When EDG arrived, the qualifying rounds had already been completed. Without any surprises, the teams that advanced were from Taiwan and Vietnam.
Wanwan's team has been feeling even happier since Wanwan was kicked out of the five major divisions.
I used to be obsessed with the Doudi bloodline of the S2 Assassin Star, and I would cry and yell every time I was in the quarterfinals or top 16 of the World Championship.
The glory of our ancestors was handed over to us, but it turned into this!
We are deeply saddened!
Every year after the World Championship, there is basically a classic Red Bean Paste Private Marseille session.
It doesn't matter now.
We are the wild card team, so what if we can't win? [Proud]
To sum it up in two simple words: Get going!
So they really didn’t have any pressure, and instead they performed well in the wild card round.
And Vietnam is even more of a heavyweight.
Although this division is not considered a big division, it is basically considered the first wild card division.
Compared to the Wanwan who are in full swing, their fighting ability is really not bad.
Not only are there players who can put on some outstanding performances every year, but they can also poke a hole in the four major divisions from time to time, and can be called an expert in arresting people.
There is no need to mention the most famous one, two words can explain it:
Get out!
"KZ seems to be very strong this year and is also very dominant in LCK. Khan was very strong last year and is even stronger this year. Can Smeb withstand it?"
"BDD is also very strong, a talented mid laner who is still very young."
"I'm not worried about the bottom lane. The two Xuanming Elders are too old. We just need to wait for Yuanshen to abuse them. But can Xiaotian hold up against Xiaohuasheng?"
There is also a lot of discussion online.
Xu Yuan put down his phone. He was not surprised.
At this time, they are about to face their first game against FNC.
Because the opponent was not strong, he had a lot of leisure time.
Although EDG has demonstrated almost overwhelming dominance in the LPL, there are still many viewers who do not trust them.
Because even if they won the championship, the fear brought by LCK has not subsided much.
After all, how many championships do they have in their region? How many championships do you have?
In addition, there is a lot of talk like “Riot is afraid that LPL will no longer play this game, so they customized a bottom lane version for LPL”.
The strength of LPL is still questionable in the eyes of the audience at this time.
At least it is not enough to make them believe that EDG can easily beat KZ.
KZ's lineup is not bad.
Top laner Khan is the well-deserved No. 1 top laner in this year's LCK Spring Split. After Smeb left for LPL, he had no rivals at all.
Especially when facing SKT's new top laner Thal, Khan beat Thal to pieces without mercy.
SKT's youth training level is still worthy of recognition, and Thal doesn't have problems every time.
But I just can't beat Khan.
After jungler Peanut left SKT, his originally awkward playing style began to recover, and he once again had the domineering jungler style of S6.
His playing style is a dimensionality reduction attack on LCK junglers, and he has complete control over them.
Peanuts are not big, but they create a myth!
Whenever someone thinks that Peanut is about to retire, the LCK jungler always helps Peanut prove that he is still dominant.
Mid laner, BDD.
Zoe is an absolute Jinchuriki, and Syndra, Crow and other mid-lane players are also very proficient.
It is the solo kill king of this year's LCK Spring Split, POG.
Especially when facing Scout, last year's champion mid laner, BDD not only did not lose the upper hand, but even completed a solo kill.
It can be said that many people in LCK now have high hopes for him.
He is considered to be the one who could potentially challenge Lee Sang-hyuk's position.
A.D., Pray.
One of the two Xuanming Elders, nicknamed "Rat King".
"A basket, the Rat King? A thief with the title, I beat him with just one hand, pure CJB."
Xu Yuan still remembers the imp's disdainful look at that time.
In fact, it is normal for Imp to look down on Pray, because Pray has neither a world championship nor many league championships.
But precisely because of his long experience, his popularity in LCK is ridiculously high.
How high is it?
In the selection of S7 All-Star AD.
S6 runner-up AD, Samsung's talented newcomer Ruler, was not selected.
Bang, who won two world championships in S5 and S6, was not selected.
He didn't win any championship, he was just elected because of the seniority of Pray.
He has no championship, but he has snatched the title of champion rat from imp.
It is natural that imp cannot have a very high opinion of him.
In fact, Xu Yuan thinks it’s okay for Imp to look down on Pray, because he looks down on it too.
Isn't this just a copy of Uzi?
Even Uzi's honor is higher than Pray's.
You LCK guys also want to have your own Uzi, right?
LCK is so blessed!
As for the support Gorrila, he is also a veteran support.
It’s not really a pit, but it’s not C either.
An above average support.
The overall feeling given by KZ is that it does not have many shortcomings, which is why many people think KZ is very strong.
After all, a team without any weaknesses must be very powerful.
However, Xu Yuan felt that...
Having no disadvantages doesn't necessarily mean there are any advantages, right?
The contestants are ready to go on stage.
There's not much to say about today's opponents, they're all old acquaintances.
Among the five players of EDG, only Xiaotian is a real rookie in the world championship. The other four are basically veterans.
Only Xu Yuan may have less qualifications.
So we have a clear idea of ​​how strong today's opponent is.
It didn't take much effort at all, and I easily completed a speedrun against FNC in 24 minutes.
Xu Yuan was very considerate and gave FNC a kill, which prevented them from being shut out.
EDG controlled the tempo throughout the entire game, making it a relatively easy win.
However, what was more unexpected was that Lee Sang-hyuk in the middle had some problems and was always at a disadvantage.
"well enough?"
As soon as the game ended, Xu Yuan supported Li Xianghe unnoticeably and asked in a low voice.
"Maybe I have a cold, it's nothing serious."
Li Xianghe shook his head slightly.
Although his face was a little pale, his eyes were still bright.
It's just a little weaker than before.
"He's pretty good. If I don't catch a cold, I'll probably just tie."
Xu Yuan knew who this "he" Li Xianghe was talking about.
Caps, the talented mid laner from FNC.
Caps, also known as the small cap, the king of caps.
Although he has a cheerful personality and loves to laugh, he looks harmless.
However, this player's talent should be the best in the whole of Europe.
"He is a genius who is one level above all the European and American midfielders."
This is what others say about Caps.
In fact, it’s almost the same.
Caps can easily beat those European and American mid laners no matter how he plays. In S9, he led G2 to win the MSI championship and entered the S finals of the same year.
This is the first time that the European and American regions have entered the finals after so many years since the ancient S1.
Moreover, in the quarterfinals and semifinals, he took turns to be the LCK mid laner, and even S9's Lee Sang-hyuk was severely beaten by Caps.
Sylas humiliated LCK thoroughly.
At this moment, the young Caps has a very strong suppression power in the laning phase. Lee Sang-hyeok's current style is more team-oriented. It is difficult for him to exert suppression power against this top-level laning mid laner.
This was the case when we played against IG in the country, and Rookie also posed a great threat to Lee Sang-hyuk.
But it was also because of Rookie that Lee Sang-hyeok was still able to hold off Caps even though he was in poor form today.
Because Rookie's suppression power is much more terrifying than Caps!
In order not to hold back the team, Li Xianghe worked very hard.
“Everyone has a peak moment.”
Xu Yuan smiled, not caring, and calmly helped him walk off the stage.
The young Caps is certainly very strong now, but the old Caps is not as good as Lee Sang Hyuk.
"What's wrong?"
kkoma noticed Xu Yuan's actions and came over with a frown.
"He seems to have a cold."
Xu Yuan said immediately.
kkoma nodded and put his hand on the forehead of Li Xianghe, who looked unhappy.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Fortunately, it's not particularly serious."
"Yuan, let's interview you later. I'll ask the staff to take us to the hospital."
Kkoma gave some instructions and prepared to take Li Xianghe to the hospital with Abu.
"The game is at 10pm."
Li Xianghe frowned and indicated that he was fine.
There are only three or four hours left, it’s too late to go to the hospital now.
He is the mid laner, and if he is not there the game cannot be played.
EDG will be automatically judged as the loser.
This is not what Li Xianghe wants to see.
Moreover, the opponent in the second game today is still KZ.
When he is not there, the emergency substitute rules will be triggered, and the substitute player of the team will play mid lane.
The chances of winning will be slim.
kkoma understood him and knew that it would be useless even if he tried to persuade him again.
So he asked seriously.
"Are you sure you can support it?"
"Yeah, it's okay. It's okay to delay it for a while. I just need to rest for a few hours."
Li Xianghe nodded.
He really felt that it was okay. Nothing serious happened during the game just now. At most, his reaction was a little slow.
"Oh well."
kkoma sighed.
In fact, we had explained this before we set off, but things like athletes not being able to acclimate to the local climate cannot be avoided just by having experience.
No matter how strong you are on the field, you are still an ordinary person after leaving the game and there is still a chance that you will be affected.
After Xu Yuan finished the interview and returned to the lounge, he was not surprised to see Lee Sang Hyuk sleeping on the sofa.
The lounge was very quiet, and the players and coaching staff spoke in low voices.
“He doesn’t want to go to the hospital because he’s going to play against KZ soon?”
Xu Yuan asked Meiko in a low voice.
"Um."
Meiko nodded helplessly.
Xu Yuan was silent for a moment, and felt that Li Xianghe really deserved his success.
"fine."
"We will take over his command."
"Let's play against KZ in the next game and kill them in the bottom lane."
He spoke.
Since the teammates have chosen to persevere, what else is there to say?
Win it!
At 9:40 in the evening, the contestants were ready to go on stage.
Xiaotian woke up Li Xianghe at kkoma's signal.
After a few hours of rest, his complexion looked much better.
It also made Mingkai feel relieved.
It seems that Li Xianghe is not holding on, it is indeed just a minor problem.
After putting on the headphones, Xu Yuan's face lost its usual smile and was replaced by seriousness.
"Let's pick something more offensive in the bottom lane this time."
He spoke.
"good."
kkoma knew exactly what he meant.
Although Li Xianghe's condition has improved a bit, he has never been to the hospital for a check-up, so no one knows what his condition is.
This one must end as soon as possible.
Although KZ is very strong, Xu Yuan always has absolute confidence in himself.
The MSI in S7 was much more difficult than this MSI.
Yet he still won.
"Oh? The players on EDG are very serious."
The commentary was a bit surprising.
Normally, whenever the camera cuts to EDG, Xu Yuan can always be seen smiling faintly, and the other teammates don't have many serious expressions.
But today is completely different.
Not only did Lee Sang Hyuk look unhappy.
Even Xu Yuan, who loved to laugh, became so serious.
Could it be that...
Does EDG also think that KZ is difficult to play against?
The barrage basically felt the same way, and posts in the anti-bar appeared immediately.
"I've never seen Yuanzi show such an expression before. Could it be that the training match against KZ was not effective?"
"It's possible, but not very likely. How could KZ play a scrim with EDG? The first day of the main tournament was their match with EDG."
"Is someone in bad shape? Brother Li's performance at 6pm was not ideal. Did they have a quarrel in the lounge?"
"?? Impossible!"
"It's true, I'm a staff member of Tencent Esports! Just now, Xu Yuan asked Lee Sang Hyuk in the backstage why he played so poorly today, and whether it was to pave the way for his loss to LCK Jingzhongbaoguo."
"Indeed, I was there. Lee Sang Hyuk was very angry and started fighting with Heo Yuan. Xiao Tian got excited and joined in. Tian Ye found a baseball bat from somewhere and handed it to Heo Yuan, shouting "good job!" while Smeb chose to help Lee Sang Hyuk. As a result, the mid and top laners failed to beat the bottom lane team."
"It's true. I am the baseball bat."
People have a strong ability to associate.
Just because the players' faces became a little serious, they couldn't help but start to wonder if something had gone wrong with EDG.
This is also the reason why Xu Yuan would always smile when he went on stage no matter how difficult the situation was.
If you smile, your fans will feel at ease to some extent.
But...it's still a bit too outrageous to think that the players were fighting in the locker room.
"We meet again, Sang Hyuk."
In the KZ player seat, Peanut's eyes looked a little complicated.
From his perspective, the time in SKT in S7 was not particularly difficult.
Although I sometimes feel confused because I have to change my playing style.
But after everything was over, kkoma formally apologized to him.
So Peanut has long felt that it’s nothing.
The time I spent in SKT was quite happy, and my teammates weren't particularly difficult to get along with.
However, what Xiaohuasheng never dreamed of was that Li Xianghe actually joined the LPL club.
Even if the contract is most likely just for one year, this possibility is too small.
If someone had said this to Xiaohuasheng before the official announcement, Xiaohuasheng would have definitely thought he was talking nonsense.
"Play well today. Yo hoo~ Is it Savior again? I've always liked this player. Cheer up!"
"Smeb! I won't lose again this year!"
Khan, who was next to Peanut, let out a strange cry and became very excited.
He is a very lively person.
"It's so noisy, brother."
BDD spoke expressionlessly.
"Haha? Why are you so serious? BDD, let's see how you perform later!"
Khan roared and started laughing.
A powerful enemy is at hand!
He is really... so excited!
BP starts!
This time, EDG's luck was unexpectedly good and they got the blue side they wanted.
With the update of the version, the priority of some heroes in the MSI version has been greatly increased, and one of them is worth mentioning.
That is, the crow that has been reworked.
Not only has the name changed from the original Tactician Commander to the current Noxian Commander, but the status has also become much bigger.
The skills have also been completely reworked.
The revised Crow's ultimate skill is not even affected by the heavy damage effect, making him a choice that can be compared with absolute mage tank cores like Ryze.
The version priority has risen to T1 level.
As for Irelia, who has also been reworked?
Many players simply don’t have the proficiency to perform well.
Li Xianghe's proficiency is okay, but he was not in good shape today.
The reworked Irelia is a hero that requires very high operation status.
"Taliyah."
Coach kkoma didn't hesitate at all and directly took down Xiaohuasheng's Taliyah.
Jungle Taliyah has been strong for a long time, and has a good win rate against equally outstanding junglers such as Sejuani and Prince.
Moreover, Taliyah's ultimate can block the road, allowing the team to gain terrain advantages in battles for key resources such as vanguard groups or dragon groups.
Peanut has always been good at playing AP jungle, but he just doesn’t play it very often.
Someone may ask:
Huh? How did EDG know this?
Let’s take a look at who EDG’s current coach is!
kkoma has been coaching Xiaohuasheng for a year, so he must know what heroes Xiaohuasheng can play .
"Virus."
After a brief thought, the KZ coach decided to kill Varus.
He knew that the strength of his own bottom lane was not particularly high.
Therefore, to be on the safe side, strong line combinations like Varusbron must be broken up.
If you lack laning ability, you have to rely on BP to make up for it.
"Captain, can you let it go? If you do, you have to put pressure on the opponent on the side lane."
Coach kkoma asked Smeb.
"Let's move."
"A teamfight will destroy them faster. Given Xianghe's current situation, let's just fight in a teamfight. Otherwise, I'm afraid we'll be caught in a head-on fight."
Smeb shook his head.
Lee Sang-hyeok is not in good shape right now, and there might be problems when facing four against four, because his thinking is very slow after catching a cold.
If you want to complete a speedrun against KZ, it is better to fight in a team.
Even if Li Xianghe is confused now, there will be no problem in controlling the team battle.
Smeb is not afraid of Kahn, and will definitely use Fiora to fight against Gangplank if he has the chance.
But this case is rather special.
His idea was the same as Xu Yuan's, to win quickly and send the person to the hospital for examination.
"good."
Kkoma nodded slightly and pushed the captain away with his second hand.
Khan immediately beamed with joy.
"My captain is really amazing!"
EDG is actively moving my Captain, doesn’t that show how great I am?
"Morgana."
KZ coach completely ignored Khan's nonsense and after thinking for a while, he chose to kill Morgana.
Although it is not a completely soft support version now, soft support is still strong.
Soft supports like StarCraft, Morgana, and Karma now have a much higher priority.
On the contrary, the Wind Girl's shield was reduced again.
This is also a classic of the designer, focusing on the shield of the wind girl.
And the designer really wasted several years.
In recent years, Janna's shield is basically like Sona's W, which has the beauty of consuming 80 mana points and recovering 20 health points.
To the point that he was teased as the Toilet Style, fit only to squat in the toilet and be stepped on on the head by other soft-assist girls like Chouyu and Lulu.
“Zoe.”
In EDG's third pick, kkoma chose to target BDD's signature skill, Zoe.
When was Zoe a hero?
In fact, it was launched in the preseason version of S7, so it’s not really a new hero.
It’s just that few people played the S8 Spring Season.
Because competitions are fundamentally different from Rank.
There is a problem with a Poke mid laner like Zoe, which is that once her skills miss, she will disappear without a trace.
Even if you have Zoe with six pieces of equipment, if your skills miss, you will have no B output.
At most, you can rely on the lich's effect to attack others.
Although it is still a bit of a pain for the back row.
But for the front row of tanks...what does it mean?
Most mid laners in the game need to take into account the output responsibility of team battles, otherwise the output pressure on the AD will be too great.
And Zoe's output is too unstable.
Professional players are already good at positioning, and the E skill hypnotic bubble is the only means of control, so the hit rate is even lower.
E misses, Q misses.
Super God Zoe is like a super soldier.
That's the downside of Zoe.
Nowadays, except for some guys with special skills, the lineup that uses Zoe will definitely be paired with EZ, using a double POKE system.
There is even a Jayce in the top lane to fight against the three-POKE system.
Zoe alone is actually very ineffective, so her selection rate is very low.
But as I said before.
"Except for some guys with special skills."
BDD is such a Zoe expert.
BDD and Cild are known as the two best players in LCK. They rely on Zoe.
He is not the kind of guy with rubbish special skills who would sweat even if he played 1,000 points in a random game.
He is the kind of top-notch guy who can almost always perform well even when he uses Zoe in the game.
Even if we lose, it is still a record of our best efforts.
How strong is this person's Zoe?
BDD in S11 was no longer considered a top mid laner, but he was able to use Zoe to beat LNG's mid laner Icon like a dog, with crazy single kills.
The then Master Leng was simply beaten to a cold dish.
After the game, Leng Shao was ridiculed as "the man who adds extra food to the cold dish."
[In the past, many people praised WE's ADC Smile. The most common saying was that Smile was the man who gave AD and C. Later, because the praise was too outrageous, it was used to ridicule, such as pandac, "the man who gave Panda and C"]
In the match against TL, BDD even performed a world-stunning blind-sight flying star that killed someone instantly. His confidence was terrifying.
No matter how bad Clid is, he can still use Lee Sin to swim to the dragon. No matter how bad BDD is, he can still use Zoe to kill people.
So kkoma naturally pressed it.
Since Li Xianghe had an accident, he naturally had to respect his opponent.
“…”
BDD showed no expression when he saw Zoe was gone.
Too many people moved his Zoe, he got used to it.
"Karma."
KZ's coach spoke without hesitation and chose to kill Karma in the third pick.
The reason for removing Karma is simple: EZ Karma is too strong.
The current version already has a dual-cultivation EZ gameplay.
Get two Goddess Tears, one for the Magic Cut and the other for the Archangel.
When the two pieces of equipment are fully stacked, the combat power provided to EZ far exceeds that of an ordinary two-piece set.
The damage can be said to be ridiculously high.
This style of play was developed by RNG's current substitute ADC.
"Oh? If Xayah is released, should EDG choose Xayah and Rakan? If they grab Xayah, the opponent will probably use a combination like Kai'Sa and Galleon, which may not be easy to fight against."
The commentator couldn't help but frown.
Xayah can indeed be used, but a single Xayah can only be played as a playable character at best, and does not have the dominance of Xayah and Rakan.
In addition, Xayah and Rakan have been weakened after S7, so in the eyes of commentators, grabbing Xayah right away is not a good choice.
kkoma is also considering this issue.
He trusted Xu Yuan and believed that he could achieve sufficient suppression effect with Xia.
However, Xayah’s biggest problem compared to Kaisa is that she is not flexible enough, and her ultimate skill is not about charging into the enemy’s formation but about protecting herself.
Therefore, once the enemy is at a disadvantage, Xia's ultimate will be used up in the first round, and she will have no means of saving her life or moving.
"You will choose it, right?"
At this moment in North America, Bae Joon-sik was drinking iced juice comfortably, staring at the screen without blinking.
Although he didn't make it to MSI this year, he is very satisfied with life in North America.
There is not so much pressure, and I train every day based on my own initiative, which is very comfortable.
And the money he made was also quite a lot.
Is there anything more enjoyable than this?
He now feels a little regretful, regretting why he did it so late.
Seeing the opponent who once made him excited appear again in MSI, Bae Jun-sik's mentality has now become very calm.
Recalling that rare time when he took the initiative to work hard, he felt a little emotional.
He is a really strong player!
This is his evaluation of Xu Yuan.
So he has reason to believe that even though Xia’s current situation is not good, since KZ has let her go, Xu Yuan will still take it.
"Take it."
"Xia."
The boy's voice, as quiet as always, sounded, and Xu Yuan spoke calmly without even turning his head.
"It will be over in twenty minutes, trust me."
"Anyone who dares to take Kai'Sa in front of me usually has a bad ending."
Xayah is not very strong when she takes it alone, but Xayah is definitely a counter to Kai'Sa.
There is no need for any questioning about this.
If KZ really wants to let their bottom lane be countered by themselves, then Xu Yuan thinks there is nothing wrong with choosing Xayah.
As for Luo?
Little-known fact: Rakan's W has not been strengthened yet.
Now the pre-swing of Luo's W is about 0.5 seconds slower than that of Luo after S12.
What can you do in 0.5 seconds?
Xu Yuan can take no W at all.
That's his confidence.
“…”
Li Xianghe held his forehead silently without saying a word.
He still felt a little uncomfortable.
But at the same time, it was very touching.
His teammates' concern for him made him feel as if a surge of strength appeared out of nowhere.
"Then, choose!"
Seeing that Xu Yuan was so determined, kkoma didn't say anything more.
The next moment, Niyu Xia appeared in the first position belonging to EDG!
At the same moment, locked directly!
Lock in seconds!
kkoma expressed his trust in Xu Yuan with practical actions.
"Sure enough! EDG picked Xia directly in their first pick!"
"Champion Xia! She's so confident!"
The commentator's voice suddenly became louder.
Some people's signature heroes will not become useless just because of the targeted version.
This is the skin hero of the champion AD.
No matter what version, no matter how much it is weakened.
As long as I want to take it, as long as you don’t press it.
I'm sorry, I won't hesitate for a second.
Lock!
This is the confidence that only champions have!
"We only have twenty minutes left. Should that be okay?"
Xu Yuan smiled for the first time and spoke.
"There's some hot water in the lounge that I poured. I hope it's still warm after I finish it."
Xiaotian is also a big talker, which made Xu Yuan a little bit unable to hold back.
Are you here to warm your wine and kill KZ?
"Is it really locked?!"
KZ coach was very surprised.
No. Are you really that confident?