The first round of the LPL playoffs,
VG, who was one win behind at the start, overcame a strong team and defeated Snake in the BO5 to secure a spot in the next round. This immediately gave all the IG players hope of playing against EDG the day after tomorrow.
However, in major forums, many people are still not optimistic about IG's game the day after tomorrow.
In the Anti-Pressure Bar, the largest e-sports forum in China, countless prediction posts about IG's match against EDG the day after tomorrow have popped up like mushrooms after rain.
Most of the posts were optimistic about EDG and pessimistic about IG, and the few posts that supported IG were besieged and mocked by fans.
Fans’ support is actually very idealistic.
Although EDG was eliminated in the quarterfinals of last year's S game, EDG shined in last year's MSI, defeating the then-popular SKT in the finals and winning the first official Riot World Championship after S2.
At that time, EDG could be said to have ushered in the first year of championship and attracted countless championship fans.
In comparison, the IG team, which failed to qualify for the group stage last year and was eliminated in the round of 16, has performed well this spring after changing its lineup and players, but most people think that they are not worthy of competing with EDG.
"The people who think IG can win are probably those with underdeveloped cerebellum."
"EDG was crushed twice in Group B in the regular season. I don't know how they can win this time."
"Rely on jungle? Can Fu Huang be more powerful than the factory manager? "
"As long as EDG reaches its full form, no team in LPL can rival them."
"Don't brag too much, RNG, have you ever won?"
“…”
Most of the people in the forum are supporting EDG. IG fans know that there is really nothing good to brag about their team in the past two years, and all the fans need to do is say "Do you have a championship?" to complete the winning move.
There is no other way, IG fans can only use RNG first to take advantage of the opponent's strength.
We never beat you in the regular season, and you never beat RNG in the regular season.
Starch is not happy.
It was their pain that they didn't beat RNG during the spring regular season, and IG's fans are just making irrelevant remarks.
The exasperated fans knew that the most popular player in the IG team now is the jungler Li Fu. Because he has been called upon to save the game several times and won the game, the number of his fans is almost the same as that of Rookie in the past. So they began to ridicule Li Fu for only being able to pick some mediocre junglers, and that since he couldn't play the jungle core version, he might as well retire early and go home to raise pigs.
Fans of IG and Li Fu were also dissatisfied and started arguing with each other until their faces turned red, but it was still unclear who was winning or losing.
After all, this is how Li Fu played this season.
But the magic of Anti-Pressure Bar, a place known as the Louvre of e-sports, is that this place is full of countless fishermen and idiots, but also some big players.
A forum user with the ID "Factory Manager My Idol" opened a separate post.
"Long article deeply analyzing the mystery of Padre6 not playing jungle core"
"I'm just a passerby, not criticizing the person, just commenting on why Padre6 couldn't use a jungler in the game, no blackmail or washing."
As soon as I clicked on the post, I saw that the person on this floor started to stack buffs on himself to save his life, and then began to analyze.
"As we all know, this season, Graves, Nidalee, and Kindred are among the top three. The jungle core heroes have become the mainstream, and the BP rate in the game has remained high. However, not every team is suitable for the jungle core."
"Take Padre6 as an example. He only picked Nidalee in one game in the spring season. If there were Sejuani and Gragas, he would pick Sejuani and Gragas. If there were none of these, he would pick unpopular jungle heroes like Centaur and Jarvan IV to create unexpected opportunities."
"I admire this point. I can only say that Padre6's efforts in the Canyon of Heroes were not in vain. He still has a jungle hero pool. But why doesn't he play heroes like Graves and Kindred? Is it really because he doesn't know how to play these heroes?"
"I don't think so. Judging from Padre6's ranking record in the Canyon of Heroes, he can also use Graves and Kindred. Although he can't be said to be a master, he is at least at a decent level (some people say that competition and Rank are not the same game at all. I won't discuss this here, I'll only focus on whether the players can use them)."
"But here comes the point. Let's take Padre6 as an example. You can't say that a team has a jungle core just because they have Graves or Nidalee. A true jungle core requires the mid laner and teammates to coordinate the lineup around the jungle position, and they also need to give the corresponding resources so that the jungler can feel at ease and play comfortably. But IG obviously can't do this."
"For example, in the match between IG and QG, Padre6 picked Nidalee. He didn't just stay in the jungle to farm. He still had to take into account the ganks and vision of the three lanes. From this perspective, even if he picked the jungle core Nidalee, it was not a jungle core play."
"Then the question is, why doesn't Padre6 play jungle core?"
"As a jungle core hero, you will inevitably sacrifice the development of the lane, and the biggest sacrifice is in the mid lane. Generally, the jungler chooses Graves and Kindred, and the mid laner will have a soft mid laner such as to provide protection and support. However, Rookie's appearance rate of these soft mid laners is almost zero throughout the spring."
"Is Rookie unwilling to sacrifice for the team?"
"I don't think so, because Padre6, the jungler, was brought on temporarily, and before that, IG had already formed a system centered on the mid laner and was quite dependent on this system. Rookie's personal style also tends to be this kind of carry-type mid laner."
"If we suddenly change the lineup and let Rookie play a soft mid-lane protection support, on the one hand, he is not used to it, and on the other hand, even if he practices more, the schedule of the spring season is quite tight, and the time cost is too high to be worth it at all."
"To sum up, I think Padre6 can't play the jungle core, mainly because the hero used by Rookie in the current version can't be perfectly matched with the jungle core system, and his support awareness is not as good as his operation. In addition, there is almost no one in the team who can drive the rhythm except Padre6. This is the real reason behind it."
"Finally, if IG's goal is not limited to the regular season or playoffs, and if they still have ambitions for MSI, then I personally think IG had better develop more tactics and playing styles to enrich the team's tactical system."
"The idea of one trick to rule them all doesn't apply ."
This post is very thoughtful and analyzes in detail why Padre6 dares to play a non-mainstream jungler but cannot play a core jungler.
But the comments below are not so thoughtful.
"Too long to read."
"I see. Padre6 can't play the jungler Rookie, right?"
"I am dying of laughter. Isn't this a typical case of being unable to poop and having no gravity?"
"This post is definitely Padre6's troll army. Is it so hard to admit that you are too old to play jungle core?"
"That's right. Doesn't the factory manager rarely play jungle cores? But as long as we can win, that's enough."
"The main reason is that IG can't win against EDG at all."
"Stop talking, someone will get anxious if you continue."
“…”
The playoffs to the top six are approaching, and there are endless prediction and analysis posts on the Internet, as well as a lot of public ridicule.
Under normal circumstances, everyone on IG would definitely be affected to some extent, and Zzitai likes to open a small account to visit the forum the most.
But this time, perhaps it was Li Fu's words that made everyone inexplicably firm in their belief - they didn't need to beat EDG all the time, they just needed to beat EDG for a while, and then the victory the day after tomorrow would belong to them.
To achieve this goal, apart from the training matches arranged by the club, everyone spent the rest of the time either in meetings or discussing strategies against EDG. They had no time to pay attention to online public opinion at all.
At the same time, EDG Club.
It was late at night on April 14th, the night before the competition.
When Abu came over, the factory manager closed a web page on his computer, and one could vaguely see that it was a forum.
Abu laughed and teased, "You have a game tomorrow, and you still have the time to look at small websites?"
The factory manager smiled and said nothing.
Because Abu thinks that online comments can easily affect people's mentality, he asked the team not to read random things on the Internet before the game, and to wait until the game is over before reading them.
But generally speaking, people will only watch EDG if they win the game.
After all, if you lose the game, the internet will definitely be filled with negative voices, and no one likes to feel uncomfortable.
But tonight, for some unknown reason, the factory manager happened to open the Anti-Pressure Bar, and happened to see the article "A long and in-depth analysis of the mystery of Padre6 not playing as a jungle core".
He should be one of the few people who read the entire analysis. After reading it, he felt that there are many hidden talents among netizens. This analysis made him suddenly understand some things that he had not figured out before about Li Fu.
Are we the same kind of people?
Abu, who was making a cup of coffee nearby, saw that the factory manager was in a trance. He took a sip of the coffee and asked with a smile, "What are you thinking about? You are not going to feel stressed about playing against IG tomorrow, right?"
"Not really." The factory manager shook his head and asked, "I was just thinking, what jungler should I choose when we play against IG tomorrow? What do you want me to take?"
"Shrew, Nunu the Digger." Abu said with a smile, "Aren't you good at these? The opponent will definitely not be able to ban them all."
At this point, Abu raised his hand and patted the factory manager on the shoulder, "Don't worry, PawN will start in the middle lane tomorrow, and Deft's training condition is also good. There is no reason for us to lose."
After saying that, he smiled and turned away.
The factory manager looked at Abu's back. At this moment, he was not thinking about winning or losing.
It was his old partner Abu who asked him to choose the hero.
There is not a single wild core.
Is this the position I hold in his heart?
The factory manager thought so.
I lowered my head and glanced at the time on the lower right corner of the computer screen.
April 14, 2016.
This year, he was 23 years old, which was definitely an older player in e-sports.
Meanwhile, Deft is twenty years old.
In the EDG team, the mid laner PawN, known as "Fat Daddy", is actually one year younger than Deft, at only nineteen years old.
It can be said that the double C of the mid and bottom lanes of the EDG team, Da Han, are both at the peak of their careers and can perform like saviors time and time again.
The factory manager was a little absent-minded and lost in reminiscence. What was the highlight of his career? Was it the Widowmaker who defeated SKT at last year's MSI? Or was it the Lee Sin who was the first to use a roundhouse kick in the LPL arena?
Memories fade quickly.
The factory director had a relieved smile on his face.
In front of him, the computer screen showed the next ranked game of Canyon of Heroes, and he had already chosen Nunu for the jungle position.
As long as we can win.
…
April 15th.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, there was a crowd outside the Hongqiao Tiandi Performing Arts Center. Two long queues formed outside the LPL venue. Countless cheering fans came to the scene excitedly, carrying EDG's cheering signs or holding alpaca plush peripherals.
Alpaca is Deft’s nickname, and the toys are sold in EDG’s official store.
Don't underestimate these peripherals. Hot knowledge: EDG was one of the first few clubs to achieve profitability when a large amount of capital poured into LPL.
Su Xiaoluo once wanted to emulate EDG's management and create a fan economy. Unfortunately, EDG has a huge number of championship fans, and IG does not have that foundation. Even if he posts more players' daily life on Weibo, he is just imitating others.
Backstage, the IG team has arrived.
But now is not the time for them to play. The first match to start at 3 o'clock this afternoon is between VG and WE in the lower half. WE, as the defending team, does not have a winning advantage in the top six match like the day before, but has the right to choose sides in three games.
In the first game, the defending team WE chose blue, and the red team was given to the challenger VG.
Sitting in the waiting room, I could hear Guan Zeyuan's voice shouting on the LCD screen on the wall.
"VG had a great advantage in this game. As a team that came through the bubble match, VG's mid and jungle Dandy and Houye had a very good rhythm in the early stages of this game."
"Yes, wait? This wave of dragons!"
"Kanti got the Baron! What is Dandy doing?"
"It's over, WE is going to lose this time!"
The result was not unexpected.
VG had the upper hand in the early game but failed to seize the opportunity. After thirty minutes, they were unable to start a team fight and tried to kill the dragon, but were defeated by Kangdi's Dragon's Son, who snatched the Baron in one go and completed the comeback.
In the waiting room, everyone was dumbfounded.
"Wow, can you lose this?"
Coach Chris also frowned. "The first advantage was lost. As a challenger who came up from the bubble match, VG will probably have a harder time in the future."
Chris's words came true.
In the second and third games, WE successfully ended the games in 25 minutes and 23 minutes respectively.
"Let's congratulate WE!"
"Congratulations to WE for successfully defending the title! Advancing to the semi-finals!"
"That's right, everyone take a break, the next game between IG and EDG will start soon."
“…”
Through the screen, I saw the VG players who had lost the game silently packing up and leaving under the dim lights on one side of the stage. The atmosphere in the IG waiting room suddenly became a little depressing.
Isn't it a bit like the death of the rabbit and the grief of the fox?
Maybe.
After all, like VG, today's IG is also a challenger who came from the fake tournament to challenge EDG who was defending the title in the top six.
The winner will automatically advance to the Spring Semifinals.
I still remember that two days ago, VG's victory over Snake Team once inspired them and made everyone in IG feel that they might be able to defeat the strong with the weak. Unexpectedly, VG lost to WE today.
"Everyone cheer up! If VG can't do it, we may be able to do it!"
"What do you mean by 'may not'? That's 'must'!"
"Brothers, EDG is just so-so, just charge and it's over." Zzitai shouted.
"How dare you say that?" She Keke was speechless.
Ziti shrank his head and chuckled, "I am just showing strategic disdain for my opponent. That's what the coach said."
Chris rarely refuted, but said:
"Zizi is right. They have only defeated us twice. As the saying goes, three times is the limit. We must defeat them today!"
"Kill them!"
Everyone shouted together!
Whether you believe it or not is another matter.
At least the momentum was expressed.
…
Seven o'clock in the evening.
The match between IG and EDG finally arrived after being eagerly awaited by countless netizens. The EDG fans at the scene cheered like a tide.
In comparison, IG's fans are like a small boat in the raging sea, at risk of capsizing at any time.
IG fans can only pray in their hearts.
Little Aiji is fighting for his reputation!
Charge at me!
Even if you lose, don't lose too badly!
Soon, the scene on the big screen changed and the camera turned to the commentary booth, and the big face of Wawa appeared in the camera.
"Hello everyone, welcome back to the LPL playoffs top six to top four match. I am the commentator Wawa."
"Hi everyone, I'm Miller."
"Hello everyone, I'm Xiaoxiao."
As per LPL convention, popular anchors and former professional players were invited to the commentary booth at the end of the playoffs. Xiaoxiao from Deyunse is today's guest commentator.
"The game between IG and EDG is about to start. Come on, Xiaoxiao, who do you support today?" Miller turned around and asked with a smile.
“I definitely support IG.”
Xiaoxiao said without hesitation, "But this is just my personal subjective perspective. Judging from the objective data in all aspects, EDG's winning rate in today's game is higher, so I think EDG has a greater chance of winning."
"Hey, you're quite cunning." Miller nodded at him with a smile.
"No, then tell me who you support." Xiaoxiao spread his hands.
Miller took out a fan from the audience, which was the peripheral of EDG Mall, and said with a smile, "I don't need to say anything."
There is no doubt that Miller supports EDG. After all, he once revealed his identity as Piglet during the commentary.
"Wow, are both of you supporting EDG?"
Wow smiled and nodded at them, "Okay, then our commentators can't leave the team alone, so I'll support the IG team. In fact, I think the IG team is in good form this spring, I hope they can create a miracle today."
The IG fans at the scene were speechless when they heard this.
This fucking "miracle" has happened, and you still have the nerve to say that you support IG?
Amidst the noise and bustle, the music suddenly changed, and photos of the two teams’ players competing against each other appeared on the big screen behind the stage.
The one on the left is Li Fu, and the one on the right is the factory director.
Li Fu put his hand to his mouth and made a hushing gesture, while the factory director raised his right fist, supported his right elbow with his left hand, and his eyes were as cold as a killer.
I have to say that the LPL operations are still very good at choosing topics. In the past two days, the most discussed topics online are Zzitai and Li Fu. After all, both of them are remnants of the old era, but now they are active in this arena together.
Today's battle between the remnants of the old era!
But today, the LPL, this new era ship, is destined to carry only one person!
Who will be the final winner?
Under the expectant gazes of countless people, after the contestants on both sides of the stage sat down and completed the debugging, the picture on the screen changed again!
The competition officially begins!