League: I really didn't tank!

Chapter 438 With me here, there is no possibility of failure.

5 month 15 day.

The last day of the group stage.

Before the match began, Guan Zeyuan and Wang Duoduo sat in the commentary booth and analyzed the current group stage rankings.

Wang Duoduo had done his homework, and he spoke confidently to the camera: "Actually, by this last day, the qualifying spots had already been decided."

TL's deficit in the first round was too large, and the second round wasn't much better. So far, they've only managed to beat Flash Wolves. With a record of 1-7, they clearly have no chance of advancing.

EVS is slightly better than TL, currently with a record of 2-6. They have a theoretical chance of qualifying, but the probability is almost zero, just like the Chinese national football team's theoretical chance of qualifying for the World Cup.

QG's position in first place is also quite secure. With an 8-0 record, they lead the second-place team by three points, a significant advantage.

Upon seeing this, Guan Zeyuan smiled and said, "Then today's match will be a battle for second place between KZ (5-3) and Flash Wolves (4-4) and FNC."

"But overall, FNC and KZ have it easier," Wang Duoduo added. "KZ and Flash Wolves both have to play against QG today, but FNC doesn't. Their opponents today are TL and EVS, making it easier for them to get points. As for KZ, they only need to win one point to secure second place in the group."

With a smile, Colonel Guan summarized, "In other words, the second place in today's group will most likely be decided between KZ and FNC!"

Upon hearing this, the audience immediately became excited again.

Could KZ end up third in their group today? That would be quite interesting.

Isn't this a remake of Season 6?

The two commentators were chatting when, before long, the first game of the day began!

The first match today is a clash between two weak teams, TL and EVS, who have already qualified.

Although TL had already been eliminated, they were determined not to let other teams have an easy time, and they pushed EVS to victory in just 25 minutes.

TL triggered its deathrattle once again, completely shattering EVS's last remaining theoretical chance of advancing.

Next, QG took to the stage to face their first opponent of the day – KZ.

Although KZ only needs one win to advance as the second-place team in the group, that one win is obviously unlikely to come from QG.

KZ didn't seem to have any fighting spirit in this game. The two sides just played a very standard back-and-forth battle for 30 minutes. In the end, QG won the game by relying on their team fight strength.

While QG's score reached 9-0, KZ's score reached 5-4!

In the third match, FNC took to the stage to face off against EVS.

This time, it was no surprise that FNC won the match, bringing the score to 5-4!

The score between FNC and KZ remains very close, and the outcome will soon be decided in the next match!

The fourth act, the main event, is about to begin.

KZ vs. Flash Wolves.

This point from Flash Wolves is crucial for KZ to advance as the second-place team in their group!

Therefore, KZ has put aside its underestimation of KZ and chosen to fight seriously this time!

They first selected Ezreal, the strongest AD carry in the current meta, then locked in Irelia for mid lane against Taliyah, and Jax for top lane against Camille.

This lineup is quite solid; when Chen Dongqing saw it, he thought KZ had it in the bag.

And that is indeed the case.

BDD's Irelia rushed Mercury's Treads and a Phage, gaining a significant advantage in mid-jungle skirmishes and achieving a 2-0 score within ten minutes.

The match then proceeded in the direction KZ desired.

At 35 minutes, in a couple of sporadic team fights, the kill score was 4-2, and KZ's economic advantage had reached 8,000!

At this moment, in the LPL commentary booth, Guan Zeyuan, observing the situation, crossed his arms and said, "KZ's lineup is even stronger in the late game! With such an advantage, I think we can already congratulate KZ in advance!"

A mysterious force from the East crossed the ocean and arrived in Berlin, Germany.

Just then, an unexpected event occurred.

At 35 minutes, a team fight broke out in the mid lane.

Flash Wolves' Camille leaped into the fray, locking Ezreal's head with her ultimate!

KZ, on the other hand, remained calm. Pray's Ezreal activated Archangel's Shield and calmly counterattacked!

But at that moment, Snake's Rakan seized a good opportunity, directly using his ultimate, Flash, and E to fly to his teammate Camille's side!

Luo, with his ultimate ability activated, flashed through the mid lane. A black light flashed by, and everyone in his path was charmed!

Then, Snake took two steps, charming Ezreal next to him, and then used W to lift up four people!

At that moment, everyone watching the game widened their eyes!

Maple's Taliyah flashed forward and used a W-E combo to catch all four of them!

Betty's Xayah went all out, using [Blast Blade] followed by [Hook], with countless feathers piercing through the bodies of the KZ players. Combined with Taliyah's double combo, they created a terrifying team fight coordination, resulting in a dreamlike one-for-four exchange!

"Holy crap!" Backstage, Xiangguo couldn't help but stand up when he saw this scene. "It's over!"

In late-game team fights, economic differences are meaningless.

As long as you seize the opportunity, you can turn things around at any time!

"Huh???" In the LPL live stream, commentator Guan Zeyuan's voice was filled with disbelief: "Really? Is Dragon Ball going to get double-killed by Flash Wolves?"

At this point, even if Colonel Guan used his powers again, it would be useless.

After a 1-for-4 exchange in just over 30 minutes, KZ only had one low-health top laner, Jax, left. Clearly, they lacked the ability to defend their base, and the game was already over!

Khan bought a tough potion and fought with his back against the wall, relying on the weapon master's combat power to fight four against one, but unfortunately he only managed to exchange one for one.

With three players remaining, the Flash Wolves pushed forward and won the game!

At that moment, the audience erupted in uproar!

The various competition zones were in complete chaos!

They never expected that KZ, on whom they had placed such high hopes, would suffer two consecutive defeats on the last day of the group stage!

From 5-3 to 5-5, KZ lost their lead and came to the same score as FNC and Flash Wolves!

"In that case, if FNC wins their next match against TL, they can advance as the second-place team in their group!" Colonel Guan exclaimed loudly, "The chances are very high!"

Soon, the fifth game began.

The second match between Europe and North America: FNC vs. TL.

This is FNC's most crucial match in the entire group stage, directly determining their group ranking!

In this match, FNC played exceptionally well, accumulating a 4,000 gold advantage within 20 minutes.

However, their advantage is limited to the upper half of the draw.

TL's core player, Doublelift, is still doing well, so the outcome of this match remains uncertain.

Twenty-five minutes later, the opportunity arrived.

FNC caught TL's support Tahm Kench warding in the upper river, and after creating a numbers advantage, they decisively started Baron Nashor!

But TL certainly didn't give in and decisively accepted the four-on-five team fight!

Despite losing Tahm Kench's protection, the female police officer played by the senior brother managed to survive until the end. With the help of Baron, TL miraculously achieved a three-for-five exchange and won the team fight!

At that moment, Tahm Kench, who was killed first, also used his ultimate to teleport over and reunite with Doublelift.

The eldest brother and Tahm Kench worked together, pulling back and forth, and narrowly defeated Baron Nashor, completely erasing their economic disadvantage!

With the power of Baron Nashor, TL completely reversed the situation!

From then on, the game completely tilted in TL's favor.

TL used the power of Baron Nashor to continuously expand their advantage, eventually turning the tide and winning the game.

Chen Dongqing looked at the scene in front of him backstage and couldn't help but chuckle.

TL's deathrattle has been triggered again.

TL, already eliminated from contention, first shattered EVS's hopes of advancing with a victory, and then crushed FNC with another, ending the team's dream of finishing second in the group.

This is the ultimate troublemaker.

But then again.

FNC first lost to Vietnam, and then Baron Nashor ruined their chances.

Why does this look so familiar?

You are not FNC! Who are you?!

This creates a good show effect.

Although the qualification situation has already been determined.

However, KZ, FNC, and FW are currently tied for second place with five points each.

Three teams tied on points – this is the first time this has happened since the MSI started!

Chen Dongqing raised an eyebrow and turned to ask, "What about the situation where these three teams are tied? Is there a tiebreaker or is there some other explanation?"

If three teams are tied and a tiebreaker is needed, how long would that take?

The three teams played each other for a round, and three matches have been played.

What if all three teams have the same score? Wouldn't they be playing each other forever?

"I don't know. Riot Games probably didn't expect this to happen either," Linko laughed. "Let's see what Riot Games has to say later."

"Why are you chatting like this?" Banbazi interjected from the side. "There's still one game left to play. Let's win against the Flash Wolves first, okay? We don't want to end up in second place."

"Impossible!" Chen Dongqing waved his hand dismissively. "Do you think we're the South Korean team?"

The "Anti-Korean Hero" only defeats Koreans; when facing QG, he becomes subservient. Do you understand?

The final match of the group stage at the 2018 Mid-Season Invitational was between QG and Flash Wolves.

Having just secured a double victory against KZ, the arrogant Flash Wolves had their base destroyed by QG in just nineteen minutes.

With this, the group stage has concluded, and the rankings are now finalized.

The team ranked first in the group is QG, with a record of 10-0 and an undefeated record.

Second on the list are: 5-5.FW, KZ, FNC.

Shortly after Chen Dongqing returned backstage after winning the match, staff members came over and gathered all four teams together to discuss their strategies for the upcoming matches.

Riot Games presented the teams with two options, allowing them to choose together.

The first option is to hold a tiebreaker as usual.

But as mentioned before, if there are extra matches, it could take a long time. If the matches are played too late, they might even have to be played the next day. Given the tight schedule of MSI, playing an extra day would affect the players' performance in the knockout stage.

The second option is for QG to choose one of the second, third, or fourth-ranked teams as their opponent in the knockout stage, while the remaining two teams can form their own teams.

"Oh, that's great!" Chen Dongqing laughed upon hearing this. "You can choose whoever you want?"

"It's pointless," Banbazi said, shrugging. "Even if you were given the choice of second place, would you choose it?"

Chen Dongqing smiled but didn't say anything.

QG didn't actually have the decision-making power regarding this plan; they were just there to take a look, since they weren't the ones splitting the profits equally.

On the other side, after hearing the translator's account, the three teams had different expressions. They huddled together and discussed it for a while, and the result was quickly reached.

Although the discussion lasted a long time, their ideas were quite unified—no extra rounds.

This lengthy tiebreaker was clearly not what the three teams wanted; they would have preferred more time to rest and study.

Since they've already qualified, who's going to care about the rankings? There's not much difference between second, third, and fourth place.

After the answers were agreed upon, Riot Games informed QG of the three teams' choices, and the temporary tournament format was thus finalized!

(This rule did not exist in 2018. I checked, and it seems that this rule was added by S12MSI.)

After the rules were decided, Riot Games needed some time to inform the audience about these temporary rules, which gave QG some time to make a decision.

"So, who should we pick?" After returning to the rest room, Banbazi first asked his teammates for their opinions: "FNC and Flash Wolves, the two teams are about the same strength, see which one you feel comfortable playing against."

If there were a choice, then of course we would exclude the South Korean team, since they are the most difficult opponent, and it makes sense to leave them for last.

But Chen Dongqing didn't think so.

"What do you guys think about stopping the South Korean team in the semifinals?" Chen Dongqing asked.

A brief silence fell over the surrounding lounge upon hearing this.

The first reaction from everyone was no, because they felt it was unnecessary.

But there doesn't seem to be any reason to refute it.

If the South Korean team can achieve a 5-5 tie like the European teams, then that means they're not all that great.

The dominance of the Korean region has long ended; they haven't won a single championship for three years.

They're just an ordinary team from an ordinary region, why can't they be selected?

Uz thought for a moment and said, "I think it's fine."

Xiangguo nodded in agreement.

Xiao Hu and Xiao Ming didn't have the authority to make the decision, but since the older members of the team all agreed, they naturally agreed too!

"Then you'd better think it through," Linko said seriously. "If you fail, the backlash from not making it to the finals will be greater than ever before."

"No, it won't happen." Chen Dongqing waved his hand. "With me here, there's no possibility of failure."

Banbazi laughed and said, "Then I'll listen to you."

In the LPL live broadcast room, commentator Guan Zeyuan listened to the director explain the details of the new competition format through his headset before conveying it to the audience.

These words immediately sparked a flurry of discussion among the viewers in the live stream.

Guan Daxiao also had a heated discussion with the people around him about which team QG should choose.

"I think we should pick Flash Wolves!" Colonel Guan said. "Although Flash Wolves defeated Longzhu twice, judging from their recent 19-minute sweep by QG, ​​they are clearly countered by QG!"

"Then I think picking FNC is fine too!" Wang Duoduo said beside him, "Because FNC's points are actually taken from weaker teams. They just have a higher floor, but their ceiling isn't as high as KZ or Flash Wolves. I think QG is a good counter to teams with a lower ceiling!"

The two commentators engaged in a lively discussion, each offering their own perspective.

Of course, like Banbazi, they did not include KZ in their selection range.

As they chatted, Colonel Guan quickly heard through his headset that the representatives from the four teams had taken to the stage. He immediately laughed and said, "How to choose is up to Brother Shu! Now let's turn the camera to the scene!"

The scene shifts, and the representatives from the four teams are now standing on the stage.

At this moment, the bearded European host shouted to come on stage and called Chen Dongqing to the center of the stage.

At this moment, the eyes of LOL players all over the world were focused on Chen Dongqing.

His choice will directly determine the semi-final matchups.

Behind him, FNC, representing Ou Cheng, and FW, representing Maple, involuntarily swallowed.

In their view, whoever QG chooses will basically be eliminated in the semifinals.

If they don't choose, they might still have a chance to fight for the finals.

Only BDD, the representative of KZ, was not too flustered and looked quite calm.

In their view, QG would never choose them under any circumstances; it was too abstract.

Under everyone's gaze, Chen Dongqing picked up the microphone and, with a smile, announced his choice:

KingZone

In that instant, the whole world was astonished!

"Huh???" Colonel Guan was dumbfounded. "Choosing Dragon Ball? This choice is a bit..."

On stage, BDD's smile froze.

His first thought was that he must have misheard.

Then my second reaction was disbelief.

The third reaction was anger.

What does that mean?

Did they actively choose us in the semifinals?

Are you so eager to eliminate us?

Are you QG really that confident that you can beat KZ?

On the other side, Ou Cheng and Maple exchanged a knowing glance, both clearly seeing the joy on each other's faces!

They never expected that QG would choose Dragon Ball!

In that case, they will automatically be paired up and become the semifinal opponents in the other half of the bracket.

The host was visibly stunned at this point, but he quickly recovered and immediately called out loudly for the four teams to stand together according to the semi-final divisions.

Chen Dongqing had a bright smile and took the initiative to shake hands with BDD.

BDD looked at Chen Dongqing with a very serious expression, but ultimately remained silent.

The cheers from the audience were deafening as they watched the handshake between the Chinese and Korean teams, almost wave after wave.

Meanwhile, viewers in the live broadcast rooms of major competition zones around the world were also incredibly excited.

When FNC and FW were drawn together, both players laughed, and the audience on both sides laughed too.

They completely avoided QG and the Korean team in one fell swoop, which is a win-win situation!

In the LPL region, although some viewers may feel that QG is a bit too arrogant, most viewers still think that QG made the right choice!

Would a team with an undefeated goal of winning the championship care about who their opponent is in the semifinals?

It's all about sweeping everything!

Only the LCK fans looked somber, as if they had lost their parents.

Their hearts sank to the bottom.

QG's absolute dominance is undeniable. Even the extremely proud Korean player has to admit that facing QG in the semifinals is very bad news.

Since the MSI tournament was first introduced, LCK has never won the championship, instead racking up three consecutive runner-up finishes.

Does this mean they won't even be able to get second place this year?

After the selection process was over, Chen Dongqing returned backstage with a smile, chatting and laughing with his teammates.

"You didn't see BDD's expression," Xiangguo said with a grin. "When you said the Dragon Ball team names, they were completely dumbfounded. It cracked me up."

"He'll definitely be dumbfounded," Chen Dongqing said chuckled. "He was so anxious when we shook hands, his eyes were wide open."

The group chatted and laughed as they packed up their belongings and left the venue.

Although choosing KZ was a bit risky, the resulting show made everyone quite happy. They went to the Chinese restaurant they had visited before and had a good meal.

Tomorrow, they will board a plane and embark on their journey to Paris, France.

Europe is too small. Although it is called a cross-border flight, the straight-line distance is only about 800 kilometers, which is almost instantaneous.

If the distance had been too great, France wouldn't have raised the white flag in just 42 days back then.

On May 16, Chen Dongqing landed at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport with a backpack.

On the way to the hotel, Chen Dongqing didn't forget to take out his phone to surf the internet.

In these international matches, he rarely watches the game; he usually only glances at it after winning.

He spends most of his time on Twitter.

After all, Twitter users are a mixed bag, coming from all over the world, and there are often clashes between viewers from different regions, making it even more intense!

Since QG chose KZ yesterday, the discussion about this choice on Twitter has never stopped, with many people talking about it.

Users in Europe and Taiwan certainly appreciate this choice.

After Riot Games released the semifinal matchups, the official Twitter accounts of Flash Wolves and FNC even tagged Chen Dongqing in the comments section of this tweet, posting "Thanks" and "thank you" respectively.

Chen Dongqing didn't stand on ceremony and left "Not at all" and "You're welcome" respectively.

This move is essentially building goodwill in both regions. Regardless of whether Europe and Taiwan make it to the finals, they will remember Chen Dongqing's kindness.

Of course, all of this is predicated on QG not losing the semifinals.

If they actively chose KZ but still lost, they would become a laughing stock and might become the biggest clown in esports history.

It's about the same level of defeat as last year's StarCraft World Championship, where the Koreans lost to the Joker after a 7-1 victory.

However, the QG players did not seem to feel too much pressure from this.

Nothing more than self-confidence.

Pressure and confidence are inversely proportional.

Everyone in QG knows exactly how strong they are. No matter how much external pressure they face, as long as they are confident they can win, the pressure won't fall on them.

The only one under some pressure is Xiaohu, who has always been regarded as QG's weak point.

As soon as he settled in the hotel, he immediately went into the lounge and began studying KZ's match videos.

Chen Dongqing watched Xiao Hu's hard work, his eyes narrowed slightly, lost in thought.

Xiaohu is actually a bit like the factory manager; he's a typical research-oriented player.

Their research on opponents can be as detailed as their warding habits, positioning habits, and even the operating habits of a single hero.

Given enough research, he can hold his own against anyone.

What these players have in common is that when competing within their region, they control lightning and are invincible.

During MSI, their ability will not be inferior, because there are only six teams in MSI, and only the Korean team can be considered a strong team. They just need to figure out how to play against the Korean team, and they can leave the rest to their teammates to cover for them when playing against other weaker teams. They will not have any major problems.

However, once they reach a stage like the World Championships, where there are many top players and the opponents are all unfamiliar to them, they instantly falter and become the team's biggest weakness.

The reason is obvious: insufficient research on the opponent. It's like stepping out of your comfort zone and entering an area you're not good at.

In this scenario, they might even lose to Brazil.

In his previous life, Xiaohu in S8 was not at a disadvantage against Rookie, and even often gained the upper hand. However, against Perkz, he was repeatedly stomped on and became the MVP in three consecutive matchups.

This is a sign of insufficient research.

Therefore, choosing KZ directly in the semifinals is not actually good news for Xiaohu.

Because the time available for his research was shortened.

Of course, it won't be much shorter, after all, their semi-final and final are only one day apart.

Chen Dongqing thought for a moment, then leaned closer and asked, "So, how's the research going?"

"Not bad!" Xiaohu paused the replay, turned around and asked, "I've been studying KZ for a while now, and I've pretty much figured it out. Now I'm just doing a final review. I'm still a little unsure about playing against an LCK mid laner."

"Sure," Chen Dongqing smiled. "Let's discuss some tactics."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hu's eyes widened immediately, and he asked, "Okay, okay, what tactics?"

Chen Dongqing laughed and said, "You should know how to play top lane, right? You pick Viktor and go top lane to farm, and I'll go mid lane and crush BDD. How about that?"

This is the ultimate solution to insufficient research time—don't do research.

If you can't solve the problem, then solve the problem.

Just pick Viktor and play passively, then leave the ball to the big brother.

"Isn't this... not a good idea?" Xiao Hu asked somewhat uneasily.

"What's wrong with that? You forgot about my Karma in the group stage, right? I can handle roaming too." Chen Dongqing said casually, "Besides, we'll find out if it's good or not by trying it out in scrims, won't we?"

Chen Dongqing thought for a moment, then realized that his words might affect Xiaohu's mentality, so he added, "Don't worry, you'll still be in the mid lane. It's not that I don't trust you, but I'm using this as a trump card, you understand?"

Xiao Hu didn't sense any distrust from Chen Dongqing's words; instead, he felt it was quite normal.

Tree Bro is better at mid lane than me, isn't that normal?

He thought for a moment, then simply nodded and said, "Okay, I'll give it a try!"

It was lunchtime, so the QG team first went to eat French food, and then gathered in the training room to begin their final training session before the semifinals.

During a practice match, Chen Dongqing told the coach about his idea of ​​playing mid lane. Banbazi simply nodded calmly, without much of a change in expression: "Okay, give it a try."

QG has tons of fancy tactics; this is nothing compared to what they've come up with.

This time, their opponent in the scrim was G2.

G2's mid laner Caps performed quite well, and even showed signs of becoming the best mid laner in this MSI. He was the perfect choice to test Chen Dongqing's mid lane strength.

But the results were quite encouraging.

Although Chen Dongqing is a top laner, his hero pool is never limited to just a few top lane heroes.

Even after being moved to the mid lane, he still has a vast pool of heroes, and his laning dominance remains undiminished and at its peak!

Poor Xiao Mao was beaten so badly by Chen Dongqing in today's training match that he was dizzy and almost started to doubt himself.

When the QG members saw this result, they all nodded in satisfaction.

It seems pretty good!

Of course, Xiaohu, who gets to play top lane, doesn't have it so easy. He plays cautiously and can only withstand pressure. This is the unstable factor of this tactic, and it cannot be used for a long time.

But if you use it as a trump card, then there's absolutely no problem!

Banbazi was quite satisfied with this trump card, as it gave him a lot of room to maneuver.

Generally speaking, hero flexing in the draft phase can only be used on the red side.

After all, if you are on the blue side, you need to determine your lineup first. The opponent can wait for you to decide on your flexible heroes and then target you with their last move.

But the dual swing between hero and player is a different story.

This is a drafting tactic that can be used by the blue side!

Thinking about this, everyone in QG was happy and filled with anticipation.

With this tactic, we can basically guarantee that the blue side will win a game against KZ, right?

I'm off to watch the game; I'm a little short on time today.

But thankfully, it was worth it!

BLG is a pure foreign-battle god, right? They completely crushed Samsung, can you believe it?

(End of this chapter)