[Esports] Team Leader Xie, your mid laner is causing trouble again.

Xie Jichuan was speechless for a moment.

He stood there in silence for a few seconds, seriously reflecting on his standards for making friends.

Immediately afterward, the phone vibrated twice; a message from Chi Lie had arrived.

[Chi Lie: If I hear your cheesy tone for even one more second, I'll get enough goosebumps to collect for bean paste.]

[Chi Lie: I'm calling to tell you that our team has signed Ice as our starting mid-laner, and we expect to officially announce it tomorrow.]

[Chi Lie: Sorry, UUC has already secured the Summer Split championship this year.]

Xie Jichuan lowered his eyes and stared at the screen, his fingertips gently tapping the edge of the phone.

Ice, the mid-laner for VD, the runner-up team in last autumn's tournament.

A veteran player widely recognized as a top-tier utility mid-laner, known for giving up resources to teammates while still securing basic stats and delivering crucial crowd control.

I'd heard that VD had a new owner and was going to make a major roster overhaul, but I didn't expect they'd even be willing to sell Ice, a pillar of the team.

But upon closer reflection, it makes sense.

UUC has been looking for a suitable substitute since their veteran mid-laner retired.

I contacted almost every mid laner I could think of on the market, but either the price couldn't be agreed upon, or the playstyles didn't match.

Ice's team-oriented style is almost identical to UUC's traditionally jungle-marksman dual-core playstyle.

UUC's roster will definitely be on the next level of completeness.

Already a favorite to win the championship, now he's even more of a favorite among the favorites.

But Xie Jichuan only pondered for three seconds, leaned against the balcony door frame, and slightly curled the corners of his mouth.

No matter how strong the lineup is, can it be as strong as these five people?

He raised his hand and typed a few words, his tone indifferent, carrying a kind of composure that made one's teeth itch:

[X: Champagne at halftime?]

[X: Stop daydreaming, or your dreams might turn out the opposite of reality.]

After sending the message, he ignored the barrage of messages from Chi Lie, stuffed his phone into his pocket, and turned to leave.

When Xie Jichuan returned to the training room, Song Bo was standing in front of the whiteboard, talking about the lottery ceremony that would take place in two days.

Before each WPL Summer Split begins, all participating teams are randomly drawn into three groups, with each group playing a round-robin tournament based on points.

After one round, the top two teams in each of the three groups will directly enter the first round of the Summer Split, Group S; the middle teams will enter Group A; and the bottom teams will enter Group B.

In the third round, only the top four teams from Group S and Group A will qualify directly for the playoffs to compete for the championship; all other teams will be eliminated.

Therefore, the first round of random drawing is particularly important.

If you are unfortunately drawn into the same group as a strong team, every match will be a tough battle, and it will be very difficult to fight a series of matches.

Song Bo had always had an almost superstitious obsession with this. He counted on his fingers as he scanned the people in the training room, his eyes gleaming with predatory intent:

"Send me your birth dates and times later, and I'll go find a master to take a look. The team with the best luck on the day of the draw will represent our team to draw the group assignments."

Jiang Xingle was sitting in a chair drinking water when he heard this and almost choked:

"Is it really necessary, Lao Bo? Our new team, no matter which team we're drawn against, losing isn't a loss, winning is a bonus. Just keep a calm mindset, okay?"

Song Bo feigned anger: "Since you've chosen to compete, then go for the championship! Remember the prize money President Huo promised!"

When the RMB was mentioned, Jiang Xingle's expression underwent a visible change.

He immediately sat up straight, placed his hands clasped on the table, and spoke with the sincerity of someone taking an oath to join the Party:

"Brother Bobo, you're right. I wish for a good fortune."

A few scattered laughs echoed in the training room.

The lottery ceremony wasn't something that needed to be kept secret, and since Li Zhi had just been matched into a new game and was waiting in line to load, he simply didn't turn off the live stream.

The fans who were waiting in the live stream watched the entire conversation, and the chat was already buzzing with excitement.

[May the home team have a good draw.]

[This female believer wishes for a balanced diet of meat and vegetables throughout her life, only praying that RAK won't be drawn into a group with a favorite to win the championship.]

[You glutton upstairs, don't be so good to yourself.]

[Received the signature, received the signature, received the signature.]

[Manager Song, stop with the fortune telling. Just eliminate Li Zhi first.]

Li Zhi glanced up at the comments and happened to catch this one.

He frowned slightly, a hint of resentment in his voice: "Why can't I go up and draw lots?"

The comments section immediately began to provide reasoned and well-supported examples to support their points.

【Have you forgotten that time during your live stream, a package arrived, and just as you went downstairs to pick it up and sat down, another one arrived, and this cycle repeated three times?】

[Another time, you were making up for lost attendance at the end of the month, and you were just five minutes away from getting perfect attendance credit when your power went out.]

[Hilarious! I remembered that too. Before the streamer became famous, I could always win one of the platform's unusual events, although Lychee never participated in any of them. [Regretful]]

Does the guaranteed pity system in the Lychee skin giveaway count?

Does Lychee's near-miss at number one in the national rankings at the last Masters tournament, where she was just one point away from it?

Does Lychee's five-game losing streak after being targeted by trolls and intentionally losing count?

[Stop talking, everyone! It looks like the streamer is about to jump off a building.]

[Lychee: The one who can't be killed keeps hitting me.]

As Li Zhi watched the barrage of comments detailing just how unlucky he was, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

His tone was complicated: "You don't remember the good things, but you remember these things very clearly."

But he still doesn't think he lost his eligibility to participate in the lottery because of these coincidences.

While he pre-selected Ye Ling, he stubbornly insisted, "Those were just coincidences and don't mean anything."

The next second, Ye Ling was banned by the opposing team.

Li Zhi paused for a moment, then, not paying much attention, switched to the Frost Witch preliminary round.

But then, the opposing team banned that hero.

Li Zhi: "?"

He refused to believe it and pre-selected Ember again, his fingers pressing slightly on the mouse, his eyes fixed on the screen.

Then I watched helplessly as Echo was immediately banned by the opposing team, as if the five opponents had conspired to oppose him.

Li Zhi: "…………"

The comments section was filled with laughter.

This is so entertaining!

Is this just a coincidence? Lychee, stop being so stubborn.

How badly do they have to be banned in three consecutive qualifiers?

[Damn it, Lychee, forget about going up to draw lots. You might as well stay at the base and not show up for the drawing ceremony.]

Please, for RAK's good fortune in the fortune telling, Lychee, start chanting the wooden fish from now on!

Song Bo stood by cautiously.

"Lychee, maybe... you don't need to send me your birth date and time."

Li Zhi gave a forced smile: "..."

Oh, haha, who cares?