You've only been playing for half a year, and you've already reached the finals?

Chapter 174 The Finals Begin!
The final is approaching.

Domestic time, May 23, 5 PM.

With one hour left until the final, the domestic live broadcast rooms were already packed with viewers, and the screen was filled with comments.

Of course, there are also various secondary broadcasts.

The JDG guys certainly wouldn't miss out on this wave of traffic, and they started streaming early on, even playing ranked games together.

Several people were using their champion skins, and they had so much fun playing with them, it was endlessly entertaining!

Moreover, these guys are the skin owners after all, so they can directly ask Riot about the sales of the championship skins.

Strangely enough, as EDG's performance at MSI improved, the sales of their championship skins also steadily increased!
These two are clearly related.

Because on the night Mingjing used the toothpaste-themed Azir skin to defeat DK, Azir skin sales exploded, jumping to second place among the five skins, second only to Jinx!

It can only be said that although Ming Jingren is not with JD.com, this championship skin connects them, making him the best symbol and emblem of JD.com.

Why should JD.com's flag be displayed on JD.com itself?
The JDG players didn't seem to have any objections to this situation.

Ming Jing deserves it.

Besides, my buddy gets the money too!

We guys are hoping that Mingjing can win this MSI decisively and bring another surge in the sales of championship skins!
Besides the JDG players, many of Ming Jing's acquaintances also made time to watch the match on time.

There were his parents, his good brother Wang Hao, his homeroom teacher Zheng Hu, and some old friends from the youth training camp.

And of course, there's Song Xuan.

Song Xuan has already headed to the capital and is undergoing final intensive training in preparation for the World Olympics, which will be held in a little over a month.

This special training was more tiring and stressful than any other before.

But Song Xuan was full of energy at this moment.

Mingjing is working hard for the championship, and of course she can't fall behind!

At that moment, her phone was also playing a live broadcast of the event.

The live broadcast camera is hovering outside the venue.

Fortunately, the time difference between China and Iceland is not too long, only eight hours, so it is noon in Iceland.

The finals were held at the Laugardalshll Indoor Stadium again, but this time, the stadium was open to spectators for the first time.

Five thousand spectators entered the venue in batches under strict control measures.

Although there were only a few thousand people, and the vast majority of them were local residents, it was still an extremely rare event for a League of Legends tournament.

A hint of envy flickered in Song Xuan's eyes.

She would definitely have been there if it weren't for this training.

Unfortunately, due to the existence of the competition system, she was born with less freedom.

Even if she wins gold at the World Olympics this year, her competition is far from over.

After all, she's only a sophomore in high school.

According to the rules, any contestant who entered the national training team last year will be exempt from the test and can directly participate in the Chinese Olympic Games (CMO) the following year.

In other words, she could go back along the same path and win another gold medal.

Not only Song Xuan could do it, but Ming Jing could too, after all, Ming Jing was also a member of the National Assembly, and even ranked tenth.

If Mingjing were to focus solely on the math competition, or if he were given another year, it's hard to say what his ranking would be.

However, now that Ming Jing has officially embarked on her professional career, whether she is willing, or has the time and energy to do it again, is a question mark.

This is backstage at the venue, in the lounge.

The EDG team is also having their final discussion.

The MSI schedule is too short, leaving virtually no time for research, so it's natural to feel constantly pressured.

"You could say we were pretty lucky. We won the coin toss, luck was on our side," Maokai said with a laugh. "We've prepared quite a lot of things, enough to handle this BO5."

With the great inventor Mingjing in the team, EDG has certainly prepared a lot of things.

However, because they had already secured the top spot in the competition, they hadn't brought out these items yet.

With the final match approaching, there's no need to hide anything anymore; let's just reveal everything at once.

After the meeting, Ming Jing went to the restroom and took a look at the audience.

The 5,000 spectators in the audience have now taken their seats, many of them holding support items, creating a strong e-sports atmosphere.

At first glance, it's clear that there are more EDG supporters, with black EDG-themed items occupying most of the screen.

For Icelandic viewers who are more neutral, EDG is clearly the team they should like more.

Once all the audience members were seated, the competition was about to begin.

Time quickly passed to 9 PM China time.

The venue suddenly went dark, and a countdown timer appeared on the big screen.
Upon seeing this, countless spectators immediately erupted in cheers, their shouts echoing throughout the venue!
The moment the count reached 1, all the lights in the venue blazed on!

The MSI trophy had appeared in the center of the venue without anyone noticing; the golden trophy reflected the lights and exuded a sense of sanctity.

The bearded host from the European region, dressed in a suit, walked onto the stage and loudly proclaimed, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational Finals!"

"Next, let's welcome both teams to the stage!"

At this moment, the host pointed with his right hand and shouted: "First up is the representative team from the LPL region - EDG!"

The opening ceremony of the finals had been rehearsed, and the EDG team was quite familiar with the route, walking onto the stage along the pre-arranged path.

The host's voice continued to ring out as we walked.

"Top laner, Flandre! Jungler, Jiejie! Mid laner, PPPPPPPPPPhi!"

When Mingjing's ID was read out, the European host deliberately dragged out the tone.

The audience below the stage also gave them a lot of face, and their cheers immediately filled the room!

Even with only 5,000 people, the thunderous cheers filled the entire venue!

For viewers from other regions, they wouldn't recognize Flandre or JieJie, since these two have never appeared in the World Championship.

Their support for EDG is for a simple reason: because of Mingjing.

Because of this youngest FMVP!

As the cheers gradually subsided, the host continued reading out the IDs, inviting the rest of EDG and their coach onto the stage.

"Next up, please welcome the LCK Spring Split champions, DK, who are making their first appearance at MSI!"

"Top Laner: Nuguri, Jungler: Canyon, Mid Laner: Showmaker, AD Carry: Ghost, Support: Beryl!"

The five DK players appeared on screen, but they no longer had the high spirits they displayed when they appeared in last year's finals. Instead, they stood with solemn expressions.

After introducing the two teams, the host shouted to the audience: "After the group stage and the scrimmages, the Mid-Season Invitational is coming to an end. Now the two teams that have survived to the end have taken to the stage to compete for the trophy!"

"The competition is about to begin, let's see who will be the ultimate champion!"

Both players took their seats and entered the final preparation stage.

Inside the LPL live broadcast room, the camera naturally switched to the commentary booth.

Today's commentary lineup is undoubtedly top-notch, featuring Wawa, Miller, and Guan Zeyuan – a trio of legendary commentators.

The three had been waiting for a long time and immediately began to analyze the upcoming match based on the data provided by the director.

"Although the two teams are tied with one win and one loss in their head-to-head matches, the data shows that EDG is still slightly better. After all, EDG has played many dominant games in previous matches. In comparison, DK and MAD went the full five games, which is a bit less impressive." Looking at the data comparison in front of them, the three commentators couldn't help but recall last year's finals.

I remember when JDG and DK's stats were revealed, all three of them felt a chill run down their spines, thinking that the upcoming finals were likely to be a disaster.

Of course, they won in the end, though it was a very close call.

Now, it's still the same five opponents, but the situation has reversed.

"Furthermore, we've received news that EDG won the pre-match coin toss, meaning they'll have the first-choice side in the first game! This is great news for us!"

"Next, let's all look forward to the performance of the EDG players!"

Better data and the right to choose sides gave the three commentators a lot of confidence for the upcoming final.

Moreover, Xiao Fei also said that he would win the finals very easily.

Data can be misleading, but Xiaofei won't.

On the other hand, the LCK commentary booth had a completely different atmosphere.

Lagging behind in data and losing the right to choose sides, the three LCK commentators had no angle to praise their own team!
The three had no choice but to focus on one or two data points where DK had an advantage and analyze them in various ways. In the end, they even abandoned the data and started analyzing the players' experience in major competitions, ultimately forcibly analyzing a 50/50 situation.

Meanwhile, in the LCK live stream, countless Korean viewers began to pray.

We must win! DK!

LCK hasn't won the MSI championship in far too long!
The preparation phase ended quickly, and the first round of banning and drafting began!
Maokai was roaming around behind the players, directing the top, mid, and jungle players in the first round of bans.

"Last time we played DK, they let Lee Sin through, and they still won!" Maokai said with a confident smile. "Then today, they have absolutely no reason to ban Lee Sin! Mingjing, are you ready?"

"It's wrapped." Ming Jing was also rubbing his knuckles, a hint of anticipation in his heart.

To be honest, playing Lee Sin seriously can be quite addictive.

Ming Jing had been wanting to make a name for himself in the competition for a long time!

Start kicking!
The voice just fell.

A blind monk appeared on the opposing team's first ban list and quickly disappeared.

???

Seeing this, the EDG players were all dumbfounded.

Ban Xiazi, and it was the first ban?

What is this idea?

Maokai couldn't help but look at Flandre.

Is Flandre's Lee Sin worth being banned first?
Saint Gun was also somewhat stunned at this moment, then scratched his head, "Could it be..."

"Impossible." Maokai directly interrupted Flandre's unfounded fantasy.

The order of the ban positions also has a specific meaning.

Even if Flandre bans Lee Sin, it will only be the third ban at most, not the first ban.

EDG's opponents always ban Mingjing first.

The last player who looked down on Mingjing in the ban phase was wiped out in less than twenty minutes.

This ban means that DK anticipated that they had a mid-lane Lee Sin hidden in their deck.
Thinking about this, Maokai felt even more uneasy.

No, how would they know?
Their mid-lane Lee Sin was only used in scrims against MAD.

It couldn't possibly be our European allies who tipped us off, could it? They'd be thrilled if DK died!
"Could they have predicted that Mingjing would master Lee Sin?" Meiko offered a possibility at this point.

Maokai laughed when he heard this: "That's probably it."

After eliminating all the wrong answers, you must believe the remaining answer, no matter how outrageous it may seem.

"They trust Mingjing way too much, don't they?" Jie Jie laughed.

Just because they believed Mingjing could master mid-lane Lee Sin, they gave him the first ban?

Even EDG might not have this much faith!
It's safe to say they're a formidable rival.

Maokai shook his head helplessly, and then said, "We'll have to put the mid-lane Lee Sin on hold for now, let's pick something else first."

Fortunately, they prepared more than one set of items.

Maokai quickly changed his strategy, giving the next two ban slots to junglers, banning Udyr and Morgana in turn.

On the other side, DK continued to ban mid laners, banning Lucian and Akali in turn.

"Alright, let's move on to the champion selection phase. Let's see what EDG chooses!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than EDG locked in Rumble on the first floor.

Rumble jungle is a no-brainer, and this choice didn't cause much discussion. DK, on ​​the other hand, selected Zoe and Nidalee.

With Udyr and Morgana both banned, DK had little to say but to just pull out their signature champions.

The Zoe and Nidalee double poke composition is strong in the early game and also has strong team fight capabilities in the mid-game.

And the key point is that in the early game, Nidalee can completely chase Rumble in the jungle, which perfectly suits DK's needs.

But on the other side, the EDG players had obvious smiles on their faces when they saw this.

Ha, they've taken the bait!
However, they didn't rush to make their move. Instead, they chose the bottom lane first, locking in the standard combination of Tristana and Rey. DK then locked in Kai'Sa, entering the second round of the draft.

"In the second round of bans, EDG used both bans on the top lane, banning Jayce and Renekton. These are two very strong top laners, exactly what DK needs right now! The bans were well done!"

"On the other side, DK continued to ban mid lane, this time banning Azir and Orianna, which is fine!"

Mingjing had already defeated DK once in the first round with Tsar. That time, Tsar, combined with Rumble's magic resistance reduction, dealt extremely explosive damage in team fights. The DK team did not want to experience it a second time.

After Kkoma completed the ban phase, the players discussed for a long time. With EDG's top laner still unselected, they had no choice but to pick support first, choosing Leona.

At this point, the choice is back to EDG, and the blue side will lock in their lineup!
The camera then cuts to EDG's side, where several players can be seen communicating with each other.

But all of them had obvious smiles on their faces.

"So you've made your choice?"

"select!"

"The big one is coming!" Park Do-hyun said, seemingly having picked up some abstract phrase from someone, as he spotted an extremely rare hero in the mid-lane.

Moon Goddess, locked on!
"Hey, Jiaoyue!" The doll was startled when she saw this.

Like Rumble and Morgana, Diana is also a champion whose jungle clearing efficiency has been enhanced.

Even in ranked games, Diana's win rate is a level higher than the latter two, making her an absolute jungle overlord!

However, this hero doesn't seem to fit well with the game. He only appeared briefly in a few games during the group stage, and after a poor performance, he never played again.

"Diana definitely has a reason to be mentioned!" Colonel Guan nodded, "Because Diana's strong engage is very effective against EDG's poke composition!"

"But the problem now is," Miller emphasized, "is this mid laner or jungler?!"

Mid lane Diana? Can she counter Zoe?

Jungle Diana? Then which lane is Rumble in?
With the fifth floor of EDG locked down, the truth of this series of questions immediately came to light.

Death is like the wind, always by my side!

The image of a wandering swordsman appears in the frame and then locks onto the screen.

"Yasuo!!!"

On the LPL commentary booth, the three commentators spoke in unison!
The cheers from the audience instantly filled the entire stadium!
The big one is coming!
(End of this chapter)