Believe me, I really am a professional League of Legends player.

Chapter 136 The Tereta Tournament! Street Fighter V!

Several trending topics skyrocketed, propelling the news that Li Fan was the mysterious master of Honor of Kings to the peak of online discussion.

The main reason is that it's too shocking. Although they are the same type of game, the difference between mobile games and PC games is still very large.

Games on different platforms are like being separated by a mountain.

The contrast after the confirmation led to an extreme level of hype surrounding the issue.

The previous public opinion completely reversed, and Li Fan's Weibo followers experienced another surge...

There are still many players of Honor of Kings, and among them are two very special groups: elementary school students and female college students.

This led to the comment section being filled with worship and people turning from casual observers into fans.

Instead of losing fans, it solidified his image as an e-sports genius, attracting a large number of fans who admire his skill and the attention of many gamers.

This astonishing popularity quickly spread from online to offline, and manifested itself in a way that surprised the EDG club's management.

Inside Abu's office, he was on the phone, his brow slightly raised and his expression somewhat subtle.

"Yes, this is Abu from EDG. Oh, Smartisan Technology?...Mobile phone promotion?" Abu listened to the introduction on the other end of the phone and felt a little speechless. "Thank you for your company's recognition, but...Li Fan is a core player in our League of Legends division, and his main positioning and image are still strongly associated with PC esports."

"Most importantly, we currently have no plans to have him endorse any products, and we apologize for that."

After politely hanging up the phone, Abu couldn't help but rub his temples. "I really didn't expect that this wave of popularity would even attract mobile phone manufacturers, especially a relatively niche brand. Li Fan's commercial value is truly outrageous."

There were so many people calling to discuss collaborations today.

That's ridiculously exaggerated!
In all his years in the profession, he had never encountered anything so outrageous.

However, the main reason is that Li Fan is personally capable.

He can win in competitions... and he's top-tier in other games too.

There's nothing like this in the professional world.

Moreover, this year is a rather special year.

The global finals will be held in the country, and there will be a lot of preferential policies.

The greater the popularity of League of Legends esports events, the more attention the organizers will pay, and the more prestigious the official representatives attending the World Championship opening ceremony will be.

That's why so many companies want to get involved and get a piece of the pie.

Li Fan really did get to experience his year.

A few years ago, no matter how skilled or talented you were, you couldn't have achieved this result.

With nothing to do, Abu stood up from his seat. He planned to go to the training room to take a look. Today was his last day at the base, and tomorrow he would be taking a plane to Brazil.

Let's see how everyone's preparations are going.

Abu pushed open the door to the training room, which was brightly lit and had a huge screen playing video recordings of matches from overseas regions.

Instead of sitting in front of their own computers, the team members formed a semicircle and stared intently at a small whiteboard in front of them.

Coach Quick Star was standing in front of the whiteboard, his marker flying across the paper.

Abu didn't disturb them, quietly approached, and stood outside the circle looking at the whiteboard.

On the whiteboard, several familiar team logos and the IDs of key players were already listed, with tactical characteristics, commonly used heroes, and key points to note marked next to them.

There is one last match left in the group stage, and one last spot remains: GAM vs. SUP.

However, there is still a significant gap between these two teams, and GAM has a very high chance of securing the last spot.

After all, the Turkish league was established later than the Vietnamese league, and its players' strength and tactical reserves are also insufficient.

However, although both teams are included, they are not the teams that FastStar mainly studies.

The main team studied is still SKT, the champion of the LCK region. As the champion of last year's World Championship, QuickStar has given them enough attention and circled them in red.

Although this year's lineup is not the championship roster, each position has been strengthened.

After all, the core trio in the mid and bottom lanes has not changed.

Huni, a highly aggressive top laner, has been brought in.

Peanut is currently the best jungler in the LCK, and the fact that SKT won the Spring Split championship is enough to prove that their strength has not been affected too much.

Overall, it's very powerful...

This team is definitely the biggest threat to winning the Mid-Season Invitational this year.

Facing such an opponent, you have to pay 200% attention and not only that, you also have to study them thoroughly.

Quickly, Xing turned around, his gaze sweeping over the teammates sitting around him, finally landing on the jungler, Mingkai.

“SKT, our old rivals, but they’re a bit different this year.” Quick Star’s voice was very serious at this moment. “Everyone’s first impression is definitely the mid-lane demon king Faker. His individual ability and champion pool are beyond doubt. Li Fan needs to do his best to deal with him.”

"But this year, what we really need to be wary of is their jungler! Peanut is the MVP of the LCK Spring Split, and his addition has completely changed SKT's early game rhythm."

Pull up several clips from SKT's Spring Split matches and fast-forward to key moments.

"Look here, and here... Peanut is extremely skilled at aggressive play, has a keen sense of smell, and is very sharp in his operations."

“Peanut’s Lee Sin, Olaf, and Graves are all powerful weapons that can directly destroy the opponent’s jungle. His style…” Quick Star paused, his tone serious, “…emphasizes early game pressure and jungle invasion. In a sense, his style is somewhat of a counter to Clearlove.”

This is also a headache for FastStar right now, because the mid and jungle are tied together, but the early game rhythm mainly depends on the jungler.

If the factory manager gets crushed by Peanut, then the mid-lane confrontation will inevitably fall into a disadvantageous position.

In this situation, winning the game will be extremely difficult.

The training room fell silent for a moment.

Mingkai subconsciously touched his nose, his emotions at that moment were very complicated.

Last year at the World Championship, Peanut used his Lee Sin to kick himself from heaven to hell, turning his pre-match statement that he would prove who the world's best jungler is into a complete joke.

There's no denying that the suffocating feeling of having your own jungle completely invaded is truly suffocating.

Although I don't want to admit it, Quickstar is right. Peanut's aggressive style of play is like a novice beating a master, leaving me somewhat at a loss and unable to think of a suitable way to deal with it.

"Peanut's aggressiveness in the early game is too strong. He does a great job of vision control and counter-jungling. It will be very stressful to play in the jungle with him."

The factory manager did not shy away from this issue. As a veteran, he clearly understood the importance of recognizing the opponent and conducting self-analysis.

"It's okay, the mid and jungle duo... I think we're still stronger than SKT's mid and jungle duo!"

Seeing Li Fan's fearless, youthful spirit, Kuai Xing finally showed his first genuine smile of the day. It was this kind of momentum, especially when facing a formidable opponent like SKT, that allowed a confident, even slightly arrogant, core player to unleash the team's full potential.

So what if he's Faker? So what if he's a three-time world champion?
Didn't he start as a raw recruit and fight his way up?
Kuaisuxing is still very optimistic about Li Fan's future.

"Good! That's the confidence we need!" Quick Star patted Li Fan's shoulder hard. "If we can stabilize the mid lane, or even gain an advantage, we'll have many more tactical options!"

Scout couldn't help but sneer.

Once you actually face him in a match, you'll know how terrifying he is.

You're having so much fun bragging in the training base now, but when you run into them in the competition and get a good beating, you'll see how pathetic you really are.

Even he himself had absolutely no confidence when facing Lee Sang-hyeok...

As a former substitute for SKT, and having trained alongside Faker, he understands better than anyone else the absolute strength and unfathomable pool of champions represented by that ID.

Although Li Fan's performance in the playoffs was outstanding, Scout did not think Li Fan was better than him. He believed that he himself would have performed better than Li Fan!

Players who are not as good as themselves will definitely be completely crushed by Faker in no time.

Scout was engrossed in his own imagined scenario: Li Fan being mercilessly crushed by Faker in a match, and then he himself stepping in to save the team.

A hint of pleasure even crept onto his lips unconsciously, but suddenly, he felt a cold gaze fixated on him.

Suddenly snapping back to reality, I looked up and met Quick Star's fierce eyes, which sent chills down my spine.

"Li Ruican! What are you doing?!" Quick Star's voice suddenly rose, sounding particularly jarring in the quiet training room.

"We're in a meeting! We're discussing tactics! Are you bored? Do you think it's unnecessary to listen?! You're just a substitute, what are you doing here? What are you pretending for?"

Quick Star's rapid and fierce Korean speech perfectly embodies the strict, almost harsh, senior-junior system in the Korean e-sports circle.

In front of his coach and senior, Scout, as a player and junior, was completely overwhelmed.

Scout opened his mouth, wanting to explain, but under Quick Star's sharp gaze, he swallowed his words, lowered his head, and dared not utter a sound.

Because he knew that the more he explained, the worse he would get!
In China now... If this were in South Korea, that moment of distraction wouldn't just result in such insults; it would lead to physical violence.

“Speak! Weren’t you full of ideas just now? What were you thinking about down there? What were you distracted about? Do you think my analysis as the coach is wrong? Or do you think you’re invincible and don’t need to listen to any of this?”

Seeing his appearance, Kuai Xing became even angrier and pointed his finger at his nose, cursing him.

"Attitude! I feel you've lost your initial attitude. Have you become so rebellious? Do you think that just because you're a substitute you can slack off and lose focus?"

Scout lowered his head further and further as he was scolded, his cheeks burning, but he kept his lips tightly pressed together and remained silent.

He felt resentful and aggrieved... In the beginning, Quickstar didn't treat him this way at all...

Things completely changed after we started losing games in the second half of the Spring Split.

But faced with the absolute authority of the Swift Star, he had no choice but to endure it.

"If you don't want to hear it, then get out!"

Seeing that he remained silent, Quick Star lost all patience and suddenly pointed towards the door of the training room.

If this were South Korea, he'd be kneeling down in a heartbeat!

Scout stiffened for a moment, then suddenly stood up, strode to the door, opened it, went out, and gently closed the door behind him.

Abu looked at the scene before him without saying anything.

A coach must have absolute authority; no one can challenge that authority.

After the incident where Scout was kicked out, the atmosphere in the training room became noticeably oppressive and tense.

Quick Star also adjusted his approach, no longer dwelling on emotions, but instead explaining the remaining analytical points in a more pragmatic and efficient manner.

This includes dismantling the mid-jungle synergy between Maple and Karsa in FW, as well as contingency plans for the potential chaotic impact from GAM.

Simply put, you can't be careless when facing these teams. Don't think that just because you're stronger than these teams, you can take them seriously. Otherwise, you'll definitely suffer very serious consequences!

What makes League of Legends matches so interesting is not only the fact that the strong always get stronger, but also the fact that the weak can defeat the strong... You never know what the outcome will be until the very last moment of the match.

"Alright, that concludes today's tactical meeting."

"After we get back, everyone should review the points that need to be noted for their respective positions. We'll set off tomorrow!"

At this moment, Abu stepped forward and spoke to everyone in the lounge.

The next morning, as dawn broke, vehicles bound for the airport were already parked outside the EDG base.

The team members boarded the bus one after another with their luggage, and the atmosphere was quite good. After all, they were going abroad to see what the scenery was like.

Scout sat silently in the corner, head down...

At the same time, EDG eSports Club's official Weibo account posted a timely update on their departure for the tournament:
"Riding the waves, fearlessly forging ahead! EDG's League of Legends division officially sets off today for Brazil, the host country of the 2017 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational! The journey begins, we'll give it our all and fight for the glory of the LPL region! [Go for it!][Go for it!]"

"Thanks to our sponsors @Double Swallow, @361°, and @Dongpeng Special Drink for their generous support of EDG!"

The Weibo post immediately ignited the enthusiasm of fans.

Go EDG! Go LPL!

[Go! Go! Go! Bring the championship back!]

[Fan Shen! It's up to you! Crush SKT!]

[Factory Manager, stay calm, we believe in you!]

The long journey has finally come to an end.

After a layover and a full 25-hour flight, the entire EDG team, exhausted and with their suitcases, boarded the bus arranged by Riot Games to go to the hotel.

Almost everyone looked listless and dispirited.

Li Fan was the only exception in the entire carriage.

After all, as soon as I boarded the plane, I entered endless training mode. My teammates were also very helpful, and I directly trained a four-star cannon. It was naturally great that I was able to rest.

People with cheat codes are definitely different from you guys!
So now I'm curiously looking out the car window at the exotic street scenes of Rio de Janeiro.

As the bus slowly pulled up in front of the officially designated hotel, his gaze was immediately drawn to a noisy area next to the hotel lobby.

It was a small, temporary stage area with the words "Treta Championship 2017" printed on the backdrop, along with cool posters of classic characters like Ryu and Chun-Li.

"Street Fighter 5 competition?" Li Fan's eyes lit up...

(End of this chapter)