Chapter 554: I'll Come Tomorrow

G2 lost.

When the match ended, compared to the significance of losing this kind of match, the expressions of all G2 members were still relatively calm—this match had lasted over forty minutes, but in fact, when KT took the first Baron at twenty-eight minutes, the outcome was already decided, and the emotions that G2 members should have erupted had already been spent at the moment they lost the Baron.

So at this point it was all right.

But everyone's gaze looked as if it had been drained, with a layer of defeat floating over it.

After shaking hands, they still didn't leave immediately, just sat silently in their gaming chairs, dazed, until Tang Anna came from backstage onto the stage, then they began packing up their peripherals.

Liang Yan sat downstairs watching this scene, feeling somewhat unwilling.

Afterwards, the lights over the G2 side player seats dimmed, and everyone silently packed up their equipment in the darkness, then left quietly.

Afterwards G2 participated in the official post-match group interview; when Perkz was asked about his feelings of regretting the loss, Mithy, who sat one seat away from Perkz, suddenly burst into tears.

Liang Yan watched the group interview livestream in the hotel lounge, then posted a tweet:

【Rest well, I'll come tomorrow】

There is no rest day between the semifinals and the finals; tomorrow is the final showdown.

In less than half an hour, this tweet was pushed to the top of the day's hot search list; subsequently it was screenshotted and forwarded domestically, all major platforms instantly erupted, and the hashtag #I'llComeTomorrow# quickly dominated the charts on Zhihu, Weibo, and Tieba.

……

Later that evening.

The luggage had already been packed.

Tang Anna sat on the bed of the hotel room, gazing at the night outside the window.

The night sky over Li Yue was like a piece of dark blue velvet, sparsely dotted with a few twinkling faint stars.

Faint music and noisy sounds came from the distant beach direction; it was probably Ka Lao Si leading a group of people to relax.

G2's flight is tomorrow morning.

Tang Anna sat for a while, then got up and changed into a loose white T-shirt and light blue jeans, slipped on flip-flops, let her hair hang loosely over her shoulders, and went out like that.

She had no appointment; after going downstairs she just wandered aimlessly in the courtyard.

Losing to KT wasn't shameful, and G2's supporters didn't insult anyone on Twitter, because everyone could see that G2 had given their all.

In today's Bo5, every G2 player performed well, nobody made a mistake worthy of being called a war criminal, and they lost the match only by a narrow margin.

What were they lacking?

Maybe it was luck, maybe something else.

In short, for everyone, this was an acceptable result.

But Tang Anna still felt uneasy inside.

She didn't actually want to cry; she just felt a lump in her chest, not heavy, not painful, but oppressive—she couldn't spit it out or swallow it down, so it just stayed stuck there.

Perkz had said he wanted to fight his way to the finals for revenge…… too bad, there's no chance now.

Tang Anna thought that.

From behind came a light but steady footstep; Tang Anna turned around and indeed saw that familiar face.

Liang Yan lowered his head, carefully examined Tang Anna's eyes, then smiled and said:

"It's fine, you haven't cried."

Tang Anna gave him a sideways glance, noticing in her peripheral vision that Liang Yan was holding a cap in his hand.

But it was the cap that Liang Yan had snatched that night.

The two began walking side by side; Liang Yan lightly tapped the cap against his thigh, speaking with a teasing tone:

"I originally wanted to keep it as a trophy, but then I thought I don't lack one either; whereas you came to Ba Xi and got nothing, even lost a cap—how pitiful. So I'll just give it back to you."

Tang Anna turned around, the corner of her mouth stubbornly turned down, glaring at Liang Yan.

Liang Yan raised his hand, personally placed the cap on her head, then brushed aside the few strands of golden hair falling on her cheeks, looking at her eyes already misty, and said:

"It's okay, I'll help you get revenge."

Tang Anna finally couldn't hold it in; the strength she had forced in front of teammates, the composure she maintained before the media, even the calm she had almost fooled herself with—all collapsed at this moment. She threw herself into Liang Yan's arms and burst into loud sobs.

Liang Yan simply held her quietly, gently patting her back.

……

Ba Xi time, May 21, 2:00 PM.

The 2017 MSI finals opened.

Today, the Rio Olympic Stadium opened all its seats; over twenty thousand people poured in, filling the stands on all sides.

On the big screen the countdown reached zero, as a fist smashed the number "0", the simultaneous roar of over twenty thousand people exploded like a heavy bomb detonating inside the venue.

Above the stage, a golden beam of light split the darkness; the square platform carrying the MSI trophy rose slowly at the center of the stage, the lights encircling the venue lit up in sequence, like a light dragon coiling inside the arena. Background music emerged simultaneously, heavy drums, soaring strings, each note striking the heart like a war drum.

With a whoosh, two huge team flags unfurled above the stage.

The venue host's voice sounded:

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

"Welcome to the grand final of the 2017 Mid-Season Invitational!!!"

The host's voice was loud enough, but still drowned out by the cheers.

Online, the Chinese, Korean, English, Portuguese, Japanese streams…… official livestreams in over ten languages worldwide simultaneously broadcast the finals opening ceremony. According to data aggregated by Riot, the total number of viewers on global streaming platforms surpassed the peak viewership of last year's World Championship within less than five minutes after the opening ceremony began.

It's not that this match's importance surpasses that of the Worlds final; rather, the player and viewer base has grown enormously—this is the benefit brought by G2 breaking LCK's monopoly and winning decisively last year; although G2 has now departed, a key contributor remains.

"Let us welcome the two teams that will present today's ultimate showdown!

"LPL representative team——!

"Vici! Gaming!!!

"And,

"LCK representative team——!

「KT！Rolster！！！」

Bang!

Fireworks burst simultaneously around the stage, the camera aimed at the smoky, winding backstage passage exit, and two columns of players in differently colored uniforms walked out of the passage, like two knives placed side by side, slowly being drawn from their sheaths.

The players from both sides stood face to face in the center of the stage, and the host introduced each member of the two teams one by one, including the head coach and assistant coach.

At this moment, Tabe felt a bit embarrassed.

Although he had specially worn height-increasing shoes today, he was still the shortest among the dozen or so people from both teams.

However, Tabe had no time to be embarrassed; he heard the wave-like cheers, looked up at the sea of people in the stands, and his heart was overwhelmed with excitement.

He's back, he's returned to the top international stage!