Chapter 194: Script

After wiping out all of ANX, the five members of ROX pressed forward without hesitation, rushed onto ANX's high ground, and began frantically outputting damage around ANX's base.

The commentator's voice echoed throughout the venue:

「TheNexusisdown！！

「ROXWINS！！

「ROXWINS！！！

The commentator's voice reached its peak at the final moment, then abruptly stopped.

A wave-like sound surged in; the audience were not celebrating ROX's victory, but venting their emotions over the end of an epic battle.

At the moment ANX's base exploded, the entire Bill Graham Civic Auditorium rang not with cheers of victory, but with a sound lasting several seconds:

「Oh————！！！

This was a sigh over the miracle that failed to come to pass.

It was also a reflection on whether ROX had still managed to preserve the honor of the LCK's first seed.

The commentators fell silent.

On the big screen, ANX's support player Likkrit appeared, his eyes red, packing up his equipment and preparing to leave the stage.

The entire audience fell silent.

「ANX！！！

Suddenly, someone from the audience shouted loudly.

Likkrit, who had been lowering his head as he walked backstage, slowly stopped, turned around, and bowed deeply to the audience.

Nearly ten thousand spectators in the venue quickly rose to their feet.

Before this, whenever the match on stage had nothing to do with a North American region team or SKT, regardless of the outcome, the audience would shout either TSM or USA after the game.

But this time, the name of a wildcard team echoed throughout the venue:

「ANX！！！

「ANX！！！

「ANX！！！

As the sound wave faded with the stage lights dimming, the commentator's voice finally rang out again:

「A 66-minute epic battle.

「Every minute was filled with both teams' yearning for victory.

「Although ANX ultimately lost... no, we cannot call it a defeat; this was the wild card team's most powerful roar in League of Legends history!

「As Likkrit said, they came from the most obscure CIS region, yet on this stage they faced the world's strongest team—and almost won!

「We have every reason to believe that if given another chance to play a rematch, the outcome might be completely different! Perhaps they could truly create a miracle! Become the first wildcard team in history to advance to the quarterfinals of the World Championships!

「Although the miracle's dawn has faded, the battle has not yet ceased.

「ROX too has not secured a comfortable spot! If they want a better position in the quarterfinals, they must continue to fight hard! 」

After ANX lost this match, the qualification spots for Group A were settled.

The records of the four teams are as follows:

First place, G2, 4-1

Second place, ROX, 3-2

Third place, ANX, 2-3

Fourth place, CLG, 1-4

There are still two matches left.

One match is G2 versus ANX.

The other match is ROX versus CLG.

If ANX beats G2, then both teams' records will become 3-3 and 4-2 respectively.

If ROX loses the final match to CLG, then the standings are locked: G2 advances as first place, while ROX, thanks to tiebreaker advantage over equally-pointed ANX, secures the second spot.

But unless ROX stubbornly keeps playing the Dragon King, the chance of ROX losing to CLG is small, and ROX's score would also rise to 4-2, tying with G2.

Finally, there would be a tiebreaker match.

What followed was both surprising and yet carried a sense of expected contradiction.

In the fifth match, G2 indeed lost.

In the sixth match, ROX defeated CLG.

Afterwards, ROX played G2 in a tiebreaker and ROX won.

The Group A qualification battle thus came to a close.

G2, who went 3-0 in the first round, ended up with a 1-3 in the second round, finishing second overall.

Meanwhile, ROX, who started 1-2 in the first round, after a desperate struggle won all of their second-round matches, ultimately finishing with a 5-2 record, edging out G2 to claim the group's top seed.

Some say this is a script written by G2.

Others say ANX is genuinely strong; if ANX had been like this in the first round, G2 would likely have already been eliminated, and G2 truly cannot beat them.

Still others claim both sides were paid off, just putting on a show for each other.

……

In the hotel.

SKT training room.

All computers were turned off, everyone sat in a circle, looking at the small blackboard in coach Kkoma's hand, all with solemn expressions.

Kkoma laid the small blackboard flat on his thigh, quickly scribbled with an oil-based pen; there wasn't much to write, and he finished soon.

Kkoma raised the blackboard upright, lifted his head, and looked at everyone:

Now only our group remains.

Everyone can see, the six teams that have already qualified are:

Group C, H2K, EDG

Group D, RNG, SSG

Group A, ROX, G2

Did you see that clearly?

Everyone answered that they saw it clearly.

Kkoma nodded, then said:

Alright, next I will ask everyone a few questions; please think carefully and answer me truthfully.

The first question:

Of the two teams that qualified from Group C, which one would be easier for us to beat? No, let me put it more strictly: if we were to draw one of those two teams as our quarterfinal opponent, which matchup do you think would give us a higher win rate?

Begin thinking.

Ten seconds later.

Faker was the first to raise his hand.

Kkoma nodded.

They're the same.

Faker said calmly.

Kkoma gestured for him to continue.

Faker then analyzed at a leisurely pace:

By comparing our win rates in practice matches against other teams and those two teams' win rates against other teams, our win rate against either of them is over 80%; although I don't rule out the possibility that someone might be inflating their practice results, I personally believe our practice data is closer to the truth and worth referencing.

Moreover, if we factor in our hidden trump cards, I think that win rate could reach 90% or even higher.

Furthermore, considering that the quarterfinals are best-of-five, I can guarantee that no matter which of those two teams we face, we will be sure to win.

Everyone nodded while listening.

Kkoma looked around at everyone with a smile.

It seems everyone has roughly the same opinion?

Everyone nodded like pecking chickens.

Alright, then I'll ask the next question.

Kkoma lowered his head to glance at the small blackboard,

The same question: if we were to draw one of the two qualifying teams from Group D as our quarterfinal opponent, which matchup would give us a higher win rate?

RNG.