Five o'clock in the evening.
At Hongqiao Tiandi Center, there were more than forty minutes left after EDG defeated HYG.
A crushing victory without a doubt.
Beating a team like HYG,
Even the fans of EDG remained unmoved.
If I lose I'll probably get even more excited.
After all, HYG has reached the last two weeks of this spring regular season and is still being shut out. It is estimated that the players on this team are all in the mindset of playing one less game.
After the game, the factory manager heard Meiko next to him holding his phone and saying, "Did you hear that IG changed players today?"
"Ah?" The factory manager was stunned for a moment, then reacted and tilted his head slightly to ask, "Change the jungler?"
"That's right." Meiko laughed, "Maybe he was traumatized by our last fight."
Ai Loli next to him interrupted, "It's all the factory manager's fault. You are such a bad guy. Do you know what Padre6 has been doing recently?"
"What are you doing?" asked the factory manager.
"After being kicked off the starting lineup, this guy has been playing ranked games day and night. He is now known as the 'Ghost of the Canyon'."
Ai Loli shouted exaggeratedly, "Last night, my trumpet was playing a life-and-death game in the promotion match, and he was placed opposite me, and he almost beat me to pieces!"
"So fierce?" Meiko didn't believe it.
"His rank has always been very strong." The factory manager nodded.
As he spoke, he opened the website on his phone and checked Li Fu's record in the Canyon of Heroes. The vast expanse of green and the almost uninterrupted ranking made him slightly stunned.
After a moment's silence, the factory manager sighed in his heart.
From Li Fu's day and night ranking training, he could feel the heart of a veteran who was in his twilight years but had not yet burned out.
But...is such high-intensity Rank training really useful?
The factory manager thinks not necessarily.
The factory manager felt that it was more like a way to vent emotions than training.
He also had the experience of playing Rank madly after losing a game, wanting to prove how hard he worked and how good he was.
But people don’t really care.
All people care about is whether you win or lose on stage.
Behind the scenes training wins a thousand times,
Lose once on stage,
People will only remember that one time.
Sometimes, you can do everything in Rank, but run into obstacles everywhere in the competition. Such a gap will be counterproductive.
Just like EDG club,
Every year, they can achieve extremely impressive results in the LPL civil war, but they fail to recover in the world competition, and their entry into the quarterfinals every year has become a laughing stock for countless people.
The factory manager has experienced this.
Know what that feels like.
So, from the perspective of a fellow veteran,
The factory manager hopes Li Fu can stop.
Be more calm and think more, understand where your strengths are, instead of doing ineffective training again and again...
…
Li Fu naturally didn't know what the factory director was thinking.
Because of today's game, although he knew he couldn't play, Li Fu temporarily stopped his crazy Rank rush and came to the scene with the team to deal with the emergency.
This is a substitute's job.
But Li Fu was not idle either.
He checked his attribute panel and saw that his [Command and Operation] attribute had reached 77.7, and was about to become the fifth attribute to reach the "first-line" level. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly in a smile.
Is he still laughing?
In the waiting
Bang, bang, bang—!
Su Xiaoluo clapped his hands, cleared his throat and began to mobilize before the battle:
"Everyone, please be quiet. I'll just say a few words!"
"Today's opponent RNG is certainly strong, but not invincible. Losing a game will not defeat us. Don't forget that we have won eight consecutive games this spring."
"We even won a game against EDG last week. Today, we just need to regain the form from that victory and beat RNG! It's no problem at all!"
"Remember! The regular season is just our starting point, and definitely not our end point. This season IG will go further! And today is our first step."
“…”
Normally, Su Xiaoluo doesn’t pay much attention to pre-match mobilization and basically leaves it to coach Chris.
But today, for some reason, Su Xiaoluo must have IG win!
So he rarely went on stage in person, and he became more and more passionate as he spoke a series of words, and in the end he even raised his arm, just short of shouting, "Everyone, follow me and charge forward."
But mobilization is a mutual thing.
When one person on the stage raises his arm and calls out, everyone below the stage will respond. That's what passion is.
Su Xiaoluo was full of passion, but the people around him just watched his performance silently. An awkward atmosphere spread silently.
grass!
This bunch of people don’t know how to deal with things!
Su Xiaoluo glanced at A Xun and signaled him with his eyes.
Ah Xun had no choice but to clap his hands, which gave Su Xiaoluo a way out. He said cheerfully, "Great! Very encouraging!"
If it was IG playing against RNG a month ago, Su Xiaoluo would not have the nerve to say such self-humiliating words.
But today, he actually felt in his heart that IG might not lose to RNG today.
With eight consecutive wins continuing in the second round of the regular season, Rookie’s condition is getting better and better, and he can often stand on his own in the top lane... All this made Su Xiaoluo feel for a time that the most dominant IG era has returned!
As for Li Fu?
Although coach Chris thinks highly of him and his teammates respect the veteran very much, Su Xiaoluo does have to admit that Li Fu is playing well now.
But that's all.
He didn't think that an older jungler who couldn't even play heroes like Graves would be the key factor in their eight-game winning streak in the regular season.
Can you deceive others?
Could he have fooled a graduate from a prestigious university like me?
Why did Su Xiaoluo just make such a pre-war mobilization without spatting?
He just wants to beat RNG today.
Only by defeating RNG can we prove with facts that IG can achieve eight consecutive wins this season, and the real reason is the IG team.
Or rather, he who is in charge of leading the team.
Instead of what those idiotic self-media say, "older veterans have revitalized the entire team." Listen, can a normal person say such a thing?
At this time, Coach Chris saw that Su Xiaoluo was very excited and seemed to want to say something. He looked at the time and was about to go on stage. He couldn't help but stepped forward and said with a dry cough:
"Manager Su is right. The main thing is to keep a calm mindset and not think of the opponent as too strong and have any psychological burden. Strategically, we should look down on the opponent. RNG is undefeated this spring, but think about it, why can't we let them lose to us today? There is no unbeatable team in this world."
"Even SKT loses sometimes!"
"Come on, everyone!"
As a coach, even though Chris felt sorry that Li Fu was unable to play today, fundamentally, he certainly still hoped that the team could win the game.
Su Xiaoluo, who was standing behind him, couldn't help but nod in satisfaction upon seeing this.
He glanced at Li Fu out of the corner of his eye and sneered in his heart, "If there is no butcher Zhang, we will eat hairy pigs?"
I have to have a full Manchu-Han banquet today!
He, Su Xiaoluo, wanted to let Principal Wang know.
IG of flowing water!
Ironclad management!
IG’s current results are definitely not due to Sima Xiaobian’s nonsense about “older veterans coming out to revitalize the whole game”.
Instead, it relies on the management's ability to identify talent and plan strategies!
…
"Fuck!!! Why is IG sick again?"
On Shark Platform, the second commentator of today's LPL game, Wuwukai, was stunned after seeing the starting lineup announced by IG. He could hardly believe his eyes.
"Where's Brother Fu? Send Brother Fu! Brother Fu has been carrying me like crazy in the rankings recently. He's in great shape. Why did you leave Brother Fu behind?!"
"There's something wrong with IG's management."
As a big anchor on the Shark platform, on par with PDD, Wuwukai speaks without restraint. He starts by directly criticizing and setting up classic flags.
"Some comments said that Fu Huang's colored pen should have been replaced long ago."
"Wow bro, are you serious?"
"Let's not talk about how the game went. He's number one in the canyon. Have you finished the silver promotion game? Really... If you don't believe me, let's make a bet. If IG can win today without Fu Ge, I will put the ultimate invincible booger I picked out into the cappuccino prepared by Auntie and drink it right away!"
"If you lose, you drink, okay?"
"I'll mail you all the boogers I've saved for half a month. Do you dare to gamble? If you win one, you win. Do you dare?"
In fact, this is just empty talk.
However, what he didn't expect was that the person commenting in the live broadcast room was actually a senior black fan of Li Fu, who immediately expressed his determination to fight to the end!
He directly sent out his home address in the barrage. If IG can't win a game against Fu Huang today, he will add all the boogers mailed by Wuwukai into his coffee and drink it live.
Black fans want to prove it with actual actions?
Fu Huang?
That's a post!
Sima editor is just bragging!
Is there any need to ask who is the carry in IG? It has nothing to do with the jungler.
"Wow? Bro, are you serious? I was just kidding!"
Wu Wu Kai, who had been talking big, was now a little panicked.
Although he usually has a lot of shit and piss in his mouth during live broadcasts, it's still a bit outrageous for him to actually drink his own booger coffee. He couldn't help but whisper, "Brother, don't post your address in the comments. Pay attention to your privacy. Let's not get too carried away."
The people in the live broadcast room are still talking nonsense.
The match between IG and RNG has begun.
Since IG played against EDG last week, all three BO3 games were played, each game went to the middle and late stages, and it seemed that the game was back and forth.
Although RNG beat EDG in the first round of the regular season, the two teams currently give people the impression that they are equally strong, and both are seeded teams for the LPL championship this spring.
So if we use EDG as the unit of measurement.
RNG is slightly larger than EDG.
IG is slightly smaller than EDG.
As for IG vs. RNG, even the RNG fans who came to the scene thought that the game at 7 o'clock today would be a "fight between dragon and tiger".
You never know, it might have to be a full BO3.
But in fact...
An hour passed in the blink of an eye.
IG passed away peacefully.
The two games, including BP and breaks between games, took a little over an hour in total, and RNG ended the game with a clean 2-0 score.
Two games,
No one lasted more than twenty-five minutes.
Wu Wu Kai, who had been speaking softly before, immediately started picking his nose in the live broadcast room, then put the booger into a tissue beside him, and shouted at the netizen who had just been there to send him a private message to tell him the address.
Damn it, today he's going to smash this guy to death with his booger!
Can IG win without Fu Ge?
Win the game! What a stinky win!
…
At this point, the game is over.
The fans of IG and RNG at the scene were all confused.
The cheers before the game were so loud that it shook the sky!
The main reason is that IG’s fans are unwilling to be outdone, and RNG’s fans also feel that they have met a worthy ally today, and they have to fight for this victory like fighting cocks.
After finishing the game...
That's it?!
RNG fans smacked their lips and thought, this feeling is no different from playing against HYG, so why are we competing with IG fans before the game?
After coming to terms with it,
RNG fans suddenly became bored.
In the barrage of the live broadcast room, no matter what the IG fans said, the RNG fans only replied with "Yes, yes, you are right."
There are even RNG fans saying, "IG has been playing like this, it's not easy for them either, everyone should give them a little more leniency and stop making them depressed."
grass!
Who the hell asked you to give way?
Ignoring is more terrible than hating, this is simply a waste of time for IG fans!
But how do you fight back?
There's nothing wrong with what the fans said.
IG really played like shit today, it would be nice if you could at least make some small improvements.
What to do then?
Then I can only scold Su Xiaoluo.
Su Xiaoluo does not have a personal Weibo account, but he likes to show off. He basically treats IG's official Weibo account as his personal Weibo account. He will also post two photos of his afternoon tea in a nine-square grid of the club's players' daily life.
As a result, IG’s official Weibo account was blasted by its own fans.
"Fuck! At least they acted like human beings when they played against EDG last week. What kind of bullshit are they playing against today?"
"Why not Brother Fu? What the hell? Ah Xun was beaten so badly by Mala Xiangguo that his mother couldn't recognize him. He lost the first game, and you want him to finish the second game?"
"Su Xiaoluo, fuck you! You're playing me, right? Refund your ticket!"
"Did Su Xiaoluo draft it? +1!"
Thus, a neatly laid floor of grass mud horses was born.
In less than half an hour after the game, the level was pushed to more than 500 levels by angry IG fans from all directions, and it was still rising.
Su Xiaoluo's blood pressure was also soaring.
Big words before the game, nonsense during the game, and silence at this moment.
This is his mental journey.
Looking at Ah Chuan who was sitting in the corner with a pale face and slightly trembling hands, Su Xiaoluo's face suddenly revealed an expression of disappointment.
After all, you are a three-generation veteran of IG.
How could the game against RNG turn out like this?
The last time we played against EDG, that kid Li Fu played three games in a row, winning and losing. The pressure was huge. Even after the loss, no one cared about him?
How could an older contestant, no matter how good he is, be better than you?
Is the jungle position really that stressful?
Or is RNG really much stronger than EDG?
Too many questions...
Su Xiaoluo, who prided herself on being a top student at a prestigious university, couldn't understand it at all.
But what really made him unable to face it at this moment was that everyone in the waiting room, including the coaches and players, were looking at him coldly.
In fact, when we were beaten in just over 20 minutes in the first game and returned to the waiting room, the atmosphere felt a little strange.
Coach Chris looked as if he wanted to say something but was hesitant.
But Su Xiaoluo was unwilling after all.
He felt that the reason for losing the first game was that the opponent Mala Xiang Guo's rhythm was too fast, A Xun had not been on the court for too long and could not keep up with the rhythm, and Xiao Shiguang in the bottom lane could not withstand the pressure from Mata in the bottom lane of RNG.
But as long as we adjust, we will have a chance to play in the next game.
Things have come to this point. Su Xiaoluo is a decent person and there is no way he would give up halfway.
So he went against the dissatisfaction of coach Chris and everyone else and forced Achuan to play the second game.
The result was that the game collapsed even faster than the first one.
Until the moment when RNG easily pushed down the crystal, the team members including Zzitai and Rookie had a deeper understanding in their hearts.
They didn’t notice it too much when Li Fu was here before. They just felt that the jungler’s play made them very comfortable, but it wasn’t until today that they changed the jungler.
In contrast.
Everyone has a deeper understanding of the little things Li Fu did in the jungle position when he was on the field, the occasional signal reminders during the game, and the countless insignificant details, what role they played for the entire team...
Although Li Fu also lost the game against EDG last week.
But at least they knew they lost! It was worth it! Losing made them feel that they could learn from their mistakes and win again next time.
However, today we played against RNG.
It felt like I was being ordered to eat for the entire two sessions.
Under the command of Mata, the team's brain, RNG is like a clenched fist without any flaws. Mala Xiangguo in the jungle position is more like an iron glove on the fist, and every punch can kill people.
When the second game lasted fifteen minutes, Zzitai was too lazy to scold Axun for not catching him in the top lane. He knew it was useless to scold him. It was not that Axun did not want to, but that he simply had no chance. He looked so hopeless that he just wanted to surrender.
The tactical execution after the two games cannot be said to have deviated from the tactics they formulated before the game, but it can only be said to have been completely deformed to the point of going in the opposite direction.
None of the tactical systems that should have been implemented were implemented.
At this moment, A Xun was curled up on the sofa, with no light in his eyes.
Why did A Xun return to the starting position today with Su Xiaoluo's support even though he clearly didn't want to replace Li Fu?
Because he really couldn't bear to leave this stage.
I've been playing professionally for so many years.
Time flies by.
But I always feel like I haven't done anything.
Just as Li Fu said.
During this time, in a corner where no one could see him, he was also training hard, gritting his teeth and persisting while no one noticed.
He also wanted to make a splash.
I want everyone to know that IG once had an AD named Xiaohai Youshen, who has now transformed into a jungler and can play very well.
But now it seems,
Persistence does not mean success.
Yes, in this society, in all walks of life, there are many people who persist day after day under tremendous pressure, but most of them will never even be known by name even after leaving that industry.
Who says persistence will lead to success?
Ah Xun smiled at himself in his heart.
In fact, he doesn't believe in "persistence".
He was very happy at that time.
Even if you lose the game, you can forget about it the next day.
As long as the club doesn't fire him, he can even switch to a supporting role after this season and make money, which is not bad.
The purpose of playing games is to make a living.
In fact, most people who have embarked on the path of professional gaming are well aware that “talent” is a real thing.
And it means far more than persistence and hard work.
Why did he start to believe in persistence and hard work?
The light from the ceiling above his head was a bit dazzling. A Xun tilted his head back and squinted his eyes to think about it, then caught a glimpse of a figure in the corner out of the corner of his eye.
Oh, so it’s because of that man.
Maybe it was because I had seen that tireless figure in the waiting room late at night at the club base, or maybe it was because of that man's performance on the court...
It just seems now...
Hard work and persistence,
It's just a joke for talent.
Just like him and spicy hotpot.
"Let's go back first. We still have a game tomorrow."
Finally, it was Coach Chris who spoke up.
Two this week, two next week.
The points you get after playing will determine whether you qualify for the playoffs.
Objectively speaking, IG’s schedule in the third regular season was not very friendly, as they faced the two Group B leaders in the first place.
In fact, after playing against EDG and RNG, IG's next opponents were all pretty good.
HYG, VG and OMG.
Two experienced babies,
A well matched one.
But for some reason, after losing to EDG last week and RNG this week, even though they knew that the next opponents would be easy to beat, the IG players seemed to have lost some motivation.
Is it because he can’t get rid of the title of “Strong Team Quality Inspector”?
Maybe?
But more importantly, everyone in IG knows that if they can’t beat teams like EDG and RNG.
So this spring, even if their points are enough to make the playoffs.
But it's just the playoffs.
…
Next,
The final two weeks of competition also arrived as scheduled.
During this period, there were a lot of voices from the outside world, asking IG to replace Li Fu.
Su Xiaoluo was also a little embarrassed.
He subconsciously hoped that Li Fu would volunteer, so that he would have a way out.
But Li Fu still remained stationed at the top of the canyon without fail, becoming the "canyon ghost" that countless high-scoring passers-by complained about during this period.
Every time there was a meeting, he would sit in the corner and "meditate". I didn't know what he was thinking about, and he had no intention of returning to the meeting at all.
Su Xiaoluo, who was afraid that Principal Wang would call him and ask him to leave the get out of class, had paced to the door of the training room late at night several times.
Want Li Fu to come back on the court.
But when I think of Li Fu's face.
That handsome face.
He was filled with rage.
The management is permanent, but the players are transient. As an older player, you might have to retire one day. Why do you put on airs in front of me?
Want me to beg you?
Don’t even think about it!
So Su Xiaoluo decided to grit his teeth and fight on.
Fortunately, after getting through the difficult beginning of the third round of the regular season, IG did not have too much trouble in the following games.
Except for the match against VG, IG once again played a full BO3, and finally won the match against VG with the help of Rookie's slight victory over Hou Ye.
In other matches against HYG and OMG, IG easily won 2-0.
Su Xiaoluo finally breathed a sigh of relief, secretly congratulating herself for being wise enough not to bow to Li Fu.
At the same time, this also made IG's reputation as the "strong team quality inspector" more and more famous.
Now LPL is almost recognized.
Can beat IG.
That is undoubtedly a top-notch team.
Can't beat.
Well, I'm sorry, please consider yourself to be on the weak team.
Of course, there are people who oppose this statement.
The loudest voices of opposition came not from IG fans, but from WE and QG fans.
Because in the third round of the regular season, both WE and QG were defeated by IG. If this is the case, then WE and QG are weak teams.
How could fans of WE and QG recognize this?
For a while, rumors spread that Xiaohu didn't sleep well on the day of the game against IG, and Xiye ate beef noodles.
In short, everything happens for a reason.
Amidst such a cacophony of voices,
April 10th.
After the last civil war between EPA and M3 in Group A of this spring's LPL regular season, all the regular season games were settled.
What was the outcome of the final battle between the two teams?
It's not like no one cares.
As they are the last two teams in Group A, they will not be able to enter the playoffs no matter who wins, and will face the risk of playing a relegation match with the LSPL team.
What people really care about,
Only the winners who enter the playoffs,
That is, the top four teams in groups A and B.
Group A: QG, WE, Snake, LGD
Group B: RNG, EDG, IG, VG
Next, the playoffs will be divided into the upper and lower halves, using a bubble system.
A4 vs. B3, the winner will play against B2, and the winner will play against A1
B4 vs A3, the winner will play A2, then the winner will play B1
The winners of the upper and lower halves will advance to the finals to compete for the LPL Spring Championship and the only seed spot in the MSI World Championship.
…
IG Club, on the banks of the Huangpu River.
"In 16 group matches, we won 12 and lost four."
"Ah... this result... is not bad."
Coach Chris held the tablet computer, picked up the thermos cup and took a sip of water, feeling a little bitter in his mouth.
This result is just okay compared to Group B.
Since we have entered the playoffs with a bubble system, it’s not just a matter of getting points by chance.
There is only one goal for all teams, and that is the final championship trophy.
But you must know that
Among the two leaders in Group B.
RNG topped the list with a luxurious record of 16/0, leading both groups AB. It is currently recognized by almost all LPL viewers as the seed team for the MSI to be held in Jianghai.
The second-placed EDG also scored 14/2 and is equally likely to win the championship.
In comparison, IG's 12/4 result can only be described as mediocre.
Moreover, the tight schedule of the playoffs did not leave coach Chris much time to sigh and lament.
The regular season ends on April 10.
The first round of the playoffs from 8 to 6 will begin three days later on April 13th.
IG's opponent is LGD, the fourth place in Group A.
Before the game started, Su Xiaoluo called A Xun, who had been in a somewhat depressed mental state recently, to his office, politely poured him a cup of tea, and then began to mobilize him.
"That LGD team is not a threat."
"We are B3 vs. A4, BO5, and we are leading by one game (1:0) at the start. Relax a little, just like in the regular season, we just need to win two games against them."
"But it was Brother Fu who played in the regular season..." A Xun suddenly said.
"What's the difference?" Su Xiaoluo's face darkened.
Immediately, he softened his tone and said:
"Don't worry about the other side having Marin. Marin is really bad right now."
"Although you didn't play in the second round of the regular season, you should have seen us win 2-0 easily. The top laner was able to break through Ma Datou's defense, so it had nothing to do with the jungler..."
After saying a lot, Su Xiaoluo looked at A Xun with a smile.
"How is it? Do you have confidence?"
Ah Xun hesitated for a moment, then looked up at Su Xiaoluo, "Probably... yes."
Su Xiaoluo's face suddenly turned dark.
Oh shit!
This kid just won't listen to anything!
With a snap!
He slapped the table.
He said with great force:
"What do you mean by should have? Must have! Damn it! We were leading by one game but couldn't beat LGD. What do you want me to give to Principal Wang? Huh?"