LOL: Can’t I play other games professionally?

Have you ever seen GEN suffer a complete defeat in Chapter 525?

After IG's defeat.

Then came another highly anticipated match: the first clash between RNG, who were in Group D, and the European champions, FNC.

Since there are no LCK teams in Group D, it is already a battle for the top spot.

This match didn't cause too many surprises. FNC's entire team was clearly not at their best yet, and they didn't have much ability to fight back against RNG, who were in excellent form.

Lin Ruo remembered that in her previous life, when FNC and IG were in Group D together, their performance in the first round was also average, and they only showed the ability of European champions in the second round.

They then swept all the way to the finals, but unfortunately they ran into a fully unleashed IG team, which was almost twice as strong as in the group stage, and could only regretfully lose the championship.

In Lin Ruo's view.

This FNC team doesn't have a high ceiling; they're just aiming for stability once they find their rhythm.

If Nofe hadn't been obsessed with the four-protect-one Kai'Sa strategy, EDG would most likely have met IG in the finals after completely dominating FNC in the first game of the quarterfinals and then maintaining an early lead in the next three games.

Of course, there are always unexpected events.

This time, they're in the same group as another RNG team that's obsessed with the "four protect one" strategy. Lin Ruo really doesn't know who will be the top team in the group later.

After all, RNG was already sweating profusely when they played C9 in the second round, let alone dealing with FNC, who could completely crush C9.

It's hard to say, nothing is certain.

However, at least in the first round, RNG won the match quite easily.

The third match that followed was a second-round match between GEN and TL in Group A, while EDG's match was scheduled for the final round at 8 PM.

Even before the match started, Lin Ruo realized that this would be the most interesting game of the day.

Yes.

It's far more interesting than the big battle between IG and GRF.

If GEN repeats history and loses, then the Korean online community will undoubtedly be in for a major upheaval.

On stage, the GEN members, who had already taken the stage, were still chatting and laughing, completely unaware of the consequences that awaited them.

After being thrashed by EDG yesterday, the GEN team was almost determined to take down the North American championship TL today and get their revenge.

As for why the North American champions didn't take their anger out on GEN, please watch the video.

After watching yesterday's exciting battle between TL and G2, everyone in GEN gave the most fitting comment on the match: it was a complete clash of noobs.

That assessment is actually quite accurate.

After all, both sides made a series of basic mistakes, and the game was back and forth, much like a Bronze game. Even when TL had the Baron buff, they were inexplicably wiped out by G2.

GEN's assessment that "a bunch of noobs pecking at each other" is actually quite reasonable.

The real problem is...

Is it possible that GEN himself is a noob right now?

Clearly, the GEN players didn't realize this; in their view, being crushed by EDG didn't prove anything.

EDG is practically invincible right now.

Therefore, with their strength, even if they can't beat EDG, they can definitely bully European and American teams.

This is the source of GEN's team confidence: we are GEN with a rich history, not KZ who can't beat anyone.

Is there something wrong with playing against TL, a team that never makes it out of the group stage?
As soon as the game started, the pace of the first half was exactly as GEN had expected. They controlled the situation and pressured TL so much that they had no chance at all.

Just four minutes into the game, Haru's Gragas came to the mid lane and, with the help of Crown's Syndra, easily killed TL's mid laner Ekko.

Eight minutes into the game, GEN had already pulled ahead to a 4-0 kill score thanks to a counter-attack from the dragon and a solo kill by their bot lane duo.

Among them, Corejj's Tahm Kench got three kills.

In chasing down low-health enemies, Tahm Kench's Q skill, Tongue, can indeed easily secure kills in the early game, which makes GEN's kill advantage seem less significant.

Because Tahm Kench is a support.

As a support, Tahm Kench's role is largely to act as a front-line tank to protect the team's core. This means that Tahm Kench is actually quite easy to die in team fights, and the so-called bounty is too easy to give to the enemy.

Moreover, a Tahm Kench getting kills is not as effective as other positions doing so.

This makes GEN's advantage seem superficial.

However, none of the GEN members seemed to realize this at the time. Corejj even gloated in the voice chat: "Brothers, am I going to get a godlike streak this game?"

The others were also chatting and laughing.

However, the smiles of the GEN members soon faded.

At the 13-minute mark, GEN traded one for two, but this trade didn't benefit them at all, as TL secured the Rift Herald.

More importantly, the hero who died on GEN's side was Tahm Kench, the front-line support.

With a bounty on his head, Tahm Kench is worth two kills.

Unfortunately, this kill was evenly distributed among TL's mid laner Ekko, accelerating the opponent's development.

At 16 minutes into the game, TL used the Rift Herald to suddenly initiate a team fight in the mid lane, helping Ekko secure two more kills.

At this point, GEN's bot lane duo had no idea that TL would be so decisive, diving the tower without hesitation even before the Rift Herald had hit them.

This also reflects the characteristics of European and American teams to some extent; when it comes to initiating team fights, they always do it when the feeling comes.

At this point, the situation on both sides was completely divided.

The reason is simple: GEN's most fed player is Tahm Kench, while TL's most fed player is Ekko.

As the game progressed past 25 minutes, the biggest problem became apparent: Ekko's split-pushing left GEN's side lanes completely helpless.

Neither Urgot nor Syndra could offer any resistance against Ekko.

Although GEN managed to catch TL players off guard several times, these minor, stopgap measures did little to change the course of the game.

Because if there is even the slightest lapse in concentration on the side, Ekko can easily take down a turret with just two E skills.

Unfortunately, at this crucial moment, relying solely on Syndra carries the risk of being solo-killed by Ekko. Even if GEN doesn't want to deal with the situation on the side lanes, they still have to divert their attention.

This is obviously a huge blow to GEN's early and mid-game lineup. At their strongest, they can only be hesitant and timid because Ekko can't push forward head-on.

The situation is dragging on very slowly.

The game dragged on until after 40 minutes, when Ekko pulled off a memorable EQ combo to kill Ruler's Ashe in the Elder Dragon team fight.

GEN, hoping to end the game early, found themselves in a weakened late game and were easily wiped out by TL, losing the match.

The scene was completely silent, and the LCK fans who had been shouting for most of the time were all dumbfounded.

GEN lost, lost to a European or American team, and to make matters worse, they started with a 0-2 deficit.

A split-pushing Ekko completely humiliated GEN.

Even the Korean commentators in the commentary booth were speechless for a moment, but finally managed to speak:
"Damn, this is a completely unexpected result. Our third seed, GEN, fought hard for 40 minutes but ultimately fell to TL. It's a terrible result, but congratulations to TL for their first win in the group stage."

On the player bench.

The TL players were so excited they were practically hugging each other. After losing to G2 yesterday, their victory over GEN today was a huge boost to their hopes of advancing to the next round.

As for the members of GEN, they seemed to be heartbroken.

In the early game, it was easy to catch TL's mistakes, and even in the mid-game, the opponent would give away a mistake every few minutes, which didn't seem like they were playing very carefully.

But they still lost.

One Ekko stalled the entire tempo, and then one more team fight and it was all over.

They also wanted to force a team fight by taking Baron Nashor, but TL managed to stall time and time again. As Ekko pushed his way up to the high ground, GEN became less willing to push.

This perfectly encapsulates the entire game; GEN got completely outmaneuvered.

Lin Ruo's prediction came true, but little did he know that the Korean online forums were already in an uproar.

Korean netizens had just experienced the euphoria of GRF defeating IG and were still in the midst of their excitement when, unexpectedly, GEN, worried that their own fans might get carried away, immediately poured cold water on their enthusiasm.

0-2 start.

This is extremely rare in the history of LCK World Championships, which shows just how terrible GEN's performance was.

Now, South Korean netizens couldn't contain their excitement any longer.

Losing to EDG is one thing, but you even lost to TL? What in Group A is there that you can't lose to?

Losing is one thing, but what angered South Korean netizens the most was that Lin Ruo immediately turned on them.

Weren't you criticizing me for talking nonsense during the interview? Didn't you say that GEN was definitely not going to lose to a European or American team?
How come they're at the bottom of the group after two consecutive losses?

Well, there was nothing that could be done. Lin Ruo, who was bombarded with criticism from South Korean netizens yesterday, found an opportunity to calmly post an interview video on Twitter.

It was during the on-site interview after defeating GEN on the first day that many South Korean netizens criticized the video of the interview, which was posted by South Korean media at the time.

It's an undeniable face-to-face team fight.

Korean netizens also have a sense of shame, so at this point, they wouldn't dare to argue with Lin Ruo without being in the right. They could only vent all their anger on the defeated GEN.

Nobody believes you, and you're really disappointing.

[Damn it, this is infuriating! I feel like GEN is even more disgusting than KZ.]

If GEN is eliminated in the group stage, they will be even more disgusting than KZ, and will become the most shameful team in the LCK.

[Hmph, it feels like they're already eliminated. They couldn't even beat TL, the weakest team in their group. Oh wait, GEN was the weakest team in their group, so it's normal that they couldn't beat them.]

Is GEN even a Korean team? Other teams play better and better at home, while GEN keeps hitting new lows at home. Is it because our support is putting too much pressure on you?

[The fact that a team like GEN can make it to Worlds shows just how terrible our LCK has been this year.]

[They're not bad at all; KT and GRF are both undefeated right now. As for GEN, don't we only have two teams participating in Worlds? Where did this third team come from?]

On Korean online forums, Korean netizens were so angry that they wanted to cut ties with GEN. What they didn't expect was that Lin Ruo wasn't the only one mocking them on Twitter.

Even TL's official Weibo account posted a sarcastic comment after the match: "It's amazing to beat GEN. We will try our best to send GEN home in the group stage. After all, this is Korea's home ground, so it will be easy for GEN to go home."

Following closely behind was the clever G2, whose taunts were nothing short of professional. "What? You heard GEN lost to TL, whom we crushed before? That's great! We G2 can't wait to face the weakest team in the group, GEN, and take that damn point."

Okay, okay, now everyone in Group A is a villain.

The Europeans and Americans, who already had a penchant for their smugness, combined with Lin Ruo, who loved to stir up trouble, caused GEN to completely lose their composure after the match.

Do people all think they're the easiest to beat? Well, that's really the case so far.

Not only are they considered the easiest to beat, but they also face a full-scale attack from Korean netizens, with trucks even blocking the entrance to GEN's base.

Some South Korean netizens even called the hotline to report GEN for insulting the country.

It can only be said that in terms of actual actions, Korean netizens are the least likely to rely on empty talk.

At this point, there is absolutely no way to appease the Korean fans unless EDG loses to G2 next.

But how could EDG possibly do as the Korean netizens wished?

At 8:00 PM Korean time, the final match of the second day of the first round of the group stage began as scheduled.

EDG vs G2.

Despite the G2 team's cheerful demeanor and apparent confidence, EDG was already discussing what to eat after the match.

At that time, G2 didn't have Caps. Would you say he was very strong? Not necessarily.

In Lin Ruo's view, the reason why G2, who barely managed to defeat Flash Wolves, a team that consistently underperformed in the World Championship, was able to defeat RNG in the quarterfinals that year and create the most explosive news in history, was definitely not because of how strong they were.

Rather, it was because RNG was simply too overpowered back then.

Based on that draft pick in the fourth game, Lin Ruo had no idea that RNG had even the slightest chance of winning.

It's the S8 World Championship.

Other teams know to focus on the mid, top, and jungle, while the bot lane has a stable Tahm Kench and a passive or late-game ADC who can live a peaceful life.

Only RNG can still pull off a Lucian bot lane pick in the fourth game to play a "four-protect-one" strategy.

The most outrageous thing is that the support position is occupied by a Gragas.

Yes, Xiaoming played a Gragas, and Letme added a Poppy to the top lane.

They still wanted to protect Lucian with four heroes, especially in front of the enemy's Nocturne and Aatrox, so RNG's loss in the fourth game was a foregone conclusion.

If RNG can win this, then the entire G2 team can retire on the spot.

Regardless of whether they win or lose, Heart, as the head coach of RNG, should immediately commit seppuku.

In the fifth game, RNG finally realized something was wrong and started to play conservatively again. They said, "Lucian didn't work in the early game, so this time I'll pick Sivir."

Okay, this will drag us into the late game.

Who could have imagined that, facing G2's very aggressive early-game lineup, RNG, whose mentality had completely collapsed, made mistakes everywhere.

Before G2 could even get going, RNG had already automatically collapsed.

First, when facing Olaf's two-level gank, Uzi's classic Flash was not used.

It was clear that the opponent's Braum had already used Flash effectively, and Olaf was still on his way, so Uzi simply used Flash and left quietly.

The very resourceful puppy insisted on going forward to attack some minions to help Xiaoming's Thresh level up to level two, hoping to get a lantern so he could escape without using Flash.

The second result was that the level was raised and the lantern was obtained, but unfortunately, the Uzi, which was covered by eyeliner, could not be clicked at all.

Adding to that the solo kill in the mid lane, both of RNG's core carries were completely wiped out in the early game.

Later, in the top lane, there was another instance of the old-fashioned Flash combo where you couldn't pick up the lantern unless you used it, and from then on, the game completely collapsed.

If you think that G2's performance was due to their superior strength, then that would be an exaggeration.

In fact, when one side loses their composure, the outcome of the match has little to do with skill.

Going back to reality.

The draft phase begins.

EDG's first three bans were very strategic, namely banning one of the most important support champions: Tahm Kench and Braum.

We can't let G2 play these lane-defending supports like RNG does, so that G2's most vulnerable bot lane can survive every game. We have to expose them to the brink of collapse in the laning phase at all times.

At this point, G2's star player was undoubtedly Perzk in the mid lane, but at that time, Perzk might not have been a match for Scout.

When G2 aggressively picked LeBlanc to try and compete against EDG's Syndra, the game was practically over.

The results speak for themselves.

EDG crushed G2, who attempted to compete head-on, with sheer raw power.

Lin Ruo, who was playing Xin Zhao, followed the same strategy as the opposing team. He knew that Perzk would definitely fight Syndra head-on in the first three levels to find an opportunity.

Scout then used Flash to kite and thus restrain G2's mid and jungle.

Meanwhile, Lin Ruo, who truly had a plan, had already moved to the bottom lane to open up the situation, and he was there to catch you guys.

Without Braum and Tahm Kench, G2's bot lane pick Jhin is essentially cannon fodder.

Without any mobility, Jhin was completely helpless against EDG's three flashes charging in.

No one understands A-P better than Lin Ruo. When the current team can't hold on, A-P will try to find opportunities frantically in the mid lane.

Then came the LeBlanc and Jarvan IV tower diving Syndra, resulting in one death and one injury. Lin Ruo arrived and effortlessly picked up the kills against G2's easy prey.

The final match lasted 28 minutes.

G2 successfully showed EDG what it means to play recklessly. Every move G2 made was completely controlled by EDG, as if they were always under surveillance and had no chance to act independently.

As for Jhin in the bottom lane, he had already entered a phase of feeding after more than 20 minutes of gameplay.

Why did G2 make the first change after the 18 World Championship by replacing their bot lane duo, while keeping their top, mid, and jungle players and bringing in Caps to let Perzk play the bot lane?

It's clear that G2's management knows better than anyone that their bot lane is weak, otherwise they wouldn't have only managed to get the third seed in the Summer Split to participate in the World Championship.

So, if the current laning duo can't even pick champions like Braum and Tahm Kench, and instead faces EDG's strong offensive combination of Kai'Sa and Alistar, it's inevitable that they'll collapse in the laning phase.

With the score at 21-4, Perzk on the bench could only helplessly smile as he watched his teammate feed terribly.

They've been completely exposed.

In the Korean commentary booth, the young LCK commentators watched the entire match and compared it with the epic battle between GEN and TL earlier, all they could do was sigh.

Without comparison, there is no gap.

EDG can completely crush G2, while GEN from their region put on a pathetic performance against TL, who are even weaker than G2.

Sure enough, there's a reason why they were beaten so badly by EDG in the first round.

There's a reason why Lin Ruo bluntly said they might not even make it out of the group stage. Lies don't hurt people, but the truth is always the sharpest knife.

Lin Ruo was just a bit blunt, but what was wrong with what she said?

With GEN's performance, they're not even going to make it out of the group stage. In fact, Lin Ruo even gave GEN some kind advice in an interview, suggesting they should find their form quickly.

Yes, there's clearly no problem at all.

The second day of group stage matches has concluded.

While Korean netizens were initially outraged by Lin Ruo's group formation, after calming down, many Confucian scholars quickly emerged to debate the issue.

[Lin Ruo is right. They weren't looking down on GEN; they were just stating the facts. It's us who don't believe them, but instead believe in a trash team like GEN.]

[Yeah, look how badly they crushed G2, and look how GEN got turned around by TL. Is it wrong to say they're bad?]

[No problem, GEN is just a bunch of noobs, they'll get beaten up by G2 again tomorrow.]

Korean netizens were left speechless and could only choose to believe it while also reflecting on their own actions. But more important than that, what they need to do next is...

Guys, let's all spray GEN!

As it turns out, the Korean netizens were right to criticize. G2, having lost the match, spurred themselves on and brought all their preparations to challenge GEN on the third day of the competition.

As for the so-called GEN, they probably don't even have the patience to watch how EDG dealt with G2.

Yes, they didn't remove Tahm Kench; instead, they strangely chose him themselves.

G2's bot lane duo can't pick Tahm Kench, but it doesn't matter if the opponent picks Tahm Kench, our bot lane still won't be under much pressure.

On the other hand, in the top lane, Cuvee boldly picked Irelia in an attempt to gank the dragon, but was caught out and destroyed by the mid-jungle duo of Lissandra and Olaf.

GEN lost again, and Meimei secured last place in the group stage with three losses, bringing their hopes of advancing to the brink of elimination.

In short, it's very close.

Meanwhile, after a short rest following their victory over TL, EDG's first round of group stage matches at the World Championship has come to an end after four consecutive days of play.

In Group A, EDG leads the pack with an unbeatable record of three wins.

G2 is in second place with two wins and one loss, while TL, with one win and two losses, still has the strength to fight.

On the contrary, GEN suffered a complete defeat, making them the team most likely to be eliminated in the group of death.

In Group B, KT also won all three matches, while FW, who have consistently underperformed in World Championships, had only one win and two losses, and were even worse than VIT, the second seed from Europe.

As for Group C, GRF is undefeated, followed closely by IG with one loss.

The same applies to Group D. RNG from the LPL is currently undefeated, while FNC is poised to make a run for it. C9 is also in third place and is preparing to make a strong push in the second round.

All four groups have teams that won all their matches in the first round, but it's hard to say whether they can maintain that form in the second round.

After all, there have been too many instances in the World Championship where teams perform exceptionally well in the first round but falter in the second, and all teams are still working hard to prepare for the competition.

Even GEN hasn't given up; they still have a chance, but that chance is no longer in their own hands.

Given that GEN is unlikely to be a match for EDG, even if they regain their form, they can only get a maximum of two wins. So, once G2 has already won two games, they can easily defeat TL.

They can then declare themselves finished.

Therefore, they need to win all their matches in the second round to have any hope of advancing. Before that, they have three days to prepare for the second round of the group stage.

(End of this chapter)