League: I really didn't tank!

Chapter 365 Shaking Fingers

When the base was about to be destroyed in the third game, A-P had lost the confidence he had when he first entered the game.

The only survivor, his hands trembling, bought a potion of witchcraft and rushed out of the base, but the next second he was knocked away by the prince's EQ flash, and his health bar was instantly emptied.

Perkz completely broke down, lying in a chair with red eyes.

"Goodbye, brothers," A-P said to his teammates in the voice chat.

The boss had already informed them that if the results today were not ideal, G2 would be reorganized at the end of the year.

If nothing unexpected happens, this match will be the last one for these five people.

But the result was not good.

They carried the hopes of countless European viewers, but instead, they delivered a hellish ending.

What the G2 will look like in S8 is still unknown.

Thinking about this made Ah P feel gloomy and hopeless about the future.

Chen Dongqing witnessed this scene through the live stream and could only sigh helplessly.

That's how competitive sports are; in the end, only one person can go all the way. Behind every champion are countless people's blood and tears.

Chen Dongqing seemed to be deep in thought.

Although G2 lost this game, they did manage to extract a very crucial piece of information from the game.

Samsung seems to have evolved again.

Because Chen Dongqing had practiced with this team countless times during the [meditation training], he was very clear about the team's general tactics and vision deployment strategy.

He could tell that the team's vision seemed to have become more meticulous, and many of the loopholes he had discovered had disappeared.

This team is like Luffy taking lessons from Kaido; every time they get beaten up, they become much stronger.

Cherry blossoms, entangled and domineering.

Chen Dongqing strongly suspects that if there were one more round in the group stage and QG crushed SSG again, the team might awaken to level five and allow QG to turn the tables on them.

Fortunately, Samsung's current level is still under Chen Dongqing's control.

After this match, the knockout stage format for the World Championship was pretty much set.

It can only be described as very traditional and classic – the China-South Korea showdown.

In the upper bracket, SKT will face off against SSG.

In the lower bracket, QG has secured their advancement, and their opponent will be the winner between FPX and EDG.

Each region occupies one half of the bracket, and the strongest team from each side will first compete, followed by a final showdown at the Forbidden City. There are no fancy tricks.

Next, all eyes were on the final match of the quarterfinals.

Day 4 of the knockout stage.

The QG team also arrived at the Guangzhou Gymnasium and took their seats in the front row.

It's an internal battle between two sister teams, so they should give each other some face. There's nothing wrong with them coming to watch the game live.

After reviewing the draft picks, Chen Dongqing looked down at his phone for a while. When he looked up again, the first game had already started.

As you can see, Liu Qingsong also chose Leona as support in this game, and the rune he chose was Fervor of Battle!

Chen Dongqing gently curled the corners of her lips.

The strategy of using the Fervor of the Sun was proposed by Chen Dongqing, who then trained and refined it with FPX.

A hard-assist enthusiast like Liu Qingsong would certainly not miss out on such an excellent strategy.

Enchanter supports are inherently weak in lane, only able to sustain but not fight, and if they build Ardent Censer, this weakness is amplified even more.

And the extremely aggressive support champion like the Fervorful Leona is clearly the nemesis of the Ardent Censer!

Liu Qingsong didn't even bother with iboy this game. He leveled up his Leona to level two, then decisively pushed forward and used Flash Q to slap Meiko's Lulu on the head. He then quickly followed up with E to control her and applied Ignite!

Simultaneously, Lin Weixiang's Little Cannon also stepped on WE's face!

Without thinking twice, the two of them went all-in on Meiko and secured the kill!

On the other side, iboy watched as Liu Qingsong's Leona killed someone and went into the bush with low health. He was a little anxious. He gritted his teeth and Sivir decisively flashed into the bush to try to switch targets!

But Liu Qingsong was very meticulous. After entering the grass, he didn't move at all, just waiting for iboy to chase him!

At this point, the buff to Leona in the World Championship version had a miraculous effect, because the cooldown of her Q at level 1 was reduced from 9 seconds to 6 seconds, and Liu Qingsong already had another Q skill in hand!

Japanese woman Q knocked out iboy's Sivir, then turned and pulled away, walking into the second bush!

Lin Weixiang's Little Cannon immediately used his refreshed W to stomp on the enemy's face, slowing them down, and then stood still and fought with full Fervor!

iboy was filled with despair and could only watch as he was slowly killed by the cannon!

This was the quietest cheering they'd heard at the Guangzhou Gymnasium in the past four days.

Off the field, most of the piglets remained silent, while a small number wailed in pain.

FPX fans, on the other hand, screamed wildly with excitement!

Nice! This is the rhythm I've been wanting!

If we can't compete with EDG in terms of strategy, we have to win through chaotic battles!

After Lin Weixiang secured a double kill, he pushed the lane and returned to base. Once he was back at full health, he permanently gained control of the bottom lane.

Bottom lane priority is FPX's lifeline.

Doinb and Clid launched a relentless attack on the bottom lane, a four-man gank on the bottom lane, destroying the bottom lane tower in just seven minutes – their pace was absolutely incredible!

Next up was FPX's offensive showcase.

Although Lin Weixiang's ability to carry isn't absolutely top-tier, with such a huge advantage, how could he not know how to play?

In the first game, which lasted 35 minutes, FPX snowballed their dominance and crushed EDG in one fell swoop!

Just like the rabbit two days ago, relying on the strength of the passionate Leona, FPX caught EDG's bot lane off guard with lightning speed and helped the team successfully steal a win!

In the current meta for the bottom lane, whoever pulls out their champion first will almost certainly win!

Chen Dongqing felt a pang of regret whenever he thought about this.

They were essentially the developers of this strategy, but they haven't even had a chance to use it themselves yet.

There was no chance to use it against KT; they just easily crushed them.

After the match, the FPX players excitedly stood up and high-fived each other.

After the high-five, Doinb looked in Chen Dongqing's direction and patted his chest.

Seeing this, Chen Dongqing gave a thumbs up from afar.

The director understood perfectly and immediately switched to Chen Dongqing's shot, eliciting cheers from the audience!

The commentator, Remember, chuckled upon seeing this and said, "As you can see, our Brother Tree is here today. A few days ago, Brother Tree said he hoped FPX would win. Will that be the case today? Let's wait and see!"

Soon, the second game began.

This time, EDG, who had the right to choose sides in the second game, came to the blue side. They didn't stubbornly refuse and decisively banned Leona, and then continued to lock in a late-game carry plus a soft support combination.

Liu Qingsong remained calm in the face of this situation, and instead locked onto Karma with a backhand and passed the ball to Doinb.

In the previous game, because he chose a hard support, Doinb could only fill in one Ardent Censer, resulting in a weak presence in the mid lane.

This time, if the bot lane picks a support, then the mid laner will be in charge of setting the pace.

Doinb didn't hesitate either. Facing Scout's Orianna, he directly chose his signature move - Rumble!

Rumble, the mid-laner, is back in action!

This match was almost a solo show by Doinb. He dominated the lane and the 2v2 team fights, which drew cheers from the audience.

FPX, thanks to Rumble's perfect performance, naturally regained the advantage!

Finally, at the 27-minute mark, FPX secured another victory thanks to Rumble's flanking maneuver and explosive AoE damage from his RQ Zhonya's Hourglass!

2: 0!

"Holy crap, that's awesome!" Uzi couldn't help but applaud when he saw this. "So energetic, huh? Big B!"

Chen Dongqing said with a smile, "EDG's rhythm is also a bit off this game. I don't even know what Mingkai is doing."

"Perhaps now we can prove it," Xiangguo said cheerfully. "EDG isn't bad in international competitions, they're just bad in the quarterfinals! This team can't even get past the quarterfinals."

Upon hearing this, Chen Dongqing felt a pang of unease and burst into laughter.

"Don't rush it," Chen Dongqing tried to speak up for EDG, "Maybe they can come back from 0-2 down to win 3-2? It's possible."

"A comeback from 0-2 down? Impossible, absolutely possible!" Uzi was quite assertive. "If EDG can come back from 0-2 down, I'll eat shit on live stream!"

Chen Dongqing listened to this from the side, smiling but saying nothing.

Perhaps in his past life during the S7 Summer Finals, Uzi said something similar after winning two games.

Of course, Chen Dongqing didn't think EDG could turn the tide either.

The third game started quickly.

This time, EDG's players showed some toughness, and Clearlove's rhythm finally returned. Relying on their signature mid-jungle synergy, they seized the early advantage, and then at 35 minutes, Clearlove's Sejuani made a flank and sniper shot to the carry, securing the victory in one fell swoop!

In the fourth game, EDG returned to their side selection mode. This time, they had the advantage in the draft and maintained a fast pace. The two sides were deadlocked until 45 minutes, but in the end, EDG prevailed and won another point!

They came back from 0-2 down to win 2-2!

Having long since exhausted all options, the five members of EDG suddenly sensed a possibility and a glimmer of hope. Without wasting any time, they hurried back to the rest room.

The five FPX players also had furrowed brows.

Uzbekistan's face suddenly stiffened.

No way?

Thankfully, it won't.

FPX returned to the side selection phase and made adjustments. In the fourth game, they came back strong and remained evenly matched with EDG until 31 minutes. This time, Liu Qingsong seized the opportunity and caught Meiko, who was sleepwalking while warding, in the river. He then took the opportunity to initiate a team fight around Baron!

EDG reluctantly engaged in the team fight, but the end result was that all of their players were killed and they didn't even get the dragon.

The fragile balance tipped completely, and FPX's five players gained the advantage and split-push to win the game!

FPX defeated EDG 3-2 in a five-game thriller to advance to the semifinals!

Chen Dongqing was in the audience, and he stood up with the audience, smiling and clapping.

FPX's story this year is just like that of an online novel: they suffered humiliation in the early stages, but now the Dragon King has returned.

In the first half of this year, we lost to WE, EDG, and QG, almost losing everything and gaining nothing.

But in the crucial matches of the Intercontinental Cup finals, the final battle of the gauntlet, and the quarterfinals of the World Championship, they won all of them without a single loss!

Its value is simply too high!

Now, they have avenged their defeats against WE and EDG, and finally stand before QG.

During the interview, Doinb stood on the stage and boldly declared that they would not lose a single game in the upcoming matches and would definitely win the final championship!

QG's strength is evident to all. Doinb firmly believes that as long as they overcome this hurdle, the future will be bright and they will become world champions!

The camera then panned to the QG players' bench. Chen Dongqing reacted quickly, immediately smiling and extending his index finger towards the camera, gently shaking it.

This is Dikembe Mutombo's signature gesture in the NBA. He makes this gesture every time he completes a block, which elicits cheers from the entire arena!

And this time was no exception.

The entire audience began to shout and yell. The atmosphere was already extremely tense even before the semi-finals started!

After the interview concluded, host Ren Dong began the closing remarks: "Alright, the four quarterfinal matches of the 2017 World Championship have officially ended. Next, the four advancing teams will head to Shanghai to continue their journey! Goodbye Guangzhou! See you in Shanghai, everyone!"

The audience began to leave in an orderly manner, and the QG team also turned around and retreated.

Since she had already found a restaurant to eat at before leaving home, Chen Dongqing decided not to hitch a ride with FPX this time, but instead took a taxi to enjoy a comfortable and satisfying meal.

Back at the base, everyone started packing their luggage, putting all their clothes in suitcases, leaving only a mouse and keyboard in the training room. They planned to pack up their peripherals and leave the next day.

The next day, September 23nd, in the morning.

QG members arrived at Guangzhou Baiyun Airport and took a plane directly to Shanghai!

Standing on the ground of Hongqiao Airport, Chen Dongqing felt a slight pang of emotion.

This was certainly not his first time landing in Shanghai; on the contrary, he was very familiar with Hongqiao Airport.

But this time, his state of mind was slightly different.

Just like the factory manager was determined to advance from the group stage in Wuhan, Shanghai is his hometown, and he can't afford to lose when playing on his home turf.

After checking into the hotel, the QG team immediately began their busy training session.

Once you reach the semifinals, there aren't many teams left to practice with.

FPX is their direct enemy, while SKT considers QG as their hypothetical enemy, believing they will definitely meet them in the finals, and has therefore rejected QG's invitation to scrims.

After much deliberation, QG finally found SSG.

Despite defeating G2, SSG still doesn't know their team's true strength and is a bit apprehensive about the upcoming semifinals, so they want to practice with QG.

Chen Dongqing was naturally happy to see this, and continued to hone his awareness skills in the training match against SSG.

Of course, he didn't reveal that he had mastered the SSG tactics. Instead, he kept his knowledge hidden and subtly probed Samsung's tactical changes.

After the scrim with Samsung, QG played ranked games with all five players, either practicing level 1 team fight strategies in custom games or teaming up in pairs to practice laning.

Five days passed quickly.

Time quickly came to February 28th.

At the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center, countless spectators gathered, filling the entire stadium to capacity.

On stage, SKT and SSG have already taken the stage.

The semifinals have officially begun!

The SSG vs. SKT BO5 will be written in slightly more detail and will take up more space, but don't worry, the QG vs. FPX BO5 will be written in a shorter length. We will try not to fill in the details, as the semi-final storyline is mainly to set up the final.

(End of this chapter)