LOL: Can’t I play other games professionally?

Chapter 487 First Battle of the Asian Games: Easy as Hands
The journey to Jakarta for the Asian Games took more than 6 hours, which is not very long but certainly not short either.

However, because the time difference is only one hour, the team is able to fully adapt to the local time and therefore will not have any problems with their condition.

The group arrived in good spirits and quickly checked into their accommodations and training facilities for the Asian Games, guided by local staff.

"The venue is actually quite good, it's pretty big." After observing the rooms and training rooms, Xiaoming, who had initially been worried about the infrastructure, quickly accepted it.

The accommodations in Jakarta are barely acceptable, and the surrounding transportation is also okay.

However, it's hard to say whether this is acceptable compared to domestic standards; it's just that it's passable.

With accommodation secured, the next step was to check the internet connection. After a short rest and an hour's break, everyone, under Abu's supervision, made the most of their time with appropriate training.

In summary, the network is alright.

So now it seems there really isn't a problem.

Just as everyone was relaxing, unfortunately, it was afternoon, and it wasn't until they saw today's meal that they realized where the problem lay...

This doesn't look like the food...

The official uniforms only provided them with the most basic water and bread. Of course, there were also regular boxed meals, but the participants had to purchase them at their own expense.

This was the first time anyone had ever seen a well-known international tournament that included accommodation but not food. Although their League of Legends tournament was supposed to be an exhibition match, it was still far from being so shabby.

Judging from the situation of other athletes, they don't have to worry about not having enough to eat like they do.

There was no other way. In order to have enough to eat and drink, Abu had to lead his staff to negotiate and buy so-called boxed meals at their own expense to fill their stomachs.

Lin Ruo went out to the convenience store inside the venue. Knowing what the food was like, he decided to grab some instant noodles instead of boxed lunches, since he could at least eat a ham to stave off hunger.

Here, Lin Ruo happened to run into the LCK team who came out together, including Faker, who was also planning to buy some instant noodles.

Lin Ruo was not surprised by this result at all. She remembered that apart from the Korean media publishing articles overnight to complain, all other disclosures, especially about the food, were made frankly by Faker in interviews.

What can you say? Of course, you can say that the food is inedible and they can only survive on instant noodles every day.

Lin Ruo strongly agreed, thinking that instant noodles were much tastier than boxed meals.

Back in the training room, Mouse was a little confused to see that Lin Ruo had bought several buckets of instant noodles: "Didn't we have boxed lunches? They'll be delivered soon. Why did you go and buy instant noodles, Brother Lin? Oh, for a late-night snack, huh?"

If that's the case, then Mouse thinks Lin Ruo is very farsighted, since they'll definitely be hungry again at night, and it's very necessary to have another meal.

It wasn't until the boxed meals were delivered that Mouse belatedly realized why Lin Ruo had gone out to buy instant noodles and other fast food.

"What kind of lunchbox is this? Why is it all vegetarian?" Uzi couldn't stand it as soon as he opened the box after sitting down.

If you didn't know better, you'd think they were ascetics, but does UZI's physique look like that?
Fat people can't stand eating vegetarian food every day. People like Xiaoming and Tianye, who are smaller in size, might be able to eat less and make do, but it's basically impossible for Uzi and Xiaohu to make do.

But what can we do? We've already bought the boxed lunches, so there's no reason not to eat them.

The group could only fill their stomachs for the time being, and then followed Lin Ruo's example and bought instant noodles as a backup, so that they could have a proper snack if they got hungry at night.

After the meal, Abu took his staff out to see if they could find a decent place to eat nearby.

The training match in the evening proceeded as scheduled, mainly involving matches against several national teams participating in the Asian Games. Unfortunately, because China, South Korea, and Vietnam were all in the same group, the huge Group B only had one provincial team that could compete.

It's impossible for opponents in the same group to schedule practice matches just one day before the start of the competition, so they can only find opponents from other groups. Provincial teams inevitably become the most sought-after in this regard.

There's no other way. If we're going to schedule practice matches with other teams in Group B, we might as well practice roundhouse kicks in custom games.

After all, these people should seriously consider whether they are even in the Diamond rank in League of Legends. Training with low-ranked opponents will only make their skill level drop.

However, the Chinese team did not need to do this, because in terms of opponents in the training matches, the provincial team ultimately chose to make an appointment with the Chinese team, even though they were invited by the South Korean and Vietnamese teams.

There's no real reason for it. The provincial team is basically composed of players from the Flash Wolves of the LMS league, and they all remember a past incident, including Maple.

That was a month ago when they participated in the Intercontinental Cup in Dalian. All four LCK teams refused to have a scrim with them. Naturally, the provincial team, which held a grudge, couldn't tolerate it, so they ignored the fact that the Korean team took the initiative to approach the Chinese team to arrange a scrim.

As for the Vietnamese team, that's purely a matter of skill.

The Korean team that took the initiative to invite the Chinese team ultimately failed to make it, and could only helplessly watch as the two Chinese teams held closed-door practice matches against each other. With no other option, the LCK representative team could only play ranked games on their own from now on.

But soon they encountered network problems again, with the connection constantly dropping.

Before dawn the next day, South Korean media outlets launched an indignant attack, far more intense than the last time.

He launched a thorough and unbiased attack on Jakarta's food, accommodation, and internet, and then subtly commented on the training match situation.

In short, it means that the provincial teams only play training matches against the Chinese teams, which is purely malicious competition.

This caused a huge uproar on Korean online forums, and West Asian viewers seemed to have regained their confidence, for a rather simple reason.

The fact that your Chinese team is telling provincial teams to only play practice matches against you speaks volumes. They're just afraid, afraid of giving our South Korean team a chance to shine.

Therefore, they did everything they could to create trouble so that the South Korean team had no practice matches to play.

This idea is not without reason, so the confidence of Korean netizens is not without source. Although they have not won against LPL for almost two years, they still have to keep up their trash talk.

[The Chinese team is truly despicable; they resorted to such underhanded tactics. No wonder I look down on them.]

[The Jakarta authorities are also despicable. Did they collude with the Chinese team? I heard the Chinese team ate boxed lunches with meat yesterday, while our players had to buy instant noodles.]

[It's okay, the more they do this, the happier I am. It means the Chinese team is scared. Do you think we, the audience, know the players' abilities better than the players themselves? So the Chinese team must know they can't beat the Korean team, which is why they're doing this on purpose.]

That's true, EDG can win the championship, but an all-Chinese team will never win.

This time it's time to avenge our defeat. We must not only defeat the Chinese team twice in the group stage, but also beat them 3-0 in the final.

The more challenging and demanding the environment, the better it can hone the athletes' willpower. I believe our athletes will definitely make a name for themselves this time.

Judging from the public opinion on Korean websites, the Korean team probably didn't expect that, before even starting the competition or defeating the strongest Chinese team, they would inexplicably be cleared of any problems on Korean websites. Initially, Korean fans didn't have much hope and were just hoping to prove themselves, but now they have full confidence in them and show them respect.

Although it felt good, the pressure on the South Korean team undoubtedly increased significantly.

The reason is simple: they really don't seem to be able to beat the Chinese team...

Previously, South Korean audiences didn't expect them to win, so the pressure might have been less. But now, it seems like they don't believe they can lose at all.

This is a match we can't afford to lose! Who wouldn't be under immense pressure?

This made the South Korean team even more anxious afterward, unlike the Chinese team next door, which, under Lin Ruo's leadership, made great strides in their training exercises against Taiwan.

I didn't lose a single game all night.

Now it was the provincial team's turn to collapse. They suddenly regretted why they had chosen to play a training match with the Chinese team. Wasn't this just asking for trouble?

While it's true that failure is the mother of success, you blow us up in the first 10 minutes every game. How can you gain any experience from that?
Of course not, it will only get more and more chaotic.

So early the next morning, the provincial team decisively re-arranged a match with the South Korean team, not hoping to win a few games, but only to adjust their form and find the real problems in the competition with another top team.

This search proved to be quite significant; after only two games, the provincial team quickly identified the problem.

"Wait, is the Korean team out of form? They seem a bit weak."

After finishing the practice match, Maple subconsciously commented that they had only played two practice matches but had unbelievably crushed the Korean team in both. Calling them bad didn't seem like a bad move.

Snake pondered seriously, "It feels like they haven't gelled well. If they're still like this in tomorrow's match, we definitely have a chance."

After all, they are in a different group, and the provincial team will almost certainly advance as the group leader. Their opponent in the semifinals will naturally be the second-place team from Group A.

If South Korea finishes second in their group today, their chances of advancing to the finals will be extremely high.

If they can't beat a Chinese team in top form, surely they can beat a South Korean team in poor form?
If they can secure at least a runner-up finish, the Taiwan team will undoubtedly have exceeded expectations, and this Jakarta Asian Games will be an unparalleled success.

However, it's too early to say for sure. Training matches are not the same as regular matches, otherwise TSM would have won five consecutive championships long ago. But the provincial team has at least gained a lot of confidence with the help of the Korean team.

...

8 month 27 day.

The group stage of the League of Legends demonstration event at the Asian Games has finally kicked off in a small venue in Jakarta.

On the first day, both Groups A and B will take the stage and quickly complete the first round of round-robin matches, followed by the second round of round-robin matches on the second day.

With four BO1 matches every day, the time is extremely tight, leaving little room for rest. This means that if a team is in poor form recently, it will be very difficult to regain their form in such a schedule.

Of course, this is not something the Chinese team, who are in good form, should be thinking about.

Arriving at the lounge an hour early, nearly ten people were crammed into a small space, but the environment for scavenging for scraps did not affect the team's morale.

Lin Ruo and Xiao Ming continued to chat and laugh, and Xiao Hu would occasionally throw in a witty remark.

If the atmosphere wasn't good enough, then the next two opening matches, especially the Group B match between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, would be enough to completely ignite it.

In short, it wasn't that the game was played well, but rather that it was played hilariously.

Lin Ruo's pre-match assessment that both teams were at least Diamond level players was an exaggeration. The players on both teams were most likely Platinum or Gold level, otherwise they wouldn't have made so many basic mistakes during the match.

What about last-hitting minions with Flash, what about going in and out, or even both sides missing their skills in a team fight, all to deal negligible damage?

There's no skill involved in the game's operations, and there's no skill involved in the fighting; it's all about killing whoever you catch, resembling a chaotic free-for-all in the Bronze Age.

It's a good thing there's no live streaming channel, otherwise LPL viewers would have been laughing their heads off long ago.

Meanwhile, the South Korean team's first match against the Vietnamese team didn't go much better. The once-invincible LCK representative almost fell to the Vietnamese team.

Despite having an early advantage, they inexplicably lost their composure in the mid-game when facing the chaotic fighting style of the Vietnamese team, even giving up the Baron Nashor, causing their advantage to vanish.

Fortunately, someone eventually stepped forward, and this player was not from the South Korean team.

There's no way around it; if the Vietnamese team can regain their advantage, they can easily give it back as well. That's what you call a wide-open, high-scoring game.

In the end, the South Korean team won the game in this stumbling manner, but it certainly wasn't a pretty match.

The public opinion on South Korean websites suddenly changed drastically and took a sharp turn for the worse within just one hour.

If you were playing against the Chinese team, they would accept it; if you were playing against a provincial team, they would tolerate it. But you're doing this even against a Vietnamese team. This is simply unacceptable.

In particular, in the subsequent match between the Chinese team and Kazakhstan, the Chinese team completely overwhelmed their opponents in just 10 minutes.

Even though the competition hasn't even started yet, Korean fans have inadvertently drifted back into a somewhat unpleasant situation. The Chinese team is very strong, while the Korean team, well, they're pretty much human, aren't they?

……

After a short break following the four matches in the morning, the second half of the first round officially began at 1:30 p.m.

The highly anticipated match between China and South Korea in the opening game finally erupted, attracting spectators and boosting the game's popularity.

With only a few hundred spectators in the entire stadium, yet the venue was completely full, the match began.

Each person took their turn on the stage and sat in their gaming chair, both sides making final preparations, while the Chinese commentators in the commentary booth were also ready.

Although this match is not broadcast live, it will still be disseminated in other forms later. In other words, the match content will only be made public after all the matches have ended, which will naturally require commentary.

As one of the commentators, Wang Duoduo thought about the various things he couldn't say and sighed heavily. This must be the most difficult match he had ever commentated in his life.

(End of this chapter)