LOL: Can’t I play other games professionally?

Chapter 526 Are the Group Really Going Home?

Three days later.

The Group A qualifying matches will be on the first day of the competition, leaving GEN with not much time to prepare. Since the schedule was set before the World Championship, the Korean officials cannot postpone the Group A matches to give GEN any preferential treatment.

Furthermore, judging from the opinions of Korean netizens, angry Korean viewers are eager for GEN's match to start as soon as possible. They haven't been prepared during the entire off-season, and now they expect to be ready in a couple more days?
Let them see for themselves whether they're good or bad.

Three days passed in a blink of an eye.

10 month 14 day.

Inside the somewhat chilly Busan venue, the second round of group stage matches kicked off amidst great anticipation.

The first two matches have basically determined the qualification situation in Group A. The first match is the European and American battle between G2 and TL. If G2 wins the match and gets three wins, then GEN's probability of being eliminated is close to 99%.

At this point, the GEN players, having no other choice, could only pray in the rest room that TL could avenge G2 and resolutely deny G2 a great opportunity to advance.

Even the Korean commentators showed a clear tendency to take sides during the match. They were hoping that TL could defeat G2, otherwise GEN would really have to get past EDG and win all their matches in the second round to have any hope of advancing to the next round through a tiebreaker.

However, reality proved too cruel, as G2 seemed to be getting stronger as they entered the second round.

Or.

In the second round, TL seemed to have unleashed their natural buff to reach the top 16 again. Doublelift stepped up and delivered a dismal performance, showing all the viewers why he is a perennial group stage loser.

In the end, almost no one on TL was in form. Apart from top laner Amumu, who seemed like a decent player, the rest of them were completely outmaneuvered by G2.

That's how the eldest brother is.

They never let us down in crucial moments.

"How could this happen? TL played terribly in this match. Now that G2 has secured their third win in the group stage, GEN will only have a chance to advance if they win all of their remaining matches in the second round."

The Korean commentators must find it terrifying to think about.

Let alone whether they can beat other teams, it seems like EDG alone is not enough to defeat them.

This is clearly a complete hell mode.

No one could have imagined that GEN, who had prepared diligently for three days without a moment's rest, would be destined to be eliminated before even starting a single official match.

At this moment, all the GEN members in the lounge had a completely blank expression.

The team finally decided to bring Master An to the rescue in the second round, but it seems they were a step too late...

They're about to break a record, or of course, they don't have to. But do they really have a chance against EDG next?
Whether they have a chance of winning is unknown, but the viewers on Korean online forums are going crazy.

In their view, G2 won very well. Since things have come to this point, GEN has to do their best. In short, they either need to break through and build a new foundation by beating EDG to prove themselves.

Or pack your things and go home.

It's clear that the current GEN leans more towards the latter.

Backstage at the match, the entire G2 team, having finished their interviews, bumped into the EDG team as they were about to go on stage.

Ah P had never looked at Lin Ruo so attentively before, and he even cheered her on earnestly: "My good buddy, please beat up GEN, thank you."

Although he doesn't think GEN can regain their form and beat G2, if EDG can eliminate GEN early, the team can play more relaxed in the upcoming matches.

That would naturally be a good thing, and Ah P was very happy to see this scene, as were the others.

Lin Ruo smiled and said nothing.

Even without A-P saying anything, he would still beat GEN. Not for any other reason than to equally crush all the teams in Group A.

On the commentary booth, the Haier Brothers, who were in charge of the game today, showed no signs of worry.

In their view, EDG is already completely overpowered in Group A, and now with G2 defeating TL, GEN is practically doomed.

They are about to witness another South Korean team being eliminated in the group stage, five years after their last such elimination.

Coincidentally, the last Korean team was also GEN, but back then it was called SSG.

"GEN is going all out in this match. If they lose again, they'll have to say goodbye to the World Championship."

In the LCK commentary box.

The two commentators didn't have a very positive attitude towards this game, but as commentators from their own region facing their own team, they still tried their best to promote GEN.

"We always say that the hungrier the beast, the more tenacious its fighting power. GEN is undoubtedly facing a crisis of qualifying right now. I believe that under the leadership of the returning Ambition, they will definitely be able to unleash the last bit of hunger in their hearts. So please bite like a hungry wolf."

"Yes, open your bloody maw, GEN! As a traditional powerhouse in our LCK region, it's time to show the spirit of a final stand."

The two commentators had done their best, and even the viewers in the Korean online broadcast room were slightly inspired.

They don't believe in GEN, they believe in Master Ahn.

Hopefully, Master Ahn can save GEN this time.

Yes, Master Ahn is definitely more reliable than Haru. Please lead GEN out of this mess.

[In crucial moments, we still need the veterans. With Master An here, I believe we at least have a chance in this game.]

"Aqiu."

Completely unaware of the public opinion situation, Master An was still sneezing in the players' seat.

Ambition was actually quite reluctant to suddenly be put on the field and face off against EDG.

The reason is very simple.

The reason he was able to sit on the bench at the start of the summer season was not because he had stepped back from the spotlight, but because his skills had reached a bottleneck and he experienced a significant decline as he got older.

Therefore, he didn't perform as well as Haru in the training matches, which is why he sat on the bench silently for most of the later matches.

So now they're facing EDG the moment they step onto the field?

Master An has played many practice matches with the team over the past three days, but the results haven't been very good.

However, Edgar ultimately decided to let him play, clearly disregarding the actual situation and choosing to trust in some kind of superstition.

After all, Haru played better than him in practice matches, but he performed terribly in the actual matches, failing to win a single game in the first round.

Since that's the case, the team naturally adopted the idea of ​​"trying anything as a last resort" and gave this experienced veteran a try.

However, Master An had good reason to believe that trying it would lead to his death, and that reason was quite valid.

Because EDG is just ridiculously strong.

...

After a short preparation, the match began, and as expected, GEN, who were on the red side, made changes to their draft strategy.

Compared to the previous match, GEN's draft strategy was clearly more proactive this time.

From beginning to end, GEN never considered playing a passive, stalling style against their opponents. They clearly knew that playing defensively would only result in a more intense and brutal beating from EDG. Therefore, GEN knew that they had to take the initiative.

Therefore, in terms of lineup, GEN switched to letting Cuvee, who has been in poor form recently, pick Sion to play defensively and provide support for the team in the mid-game as a front-line tank.

Cuvee's status within the team is evident in his ability to casually pick Irelia, and his decision to play a tank this time demonstrates his determination to win the game.

In the mid and jungle, GEN pulled out Nightmare and Lissandra, an absolute weapon for initiating team fights.

With the addition of Kai'Sa and Nautilus in the top and bottom lanes, GEN's entire lineup is clearly designed to revolve around Ruler, who has been in consistently good form.

In Edgar's opinion, this is already a very good lineup that maximizes benefits and minimizes harm.

It's because their top laner and mid laner are both in poor form, and the mid laner is basically a utility player.

With only the bot lane performing well, Edgar believes this is the best lineup he can field.

Even if they lose again this time, Edgar is confident that no matter what, the public won't criticize him as the head coach for his draft picks.

However, if they really lose the game, it doesn't seem to matter how much criticism they receive, since GEN is destined to be nailed to the pillar of shame in the LCK anyway.

Looking back at EDG's roster, Edgar's worries only intensified.

The opposing team's lineup isn't bad either.

EDG, on the blue side, locked in a strong ganking combination of Urgot and Xin Zhao in the first two floors. Even if Sion was in the top lane, he might not be able to get through the laning phase safely.

In the mid lane, LeBlanc is undoubtedly another strong contender.

Clearly, EDG is also taking a head-on approach, and they're not learning from the strategy of playing defensively and trying to gain an advantage.

As for the bot lane, the Xayah and Thresh lineup will always have lane priority.

Knowing that Sion was picked in the top lane this time, EDG would most likely target the bottom lane again, so coach Edgar could only give them a lot of advice.

He could no longer pay attention to anything else after he left.

The BP process has ended.

Amidst the hysterical shouts of the South Korean audience hoping for a miracle, the second round of the duel between the two officially began.

The Korean commentators could vaguely see the resolute expressions on the faces of the GEN players, which made them even more eager to watch the match.

Before the match, GEN did indeed perform differently than in the first round of the group stage, successfully withstanding the constant pressure from EDG.

However, during that 6-minute period, it should have been the moment when GEN's mid laner, who had both reached level 6, unleashed his power and dictated the pace of the game.

Unfortunately, the result was unfortunate.

Crown Bro once again channeled his inner actor, getting caught by Lin Ruo's Zhao Xin due to his overly arrogant positioning. This forced him to use his crucial ultimate to protect himself, which also forced An Zhangmen to use Nightmare Flash to come to his aid.

Thus, GEN's first peak period in mid and jungle came to a perfect end. When asked what their contribution was, they answered that they successfully forced the enemy jungler Xin Zhao to lose half of his health.

It was a complete failure. A total failure.

Edgar in the lounge felt like he was about to have a heart attack. How could Lissandra use her ultimate skill, which was crucial at level 6, like that?

Edgar suddenly felt a sense of despair. Although Nightmare still had his ultimate ability, it wasn't level 6 yet. Was there any hope for this game?

We'll have to wait until the next ultimate skill cooldown refreshes to see what kind of combos we can pull off.

It just seems like it will be hard to hold out until the next wave.

Edgar realized that his Nightmare wasn't even level 6 yet, and it seemed like Lin Ruo was about to launch the first wave of attacks.

Seeing that Lissandra was too weak to fight anymore, Lin Ruo, with his keen eyesight, went to the bottom jungle to farm the F6 camp to recover health. The next moment, he rushed to the area of ​​the red team's bottom tower.

Operation Tower Crossing Begins.

The GEN duo seemed to be cooperating well. The blue team's minions had only entered the tower for two seconds when the Titan, who was lingering at the edge of the tower, made a mistake and was quickly hooked by Thresh coming straight at him from outside the tower.

iboy activated his W skill and unleashed a barrage of attacks from Xayah, landing several basic attacks followed by a hook and pull back, though he was unable to control her due to Nautilus's wall-hook displacement.

However, Corejj Titan already had a huge advantage in health, and his health had long since dropped below half, forcing him to use potions.

Even though Kai'Sa was still at full health, the two of them clearly couldn't stay under the turret any longer.

Because Lin Ruo arrived just in time, Zhao Xin's figure was already exposed just as Titan placed the ward in the triangular bush behind him.

GEN's bot lane duo had to retreat quickly. Considering they were only level 5, diving under the tower would likely result in a 1-for-1 trade, which wasn't a good trade.

So Lin Ruo didn't immediately dive in. Instead, he watched Thresh in front of the tower go first, then used Flash into the tower and hooked out, successfully forcing Kai'Sa to use Flash and E skill.

At this point, the GEN duo had already left the tower and quickened their pace to retreat towards their own second tower area.

The two players' retreat positions were also carefully considered: Ruler's Kai'Sa was closer to the outer area, while Corejj's Titan, who was low on health, was closer to the inner area.

Ruler clearly thought he was at full health and could sacrifice himself to protect his team's support.

But you didn't have Flash, did you? You don't really think Kai'Sa is so tough to take a beating just because she's at full health, do you?

Unperturbed, Lin Ruo first used her E skill [Fearless Charge] to get close and poke at the enemy, then immediately used Zhao Xin's W skill [Lightning Slash] to pierce out, slowing down the two enemies with a diagonal movement.

While chasing and attacking under the effect of the fragile red buff and the slowing effect, using all the skills, after the three Q skills completed the final knock-up, Kai'Sa's health had dropped by more than half.

This is what an ADC is like, this is Kai'Sa, who is incredibly squishy in the early game.

Unfortunately, Ruler couldn't escape because he didn't have Flash. The moment Lin Ruo's Zhao Xin knocked him up, he knew he was probably doomed.

The Titan's grappling hook slowed it down completely without any effect.

Because Xayah arrived shortly after, iboy flashed forward to finish off Lin Ruo, who was hooked by Nautilus, thus easily securing Kai'Sa's kill and securing the first blood of the game.

Corejj was forced to use Flash to quickly create distance.

With this departure, GEN not only lost kills, but their bottom lane turret is also in a precarious situation.

Faced with a large wave of minions and three players grouped together, Ruler, who only had teleport, had no space to teleport down after respawning.

He could come down directly, but he would most likely be eliminated immediately upon landing, so he could only watch helplessly as the next tower fell into EDG's hands.

In the end, the game lasted only 8 minutes, and EDG took control of both the first blood and the first tower.

The familiar rhythm is back.

The Korean commentators on the field were getting increasingly excited: "Damn it, this was such a bad move. Kai'Sa had no room to farm afterwards, which is very disadvantageous for mid-game team fights."

Don't forget that GEN's lineup is biased towards a four-protect-one strategy. If Kai'Sa's development has any problems, the rest of the team will suffer.

GEN is clearly struggling to cope with this huge windfall.

(End of this chapter)