Chinese Go player to reach the end of this tournament.

However, regardless of the circumstances, he is still too young. If he can't face Park Jung-hwan, then sending the more experienced veteran Fan Ting-yu 9-dan to fight him will definitely put more pressure on him.

This can be considered one of the better consumption strategies to some extent.

Please take care of me tomorrow.

At the forefront of the stage.

The two stood up, walked to the center, smiled and shook hands, and then posed for a photo in front of the media in preparation for the match.
Lin Ruo had some impression of Liao Yuanhe, a Go player who would also have a place in the future of Chinese Go, but not much. She only knew that he had never been able to reach the ninth dan, but was still one of the top players.

Shortly after, Fan Tingyu 9-dan and Park Jung-hwan 9-dan shook hands and exchanged pleasantries on the stage, officially concluding the draw ceremony.

The next day, the semi-finals of the Mengbaihe Cup will quickly unfold in a fast-paced manner.

After returning to the hotel, Lin Ruo did nothing in the afternoon but took a good nap. After dinner, she played two games of chess on Wild Fox to warm up, which was her preparation for the competition.

In this internal conflict, Go enthusiasts naturally gravitate towards both sides, and it's difficult to force them to support either side.

However, since it is a best-of-three match, the margin for error in the game will be greatly increased. Whoever advances this time will definitely be the strongest, without exception.

(End of this chapter)