League: I really didn't tank!

Chapter 202 I'll be waiting for you in Los Angeles

"Three-nil! Another three-nil!" Miller was overjoyed, shouting, "Congratulations to QG! They've defeated SKT three-nil and secured the first ticket to Los Angeles!"

Cheers resounded throughout the stadium, and almost the entire audience on the left side of the venue stood up, their cheers echoing so loudly they seemed to be about to lift the dome of Madison Square Garden!

"After two years, LPL has once again reached the S-series finals!" Wawa couldn't help but sigh, "And this time it wasn't through internal competition, but by defeating both the LCK's third and second seeds!"

"After last year's European tour, many of our viewers lost confidence in the region, but starting today, starting with these two 3-0 victories! We should understand that our strength is no less than that of the LCK!"

The child excitedly shouted, "Next, let's all gather in the City of Angels, gather at the Staples Center, and welcome QG's final performance!"

The doll was indeed a little excited, and her voice even cracked a bit, but no one cared about that now!

Damn it, I really feel like crying right now.

[You've already won, why are you crying?]

[That was so damn awesome! They beat SKT 3-0! No matter if QG wins the championship or not, I'll be a fan for life!]

[Clearing LCK's progress: 6/9!]

QG, forever a legend!

At this moment, the live stream chat was filled with cheers and "6"s, and everyone was extremely excited!

QG is truly a reliable team!

Meanwhile, at the LCK commentary booth.

Seeing their team swept 3-0 by QG again, the three commentators couldn't help but feel frustrated.

This is outrageous!

Is QG really that abnormal?

After a long silence, the Roaring Emperor finally declared firmly, "But don't be afraid! We still have the ROX Tigers! They are the pride of us Koreans! I believe that in eight days, ROX will win the finals. Let's look forward to it!"

Only then did everyone turn their attention to the last remaining team.

It must be said that people are always fickle.

Before today's match, SKT was the favorite in the LCK.

But after today, SKT has been dismantled.

Who's optimistic about SKT? That's just what the fans say, it has nothing to do with us. Go ROX! I've always believed in you guys!

"Well done, Chen Dongqing!" Xiangguo hooked Chen Dongqing and Doinb on either side of him and shouted excitedly, "Well done, Doinb!"

"So-so!" Doinb said smugly, his eyes brimming with excitement. "I've used all my trump cards, so it's bound to be a breeze!"

This command flag is their biggest trump card for this version.

Besides being a mage counter, this item has another crucial advantage: it allows mid-lane Nautilus to be picked in matches, thus solving the problem of Nidalee not being a viable pick.

Since the mid laner no longer needs resources, the jungler can only choose Nidalee.

To put it bluntly, this item completely changed QG's draft and game strategy, and the previous limitations no longer exist! The first time they took it out, it was like Sun Wukong taking off his 60KG super-heavy training clothes. If they didn't win, it would be unreasonable.

Backstage, the managers, coaches, and others couldn't hold back any longer and rushed onto the stage to celebrate excitedly!

"Well done, guys!" Coach Cui exclaimed, beaming. "We can go to the finals now!"

Even Vincent was there, and he seemed quite happy!

Although he's not a member of QG, he's still happy. Firstly, he's also part of the LPL, and seeing his own region reach the finals is something to be happy about.

Secondly, as an intermediary between Riot Games and the LPL, his prize money is tied to the region's performance.

If he makes it to the finals, he can earn a lot more money.

If we win the championship in the end, that would be an even bigger leap forward!

Go QG!

"Come on, let's go shake hands first!" Linko urged. "I've already booked a restaurant, let's go celebrate!"

The QG members then separated, straightened their spring team uniforms, and strode to the center of the stage to wave to the audience, their platinum team logos shining brightly on their chests.

The camera slowly panned from the QG players' position to the SKT players' bench, where everyone saw Faker sitting in a chair, sobbing uncontrollably.

On the other side of the Yellow Sea, in Siheung City, Gyeonggi Province, a round-faced boy was looking at the scene before him with a heavy heart, and suddenly made a decision.

"Damn it, let's play ranked!" The boy named Xu Xiu shut down the live stream and shouted, "If I ever get to compete against QG, I'll definitely win!"

On the stage at that moment, Chen Dongqing was slightly surprised to see Faker's appearance.

Did the part where the person sits in a chair and sobs uncontrollably come a year early?

However, it's hard to understand.

Although Chen Dongqing always jokingly calls him Dafei, in truth, Chen Dongqing clearly knows how powerful Faker is.

He's already quite good today.

In the first game, Viktor went 4-0 without dying and forcibly carried the team to survival. In the second game, he lost by the skin of his teeth after being down by one blood. In the third game, he played Time, whose early game tempo took off.

If Doinb hadn't pulled out the Banner of Command to turn the tide, SKT might have won the third game.

In these three games, Faker has truly upheld the dignity of being the world's best mid laner.

Unfortunately, they couldn't win the game. League of Legends is about teamwork, and QG was stronger overall.

As the QG team arrived, Bengi patted Faker on the shoulder and said, "Sang-hyeok."

Faker quickly wiped away his tears, turned around and stood up, and saw Chen Dongqing who had already walked up to him.

Lee Sang-hyeok said in English with a serious expression, "Next time, I will definitely win."

"Really?" Chen Dongqing smiled and said, "Then keep it up!"

"And another one," Lee Sang-hyeok added.

"kindness?"

"Don't lose to ROX."

"." Chen Dongqing didn't know what to say for a moment.

As QG members returned to the center of the stage to bow, Kkoma also stepped onto the stage. He patted his prized disciple on the shoulder and sighed, "You did your best, Sang-hyeok."

Upon hearing the coach's words, Faker felt a pang of sadness well up inside him, but this time he firmly stated, "We will definitely be back next year."

The SKT players removed their peripherals and left the stage they had been longing for.

Their journey in the 2016 tournament has come to an end.

Before leaving the stage, Faker took one last look back at the stage, a moment captured by the live broadcast, which made countless viewers sigh.

This signifies the fall of a dynasty and the rise of a new one.

The screen then switched to show the MVP of the game.

Without a doubt, it was taken down by Doinb's Titan.

As the key figure who led the team to turn the tide, although his role may be about the same as that of the magic-immune cannon cavalry, you have to admit that he is the master of the magic-immune cannon cavalry.

In the first two games, the MVP was won by Uzi and Chen Dongqing respectively, and QG3C each gained something today.

"In this series, QG brought out two unprecedented strategies: Miss Fortune support and Banner of Command mid, and both played a decisive role!"

Wawa couldn't help but exclaim, "QG is truly an incredibly creative team! I really want to know what other tricks they have up their sleeve!"

The screen then switched again, first showing a highlight reel of the series.

For example, the coordinated ultimate combos of Ashe and Miss Fortune, the R-flash kick of Lee Sin by Xiangguo, the classic tower dive of Elise and Kled, and Jayce's triple kill with a single shot—it's all so captivating.

In the stands, not a single QG fan left; they watched their team's performance and cheered excitedly!

Immediately afterwards, the audience saw the host Sjokz and a handsome young man step onto the stage.

As soon as they saw this, the audience started clapping excitedly again!

Chen Dongqing didn't deliver the dominant performance he showed against Samsung in the quarterfinals today, but he was good at being consistent.

Even though he wasn't as dazzling as before, he still managed to completely dominate Duke in all three games without exception.

If I didn't remind you, would you be able to guess which champion Duke played today?

Before the battle with Smeb came to a conclusion, Ilex was the world's undisputed best top laner!

Chen Dongqing looked at the cheers from below the stage, his smile grew even brighter, and he couldn't help but wave.

Standing in the center of the stage, he could even see the ROX members giving him a thumbs up.

The two introduced themselves first, and soon after, Sjokz asked the first question.

"After winning the semifinals, QG will become the first team to enter the finals. How do you feel right now?"

After listening to the translation, Chen Dongqing thought for a second and then said, "Of course I'm happy. Today's victory was actually quite hard-won, and I'm very glad that we won."

Although it was a 3-0 score, he had to admit that SKT, as the original champions of 2016, were indeed strong.

SKT lost because of their secret weapon. If neither side had used their secret weapon and they had competed fairly, QG might not have been able to win.

Unfortunately, that's not possible.

The translator announced this sentence to the audience, and many people couldn't help but smile.

They certainly didn't understand Chen Dongqing's thoughts; all they knew was that the score was 3-0.

When Chen Dongqing used the word "difficult," they could only laugh a little.

Sjokz glanced at the person next to him, smiled, and asked his second question: "The next stop will be Los Angeles, the final battle. You used many tactics you hadn't used before in today's semi-final. So, may I ask, will you have any surprises for us in the final?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Dongqing immediately shook his head, "No, no, SKT is a strong team, and we gave it our all in today's match! The upcoming finals will be a true test of skill."

Upon hearing this, the audience rolled their eyes.

I don't believe you for a second!

If the Banner of Command is your last resort, why would you throw it away when you're up 2-0?

It's obvious they still have tricks up their sleeve!

The ROX members in the audience also curled their lip, all expressing disbelief!

Sjokz smiled and concluded, "One last question. Tomorrow, another semi-final will begin, and the winner will become your opponent. What are your expectations for your opponent in the final?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Dongqing did not hesitate.

Although this is North America's home turf, he already had the answer to this question.

Or rather, the whole world knows his answer.

"QG's opponent in the finals can only be ROX Tigers!"

Chen Dongqing's words were firm, and he glanced in a certain direction from the audience: "So, win the semifinals, Tigers! I'll be waiting for you in Los Angeles!"

At that moment, the audience in the audience, and even in North America, burst into applause and cheers.

Viewers in the North American region knew Ye Menqing well.

Making it to the semifinals was already incredibly lucky for their team; they never even dreamed of reaching the finals.

Or to put it even more bluntly, if CLG actually makes it to the finals, they will actually be disappointed.

Down in the audience, the ROX players also noticed Chen Dongqing's gaze, and they all looked serious.

Coach Nofe stood up abruptly and said in a deep voice, "Since QG has already issued a challenge to us, we can't afford to lose. Let's go back."

"Go back and study the Banner of Command carefully!"

Meanwhile, in the western United States, in Los Angeles and Santa Monica.

A group of male engineering students wearing plaid shirts were sitting around a conference table, studying the scene in front of them.

These engineering students are quite accomplished, as they are responsible for the numerical balance of League of Legends.

They were initially quite satisfied with the S6 World Championship patch, as it was a patch with diverse features, with highlights in all three lanes and the jungle. No lane was overpowered, and no lane was invisible.

Although Zyra in the bot lane was a bit unexpected, it wasn't a big problem, since Zyra also had Karma to counter her.

But this balance ended completely starting with today's semi-final.

The command flag destroyed this family!

Ghost Crab, the thinning-haired chief designer, slammed his hand on the table, frowning as he asked, "What exactly is this Command Banner?"

Ghostcrawler really wants to know which genius came up with the idea of ​​making minions magic immune!

Below the stage, a designer named Meddler seemed slightly nervous.

"This is completely unexpected!" said Blaustoise, an engineering student. "This item has never appeared in professional matches across all major regions, and its pick rate in ranked games is extremely low. Nobody anticipated that this item would be this powerful!"

At this moment, the designers' expressions were indeed not very pleasant.

Their League of Legends design follows a set principle: every half season, they first create a core concept, and then work around that concept.

For example, in the second half of the 16 season, their philosophy was "the rise of mages".

In response to this situation, they reworked a large number of mages and also enhanced many mage equipment.

But the appearance of this command flag today has shattered this concept and slapped their designers in the face!

It's QG again! Damn QG!

The designer secretly regretted not cutting enough!

But it's no use saying all this now. The appearance of the Banner of Command is a fact, and the designers can only watch as the future of the World Championship is completely changed, heading in a direction that they have no control over!

Back at Madison Square Garden, after handing the microphone back to Sjokz and saying goodbye to each other, Chen Dongqing finally relaxed.

The pressure of the semifinals is indeed immense. Although he only played three matches today, he put in far more effort in these three matches than in any previous match.

However, as soon as he turned the corner, he saw Lin Yuanhua standing in front of him.

Lin Yuanhua suddenly spoke up, saying, "Goodbye~"

Upon hearing this, Chen Dongqing immediately curled his lip. This was the word he had just used when saying goodbye to Sjokz. He laughed and said, "Don't overthink it."

"Just kidding." Lin Yuanhua walked over and gave Chen Dongqing a light hug, then whispered in his ear, "Congratulations on making it to the finals! Good luck in the upcoming matches!"

"Don't worry, I definitely will." Chen Dongqing patted the other person on the back, and the two parted ways. Only then did he ask, "Have you eaten?"

"I've already eaten, and I don't need to play a match~" Lin Yuanhua took a step back and laughed, "Alright, I won't take up your time anymore. Go celebrate with your teammates, goodbye~"

Chen Dongqing: "."

Pushing open the door to the lounge, I saw my teammates already celebrating wildly!

Lin Weixiang, the clever and resourceful one, came over with a big smile and gave a thumbs up: "Well done, Brother Shu! I'm your biggest fan!"

Chen Dongqing immediately seized the opportunity to boast, "Of course! Against Duke, I only need to use half my strength!"

"Awesome! Awesome!" Lin Weixiang's eyebrows twitched. "Keep up the good work in the finals, crush Smeb too! I'm rooting for you!"

Chen Dongqing smiled and glanced at the other person; he was well aware of Da Congming's thoughts.

As a substitute AD player who played once in the group stage, Lin Weixiang is eligible to choose a skin. With the championship within reach, Lin Weixiang must consider whether this is his only chance in his life.

At this moment, Linko was still shouting loudly from ahead, "Get your things packed first, get ready to go! Today it's a proper Chinese meal!"

New York is much safer than Chicago, at least Manhattan is quite safe, so this time the QG team can go to Chinatown to eat authentic Chinese food without worry, which can be considered as fulfilling a long-cherished wish.

Chinatown is located at the southern end of Manhattan, not too far from the competition venue, just over five kilometers away. It takes less than half an hour by bus for everyone to get there.

The group entered a proper Sichuan restaurant and went to the private room they had reserved.

Surprisingly, when the restaurant owner heard that everyone was indeed a member of the QG esports team, he promptly gave them a free meal. Even the young men working in the restaurant happily took a photo with the QG members.

The boss went on and on, saying that he had been watching QG's matches and that it was an honor for them to have QG's players present today.

Hearing the boss's Chinese with a slight Sichuan accent, the QG team felt very welcome. Of course, they didn't refuse, but they didn't want to eat for nothing either. Linko took out his phone and quickly edited a post, then posted it on Weibo as the official QG account.

He posted a nine-grid photo of the dishes on the table and the contestants, and also promoted the Sichuan restaurant.

"Wow, that's impressive!" Chen Dongqing was a little surprised. These things are usually done by the team's operations staff. This was the first time he had seen Linko do something like this.

"Oh, no problem!" Linko grinned. "Before the club took over operations, I managed QG's official Weibo account, you know?"

"Awesome."

After Chen Dongqing sat down, he picked up a piece of Sichuan-style spicy chicken and put it in his mouth. The chicken slices burst with a sharp, spicy sensation as soon as they entered his mouth, followed by the aroma of various seasonings, which stimulated his tongue and made his mouth water.

Chen Dongqing was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected that the Sichuan chefs in New York were even more authentic than some restaurants in China!

While eating, Linko continued the conversation: "It's still early, how about we go to Times Square later? The square is quite close to the hotel, we can walk back and digest our food at the same time."

"Ah," Chen Dongqing scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.

Linko, being the shrewd old man he is, immediately understood and said, "You want to call your girlfriend?"

Chen Dongqing quickly replied, "I know I'm a professional player, so it won't affect the match."

"Who told you that?" Linko said, both amused and exasperated. "The things you do are nothing like what a professional LOL player does. What I mean is, you can call her over too, we don't mind."

"Okay," Chen Dongqing nodded.

Chen Dongqing took out his phone and sent two messages. Lin Yuanhua obviously agreed readily. A few minutes later, Lin Yuanhua said that some other commentators and hosts would also be coming.

After finishing their meal, the QG team took a bus to the hotel where the commentators were staying. After picking everyone up, they headed straight to Times Square.

On the bus, Wawa and Miller, two veteran commentators, greeted the QG team as soon as they got on and started talking about the interesting things that happened during the match that day.

"You have no idea how excited Qian Chen was after seeing you score 3-0; he almost jumped for joy."

"What are you saying? You didn't even jump, did you?" Miller wasn't shy at all, and he also exposed the doll's secrets.

As the world's most bustling commercial center, standing on the streets of Times Square, you can clearly and directly feel the prosperity of Manhattan.

However, the young couple didn't seem to care much about such things. They hung at the back of the line, whispering to each other.

Times Square is only 1.5 kilometers from Madison Square Garden, and even including the distance from the garden to the hotel, it's less than two kilometers in total. This distance isn't actually that long, but everyone came with the mindset of taking a stroll, so they walked very slowly.

Soon, the group arrived at the Wyndham New York Hotel, where the commentators were located. Standing in front of the hotel, the commentators were still cheering for the QG team.

Miller said they had been waiting for this championship for far too long.

10 month 23 day.

The other semi-final match, CLG vs. ROX, has also officially begun.

One side was the home team, and the other was the LCK's number one seed, so much so that the Garden was packed to capacity for today's match.

The QG team had just returned from visiting the Statue of Liberty and leisurely arrived at the scene.

To be fair, QG has always been the last team to finish in each stage from the group stage to the quarterfinals. Today, they finally finished ahead, which is quite impressive.

While other teams are busy preparing for the competition, they can already enjoy the view from the top of the Statue of Liberty.

When everyone was seated, the first match was already halfway through. Chen Dongqing looked up at the match and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

The head-to-body ratio is 1-9.

Is it really that brutal?

ROX's top laner and jungler both had an absurd 3-0 record, having already dominated the top lane in just over ten minutes.

With such a huge advantage, the outcome of the match was never in doubt, and ROX won easily.

At the end of the first game, CLG's top laner Darshan wiped the sweat from his forehead.

This was his first time facing ROX.

But how should I put it, it feels no different from QG.

Anyway, he was overtaken in four minutes, and then he never got up again in the top lane. This scene couldn't be more familiar.

After a short break, the second game began.

This time, during the BP phase, a wave of excitement was stirred up in the audience.

Because ROX stopped pretending in this game and also picked Miss Fortune support, they completely dominated CLG's Zyra.

In the commentary booth, the North American commentators were practically going crazy. Spawn was yelling, "It's Miss Fortune again! This is a huge conspiracy orchestrated by QG and ROX!"

Chen Dongqing understood what the narrator was saying and chuckled to himself.

If you're talking about a conspiracy, then it really is.

The female gunner is a move jointly developed by QG and ROX. Theoretically, anyone could use it, but neither team chose to use it, instead saving it for the final semi-final.

The semifinals were practically their last chance; if they held back any longer, the two teams would meet in the finals.

The effect of Miss Fortune this time was obviously outstanding. Pary, the Rat King, has always been known as the world's best Ashe player. His proficiency in this area is unparalleled. When paired with Miss Fortune, the suppression is even stronger.

Although Miss Fortune had already appeared yesterday, CLG clearly hadn't found a way to deal with her yet. Peanut first came to the bottom lane to help gank a Flash, and then CLG's bottom lane couldn't lane anymore. After all, Zyra would be taken down by two ultimates as soon as she showed her face, which was too threatening!

Then Smeb and Peanut gave the bottom lane a little help, and a teleport four-man gank on the bottom lane took the game away again!

In the third game, CLG had no choice but to ban Miss Fortune.

But ROX wasn't worried at all. Because CLG had one less ban slot, they took the initiative to grab Karma and secure the bottom lane priority.

But CLG also had a trick up their sleeve in this game, because their mid laner Huhi picked his signature Dragon King!

Aurelion Sol has always been Huhi's signature hero, and it's usually banned by the opposing team. However, ROX allowed it to be played in this game, which gave North American fans a glimmer of hope.

But this hope was quickly dashed.

Kuro picked Malzahar in this game and made Banner of Command as his first pick.

Since the Banner of Command appeared yesterday, ROX has been studying it countless times overnight, and today he has gained some insights.

But this is just a little insight. Because they can't find opponents for scrims right now, they can only practice 1v1 in custom games in the mid lane, and they have no idea about the rhythm of using it in a real match.

So after taking a 2-0 lead, they decided to give their players some practice. They deliberately released the Dragon King and then selected the Command Flag to observe the effect.

But the effect was obviously outstanding. Huhi's proud Dragon King roaming rhythm was completely sealed by a Banner of Command. The key point is that their jungler in this game was a Spider, so there was even less to be done.

The two focused their fire on the cannon minion in the mid lane for almost a minute before finally clearing it out. During this time, Kuro's Malzahar had already gone to the bottom lane and used his ultimate to kill CLG's AD carry.

With the help of Malzahar's ultimate ability to control the game, ROX made a move every two minutes. Although the pace was slow, it was stable!

The third game was also won without any major incident.

Even disregarding the banner of command, there is a fundamental difference in strength between the two teams, as evidenced by the first two games.

The QG members in the audience were also slightly disappointed.

CLG was too weak; ROX didn't even have to use anything and won 3-0.

This best-of-five series is not relevant to any analysis.

In the commentary booth, the North American commentators seemed quite relaxed about their team's elimination. They first expressed their regret for CLG, then raised their voices and announced, "So, the two teams that each won 3-0 in the semifinals will now face off in the finals. See you at Staples Center on October 29th!"

The interview session began quickly after the competition ended.

The one invited onto the stage this time was, of course, ROX's star player, Peanut.

Peanut, whose gray hair had faded to flaxen, stood on the stage, smiling and waving, immediately eliciting cheers.

When asked about his feelings on winning the game, Peanut was modest and gave all the credit to his teammates.

Sjokz then asked about the Banner of Command, and Peanut replied that it was QG's signature move, and they were just experimenting and learning.

Finally, Sjokz asked the most crucial question: "In a week, you will have the final showdown with QG. QG declared war on you on stage yesterday. Do you have anything to say this time?"

Upon hearing this, Little Peanut smiled, revealing his two tiger teeth.

"Actually, I said back in the Summer Split that QG was the opponent we wanted to face at Worlds. Now that both of our teams have made it to the finals, I think it's fate," Peanut said with a smile. "QG said yesterday that they hoped to face us in the finals, and that's what we hoped for too, so here we are."

"We will definitely win the final."

Listening to the dialogue between the two teams, which was only one day apart, the audience couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.

Both were the number one seed in their respective regions, both finished first in their groups, both won 3-0 in the semifinals, and both were aggressive teams in the early stages of the competition.

The fates of the two teams, QG and ROX, seem to have been arranged in the dark. They were destined to meet at the peak and deliver a top-level showdown!

Today's content is a bit short, roughly 8,000 words. But the story ends here, and there's nothing I can do about it; I usually update according to the plot's progression.

The finals start tomorrow! After I finish writing the opening ceremony tomorrow, I'll try to finish this BO5 in four days!

PS: Thank you so much to my friend Tian Shen for the 2000 Qidian coins reward. I forgot about it a while ago, sorry!

(End of this chapter)