We are tired of winning championships, and we still need youth training?

Chapter 155 Xu Xinghe: No, why does everyone think I've burned out?

While the comeback in the fourth game was impressive, it actually exposed IG's weaknesses.

Compared to teams that can compete in the World Championship, IG's current synergy and individual player abilities are not outstanding. The only one who can save the world is Xu Xinghe.

Conversely, RNG is much stronger this year.

Bin's addition gave RNG two lanes that had a significant advantage in the early and mid-game.

Fun fact: Xiaohu is the Chinese mid-laner with the highest honors and the longest peak period, bar none.

Even though he's prone to injury in World Championships, it doesn't change Xiaohu's dominance in the league.

Otherwise, how could they have become the so-called "Three Saints and One Emperor"?
Xiaohu's laning skills are extremely high. He is rarely outmatched in the LPL. Even when facing top mid laners, he is usually evenly matched or even has an advantage.

Without Uzi, RNG is only half dead; it's Xiaohu who can carry the team.

With Bin's addition, Xiaohu no longer needs to worry about the top lane situation and can focus entirely on laning and helping the bottom lane.

This can be seen as a way of liberating Xiaohu.

Gala's laning skills are much worse than Uzi's, but he's not so bad that he'd be easily crushed in lane.

Once Xiaohu gains an advantage in the laning phase, he can freely support the bottom lane, helping Gala to forcefully establish a laning advantage as well.

Help me out, Xiao Hu knows it inside and out.

Uzbekistan trained him personally, that's what he said.

This RNG team is definitely not one that the current IG can compete with.

Xu Xinghe knew very well.

IG still has potential, but to say they are among the top teams in the LPL would be laughable.

Even disregarding the strong teams that have emerged this year, JDG and RNG alone are enough to give IG a run for their money.

In the fifth game, although IG gained some advantages in the early game, RNG's carry players still took over the game after they got fed.

After a fierce battle lasting thirty-seven minutes, RNG finally emerged victorious.

Among the audience, IG fans looked disappointed and watched the players on stage in silence.

RNG fans are ecstatic; they probably have more energy left to argue with Uzi's die-hard fans when they get home that night.

Although Uzi and RNG haven't completely fallen out yet, rumors are endless.

So now RNG fans and Uzi fans have started arguing.

"Congratulations to RNG for defeating IG 3-2 and advancing to the Demacia Cup finals!"

"Although it's a pity for IG to be eliminated in the semifinals, we still want to thank IG and RNG for bringing us such a wonderful match. Please give a round of applause to both teams in today's match!"

Miller has very high emotional intelligence.

Although IG lost, this BO5 was indeed a very exciting match.

It's no exaggeration to say that both of IG's victories were incredible comebacks.

As we all know, comebacks are the most entertaining and memorable.

Take, for example, the game where SKT turned the tide against EDG.

That one loss can haunt someone for a lifetime.

Even if League of Legends is no longer popular after Season 15, anyone who knows about it will still remember it.

So Miller wasn't exaggerating when he said it was a great game.

He knew very well that IG also had a large number of fans, and he couldn't afford to offend them.

Therefore, he spoke quite tactfully.

However, no matter how tactful they are, it cannot change the fact that IG lost the game.

Many viewers who dislike IG started gloating in the live chat.

I knew IG was going to falter this year; they can't even beat RNG.

[Stop the unfair criticism, we didn't even beat them in S8.]

While their performance wasn't exactly humiliating, they undeniably lost their dominance.

Sigh, IG has really fallen from grace.

IG just doesn't have the skill.

Among this group, the largest group consists of former IG fans.

However, they are mostly individual fans of the players who left the team.

The relationship between the team and the players is very delicate; if you had to describe it, it's a bit like an ex in a romantic relationship.

What kind of ex is the best ex?

The answer is that it is dead.

If IG continues to thrive even after their favorite player leaves, then they will be unhappy.

Because that means their players' choices were wrong.

Now that IG has been eliminated, these people can't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Naturally, they won't let go of this opportunity to kick a man when he's down, and they've started to thoroughly disgust the current IG fans.

While some of the hot-tempered IG fans continued to argue, many more fell into silence and resentment.

[As expected, I knew we wouldn't make it to the finals.]

Sigh, IG...

The previous champions only made it to the semifinals in this Demacia Cup; they're finished.

What's the point of these new IG players? Let's kneel down and beg Xinghe to carry you to another victory!

But for some reason, neither those viewers who no longer like IG nor the current IG fans have targeted Xu Xinghe.

It's not that Xu Xinghe doesn't have haters.

Which contestant in the world doesn't have haters?

It's just that I really can't bring myself to criticize it today.

Even if you're not a discerning person, or even if you only vaguely understand the competition, the audience can still tell who really gave it their all.

To put it bluntly, if this BO5 had a different jungler, it would probably have been a 3-0 quick push.

In the two games that IG won, one was a comeback victory thanks to Xu Xinghe's Gragas initiating a great team fight in the late game, and the other was a comeback victory thanks to Kindred almost taking on five opponents and getting a quadra kill.

In the post-match data, Xu Xinghe's Kindred's damage output in the fourth game reached a terrifying 33%.

This is the output of a jungler.

Even in the three games that IG lost, Xu Xinghe's stats were still not bad. He did what he was supposed to do in the early and mid-game, and he was still frantically looking for opportunities to turn the tide in the late game.

Anyone with even a basic understanding of the game wouldn't blame a jungler like that.

That was truly one person carrying the entire team on their shoulders.

Even haters can't smear him!
Xu Xinghe took off his headphones, exhaled, and remained calm.

Strictly speaking, today was the first defeat of his career.

He's actually really fine.

After all, he had high standards and had anticipated this outcome before the match, so he didn't lose his composure too much after losing; he was just a little down.

However, Xu Xinghe forgot one thing.

That is, the audience often analyzes the contestants' psychology based on certain subtle facial expressions, seeking amusement from the beginning.

And at that moment, the camera was pointed directly at him.

The handsome young man in the video was seen with his eyes slightly lowered, silently tidying up his peripherals. His face showed obvious disappointment and melancholy, and his collar was slightly messy, but he had forgotten to fix it.

Now, fans who like Xu Xinghe are heartbroken.

Even those who are not Xu Xinghe's fans, or even those who are his haters, have chosen to remain silent and have not come out to deliberately disgust people.

Chinese people have a deep-seated fondness for tragic heroes.

The reason why Jing Ke, who attempted to assassinate the King of Qin in ancient times, is so moving is because of the tragic heroism he displayed.

Now, Xu Xinghe is one of only two remaining members of the IG championship five-man team. Coupled with his feat of dragging IG to the fifth game, he has earned a lot of admiration from the audience.

Alone, he supports IG in the new era.

Even when they are extremely heartbroken, they only show a little disappointment.

He really made me cry to death!
Fans are determined to protect the best Xu Xinghe in the world!
It really tormented a wave of fans.

I liked Xu Xinghe before, and now I like him even more.

Even viewers who were initially indifferent to Xu Xinghe and thought his interview was outrageously arrogant were now somewhat moved.

Even if she doesn't immediately fall in love with Xu Xinghe, she'll still leave a very good impression. However, if Xu Xinghe knew all this, he'd probably be completely baffled.

Dude, I'm not really that heartbroken.

It's just the Demacia Cup, not like we got eliminated by G2 in the World Championship.

What's there to be sad about?
But just like the short essay analysis that even the author himself couldn't get a perfect score for, Xu Xinghe's feelings at this moment are no longer important.

If everyone thinks you're sad, then you are sad!
"...Is this one alright?"

Saint Gun stood up and spoke solemnly.

At this moment, Flandre was not as frivolous as he usually was.

After all, he knew that Xu Xinghe was the one who played the most aggressively and lost the most miserably in this game.

They managed to turn the tide in two games, but still lost.

The last game was still a top-tier, long and painful match.

A classic case of wasted effort.

Even though Flandre likes to cause trouble, he doesn't want to see his teammates' mentality really collapse.

If he were Xu Xinghe, he would probably have kicked all of IG, including himself, out of the game by now.

"fine."

Xu Xinghe gently shook his head.

He's just like a certain male protagonist in Akasaka's works; he's not actually that fragile.

To prove his point, he even twitched the corners of his mouth and gave Flandre a peaceful smile.

However, how did Flandre and the audience perceive this scene?

The boy forced a pale and strange smile and patted his teammate on the shoulder.

Fans: Waaaaa, Xinghe is clearly so sad right now, but he's trying to force a smile so his teammates won't worry. He's so kind!

Flandre: Oh no, is he really upset? Is he smiling to reassure me?

"Don't worry, I won't lose so badly again."

Saint Gun's eyes grew even gentler. He sighed and patted Xu Xinghe's shoulder with his other hand, his eyes filled with a tenderness and fire that Xu Xinghe couldn't understand.

Xu Xinghe:?

Dude, is it really necessary to make such a fuss over a single Demacia Cup match?

The Spring Split hasn't even started yet, I'm really not sad!

From other people's perspectives, Xu Xinghe has maintained an undefeated record since his debut.

But today, that record has been broken.

How could he not be disappointed?

But in Xu Xinghe's eyes...

The so-called complete victory is nothing more than being afraid to lose.

At that time, he was still competing with Ning for the starting position, and his number of fans was far less than Ning's, so there was very little room for error.

Even if they lose one game, they might not be able to play in the next one and will have to leave IG in disgrace to try their luck at another club.

He has never been attached to these superficial things.

This is the difference that comes from perspective.

But it's useless to say anything now.

The commentator also witnessed this scene, and his expression was inscrutable.

"We can see that Galaxy from IG is in a good mood, and we hope he can regroup and achieve great success this year."

Miller sighed.

Even the most talented players will eventually lose a match.

He's a veteran commentator, and as such, he's seen countless times the sadness and tears of players after losing a match.

But he didn't become numb; instead, he began to empathize.

When RNG was eliminated by SKT in S7, Miller also suffered from insomnia for several nights.

Seeing Xu Xinghe lose the match, and his undefeated myth shattered, he couldn't help but feel sad and unconsciously began to encourage the players.

"Yes, I also believe that day will come."

The doll nodded seriously.

Rita looked at Xu Xinghe on the stage, her beautiful eyes filled with a hint of pity.

Xu Xinghe was too young; in Rita's eyes, he was practically a little brother.

On the stage.

Xu Xinghe, who had finally shaken hands with the RNG players, remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was secretly frowning.

【Wait, why is this camera always pointed at me?】

He didn't quite understand.

If RNG wins, go film RNG, why are you filming me?
But Xu Xinghe was completely unaware.

His composure at this moment appeared to the audience as numbness and absent-mindedness.

[Waaaa, my poor Xinghe brother is so pitiful!]

They're still reeling from this; it seems like a really big blow.

It's burned to ashes, truly burned to ashes.

Sigh, IG has really dragged my Xinghe down terribly.

A bunch of female IG fans in the live chat started feeling sorry for Giegie, and the male fans also felt a lump in their throats and were quite upset.

In a post-match interview, Xu Xinghe originally planned to give everyone a day off so they could go home and rest early.

Therefore, I took the initiative to accept the post-match interview.

But the other teammates exchanged glances and all said they wanted to come too.

Even Viper, who doesn't speak Chinese fluently yet, is like this.

Xu Xinghe didn't mind, and so the first interview with the five members of IG began.

It wasn't until the interview began that Xu Xinghe realized something was wrong.

What kind of questions is this female host asking?

How did you BYD teammates respond?

"Flandre, are you satisfied with your performance today?"

"I'm not entirely satisfied. I will work harder in the future and won't hold anyone back anymore."

Saint Gun glanced at Xu Xinghe silently and spoke seriously.

"Viper, what are your thoughts on facing RNG's bot lane?"

"I'm not good enough yet. I want to become good too. I don't want to lose. I want to lead my teammates."

Viper also secretly glanced at Xu Xinghe, who was looking down and seemingly deep in thought. Although she hesitated a bit, she still insisted on answering in Chinese.

"Rookie, what are your thoughts? After losing to RNG, what do you think IG needs to improve or correct?"

"I think it's because my performance fluctuated too much. I'm very dissatisfied with my performance today, and I will show everyone my improvement during the Spring Split."

Rookie looked serious, his hands clenched tightly.

He is very ashamed now.

Xu Xinghe, a former newcomer to IG, risked his life for the team.

And what about yourself?

He barely played a role in this BO5, instead allowing Xiaohu to dictate the pace of the game.

This made Rookie, who had previously served as the dean, very upset, and he felt increasingly angry.

—It was about himself.

Xu Xinghe gradually came to his senses.

No, why are you all giving me your opinions?
You don't think I'm really sad, do you?

(End of this chapter)