LOL: Can’t I play other games professionally?

Chapter 478 If we lose the finals, we LPL will swim back home.

Not only did they win both matches against South Korea, but their match against Taiwan was also a "father beats son" situation, with no pressure whatsoever.

LPL viewers have no choice but to be reassured. The current LCK has completely lost its star-studded atmosphere. On the contrary, KZ's poor performance has only added to the feeling of two weak teams fighting each other.

Even the question of whether KZ could beat the Taiwanese team FW in the group stage the next day was a big one.

It turns out.

Can't beat it at all.

The next day, KZ, again starting in their match, was utterly crushed by FW, just like how they were blown out in the MSI group stage and in the Rift Rivals.

It's like the story was repeated.

FW, the anti-Korean hero and BO1 god, generously preserved the last vestige of dignity for the LMS.

KZ also threw away very generously.

After gaining an early advantage, Pray's Xayah suddenly died at the mid-lane tower at 20 minutes, causing the team to collapse and helping Flash Wolves win the team fight.

Then, at 23 minutes, they handed over the Baron Nashor. KZ, who arrived late, suffered a double loss, not only failing to secure the Baron but also losing three more kills.

At 25 minutes, FW used the Baron buff to push to the bottom lane high ground. KZ barely managed to turn the tide by winning a good team fight while taking advantage of the opponent's anxious mentality, but then they gave away another big kill.

In the end, FW's tactics of controlling the game and stealing bases resulted in a humiliating defeat. Unable to initiate team fights, they lost the match in disgrace, finishing the group stage with a record of zero losses.

Losing is losing. The scariest thing is that without comparison, there is no difference.

FW, who had just had a break, were immediately crushed by EDG.

Even among league champions, there is a gap. Just like at MSI, FW was completely unable to withstand EDG's hysterical attacks launched in the early stages.

Lin Ruo, who picked Taliyah jungle for the first time, showed no mercy to FW, just like he did to his LCK champion brothers KZ yesterday.

Taliyah is a champion with extremely high damage output and mobility. When she was switched to the jungle role, she thrived in Lin Ruo's hands.

All you need to do is place your E skill on the ground the instant your W skill lifts the enemy up, which is essentially spreading out a stone array.

Because when you land a full combo, you'll find that Taliyah's output is particularly high. After all, the EW combo can perfectly trigger Taliyah's passive, thus unleashing extremely high damage.

In other words, Taliyah is not afraid of anyone in a one-on-one fight in the early stages.

In particular, the continuous damage from the Q skill can be used to force enemies to reposition, thereby increasing the hit rate of the W skill. As long as you are skilled at using it in combination with E to unleash a burst of damage and kill the enemy, it is not difficult.

Level 6 players have an ultimate ability that greatly enhances their support capabilities. If they can position themselves well to enter the battlefield from the mid and bottom lanes, reaping kills will be a piece of cake.

As a result, although FW suffered a crushing defeat, they did not face much criticism from LMS viewers.

However, as the results of other matches were released the following day, the fighting spirit of LCK netizens soared to unprecedented heights.

I thought KZ had already embarrassed themselves enough, but it turns out they weren't the only ones who ended up embarrassing themselves.

It's one thing that AFS couldn't beat IG, but KT, on whom they had high hopes, also failed to beat the so-called RNG.

Even SKT, in the final match, was defeated by RW.

If RW with Xiaofu can still put up a good show, then RW with Cuzz wouldn't be so bad that they can only beat teams like KZ.

Furthermore, Lin Ruo provided some guidance on SKT's weaknesses during the draft phase, which further improved RW's win rate, allowing them to perform at their best.

It's because the other side has Nofe.

SKT, who already lacked star power, has seen their fighting strength drop to another level, and their loss was entirely expected and unsurprising.

After the final two days of group stage matches, LPL achieved an unprecedented perfect record of winning all eight matches, securing the first spot in the finals the day after tomorrow.

The situation is not good for LCK.

Four direct defeats against LPL teams, with the champions losing to other teams, and nearly finishing third in their group behind Taiwan, resulting in their worst international performance ever.

We've already lost all face, what face do we have left?

The insults and abuse on Korean online forums go beyond just being described as offensive.

Many LCK fans promptly drove large trucks to the gates of the four clubs, with KZ, as the leader, having to drive an extra truck to block the back gate.

Nofe, whose incredible draft picks were completely controlled by Lin Ruo behind RW, also deserves a few more stabs.

[Disband, disband! LCK should disband as soon as possible. There's no point in coming back this year. You may be shameless, but we still have some dignity.]

[Before disbanding, I suggest throwing the entire KZ team into the sea to feed the fish. How could they play with such a complete lack of fighting spirit? You'd think they were driven to their wits' end by EDG.]

[EDG ruined us. Now we know why they bought Nofe without hesitation last year.]

[LCK is finished. Just when you thought it was only KZ that was failing, one Intercontinental Cup match showed you that everyone was failing.]

[This year, it would be a success if any LCK team could even make it to the quarterfinals of the World Championship. I don't even dare to hope for a semifinal appearance anymore. You know, after all, our champion team can even lose to teams from Taiwan and Europe.]

Amidst the uproar on Korean online forums.

When the four LCK teams gathered in the rest room at night, there was no thought of discussing tactics; all they could think about was constantly blaming each other.

Aside from KZ, who had nothing to say and could only take the criticism, the other three LCK teams all had something to say.

After all, in their view, even if they can't beat LPL, they shouldn't be able to beat LMS.

It's really not as bad as KZ, who can trample on FW's face and do whatever they want.

The fact that they didn't lose to the Taiwanese team proves that they still have the confidence to speak.

As for the semi-final battle against LMS the next day, there's not much to say. Our three LCK teams will just have to go up there.

As for KZ, you can go cool off somewhere else.

If they get drawn against FW and lose the game, it could inadvertently boost the confidence of other LMS teams, potentially leading to a fifth game.

In short, the order of the first three matches doesn't matter, as long as KZ is ranked last, so they don't end up being easy targets.

This sorting was quite good; at least FW, representing the LMS for the first time on the second day, seemed a bit distracted when they didn't see that their opponent was KZ.

They were facing SKT, the fourth-ranked team in the LCK and the team with the most historical background.

SKT gave them no chance in this match, and Faker led his team to an easy victory.

Bang has become a player, Wolf is no longer lost, and the academy top laner who was often used as a weak point can now kill people with Darius.

Throughout the match, LMS champion FW steadily lost the game due to being relentlessly outmaneuvered.

With the top team losing, it would be strange if the other LMS teams could put up any resistance.

In the end, they were completely outmatched by LCK, losing 3-0. They were left with no chance to fight back, and fireworks lit up the sky to send LCK off to the finals.

Another China-South Korea showdown!

Before the start of the Intercontinental Cup, everyone could have predicted the outcome: the LMS, as a participant, would be relegated to a supporting role – a fact that was widely known.

Then the problem is coming.

Will LCK's advancement to the finals be like LMS's semifinals, merely serving as a backdrop to create an atmosphere of the championship going through the motions?

It looks very similar at the moment.

Therefore, the rhetoric used in the pre-final interviews between the two teams, which can also be called the "bad talk" segment, was completely opposite to that of last year.

No LPL viewer can forget the bold words spoken by SSG's head coach in a pre-final interview last year: "If we lose, we'll swim back!"

The main point is to look down on LPL and believe that they have no chance of losing.

Needless to say, they didn't even dare to swim if they actually lost later.

Therefore, Lin Ruo, who was the only player accompanying the head coaches of the four teams to the interview, did not give the other team any face at all.

"As for tomorrow's tactical arrangements, we haven't discussed them yet, but EDG will undoubtedly be the first to go, there's no need to hide that."

"Is EDG going to play in the first match?" Neither the Chinese nor the Korean reporters responsible for the interview were unsurprised.

This statement shows a huge disrespect for the LCK region; they just casually mentioned the matchup for tomorrow's finals.

It's practically like pointing a finger at the opponent and saying, "We, EDG, have already taken the lead, so it doesn't matter which team you LCK send to fight."

Do whatever you want, it would be a miracle if we lost.

When the interview was released, viewers in the LPL and LCK regions naturally had different reactions.

The LPL side is absolutely thrilled.

When did we become so arrogant and mocking of the LCK? Wasn't this something that LCK teams used to say to us LPL teams?

The world has changed; fortunes come and go.

The LPL has finally stood up and is able to crush the LCK under its feet, even more severely than the LCK crushed them before.

This is the LPL today, the undisputed number one region. No matter what you say, you won't be looked down upon and it's taken for granted.

The weak, on the other hand, can only accept it and rage helplessly.

This is what Korean online forums are like right now.

LCK viewers were so angry they were yelling "Shiba!", but what could they do?

Could they replicate the miracle LPL created in the finals last year?

Don't forget, even though the LPL couldn't beat the LCK in the group stage last year, they had a champion team, EDG, who could carry the team.

And their champion…

Damn, they're just carrying the load for the opposing region.

We lost to the LPL champions, we lost to the LMS champions, and we don't even know who we'll lose to in the finals.

Instead of hoping that LCK viewers will still have expectations for their teams, they should turn their grief and anger into strength before the finals.

That's right, turn grief and anger into strength, and curse as much as you can.

After all, they didn't win a single match against LPL in the group stage, so they don't deserve to be criticized? Then LCK fans are being far too kind.

Unlike the LCK team rest area at this time, because EDG openly declared that they would be playing in the first game, a problem was clearly presented to them.

Who should go up and fight EDG first?

The best possible outcome so far seems to be sending KZ, who haven't won a single game in the group stage, up to the field.

Despite being the Spring Split champions, KZ is currently the weakest team in terms of form.

Following the principle of "Tian Ji's horse racing strategy," the weakest team, KZ, should go up against the strongest team, EDG. Even if they lose, it won't be a loss.

However, after discussion, several LCK teams agreed, except for KZ, who were considered easy prey, who disagreed completely.

Let's go up and play against EDG... Does this mean we're destined to go home without a single win in this group stage...?

What's the point of winning the Intercontinental Championship if they do that? It won't stop them from getting criticized, and it might even lead to something more memorable than the Intercontinental Championship.

Good heavens, KZ played four days of the Intercontinental Cup and didn't win a single game. Tell me, isn't that a good thing?

So this is absolutely unacceptable; the entire KZ team expressed their strongest opposition.

We want to play against other LPL teams, and absolutely not against EDG, a team from outer space. This way, we can at least ensure that we still have a chance of winning, and not have to go home after losing a single game.

If we play against EDG, we're guaranteed not to win a single game; we absolutely cannot let them win.

"If you want dignity, then you should go and play against EDG." The AFS coach felt that KZ's resistance was completely unreasonable.

Similarly, the entire KZ team felt that the AFS coach's statement was completely unreasonable.

We couldn't even beat EDG after a year of playing, do you expect us to have a breakout performance in the finals?
Is going up there really a fight for dignity? It's like they have absolutely no regard for dignity.

So whoever wants to go can go.

After hearing this, the KT members, who had initially had no intention of participating, suddenly became eager to join in.

Although they lost to RNG in the group stage, it was a close call, just like their loss to EDG last year. It was nothing like the crushing defeats they suffered against other LCK teams.

So all this talk boils down to one point.

Regardless of how big the gap is between the other LCK teams and LPL teams, KT is definitely not much different from LPL teams and can definitely compete.

"Since that's the case, and KZ doesn't dare to go up and fight EDG, then we KT should go up and fight, which will be a good chance to avenge last year's defeat."

It's settled then, KT's head coach confidently expressed his views on the order of appearance.

The other three teams all gave a thumbs up, praising KT for their bravery.

Only KZ, while giving a thumbs up, couldn't help but lament, "Don't go up there and lose so badly that your Dao heart will be shattered!"

But you'll get used to it; that's how they got here anyway.

...

Finally, on July 8th, the day of the Intercontinental Championship finals.

The two teams from different competition zones met with great enthusiasm at the Dalian Gymnasium, with both sides arriving at the rest room more than an hour in advance.

The lineup for LPL teams other than EDG has already been discussed before the match and submitted to the organizers half an hour before the start of the game, as per procedure.

EDG will go first, followed by RNG, then RW and IG.

This formation doesn't seem to have been given much thought like last year, since this year they are the absolute powerhouses guarding the ring.

Since that's the case, there's no need to use any strategies or even think about which team the opponent will field in which move.

There's absolutely no need for that; in the face of absolute power, everything else is meaningless.

Last year, LCK couldn't hold on because they weren't strong enough, but this year, LPL has complete confidence in their strength.

After a short preparation, EDG, having finished adjusting backstage, took to the main stage.

The shouts of the on-site host, Ren Dong, once again resounded throughout the Dalian Gymnasium.

"The 2018 League of Legends Asia Rift Rivals Finals begin! Let's welcome the first match: EDG vs KT!"

As soon as EDG announced their decision.

The roar of the crowd had already reached its peak before the game even started, and everyone in the audience except for the KT team knew exactly what was going on.

EDG, who helped the LPL sweep almost all international championships in the past two years, will not lose, and it is impossible for them to lose!

(End of this chapter)