LOL: Can’t I play other games professionally?

Chapter 511 GRF made it to the World Championship?
It turns out.

Lin Ruo's conjecture is absolutely correct.

In the semi-final match between GRF and AFS, the latter made far more mistakes than the former. An uninformed person might have thought that AFS was the real newcomer to the league.

Otherwise, why would they make so many basic mistakes they shouldn't have made?

So, if reality changes, and given the increased confidence, coupled with the fact that the overall strength of the LCK league has subtly weakened, will this rookie team from the secondary league really be able to upset KT in the league?

Could this accomplish a miracle that was not achieved in another parallel universe?
Lin Ruo wasn't sure.

Before seeking this result, his first task is to find out whether his opponent in the Summer Split finals in a few days will be RNG or RW.

The match took place the next day. RNG and RW were actually quite different in terms of strength, but this time the latter's jungler was Cuzz, who was much stronger than Xiaofu.

Therefore, the overall strength of the two sides has narrowed considerably.

With mlxg now firmly on the bench and Karsa becoming RNG's regular jungler, this match leans more towards a battle of wits and strategy in terms of gameplay.

The bottom lane is the core position for operations.

In these versions, although carry champions such as Aatrox and Darius have generally risen in popularity, the top lane matchup still leans towards tanky metas. Champions like Ornn and Sion are still very easy to pick as tanky top laners.

Throughout the BO5 series, the two teams may have made some changes to their lineups, but the rhythm of the top laners playing defensively and the mid and bot lanes engaging in chaotic skirmishes remained consistent, with no major changes.

In such situations, when the bot lane duo of DogMing can reliably suppress the smlz and rookie support duo, RNG can often gain a greater advantage in the game.

Karsa's role as a radar jungler was thus brought into full play.

In the end, RNG defeated RW 3-1 in the semifinals of the lower bracket without lifting a finger.

RW had a chance from start to finish. Except for the fourth game, which was a complete stomp, the first three games were back and forth.

The difference is that RNG always manages to suppress RW at key points, whether it's Xiaohu in the mid lane against Doinb or Uzi in the bottom lane against smlz, which is why their opponents are always one step behind.

With RNG's expected advancement, the final matchup is a foregone conclusion: it will be the second generation of the long-standing "Pig vs. Dog" rivalry.

This time, EDG's jungler is no longer Mingkai, and RNG's jungler is no longer mlxg.

This time, it may be the time with the biggest gap in strength between the two sides.

Last year's 17 Summer Split Finals were also a "Pig vs. Dog" battle between EDG and RNG, but at that time EDG had not yet won the world championship and made a name for themselves.

Therefore, most people believe that RNG and EDG, who have performed well in the Mid-Season Invitational and the Rift Rivals, are definitely a match for each other.

But this time I won't think that way.

In the eyes of neutral LPL viewers, there is only one benchmark: if RNG wins one game, it's considered a success.

After all, the LPL is not like the LCK at present. If the LCK is still in the midst of a peasant uprising, then the LPL is definitely under a dictatorship.

EDG is the dominant force.

Even after leaving the LPL, EDG still seems to be a dominant force, not to be outdone.

Korean viewers may still be pinning their hopes on GRF, hoping they can make it to the World Championship. Therefore, the LCK finals, which take place the day after the LPL semifinals, are quite important.

On one side is KT, who want to regain their former glory, while SKT and Gen.G have underperformed this year, the old version of ROX has long since disbanded, and KZ has completely collapsed.

It seemed like nothing could stop them from winning the championship, but then GRF suddenly appeared out of nowhere, showing the momentum to crush all the LCK teams.

This immediately made the LCK finals unavoidable and uncertain.

Moreover, KT, who have been operating in the LCK for many years, are still at a disadvantage in terms of support, because GRF has established such a good image.

Since being dominated by the LPL last year, KT has been one of the few teams with a positive image left in the declining LCK league.

After all, they didn't perform as poorly as KZ and SKT, two top league champions, on the international stage, nor did they struggle to win against LPL teams like SSG and AFS.

However, after this year's Intercontinental Cup, KT is no longer popular among LCK viewers.

Korean fans initially believed that KT could be their last hope for the LCK and carry the team, but KT failed to defeat EDG in last year's Rift Rivals to help the LCK win the championship.

This is nothing, and it doesn't cause any resentment among Korean fans.

What really angered Korean fans was that not only could they not beat LPL champions EDG, but they also failed to beat RNG at this year's Rift Rivals.

This completely clashes with the bottom line in the hearts of Korean fans. They hope that KT can at least beat other LPL teams, even if they can't beat EDG.

The fact is that KT failed to deliver, so naturally, the positive image they had of KT fans in South Korea shattered. They not only became the target of widespread criticism, but their large amount of support vanished.

Now, they are being treated like villains, facing condemnation from GRF, the last hope of the LCK.

It was precisely this completely different public opinion and mindset compared to the previous era that led to the game not ultimately going in the desired direction.

As the only two remaining teams, KT and GRF fought a fierce battle to the fifth game, with neither side gaining a clear advantage, but the outcome was completely reversed.

In this fifth game, KT failed to turn the tide and defeat GRF. Instead, GRF crushed the opponent and ended the game in the shortest time in the history of five games in the finals.

Yes, GRF ultimately won the championship, and also gained the opportunity to qualify for the World Championship, something that seemed impossible at the time.

As a newcomer to the top league, they not only entered the World Championship with only half a season's worth of points, but also won the league championship in their first season.

This was far more inspiring than IM, and it made GRF famous overnight throughout the five major regions.

EDG has finally met a challenger, at least in terms of popularity so far.

After all, anyone watching the games these past two days knows GRF regardless of nationality.
Although LCK fans have risen up in celebration, Korean media have also begun to lavish praise on this young team, predicting they will make a name for themselves at the World Championship and become the biggest obstacle to EDG's victory.

However, EDG doesn't see it that way right now, because they are focused on the upcoming finals, and the obstacle to winning the Summer Split championship is RNG.

……

9 month 14 day.

The LPL Summer Split Finals officially kicked off at the Nanjing Youth Olympic Sports Park Gymnasium.

On the day of the competition.

The EDG team, who arrived at the venue early, sat around the rest room, making final tactical arrangements.

The starting lineups for both sides remained unchanged. RNG's jungler was still Karsa, while EDG fielded Lin Ruo as their leader, ready to challenge for their eighth league title and further solidify their position.

Inside the stadium, which can accommodate more than 50,000 spectators, the usual opening ceremony was underway. After a rather unusual countdown, the traditional program began.

Lin Ruo, who was looking at the big screen in the lounge, immediately turned her attention to her phone.

The sheer number of players is impressive; LPL truly lives up to its reputation for overwhelming numbers.

At the drop of a hat, they'd call a bunch of people up for an awkward dance, add a few cosplayers to the front, and even play in-game voice lines to hype it up, like "Long live Demacia..." And this dance, if Lin Ruo didn't know better, she'd think it was Tai Chi, slow and incomprehensible.

Forget it, having any hope for the LPL's opening ceremony is just underestimating yourself, even if this year is the rather special seventh anniversary.

Wait, what's so special about the seventh anniversary?

I don't know, but LPL seems to be taking this anniversary very seriously, with more shows and events than before.

Thinking it over, Lin Ruo opened the League of Legends live stream on his phone. When he saw that Leziren had the same idea as him, he felt relieved.

Hmm, no, the guy who was being funny was even more scathing than him.

What kind of opening ceremony was this? If you can't do it, don't do it at all!

[Sparrow food, it looks so ugly, it reminds me of the Mercedes opening ceremony in the Spring Split, damn it, driving around in two beat-up cars.]

I admit that the LCK region completely outclassed the LPL in terms of the opening ceremony.

[If the LPL really has nothing new to offer and is unwilling to spend money on a sci-fi production, they could shoot some photos of Lin Ruo, especially animated ones, and display them on screen. Her female fans would love that.]

That's a generalization; we male fans like it too.

[This is disgusting! This isn't Chengdu, this is Nanjing! You bunch of perverts!]

Releasing a photo album is too much. Actually, recording more videos of Lin Ruo's witty remarks would be enough for the opening ceremony; that would be much more entertaining.

...

Looking at the comments, Lin Ruo stroked her chin and seriously recalled the trash-talking video she recorded yesterday. It seemed that she didn't say much trash talk because she didn't have enough inspiration.

That's trouble.

Sure enough, after the opening ceremony ended and the trash talk video came out, when the audience realized that the trash talk between the two sides was not very good, especially when Lin Ruo said, "The championship is mine, it doesn't matter who comes."

It's very imposing, but not at all flashy.

People immediately became unhappy about the joke.

If Hupu could have predicted this in advance and set up a pre-match rating system for the Summer Split Finals, they could have easily spent hundreds of thousands to get a negative score.

Fortunately, Hupu didn't have the ability to enable all skills at that time.

The only truly interesting part of the entire event was probably the promotional video for the finals that followed the trash talk between the two teams.

EDG's introduction was particularly noteworthy.

The scene began in complete darkness, but when Lin Ruo opened her eyes, the entire world was instantly illuminated.

Immediately afterwards, they ran in the direction of the EDG logo, and the moment they grabbed the logo, all the other teammates came out and struck various poses.

The sheer scale of the video was impressive, and the subsequent videos were even more so.

The camera pans to the next scene, where the commentator's booming voice echoes across the venue, followed by an almost roaring shout from EDG.

"EDG 3:0, it's over. They successfully defeated WE to win the 17 Spring Split championship. The kings have returned and advanced to MSI again after two years. Congratulations to EDG. As the first MSI champion, with a brand new roster, they will also strive for their second title."

"3:0, congratulations to EDG for defeating RNG without any suspense and successfully defending their 17 Summer Split championship. Go EDG, the world championship is waiting for you."

"IG can't hold on anymore! They simply can't stop EDG's fierce attacks. Here they come! EDG is still the league champion this spring season. They are now the absolute league rulers. MSI is beckoning to them!"

"IG has fallen. Congratulations to EDG for advancing to the Summer Split Finals. Wow, they are just one step away from winning their eighth league championship and creating an unprecedented record."

After the four segments were explained, all LPL viewers, both at the venue and online, felt their blood boil with excitement.

In the blink of an eye, EDG has won four LPL championships in two years, and if they win the finals again, they will become an eight-time champion, which is simply indescribable.

Who wouldn't be excited about this?

As the promotional video ended, all the lights went out and then came back on, and the EDG members were standing in the center of the stage in the same pose as at the beginning of the promotional video, surrounded by a cloud of mist.

In an instant, the huge stadium became a boiling ocean, completely unstoppable.

Cheers continued.

The majority of the audience chanted EDG's team name in unison, and there was no doubt that EDG still held absolute dominance in this final.

Only a small number of viewers tried to remain calm. They were waiting for RNG's promotional video, then for the RNG players to make their collective appearance, and then trying their best to regain their momentum.

Of course, this outcome is impossible because there were simply too many EDG fans at the scene.

Even when RNG players appeared and the fans were already shouting at the top of their lungs, they still couldn't drown out the surging cheers from EDG's side.

Before I knew it, the comments section was buzzing with excitement.

[Just give them the award already. Look how badly RNG got beaten before the match even started.]

[Sure, EDG is such a hype team, their fans are just all about hype. What's the point of hype if they can't win in matches?]

[Bro, you forgot to add the dog emoji. I'm not adding it for you; I'm waiting for someone to chop you to death with a big knife.]

[Actually, I think it's fine to give EDG the award, because the gap in performance during the match was probably even greater than their pre-match support.]

I believe RNG can win at least one game. Oh, by the way, I wonder if they consulted IG for advice. If not, they're doomed.

...

"Aqiu."

After the opening ceremony, Mid Tiger sat arrogantly in the athletes' seat, as if someone was cursing him. Since winning the Asian Games championship and achieving fame, this man known as the Spring Tiger Emperor has become much more domineering.

However, the thought of his next opponent being the star player who carried him to victory at the Asian Games made Xiao Hu unconsciously swallow hard.

Today, he felt it wasn't just difficult, it was extremely difficult.

Let's just consider it a win if we lose by a small margin.

Xiao Hu tried to calm himself down, then turned to look at his teammates around him: "Don't put pressure on us, losing by a small margin is a victory."

However, when he noticed that Letme's hands seemed to be shaking again, Xiao Hu, sensing something was wrong, composed himself and asked what was wrong.

Letme also had something to say at this point: "You know, Lin Ruo basically focuses on ganking the top lane when he plays against us, and I'm really a little scared."

When Xiaohu came to his senses, he realized it was true. Every time they played against EDG Letme, they started with a 0-0 score. It really was a twisted fate.

(End of this chapter)