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

Chapter 204 The Dark Horse and the Undefeated King!
While Ming Jing was practicing tirelessly, the LPL playoffs were progressing rapidly.

LNG and WE, who advanced to the quarterfinals, immediately faced their opponents in the second round.

This time, the two will face off against the fifth and sixth-placed teams in the regular season – TES and BLG.

In contrast, EDG is naturally more focused on the LNG vs. TES match.

Since both teams and EDG are in the same half of the bracket, there's a possibility of them facing off directly.

So, as soon as the match started, the EDG team was in the training room and turned on the live stream of the match.

As the players from both sides took to the stage, the EDG members began to discuss amongst themselves.

Ming Jing also noticed that Top Esports' starting top laner for today was 369.

Due to his poor performance in the regular season, Qingtian ultimately failed to retain his starting position, and 369 returned to Top Esports' starting lineup.

"There shouldn't be much of an explanation for this, right?" Flandre looked at the matchup and didn't seem to have much of an opinion. "Top Esports will definitely win!"

Top Esports is, after all, the Summer Championship team from last year. Although they didn't perform well in the Spring Split, they still managed to finish fourth.

"Not necessarily?" Meiko looked at the LNG mid laner on the screen. "It seems like Cool is playing quite comfortably this patch."

LNG was the first team to make it to the playoffs, and Cool was also the first to abandon Lee Sin in the summer split and instead pick LeBlanc for mid lane.

But the results proved to be better than expected.

Even though SN's mid laner Angel is an excellent mage player, he was still completely suppressed by Cool!
“But it’s really hard to say.” Meiko thought about it carefully and then changed her mind. “Left Hand’s laning phase is also pretty good. I feel like this version of Top Esports has something to offer.”

If you think about it carefully, it's not hard to deduce that Top Esports is actually very well adapted to this version.

With the departure of jungle carry and warrior mid-laners, and the return of mid-lane mages to the meta, it's fair to say that Knight and Karsa have entered their comfort zone.

As for the top and bottom lanes, 369 and JackeyLove are both excellent players. As long as they perform well and understand the game, there shouldn't be any major problems. They might even be able to "launch a northern expedition" as the fans are saying.

The final result will require quality control during the competition.

The first draft phase began quickly.

LNG used the same strategy as in the first round, prioritizing Cold's hero selection and directly locking in Syndra.

This version of Syndra is an absolute lane bully. Her Q costs 40 mana, and if you hit it accurately, you can cripple your opponent as early as level 1!
From a pure laning perspective, there aren't many champions that can really compete with Syndra. If Mingjing were to pick her, he would probably lock in Irelia or Lucian to counter her.

Actually, Ekko is also a good choice. Mingjing remembers that in last year's semi-finals, Zuo Shou picked Ekko to counter Yagao's Azir, and it worked quite well.

This hero is a hard counter to Syndra.

But Topsports' choice surprised Ming Jing greatly.

"Huh? Akali?" Ming Jing scratched his head, a little confused. "What kind of logic is this?"

Even in a regular season patch before the EQ combo was nerfed, Akali would still have a tough time against Syndra.

After all, Syndra's "Scatter the Weak" is quite effective against Akali's unsteady dashes.

It can fight, but it requires a lot of skill.

Moreover, Akali's mechanics and stats were nerfed in the playoff patch.
What is this picture?
Moreover, picking Akali wasn't the end of it. Top Esports then locked in Bomb to withstand the pressure, and then locked in a top, jungle and support combination of Camille, Fryegor and Trundle, probably wanting to launch a fierce attack on the top half of the map.

"."

With this lineup, Ming Jing has no idea who will initiate the team fight.

Should we send Camille up and drive?
Without crowd control to follow up, can Camille get out after kicking in?

Is it really reasonable to let Camille, who is the core of the early game and is likely the most fed player on the team, initiate team fights?

Ming Jing couldn't figure out what Top Esports' draft strategy was, but he knew that Top Esports probably had no chance this game.

that's the truth.

In the early stages, the two sides could still put up a fight, after all, the jungle and support combination of Fryegger and Troll Warlord was not weak in fighting, and the bomb's tower defense was indeed quite effective.

The two sides fought for twenty minutes, and the kill score was still 6-6, with the economy evenly matched.

But after thirty minutes, things quickly went wrong.

Top Esports' weakness in team fights began to show. 369's Camille kicked in, and although his teammates followed up quickly, they were either Fryegor or Trundle, so their impact was practically zero.

With 369's Camille dying instantly, TES also lost the Baron.

What followed was a complete and utter defeat.

The TES players seemed to realize that they couldn't win team fights at all, and began to pin their hopes on 369's split push.

However, with Baron Nashor already lost, even if 369 split pushes very fast, he can't outpace the enemy's Baron buff push.

The match ended at 40 minutes. Left Hand's performance was actually quite good, with Akali achieving an excellent 5-1-1 score. However, facing the two carries who had already built defensive items and his teammates who were rapidly collapsing, he was powerless to turn the tide and could only watch the game end in defeat.

"It's not bad that this lineup can last forty minutes," Ming Jing commented. "White Crescent does have some merit."

“Indeed.” Meiko nodded. “I often find Top Esports’ draft picks and bans hard to understand.”

"Then I'll send it." Ming Jing lay back in his chair, not even bothering to continue reading. "It feels like Top Esports didn't understand the version at all; they're too lax!"

To be honest, whether it was last year or this year, Ming Jing has never seen anything called "sense of urgency" in Top Esports.

Last year at the World Championship, while JDG and DWG were diligently studying the version and actively seeking change, only TES remained unchanged in the face of all changes.

The result was that they almost lost to FNC in the quarterfinals. Fortunately, the team had excellent adjustment ability and realized the problem. They made an on-the-spot improvement and completed a reverse sweep.

But it was obviously too late. By then, Top Esports was completely unable to keep up with the pace of the championship team and was eventually defeated by JDG 3-1 in the semifinals.

Top Esports hasn't changed at all, so elimination is inevitable.

The final result was indeed no longer in doubt.

Although Top Esports managed to win the second game by copying LNG's strategy and adapting to the current meta, LNG's understanding of the meta was clearly superior. Icon directly picked Lissandra to counter Syndra, and then in the final game, he pulled out the Diana-Yasuo combo for a decisive victory, sweeping Top Esports 3-1.

In contrast, Top Esports could only field outdated mid-lane champions like Sylas, Akali, and Lucian, making defeat inevitable.

"Top Esports was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Summer Split?" Meiko frowned. "Do they have enough points? Will they not even make it to the qualifiers?"

Ming Jing thought for a moment, then pursed his lips, "That's all."

The final rankings of the Spring and Summer Splits will earn teams points, which directly affect their qualification for the World Championship at the end of the year.

(Spring/Summer Income)
Although Top Esports earned 30 points for finishing fourth in the spring season, they only managed to get 10 points for reaching the quarterfinals in the summer season, which has a higher weighting in the points system. Their points total was pitifully low.

It's only 40 points. Any team that makes it into the top six of the Summer Split will have at least 40 points, which will tie the total score with Top Esports.

The problem is that if there is a tie, the ranking in the summer season will take precedence.

With Top Esports (TES) holding a 40-point lead in the quarterfinals, any team that makes it to the top six can secure a spot in the top six based on the summer season's top six points plus priority rules, thus qualifying for the qualifiers.

JD Gaming and Top Esports are truly good brothers. They're fierce together, dominating the LPL for a whole year, and they're also on the decline together. If you don't go to Worlds, I won't go either.

Ming Jing shook his head helplessly, then sat back in his seat and entered ranked mode.

As it turns out, the version update had a significant impact. Fortunately, EDG had a high ranking in the regular season and their matches were scheduled for later, giving Mingjing ample time to prepare.

Unexpectedly, after playing only a couple of games, Mingjing saw that JackeyLove's Korean server account had also logged in.

Ming Jing was somewhat surprised.

Normally there are no rankings at this time, but now that it's a holiday, there are? Ming Jing thought for a moment and simply typed, "Why are you still doing outfit matching at this time?"

"?" JackeyLove replied quickly, his question mark full of confusion: "What are you talking about? Dude, I still have to play in the qualifiers. I can't skip the World Championship, can I?"

"?" Ming Jing left with a question mark.

"?" Another question mark appeared on the other end.

"?"

"?"

After several question marks were raised, JackeyLove finally stopped moving, seemingly understanding something.

A few minutes later, the JackeyLove account logged off.

The LPL quarterfinals continued on the second day.

The in-form WE team faced off against BLG, who finished sixth in the regular season.

As it turns out, version compatibility is everything; regular season rankings mean nothing.

BLG's mid laner Zeka is a true master of mage assassins. He's one of the few players, besides Mingjing, who can consistently ban Akali. His proficiency with Sylas, Lee Sin, and Irelia is also quite good, making his champion pool similar to Mingjing's.

Thanks to their good fit with the current version, BLG managed to achieve a strong sixth place in the Summer Split, despite failing to even make the playoffs in the Spring Split.

But one version change destroyed everything.

The designer's ruthless treatment of Mingjing made Zeka one of the biggest victims, causing him to suffer from severe culture shock during the playoffs.

This ebb and flow led to yet another 3-0 sweep in this playoff series.

WE makes a strong run into the top six!

Because BLG failed to make the playoffs in the Spring Split, and with the result of reaching the quarterfinals in the Summer Split, it means that their journey in the S11 season has ended prematurely.

Korean mid-laner Zeka was packing up his peripherals with his head down, a hint of loneliness showing beneath his burly frame.

He has been in the LPL for two years, but his performance has been mediocre, making him wonder if his talent is limited to this.

A single version change was enough to severely damage him and even make him a burden to the team.

He understood, of course, that the designer was targeting Phi, and that he was simply caught in the crossfire.

But if it were Phi, he probably wouldn't have let the team get into such a predicament, right?
He didn't even know where he should go in the future.

Should they stay in the LPL or return to the LCK?

With such poor performance in the past two years, would any strong team really want him?

no one knows.

That's how brutal esports can be.

Champions only smile upon those with exceptional talent.

After the quarterfinals, the league took a three-day break.

LNG, who advanced to the top six, faced off against RA, who finished fourth in the regular season.

RA can be considered a dark horse that emerged in this year's summer split. After a series of victories, they even tied with RNG, who were in third place, in the final round, only losing by a narrow margin.

As a team with his old friend Fu Minghang, Mingjing naturally hopes that RA can advance. The two teams will first have a passionate showdown in the semifinals, and then head to the World Championship together.

Unfortunately, he doesn't have the final say on this.

LNG's incredible performance continues.

After defeating SN and TES in a row, Cool seems to have regained his confidence and feel for the game, and has even shown a unique understanding of the current meta.

He picked Galio, Kennen, and Lulu—almost all of which were champions he had never chosen before—and all of them were incredibly effective.

This bold choice of hero impressed Ming Jing greatly.

They really dared to choose that.

Without a doubt, icon has become the undisputed leader of this version in this playoffs.

Meanwhile, LNG's bot laner Light also delivered a terrifyingly consistent performance, with Aphelios surviving all three games without dying once. In the final game, with Lulu's support, he achieved an astonishing 11-0-6 score, totaling 26-0-11 across the three games. This helped his team sweep RA 3-0 and advance to the semifinals!
"LNG's 9-1 playoff record proves who the real dark horse is!" The commentator, Wawa, exclaimed. "After winning this BO5 series, they will officially advance to the semifinals. Their next opponent is none other than EDG, who just won the regular season! Their challenge has only just begun!"

The EDG members looked at the scene before them, exchanged glances, and all had solemn expressions.

LNG's strength in these BO5 games is undeniable.

Not only did they advance all the way north from the first round, but they also only lost one game in three best-of-five series!

Seeing this, even Ming Jing couldn't relax and immediately started a ranked match.

He needs to find out what the "Kennian mid lane" thing really means.

In a corner of the training room, Scout looked at the scene before him, his heart burning with excitement, and he licked his lips.

He had seen Ming Jing's recent massive amount of ranked training.

The more training he does, the more clearly Mingjing's maladaptation to the new version will be revealed!

Scout is ready to go.

Before EDG's match, there's still the bottom bracket's semifinals to play.

Because of LNG's dark horse miracle, countless people have paid extra attention to WE, who also started from the first round.

It's worth noting that WE's record is even more impressive than LNG's. They went 6-0 in two BO5 series and haven't lost a single game.

Many viewers were really eager to see if WE could upset RNG, who finished third in the regular season.

If both halves of the bracket are cleared in the first round, it will be a huge shock to the audience's worldview.

Thankfully, nothing so cruel happened.

After all, RNG is a team that competes with EDG and FPX, and is not in the same niche as other teams.

And that's exactly what happened in the end.

WE, who came out strong, immediately faltered after facing RNG.

The perfect conjoined twins of the Guardians of the West turned Breathing Bro into Suffocating Bro.

Mid laner Cryin has found his own answer in this version, playing Galio twice and Malzahar once, keeping Shanks firmly in check.

Furthermore, GALA delivered its usual solid performance.

RNG swept WE 3-0 and also advanced to the semifinals!
The lower bracket is still a bit abstract, with several teams winning 3-0 against each other, which just shows that the class division is quite strict.

Of course, WE's story is not over yet. The points earned by the top six teams in the Summer Split are enough for them to compete in the qualifiers.

With this, only four teams remain in the LPL playoffs, which will now enter a double-elimination format.

The first thing to begin is the highly anticipated battle.

LNG, the dark horse, challenges EDG, the undefeated champion of the regular season!

(End of this chapter)