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

Chapter 230 Go to war!

"Wow, you're really into it, you've filled it up again?"

Seeing that the fifth round of ban/pick was still in progress, Ming Jing simply took out his phone and checked the reactions on the anti-fan forum.

At this time, the majority of discussions on the forum were about this particular match. The forum members were quite two-faced, and you could basically tell which team won the game at different times from the posting time and content.

[LNG is seriously playing terribly. This is the first time I've ever seen an AD carry get pushed so low by GALA. How can they possibly win?]

[The Royal Club fans are really shouting; if you didn't know better, you'd think it was a best-of-one. What's there to shout about after just one win? They've tied it now, haven't they?]

[It's just a one-goal handicap; you don't really think LNG can win today, do you? They'll definitely take it 3-1.]

[Speak! This was a complete stomp! Xiao Ming doesn't have the talent of a champion Titan, but he's got the champion Titan's disease, huh? He can even hook like that? He hooked a fifth game straight away!]

It looks like it's a back-and-forth battle, with the blue side winning four consecutive games.

This situation is obviously quite delicate.

Many netizens have summarized the matchups between FPX, RNG, and LNG, noting that the three teams have now reached their fourth best-of-five series since the playoffs.

Not only did all four best-of-five series go the full distance, but the blue side also had an exceptionally high win rate!
Apart from FPX achieving a red-to-blue victory in their decisive match against RNG, the blue side won all 18 other games!
We are currently in the twentieth inning.

This only proves one fact: the level of these three teams is really very close, and the difference in strength is even smaller than the difference between the red and blue teams!

The same was true for this final game.

Because RNG had a higher score, they were given a higher ranking and the right to choose sides in the deciding game (loser's side).

The two sides battled fiercely for another forty minutes, but in the end RNG came out on top. With the advantage of being on the blue side, they secured the Kennen, Twisted Fate, and Aphelios three-core lineup, which steadily exerted its power in the late game and perfectly coordinated to end the game!

"In that case, let's congratulate RNG!" Wang Duoduo shouted from the commentary booth, "After a fierce five-game battle, RNG has finally defeated LNG and won this battle for the third seed!"

"Meanwhile, LNG's story is not over yet; they will remain on hold for now, awaiting the outcome of the match between WE and RA!"

From this, we can basically see the current strength landscape of the LPL.

In short, it can be summarized as one superpower and many strong powers.

EDG is the true favorite to win the championship. Their level is clearly not on the same level as other teams. They swept all three best-of-five series in the playoffs 3-0, ignoring team compositions and red/blue teams. It was all about overwhelming strength!

Moreover, the teams that suffered the most were FPX, RNG, and LNG.

These three brothers are ranked in the second tier of strength. When they fight each other, it's always a full-blown battle, and they're always evenly matched. Their strength is visibly close!

Teams in this tier, even if they aren't the favorites to win the championship, are still strong contenders given the current strength of the LPL!
Further on, it's about the same level as the roadside.

Later teams like RA and WE struggled against the three brothers, losing more often than winning.

Then there's Topsports and JD.com, which are practically roadside stalls.
Nobody knows why Top Esports and JD Gaming, who dominated the league last year, have fallen so quickly.

If nothing unexpected happens, the fourth seed will most likely be LNG.

On September 4th, in the lower bracket of the qualifiers, RA will face off against WE.

The winner between the two teams will compete against LNG for the fourth seed.

In contrast, this match didn't attract much attention, firstly because it wasn't a strong team, and secondly because there weren't any star players.

Ming Jing didn't care much about the process; he just held a stack of draft paper, working on math problems to keep his mind active while waiting for the results.

The two teams traded blows, making it a close and evenly matched contest, but the score remained relatively tight.

WE had a bumpy road and won hard-fought victories, but they still managed to secure two consecutive wins at the start, easily putting them in match point.

In the third game, WE lost their composure slightly, with their mid and bottom lanes collapsing together. They were completely overwhelmed in 25 minutes, leaving a sliver of suspense for the match.

In the final game, Mingjing saw that the early laning phase wasn't too intense, so he simply focused on dealing with the big problem at hand.

The questions this time were not difficult; they were just the same questions from this year's National Mathematics Competition, which was a piece of cake for Mingjing at his current level.

He wrote with divine inspiration, easily solving this challenging geometry problem in Asia in just twenty minutes. But when he looked up, the competition was coming to an end.

With 24 minutes left in the game, WE, with the Baron buff and a 10,000 gold lead, had already pushed to RA's high ground, and victory was practically in their grasp.

Seeing this, Ming Jing still sighed.

Because RA's team included their youth training camp partner, Fu Minghang, Ming Jing naturally hoped that RA could win. Before the match started, he even cheered for Fu Minghang in the youth training camp's small group chat.

Still haven't succeeded?

"Three to one! Congratulations WE!" It had been so long since we'd heard Miller say that. Miller laughed, "They still have a chance to qualify for Worlds! Let's look forward to tomorrow's match!"

WE and LNG are teams that have existed since the early days of the LPL. The two teams have been fighting each other since the early days. Although they have not produced any famous moments, they are indeed old rivals.

With the final World Championship ticket at stake, both teams certainly have reasons not to lose.

September 5th, the last day of the qualifying rounds.

Since the send-off ceremony was to follow the competition today, Mingjing came to the venue with his teammates and sat in the VIP seats.

Also present were members of the RNG team. After the two teams met, they greeted each other and then found seats in the back row where no one was around.

After sitting down, socialite Shi Senming specifically sought out Saint Gun Bro and asked him which side he hoped would win.

According to rumors that Shi Senming heard, Saint Gun's last year with LNG had some unpleasantness with the club, and he even missed a game at one point.

"Is that even a question? My old team will definitely win," Flandre said nonchalantly. "They're guaranteed to win."

The unpleasant things are all in the past.

Saint Gun and LNG have been fighting together for so many years, and now that he's leaving, it's only natural that they'd let bygones be bygones.

Moreover, LNG's strength on paper is clearly superior.

In the first game, Icon played with great enthusiasm, using Orianna to completely suppress Shanks' Twisted Fate and even firmly control the lane.

This is actually a very difficult thing, after all, it can be seen from the attributes of both sides' heroes. Orianna is obviously a late-game carry mage. When a late-game hero can suppress a roaming hero, it means that the two players are obviously not on the same level.

Ming Jing paid special attention to Shanks's actions and quickly concluded that this person probably wasn't very good at playing cards.

As we all know, the difference between expert cards and ordinary cards is very obvious. You can tell them apart at a glance from their positioning, last-hitting, and skill release.

I probably practiced playing Shanks after seeing Mingjing's cards.

The entire WE team relied on this card to set the pace of the game. With Shanks unable to make any moves, WE's overall situation became quite stagnant.

In the top lane, Breathing Bro's Gwent was constantly being tower-dived, and in the bottom lane, Elk's Aphelios couldn't gain any advantage either, and the disadvantage grew larger and larger.

The game dragged on forty minutes, but the massive 15,000 gold deficit left WE helpless. In the final Elder Dragon team fight, WE was utterly crushed, their efforts amounting to nothing.

In the second game, WE's rhythm improved slightly. Shanks locked in Irelia and pulled out the classic W-max Bloodthirst build, successfully suppressing icon's Azir in lane.

But it doesn't mean much.

Because Tarzan went on a rampage. Despite being pressured in the mid lane and isolated, Tarzan managed to go toe-to-toe with WE's mid and jungle!
Olaf dominated from top lane all the way to bottom lane, achieving a 6-1-7 KDA by the 30-minute mark, helping the team successfully drag the game into the late game!
This is where the Tsar and Aphelios come into their own.

With two late-game super carries, once their items are complete and the team has an economic advantage, they will undoubtedly dominate in team fights!

With the score at 2-0, WE is already on the brink of elimination.

In the third game, LNG pressed their advantage, launching attacks from all three lanes and the jungle, and successfully pushed down their opponents in just 24 minutes!

In the commentary booth, Wawa immediately exclaimed, "Congratulations to Li Ning! They swept WE 3-0 and secured their spot in the S11 World Championship!"

On the stage, all five members of LNG breathed a sigh of relief, high-fived each other, and looked on with relief.

It has to be said that the competition in the LPL this year is visibly fierce, far surpassing that of the LCK!
In this environment, making it to the World Championship Finals is already an extraordinary achievement!
Having escaped the hellish environment of the LPL and entered the low-stakes world of the S-series, the LNG team believes they have a bright future!

Ming Jing looked at the result before him and nodded.

As expected.

The landscape of the LPL is quite clear now.

The four teams that have emerged, as well as the number one seed, are basically all set. The only suspense is the order in which the three remaining teams will advance.

"Let's go, get ready to go!" Meiko was quite adept at the departure ceremony, leading everyone backstage.

The backstage area was already packed with people.

Besides FPX who just arrived at the scene, there's also LNG who just came off the stage.

There are also substitutes from each team.

The send-off ceremony also included substitutes, so even Scout was present this time.

However, for Scout, this departure ceremony was no different from an on-the-spot execution.

They were so good the past two years, yet they didn't even qualify for the World Championship.

I've been watching the benchwarmers all year, and then they make it to the world championships. Who can stand that?

Scout's pride made it impossible for him to accept this fact.

Ming Jing glanced at it, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

He could certainly imagine Scout's current state of mind.

He didn't say anything, but simply took the uniform from the staff.

Ming Jing unwrapped the coat, unfolded it, glanced at it, and immediately frowned.

The coat's design was a standard jacket style, nothing special, except for the dragon pattern on the back, which added a touch of humor.

This doesn't look like a dragon anymore; it looks more like the rascal snake from "The Adventures of Little Carp."

Hmm. I wouldn't dare say anything carelessly.

Mingjing didn't have time to think much, so he put on his coat and followed the group to the backstage to wait.

On site, the host, Liu Hang, was already enthusiastically warming up the atmosphere.

"The year-long competition is coming to an end."

"The start of the World Championship means that Season 11 has reached its most crucial moment!"

"After competing in the spring and summer seasons, four of the seventeen LPL teams have emerged to qualify for the final World Championship and compete for the highest honor!"

"First, let's welcome the champions of all the tournaments so far this year, the number one seed—Edward Gaming! Take the stage!"

Upon hearing this, Flandre adjusted his clothes slightly and then stepped onto the stage.

Mingjing stood in the center of the group, following behind Jie Jie.

Scout, as a substitute, lingered at the back of the team, reluctantly taking the stage.

The audience below the stage erupted in thunderous applause!

As an LPL viewer, even if you're not a supporter of EDG, you have to admit that this team is undoubtedly the biggest favorite!
Inside the live stream, countless comments filled the screen, with many people focusing their attention on Scout at the back of the team.

Holy crap! Learn this!

[Wow, it's been so long since we've seen Scout!]

[He didn't even get to go on stage to lift the trophy; this time, it seems there's really no other way.]

It's clear that the junior student still has dignity.

But who told him to play games during the transfer window? He deserves this fate.

Indeed, if he had honestly signed the contract, he would have been able to lift the trophy alongside the AD version of Xiaofei. He ruined it entirely on his own.

[I can only say it was a good move. If Xiaofei had just played AD properly, EDG might not have been this strong. Where am I going to fill the gap left by Viper?]

In addition, some people were discussing the expedition.

Am I the only one who thinks this uniform is absolutely hideous?

Is there even a question? Which military expedition has ever been good?

[This is indeed a bit abstract. It's one thing for Piqiang to be dressed badly, but Xiaofei and Viper are also dressed rather badly, which I just can't understand.]

Indeed, with these two figures, there aren't many clothes that would still look bad on them.

On stage, Liu Hang continued announcing the program.

"Next up is the second seed—FunPlus Phoenix!"

"And then there's the third seed—Royal Never Give Up!"

"Finally, the fourth seed is LNG Esports!"

In fact, EDG's performance in the Conqueror outfit was already quite good, considering they had some handsome guys to carry the team.

When the other teams came on stage, that was truly an eye-opening experience.

They were fat, short, and crooked. Apart from someone like Leng Shaosong who knew how to dress, there wasn't a single person they could find who was pleasing to the eye at first glance!

This game is unlikely to sell well.
After the four teams took the stage, Liu Hang once again spoke passionately, using phrases like "warriors and horses."

After speaking for a while, Liu Hang finally took a deep breath to conclude the departure ceremony.

"With passion and unwavering courage, our heroes are about to embark on their journey to Europe. Facing a familiar battlefield, will the former overlords reclaim their crown, or will the young powerhouses forge a legend? Let us look forward to it together! Summoners, see you at the S11 World Championship!"

(End of this chapter)