League: I really didn't tank!

Chapter 453 Li Yuanhao, Faker is your responsibility!

The next morning, Chen Dongqing's solid biological clock kicked in, waking him from his sleep.

Despite winning the championship, Chen Dongqing did not indulge in any excesses last night, but instead went back to his room to sleep.

He glanced at Xiangguo, who was sleeping next to him with a blanket, yawned, ran to the bathroom to wash up, and then left the room, intending to go downstairs to the restaurant for breakfast.

While waiting for the elevator, Chen Dongqing ran into his teammates who were also up early.

Xiao Hu and Letme, who shared a room with Uzi and Shi Senming, all got up.

In addition, there's the older man Linko, who always gets up early.

Under Park Un-yong's management, QG's players emphasize a scientific work-rest schedule, good health, and they all look quite energetic.

Besides hot pot.

"Oh?" Chen Dongqing said with a smile, "You're all up so early?"

"I'm so excited I don't want to sleep." Xiaohu, who won the MSI championship for the first time, was still in a daze. He slept late and woke up early, showing his high spirits.

"You're hopeless. If you won the S-series championship, wouldn't you just die of a heart attack?" Chen Dongqing shook his head and entered the elevator with his teammates, heading towards the restaurant.

Chen Dongqing ordered bread, pasta, and milk at the hotel restaurant and continued browsing Tieba on his phone.

The day after the victory, the enthusiasm of LPL viewers had not yet subsided, and the discussions on Tieba were still in full swing.

As Chen Dongqing browsed through the posts, he didn't find any particularly informative ones; they were mostly the same as yesterday's.

Only one new post caught his attention.

[A post from a Korean online forum! Just for fun!]

Chen Dongqing raised an eyebrow.

This final match was clearly between Taiwanese players, so why is it being uploaded to the Korean website?

He clicked in and quickly found out the reason.

Chen Dongqing had seen the atmosphere on the Taiwanese forum yesterday. Although Taiwanese viewers had some criticism of Flash Wolves, they were mostly understanding, since no one expected Flash Wolves to crush QG.

But it's different on Korean websites.

Seeing Flash Wolves so easily secure second place, the Korean audience was completely outraged. While they were hurling insults, SKT and QG fans were also taunting them, creating a chaotic scene.

[Haha, now even the second division might not be able to hold on!]

【You're talking nonsense! You think we can't beat FW?】

We really couldn't beat them; we were defeated twice in the group stage.

That's KZ's problem!

Sorry, SKT and ROX from back in the day were both defeated by Flash Wolves.

It seems the LCK region is just like that; they've won so many championships only because they hadn't faced QG yet.

SKT, the biggest force in the LCK, is currently trying to revive their leader, shouting things like, "If SKT were here, they would definitely make it to the finals."

Surprisingly, this rambling speech did not attract much criticism, but instead garnered widespread approval.

KZ already had few fans, and couldn't compare to SKT and KT in the previous two seasons. Now, they've achieved the worst results ever, and have been nailed to the pillar of shame by their own LCK fans.

The dead rat and razor blade segment that Chen Dongqing missed yesterday was made up for in the LCK round. Some extreme netizens even posted photos of dead rats. South Korea isn't that big; they can personally deliver them to the KZ base!

Chen Dongqing couldn't help but grin.

South Korean netizens are as decisive as ever, still a bit lacking compared to the members of the Anti-Japanese War forum who only talk big.

Domestic forum users are all about online pizza and offline coffee shops.

Chen Dongqing continued to browse through Korean online forums.

Chen Dongqing originally came to read the posts for entertainment, but unexpectedly, he saw a crucial piece of information!

South Korea's Asian Games roster has been released!

Chen Dongqing raised an eyebrow and quickly clicked on the large image.

The South Korean team's spot this time is definitely worth watching.

Korean teams haven't won any international championships for two and a half years. The last Korean to win a championship was Doinb.

Considering that Faker is a legend in South Korea, and that Doinb has already severed ties with South Korean football, it is clearly impossible for Doinb to be selected.

Wouldn't that mean choosing from a bunch of players without a title?

Besides, the timing of this list's release is quite strange.

Because their Spring Champions KZ team had just returned home when the roster was released.

This raises reasonable suspicions that people from KZ might be excluded from the Asian Games.

I clicked on it, and sure enough, it was true.

Top Laner: Song Jinghao (Smeb)

Jungler: Han Wanghu (Peanut)

Mid Laner: Lee Sang-hyeok (Faker)

Bottom Lane: Park Jae-hyuk (Ruler)

Support: Cho Yong-in (CoreJJ)

Seeing this, I couldn't help but smile.

Yes, this is South Korea. A country that values ​​honor immensely.

KZ, nailed to the pillar of shame, even though they were the strongest LCK team this spring, did not qualify for the Asian Games.

Of course, this lineup isn't weak either.

The strongest top and jungle duo in LCK + the strongest mid laner + the strongest bot lane duo.

In terms of teamwork, this combination is indeed relatively reasonable.

Chen Dongqing glanced at Xiaohu, who was studying how to deal with the snail, moved his phone over, and said, "Li Yuanhao, Faker is your responsibility!"

Xiao Hu glanced at his phone, trembled with fear, and stammered, "Huh? Me?"

See below ↓ (Image of a hanging figure seen on TikTok)

Xiaohu just won the Spring Championship and MSI with QG, so he's a sure thing for the Asian Games.

The thought of potentially facing off against Faker at the Asian Games made Xiaohu a little nervous.

That's only the second person in history to achieve that!

Will this really work?

Standing nearby, Xiangguo patted Xiaohu on the shoulder with a smile and said, "Faker is just so-so, relax."

While munching on his bread, Uzbekistan grumbled, "Are the Koreans in such a hurry? They've already assembled a team so early, and the Asian Games are still months away."

"It's not early," Linko shook his head. "The Asian Games qualifiers are about to start, didn't you know?"

Uz fell silent; he truly didn't know.

There are only a few spots available for the main Asian Games, but with so many countries in Asia, a preliminary round is necessary.

今天是5月21号，在即将到来的6月1号，东亚地区的预选赛就将在HK举行，9支队伍将决出3支参加雅加达亚运会的决赛。

The qualifiers weren't too difficult. Just like in my previous life, when Uzi led the Chinese team, they weren't well-coordinated enough in the qualifiers and were defeated twice by the South Korean team, but they still managed to advance to the main tournament with a third-place finish.

Linko hadn't mentioned this unimportant match, so the team members were unaware of it.

Linko rubbed his chin and analyzed, "Speaking of which, our Asian Games training camp should be starting soon, right? Why haven't we heard anything about it?"

QG's strength and achievements speak for themselves; they are absolutely in a class of their own in the LPL, and they are an all-Chinese team. If you're looking to form an Asian Games team, there's no reason not to choose them.

"Don't even mention it." Xiangguo waved his hand. "I can only say that those who know about Tencent Games know what I mean. I would believe you if you said we wouldn't participate in the Asian Games this year, since it's just an exhibition match."

"Hey, that's not how it works," Linko said solemnly. "Only by performing well in this exhibition match can we have a chance in the main competition! Everything is difficult at the beginning! The next Asian Games will be held on our home turf. If we win this time and satisfy the leaders, maybe we'll be main competitors next time!"

Linko's vision is quite far-sighted, and what he said makes sense; the QG members couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"Four years from now," Xiangguo sighed, "I wonder if I'll still be playing in four years?"

"It's alright," Chen Dongqing said with a smile. "Let's focus on the present and win this gold medal first!"

Chen Dongqing continued browsing the posts, while also seeing comments from netizens in both China and South Korea.

Below the image are comments from South Korean netizens:

[ROX's top and jungle plus Faker? And Samsung's bot lane duo? It really seems like a good combination!]

[But why not choose KZ? Khan seems better than Smeb.]

But Smeb and Peanut have better synergy!

Not including KZ was the right decision; I would only suggest that the players on this team retire on the spot.

Come on, all five of you! Losing in the World Championship is one thing, but you absolutely must win this Asian Games!

[If it were those five, they could definitely beat the Chinese team!]

I wonder what the lineup is like on the Chinese side?

Chen Dongqing slid down a couple of times and saw the comments from the members of the Anti-Japanese War forum on this floor.

To be fair, this team is alright, definitely stronger than Dragon Ball.

But where is our list?

What is Tencent Esports doing? The match is about to start, and they still haven't released the roster? Aren't they going to have training camp?

That's just how we are; we love holding our breath!

[Fine, fine, the South Korean team started training two weeks earlier, while we've been holding back. Are we going to get crushed?]

Is it possible that we don't need to train?

As Chen Dongqing scrolled through the posts, he couldn't help but smile.

To be fair, this whole thing can't really be blamed on Tencent Esports.

The reason why the Chinese team's roster hasn't been released yet is quite obvious: they're waiting for QG to return to China.

With their undefeated record at MSI, QG will be indispensable in this year's Asian Games.

With five players in the starting lineup, what kind of training is needed?

The day after winning the championship, the QG team took another trip around Paris, taking photos at various famous tourist attractions.

That evening, Linko treated Xiaohu to a Michelin three-star French meal, fulfilling his pre-match promise.

The next day, June 22th.

QG finally took off in a plane.

But they didn't go to Shanghai; instead, they went to Hong Kong first.

Regarding the Asian Games, everyone was just waiting for QG to make the final decision. Many leaders were watching, so QG certainly didn't dare to be negligent.

Why come to Hong Kong? Because the Asian Electronic Sports Federation is located here, and this federation is the main driving force behind the inclusion of esports in the Asian Games.

Here, the QG team met Mr. Huo, the chairman of the federation, and Jin Yibo, the CEO of Tencent Esports, in a conference room.

The contributions of these two individuals cannot be ignored in bringing esports to where it is today.

Mr. Huo was quite easygoing. He immediately congratulated QG on winning the MSI championship, saying that he had watched all sixteen of QG's matches. He then gave Chen Dongqing a thumbs up.

Chen Dongqing felt quite honored and responded with a smile.

During the meeting, Mr. Huo first gave everyone some good news.

The starting lineup for the Asian Games has been finalized; it will consist of these five players from QG.

Given QG's current strength, it would be strange if it weren't for these five players.

Besides this, Mr. Huo also told the QG team quite a few stories.

It wasn't until this point that everyone finally understood just how difficult it was for esports to be included in the Asian Games.

You need to know that China is the absolute hegemon of Asian sports, and our dominance in the Asian Games is beyond question.

Under these circumstances, would the General Administration of Sport even care about a small e-sports exhibition gold medal?

In particular, this exhibition gold medal requires six athlete slots!

Mr. Huo put in a lot of effort to get the higher-ups to agree to this.

And even after nodding, there are still problems.

That's a matter of broadcasting rights.

According to national regulations, the broadcasting rights for large-scale sporting events like the Asian Games are held by CCTV itself, and generally these broadcasting rights are not sold.

The problem is that there's only so much time in a day, and it's only broadcast on one sports channel, with esports being just an exhibition match segment. Obviously, it's impossible for it to get a chance to be broadcast on CCTV.

In other words, it was indeed shown on screen, but domestic audiences couldn't see it.

If domestic viewers have to use a VPN to watch the games on foreign websites, it's really dampening their enthusiasm.

The two leaders put in a lot of effort to make this happen, emphasizing to their superiors how dominant China's esports industry is, how the championship is almost guaranteed, and that releasing the broadcasting rights would only bring benefits and no drawbacks. Only then did the higher-ups finally relent.

Tencent has partnered with CCTV to acquire the broadcasting rights for this esports event.

The main events of this Asian Games will be broadcast live simultaneously on Tencent's various live streaming platforms!

Chen Dongqing couldn't help but feel delighted upon hearing the news.

This is truly an unexpected surprise, after all, this is a treatment that was only given in the main competition in 2022 in my previous life!

"Of course, there are some things you still need to pay attention to." Mr. Huo's Cantonese accent was quite obvious. "Since I've made such a bold statement, I absolutely have to get the gold medal. It's about the future of esports, and I don't want to end up with just a silver or even a bronze medal!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in QG nodded, solemnly indicating that they understood.

When asked about the Asian Games substitutes, Mr. Huo gave an unexpected ID – EDG.Meiko.

Upon hearing this ID, Chen Dongqing raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.

Is this year's Asian Games related to EDG?

How come he remembers that the substitute on the original roster was mid laner GodV?

However, upon closer examination, Chen Dongqing found it reasonable.

After all, Gao Dewei is a player who switched to PUBG, so it wouldn't be appropriate for him to come back to play LOL.

Besides, it's State Grid after all, with extensive connections, so it's always a tradition to squeeze someone in.

With EDG's roster this year, they definitely can't fill the top, jungle, and AD positions—they're too weak. And the mid laner is Korean. After thinking it over, the only option left is to fill the support position.

The QG members naturally had no objections to this.

Meiko's skill level is obviously sufficient. Without Meiko, Xiaohu would probably have to find either Dwyane Wade or Xiye as his backup, which wouldn't really make a difference.

QG's starting five players are enough.

The brief meeting concluded, and the roster for the League of Legends division at the Asian Games was finalized.

It is worth mentioning that after the meeting, Mr. Huo also had a private conversation with Chen Dongqing.

There's no other reason than that Chen Dongqing has more than just the identity of a League of Legends professional player.

"Are you interested in participating in this interstellar league?" Mr. Huo asked. "Of course, but I must remind you that League of Legends is our main focus this time. If you feel that being distracted will hinder your participation, you can decline."

"It's alright, no big deal," Chen Dongqing said confidently. "I'll participate in both."

Having agreed to this, it means that Chen Dongqing will have to compete in two events simultaneously in the Asian Games qualifiers in June.

Of course, there's not much pressure, as long as the matches aren't played at the same time. Mr. Huo can help with that.

Of course, Chen Dongqing still felt some regret deep down.

Actually, his original idea was to play League of Legends, StarCraft II, and Dota 2 simultaneously.

As a result, with the qualifiers starting so early, it seems he's running out of time.

With regret, Chen Dongqing and his team immediately took a plane back to Shanghai.

When the plane landed, it was already the evening of the 22nd.

At the entrance of the base, Chen Dongqing, carrying a backpack, saw the DOTA2 team members walking out of the base, seemingly planning where to go for a meal.

Chen Dongqing went up to greet them and wanted to ask how their performance in the competition had gone.

Both teams started at the same time, and the final was on the same day. They even said they would win the championship together.

They've probably only just gotten back.

But as soon as Chen Dongqing got closer, he saw AME's dejected expression.

The DOTA2 team members seemed to be in low spirits; they hurried towards the nearby food street and didn't see Chen Dongqing walking towards them from the other end.

He frowned, immediately sensing something was wrong.

He didn't chase after them to ask, but instead returned to the base first, put his luggage in his room, and then went down to the training room to turn on the computer and check something.

I was shocked when I checked.

The DOTA2 division really did lose, and in a way that was almost humiliating.

SuperMajor is the last major tournament that QG DOTA2 division will participate in before TI8.

In fact, before this match, QG's strength had already been recognized by domestic DOTA2 viewers.

Many viewers even believe that they are the team that will retain the championship in even-numbered years.

(Before this, CNDOTA2 had won the TI2, TI4 and TI6 championships, so there is a superstition that even-numbered years are guaranteed to win the championship, which can also be called the curse of odd-numbered years.)

But after this tournament, QG completely destroyed the audience's trust in them.

In this league, QG advanced to the winners' bracket as the top seed in their group, and in the first round of the winners' bracket, they successfully avenged their earlier defeat against Mski with a 2-1 victory.

Up to this point, everything had gone smoothly.

But things started to go wrong in the next round of the competition.

In the second round of the winners' bracket, QG faced off against OG.

From the audience's perspective, OG is not a strong team.

The two teams faced off twice before, once at the DAC Asia Invitational and once at TI7 last year, with the DOTA2 division winning both matches.

Therefore, the audience believes that QG should be able to win easily.

Following this line of thinking, QG lost to OG 0-2 and fell into the loser's bracket.

After falling into the loser's bracket, the audience was not panicked, believing that QG would definitely take the loser's bracket seriously.

Ultimately, QG fought their way to the lower bracket finals and, after defeating TL, successfully advanced to the grand finals to face OG once again.

One characteristic of the OG team is that their early game pressure is not strong, and is even somewhat weak.

In this final, the two sides fought fiercely for five games, with OG at a disadvantage in almost every game.

However, they have strong resilience and resilience in the later stages of the game.

That's right. OG's team style is similar to SKT in the League of Legends scene a few years ago. They focus on enduring pressure and resilience, and then seize opportunities to turn the tide when things are going badly.

What's even more interesting is that even when they're at a disadvantage, their mentality seems completely unaffected, and they often interact with the opponent by sending out things like roulette wheels.

(The emote wheel, similar to the emote system in League of Legends, is basically a tool to send a message to everyone with one click, which can be used to tilt the opposing team.)

In this final, the first three games were back and forth, but QG had a huge advantage in the crucial third game, almost crushing OG and taking a 2-1 lead, bringing them to match point and one step away from the championship.

After the third match, theoretically speaking, QG had a great chance of winning the fourth match, mainly because Maybe played perfectly and almost completely crushed Topson on the other side!

In the fourth game, QG was also having a smooth run, taking down the mid-lane high ground first. Everything was going so well, but then something unexpected happened.

When QG switched to pushing the top lane high ground, Ame's Morphling suddenly used a wave attack, turned around and rushed onto the enemy high ground, but was separated from the team and was instantly killed.

This reverse wave turned the tide of the entire battle and revitalized OG, who had been under pressure throughout the game.

At that moment, all five members of OG simultaneously pressed the wheel, uttering the classic phrase, "patience from Zhou."

The reference to this roulette wheel dates back to TI2.

Zhou is a Chinese Dota 2 player who won the Aegis of Champions with IG at TI2. During the TI2 tournament, Zhou's patience and forbearance amazed the commentators, leading to this comment.

OG's decision to send out this roulette wheel at this time was clearly intended to mess with QG's mentality.

In the fourth game, OG completed a comeback, forcing the match into a decisive fifth game.

The same was true in the fifth game. OG was at a disadvantage in the early game, but through patience and restraint, they once again seized QG's weakness and completed the comeback!

In the end, QG's DOTA2 division was defeated twice by OG, losing the championship that was within their grasp!

Chen Dongqing looked at the results and couldn't help but squint slightly.

He scrolled through the comments under the post and could only say that they were utterly disgusting.

Viewers attributed the loss entirely to AME's reverse wave.

If Morphling hadn't made that mistake, QG would have easily won 3-1 given their advantage at the time!

[JβCN's number one C, and this is how C is it?]

[You sent a reverse wave that QG used to escape directly, you're something else!]

[The LOL division won the championship with a perfect record, while the DOTA2 division was just a clown making fun of the foreign players, right?]

[This talk of "heaven rewards diligence" and "illusionary flower-stepping" is truly laughable!]

Hard work pays off!

[I heard Tree is getting crushed in Dota 2 scrims? I suggest letting him play Dota 2 as a carry; talent always trumps hard work.]

This statement seemed to open a floodgate of discussion, with countless DOTA2 players starting to talk about the possibility of ilex joining the DOTA2 division.

After all, they're all from the same club, so coming from another field is just a matter of saying a word.

[TI8 is about to start, it's too late for Tree to come now, maybe he'll still have a chance next year]

[Next year? How will we win the championship this year, an even-numbered year?]

Trust the other teams, QG is definitely not going to make it. Their player 1 is too reckless; they'll just feed if they face OG.

[No big problem, the other teams are pretty strong too. If QG can't win the championship, let other teams win it!]

[Sigh, what a pity. With Tree's talent, if he had played Dota 2, he probably would have won TI7 and TI8.]

Come on, I don't see any talent in it. If you're so talented, why aren't you playing? What's the point of playing League of Legends?

[That's enough, upstairs. He's the number one player in LOL, ranked number one so many times his hands are sore. Does he need to come to this Deadgame to play professionally?]

[Besides, he reached the top of the Chinese DOTA2 server in just six months; isn't that incredibly talented?]

"If you're so capable, come and fight. All this talk before we even start is nonsense. I really don't believe someone who plays League of Legends can actually beat a professional Dota 2 player."

[Fun fact: He's a StarCraft 2 world champion, isn't that a more difficult game than yours? You're being a bit too arrogant, you idiot.]

Seeing the increasingly chaotic replies, Chen Dongqing simply moved the mouse and closed the webpage.

The defeat of the DOTA2 division was certainly heartbreaking, but unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to help.

He does have a tendency to cross over into DOTA2, but he can't just kick AME out of the game and take over for himself, can he?

Wouldn't that ruin AME's professional career?

He's just a TI champion; he can prepare and work hard anytime he wants, there's no need for him to play like this.

We can only hope that AME can pull herself out of this situation.

Chen Dongqing shrugged, then simply clicked the mouse to update all the games on his computer. After that, he left the base with his teammates and went to have a meal.

After eating French food for several days, Chen Dongqing finally got to eat his favorite stir-fry. He was so moved that he ate two big bowls of it.

After a satisfying meal, the QG members strolled through the streets of Shanghai at the end of May, enjoying the comfortable temperatures of late spring and early summer.

I have to say, it still feels better to live in China.

Although Paris is known as the city of romance, the cleanliness of its streets is appalling.

At night, there were even some clandestine groups committing robberies, which was quite frightening.

Whether in Europe or the United States, the safety situation in major cities is worrying, and it must be said that it is incomparable to that in China.

As Chen Dongqing was thinking, a familiar voice suddenly rang in his ears: "My Morphling is so bad, I'm so sorry!"

Chen Dongqing turned his head and saw that AME seemed to be drunk, hugging Maybe's neck and crying loudly on the side of the road.

It's clear that AME was under more pressure than he imagined because of his careless mistakes that cost him the championship, and he was also more self-blaming than he expected.

"Point A"

"Not as good as Ilex"

"clown"

Faced with these jokes and insults, AME never responded directly, and even acted as if nothing had happened, which led everyone to think that he didn't care and was also disappointed in him for not standing up for himself.

But in reality, who can not care?

In the two days since losing the championship, how many hours has AME slept?

With TI8 approaching and such a defeat, how much confidence does AME have left?

Chen Dongqing stood aside, watching AME, who was completely drunk and full of self-blame, and thought to himself.

AME also saw Chen Dongqing beside him. He seemed to have found a savior and staggered over, saying incoherently, "Brother Shu, help me."

Chen Dongqing frowned: "How can I help you?"

"Help me play in TI." AME was probably so drunk he didn't know who he was, or he was just too guilty and felt he didn't deserve to be in the starting position. He cried out, "If it were you, we definitely wouldn't lose."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the LOL and DOTA2 team members nearby changed simultaneously.

This year's TI8 will be held on August 10th.

It was during the summer season regular season, which wasn't important, so Chen Dongqing could have easily freed up his schedule.

Moreover, both sides have great faith in Chen Dongqing's abilities.

If Chen Dongqing had fought, he might have actually won.

but.

Chen Dongqing shook his head and said calmly, "I refuse."

At this timeline, LGD (which is the QG DOTA2 division mentioned in the article) did suffer a crushing defeat at the SuperMajor, but not against OG; rather, they lost to VP.

The match described in the article, in which they lost to OG, took place in the TI8 finals in the second half of the year. With his team leading 2-1 and holding a huge advantage in the fourth game, AME made a reversal and squandered the opportunity, handing over the championship and the Aegis of Champions to the other team.

This timeline has a protagonist, so the Aegis of Champions is definitely not going to be won. But I think it's necessary to keep this tournament, so I moved it to the SuperMajor as the protagonist's entry point into DOTA2. It's a bit of artistic embellishment, I suppose.

Of course, AME's lament about being bad at Morphling isn't something I made up; it's a true story. It happened years after losing TI8, when AME got drunk while drinking with Maybe.

(End of this chapter)