League: I really didn't tank!

Chapter 506 Completely Devastated

After the FMVP segment ended, there was an interview.

Ren Dong couldn't come up with any new questions anymore, so he just asked about his feelings on winning the championship and his outlook on the World Championship.

Chen Dongqing was very knowledgeable about this, and he answered all of these questions.

Finally, let's look ahead to the World Championship.

Chen Dongqing said with a smile, "I won't say more. Brothers, let's book our tickets to Incheon and go on a trip together."

Surrounded by countless spectators, the championship award ceremony came to an end, and the QG team was finally able to lift the Silver Dragon Cup and leave the stage.

As soon as he stepped off the stage, Chen Dongqing couldn't wait to lie down on the sofa, take out his phone, and reply to messages while stroking his grand prize trophy.

My girlfriend, Lin Yuanhua, came all the way to Nanjing to watch the game. Now that the game is over, she has nowhere to go, so of course I have to make sure she gets settled as soon as possible.

[I have a group interview later, just come and wait in the lounge.] Chen Dongqing typed rapidly. [I've already spoken to the people in the lounge, they'll let you in.]

On the other side, Lin Yuanhua was obviously also waiting for news, and quickly replied with "Coming".

Chen Dongqing grabbed his phone and followed Linko to the reporter's interview room.

Once the group interviews are finished, we can go eat. Of course, we should do it as quickly as possible, as everyone is starving.

Sitting in front of a bunch of reporters with their cameras and microphones, he answered a barrage of questions before finally being able to look down and fiddle with his phone after confirming that he was alright.

Chen Dongqing first opened WeChat and learned that Lin Yuanhua had arrived at the lounge. He nodded almost imperceptibly, replied with "OK, I'll be done right away," and then exited WeChat and opened Baidu Tieba.

This year's Summer Finals, following closely after the Asian Games, inherited some of the Asian Games' immense popularity, resulting in an exceptionally high level of attention for the competition.

Both the popularity of the live stream and the traffic of the anti-epidemic forum have seen a significant increase!

This is evident from the rating posts. The competition has only ended for less than half an hour, but the number of comments on the rating posts has already exceeded four thousand. In the past, this would have been an unimaginable number!

The regional league has generated the same level of excitement as the World Championship in previous years!

After gaining widespread recognition at the Bird's Nest during S7, LPL has once again become a huge hit, with its viewership now reaching the level of a top-tier domestic sports event.

Chen Dongqing was most concerned about his own score.

[A god forever!]

[Truly a god. From S6 to now, in countless tournaments, big and small, only in the S7 Summer Split with the Ardent Censer meta did Uzi win an FMVP; all the other FMVPs went to this guy.]

[One Aatrox, one Sion; one the strongest spear, one the strongest shield—both delivered dominant performances!]

[It's one thing for this player to be good at carrying champions, but I just can't understand why they're good at tanks too.]

[You think I, Tree Bro, can't play tanky characters after carrying so many times?]

That's what a super top laner is like: capable of carrying and tanking, with no weaknesses.

[The Shield of China!]

The Shield of China, is it alright?

Chen Dongqing grinned and chuckled twice, then scrolled down a couple more times and saw TheShy's rating post.

The number of comments on this level is also quite staggering.

The battle between the top laners of both sides will be the absolute highlight of today's final.

During the summer split this year, while Chen Dongqing was absent, TheShy stole the show, becoming the top top laner in the LPL for a short period and racking up impressive stats across the board.

Many people say that TheShy is the second super top laner in the LPL, and he can already go toe-to-toe with Tree.

But as we've seen in the final, the result is quite disappointing.

Tree Brother is still Tree Brother, and Little Tree is still Little Tree.

The comments under TheShy's post weren't very nice either.

[This dog has pinned all his hopes on you, and this is how you're going to deliver it today?]

[I can understand that you got ambushed in the second game by the lane swap, but was the first game even a game for humans? Dying three times in seven minutes, huh? Are you really worried that Tree Bro won't get back up fast enough?]

[He's daring and willing to die, but his awareness is far inferior to Brother Tree's.]

[As expected of Little Tree, I hereby declare that the title of Tree One will henceforth be handed over to you!]

[That's still an exaggeration. The positions of Tree One (A Guang) and Tree Two (Smeb) are unshakeable. TheShy is at most Tree Three.]

[Thank goodness it's the LPL league. If they fed like this in the World Championship finals, I can't even imagine how much criticism they would receive.]

Looking at the attacks from other users, Chen Dongqing even wondered if he had gone too far.

I don't think so, right? Chen Dongqing even played a tanky game today, he's already been very lenient with TheShy!

He used to beat Ah Guang and Smeb, and those were the three hard blows he used!

All I can say is that these guys are a bunch of weak-willed individuals. They blame the coach, the game version, and the commentators when they lose, constantly shifting the blame.

TheShy hasn't fully established himself in the team yet, so he'll definitely have to take the blame if something goes wrong.

Not only TheShy has to take the blame, but JackeyLove also has to take the blame, and he was also criticized by his son.

Chen Dongqing sighed with emotion upon seeing this.

He continued browsing, and the comments under the other players' posts were nothing more than the usual praise for wins and criticism for losses, which wasn't anything special to talk about. Only Xiaohu's comments had some different voices, saying that the World Championship was coming and that Xiaohu should practice hard and study diligently.

The group interview with reporters had ended by then. Chen Dongqing put away his phone and walked back to the lounge with his teammates.

Upon his return, he immediately sought out Lin Yuanhua. After everyone packed their belongings, they boarded the team bus together to begin their victory celebration that evening.

As usual, on the night of the championship victory, Linko is treating everyone to a feast! Eat as much as you like!

As usual, Chen Dongqing and his girlfriend went for a walk after dinner.

The nights in Nanjing are actually quiet, with the streets filled with the aroma of roast duck and the sounds of pedestrians talking.

Chen Dongqing and his girlfriend walked together, but remained silent for a long time.

Lin Yuanhua glanced to the side and suddenly asked, "Tired?"

Chen Dongqing nodded: "A little."

Chen Dongqing was actually quite tired in the second half of this year.

After MSI comes the Asian Games qualifiers, the Intercontinental Cup, TI, the Asian Games, the Summer Finals, and then it's non-stop preparation for the World Championship.

Six months have passed, and they have won countless championships and gold medals.

And don't forget, before this, Chen Dongqing had a record of attending every competition for two and a half years.

Although the results are plentiful, over time, a person's energy and spirit will still be somewhat depleted.

Fans saw Chen Dongqing looking energetic and his performance on the field was still sharp, and they thought he was an iron man who could withstand any pressure.

But Lin Yuanhua could tell from Chen Dongqing's expression that he was definitely tired.

"Actually, it doesn't matter how many matches I play. Matches don't put any pressure on me; it's just playing games. A few years ago, I could play all day long. I can handle it completely."

Chen Dongqing chuckled and said, "It's mainly because we haven't lost at all, so it's getting a bit boring."

Lin Yuanhua: "."

I really thought you were just tired from playing.

So you've won so badly you're oblivious?

How is this any different from regretting creating Alibaba?

But is the statement "I regret creating Alibaba" necessarily a pretentious lie?

That's not necessarily true.

Chen Dongqing is indeed like that.

Games came one after another, competitions came one after another, and championships came one after another.

For him, none of these were really challenging.

He knew he would win, so he participated, and then he won.

If it's too simple, you'll inevitably get tired and exhausted.

"If you're tired, take a rest. You've said you need to rest so many times," Lin Yuanhua said with a smile. "You're already number one, yet you keep winning championships everywhere. Are you leaving no room for others to compete?"

Chen Dongqing told Lin Yuanhua more than once that he would take a break after this year's competition.

"That's what I think too," Chen Dongqing said with a smile. "I really should rest, give others some space, and reduce the intensity for myself."

"And what do you plan to do after you rest?" Lin Yuanhua asked, turning her head. "What are you planning to do during your rest?"

"Well, we'll see when the time comes." Chen Dongqing shrugged. "I'll probably participate in some other game competitions for fun, but it definitely won't be like now, competing all year round."

At this point, Chen Dongqing laughed and said, "I told you, I'm going to win a hundred championships."

"Huh? You're serious?"

What do you think?

The two walked hand in hand along the Qinhuai River.

September in Nanjing is terrifying. Although the temperature is not high, it is almost always cloudy or rainy.

The weather was unusually cloudy on the 14th, the day of the finals, but just one day after the finals, thunderstorms started again.

Fortunately, Chen Dongqing's LPL season this year has ended, and he can now comfortably lie in the hotel training room and watch the results of the upcoming qualifiers.

The first round of the qualifiers began on September 15th.

JDG, EDG, and FPX will play two rounds of best-of-five series to compete for the final third seed spot.

The BO10 format no longer exists, so these two BO5 matches will be completed in the next two days.

Today's match is between JDG and EDG, with the winner advancing to the next round to challenge FPX.

Seeing that both players had taken to the stage, Banbazi specifically turned his head and asked, "Chen Dongqing, which side do you think will win?"

Chen Dongqing's predictions of wins and losses are usually quite accurate, and he rarely makes mistakes. Banbazi often asks Chen Dongqing for his opinion.

"Well, it's hard to say. After all, EDG has been a bit weak this year," Chen Dongqing said honestly. "But I feel that EDG is still a bit stronger, maybe 60/40."

Banbazi rubbed his chin: "Does that mean we'll have to play five games?"

Chen Dongqing nodded. "I think it's very likely. Today will probably be a long battle."

Having participated in both TI and the Asian Games, Chen Dongqing now feels that LOL matches are really tedious.

There are various stages before, during, and after the match. In this version, a match usually lasts 30-40 minutes, but the total time for a match is usually around one hour.

DOTA2 games take longer on average, but The International (TI) has a very fast pace, with a complex double-elimination tournament that can be completed in just eleven days, from which eighteen teams compete to determine the final champion.

The match started at 4 PM, and if we played all five matches, it would probably last until 8 or 9 PM.

The reality was far more terrifying than Chen Dongqing had anticipated.

Chen Dongqing never expected that by the time the first game ended, it was already 5:30.

Neither JDG nor EDG are fast-paced teams, and the first game between them lasted for fifty minutes.

Ultimately, JDG relied on Ornn and Kai'Sa's powerful late-game fighting ability to secure multiple neutral objectives, including Baron and Elder Dragon, and then won the game.

Moreover, there seemed to be some minor issues with the venue today. The first game was frequently paused, and with the opening ceremony, players taking the stage, and the draft phase, it took a full hour and a half!

Then, it was halftime again.

When both players returned to the stage to complete the second round of ban/pick, it was already six o'clock.

This match was another long and grueling 45-minute battle, with EDG winning the second game.

The third game was the decisive battle for victory.

In this game, EDG was at a disadvantage in the early game, but they were quite resilient. They dragged the game into the late game and then turned the tide and won by using the Xayah + Kindred double marksman system!

EDG has come back from a 1-0 deficit to win 2-1, putting them on two match points!

Seeing this, Chen Dongqing couldn't help but analyze it in his mind.

Today's first round of the qualifiers was completely different from yesterday's final.

Yesterday's match between QG and IG was all about who had the stronger top and jungle fighting power, with both teams vying for the most powerful top lane champions.

But in today's match, the tide turned, and it started to be about which side's AD carry ability was stronger in the late game.

In the fourth game, both sides seemed to realize this as well, and chose Cho'Gath in the top lane to counter Sion, a rather abstract matchup.

In the bottom lane, it's Kog'Maw and Lulu versus Kai'Sa and Braum, both aiming for a late-game victory.

Seeing this lineup, Chen Dongqing knew things were going to get bad.

This match lasted another fifty minutes.

In the end, JDG came out on top.

In this game, it was actually the mid-lane Aatrox player who started to perform well. In the late-game 5v5 team fights, the semi-tank Aatrox absorbed a lot of damage while dealing terrifying AOE damage, helping the team win the team fight with his unremarkable stats.

The score is tied at two!

It was now 9 PM.

Chen Dongqing was utterly amazed by this.

A best-of-five series that starts at 4 PM and continues until 9 PM, is there still one game left to play?

Absolutely!

The fifth game was another fierce battle.

In this match, EDG ultimately prevailed. After the 40-minute mark, their top laner Cho'Gath, jungler Camille, and mid laner Akali began to display their prowess.

Meanwhile, iBoy's Kai'Sa in the bottom lane also performed consistently. Kai'Sa is proficient in both physical and magical damage, and with the combined efforts of the top, mid, and jungle, her output environment was perfect. In the end, the four cores exerted their strength, first winning a difficult team fight where three were exchanged for four, and then securing the Baron buff to launch the final offensive.

Chen Dongqing glanced at the time.

It's already 10 o'clock.

This was the first time Chen Dongqing had ever seen a best-of-five series go on until 5 p.m.

The last time LPL reached this point was during that incredible BO10 series.

Chen Dongqing vaguely remembers that due to some regulations, the Banana Project was forced to make all the audience leave before the competition could continue.

They played like a BO10 in a BO5; these two teams are truly top-tier today.

What you say comes true.

Just then, the game was suddenly suspended.

The host, Zhu Zhen, quickly went on stage and began to disperse the audience.

Upon hearing this, the entire audience was stunned, and viewers in the live stream also began to question it.

There's nothing wrong with evacuating the audience.

First of all, according to regulations, large-scale events such as concerts and competitions are not allowed after 10 p.m.

Secondly, the Youth Olympic Sports Park venue is located in a rather remote area, and given that it was a thunderstorm today, there might be safety concerns if people waited until the end of the competition to leave.

Considering official regulations and various factors, the organizers had no choice but to allow the audience to leave gradually.

But there are only two minutes left in this fifth game, can't we just watch it all?

Tengjing said: No, we can't do anything against the rules, not even for two minutes.

He was far too cautious.

The evacuation of the audience took more than twenty minutes.

The match finally resumed only after most of the audience had left.

Then, EDG pushed forward and ended the game.

Chen Dongqing and his teammates stared at each other blankly in the training room, everyone looking completely bewildered.

Wow, wow, wow!

To get to where it is now, EDG, JDG, and Tencent Esports are all indispensable.

While the process for the RenTencent esports competition was indeed tedious and rigid, the fact that these two teams consistently played matches for 40-50 minutes is rather absurd, and they bear some responsibility for the situation.

The audience at the scene couldn't see the reaction, but the viewers in the live stream were completely stunned.

It's only a matter of two minutes, why do you have to waste more than twenty minutes of our time?

Chen Dongqing shook his head, yawned, and prepared to go back to his room to call his girlfriend before taking a shower and going to bed.

Today is just an appetizer; tomorrow is the main course.

On September 16th, Nanjing was still experiencing thunderstorms. Accompanied by the deafening roar of thunder, the final round of the qualifiers kicked off.

EDG, who advanced yesterday, will once again take the stage to face the final boss, FPX!

Because the departure ceremony was to follow the match, the members of QG and IG arrived at the venue early and were ready in the backstage lounge.

Banbazi asked Chen Dongqing for his opinion on the match.

Chen Dongqing's assessment was: FPX will win.

Chen Dongqing wasn't sure about yesterday's game, but he should be fine today.

Given EDG's current overall strength, it's impossible for them to beat FPX!

EDG seems to have gotten used to playing long, drawn-out games yesterday, and in today's match, they still chose a late-game composition, wanting to drag the game into the late game.

But FPX wasn't going to let you get away with it. At seven minutes, they launched a four-man gank on the bottom lane, giving EDG a little shock to their offense!

In the subsequent matches, FPX went all out, leaving EDG completely disoriented and unable to establish any semblance of a proper rhythm throughout the game.

In the first game, FPX completed the speedrun in just 24 minutes!

FPX showed EDG in a speedrun game that there's no such thing as a late game in the current version.

Offense is the only way to win!

Countless viewers were overjoyed to see this.

【Okay, okay!】

[This kind of competition is so much more entertaining! Yesterday I watched it from 4 AM to almost 11 PM, it was disgusting!]

If they play until 10 PM today and then hold a send-off ceremony, that would truly be top-tier.

[Letting JDG and EDG qualify for Worlds would be a disaster, thankfully we have FPX]

As for the subsequent matches, EDG slightly adjusted their strategy, adding early-game power to their lineup and picking Tahm Kench in the support role to prevent FPX from ganking and diving the tower with four players.

However, it was not very meaningful. EDG's tactical change only slowed down their defeat; they were still going to lose anyway.

A best-of-five series, consisting of three matches, lasted a total of 97 minutes.

"Congratulations to FPX!" Changmao's voice echoed throughout the arena. "They defeated EDG 3-0 in the 2018 World Championship LPL Regional Qualifiers, securing the final ticket to the World Championship!"

Doinb clenched his fists and roared on stage, his face filled with excitement!

For Doinb, there are compelling reasons for him to go to S8, and this BO5 victory is especially important for him!

Who says you can't win a game if you play against the meta?

I really want to see how far the reverse version can go!

Some are happy while others are sad.

Faced with defeat, the EDG players stood up, their faces dark as they packed up their equipment and left.

Players like Scout and Meiko, who have played for EDG for several years, looked particularly somber.

This is the first time in EDG's fifth year since its inception that they have failed to qualify for the World Championship.

8888's streak of reaching the quarterfinals has come to an end.

From being the first dominant force in the LPL to now failing to even qualify for the World Championship, EDG is visibly declining year by year.

Now that it has declined, it's hard to know when it will be able to rise again.

"Come on, get ready to go on stage!" Linko came forward carrying a large box and slammed it down in front of everyone. "This is the uniform. Make sure you recognize the ID on the back of the uniform, don't wear the wrong one."

Chen Dongqing rummaged through the box, found his own set, took off his team uniform jacket, and quickly put it on.

The S8 uniform is quite cool. The design is a bit unique, with a long length and a wide hem, but the black and red color scheme is very stylish, giving it an Akatsuki feel.

Chen Dongqing put on his jacket, but deliberately left it unzipped as Linko had requested, revealing his QG short-sleeved team jersey underneath.

"Not bad." Linko looked Chen Dongqing up and down and nodded with satisfaction. "He looks quite energetic."

Chen Dongqing nodded without changing his expression: "It's mainly because he's handsome, that's how it is."

"Show-off." Linko slapped Chen Dongqing's butt. "Get on stage now!"

At the scene, the audience did not leave after the competition ended, but looked at the stage with great anticipation.

The host, Zhu Zhen, went on stage again, holding the microphone and talking incessantly.

The members of the three LPL teams quickly stepped onto the stage and stood in a row.

As required, Chen Dongqing stood in the very center, in the C position, his gaze resolute as he looked into the distance amidst rousing background music and confetti raining down.

Send-off ceremonies are always boring; they're essentially just large-scale live-streaming sales events where the contestants are all models.

This year's uniquely styled dresses have attracted the attention of many viewers, who have expressed a desire to buy one.

Many viewers, however, focused their attention on the three teams that will be competing this year.

QG, IG, FPX. Wow, you sent out three fighting teams?!

Indeed, it's all about fighting, it's a really exciting game.

[Trying to give those operational teams a little LPL shock, huh?]

[Fast forward to LPL's dominance over the world]

This year's World Championship is finally getting interesting!

When does the lottery start?

It seems to be the Mid-Autumn Festival next week, on the evening of the 24th.

Unsurprisingly, the LPL was once again the region that finished the season last this year.

All three leagues (LCK, Vietnam, and Taiwan) finished their summer splits quickly after returning from the Asian Games, while LPL took more than half a month.

After today's matches concluded, the list of participating teams for the S8 World Championship has finally been finalized.

After the departure ceremony, Linko called out from the front, "Next is a ten-day holiday. If anyone wants to go home, let me know and we can set off now. Those who don't want to go home can come back to base with us."

The group stage will begin on October 10th, leaving 24 days. QG's plan is to fly to South Korea half a month in advance to prepare for the competition, so they have 10 days of vacation before then.

The ten-day holiday included the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the QG team planned to go home for a few days to rest and recharge with family. The team disbanded in Nanjing.

As a native of Shanghai, Chen Dongqing didn't need to act alone. He returned to Shanghai with the rest of the group and then took a taxi home.

Sitting at home, devouring his mother's modified version of "local Shanghai cuisine," Chen Dongqing felt refreshed and even more determined to retire.

Afternoon of the 24th.

This year's World Championship is being held in South Korea, and South Koreans also celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, so they chose to hold the draw ceremony on this memorable holiday.

Chen Dongqing was bored, so he started a live stream at home and watched the live lottery with his teammates.

The large screen is currently displaying the list of teams drawn for this group stage.

As you can see, LPL's second and third seeds are all in the second seed pool and do not need to play in the play-in stage.

The qualifying rounds are generally the tournaments that wildcard entrants and third seeds need to prepare for.

However, because LPL has performed so well in the past two years, even though they are the third seed, they are directly promoted to the group stage and included in the second seed pool, thus skipping the play-in stage.

You can also see the seed order for the LCK side: seed number one is KT, and seed number two is SKT.

Third seed GenG still needs to play in the play-in stage, so we won't discuss that for now.

With Smeb and Peanut, KT performed quite well in this top-mid-jungle meta, showing excellent form in the Summer Split and ultimately defeating SKT 3-1 to win the LCK championship trophy.

SKT, who secured the runner-up points, became the team with the highest total points for the year, thus securing the second seed.

Faker in S8 had entered another low point in his career, but he managed to drag a bunch of depleted players into the first round of the LCK playoffs, fighting his way through the adversity and forcibly securing a second seed.

Samsung, on the other hand, maintained its reputation as the king of the play-in stage, performing like a tiger in the play-in stage and ultimately advancing with great difficulty.

This situation is quite interesting.

Because LCK also used this seeding order in last year's S7 World Championship.

A year has passed, and the average age of KT, this "old-timer kayak," has increased by another year. Moreover, they no longer have Pawn. SKT has also visibly declined, and Samsung has become a counter-mod version team without Ardent Censer.

Can you believe it? With all three teams declining in skill level, the LCK's participating teams remained unchanged.

From this LCK qualifying lineup, it's easy to deduce that LCK has further declined.

"Here it comes!" Xiangguo said in the voice chat, "Koreans, give it your all, give us a good draw!"

Chen Dongqing said with a smile, "To be honest, it's unlikely we'll draw a bad lot, right?"

Chen Dongqing had thought about the lottery.

According to the draw rules, QG is a team in the first seed pool, and their opponents in the group stage can only be the two teams in the second seed pool plus one team that advanced from the play-in stage.

Let's leave aside the teams that advanced from the qualifying rounds for now.

Among the teams in the second seed pool, the only competitive ones are the second seed from the LCK and the two teams from the LPL.

However, due to the avoidance of teams from the same region, QG will not encounter the latter.

With so many teams in Pool 2, how could they possibly pull out the LCK's second seed separately?

It's very blue!

At this moment, Princess Flame stirred her hand back and forth in the four No. 1 seed pools, pulling out the four No. 1 seeds one by one.

FNC was drawn into Group A, QG into Group B, KT into Group C, and FW was placed in Group D.

There's not much to say about this, since these four teams don't meet.

Bang bang bang!

A knock sounded on the door.

"I'll go open the door." Chen Dongqing took off his headphones and led Lin Yuanhua into the room.

Lin Yuanhua didn't hide from the cameras and even waved to them.

At this moment, the comments section erupted once again.

Holy crap! A fish!

What does this mean? Does it mean they're living together?

[The fish and the tree have always been neighbors, didn't you know that? You're a fake fan, aren't you?]

[Okay, okay, let's show off our love on the live stream!]

"What do you mean, the lottery has started?" Lin Yuanhua looked at the screen.

The screen was currently playing a highlight reel of IG team's amazing plays.

Flame drew IG as the first team from the second seed pool, meaning IG will enter Group A.

Group A is led by FNC. Compared to the other four group leaders, their record and strength are not particularly strong. This is definitely a good draw!

The scene returns to the drawing site, where Flame has once again put his hand into the transparent glass tank to draw another lot.

Seeing the current progress of the draw, Lin Yuanhua asked, "This draw means you've been matched against your group stage opponents, right?"

Chen Dongqing looked at the screen and hummed in response.

This is crucial!

As long as we don't get SKT, we'll have a great draw.

Flame opened the rubber ball, revealing the banner inside.

A team logo with wings appeared on the small banner.

Black background with red lettering—it's SKT!

The incredibly frustrating bubble match I described in today's article isn't just me being sarcastic; it's a true story.

I still remember this incident vividly.

(End of this chapter)