Chapter 158 - Season Playoffs

"Don't brag, it won't look good when they get knocked out in the quarterfinals!"
"Those who understand know about Faker's World Championship."
"A big tournament with no experienced players who have made it to Worlds. How can this lineup win?"
"No matter how strong GT is, it doesn't matter. This year's championship still depends on IG and RNG."
"In the live broadcast barrage, there are many people who are pessimistic about GT."
"The higher the expectation, the greater the disappointment. The World Championships in previous years have worn away the confidence of too many people. Even if GT performs well in the summer split, they are still too young. It is uncertain how they will perform in the World Championships."
Moreover, the presence of the factory manager raises doubts about the performance of this team in the World Championships.
However, judging from GT's current performance in the matchups, GT is most likely going to the World Championships.
As the first team in the regular season's Eastern Division, GT has a bye for two rounds, which allows them to directly advance to the quarterfinals.
This also means that they are guaranteed to have 60 bubble race points, which is already enough to qualify for the bubble race.
Moreover, judging from the dominance displayed by this team, it would be difficult for other teams to compete with them even in a bo5 playoff match. Not to mention the World Championship, the likelihood of winning the Summer Championship is very high.
In just two days after the regular season ended, the postseason has already begun.
The entire postseason schedule is extremely tight, with high-stakes games being played continuously over a period of 6 days.
On September 5th, the opening game was brought by JDG, ranked fourth in the East, and TOP, ranked third in the West.
After a five-game battle, TOP secured a further qualification.
On September 6th, IG, the third-place team in the East, clashed with FPX, the fourth-place team in the West. Although FPX had decent skills, they were not strong enough against IG and were easily defeated by a score of 3:1.
On September 7th, in the second game of the top playoffs, they faced RNG, who was also from the Eastern Conference and ranked second.
In the face of RNG's strong strength, this young team showed their style by winning the first game, but they were crushed by RNG in three consecutive games and left the stage with regret.
On September 8th, the powerful dominance of EDG seems to be waning in the face of IG, which is rising like a morning sun, leaving little room for resistance.
On the top lane, Ray struggles to catch his breath under the powerful suppression of Theshy. In the battle of genius AD carries in the bottom lane, iBoy seems to be lacking in strength when faced with Jackeylove, falling behind in CS.
Two veteran players in the mid lane played equally well, while Haro in the jungle was dominated by Ning.
In such a disadvantageous comparison, EDG only managed to secure a narrow victory and ultimately stopped at the top 6 of the playoffs.
With the fall of edg, the only seed from the western region left in the top four of the playoffs is rw, surrounded by three teams from the eastern region. This perfectly illustrates the saying of "the eastern region raises insects while the western region raises pigs" at the beginning of the season.
September 9th.
Beijing Wukesong Sports Center.
The bright lights inside the home venue of RNG reflect the enthusiastic faces of countless spectators.
What is about to be held here is the semifinal match between RNG and GT.
Unlike regular season matches, the playoffs are about to witness more intense confrontations, and the emotions of the audience and fans are noticeably higher. Holding their cheering signs and colorful lights, the constant cheering and shouts of encouragement create an electric atmosphere in the venue.
Immersed in the atmosphere of the venue, the commentators Miller and Wang Dodo also appeared extremely excited on the commentary platform, eagerly looking forward to presenting this highly anticipated highlight match to the audience.
The camera of the director has started switching, and the male fans in the audience are chasing after the camera cheering and whistling, while the beautiful ladies are raising support signs, expressing their love for the contestants with enthusiasm.
In the restrooms on both sides, ten players have already taken their positions, with the RNG team surrounding Uzi and discussing something seriously. It is evident that they are under immense pressure when facing GT, who has defeated them multiple times.
On the GT side, the atmosphere in the lounge is not relaxed either. Entering the playoffs with an undefeated record is both an honor and a pressure, driving everyone to never dare to relax even the slightest bit.
The prophet adjusts his breathing visibly and his expression becomes serious. Compared to Golden and the factory manager, he appears much more normal, engaged in a conversation seemingly discussing tactics. Then, suddenly, the scene takes a drastic turn.
It seems that Su Bai said a joke that made Lin Weixiang laugh like a fool, and when Su Bai saw the camera from the official site, he casually made a scissors gesture, which caused cheers from the audience.
The screen finally freezes on the commentary booth, with Miller looking calm and somewhat lost in thought. Wang Dodo, who is commentating on the playoffs for the first time, appears slightly nervous, but his solid professionalism allows him to quickly adjust and start warming up before the match.
"Hello summoners in front of the screen, you are now watching the semifinals of the 2018 League of Legends Professional League Summer Playoffs!"
"After four days of intense battles, the summer season has finally reached its most heated stage, and the top four teams have emerged: GT, RW, RNG, and IG. The first ticket to the S8 World Championship will be decided among these four teams! Today's semifinal will kick off between GT and RNG!"
"Hello everyone, I am the commentator Wang Duo Duo."
"Hello everyone, I am Miller."
"Before the competition starts, I want to remind everyone that the RNG team has obtained 90 points in the global finals standings due to winning the Spring Split. So as long as they achieve third place or above in the Summer Split, they will directly secure a spot in the global finals. That means, after today's match, it is possible for the LPL to produce the first global finals qualifier."
After Wang Duoduo finished speaking, Miler continued, "Because both IG and RNG have made it to the top four and also have enough points from the summer split, the GT team can at least qualify for the play-in stage. Therefore, these two teams actually have a chance to represent our LPL in the World Championship."
At this time, players from both teams have gradually entered the arena, and there is still some time before the official match. Wang Dodo glanced at the camera and continued, "Actually, whether it's gt or rng, they undoubtedly represent the top fighting strength of the current LPL. So today's match is definitely the most exciting showdown since the summer split."
Speaking, he turned his gaze to Miller and asked, "So, Professor Miller, what do you think this game will be like?"
These two teams are both fan favorites from the star-studded side, and neither side is easy to offend. Fortunately, Miller is also considered one of the most authoritative commentators in the LPL, so there is no need to worry about anything. After hearing Wang Duoduo's question, he was slightly stunned and said in a calm tone, "These two teams are from the Eastern Conference, and they have had numerous encounters in the regular season."
Right here, Wang Duoduo added, "In terms of head-to-head records in the regular season, GT has a total record of 4:0, and RNG has not won a single game in the two rounds of matches."
Miler couldn't help but feel a bit helpless.
This kid... is he doing this on purpose? How am I supposed to hype up RNG like this...
However, as a professional commentator, it is essential to find players' strengths from different perspectives. Miler continued, "Although RNG lost in the regular season, we can also see during the games that the situation was not completely one-sided, but rather a back-and-forth battle."
"From the perspective of the regular season records of the two teams, it goes without saying that GT19's 19 consecutive victories are a historic achievement, but RNG's record of 14 wins and 5 losses is also absolutely outstanding."
"In addition, it should be noted that RNG has experienced multiple personnel rotations in this summer season, such as Able in the AD position, Karsa in the jungle, and Zzitai in the top lane. Such constant rotations will inevitably have an impact on the team's strength."
In the face of Miller's eloquent speech, Wang Dodo also nodded in agreement and said, "It seems that Miller's evaluation of the two teams is quite high. Actually, I also feel that the difference between the two teams is not big. The outcome of this bo5 match is really hard to predict. As for me personally, I hope that regardless of who wins or loses, it would be best to play all five games. Only then can our viewers before the live stream enjoy it, don't you think?"
After finishing speaking, a prompt from the director came through the headphones. I saw that the screen had switched to the BP interface of both sides. Wang Duoduo immediately said, "Without further ado, let the match officially begin. Let us all look forward to this exciting match brought to us by GT and RNG!"
In the game interface, the ban positions for the first three picks from both sides have been determined. The blue team's GT chose to ban Kai'Sa, Yasuo, and Urgot, while RNG from the red team banned Akali, Katarina, and Yasuo.
rng has banned three heroes, and the commentator Miller laughed: "With these three bans, rng has already lost in terms of momentum. Actually, in the later stages of the regular season, Yu Bai rarely used flashy heroes like this, and gt team's overall strategy is also shifting towards a more operational teamfight direction."
"This can also be considered as a manifestation of GT's enhanced strength. Now, GT no longer needs Moonwhite to counter, nor does it have to rely on Moonwhite's personal abilities to win matches. As long as they play steadily, this team can win based on their normal performance!"
After Miller finished speaking, Wang Dodo continued with a touch of emotion: "This kind of gt is the most terrifying, because you never know when he will suddenly pull off a stunning performance."
"There is no problem with GT's three banning positions. Each of them targets RNG's jungle and support positions. However, even though RNG is being banned in the solo lanes, it doesn't seem to be a problem."
"Since the August rework, Akali has had many outstanding performances, and now she is pretty much a red side ban pick. Champions like Katarina are too dominant in mid lane, especially in the hands of Moonlight, with their ability to make a big impact. Currently, no team dares to let this champion go."
"However, it's quite strange to ban Yasuo as a third pick, because the newly reworked Aatrox is still available. It goes without saying that the priority of Aatrox after the rework is beyond doubt, making him practically a must-pick or ban. At the very least, Camille is also available, and these two champions have a much greater impact in competitive matches compared to Yasuo."
Miler was also a bit confused at this point and didn't understand why RNG would ban Yasuo. He could only speculate, "This should be a strategic ban. Yuebai's Yasuo is also well-known, and RNG's chosen lineup may be countered by this champion."
In the first ban phase, the blue team, GT, took the first pick and locked in Yasuo right away, while RNG swiftly decided on Xayah and Alistar for their bottom lane combo.
Upon seeing RNG's first pick Xayah, Miller had a moment of inspiration and blurted out, "Could it be that RNG is sending Xayah to the mid lane?"
In the current version, XIA can completely choose to go to the mid lane instead of going to the bottom lane, bringing Smite to ensure the development of levels, and with the support of teammates to protect, it is possible to achieve unstoppable farming and development.
This trick has been used a lot in the regular season, and it does have a good effect. RNG's quick selection of the bottom lane combination is undeniably a bit strange.
Seeing RNG's first two picks, it seems that GT also has some insight and picks Crow and Blue Steel Shadow.
"GT's pick of Crow... it probably isn't meant for mid lane, right? GT seems to have sensed RNG's intentions and started countering early. If Xia is really going mid, then there's a high probability that Hu will pick a late-game mage and go bottom lane. GT's pick of Crow doesn't lose out in terms of scaling either."
As the conversation goes on, RNG has already taken down Braum on the third floor.
The dual support composition is formed, almost indicating that Xayah will go mid.
When Miller saw this, he directly said, "So RNG's tone for this match has already been set, with Uzi taking Smite to go mid, Xiaoming using Braum for protection. In the 2v1 situation, Uzi is destined to have an uncontested farming advantage. So in the AD role, RNG is already ahead."
Wang Duoduo looked at the live screen and frowned, saying, "In the situation where gt picks the Crow, they will definitely lack AD damage. Now it depends on whether Yue Bai will pick an unconventional mid laner to counter it."
Miller anticipated the excitement of this unconventional match and couldn't help but laugh, "Come to think of it, Yuebai and Uzi have never faced each other before, who would have thought that these two top domestic players would clash head-on in this way."
Starting with the ban phase of the second round, GT's choice of Crow seems very subtle and may not necessarily be picked. In the information known to RNG, Yuebai is not absolutely incapable of playing this hero.
After careful consideration, RNG chose to ban two AD champions.
One reason is that Yasuo and Irelia have already been banned in the mid lane, and with Braum guarding, there is no need to target ban other mid laners for Yuanbai. Secondly, Xiaohu picked a mage in the bot lane, and it may not be ideal to face an AD champion, so it's better to ban Lin Weixiang's proficient AD champions and force him to play as Kai'Sa in the bot lane. This not only reduces GT's AD damage output but also allows Xiaohu to farm better.
RNG ultimately banned Lucian and Vayne. GT had already thought ahead and quickly banned the teamfight-oriented champions that RNG urgently needed – Ornn and Sion.
Although these two heroes are not strong against Swordmaster, they can still have a significant impact in the late game if they survive and farm.
Letme's top three best heroes were banned, and faced with Jin Gong's Swordmaster, RNG was not willing to engage in a direct confrontation. After a long discussion, they finally chose Mundo to withstand the pressure.
gt did not choose an unconventional mid-laner to counter uzi as wang duoduo had anticipated. Instead, they continued to have yue bai pick galio, which was a pretty good choice to complement qinggang ying.
The prophet on the fifth floor took out Morgana and made the lineup of GT determined. The bottom lane consists of a combination of dual mage offense and defense, and the mid-jungle duo is coordinated to roam and find rhythm.
The counter pick of RNG at the end is not for countering Yue Bai, but for countering Lin Weixiang.
All the viewers, including the commentator, felt as if the era had changed.
Once upon a time, when facing GT, almost all teams tacitly agreed that countering the hero Yue Bai (Moon White) on the red side was necessary to have a chance of winning.
However, now it is not that Moon White is not worth counterattacking, but rather that he simply does not give you a chance to counter.
When you feel like you must counter, it often means you believe you can win. However, if you cannot even find an opportunity to counter, then perhaps that is the beginning of despair.