League: I really didn't tank!

Chapter 138: Exchanging Unique Skills?

This year's Mid-Season Invitational will be held at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center, also known as the "Sea Crown".

Located on Yaolong Road in the Qiantan area of ​​Pudong New Area, Shanghai, it is a large-scale comprehensive sports stadium with a main stadium that can accommodate 15,000 people.

The QG team arrived at the venue early in the morning. The opening ceremony was scheduled to begin at 1:30 PM, and all six teams were required to make an appearance.

Upon entering the backstage area of ​​the competition, the QG players routinely sent their equipment up for inspection before heading into the dressing room.

When they came out of the dressing room, the opening ceremony was about to begin.

"Come on, wait in the passageway." At this moment, a Banana Project staff member appeared and notified the QG team members to prepare to go on stage.

Standing at the entrance of the passage, Chen Dongqing looked up and observed the situation of the venue.

It has to be said that the MSI, as a global tournament, is of a higher standard than the Spring Finals.

Even though it's the same venue with 15,000 people, the setup this time was clearly more elaborate.

Previously, the Spring Finals used a three-sided stage with a large screen on the fourth side.

This time, all four sides of the stadium are open to the audience, and the screen has been changed to a funnel screen suspended from the top of the stadium. This may result in a slightly worse viewing experience, but it can accommodate more spectators, and everyone can be seated.

At this moment, the opening ceremony had already begun.

The entire venue was filled with stirring traditional Chinese music, and at the same time, four Peking Opera drums appeared on both sides of the stage, which were vigorously struck by four burly men.

Meanwhile, several dancers carried calligraphy brushes as tall as a person. When the brush tip touched the ground, a streak of ink painting brushstrokes spread across the stage floor.

This effect showcases floor screen technology. The integrated hardware and software floor screen technology, which transforms the stage underfoot into part of the performance effect, is a completely new attempt in this competition.

I heard from the organizers that the design of the floor screen for this competition was very thoughtful. For example, at the beginning of the competition, the corresponding colors of the opposing teams will be displayed on the entire stage area according to the support rate on global social media, and the logo of the winning team will also be displayed in the center of the stage.

When exciting moments occur during the match, such as "First Blood," "Team Wipe," "Dragon Kill," "Baron Nashor Kill," or "Multiple Kills," ink will splatter on the ground screen, instantly drawing the attention of all viewers.

Amidst the rousing drumbeats, the funnel-shaped screen atop the venue began displaying corresponding images.

The video was quite epic. In the dark and hazy atmosphere, several misty shadows flashed by. They were all different and did not belong to the same species.

These shadows represent the six participating teams.

The organizer of this year's MSI is still Banana Culture, and this time the planning is quite chuunibyou (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur), giving each team a nickname and designing a corresponding image.

For example, the first character to appear was a warrior figure radiating blue light, holding a long sword.

This is the corresponding image of CLG – "A resolute and unyielding warrior".

Immediately afterwards, footage of CLG's victory was played, and the CLG players then took the stage!

The audience immediately gave a warm round of applause, including many Chinese spectators.

After the first team took the stage, the image on the screen changed again.

This time, the main color is yellow, and the image of an archer appears.

This is the image of SUP in the Turkish region – "Giant Slayer".

Following them, Flash Wolves from the LMS region and G2 from the European region took to the stage, their images being "Ambush Cheetah" and "A Tenacious Pack of Wolves," respectively.

That's right, Flash Wolves are cheetahs, while G2 are a pack of wolves. It just goes to show that the organizers have lost their minds.

After the four teams took the stage, the main event finally arrived!

At the top of the stage, a white light flashed, and a golden-headed, white-feathered phoenix soared through the camera lens, displaying its regal demeanor!

The image of a champion can only come from SKT, the 2015 World Championship winners.

Their nickname is—"Kings Who Soar Through the Skies".

At this moment, the SKT team took to the stage, and a loud cheer immediately erupted from the audience. As a two-time champion team, they have a considerable number of fans all over the world!

Finally, there's the host country of this competition.

A colossal dragon, its body entirely crimson and its face gleaming with ferocity, appeared on the screen, spewing forth raging flames.

This is, of course, the image of the host LPL – "The Awe-Inspiring Dragon," an image of an Eastern dragon, hovering in the sky, its body radiating red mist, which can be understood as a red version of the dragon image in the Dragon Ball anime.

In the final scene, the dragon and the phoenix soar through the sky, seemingly rivals locked in fierce competition!

Ultimately, the six figures transformed into six different colors of mist, merging together in the image to form the logo of this year's MSI.

This time, the loudest applause ever erupted, with all the spectators cheering for their champion team, QG!

[Wuhu! QG is on stage!]

[So handsome! I have to say, looking at all these people, Brother Shu's looks are truly in a class of their own!]

Haha, you can't really criticize that aspect.

Go QG! Bring the championship back!

[No way, does anyone really think QG can beat SKT?]

Why can't we win? We won last year, didn't we?

The live stream chat was in an uproar. It has to be said that as last year's champion team, SKT has a pretty good penetration into the domestic market.

Even a significant portion of the audience in the audience and the live stream were Faker's supporters. They did not support QG and only wanted to see SKT win their first MSI championship.

After the virtual avatars of both sides were displayed in turn, all six teams took to the stage, and the opening ceremony came to an end!

Immediately afterwards, the players from the QG and CLG teams, located on either side of the stage, remained, while the players from the other four teams left the stage.

The first match is about to begin!

"Okay, welcome to the 2016 Mid-Season Invitational! I'm your host, Wawa!"

The commentary cuts to the scene, showing three people sitting in the commentary booth.

Sitting to the right of the doll was a relatively unfamiliar commentator who spoke with a Taiwanese accent: "Hello everyone, I'm the commentator Remember!"

I remember being a tactical analyst for the Flash Wolves team, and after leaving the team, I became an LMS commentator.

This year, he joined the LPL commentary team for a bigger stage.

He has actually been in the LPL for some time, but he has been working as a commentator in the LCK, which is considered a trial period.

Now that his probationary period is over, he has been successfully promoted to a front-line host and is sitting next to Wawa.

To the left of the doll is the special guest for this event, EDG coach Abu.

With a former professional team analyst and a professional team coach, the commentary lineup for this event is undeniably top-notch.

After Abu greeted the audience, the three of them analyzed the situation of the game.

"Actually, I don't think CLG is particularly strong, at least not compared to QG."

Abu, speaking eloquently from the commentary booth, said: "Their signature move is the roaming system of mid and jungle coordination, which is actually somewhat similar to QG's."

"It's worth noting that CLG's top laner, Darshan, is also a top laner with a very stable playstyle, and is known as the best top laner in North America. I think the clash between this player and our ilex will be a major highlight of this match."

"At the same time, CLG's mid-laner Aurelion Sol is also a point of concern."

Abu rattled off a list of CLG's strengths and weaknesses, leaving the other two commentators stunned.

So you guys really did analyze the MSI opponents in advance?

The three chatted for a while, and then the BP screen switched to the next scene.

"Alright, the draft phase has begun! Let's see the hero picks from both sides!"

"As we can see, in this match, QG is on the blue side and bans Kindred first, while CLG is on the red side and bans Nautilus second!"

There's no particular rule about red and blue teams in the group stage, since it's a double round-robin format, meaning each team plays twice, with each player on the blue team once.

After finishing the first round of draft picks, Wawa said with a smile, "As you can see from the camera, our players are actually quite relaxed."

"Actually, that's normal," Abu added. "You can tell from their playing style that QG's players have always been quite confident, and their individual skills are also very strong, so they don't need to worry about mentality at all."

"The only issue we need to consider now is how well they are adapting to the new version, which actually has quite a few changes."

Following that, Abu and Ji De discussed some of the detailed changes to this version.

As they were talking, the bans for both sides were already completed.

QG banned Poppy and Bard, while CLG banned Rumble and Jayce.

Abu raised an eyebrow upon seeing the draft: "Oh? QG didn't ban Ekko and Aurelion Sol, but CLG didn't ban Fiora either!"

The child understood, saying, "After all, it's the opening match, so the two teams probably have a tacit understanding and both want to show their strongest side."

"Wow, our North American brothers are really giving us face!" Chen Dongqing from the player's seat laughed. "They've even released Fiora. Haven't they had enough of being beaten by my Fiora in scrims yet?"

"You could say the other side is fair," Xiangguo chuckled. "We didn't ban their Dragon King either."

CLG's mid laner Huhi is incredibly skilled with Aurelion Sol. He was among the first players to use Aurelion Sol in competitive matches, a true one-trick pony.

In the North American playoffs, Huhi's Aurelion Sol is usually banned, but QG didn't choose to ban it today.

CLG isn't a strong team overall. They just wanted to see how effective they were against the Dragon King, and it was also a trial and error process, since they can afford to lose in the group stage.

As for why the opposing team didn't ban Fiora, it can only be said that the North American guys are indeed optimistic.

"If they won't ban her, then let's pick her!" Chen Dongqing said without any hesitation, "Poppy's gone, my Fiora is invincible!"

"OK." Banbazi thought for a moment and said, "If the other team picks Aurelion Sol next, they'll definitely be the ones taking the initiative to attack. How about we try a defensive counter-attacking game?"

"No problem!" The QG members all nodded.

Playing against weaker teams in the group stage is a way to test the waters!

Without a doubt, QG locked in Fiora on the first pick, and then CLG countered with Ekko and Aurelion Sol, meaning both sides had secured their signature heroes.

Soon, the direction of the draft phase was determined: CLG would focus on offense, while QG would abandon its most proficient offensive system and focus on defense.

Blue side QG: Top lane Fiora, Jungle Rek'Sai, Mid lane Viktor, Bot lane Sivir and Alistar.

CLG (Red Side): Top lane Ekko, Jungle Graves, Mid lane Aurelion Sol, Bot lane Caitlyn and Braum.

(End of this chapter)