LPL History

Chapter 87 The Han River Tide Suppresses the Dragon Vein of Esports; The Nation's Fate Hangs by a Thread in the Battle of Busan

"Sang-hyeok, the match is about to start, we can set off now."

In a corner of the Hanjiang Internet Cafe, Choi Jun-wook looked at Lee Sang-hyeok, who was still engrossed in the game, and spoke up to remind him.

Hearing Choi Jun-wook's words, Lee Sang-hyeok nodded and sighed helplessly.

His eyes were filled with confusion and even helplessness.

He's been sitting here for a day and a night without closing his eyes, playing countless games against bots.

After yesterday's SOLO match, Lee Sang-hyeok learned that his opponent was Lion, a professional mid-laner from China.

In fact, Lee Sang-hyeok often encounters professional players in his usual ranked matches at his rank.

No one has ever put so much pressure on him during the laning phase.

Even so, after a brief period of confusion, Lee Sang-hyeok regained his absolute confidence.

After all, the outcome of a single solo match does not necessarily prove that you are worse than your opponent.

During the match, he was not completely overwhelmed by his opponent, and he was even close to getting a solo kill by being 20 drops of health away.

In Lee Sang-hyeok's view, his eventual death was partly due to luck.

If Nidalee's Q doesn't hit him, then Nidalee will be in trouble, and victory will belong to Lee Sang-hyeok.

Once Lee Sang-hyeok understood this, his mood instantly improved.

Then, out of sheer curiosity, I searched for Lion's match highlights online.

Juggernaut AWAA instantly kills under the tower with three slashes in half a second, Anivia teaches Rotroot a lesson with 310 slashes in 20 minutes, both forward and backward.

The most outrageous one was the blind monk.

Spinning kick, R flash, Zhou's triangle kill, double Q triangle kill...

Lee Sang-hyeok was dumbfounded, as if he had opened the door to a new world.

The confidence that had just been rebuilt crumbled in an instant.

In fact, under the influence of Zhou Li, Lee Sin is currently the most popular hero in the Korean server. However, it just so happens that Lee Sang-hyeok came to Busan with Choi Jun-wook these past few days and didn't play the game much.

"How exactly were those operations accomplished?"

Lee Sang-hyeok got itchy fingers and started wanting to recreate it.

At first, he confidently started playing a few ranked matches, but after being repeatedly insulted by his teammates, he finally calmed down and started playing against bots.

Even in the AI ​​match, Lee Sang-hyeok found that he was unable to replicate Zhou Li's actions!
Spinning kick and R flash are not difficult, and even double Q triangle kill can be performed relatively easily after understanding the mechanics.

The only thing that Lee Sang-hyeok couldn't accomplish, no matter how hard he tried, was the Zhou family's triangle kill!

After all, the core of Zhou's Triangle Kill is the W Flash, which is the only way to achieve such a fast speed and kick the target into the Heavenly Sound Wave.

If it's a Flash to ward jump, then it's never going to be in time.

Although Zhou Li has analyzed the Zhou Family Triangle Kill combo on his Weibo, our Sang Hyeok doesn't use Weibo.

In fact, this is actually a good thing for Lee Sang-hyeok.

Sometimes it's not that we're afraid of not understanding the mechanics, but that we're afraid of understanding the mechanics yet still not being able to perform the same actions. That's the real difference between a genius and a mediocre person.

Even so, after a day and a night in the library, Lee Sang-hyeok was already somewhat on the verge of collapse.

He turned his head somewhat blankly and asked Choi Jun-wook beside him:
"Is Lion in today's match?"

Choi Jun-wook nodded.

"Yes, it's the finals."

Lee Sang-hyeok stood up and couldn't help but ask again:
"Junxu, in your eyes, do I really have a lot of talent for gaming?"

"Wow," Choi Jun-wook exaggeratedly patted Lee Sang-hyeok on the back, "What are you saying, you brat! You're the most talented gamer I've ever seen! You're the number one ranked player in the Korean server!"

"What about Lion?"

Lee Sang-hyeok stared intently at Choi Joon-wook.

This confident young man now needs affirmation from others.

Choi Jun-wook opened his mouth. As someone who had been dealing with esports all along, he naturally knew how much of an earthquake Lion had caused in the esports world, and how people in the industry evaluated that terrifying young man.

He thought for a moment, then chuckled and said, "Sigh, really! Young people just love to compare. Just don't treat him like a human being, okay? You know, don't treat him like a human being, that kid isn't even human..."
-
"Hello, everyone in the audience!!"

Haeundae Beach. Jeon Yong-jun stood on the stage, showcasing his "Roaring Emperor" prowess; with just one sentence, he ignited the entire audience.

"Welcome to the 2012 League of Legends OGN Summer League Finals! The two teams you see standing on this stage represent the two strongest teams in League of Legends right now!"

"They are Team Azubu Frost!!!"

As soon as Jeon Yong-jun finished speaking, thunderous cheers erupted over Haeundae Beach.

Lee Sang-hyeok, who was inconspicuous in the crowd, shifted uncomfortably.

He doesn't really like such crowded and noisy scenes.

“Azubu Frost is currently one of the top teams in our Korean esports scene.”

Choi Jun-wook began to speak.

Lee Sang-hyeok nodded and said:

“I know their mid laner. I recognize that ID. I’ve played against him many times. He’s no match for Lion.”

Lee Sang-hyeok didn't lower his voice when he said this, which quickly drew the dissatisfaction of those around him.

"Hey, what are you saying, kid?"

"You idiot, are you out of your mind?!"

"Get out, you fake fan!"

Choi Jun-wook smiled and apologized to those around him, thus preventing this future god of the Korean league from falling prematurely in the audience.

On stage, Quan Yongjun continued:
"The other team is WE, the Chinese team!!"

Compared to the earlier enthusiasm, the audience was now quiet, with occasional boos.

Frsot's bench.

MadLife was getting ready and began to speak:

"Brothers, give me 100% focus in today's game!"

As a support player, MadLife is the core of Frsot.

The others responded excitedly to MadLife's words.

Before the match even started, the club had already set strict requirements for them.

Today's match is one we can only win, we cannot afford to lose.

It's worth noting that the reason South Korea invited so many foreign teams to participate in this year's OGN Summer League is because...

While it was said to be a test of the Korean teams' strength, it actually reflected a high level of confidence in the level of their own domestic teams.

To put it bluntly, they want those foreign teams to serve as stepping stones for the Korean teams.

The esports industry in South Korea has received strong government support, making South Korea an esports powerhouse.

Therefore, today's match is not just a contest between two teams.

It could even be said to concern the fate of South Korea.

In fact, South Korea's assessment of the strength of its domestic teams is correct.

After all, three of the four teams in the finals are from South Korea.

According to pre-tournament predictions, aside from the three Korean teams, the team most likely to enter the semifinals was the European powerhouse CLG.EU.

The Korean teams had made various tactical preparations in advance to counter CLG.EU.

But no one expected that WE, who were not favored, would make it into the finals as a dark horse.

In order to have enough time to prepare against WE, the finals, which were originally scheduled to be held two days after the semifinals, were delayed by Korea by an extra day.

Based on the statistical analysis of various results, they concluded that Forst's winning rate was greater than or equal to 60%.

The main reason for this conclusion is the assistance provided by Forst's MadLife.

"Lion has a very strong presence in lane and often likes to harass and pressure the opponent under their tower. But for Forst, this is probably exactly what they want to see."

In the audience, Choi Jun-wook said to Lee Sang-hyeok:

"Because Madlif is a support player who really likes to roam! In this match, Lion might actually become WE's weak point!"

(End of this chapter)