mousepad-d2 Chapter 27: Four China-South Korea battles, a full house!
Chapter 27: Four China-South Korea battles, a full house!
After finishing the post-match interview, I returned to the locker room and found that my teammates had not yet returned.
Guo Hao came over to greet him first, without pulling him aside, and said:
"Good job, keep the heat low!"
"You kept your word; with you, we really can win!"
Lin Jin shrugged, neither confirming nor denying.
Guo Hao continued, "We'll handle your matter with White Crescent, don't worry."
He gave him a knowing look, and Lin Jin waved his hand and said:
"I'm not interested in how he handles things. I just want to play well in the game. You don't need to tell me about his situation, Hao-ge."
Guo Hao gave a wry smile.
"Okay, I understand."
After all the teammates returned, everyone happily went out for a meal together.
Lin Jin ate while browsing the forum, finding it quite interesting to read the various comments from netizens online.
He found that his reputation and public opinion were very positive, almost to an absurd degree.
Many netizens consider him to be the best top laner in the LPL.
"Huozi can carry and tank, he plays both warriors and tanks exceptionally well, he's definitely the best top laner in the LPL!"
"We in the LPL have our own Zeus!"
"Wow, Huozi is so young, and he's already this good in his first World Championship."
"I think Huozi will definitely become the number one player in the LPL in the future!"
"A world-class top laner, Huo Zi!"
"Huozi was the best today, the guys from Top Esports should really give him a shout-out."
"I'm really looking forward to the showdown between Huozi and Zeus; it's sure to be exciting."
"I feel like I've become a fan of Huozi. His playing style is so captivating."
"Huozi is awesome! His market value skyrocketed after this world championship!"
"Seriously, another new star is about to be born in the LPL!"
…………
The next day.
The final day of the group stage matches, the day for Group D to advance.
The LPL's Li-Ning team is currently on a three-game winning streak and is ranked first in their group.
However, they were quickly defeated by Samsung in the next match.
Li Ning suffered a crushing defeat.
Fortunately, the remaining two teams were too weak, and Li Ning won their matches, securing early qualification for the knockout stage.
Next up is a tiebreaker match against Samsung.
In this tiebreaker, Li Ning's lineup was unconventional, but Samsung played steadily and gave them almost no chance throughout the game, winning the match directly.
Commentator: "Congratulations to Samsung for defeating Li Ning in the tiebreaker and taking first place in the group."
"Indeed, after watching these two matches, Samsung's strength is still very strong."
"Although Li Ning has already secured a spot in the next round and defeated Samsung in the first round, the gap between them is too large in the upcoming match against Samsung."
"Samsung is improving, and Li Ning feels like it's becoming a bit harder to compete with them."
After the Group D matches are completed, all eight quarter-final spots will be determined.
Interestingly, all eight quarterfinalists are from the China and South Korea regions.
Group A: EDG and T1; Group B: JD Gaming and DK; Group C: Top Esports and DRX; Group D: Samsung and Li-Ning.
The comments section was also flooded with:
"Amazing, they've swept both the China and South Korea competition zones."
"This is not a good thing. Other regions don't want to play anymore."
"Yeah, how can Westerners have fun like this?"
"The West is saying: We've long since given up on this game, you Asians can play it yourselves."
"The old World Championships were much better; there were amazing teams from all the major regions."
"Even if we truly rule, it won't mean much anymore."
"That's good too, the China-South Korea showdown will be at its peak right now!"
"With this kind of quarterfinal draw, there will definitely be an all-Chinese affair."
"Yes, there's no way to avoid it."
After all the interviews for Group D were completed, the next step was the lottery ceremony.
Representatives from the eight teams also came to the stage.
After the host explained the rules, the guests who were drawing lots were ready.
The first-place team in their group plays against the second-place team from another group.
There is no principle of avoiding competition zones.
That was really exciting.
This means that Top Esports' opponents will be EDG, the second-place team in Group A; DK, the second-place team in Group B; and Li Ning, the second-place team in Group D.
There is a two-thirds chance of a civil war.
The comments section was flooded with:
"Hopefully there won't be an internal conflict. Let's get DK for Top Esports."
"Haha, you want to hit Xu Xiu with your left hand."
"JD.com, bring us a DRX, let's meet at the top."
"Only this way can we avoid civil war, hopefully."
"Let the lottery start quickly, I can't stay up any longer."
Next, the drawing ceremony began, starting with the four number one seeds.
T1, JD.com, Topsports, and Samsung.
Top Esports is in the bottom half of the bracket, the same half as Samsung.
JD.com and T1 are in the upper half of the bracket.
Next came the crucial draw, and luckily, they were quite fortunate.
JD.com did indeed win DRX, and Top Esports also won DK as they wished.
The only way to avoid civil war has been found.
However, Li Ning will face T1, and EDG will face Samsung, both of which will be tough matches.
After the draw was completed, the commentators were all saying:
"Okay, this is a good signature."
"There was a two-thirds chance of an internal conflict, and I actually got drawn."
"This is the best draw ever for the LPL, good luck!"
"Li-Ning and EDG are tough opponents. We'll be playing against T1 and Samsung, but no matter what, we have to fight!"
"Top Esports vs. DK, JD Gaming vs. DRX, neither of them seem to be under much pressure."
"Four matches between China and South Korea is already very good."
Netizens are flooding the screen with comments:
"Holy crap, that's awesome!"
"Haha, four China-South Korea matches, the draw guest's hand is really something."
"It looks great! I'm really looking forward to it!"
"Top Esports is really lucky. They got the worst DK team. It feels like they can't even beat DRX."
"Li Ning is in trouble. They're going to lose badly against T1."
"EDG is in a bad situation too. How are they going to beat Samsung? Scout looks like he's about to get a bowel movement from SuperV."
"Let's all do our best! Now that the match is out, let's go for it!"
"This year's theme is simple: the China-South Korea showdown! Let's go all out!"
In the lounge, Guo Hao almost burst out laughing when he saw that Top Esports' opponent was DK.
Then I realized I couldn't laugh, otherwise I'd be filmed.
He said:
"Alright, the opponent has appeared, DK!"
"We need to pull ourselves together and go all out against the DK!"
Coach Fang also said, "DK is very strong this year, so don't underestimate them."
"We still have time to adjust and strive to get ourselves into the best shape before the knockout stage."
"On behalf of the coaching team, I will serve everyone well and make more tactical preparations."
This was also a way for him to show the management that he was capable of taking on the responsibilities of head coach.
Since White Crescent Moon was no longer there, after he took over the draft phase, the team won consecutive matches and even secured first place in the group.
Then the head coach position is definitely his!
Guo Hao was also delighted and waved his hand, "Let's go! Let's have a get-together!"
Tonight's dinner was quite lavish, at a local Chinese restaurant.
The owner recognized Top Esports Club and enthusiastically offered to waive their bill, but Guo Hao ultimately paid the bill.
Lin Jin also took some photos and posted them on Weibo:
"The group stage is over, keep up the good work in the knockout stage."