League: I really didn't tank!

Chapter 430 MSI Opens!

It was around dusk on May 5th, Berlin time, Germany.

Chen Dongqing rubbed his sleepy eyes, descended the gangway, and stepped onto the land of Berlin Brandenburg International Airport in Germany.

The group stage of MSI will begin at the LCS studio in Berlin, Germany.

Only when the knockout stage arrives will everyone go to the Zenith Stadium in Paris.

Using a small stadium that can only hold two hundred spectators for the group stage shows that European teams are really stingy.

Fortunately, the main broadcasting channel for esports competitions is still the internet. As long as online streaming continues, the popularity of the competitions will remain high.

As Chen Dongqing walked along the line into the airport terminal, he was unexpectedly greeted by a huge crowd!

Countless fans crowded the arrival hall, shouting "ilex" IDs from the side!

Chen Dongqing was somewhat surprised this time.

He had never received such a warm welcome when he competed abroad before!

What's going on? Is this the Berlin subway line of Wuhan Metro Line 4?

Chen Dongqing looked up and saw that most of the people there were locals from Berlin.

What's even more outrageous is that the audience wasn't chanting "QG" or the IDs of other QG players; they were all chanting "ilex"!

The teammates around him looked at the crowd of people picking up passengers at the airport and felt helpless.

Although they all won the championship together on the same team, Chen Dongqing's current popularity level is no longer on the same level as them, even Uzbekistan is far behind.

Clearly, since Chen Dongqing won two consecutive FMVP awards, officially becoming the greatest player in history, and also won a StarCraft championship, his prestige in the world esports circle has been elevated once again.

The whole world loves this "unconventional" esports player, and the whole world is looking forward to seeing what other amazing things this guy can do!

If a stranger saw this, they might think a big star had returned.

At this moment, among the crowd, there was still a small group of international students. Upon seeing Chen Dongqing, they excitedly shouted in Chinese, "Brother Shu, Brother Shu, is winning the MSI three-peat a big problem?"

Chen Dongqing laughed and said, "Anyone with hands can do it!"

Chen Dongqing is as arrogant as ever before the competition, but becomes humble after winning. This kind of personality is exactly what European and American audiences like the most.

Chen Dongqing started acting as a photo opportunity assistant, giving a thumbs-up and taking photos with a large number of fans before finally boarding the bus with the group.

Sitting in the car, I took out my phone and checked the race schedule.

Before the group stage, there is a qualifying stage.

Apart from the four major regions, the other smaller regions and the top seeds from wildcard regions are all battling it out in the play-in stage for the last two spots in the group stage.

Of course, the wildcard teams also vary in strength. Chen Dongqing glanced at the scores and found that the Taiwanese and Vietnamese teams were as dominant in the qualifying rounds as QG was in the main tournament, so qualifying was obviously not a problem.

Chen Dongqing then opened the forum and looked at the discussions among the forum members about today's qualifying rounds.

Vietnam's dominance is still strong; they're really good at exploiting wildcards.

[It doesn't matter. What's the use of being good at stomping weak teams? Every time we encounter a Chinese or Korean team, we just play the victim. We're not even as good as Flash Wolves.]

[Indeed, no one could actually lose to Vietnam, right?]

[How about we talk about next week's group stage? What's your assessment of FNC's opening match against QG?]

[It's safe to say that Riot Games in Europe really has a problem with FNC. Who lets the host team play the defending champions on the first day? How embarrassing would it be if they lost?]

Is this the fate of eliminating G2?

Chen Dongqing looked at the post with a smile on his face.

It must be said that this schedule is indeed quite abstract.

Even if LPL organizes its own tournament, Tencent Esports wouldn't arrange a China-Korea match on the first day, right? Even if the win rate is indeed very high, there's always the possibility of an upset, which wouldn't be very entertaining.

FNC's suicidal schedule is indeed somewhat abstract.

But for QG, this is certainly a good thing.

The bus slowly drove into the hotel parking lot. Chen Dongqing got off the bus with his backpack on and glanced at the setting sun on the horizon.

Chen Dongqing was actually very tired, but in order to adjust to the time difference in one go, he did not go to sleep immediately. Instead, he ate a meal first, and then arranged the training room and other things. He stayed up until nine o'clock in the evening before finally washing up and falling asleep instantly in bed.

5 month 6 day.

The MSI qualifying rounds finally came to an end today.

In the final qualifying rounds, both the Vietnamese team EVS and the Taiwanese team FW advanced, successfully joining the four major regions in the group stage.

This can indeed be called a reunion, after all, in the previous two MSIs, the group stage was always played by these six regions, and other wildcard regions were always blocked by Vietnam and never made it in.

Meanwhile, QG finally began their official training for MSI.

"Same as before, let's familiarize ourselves with this version before training begins." Banbazi plugged the USB drive into his computer and displayed the prepared PPT on the projector.

"The playoffs use version 8.8, which is two versions ahead of the playoffs' version 8.6, but there aren't many updates, so I can finish explaining it quickly."

Banbazi spoke while flipping through the slides of the PPT.

The first thing that catches the eye is an important update.

Kai'Sa, the Daughter of the Void, has received an epic buff!

Attack range increased by 25 yards, passive value increased, Q value increased, and although W value was slightly reduced, it was actually strengthened because of the increased passive value!

E and R are no exception; their values ​​have all increased!

In fact, in the previous version, as Kai'Sa players became more proficient, the proficiency rate of this champion was gradually approaching 50%, indicating that the champion's strength was not lagging behind and that she was a qualified champion.

But the designers didn't seem to realize this and were determined to put Kai'Sa on the field. So they made a big move and transformed Kai'Sa from a flat-chested girl into an S-class figure, adding a size to her from top to bottom!

Without a doubt, the bottom lane is about to change.

"But thankfully, we've practiced Kai'Sa a lot and prepared corresponding tactics in advance," Banbazi laughed. "We should be ahead in terms of adaptability to this champion."

Uz nodded excitedly upon hearing this.

He's been waiting for this Kai'Sa update for far too long.

When MSI starts, he'll make the other teams suffer!

Banbazi continued turning the page and explained, "Besides that, there's another huge update: LeBlanc's callback."

LeBlanc was reworked during the S7 preseason, when assassins underwent a major overhaul.

The reworked LeBlanc lost her assassin spirit; her burst damage is slower, but her damage is higher, and she gains the wave-clearing ability of WQ.

However, the designers later felt that LeBlanc's wave clear ability was too strong, so they nerfed the damage of her W ability, effectively relegating her to the sidelines.

Now, the designers have changed their minds and have completely reworked LeBlanc back to her Season 6 appearance.

Passive ability creates clones; ultimate ability copies the last used skill.

Although it was expected, even Chen Dongqing couldn't help but be amazed when he saw this change.

Wow, being a designer is such an easy job! You can get paid twice just by jumping around!

Of course, since this is a newly reworked hero, it cannot be logged into international competitions for the time being, in order to avoid situations that are beyond our control.

Following that, there were some other updates.

Despite limited appearances, Irelia, a force to be reckoned with in the LPL, has been slightly nerfed. Her armor has been reduced by three points, and her ultimate's cooldown has increased in the early game but decreased in the late game.

This is clearly a nerf to Irelia's laning phase.

Actually, this version of Irelia's laning ability isn't particularly strong; her strength lies mainly in small-scale team fights with one or two items and her unbeatable 1v1 dueling ability.

However, perhaps misled by Chen Dongqing's consistently dominant performance, the designers actually nerfed this hero's laning phase.

Clearly, after Green Steel Shadow, another hero has emerged who has been persecuted by Chen Dongqing.

Chen Dongqing silently mourned in his heart.

Camille was nerfed to the point of being useless, and the designers didn't dare to touch Riven or Fiora. Now, Irelia has been reworked, but he's nerfed her again.

He almost single-handedly suppressed the entire lightly armed warrior system.

I am guilty.

"Of course," Banbazi continued, "Even though Irelia has been nerfed, I think this champion still has a high pick value!"

"Because this champion only had her armor reduced, this weakens Irelia's strength in the top lane. In the mid lane against mages, Irelia's dominance remains. So Li Yuanhao must practice her during this period and must bring her out in the group stage."

Xiaohu nodded after hearing this. "Yeah, I'm confident with Irelia. I'll try her out in the practice match later. There shouldn't be any problems."

Banbazi nodded: "That's good."

In the QG team, you never need to worry about hero pool issues. Even if some players have heroes they are not good at, the sense of responsibility of being the number one club in history will force you to practice those heroes so as not to hold the team back.

This is healthy pressure, which drives the athletes to keep moving forward.

Finally, there's an update for Varus.

Varus' passive attack speed bonus has been reduced, and his W base bonus damage has been reduced.

However, as compensation, Varus has been given an active effect for his W, which adds an execute effect to his next Q.

Uz nodded in satisfaction upon seeing the update.

Varus is a classic champion who can pressure but not kill because he lacks crowd control, mobility, and even a speed boost.

The addition of an execute effect to W gives Varus a slight boost in initiative.

"As for equipment, there's one more minor change worth noting," Banbazi concluded. "The scanning lens has been removed; now you can directly buy the Oracle upgrade at level one."

Prior to version 8.8, scanning could only scan one target area.

To make the scanner follow you, you need to reach level nine before you can switch.

But things are different now; even at level one, one can possess the divine modification that follows a person.

Therefore, in this version, junglers can start by placing wards and then immediately recall to base to exchange for a scanner, thus enhancing their level 1 ganking ability.

"Aside from that, there aren't many updates." Banbazi shrugged and smiled. "Personally, I think these are the only things that will affect the competition. If there are any other updates worth noting, you can mention them yourselves. If not, then the meeting is adjourned, and we'll prepare for the afternoon's practice match!"

Chen Dongqing, lacking interest, dragged the chair back to his computer.

This version change has almost no impact on the top lane.

In this version of the top lane, there are still tank top laners led by Ornn and Cho'Gath, as well as mage top laners led by Vladimir and Rumble, and of course, there are also light fighter top laners like Fiora and Camille.

Then, under Chen Dongqing's leadership, this version also included Viktor top lane, Gangplank top lane, and a series of other top laners that relied on Kleptomancy, making it a truly diverse and exciting meta.

In this diverse environment, a series of counter-chains have emerged, such as warriors countering tanks, gold-stealing countering warriors, mages countering gold-stealing, and tanks countering mages.

In this complex environment, if you want to become an excellent top laner, you must master an extremely wide champion pool; otherwise, you will be endlessly countered and killed by counter-picks.

As the instigator of this complex environment, Chen Dongqing naturally reaped the biggest benefits—as long as he chose the red side, he could choose all kinds of heroes to crush the opponent!

Even if it's the blue side, it doesn't matter. Even if Chen Dongqing picks the top lane first, the opposing top laner will hardly have the confidence to challenge him. It's usually a peaceful development game.

In the scrimmages, the only top laner who dared to challenge Chen Dongqing on the red side was Khan from KZ, who even caused Chen Dongqing some minor trouble at one point.

But it's just a minor inconvenience.

Unlike characters in e-sports novels who, despite winning championships and becoming invincible, still encounter various troubles and difficulties, Chen Dongqing is not like them.

nonexistent.

With 99 points of skill and 99 points of reaction, he might stumble, but he definitely won't fall to the ground.

Khan was like Iron Man conjuring up a giant fist and punching Thanos in the face with all his might—it took a lot of effort to only break a little bit of skin.

Chen Dongqing snapped Iron Man's sword in half and stabbed him through the neck with a backhand motion.

Even the strongest challenger, KZ, was defeated by QG in a single move.

Xiaohu also played quite comfortably in the training matches, without any pressure at all.

Wow, the intensity of this World Championship is really not as good as that of the LPL?

Who are the players he faces in the LPL?

Rookie! Scout! Doinb!

These mid laners each have their own strengths, and Xiaohu has to use different strategies to deal with different mid laners. He often ends up covered in sweat after a game.

But what about MSI?

Maple? BDD?

It's kind of funny.

Looking around, only Caps can be considered a strong mid laner, but according to Xiaohu's own feelings, Caps' strength is not as good as Rookie and Doinb.

Previously, when Chen Dongqing said that the competition in the World Championship was not as good as in the LPL, Xiaohu thought his older brother was just bragging.

I didn't expect it to be so bad.

So the World Championship is that easy?

After a few days of training matches, Xiao Hu's confidence has soared!

Our LPL is so strong!

"Get me a full Irelia tomorrow!" Xiaohu shouted boldly. "I'm definitely going to beat Xiaomao to a pulp tomorrow!"

Hearing Xiao Hu call Caps "Little Cap," Chen Dongqing couldn't help but shake his head.

Who knows who'll get themselves killed tomorrow?

Time flies, and soon it was May 11th.

Sitting backstage at the LCS Berlin studio, Chen Dongqing looked around with slight disdain: "This is supposed to be the MSI venue? That's incredibly stingy! It's not even as big as our home stadium!"

Linko laughed and said, "There's no other way, Europe is such a small place, Sister Li can only do this much."

"But I have to admit, even though there weren't many people, the audience's enthusiasm was incredibly high," Uzi said, chewing gum. "When I went up to install the keyboard just now, the noise from the audience was deafening!"

Chen Dongqing joked, "But unfortunately, we're playing their home team later. You'll see how the crowd boos you."

At this moment, a staff member knocked on the door of QG's dressing room. Everyone looked at each other, quickly stood up, and walked towards the stage.

On the stage at this moment, a ten-second countdown is underway before the opening ceremony.

Although there were only a little over two hundred people in the audience, the Germans were exceptionally enthusiastic, shouting the countdown in unison.

As the countdown reached 1 and the fist logo appeared, the two hundred people in the audience created a tremendous roar in the small arena, as if they had been transported back to 1940.

The bearded European host, microphone in hand, boomed in a powerful voice, "Alright, let's welcome the 2016 Mid-Season Invitational champion, the 2017 Mid-Season Invitational champion! QiaoGu!"

The cheers from the audience immediately rose to an even higher level!

The spotlights on the dome suddenly shone on the entrance to the passageway, and everyone saw the QG players walking slowly onto the stage with solemn expressions.

Chen Dongqing, who was leading the group, solemnly held a trophy with both hands and slowly placed it on the high platform in the center of the stage.

The spotlight immediately shifted from Chen Dongqing to the trophy, making the freshly polished gold trophy shine brightly.

After the trophy was returned, the QG team had a match to play immediately, so they stood on the stage and watched as the host invited FNC, the other team in the opening match, onto the stage.

Upon seeing their home team take the stage, the European audience naturally cheered immediately.

However, it must be said that this outcry is not much different from the outcry when QG took the stage before.

Chen Dongqing was standing in the group at this moment, looking at the audience below the stage, and was still somewhat surprised.

Chen Dongqing had already felt their popularity in Berlin when the plane landed, but he still didn't expect that their popularity could be comparable to that of the home team.

Chen Dongqing couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth into a smile.

In that case, he wouldn't dare to use excessive force.

What if I go too far and drive all the fans away?

After Chen Dongqing sat down and put on his headphones, he said, "Brothers, shouldn't we give the home team some face? How about we pick a late-game composition and play it out slowly? Don't let them crush us too badly."

"Sure!" Uzi, who loves playing the late game, said with a grin, "Just protect the bot lane, I'll gank the carry in the late game!"

"Huh?" Xiaohu was now in a dilemma. "I was thinking of picking Irelia, but this champion can't play in the late game."

"What's the rush?" Chen Dongqing laughed. "Do you really have to pick Irelia against Caps? Why don't you wait until you play Flash Wolves? You know you have to pick the weakest link, right?"

Xiao Hu thought it made sense and agreed to the idea of ​​playing the late game.

Of course, as the fifth-ranked member of the team, he didn't have much decision-making power.

The decisions to be made are ultimately decided by the two senior members of the team.

Listening to the conversation between his teammates, Banbazi quietly turned a page in his notebook, discarding all the previous draft and ban analysis he had done.

The referees came over to check the condition of both players, and after confirming that everything was in order, the first game of MSI started quickly!

On the LPL commentary booth, Wawa and Miller were also invigorated as they listened to the news coming through their headsets!

"Alright, the first draft has begun!" Wawa announced. "In this match, QG, who have the right to choose sides, have opted for their usual red side. According to the tournament rules, when the competition enters the second round, the right to choose sides will go to FNC to ensure fairness!"

Miller nodded and added, "And right now we can see that FNC on the blue side acted incredibly quickly, banning Kai'Sa in their first pick!"

"We know that Kai'Sa received a huge buff in the MSI patch, but the fact that she was banned in the very first game of MSI might reveal something!"

The camera then focused on Uzi, and you could see that he clearly looked disappointed when he saw Kai'Sa was banned.

"Looks like the puppy's Kai'Sa skills are pretty good!" the doll laughed. "That's great news for us!"

Next, the bans are relatively standard.

On the red side, QG banned Poppy, and FNC promptly banned Fiora as well.

On the second pick, QG banned Zoe, while FNC immediately banned Camille.

Seeing that FNC was not stubborn at all and banned both Fiora and Camille, Chen Dongqing was furious.

Why do you guys ban Camille when she's so weak?

Let me use the championship skin, you guys!

"Then, as the last pick, QG chose to ban Ornn! Hmm, that's an interesting pick; it doesn't seem to be their usual ban!" Wawa turned to ask, "369, could you offer some interpretation of this ban?"

Our third commentator today is our special guest, former QG substitute 369.

This was 369's first time on the commentary booth, so he remained silent the whole time. Wawa's comment gave him a chance to start a conversation.

369 paused for a second before saying somewhat shyly, "Ornn is a champion with a very high win rate in the late game because he has considerable tankiness and allows teammates to buy enhanced items. If QG bans Ornn, then they are probably aiming for a late-game strategy."

All I can say is that although 369 is shy, his understanding of the game is spot on; his comment was truly insightful. Countless comments flooded the screen with "I understand."

With the focus on the late game established, the draft strategies of both sides became easy to predict.

On FNC's side, they acted quickly, swiftly locking onto EZ—the double-goddess EZ strategy originated in the LPL, but due to the LPL's status as the top region, it has now been widely adopted and learned by other regions.

On the QG side, after discussing for two seconds, the team immediately locked in a combo of Kog'Maw and Lulu.

Since we're going to play in the late game, let's make it a bit more exciting and go straight for the most powerful late-game item: the Glass Cannon!

FNC was even slightly stunned for two seconds after seeing Kog'Maw's choice.

They thought QG would pick something like Caitlyn or Varus, but they ended up with Kog'Maw.

Of course, this is a good thing.

While Kog'Maw is powerful in the late game, he is ultimately inferior to Caitlyn and Varus in the early and mid-game, which gives them more initiative in the bot lane.

Wawa continued her commentary: "Okay, FNC's second and third picks. They first locked in Karma to pair with Ezreal, creating a bot lane with a lane advantage, and then locked in Irelia. This should be a pick-by-pick strategy! Irelia can flex between mid and top, adding some ambiguity!"

Following that, 369 also chimed in, "If the bot lane picks Kog'Maw, then the mid and jungle players need to be strong to ensure the bot lane's stable development. But if it's QG, I can't say what they'll pick."

If we want a strong mid-jungle duo, then Xiaohu definitely needs to get a counter pick, right?

But are you really not going to give the .Counter bit to Tree Bro?

The next second, QG locked in their third hero pick: Crimson Reaper!

"QG's using a flex pick is pretty impressive," Miller said, arms crossed. "Flexing to both sides? That sounds like a real brain teaser!"

The match then entered the second round of draft picks and bans.

FNC, playing on the blue side, didn't dare to be careless. They chose to ban Jayce and Viktor, showing their utmost respect.

On the red side, Banbazi targeted Xiaobao by banning Syndra and Orianna. Once the champion selection phase began, Banbazi didn't hesitate and locked in Jarvan IV!

Of course, this jungler hero was chosen by Xiangguo himself.

Where's the championship skin?! I'm in a real hurry!

After selecting the prince, Xiangguo excitedly rubbed his hands together, determined to play well in this game.

Seeing the excited looks on the faces of those around him, Chen Dongqing could only sigh and shake his head helplessly.

It's really frustrating to have skin problems and not be able to use it!

Next, it's FNC's turn to finalize their roster.

Their Irelia will be assigned a position in the game, and that will also be the result.

Because QG is clearly aiming for a late-game strategy, a strong mid-jungle duo is essential for them.

Vladimir and Jarvan IV are clearly not a strong mid-jungle combination, so FNC believes that QG's Vladimir should be in the top lane, which also fits QG's strategy of focusing on the late game.

Therefore, with this in mind, FNC decided to move Irelia to the mid lane, and then lock in Swain and Vladimir to tank each other in the top lane, which also supplemented the team's AP damage.

As for the jungler position, they locked in a Gragas, and the lineup was finalized first!

As expected, QG's final pick was to put Vladimir in the top lane and give the counter pick to Xiaohu.

Xiaohu's response to the Irelia was also quite simple and direct – he immediately picked Galio!

With two hard crowd control abilities (WE), Galio always has an advantage against melee heroes in lane, keeping them constantly in fear of the mid and jungle and preventing them from pushing the lane.

What? You're saying Galio can't lane against Irelia in the mid-game?

It doesn't matter, I have Brother Shu, let Brother Shu fight!

It has to be said that Chen Dongqing sacrificed far too much in this BP (Ban/Pick) process.

With this, the heroes for both sides have been officially confirmed!

FNC (Blue Side): Top lane Swain, Jungle Gragas, Mid lane Irelia, Bot lane Ezreal and Karma.

Red team QG: Top lane Vladimir, Jungle Jarvan IV, Mid lane Galio, Bot lane Kog'Maw and Lulu.

"Alright, let the match begin!"

This chapter is a bit long-winded, mainly because it introduces the version update.

I'll finish writing about this match in one chapter tomorrow; this MSI will be very quick.

(End of this chapter)