She chose the strategy with the most bullet comments.

"I see." Su Mu suddenly realized.

It's certainly simple and straightforward.

It's unlikely to be such a low-level tactic as bribery; it's more probable that it involved concessions on revenue sharing.

Elsa thought about why Su Mu asked this question, then typed out a line of English and sent it.

"I know what you're worried about. The LCK organizing committee only provides the venue. Riot Games is responsible for all other aspects, including the competition facilities, network, and on-site monitoring personnel. You don't need to worry about the esports incidents that have happened before occurring in S1."

As for what the incident was, everyone in this circle knows perfectly well.

Unplugging the network cable and turning off the power, blatant referee bias, and other such issues are all unavoidable black marks in South Korean e-sports.

It's just that with good public relations and if no one mentions the history of the internet, most of the new generation will be unaware of it.

"Anyway, just relax. I still have work to do. I think WLD has a match tomorrow, haha. I wish you a beautiful first win. Bye."

Su Mu swiped the chat box.

Seeing the inquisitive look on Bai Wei's face, he explained to her the so-called e-sports incident.

The gears of fate in parallel worlds are basically the same in shape; what didn't happen in League of Legends has happened in other similar competitive games.

Bai Wei heard the gist of it, and her brows furrowed involuntarily.

So the claim that South Korea is a major e-sports powerhouse is just a nice-sounding facade? They've actually done so many despicable things, no wonder many Chinese people have no goodwill towards South Koreans.

"Go to sleep. It's not like ten years ago anymore. I believe the Riot Games organization has the ability to prevent this from happening in the first place." Su Mu helped Bai Wei cover herself with the blanket and reached out to press the button on the bedside lamp.

"Um…"

Holding hands with Su Mu, Bai Wei closed her eyes, a resolute thought flashing through her mind.

We must win every game…

If I win the championship, I might need to confront my parents about some things related to my relationship with Su Mu. They are both progressive thinkers and don't care much about so-called conventional rules and regulations.

Little did Su Mu know, he was also pondering how to handle that special reward, and whether Bai Wei could accept such an extraordinary thing.

Would she... be willing to stay with him for eternity?

Su Mu slowly drifted off to sleep.

In her dream, she saw a strange world, with unfamiliar people and things, but the people around her were still so familiar...

……

In the group stage, each team plays a total of six games, and winning four games means securing a spot in the next round.

WLD has been placed in Group A and will play two matches on the first day, one against a team from the CSL region and the other against FNS, the second seed from the LCS.

The remaining team isn't from any of the four major regions either; they're from Japan, so they should be able to beat them tomorrow.

Su Mu had a strong impression of that Japanese team, after all... his predecessor lost the last game he played against that Japanese team, even though it was PUBG.

The moment Su Mu put on his headphones before going on stage for the competition, he noticed that someone seemed to be looking at him with a particularly complicated expression.

The system's ability shouldn't be a misperception; it's just that I haven't sensed any malice, so I'll ignore it for now and focus on the game.

Even the wildcard teams from the independent league region that are played first should not be underestimated.

In a section of the audience on the left, a girl with long, flowing hair stared intently at Su Mu, her eyes flashing with memories of the past.

However… those memories were not pleasant for Su Mu.

"Mio, of those five pretty girls, which one is Xiao Mu that you always talk about?"

“The prettiest one…” Natsukawa Mio replied subconsciously.

"The one with short hair?" Chiba Hazaki's gaze was fixed on the center seat on the right side of the stage.

"Correct."

"She's incredibly beautiful. Even though she's a girl, she surprisingly gives off a very masculine vibe. Her aura is very attractive; no wonder Mio can't forget her..."

"Stop making fun of me. Perhaps she doesn't even remember me anymore..."

Natsukawa Mio's eyes were filled with disappointment, and... a hint of regret that was hard to hide.

I still remember Narita Airport that year, and the girl who said goodbye to me forever, a girl who was completely transformed.

As the girl was leaving, he suggested she change her career path and leave PUBG, which he considered an aging game.

Everyone has their own ambitions; we'll meet again someday.

She had long understood the meaning behind Xiao Mu's words, but unfortunately, given PUBG's negligible influence today, she realized it a little too late.

In Japan, there are also a few professional FPS players who mustered up the courage to switch to LOL early on, but... she ultimately chose to stay in her comfort zone, which corresponds to Xiao Mu's saying that everyone has their own ambitions.

You have to bear the consequences of the path you choose and the tree you plant.

Why don't I remember you?

"Because I don't have her courage..."

Natsukawa Mio was in low spirits, and there were still some things she didn't say.

Aside from courage, there was also the issue of trust; she didn't fully believe Xiao Mu's words at the time.

"The match is about to start, let's not talk about that now, let's watch it first." Yuzaki Chiba interrupted Natsukawa Mio's thoughts.

Natsukawa Mio nodded, turning her gaze to the big screen, glancing occasionally at the camera and then at the middle contestant's seat on the right side of the stage.

She has changed a lot; she is no longer the petite girl with long hair, timid and lacking in confidence.

Now she always wears a confident smile, and her appearance is dashing and captivating.

She and her team were also very strong. In less than seven minutes, the team's economy was already more than 3,000, and the mid laner even got three lane kills.

Compared to the teams in the independent league region, WLD is simply not in the same league at all.

The match ended after 18 minutes.

Yuzaki Chiba exclaimed in amazement, "Wow, that's amazing! If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed that she was the former substitute nobody you mentioned."

“Yeah… I don’t believe it either…” Natsukawa Mio’s tone was tinged with self-deprecation.

If you believed that, wouldn't it be possible that if you had mustered up the courage to go with Xiaomu and leave Japan to develop your career in China, they wouldn't be in this estranged situation now?

In fact, if she had gone with Xiao Mu back then, perhaps one of the people fighting alongside Xiao Mu now would be her?

But there are no "ifs" or "what ifs" in this world.

That day's parting was my choice to reject Xiao Mu; there was no turning back, and no way to make amends...

"Are you really not going to see her? After all, you were teammates before. If you ask her, she won't refuse."

Natsukawa Mio looked at Bai Wei, who was smiling gently at Su Mu, and a flash of regret and loneliness crossed her eyes.

"No, I've already lost that qualification..."

293. The situation is becoming clear.

The world championships are in full swing.

The first round of the competition is about to end. Since the start of the competition, those around the world who were dissatisfied with why the four major regions had two spots have all kept quiet.

In esports, skill speaks for itself, and everyone has proven the gap between themselves and wildcard teams through their actual performance.

Even if we don't mention sheer fabric, it's still far superior.

Watching teams from the four major regions compete against each other is far more enjoyable than watching wildcard teams play against each other.

When playing wildcards, it gives the impression of a top player bullying a master player in an international server.

In any case, the first round of BO1 matches is nearing its end.

The qualification prospects for all four major regions are quite optimistic. As long as they don't suffer multiple upsets and losses to wildcard teams in the second round, they are all in good shape.

Of the four groups, only K69, the second seed from the LEC region in Group C, suffered a major upset against a team from the Vietnamese region.

It is precisely because of this that K69 has become a topic of conversation and amusement for audiences around the world.

This is the only team from the four major regions with a 1-2 record in the first round.

Losing to the LCK's number one seed is understandable, but losing to a wildcard team makes no sense. Look at the other five teams in the four major regions, who doesn't beat a wildcard team as easily as a father beating a son or a mother beating a daughter?

To put it bluntly, if the teams from the four major regions hadn't held back, many wildcard teams probably wouldn't have lasted 20 minutes.

K69 was fine, it got crushed in 24 minutes.

It has to be said that in the early stages of the World Championship, it was quite amusing to see a strong team suffer an upset.

The second round of BO1 has begun. Based on the trend of the first round, the result should not be too different.

Group A was the first to determine its results.

WLD advanced to the quarterfinals with a score of 6-0, firmly securing its position as one of the top teams in the upper bracket.

The final match against the Japanese team was nothing short of a massacre; it was incredibly bloody.

Everyone, including the support player, secured more than one lane kill, making it even more brutal than the first round match, showing no mercy to the Japanese team.

Domestic audiences were overjoyed, especially Su Mu's die-hard fans.

It's not unacceptable that the League of Legends community should bear the bitter consequences of the unfair treatment Su Mu suffered in Japan and the resulting damage in the PUBG community.

Everyone thinks the same way, but what would the UJ team's League of Legends division, which failed to qualify for the World Championship, think if they knew Su Mu?

Yes, of course I know him.

As for my thoughts?

The manager of UJ's League of Legends division had long ago cursed the PUBG manager and coaching staff to the bone.

Of all the people to blame, why pick Su Mu...?

If we hadn't done that stupid thing back then, even if we didn't treat them well, we should at least have made sure that the wronged party was held accountable. Why would we skin the starting players alive just because they were wronged? If they hadn't suffered injustice, would they have run away before their contract even ended?

With such a high level of LOL skill, if an LOL team were built around her, WLD and other teams from the other four major regions might be the ones getting crushed now.

Those bastards in PUBG deserve to die!

It's no use saying anything now. The manager of UJ's LOL division is glad that he wasn't the one going to the World Championship, otherwise it would have been even more embarrassing to face WLD.

The group stage, with its significant skill gaps, has concluded, and the eight teams advancing to the finals have been determined.

Unexpected, yet perfectly logical.

All the teams were from the four major regions, and all eight wildcard teams from around the world were eliminated, suffering a first-round exit in the S1 group stage.

The groups were drawn based on the number of wins in the group stage, and the schedule for the quarterfinals was finally determined.

RT didn't win all six matches, as they were bitten by LEC's top seed OIP. Fortunately, they only lost this one match, and OIP was the first to lose, so according to the tournament rules, they don't need to throw the match and can avoid WLD's half of the draw.

Otherwise, even if they don't fare well in the quarterfinals, the two LPL teams would still have to fight each other to advance to the semifinals.

This is a situation that LPL viewers don't want to see. If RT and WLD are separated, there's a chance they'll meet in the semifinals, and if we're being bold, they might even meet in the finals...

The thought of the finals being decided by two LPL teams in South Korea's home arena fills many people with joy and anticipation.

Urgent!

I really want to see the look on the faces of South Koreans, like they've just eaten three pounds of stinky flies.

The quarterfinals will begin in two days, leaving little time for the teams to prepare.

Regardless of the group stage results, the first day of the competition was marked by the new version, which surprised all the teams. Version 2.16 was the main event with a lot of new content.

Two new heroes were introduced at once, but both were for the duo lane.

Samira and Reil have made their debut, and so far no team has used them without a duo lane. Su Mu did mention that Reil can jungle, and Liu Keke verified this and gave a feasible conclusion.

I'm not sure about other teams, since these two heroes are effective and have a decent win rate, they're usually banned during the ban/pick phase.

In the quarterfinals and even the semifinals, the game version will still be 2.16, and the new heroes will be a crucial factor that each team cannot ignore.

Teams with strong bot lane duos are even happier, as it means opponents will have to consider new champions when facing them, freeing up some other strong champions from the ban list.

Some teams also criticized Riot Games, saying that they had managed to produce such a top-tier support player and an assassin-type ADC with monstrous stats at the World Championship.

Are you worried that everyone doesn't have enough tactical reserves, so you're thoughtfully providing a T0 solution?

Other competitive games all obediently use outdated versions, but you're the only one who's going to be different and use a real-time dynamic version. That's really something.

Regardless, the quarterfinals will have to be played eventually.

After cooperating with the official team to complete the recording of some pre-quarterfinal videos, each team has been busy studying their opponents.