Chapter 514: You deserve it

At the start of this spring season, Doublelift went on vacation.

It wasn't because he felt discouraged after failing to advance from last year's World Championship; rather, he was tired from work and wanted to have some fun—the North America region is just that laid-back.

Midway through the spring season, Doublelift suddenly announced his return and joined the TL team.

At that time, TL had suffered a streak of losses and was on the brink of relegation; Doublelift answered the call in crisis, single-handedly pulling TL back from the brink, demonstrating strong dominance on this North American battlefield, earning praise from commentators as the NA version of Uzi, a man who could rival G2's champion marksman Zven.

Therefore, although Doublelift didn't appear on the MSI stage, his reputation in the North America region grew ever louder.

In contrast, the ancient legendary marksman WildTurtle (the Old Turtle Brother), who left IMT last year to team up with Huni, possibly assimilated by odd teammates there, saw his skills deteriorate severely; after returning to TSM this year, his performance could only be described as mediocre, with the spring finals relying almost entirely on his teammates to carry him.

In this qualifier match against GAM, WildTurtle's performance was likewise unsatisfactory; over five games, he failed to suppress the opposing wildcard bottom lane duo in any game, he coasted through the games they should have won and took the blame for the losses.

Thus it's no wonder the North American audience is so angry.

For a while, calls for Doublelift to return to TSM surged again like a wave across North America's online discourse.

Fortunately, after TSM narrowly defeated GAM, they ultimately secured a ticket to the MSI main event.

Moreover, GAM, though defeated, remained honorable and was not eliminated. This was a do-or-die match for the top three; they still had another game two days later. This team, known as GIGABYTE Marines, sponsored by the renowned motherboard maker Gigabyte Technology, has a roster that in the Southeast Asia region can be called a stellar battleship, strong in strength; from its inception, its goal has been to reach the World Championship, to show the world that wild-card teams also have heroes.

—As for this best-of-five series, GAM indeed achieved that to a certain extent.

The next day was the second qualifier match, SUP versus FW.

In this match, the Flash Wolves did not tarnish the prestige of the "five major regions"; they swept the opponent 3–1 and secured the second-to-last ticket.

After two days, the final qualifier match kicked off between GAM and SUP.

People expected a chaotic scramble, but little did they know the outcome would be SUP being utterly crushed by GAM on one side; the match looked like a complete replay of the Flash Wolves' game, even the score was identical.

After eight days, the qualifier journey finally ended; GAM secured the last spot, while the poor Turkish veteran, a powerhouse in his home region, arrived full of hope at the international stage, having endured a bloody fight, barely breaking out of the cockfighting pit, only to be slapped silly by two piapia slaps right at the start—most aggravating of all, losing to a major-region team would be understandable, but to lose so badly to another wild-card team like GAM really dealt a blow to the confidence of Turkish-region netizens……

Finally, the three teams that qualified from the play-ins are:

FW from the LMS,

TSM from NA,

GAM from the GPL.

With all the MSI main-event slots now settled, the various regional seed teams that had previously been watching from home set off one after another, flying to Brazil.

……

On the same day the qualifiers ended, the VG team readied themselves for departure.

Before departure, Liang Yan opened another stream to formally bid farewell to the fans.

"Once I'm there I can't just stream casually, so I probably won't be able to go live for about half a month, but you'll see me on the official stream—anyway, when I stream I'm just playing games, so by then watching the matches will be even more exciting……"

The fans were reluctant to let go.

【I really wish I could come watch you play live, but I'm at work, sigh】

【Wuuu, my older sister is also in school】

【I heard things are a bit chaotic over there, Yanbao, you gotta take good care of yourself】

【When is that place ever not chaotic? Drug dealers, trikes, tsk tsk~, take it easy】

【Don't be scared, Brother's farming over here—come, I've got you!】

【Go farm in Brazil???】

【Don't listen to the nonsense online, give it your all, old man!】

【You must bring back a championship, so those gossips shut up completely!】

【Go, Jiao Shen!】

"Don't worry, folks—the club will take care of everything off the field."

After a few more words, Liang Yan ended the stream, returned to the dorm, and began checking his luggage to see if anything was missing.

While he was checking, Wang Liangyi swayed over and reminded him:

"Brother, I checked the weather—it's autumn there now, and South America is about to enter winter; evenings will likely be chilly, so remember to bring a few thicker pieces of clothing."

Liang Yan casually picked up a jacket from his suitcase:

"Is this enough?"

Wang Liangyi came over, took a close look, and nodded:

"A long-sleeve base layer plus this jacket will also do."

After confirming a few other miscellaneous items, Liang Yan zipped up his suitcase, shouldered his backpack, and went to the first-floor lobby of the base to assemble.

Once everyone was present, Gao Jun conducted a second check of everyone's carry-on items, then handed out the plane tickets to each person.

Liang Yan took a look and saw it was a business-class seat, which surprised him at once.

That's quite a generous move.

International flights aren't cheap; tickets averaging over twenty hours still cost tens of thousands even with group discounts.

Others also noticed this detail and showed surprised expressions.

Gangzi exclaimed on the spot:

"Holy cow, the boss is generous!"

Lu Wenjun, standing to the side with hands behind his back, smiling at the crowd, walked over, patted Gangzi's shoulder, and said:

"This amount of money is nothing—you deserve it."

His gaze swept over the crowd, his expression slightly solemn, and he spoke earnestly:

"It's a pity I can't go with you all this time……"

This time Lu Wenjun is not joining the expedition; instead, he stays in Shanghai to hold down the fort.

It's not that he doesn't value MSI; on the contrary, Lu Wenjun longs more than anyone for a valuable international tournament trophy.

But Lu Wenjun ultimately manages a large household, and he's usually busy; with the LPL summer season reform imminent, many matters still require his personal attention.

Lu Wenjun offered a few words of encouragement, then finally said:

Everyone fight well, I'm at home waiting to set up a victory banquet for you!