League: I really didn't tank!

Chapter 293: Group Stage Over!

I had some things to take care of today, so my writing time was pushed to the limit.

Send the typos first, then correct them.

"Alright, let's congratulate QG on defeating KT again! And congratulations to LPL for securing their second win in the group stage!"

Miller's cheerful voice rang out from the commentary booth.

This victory not only signifies that LPL has topped the standings with a 100% win rate, but also that LCK's number one seed, KT, suffered two consecutive defeats in the group stage.

This is clearly a major blow to the LCK, which is looking to reclaim its title as the top region in the Intercontinental Cup.

At this moment, the LCK viewers in the Korean live stream almost collectively exploded.

[They've lost to FW and then QG, and if this keeps up, they'll lose to EDG too! They've completely lost face!]

[Hey, isn't it normal for KT to lose? Haven't you had enough of MSI? Let's leave the rest to SKT, we'll win!]

[SKT? Don't be ridiculous. A second seed that can't even beat KT doesn't even have the right to compete against QG.]

Haha, it's better than you guys losing, right?

A small Korean-language livestream room has seen a clear factional struggle, which is quite amusing.

Under the camera's lens, the KT players, who represented their region but suffered two consecutive losses, also lowered their heads.

They also felt that they had played terribly in these two matches.

Losing to QG is one thing, but to lose to Flash Wolves is another?

Oh no, what kind of thinking is this? We shouldn't have lost to QG!

Ugh.

It's no use saying this now.

All they can do now is adjust their mindset and prepare for the knockout stage to try and fight back!

At the same time, the QG members strode away from the stage.

The Taiwanese audience immediately cheered enthusiastically.

FW and QG both defeated the LCK's number one seed, and in the eyes of Taiwanese viewers, the two teams were essentially on the same side.

Dude!

Chen Dongqing has now accepted this situation. He smiled and waved to the audience before returning backstage.

As soon as I arrived at the backstage lounge, I saw a large group of people come out and line up to welcome me.

"Awesome! Awesome!" Lin Weixiang, who was walking at the front, immediately gave his praise.

Zoom then moved closer to Chen Dongqing and said, "Brother Shu, your captain is amazing! You can even beat Kennen!"

Chen Dongqing patted the other person on the shoulder with a smile: "A captain with the Radiance skill at the start can beat anyone, it's normal."

Zoom wholeheartedly agrees.

"Great win!" Banbazi nodded in satisfaction. "Get some rest, the rest is up to the other teams."

After this match, QG is all set for today. They just need to play one more match against Flash Wolves before they can prepare for the knockout stage.

The schedule for the Intercontinental Cup is quite easy for individual teams; sometimes a team only needs to play three matches to finish.

Chen Dongqing was completely relaxed, comfortably lying on a chair in the last row of the lounge, playing on his phone while watching the game unfold.

Just as Chen Dongqing was about to speak, a WeChat message popped up on his phone. It was from Lin Yuanhua, who was also at the Kaohsiung Exhibition Center: 【What a handsome captain!】

Chen Dongqing was busy starting up the anti-racism forum at the moment, and he casually replied: "Am I as handsome as you?"

Lin Yuanhua's message came back quickly: [?]

A simple question mark.

Chen Dongqing responded with a question mark in return.

The other side immediately replied with a question mark.

Seeing that this matter was far from over, Chen Dongqing immediately typed, "Where are you? I'll come find you?"

"I'm in the dressing room here, and there are a lot of people."

"Can you come out?"

"Noh"

"Then come out."

"it is good."

Upon seeing this, Chen Dongqing picked up his water glass as if to get some water, and then walked out of the large lounge.

After filling his drink at the beverage machine, Chen Dongqing happily walked backstage to the other side.

At this moment, Lin Yuanhua also came out. She seemed to have no mission today and was just there to watch the game, so she was dressed casually and looked quite cool.

"What did that question mark you just used mean? Huh?" Chen Dongqing immediately started picking a fight. "Am I not handsome?"

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, so hot!" Lin Yuanhua casually replied, then stepped forward, walked to Chen Dongqing's side, took his arm, and said, "Are you free today? Want to go watch the match?"

Chen Dongqing thought for a moment and said, "Let's go."

Since today is only the group stage, there are still a few rows of seats at the back that are not full.

The two sneaked off to the backstage corridor and sat down. Chen Dongqing, seeing that the next match was still in preparation, simply took out his phone and started browsing the anti-racism forum.

Influenced by Chen Dongqing, Lin Yuanhua also had a taste for this kind of filth and immediately stuck her head out.

In the rating thread, netizens were full of praise for Chen Dongqing's performance.

[Holy crap! A tree!]

[The captain's counter-pick solo kill against Kennen, is that something else?]

[Isn't it supposed to start with an extra Sheen?]

Even with multiple Radiance, it's still a short-ranged opponent against a long-ranged one, especially against a Captain who lacks crowd control. It's very difficult for him to solo kill Kennen.

[Indeed, that frame-locking double barrel combo followed by Flash and then Fireball really got me hard.]

What might be an amazing play for other top laners is just commonplace for Tree.

[Indeed, if Tree Bro doesn't get a solo kill, it's considered a kill!]

Upon seeing this scene, Chen Dongqing couldn't help but lick his lips.

He nudged Lin Yuanhua beside him with his elbow and said with a smile, "How should I put it, are these comments fair?"

Lin Yuanhua rolled her eyes dramatically. She actually thought so too, but asking her to seriously express her thoughts was a different story.

Garlic, please.

Lin Yuanhua nudged Chen Dongqing with her other hand and said, "Let's see if there are any reposts from Korean websites!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Dongqing immediately gave a thumbs up: "Looks like you know what's satisfying!"

It's like how murderers always find time to return to the crime scene after committing a crime.

The most satisfying part is the feedback from the victims.

Chen Dongqing returned to the homepage and refreshed it twice. Sure enough, he found a reposted post!

The moment you click in, the main event begins.

[What the hell is KT doing? Two losses in two games?]

[This kind of team shouldn't go back to LCK, they should just go back to LPL, since they love winning championships for LPL anyway!]

Haha, have you ever considered that if other teams came, they would lose in the same way?

[Fun fact: KT is still ranked first in the LCK Summer Split regular season]

Isn't this team B just like that? They're good at internal battles but bad at international ones; they're only good at bullying their own people.

It seems not every team is as easy to deal with as SKT!

[Are you upstairs being a troll again? Didn't SKT hand the last MSI championship to QG themselves?]

Chen Dongqing felt a surge of joy as he looked at the forum content.

He just loves this stick to break his defenses!

Lin Yuanhua chuckled as she watched, remarking, "These comments are exactly like those on some anti-government forums!"

Chen Dongqing nodded cheerfully: "Trolls are the same everywhere."

Just then, a commotion came from the stage in front, and the host began to signal the contestants from both sides to come on stage.

Chen Dongqing immediately put away his phone, and the two of them looked up to watch the game.

This match is still an LCK match, with SKT facing off against AHQ.

Lin Yuanhua turned her head and asked, "What about this match?"

"What else can I say?" Chen Dongqing whispered, afraid that the Taiwanese audience members next to him would hear, "SKT will definitely win."

Actually, he also hoped to see SKT lose the game, because if that happened, the Koreans would definitely wail again, and their morale would probably collapse.

But that's really unlikely.

In the LMS region, only Flash Wolves were truly formidable.

Other teams are not even as good as the bottom-tier teams in the LPL.

Can you really expect a team like that to beat SKT?

It's very blue.

Instead, we should pray that a meteorite falls from the sky and hits the opponent's bench.

At this point, we can see that the SKT players have already taken to the stage.

As always, the audience showed no respect and their cheers immediately disappeared.

Although they still have a good impression of Faker, this time Faker is going to play against their own team!

We can't give them that face!

When Li Guapi saw this, his face darkened.

He glanced around the audience, trying to memorize every face so he could slap them in the face later!

But unexpectedly, he saw a familiar face.

Chen Dongqing was sitting in the last row with a big smile, and was even giving him a thumbs up.

And most importantly, there was a beautiful girl sitting next to him, the two of them very close and cuddling.

When Li Guapi saw this face, he vaguely recognized it and remembered that this girl seemed to be a host in the LPL.

And the host was even giving him a thumbs up!

Li Guapi's face darkened even more.

How is it that he can win the championship and also find a female host as his girlfriend?

This is not fair!

Seeing this, Li Guapi decided to channel his grief into strength and vent it all on the field.

In this game, he directly chose Syndra, taking full control of the early game tempo.

Faker had a long professional career; he didn't retire until before Chen Dongqing's time travel.

S7 should be considered the turning point in Faker's career, marking the beginning of his gradual decline from his peak.

However, the reputation of the world's number one mid laner still remains. Even though he has begun to decline slowly, he is still a force to be reckoned with against other mid laners.

Syndra, with the help of jungler Score, forced the enemy mid laner to use Flash. Then, taking advantage of the Flash opening, she stored her orb at level 5 with full experience, and then caught a low-health minion and hit the opponent with a W!

The instant Syndra reached level six, Faker instantly learned her ultimate ability and then smoothly pushed the ball into the net!

After chasing and auto-attacking a few times, Faker used his last Q skill, and then immediately activated his ultimate.

The Dark Orb bombarded the opponent relentlessly, instantly depleting their health bar!

Immediately afterwards, the game entered Faker's time.

The combination of Excavator and Syndra is almost at its maximum combat power; the two can completely ignore turrets and kill wherever they go.

SKT had the game firmly in their grasp.

SKT is a team that has always been balanced in offense and defense. Although their turtle-like tactics are excellent, their offensive tactics are not weak either.

The match lasted only thirty minutes before SKT easily won.

With a resounding victory, the LCK region finally breathed a sigh of relief!

Do you really think LCK is a paper tiger? We are the world's number one region!

Next, LPL, get ready, you're next!

In the next match, LPL teams will take the stage.

EDG vs. SSG: A battle between the two teams' third seeds.

It must be said that the third seeds from both sides are truly of high quality.

From Chen Dongqing's perspective on the future, EDG is the LPL Summer Split champion of the original world, and SSG is even more so, the World Championship champion at the end of the year!

At this point, SSG was still lacking some polish and details compared to the championship version, but they had already formed a basic strategy based on "turtle".

In this meta where the bot lane is the core, they can be considered the chosen ones.

Unfortunately, EDG is also very good at playing defensively.

When these two teams meet, it's bound to be a match that lasts forty minutes or more.

When the game reaches the late game, that's when the AD carries on both sides will be put to the test.

The duel between iboy and ruleer will determine the outcome of this game.

These two players can be described as two extremes.

One is a gas cylinder with a huge difference between its upper and lower limits, which could take away opponents or teammates at any time with an explosive operation.

One is the textbook example of Korean-style AD that is extremely stable.

To break it down further, the outcome of this match depends entirely on iboy's mood.

If iboy plays well, EDG will win!

Fortunately, iboy performed reasonably well in this match.

He perfectly displayed the reflexes of a 17-year-old, playing Xayah and first using his ultimate to dodge Sejuani's fatal initiation in a team fight, then unleashing a barrage of attacks, before flashing to dodge Syndra's crucial crowd control, and finally using a backstab to instantly kill Ruler, helping his team win the key team fight!

"Wuhu!" Chen Dongqing couldn't help but applaud loudly from the audience!

iboy really pushed his limits in this team fight.

After this wave is over, won't they have to send out several more waves as compensation?

Fortunately, it's something for the next game.

After winning the team fight, EDG pushed forward and won the game.

EDG defeated JT and SSG in their two matches on the first day of the group stage, successfully completing their mission and helping LPL achieve a perfect 4-0 record on the first day of the group stage.

Behind him are the LCK with a score of 2-2 and the LMS with a score of 1-3.

With two such weak opponents behind them, LPL felt no pressure at all.

With this score ratio, if LPL can beat LCK again, they will basically secure first place in the group and advance to the next round.

Day two of the group stage.

WE finally took to the field.

They didn't have a match yesterday, but they have two matches to play today.

Their first opponent is SKT, the second seed from LCK.

"Go for it!" The LPL players all stood up to see him off.

"Don't feel pressured." Chen Dongqing patted 957 on the shoulder. "We have a big lead, so winning or losing doesn't matter."

"Yes." 957 adjusted his glasses and said, "But we will definitely win."

This is also a showdown between the best.

The two sides fought fiercely for a long time, until the main road was worn away, but unfortunately, SKT's experience ultimately prevailed.

Within fifty minutes, relying on a ward placed at the F6 location, we caught xiye recalling to base to buy equipment after clearing F6, and decisively went all in on Baron!

Without the mid laner's participation, WE never dared to initiate team fights and could only let Condi go in to steal the dragon.

Unfortunately, Condi, the son of the dragon, seems to have been neglecting his PC lately, and his skill in fighting and punishing has declined slightly, so he was unable to take down this big dragon deck.

SKT turned the tide of the battle with the help of Baron Nashor and won the game in one fell swoop!

Chen Dongqing watched WE leave, and then watched WE return.

Xiye sat dejectedly in his chair. He had figured out why SKT attacked Baron Nashor, and he believed that the reason for their loss was his fault.

"It's alright, it's alright," Chen Dongqing said with a smile, reassuringly. "It's not a big problem."

Xi Ye was a little annoyed, but still nodded.

They lost this match, and they can't afford to lose the next one against LMS, otherwise WE will become a sinner like KT.

In the second match, QG faced Flash Wolves.

Needless to say, this match was another resounding victory.

Chen Dongqing, playing Jayce, solo-killed Mimi Egg under the tower at level four, demonstrating his ruthless style.

At that moment, the cheers for Chen Dongqing from the audience below the stage subsided considerably.

This guy is so annoying! Even though I know the wolf's win rate isn't high, doesn't he at least give me some face?

Chen Dongqing certainly wouldn't hold back.

Once he gained the advantage, he just kept attacking relentlessly.

Seven minutes later, Jayce roamed to the mid lane, and not far from him was Maple, who had been brought to low health by Goldwyn.

Without saying a word, Chen Dongqing fired a shot and then turned and left.

A real man never looks back at the feeling of an explosion.

Less than a second later, the kill notification arrived. Jayce, having accomplished his task, left without a trace, concealing his merit and fame.

Eight minutes later, Jayce delivered another blow, killing Mimi Egg under the tower.

Fourteen minutes in, Jayce unleashed a powerful shot that took away nearly half of Maple's health!

Upon seeing this, Karsa knew that the game was over.

This is no longer an opponent that can be defeated by simply counter-ganking.

Even if you gave him a full map-wide perspective cheat, he still might not be able to win.

In the 27th minute, QG swiftly secured another victory!

In the fourth match, FPX took to the stage to face their second opponent, LZ.

Before the match, Chen Dongqing reassured everyone as usual, "Don't panic. Even if you lose, we'll still be number one in the group."

This is real.

If LCK wins this match again, the score will be tied.

But it's not a big problem.

Because there are no tiebreaker rounds in the intercontinental competition.

If a tie occurs, the total winning time of both teams will be calculated, and the team with the shorter total winning time will be ranked higher.

This is where the differences in the styles of the two regions become apparent.

LPL has top-tier fast-growing teams like QG, while LCK has two slow-moving teams like SKT and SSG.

In today's first match, although WE lost to SKT, the two sides played for more than 50 minutes, which can be considered a heavy blow to LCK.

This one match is enough for QG to play two games!

The total match duration is incomparable; LPL can lead by ten minutes or so!

Therefore, fundamentally speaking, as long as FPX isn't quickly pushed down by 1557, LPL is guaranteed to be number one.

Of course, all of this is on the premise that WE doesn't lose to the LMS in the future.

If WE suffers a crucial defeat later on, things will get really interesting.

Upon hearing Chen Dongqing's words, Doinb turned around with a serious expression: "We won't lose!"

The fifth match kicked off with a bang.

On paper, LZ is a strong team, boasting Khan, who has returned from the LPL, the mid-jungle duo of Cuzz and BDD, and the two veteran bot laners from ROX.

These five people, while they might not seem like champions, have a very high skill ceiling.

Fortunately, FPX is in better form.

Doinb went all out in this game, using his Kled mid-lane skills honed during his time with QG. He completely dominated BDD, relentlessly hacking away and setting the pace for the entire team!

Khan is currently riding high, dominating the LCK and even threatening Smeb's position as the LCK's top top laner.

But Zoom was no pushover either. He played Gangplank in the top lane, demonstrating his ability to withstand pressure, and he and Khan disappeared from the game.

As the two continued to play together, FPX gained a huge advantage in the bottom half of the map.

After a while, FPX won.

FPX secured the top spot in their group with a crucial victory, helping the LPL to achieve this goal ahead of schedule.

Without the psychological pressure, WE quickly took to the stage and crushed AHQ with a resounding victory, sealing the LPL score at 7-1.

With this, the group stage has officially ended.

LPL will sit in the finals with an incense burner in hand, waiting for the semifinal winner to challenge them, and then give them a big surprise!

See you tomorrow, brothers!

(End of this chapter)