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

Chapter 141 From now on, we're all extreme fans! (7.8k)

"Welcome everyone to continue watching the 2017 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational Group Stage matches. I'm Wawa."

"I'm Miller." Miller's expression wasn't good; he seemed a little nervous.

"Hello everyone, I'm Rita."

"So after three days of fierce competition, the situation for our group to advance is gradually becoming clearer, but it is also full of suspense, especially for us LPL viewers, whose feelings are probably the most complicated." Wawa still brought it up, after all, it was impossible not to mention the current situation.

"That's right, the focus is undoubtedly on our LPL champion team EDG. Their current record is... 1 win and 5 losses. To be honest, I didn't expect it to be this bad. It's no exaggeration to say that they are standing on the edge of a cliff with no way out."

"Yes, according to the rankings, if EDG wants to advance to the later knockout stage, they must win both of today's and tomorrow's match days! That means they cannot lose any of the next four matches! Any loss could directly end their MSI journey..." The three commentators in the commentary booth did not look too good when they said this.

"The pressure is too great... And looking at EDG's situation yesterday, it's really... The official roster originally listed Unreal as the starting player, but in the end, Scout still took to the field."

"I don't know if you saw it, but the report we got back said that Unreal was playing against local CF pro players at the BD club yesterday." Miller's expression was very serious, even somewhat incredulous. "If it's true, then this starting player didn't even know he was a starter. EDG's management has a huge problem!"

Just as Rita Miller was analyzing EDG's dire situation in the commentary booth, the chat in the official live stream room had completely exploded.

[This is hilarious! Have EDG's management team all lost their minds? They're panicking now, but what good will it do?]

[Blitzkrieg against Poland 2.0: Blitzkrieg against the substitutes' bench!]

[Weren't you pretty tough before, keeping your dad on the bench? Why are you suddenly thinking about him now that you're down 1-5?]

[When things are peaceful, Xia Yingchun arrives; when trouble arises, Zhong Wuyan appears! Abu really knows how to play the game!]

Are you really treating Unreal Engine as a tool? If you win, it's because the team is awesome; if you lose, it's because Unreal Engine is neglecting their duties and affecting training? Now that you're swimming home, do you know to look for your daddy?

[I think Unreal did this on purpose. If it were me, I wouldn't have put up with this. I have so many fans, I've won QQ Speed ​​and Street Fighter championships, I led my team to qualify for the Mid-Season Invitational, and I was the one carrying EDG! How could they treat me like this?]

I can kind of understand how Uzi felt when he said he was the one carrying Royal Club; it must have been incredibly disheartening!

I just want to see EDG get eliminated, and then see how it ends!

[Just get eliminated already so Fan can transfer; this lousy club doesn't deserve you.]

It seems we've been too mild-mannered before... As fans, we've let you haters run rampant for too long. Now I declare we're going to take an extreme stance!

The comments section was filled with sarcasm and extreme distrust of management.

However, when a club shifts its focus from performance to making money, its original intention changes...

Just as the live chat was still criticizing EDG's management and countless viewers were waiting with mixed feelings of anticipation, the first match of the fourth day of MSI, EDG vs G2, was finally about to begin.

The live stream camera slowly panned across the stage to the rousing background music, eventually cutting to the screen showing the players' battle seats.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the left side of the screen, and time seemed to slow down at that moment.

The camera freezes on that moment.

In their seats, that familiar figure suddenly appeared before everyone!

Unreal Engine is here!
"He's on! Fan-ge is on stage! My god, ED brought Unreal back on stage!" Wawa's voice rose instantly, filled with relief.

Miller also breathed a sigh of relief: "Looking forward to EDG's performance in today's match..."

Rita: "I don't know why, but seeing Unreal sitting in this position made me feel much more at ease. Maybe that's the sense of security that top players bring? It's as if as long as he's there, there's always the possibility of creating miracles."

It wasn't just the commentary; when Li Fan appeared on the big screen, the entire live stream's chat sentiment shifted instantly!

【! ! ! ! ! ! 】

Holy crap! This is a nostalgic trip down memory lane! Unreal Engine has been waiting for you for ages.

[Our backbone is back! Damn, I almost cried. If this had happened earlier, how could we have achieved this result?]

[Waaaaah, Fan-ge! The team is in danger!!!]

[It's a sure thing! I knew it! Why didn't we do this sooner?]

Even though the management is incompetent, seeing Unreal sitting in that seat still makes me want to say: EDG, go for it!

[Hate-mongers, speak up! Who's the real boss now? See clearly?]

[Don't jinx it, don't jinx it, have faith first! The pressure today is immense; we can't afford to lose a single match, especially with SKT in the later games. If we lose even one, our chances of advancing will be slim.]

[Brother Fan, lead EDG and create a miracle!]

Li Fan seemed to sense the camera was on him, so he looked up and waved casually with his confident smile on his face.

This simple action instantly ignited the passion of the fans in the live stream!
[Ahhh! Fan waved at me, he's so cool!]

That expression! Still the same old look.

[Looks like you're very relaxed!]

[It's over, G2 is in deep trouble, Unreal Engine's fate is uncertain!]

Meanwhile, the tense atmosphere that had been hanging over EDG's booth for the past few days was completely gone.

Meiko adjusted her headphones, feeling the heavy pressure on her shoulders instantly lessen by more than half. She said in the voice chat, "Phew... Brother Fan, I don't know why, but when you sit down like this, I feel like my back straightens up, and I feel really confident."

"Guys, I feel like we're going to finish the rest of the games with a four-game winning streak."

His tone was filled with a long-lost ease.

Upon hearing this, Li Fan skillfully adjusted his rune talents while responding with a smile, "Tian Ye, remove the three words 'I feel' from your sentence, and we will advance to the next round with four consecutive wins."

There were no rousing shouts, no deliberate encouragement, just this simple sentence, yet it was like injecting a powerful stimulant into the entire team.

"Haha, no problem, Brother Fan!" A-Guang was the first to laugh out loud.

"Charge! Let's do it!" Zet was also eager to get started. He really hated Abu. They could have easily played the game, but he had to bring in that noob Scout. Honestly, it would have been better for him to play mid lane instead of Scout.

I'm much better than him in the mid lane; I only switched to the bot lane for the club's sake.

Even the usually composed factory manager had a slight smile on his lips: "Everyone, perk up! Let's get off to a winning start today!"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the stage, the atmosphere at G2's booth was completely different from EDG's relaxed demeanor.

"Hey guys, look who's sitting in the mid lane on the other side?" G2's star player, Perkz, had his usual smile gone and his tone was noticeably serious.

They naturally studied all of EDG's videos since the playoffs and knew just how terrifying Li Fan was.

This is the true core of the EDG team. As for Scout, he is actually just a substitute and doesn't have much skill.

They were easily defeated in previous encounters.

The atmosphere at EDG feels completely different now compared to before, and I'm starting to feel some pressure.

After all, they really wanted to achieve good results and hoped that EDG would be eliminated directly in the group stage.

There are some differences between bo5 and bo1. Although they are not performing well now, they believe that EDG has a chance to adjust back to their form in the subsequent matches, which will put pressure on them.

It's best to be eliminated directly to avoid all the subsequent problems.

Jungler Trick nodded: "Looking at the previous LPL match replays, this guy's reactions and operations are a bit beyond the norm. We can't deal with him like we did with Scout before."

"That's right, we can't give him any room to maneuver. Trick, we need to coordinate our mid and jungle in the early game and give him the strength! Just focus on ganking the mid lane and shut him down during the laning phase! As long as the mid lane collapses, EDG will return to the leaderless state they were in a few days ago."

"Let's completely crush this LPL champion team in this group stage and send them home to fish early!"

"Don't worry, my rhythm will make things very difficult for Clearlove. He was completely dominated by me in the jungle in the previous match. I'll show them that changing the mid laner won't change the final outcome..."

G2's coach also added tactical details from behind, emphasizing early vision control and the priority of ganking the mid lane.

This guy hasn't played in matches for so long, and he's been playing games like Street Fighter and CrossFire these past few days. His feel and form are definitely off. In this situation, he won't be EDG's savior; instead, he'll become a serious weak point.

The buy/sell (BP) phase ended amidst countless speculations and discussions.

When EDG locked in Kalista for Li Fan in the last counter pick, the entire arena fell into a brief silence, followed by a huge exclamation and discussion!
"What?! Kalista? Mid lane Kalista?!" Wawa's voice was filled with disbelief. "This...this is an ADC champion! Although she has strong lane dominance, going mid lane...that's so rare, isn't it? What kind of surprise is Unreal going to give us?"

"They used Lucian in the mid lane before, but in today's game they used Kalista in the mid lane!"

Since Ashe has already been locked in the bottom lane, under these circumstances, the last hero chosen by the red side is Kalista, which is obviously Li Fan's hero.

Miller's eyes widened: "My God, in a crucial game where the team's survival is at stake, Unreal actually came up with such an unconventional pick. If Kalista can't gain an advantage in the early game against Perkz's Syndra, she'll have a very tough time in the mid and late game!"

Meanwhile, Perkz on the G2 bench was taken aback by the choice: "Kalista? He wants to use this against me?"

To be honest, he was the only one who made such an unexpected choice; this was the first time I'd ever encountered someone else using such a "black technology" mid-lane pick.

I thought it was Lucian, but it turned out to be Kalista. This champion is great at stomping noobs. You don't think I'm a noob, do you?
The match began, and both sides logged in normally.

Perkz's Syndra continued her aggressive playstyle, attempting to harass the enemy using her long range and skill advantage.

However, Li Fan's Kalista skillfully dodged Syndra's first Dark Orb by utilizing her passive ability.

Then, something truly suffocating happened!

Kalista showed no intention of retreating, and immediately began to leap forward, her spear striking Syndra precisely once or twice!

Perkz clearly didn't expect his opponent to be so aggressive in trading blows at level one, and instinctively retreated. However, Kalista's passive ability makes her very strong in pursuit!

Adding to the foreshadowing laid earlier, press the E skill to slow down the enemy just as they are about to leave the attack range.

They followed again!
"Unreal is playing so aggressively at level one! Perkz's health is dropping really fast!" Doll's speech suddenly sped up.

"My God! What is he trying to do? Is he planning to solo kill someone at level one?!"

Syndra's health has dropped below half.

However, there was still some distance to the turret! With the E skill refreshed, it was obviously impossible to escape back to the turret, so he could only grit his teeth and use Flash.

Seeing that he couldn't catch up, Li Fan didn't force the chase. He pulled out another spear and reduced Syndra's health to only one-third!

This is only the level one suppression... Once Syndra reaches level two and has her Q skill but no Flash, she's just a piece of meat on a chopping board.

It wasn't in vain that I practiced Kalista so hard during this period, and I directly trained her to five stars. Of course, it was also because the Street Fighter championship during this period still yielded a lot of learning points even without live streaming, due to its huge influence. I also continuously gained nearly four thousand learning points.

Otherwise, where would you get the learning points to train a five-star Kalista?

Perkz took a health potion and looked at his remaining health, which was only a little over a third of its original value, feeling lingering fear.

He carefully returned to the back of the minion wave, trying to last-hit minions from a distance using his Q skill. Now he just needed to wait for the jungler to come and help.

However, Li Fan gave him no chance to catch his breath.

First, he slowly leveled up to two levels, and then a lowly soldier laid the groundwork for his future actions.

Kalista unleashed a precise Q skill, Pierce, her spear not only killing a low-health minion but also piercing through the minion wave to hit Syndra behind her!
And it has already been detonated.

While the spear was flying, Li Fan had already used passive jumps to close the distance.

This is not over yet!

The instant the spear struck, Li Fan immediately activated his E skill, Tear!
QE is a sure-kill move!

Although the damage was just a little short, it still brought Syndra, who was at half health, to near death.

The next move was just a basic attack, easily securing a solo kill!

First Blood!

The system's female voice rang out loudly!

The chat in the live stream went completely wild.

[Holy crap?! Holy crap?! Holy crap?!]

[She already got a solo kill? She wasn't even level two! Is Kalista really that strong?]

Is it possible that it's not this hero who's strong, but rather Unreal Engine that's strong? Do you think Scout could have done that?

[Ah P is numb! There's no way to fight this!]

[This damage?! Am I playing the same hero?]

[Sorry, Fan-ge, I admit I was foolish before. With your skill level, what difference would it make in other games? You'd still dominate.]

In the EDG team's in-game voice chat, everyone was very excited.

"Awesome! Brother Fan!!" Meiko shouted the loudest.

"Holy crap, that's amazing, Fan-ge!" Although A-Guang was very familiar with this scene, he hadn't experienced winning a game in a long time, and his excitement at this moment was no less than Meiko's.

"Nice! Well done, Li Fan!" The factory manager's face showed a genuine smile.

Before, I was always worried that the mid lane would collapse, but now I really don't need to worry about that at all.

"Kill them! Brother Fan!" Zet's Chinese wasn't perfect yet, but it was generally understandable.

Meanwhile, on G2's side, Perkz looked at his gray screen... and already felt that something was wrong.

Kalista's lane dominance is terrifying, far exceeding the stats expected of a normal champion. Her damage output is simply too insane to handle.

After securing the first kill, Li Fan returned to base and immediately bought two more longswords.

When he returned to the lane, facing a Syndra who had no Flash and was far behind in levels and items, the mid-lane duel was already a foregone conclusion.

Perkz tried to use his abilities to last-hit minions from a distance, but Li Fan's Kalista gave him no chance to farm safely.

At 3 minutes and 15 seconds, jungler Trick's Lee Sin attempted his first gank.

However, Li Fan had already seen through everything.

The moment Lee Sin unleashed his Sonic Wave, Kalista deftly dodged it with a sideways leap.

At the same time, the spear in his hand began to fall repeatedly on Syndra, who was trying to keep up with the control.

"Trick came, but the Q was dodged! Unreal countered with high damage on Syndra! Perkz's health is dropping rapidly!"

The child exclaimed, "My God! Does he intend to take on two people at once?"

Kalista moved like a dancer on a knife's edge, using her passive ability to nimbly leap between minions and champions, constantly adjusting her position while unleashing all her damage on the squishy Syndra.

One, two, three...

E skill [Tear]!
Stab it!

Syndra's health instantly dropped to zero, and she fell to the ground again!

EDG Unreal kills G2 Perkz!

"Another kill! My goodness! Unreal managed to kill Syndra while the jungler was ganking! That play, that guts! This is the Unreal we know and love!"

Seeing this, Trick's Lee Sin had no choice but to retreat hastily, because Kalista still intended to kill him...

To be honest, he was a little scared by this attack. If he didn't leave and got double killed, he would really lose face.

No longer content with merely suppressing the mid lane, he began to set his sights on the side lanes and the jungle, and directly learned the ultimate skill.

At 6 minutes and 40 seconds, Xiaoju, the factory manager, coordinated with Kalista's ultimate to enter the fray, tower diving and killing the bottom lane, resulting in a 2-for-0 exchange for EDG.

At 7 minutes and 30 seconds, Kalista roamed to the top lane and, with the help of Mouse's Maokai, killed G2's top laner.

Meanwhile, Perkz in the mid lane became nothing more than a cash cow.

As long as he dares to appear in Kalista's field of vision, what awaits him is a relentless leaping pursuit and spear tearing.

He was out-farmed by more than half, and his score was now 0/4/0.

The economic gap between the two sides has reached an astonishing three thousand!
"It's over, G2's mid lane has completely collapsed!" Looking at the data on the field, Wawa finally smiled. "This is no longer a disadvantage in the laning phase, this is a complete crushing defeat! Unreal's Kalista is like a BOSS, standing in front of G2 and making it impossible for them to get past her."

"This is absolute individual ability!"

Fifteen minutes into the game, EDG had already gained a lead of nearly eight thousand gold.

Li Fan's Kalista was like a demon god descended to earth, killing anyone she encountered.

Finally, this highly anticipated match came to an end after 27 minutes.

EDG crushed G2's base crystal in a single team fight.

Li Fan's Kalista finished with an astonishing 11/0/3 score, an 8,000 gold lead over her lane opponent, and dealt the highest damage in the entire game, rightfully earning the MVP award!

Ap was completely overwhelmed by the abuse...

On the MSI post-match interview stage, the lights were focused, the local Brazilian host smiled, and Li Fan stood calmly to the side.

"First of all, congratulations to EDG for winning the game, and congratulations to Unreal for winning the MVP! Your mid lane Kalista left a very deep impression on us."

A round of applause and cheers erupted from the audience.

"However, we noticed a very interesting situation."

"You were listed as a starter on yesterday's official roster, but ultimately didn't play. And according to some reports, you seemed to be communicating with our BD club in Brazil yesterday?"

"Can you share with us what happened in between? Why were you listed as a starter but didn't play and instead went to BD Club?"

The question fell silent.

People love to hear gossip...

"Well... it was actually a bit of a coincidence. To put it simply, it was probably because I was a substitute player in the club's arrangements at the time, and I didn't receive any notification after I left."

"Since there are no competitions to attend and Diego extended a warm invitation, I think it would be a good choice to go and exchange ideas, learn from each other, and experience the esports atmosphere in Brazil. In fact, I think the management's previous decision might have been correct."

The host and the audience were stunned for a moment after hearing this.

Li Fan paused for a moment, then said in a very sincere tone, "As everyone knows, before the Mid-Season Invitational started, I didn't play any practice matches. Instead, I went to play a Street Fighter tournament and even won the championship."

He shrugged, looking helpless: "So my form and understanding of the game version might not be the best. If I were in that position, maybe... the result would be worse? Maybe it wouldn't be 1-5, but a straight 0-6 start?"

"Thinking about it this way, it seems reasonable to let me rest and adjust more, right? A player who hasn't trained much shouldn't be put on the field rashly. It wouldn't be good if he dragged the team down, wouldn't you agree?"

[Hahaha!! I'd only believe you if you hadn't gone 11-0 in this game.]

[“You’re not in the best shape,” “The result will be worse”—that’s hilarious!]

[A 0-6 start, dragging the team down!]

[I can dominate even without training, how come you guys are still losing after training for so long?]

[Does it hurt to criticize? I'm asking you, does it hurt? Didn't you say not playing in scrims affected the team? Why aren't you saying that now?]

This is a case of killing someone by destroying their spirit and then desecrating their corpse!

[It doesn't matter anymore. We fans are too silent now. The club and these haters think we're easy to bully. Now, I'll criticize anything negative and curse anything that makes me uncomfortable!]

[Well done! It doesn't matter what you say about the fandom, as long as Fan Ge isn't bullied.]

【Green garlic!!】

"Ah... well... it seems that Unreal is very strict with himself. Well then, I hope you can maintain this hot streak in the upcoming matches!"

Li Fan gave the camera an innocent smile: "I will try my best not to hold the team back."

The excitement of crushing G2 hadn't even faded when EDG immediately faced off in the second match of the fourth day, defeating their former rivals GAM in the first round...

For EDG, this match is not only about saving their precarious hopes of advancing, but also a revenge match for their dignity!

The term "Vietnamese prisoner of war" sounds awful...

In this match, Li Fan directly picked Lucian for the mid lane.

Li Fan's Lucian displayed immense dominance from the moment he was released.

With precise Q skill poke and flexible E skill repositioning, he completely suppressed the opposing Vietnamese mid laner, leaving him breathless.

At four and a half minutes, the factory manager's Xiaoju flanked and ganked from behind!

Li Fan used Lucian's E skill to slide forward and follow up with damage.

"The factory manager arrived, Unreal went in, and the damage from both of them was extremely high! GAM's mid laner used Flash to try to escape! But Lucian's damage followed up! He took him down in one go!"

First Blood!

"A beautiful mid-jungle synergy, first blood secured, EDG's momentum is picking up again!"

Having gained the advantage, Li Fan completely transformed into a mid-lane killing machine.

Lucian's superior equipment and fluid gameplay allowed him to secure a solo kill online!

They then began to roam frequently, extending their advantage to the flanks.

Eight minutes in, Lucian, with the help of Daisy, invaded the jungle and caught GAM's jungler, Levi, who had been dominating in the previous game. This game, Levi was also heavily restricted.

At twelve minutes, Lucian glided into the team fight at the dragon pit, and his ultimate instantly crippled GAM's backline. EDG scored a 3-for-0 and secured the dragon.

At sixteen minutes, EDG grouped up in the mid lane using the Rift Herald. Lucian, with his advanced equipment, quickly took down two outer mid lane towers for GAM.

The economic gap is widening like a snowball.

Lucian, in tandem with Daisy, charged in and out of GAM's formation seven times, leaving nothing but devastation in their wake.

The once incredibly talented Levi appeared utterly powerless against EDG's overwhelming strength.

The match ended at 21 minutes.

EDG gave GAM no chance to drag the game into the late game, and with a gold advantage of over 10,000, they cleanly and decisively destroyed the opponent's base.

"Completely crushing! This is a crushing victory!" Wawa exclaimed excitedly. "Today's EDG is a completely different team from the one before. Unreal's return is not just about having another carry point, but also about injecting soul and confidence into the entire team!"

Miller nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, you can clearly feel that the other players are becoming more confident and decisive. That's the chemistry that comes with having a core player!"

"Another resounding victory! Led by Unreal, EDG successfully avenged their loss to GAM in just twenty-one minutes!!" Rita's voice was filled with joy.

Li Fan's Lucian also delivered a perfect 8/0/5 score, once again becoming the key contributor to the team's victory.

With this victory, EDG has achieved two consecutive wins on the fourth day of competition, bringing their overall record to 3 wins and 5 losses, ranking fourth... Everyone can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

SKT's record at this point was 7-1, and losing a game to Flash Wolves was quite unexpected.

G2表现出来的实力也很扎实5-3排名第二，闪电狼4-4，EDG3-5，TSM3-5，GAM2-6……

EDG still holds the opportunity to advance in their own hands!

At this moment, the domestic public opinion battlefield has also undergone a tremendous purge and rectification.

The anger that had been building up because Li Fan was benched, and the resentment towards the management's incompetent management.

After Li Fan's triumphant return proved who the true core player was, they finally found the most justifiable outlet for their frustration.

Major esports forums, online communities, and Weibo platforms seemed to unite overnight.

Anyone who dares to speak out at this time, saying something like "Unreal was just lucky," "They only beat weak teams," or "They were exposed for what they were made of" against SKT, will immediately be met with a thunderous blow.

[Those who say Brother Fan is no good, you can donate your eyes if you don't need them!]

【11/0/3和8/0/5叫侥幸？你侥幸一个我看看？】

[You were cursing me so loudly before, now you're playing dead? Get lost!]

[Abu's online trolls are still trying to whitewash this? They're turning in their graves!]

[Speak up, you haters! I can't hear you!]

These counterattacks were no longer scattered, lone-wolf complaints, but became highly organized and aggressive.

After experiencing this substitution controversy, Li Fan's fan base has become more cohesive than ever before and has quickly transformed into a regular army.

They spontaneously formed an anti-blacklisting group to specifically search for and report comments unfavorable to Li Fan. An organized comment control team was active in the comment sections of EDG's official Weibo account and related news, quickly suppressing negative comments...

There's not much you can do about this in a private chat group...

[They got into a mess after beating G2 and GAM, do they really think they're champions?]

[We're playing SKT tomorrow, let's see how they die!]

[They got into a mess after beating G2 and GAM, do they really think they're champions?]

[Faker will teach him a lesson!]

[Let's see how arrogant these fans are after SKT beats them like bots tomorrow!]

Just as EDG achieved two consecutive victories and domestic fans were overjoyed, EDG Club's official Weibo account and manager Abu's personal Weibo account simultaneously released a major announcement.

"Due to a major mistake made during this MSI, which negatively impacted the team's performance and player Unreal, I, Abu, hereby resign from my position as manager of the League of Legends division of EDG Esports Club, effective immediately. I sincerely apologize for this and wish EDG all the best in the future."

This sudden announcement of his resignation came as a complete shock.

[Holy crap! It's really happening?!]

At least he has some self-awareness!

Is this a successful power grab? Unreal Engine fans are amazing!

[Wasn't this the same thing when you haters said Fan Ge wasn't training?]

[It should have been done long ago! They should have left cleanly!]

……

(End of this chapter)