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

Chapter 179 Tao'er, this amazing person!
TES.

Its full name is Top Esports Club, which was formerly known as TOP.

This season, they brought in Jackeylove, an AD carry player from IG, and have already become one of the top teams in the LPL.

Actually, TES wasn't bad to begin with; they had no problem making it to the playoffs, but they just couldn't get into the World Championship.

However, it is undeniable that Ah Shui's addition has indeed brought a lot of attention to the club and given it the ability to compete in the World Championship.

Before JackeyLove arrived, TES was at best a top-tier team in the league, but they were basically out of luck when it came to qualifying for the World Championship.

His left hand seemed somewhat unable to support him.

With the arrival of JackeyLove, TES's two carries have risen directly to the top of the league and are competitive in the World Championship.

However, their performance in S10 was somewhat disappointing.

They came back from 0-2 down to defeat FNC and advance to the semifinals.

However, he was sent away by SN.

As the number one seed, this result is unacceptable.

But is this a roster issue?

It seems not.

Looking back now, this TES roster is ridiculously luxurious.

Top order 369.

Although 369 later often acted as a spinning top in world championships, being whipped around by top Korean top laners like Zeus, who represent three generations of top Korean players.

However, it is undeniable that 369 is one of the few top laners in the LPL who still maintains competitiveness.

Most other LPL top laners don't even have the chance to be the spinning top.

Bin?

Stop joking, Bin still can't step up in crucial games.

Whether it was the match where he won the MSI championship in S11, or the match where he was defeated by TheShy, who was almost dead, in S13, or the match where he was crushed by Zeus in the S14 World Championship finals, it all shows that Bin's strength is only so-so.

In this situation, 369 is definitely a qualified world-class top laner.

You can't call him trash just because he can't beat Zeus.

Jungler Karsa.

This one is more heavyweight.

He was once the jungler with the most "fuzzy" Korean players in the S-series group stage. His rhythm in the first fifteen minutes was invincible. He earned the nickname "radar" for his map control, and his sense of smell was extremely sharp.

Although Karsa's performance in S10 was no longer consistent, leading to nicknames like "Pizza," he is still a top-tier jungler.

Because even if he's bad at something, there's a limit. Although he can be affected by his emotions, he doesn't go to the extremes like Xiaotian.

Xiaotian really does tend to drift aimlessly when he's at a disadvantage, but Karsa has a history of coming back from a 0-2 deficit to defeat FNC 3-2.

Mid laner Knight.

Nicknamed the Golden Left Hand, he is in his prime this year.

Although he was out of the spotlight for a year due to a contract dispute with SN, he truly shouldered the responsibility for TES's future after returning to the team.

In the S10 Spring Split, they delivered a performance that could be considered the best in the league.

No matter which statistic you look at, Knight is the strongest mid laner in the LPL this season.

He ranked first in average CS (creep score) and average damage output, and had a 1273 gold lead at 15 minutes.

What is the concept?
As the game progressed, they gained an economic lead equivalent to a useless big stick.

There's no need to elaborate on how dominant Knight is in lane this season.

But Knight seems to have some inner demons.

His performance is greatly affected whenever the World Championships are held.
He dominated the league but studied hard every day, yet in the World Championship, his mid-lane stats ranked 15th or 14th out of 16 main tournament matches.

This situation did not completely change until S14.

Knight in S14 has fully awakened, stepping up when the team is facing a desperate situation and carrying BLG all the way to the finals.

He even went head-to-head with Faker in the finals, performing no less impressively than Faker when he returned to his peak form, showcasing a godlike performance with his Sylas.

However, it's too late.

As it turns out, by the time you finally wake up, your teammates may not be able to hold on.

Bin in the top lane got spun around like a top by Zeus, and ELK in the bottom lane gave up a crucial kill with his Ziggs, resulting in a loss in the most critical fourth game.

Does Knight have the strength?

Actually, it has always existed.

But he rarely gets to perform well.

Perhaps it's a matter of mindset, or perhaps it's due to fluctuations in performance during the competition.

But no matter what, it cannot be denied that his league performance is terrifyingly strong.

For Rookie right now, Knight is a very tough challenge.

As for the remaining bot lane duo, Jackeylove and Yuyanjia, there's not much to say.

Ah Shui's playstyle has always been to maximize damage output, regardless of whether he dies or not.

However, since he has now partnered with Xu Xinghe for a year, his playing style has become much more conservative, and he has also learned to share responsibilities with Knight, so his stats in the Spring Split are now much better.

In simple terms, it's more Korean-style.

But its ability to deal damage is by no means inferior.

The only nerf is that he no longer aims to crush the opponent in the early game.

Sometimes players choose to play it safe and develop their character, which can lead to them not gaining lane control.

This might prevent Karsa from playing too aggressively in the bottom half of the draw.

But would you call this a weakening?
Strictly speaking, it doesn't seem to count.

After all, fewer breakthroughs mean fewer opportunities.

The final support prophet needs no further explanation; he's basically Ah Shui's accessory.

A very mediocre support player, with few standout plays, but also not particularly prone to making mistakes.

Among Ah Shui's support players, he is considered quite good.

After all, apart from Baolan, who was his championship partner, none of Ah Shui's other support players were very human-like.

Even someone like Zhuo Ge can play support, while Mark, a player who was a major liability in the S10 World Championship, can be described as mediocre when he comes to Top Esports to save the day.

Then there's Meiko, who's already become Old Deng, and Crisp Liu. Where are the normal people?

Overall, apart from the support player who might be a little lacking, the other positions on this TES team are already top-tier in both the league and the World Championship.

Winning the S10 Summer Championship isn't exactly something that's hard to understand.

In the original Spring Split, TES lost to JDG.

However, for IG, JDG is not as difficult to beat as TES.

The reason is also very simple.

JDG is a team that relies more on the mid-jungle synergy to gain momentum, while IG has Xu Xinghe and Rookie as their mid-jungle duo, so they won't be at a disadvantage in mid-jungle synergy battles.

But TES is different.

TES's two carries are currently stronger than IG's.

It's hard to say who's stronger between JackeyLove and Viper in the bot lane, but Knight versus Rookie in the mid lane...

Rookie is really struggling to beat them right now.

No matter what, Chicken Bro has been playing for several years, and he is at a great disadvantage against Left Hand, who is only twenty years old.

If IG can't win with their two carries, the only way to break the deadlock is to focus on their top and jungle lanes.

But 369 is just as good as Karsa.

This is the current predicament IG faces when playing against TES.

Don't be fooled by the fact that TES in later generations was practically the comedian of the LPL, creating countless bizarre moments, including but not limited to saving Vietnamese esports and suffering two major defeats in the league.

But in the league, they are very dominant.

The Sailor's double C is there, which guarantees its strength.

At 4 PM, the entire IG team had arrived at the scene.

The crowd outside the venue was enormous, a sight that Viper, who had never seen anything like it before, found truly eye-opening.

"So many people..."

After more than half a season, Viper's Chinese proficiency had improved.

At that moment, he was peering out the window and couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

LCK venues are completely different from LPL venues; the size of LCK venues is generally incomparable to that of LPL venues.

This was also the first time Viper had ever seen such a large audience.

"You haven't seen it?"

Saint Gunner snorted.
"Back when RNG played against EDG, that was when there were so many players."

As one of only two LPL clubs to hold an S-series championship, IG certainly attracts a lot of attention.

However, within the industry, there is still a significant gap between die-hard fans and established clubs like RNG and EDG.

Because for clubs like RNG, the fans have largely become fans of the club itself.

This is what a true top-tier club looks like.

No matter where the players go, they may still have some goodwill towards them, but if they have to say which club they like the most, it's still RNG.

But IG is different.

IG players have a lot of individual fans.

They left IG, and their fans will follow them away from IG.

"Oh no, I'm getting a little nervous."

Missing clicked her tongue, then anxiously tapped on the window as she looked around. "Don't panic."

Saint Gun pulled out a piece of chewing gum.

"Your Extra gum."

Missing: ?
"Do you think you're funny? How about I play along and say, 'No, it's your Extra gum,'?"

Missing gave him a disgruntled look and held up one finger, but still obediently accepted it.

"Rice vinegar, you're disgusting."

Flandre responded with the middle finger:
"Your buddy was trying to comfort you, and you disgusted me. Speechless. Guys, stay away from him!"

Viper silently lowered his head, picked up his peripheral bag, and prepared to get off the bus.

These two are too abstract; even now, Viper still doesn't quite understand what they're saying.

The more I learn about Viper, the more confused I become.

Are they really speaking Chinese?

Xu Xinghe and Rookie had already walked down the road. The fans on the roadside were kept at a certain distance by security. When they saw the two of them appear, they screamed and cheered.

"Star!! Chicken!!"

"Family members, Abu CP is real!"

"Go Xing Ge today! Chicken Ge, kill him!"

Let's talk about something tough:
Because Rookie's nickname is "Meat Chicken," while many people like to call Xu Xinghe "Xinghe."

Put them together and you get the name "Chicken Star".

Coincidentally, EDG's coach, Abu, is named Ji Xing.

So those who like to ship them as a couple call them Abu CP.

After that, EDG fans were unhappy.

Why are you shipping your own players' characters using our coach's name?

As a result, they argued about it on Weibo's supertopic for months, and it's still going on now.

Xu Xinghe found it difficult to remain calm after learning about it.

All I can say is that they have a lot of work to do.

Rookie waved to his fans with a smile on his face, then spoke softly with a hint of melancholy:
"It feels like we've won back quite a few of our fans."

Xu Xinghe raised his eyebrows.

He knew what Rookie meant.

At the beginning of the year, he retired as a support player due to the departure of several players.

Only Xu Xinghe and Rookie's fans are barely keeping IG's fans together, preventing the two-time champion club from losing face.

It's really embarrassing for a club that has won two championships to be overshadowed by the fanfare of other clubs' fans when they're cheering for them.

But as IG improved, their fanbase grew.

By the end of the regular season, they had once again risen to the top two in the league.

That's what esports is all about.

If you perform well, you can easily gain fans in a short period of time.

But it's only easy; it doesn't guarantee that you'll be able to keep them.

Just like the original FPX.

They even won the S9 World Championship, but so what?

Incheon remains today, but the once-proud phoenix is ​​nowhere to be seen.

This thing is amazing.

Rookie was also deeply moved.

He's been with IG for a long time, coming to work in the coal mines with the first generation of Korean imports, Kakao, and then staying.

Back then, IG fans were still called "dog sons".

The most famous saying is:

"Even when I'm old, even when IG is no longer what it used to be, I'll still pull out my rusty dog ​​tag, hang it around my neck, and shout in my decaying voice: IG is awesome!"

It wasn't until they won LPL's first championship in S8 that a large number of new viewers came in, and the original IG team fans became less and less active, which completely split into individual fans of each player.

Even now, the champions have all gone back to their own homes and families.

Seeing IG's resurgence, Rookie has many feelings to share.

"After winning the championship this year, we are the club with the most fans in the LPL."

Xu Xinghe said casually.

Rookie smiled.

Holy gold, it made me laugh.

The spring season isn't even over yet, and people are already talking about winning the championship?

Moreover, he didn't have much confidence.

Because it seems there are just too many strong teams this year.

Not to mention LCK, there are quite a few teams in LPL that are above average.

"I didn't know you had a talent for comedy, Xinghe. You're so confident about it?"

As the two walked into the passage, the cheers behind them gradually subsided. Xu Xinghe winked at Rookie.

"You made me laugh first."

"When have fans not only come because the game is won?"

"Do you think that whoever they support will win?"

Xu Xinghe shook his head.

"wrong."

"Whoever wins, that's who they'll support."

Rookie frowned.

"You're being too blunt."

However, he only expressed his dissatisfaction and did not refute it.

Because what Xu Xinghe said was indeed correct, and he knew it perfectly well.

It is undeniable.

There is indeed a saying that one witnesses false supporters at the peak of their faith, and true believers at the end of their faith.

But you have to have had your peak moments, at least.

Which of those teams that consistently rank at the bottom have a lot of fans?

Even if LGD is the only exception, their ancestors were once wealthy.

Fans are just that—fans.

We walked all the way to the lounge.

Seeing the scene in front of the door, Xu Xinghe couldn't help but laugh.

"What are you doing?"

Ah Shui and Zuo Shou were seen squatting like old men next to the door of IG's lounge, one of them with a lollipop in his mouth, chatting idly.

Ah Shui's eyes lit up when he saw them.

"Damn, you guys finally arrived! I've been waiting for ages, I'm so grateful!"

I asked and found out that Ah Shui had arrived first and had already started putting on makeup.

Bored in the lounge, he decided to visit the IG lounge next door and chat with Rookie and Xu Xinghe, whom he hadn't seen in a while.

When they found that the IG members hadn't arrived yet, they simply squatted by the door.

"I'm not kidding, it looks a bit like begging."

Xu Xinghe hadn't said anything after he finished speaking.

Rookie silently delivered a critical hit to Ah Shui.

Ah Shui's face darkened.

"Old Song, if you can't speak properly, you don't have to."

He stepped aside to make way for his left hand, which had been instinctively standing behind him.

"How about it? My current mid laner is Golden Left Hand, are you scared yet?"

Left Hand caught his breath and quickly greeted:
"Hello Rookie, hello Galaxy."

He has a bit of social anxiety and doesn't like to communicate much with players he's not familiar with.

The main issue is that he has an accent when he speaks.

But my left hand was really unlucky today.

—Because Flandre is there.

"What do you mean? You didn't greet me?"

Saint Gun immediately spoke, resting his chin on his hand and squinting at his left hand.

"...Um, hello Saint Gun Bro."

"You call that a soft voice a greeting? Are you looking down on me?"

Knight: ...

You're truly my living father!

(End of this chapter)