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

Chapter 210 Change of Face
"Congratulations to EDG!" Wang Duoduo's voice still echoed in the arena! "A 3-0 sweep of Li Ning, advancing to the winners' bracket finals!"

The entire venue was ablaze with light, spotlights flashing and ultimately focusing on the EDG players' seats.

Inside the EDG backstage area, Clearlove, Maokai, and Abu all looked delighted upon seeing this scene. The three of them exchanged glances and gave each other a high five.

To be honest, before the match started, they were really worried that they might have an upset today.

After all, LNG's momentum in the previous few BO5s was indeed strong, with a record of 9-1, so it would be difficult for EDG to do better.

After all, no one can guarantee that they won't lose a single game in three best-of-five series.

But the current results of the match prove that they were indeed overthinking it.

"Come on, let's go out and greet them." Maokai was very enthusiastic and pulled the other two out.

The factory manager, of course, wouldn't refuse, and stood up to follow him out.

Before leaving the break room, the factory manager turned his head one last time and glanced at the corner of the break room.

In the corner, Scout sat by the water dispenser, already looking at his phone, as if the victory before him had nothing to do with him.

At the same time, the voices from the commentary booth could still be heard.

"All I can say is, EDG is still EDG." Tongxi's voice was sweet, her tone filled with satisfaction. "These three games were almost uneventful, just standard EDG-style victories!"

"Yes," Wang Duoduo nodded, "and most importantly, EDG wasn't just having Xiaofei carry today! The whole team was carrying!"

The most obvious result is the MVP award. In the first two games, Mingjing missed out on the MVP. In the current third game, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the MVP will be awarded to the rampaging Viper.

"This is simply the kind of quality a championship favorite should have. They are incredibly strong and constantly improving!"
At this moment, the live stream chat was filled with comments flying across the screen.

There's no reason why someone who's been forced to improve should do so.

[Viper's on fire today, two MVPs?]

Oh no, will Viper steal the FMVP award from Xiaofei in the end?

[Don't rush, this is just the beginning. Little Fei is conserving his energy. He'll start showing his skills in the finals.]

The camera panned to the EDG players' bench, where several EDG players stood up simultaneously and punched each other.

"Awesome, awesome." Flandre smiled broadly as he led his teammates toward the opponents' bench after exchanging punches.

On the LNG players' bench, Tarzan took off his headphones and stood up, his expression calm.

He was somewhat unhappy when he lost the first two games.

By this time, he had let go of his resentment.

We really can't win.

EDG is an incredibly strong team.

He has played professionally for so many years and has faced strong teams, but he has never felt such intense pressure before.

Tarzan sighed inwardly as he looked at his old teammate Viper walking up to him, and then gave him a light fist bump.

Viper and Tarzan, both from Griffin, are old teammates who have gone through hardships together.

Griffin rose to prominence around the same time as DWG. As two of the LCK's most promising teams, Griffin should have a bright future, just like DWG.

With top-tier jungler Tarzan and highly skilled laners, this team should shine in the jungler meta of Season 10, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

But management destroyed it all.

Griffin, nicknamed the Korean RNG, signed slave contracts with all its players before the team even started playing. They were tied to the players for five years with low wages, and then they were subjected to various Korean-style management practices. If they didn't perform well, they would be physically punished, and substitutes would be fed leftovers and used to run out of old equipment.

At the worst point, Coach Myco verbally abused the players and even choked them.

In addition, internal power struggles erupted within the team over the starting top laner, clearly dividing them into two factions, making it a complete mess.

This matter even reached the LCK, and ultimately the league had to step in and forcibly terminate the unequal contracts of all Griffin players.

During the transfer period following their loss to IG in S9, Lehands, Doran, and Chovy all transferred and left the team without any hesitation.

Viper and Tarzan, however, persevered for another year, leading Griffin to the second division before leaving.
All I can say is that, given their abilities, Griffin should never have been demoted.

"Go for it." Tarzan looked at his teammates who had fallen together but were now regaining their momentum, and his tone was full of blessings. "May you win the championship all the way."

"Thank you." Viper nodded with a smile.

Beside them, Ming Jing also found Leng Shao, and the two lightly bumped fists.

At this moment, Wang Duoduo's voice could still be heard from the scene.

"At the same time, we hope that LNG will not be discouraged. With their resurrection armor, their journey in this summer season is not over yet. Here, we wish them good luck and hope that their journey in the loser's bracket will be smooth sailing and live up to the team's efforts over the past year!"

Upon hearing this, Leng Shao pursed his lips, his heart filled with unwavering resolve.

He is different from Mingjing.

Ming Jing is a super genius who shone brightly from the very beginning, far ahead of other newcomers, attracting the attention of world championship teams who actively recruited him.

After years of playing professionally, experiencing ups and downs, he finally got this opportunity to enter the world championship.

He certainly wouldn't miss it.

Ming Jing saw a hint of fighting spirit in the other person's expression, and he gave an approving "Go for it!" before continuing to throw punches.

The venue was still empty, which made Ming Jing feel that something was missing. He and his teammates bowed to the audience and then left together.

Today's interview didn't find Mingjing, but it did find Viper.

That makes sense, considering Viper played exceptionally well today, and he's a shoo-in for MVP in the third game.

Ming Jing was happy to see this, as he wished his teammates would get MVP every game, so he could relax too.

At the entrance to the lounge, the coach manager's cousin had been waiting for a long time.

"Impressive! Impressive!" Maokai laughed and bumped fists with Mingjing. "You played very consistently today!"

The TV was currently showing the MVP selection for this match, which was unsurprisingly awarded to Kalista, who had the most kills.

But there is no doubt that Ming Jing's performance was equally indispensable, and no one would question whether he would be awarded the MVP.

After a disastrous BO5 series, the Anti-Japanese Bar was filled with discussions about the match.

If it were just a normal match, BLG shouldn't have faced much repercussions after losing, since BLG and EDG have no real conflict, and losing to EDG would have been reasonable.

Mingjing smiled and gave his cousin a fist bump before returning to the lounge.

While Viper was preparing to go on stage for an interview, Mingjing nestled on the sofa in the lounge, took out his phone, and opened Tieba (a Chinese online forum).

At that moment, the forum was very popular, and Mingjing found the rating post as soon as he entered.

Click to sort by popularity, and Ming Jing scrolled down to see his official makeup photos.

[My husband is senile!]

[Sichuan IP addresses are truly from people who love Sichuan]

[A god among gods, mid laner gets ganked three times in a row!]

[To put it dramatically, if both sides swapped mid laners, it would probably still be 3-0.]

This is the regular season MVP! The biggest matchup difference of the day!

[However, Fujii is somewhat envious; he didn't even give him an MVP award today!]

[It doesn't matter, Xiaofei doesn't care about this little bit. Once Xiaofei starts doing C, Fujii will behave himself.]

The comments below were overflowing with praise, even surpassing the number of comments on Viper's thread. Such praise was certainly reasonable, given that the mid-lane was the focus of today's match.

Continue scrolling down, and next up is Leng Shao's floor.

Today's food was absolutely awful; I don't know what they were thinking.

[When playing against other champions: Syndra, Cassiopeia, Yasuo. When playing against high-level champions: Renekton, Galio, Lulu. Are you serious about this champion selection?]

[What kind of copycat Superman is this? He goes all out against the weak, but slacks off against the strong, huh?]

It's normal to be a coward when fighting against Little Fei.

[But getting completely outplayed in three games in a row is really hilarious. In the second game, he couldn't even use Galio's ultimate properly. If he had played better, he probably could have won one game.]

It's understandable that he can't beat EDG, and it's also understandable that he can't beat Xiaofei, but I still hope that Cool can seize this rare opportunity. If he doesn't take advantage of this chance to rise, he may never have another one like this in his life.

Indeed, it's quite gratifying to see veterans like Oil Gun and Cold Spring, who have fought their way up, regain their momentum. I hope they can both make it to the World Championship.

The forum members are actually quite forgiving of Leng Shao, after all, his performance these past few days has been excellent, and everyone has seen it.

Even when they blame him, it's mostly out of disappointment and frustration.

As viewers, we are naturally happy to see this kind of underdog victory, since it's all LPL teams anyway.

When it comes to the World Championship, the strong teams just need to avoid upsets.

Mingjing continued scrolling down, and among the rating floors filled with praise for wins and criticism for losses, Saint Gun Bro's rating stood out today.

Oil Gun performed consistently well today. Although it didn't gain much advantage against Ah Le, it was significantly more effective than Ah Le, which was purely due to its experience in the game.

Young people like Ah Le are still somewhat impatient.

Mingjing smiled and exited the thread to refresh it, where he saw another interesting post.

Did anyone notice Scout's expression?

Because the director repeatedly showed the EDG backstage lounge during today's broadcast, Scout's dramatic change of expression was perfectly showcased in multiple screenshots.

At the start of the match, Scout was watching intently, looking quite expectant.

But after Leng Shao's early game collapse and he was tower-dived at level three, his expression started to look off.

By the end of the first game, Scout's expression had already turned sour.

When the camera then panned to the EDG rest area, Scout stopped sitting in front of the camera and instead huddled in a corner playing on his phone.

The more favorable the home team's situation is, the more uncomfortable he feels; this is still a bit abstract.

Someone who didn't know better might think this was an LNG player.

Below, countless netizens were discussing the matter.

[Hilarious! I noticed it while watching the live stream too; that person just disappeared after a while. It's kind of funny.]

[This guy is really envious. He probably just wants his team to lose so he can get a starting spot, right?]

[The person who truly supports Leng Shao has emerged; he genuinely hopes Leng Shao can win.]

[Does he really think he'll get a chance to play if EDG loses? Xiaofei isn't just the crown prince anymore, he's completely enthroned, his health bar is incredibly high!]

[This junior is too ambitious. If I were him, I would have quit long ago. I wouldn't need to play a single game and could be making millions a year.]

That doesn't make sense. Considering long-term development, you still need to go out there and improve your record.

It's okay. XueNan only signed a one-year contract anyway, so there's not much hope for him at EDG. He can switch teams next year and I'll have more fun watching him play.

Looking at the endless stream of comments below, Ming Jing scratched his head and glanced at Scout in the corner of the lounge.

It's indeed similar to the state shown in the last screenshot.

After playing on the phone for several hours, is the battery still sufficient?

Mingjing's imagination was running wild when there was a knock on the door of the lounge.

Fujii's staff came in and handed the real regular season MVP trophy to Akira.

They said they'd send it over after the first game, but it only arrived after the entire BO5 was over.

This level of execution is definitely in the LPL style.

Ming Jing held the trophy and examined it for a moment. The regular season MVP trophy was indeed made more casually; it was just a transparent plastic trophy with the words printed on the base.

The award wasn't very prestigious, and Ming Jing didn't care much about it; he simply stuffed it into his bag and that was it.

At this moment, Viper also finished his interview and returned. The EDG team packed their bags, called out to Scout who was playing on his phone in the corner, and then left together.

After a hearty meal, Ming Jing returned to the base feeling completely relaxed. During his evening study session, he even added two extra math problems for himself, planning a fierce battle.

After all, the version change came urgently a few days ago, and Mingjing has been increasing the intensity of training in order to adapt to the version, which has led to a corresponding compression of the time spent on solving problems.

But after today's match, it's clear that he's no longer having any issues with the game version, so he can naturally return to his previous form.

In the voice message that evening, Song Xuan specifically praised Ming Jing's performance.

But Mingjing disagreed.

Winning against LNG is not difficult at all; it was entirely expected. The real highlight is the final showdown and the grand final.

Now we'll see who wins the semifinals in the second half of the bracket.

The night passed, and on August 22nd, the semifinals of the lower bracket began.

FPX vs. RNG: A clash of titans.

The level of excitement surrounding today's match was in no way inferior to yesterday's.

The three teams that rose to prominence this year are considered the top three in the LPL. They have dominated the top three positions in both the regular season and playoffs from the Spring Split to the Summer Split, making them true championship contenders.

Both sides indeed demonstrated a very high level of tactical skill in this match.

In the very first game, the two sides were already locked in a fierce battle, with the kill count steadily rising.

But in the end, FPX's fighting ability was superior. Their mid, jungle and support took the initiative and caught RNG off guard in a gank on the side. RNG members came to support one after another and then died one after another. In one fell swoop, they ruined a good game!

However, RNG has a good ability to adjust. In the second game, they chose the blue side as the loser and successfully won the game with Xiaohu's 100% win rate Lucian!
The two sides traded blows, battling it out for as long as the fifth game!

The blue team won all four games, proving the blue alliance's well-deserved reputation.

Now that FPX has once again gained the right to choose the losing side, it could very well determine the outcome of this best-of-five series!
Of course, there's nothing you can say about this situation.

It's true that the blue side has an advantage and a higher win rate, but anyone can pick the blue side. Ultimately, it's because FPX performed better in the regular season that they have the priority to pick sides.

Ultimately, strength speaks for itself.

But the result of the final game was unexpected by everyone.

The two sides fought fiercely for forty minutes, entering the real late-game battle.

In the final team fight, GALA became the key player. His Xayah feathers flew, leaving bloody marks on the FPX players. His ultimate, Flash, and Gale were all used effectively, and he managed to dodge a fatal skill with almost every move.

When Xayah finally fell to the ground and entered her resurrection state, FPX's formation was already in disarray, with only a pitiful lineup remaining.

Little Tiger Gnar has now returned to his Little Gnar form. Gnar, nicknamed Big Vayne, is throwing boomerangs like crazy and has finished off the remaining enemies!

"Forty minutes, one minute for respawn time!" Wawa shouted from the commentary booth, "We can go for it in one fell swoop!"

"Then let's congratulate RNG! They defeated FPX 3-2 and will face EDG in the winners' bracket final!"

(End of this chapter)