Chapter 444: Do You Know Lu Xun?

In the lounge's TV, the barrage flowed across the screen like a stream.

【RNG, go!】

【Little dog, awesome!】

【Is this the B group's strength crushing the A group you mentioned?】

【Heh, a bunch of online viewers don't know shit, the playoffs and regular season are totally different games!】

【It's obvious RNG was deliberately showing weakness when playing against VG.】

【Yeah, in the regular season you just need to secure first place in points; winning one more or losing one doesn't matter at all!】

【Make it to the finals, crush VG!】

Tabe stared at these barrages, occasionally glancing at Liang Yan, his ears feeling a bit hot.

Not long ago he was in front of Liang Yan predicting RNG would be crushed by EDG, but he didn't expect RNG to survive against the odds and win two games in a row; this RNG made Tabe feel somewhat unfamiliar, also made him feel a bit embarrassed, as if he'd been slapped in the face.

A commotion came from outside; probably the two teams have returned.

Xiao Duan stood up then sat back down, probably wanting to go next door to congratulate Uzi, but he was afraid of disturbing their tactical discussion, so he endured.

The four players from top, mid, jungle, and support were crowded together on the sofa, watching the LCK final on Liang Yan's phone screen. The first game had ended, KT took a point first; now it's the second game, the match had been underway for about ten minutes, SKT had a gold lead of over a thousand, but in terms of composition KT would have the advantage in the late game.

"Dragging it out gives KT a good chance."

The Marquis gave a solemn evaluation.

Liang Yan was pressed on the shoulder by Fu Lan Duo, and he nodded with effort:

"Yes, but SKT's composition will soon hit its power spike; if we can't hold up, we'll easily blow up."

"I still hope KT can win."

The Marquis spoke his mind.

Sima Laozei looked a bit strange, glanced at the Marquis, and said:

"Weren't you previously with SKT?"

The Marquis gave an embarrassed smile to Sima Laozei, but didn't answer.

Sima Laozei looked puzzled.

Liang Yan laughed without looking up:

"Luxuanjun has a book in his drawer; Ma Ge can borrow it to look at when he goes back."

"What the hell, why are you rummaging through my drawer?"

"Get lost; when you come back for New Year, you yourself asked me to help tidy the dorm."

"Oh, I forgot. But I feel Ma Ge wouldn't understand."

"What book?"

"Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The vernacular edition."

"I've read it."

"Then do you know Lu Xun?"

"I know; he never lost a battle, pretty impressive."

The Marquis immediately added upon hearing that:

"More precisely, he is the fiercest war god of the Three Kingdoms."

"So he's pretty good."

Sima Laozei looked puzzled at Fu Lan Duo, not understanding what metaphor she intended by invoking the Three Kingdoms figure Lu Xun.

Fu Lan Duo shook her head, offering no explanation.

"Is Lu Xun awesome? Awesome turned sour. But the ending was death by resentment."

"Is the Marquis formidable? Extremely so. But he was also driven away by SKT."

However, speaking of which, there actually is another ancient figure that better fits the Marquis's persona, but he's not from the Three Kingdoms.

Well, Lian Po.

The Marquis seemed to recall some unpleasant things, his expression somewhat gloomy.

Liang Yan patted the Marquis's shoulder:

"If there's no place for you here, there will be a place for you elsewhere."

The Marquis nodded and sincerely said thank you.

Several people crowded on the sofa to continue watching the LCK final.

It's a pity KT couldn't withstand SKT's mid-game push.

Around twenty-five minutes in, KT was pressured to the point of breathlessness under the strong poke of Armor Penetration Varus plus Jayce; under the pressure, KT jungler Score couldn't withstand the stress, made a major mistake in a dragon defense teamfight, was lifted by Faker's Rock Eagle, then died under SKT's instant focus fire, thus losing the dragon.

KT fought a desperate battle, taking advantage of SKT's dragon attempt nearing its end to engage aggressively despite being outnumbered; ultimately they left three SKT members alive, while KT's side lost only Pawn's Orianna.

One for three, the teamfight looked like KT came out ahead, but SKT secured the dragon, and moreover kept the dragon souls in the crucial top and mid lanes.

After SKT regrouped, they began a 4-1 split push, not forcing high ground, but before the dragon buff ended they demolished many towers; KT's side had only the second turret left, all other outer turrets collapsed, and SKT expanded their gold lead to over six thousand.

In the LCK civil war, such an advantage can already be considered a winning edge.

Even though KT's composition indeed has an advantage in the late game, facing such a huge gold deficit they are still powerless to turn the tide.

One-all.

Liang Yan lifted his head and took a deep breath.

Without a doubt, SKT has evolved again, finding a more perfect balance between strengthening their finishing ability and stable macro play.

However, KT is not without a chance; in game one they won using their own approach against SKT, showing KT's raw strength is not inferior to SKT's, and even if they continue with the current playstyle, KT's win probability in this best-of-five is about half.

Moreover, KT still has something even stronger that they haven't brought out yet.

However, Liang Yan could no longer continue watching.

When the second game of the LCK finals had just finished, the EDG vs. RNG semifinal here also finally came to a decision.

"Three to two, congratulations to EDG for advancing to the 2017 LPL Spring Finals!"

"Too bad, RNG, you didn't hold it together in the final game!"

"To be frank, after winning two straight games, RNG seems a bit overconfident."

"Locking Vayne as the third pick really shows you don't take EDG seriously. Zet, this player who switched from mid lane, may have average laning, but that's also when the Xia Lu combo is evenly matched, and this Vayne of yours..."

"All I can say is that this BP really is problematic; I just don't know whether the issue lies with Feng Ge or whether Uzi himself wanted to pick Vayne."

Actually, the answer is obvious.

Even if FireFox's BP were terrible, they wouldn't go so far as to directly lock Vayne as the third pick; it's pretty clear that Uzi himself wanted to take it.

As for why Uzi would do that?

All we can do is wait to see if the officials will release the mic for that game's BP, but that seems unlikely, so in the end there probably won't be a definitive answer.

"Alright, it's our turn now!"

Gao Jun stood up and reached out his hand to the group,

"Come on, come on, hand over your phones, no more playing, it's almost time to go on stage."

Liang Yan reluctantly handed over his phone.

It's a shame, he was still kinda curious to see what expression Faker would have after losing the finals.

Yeah, after watching the first two games, he'd already given KT an advance on a championship.

After all, KT is kind of his half‑disciple; with their skills being about even, KT could win against SKT whether they tried or not.

Although SKT's adjustment ability is monstrous, the tricks KT has hidden can't be resolved in just a few minutes of rest.