Chapter 728: SSG's Back‑to‑the‑Water Battle

Liang Yan witnessed the entire process of the "Time-Space Reversal" incident, which is considered a very famous landmark event in LPL history.

The difference is, in the timeline Liang Yan experienced, EDG's opponent was Snake; but in this timeline, the victim turned out to be WE…… History doesn't simply repeat, yet it always returns to its destined course in ways you wouldn't expect.

Liang Yan felt many emotions inside, but unfortunately couldn't share this unique experience with anyone.

WE fans' indignation eventually faded with time into a mild resentment, while the LPL regular season continued as usual into its phase-end.

By now in the regular season, everyone already knows each team's strength; at this point, even the old water ghost dad has exhausted his last strength, and at this juncture, upper-middle tier teams won't let their own squads suddenly lose playoff spots, so every game is played with all-out effort, and the chance of an upset has been compressed to the minimum.

Therefore, the LPL really has nothing worth watching anymore.

Liang Yan likewise shifted more attention to the neighboring region—partly because their matches indeed have higher technical content, partly to satisfy his own small vanity and curiosity.

— Liang Yan predicted the LCK playoff results in a public livestream, stating the win/loss outcomes for the subsequent three Bo5 series, though he didn't predict the scores.

August 15, the second match of the LCK playoffs began, with the opposing sides being the LCK region's most classic rivals, SKT and SSG.

Liang Yan was livestreaming and watching together with netizens.

Before the match, the vast majority predicted SSG would take down SKT, only differing on the score, most thinking it would be 3-2; and the reason everyone thought SSG would win was primarily because of their regular-season double kill over SKT, then came bloodline theory and similar metaphysical factors; as for technical aspects, domestic and overseas netizens are actually quite similar—after presupposing SSG would win, they seek reasons, and of course can give a plausible analysis, or failing that, just recite a few recordings of SSG's double-kill games against SKT and still sound convincing.

But Liang Yan's prediction was that SKT would win.

Netizens teased him for deliberately being contrarian and seeking attention.

Two hours later, netizens were harshly slapped in the face.

The result was that Liang Yan's prediction was correct—not just correct, but overly so! Because the final score of this LCK playoff Bo5 was 3-0!

SKT crushed SSG 3-0!

What regular-season double kill, what bloodline curse—none of it existed anymore, like a beast awakening from sleep, slightly lifting its head and letting out a low growl, SKT faintly bared its fangs……

The world was shocked!

……

That night.

Korea, SSG base.

Everyone had already returned to the base; Coach Edgar didn't call a review meeting, just let the team continue free training, then one person went outside to smoke.

In the training room, the atmosphere was gloomy and dismal.

Just as someone from the bay side guessed, even before the regular season ended, after returning from the Intercontinental Tournament, SSG's research focus had already shifted away from domestic matches; they decisively stopped researching the version used on the LCK stage, and instead devoted themselves entirely to predicting and studying the details of future versions.

Yes, Head Coach Edgar pointed out the correct direction, and everyone at SSG had indeed prepared themselves mentally to either succeed or die trying.

Even before the playoffs started, before the S7 World Championship tickets were handed out, they had already resolved to prepare fiercely to contend on that future battlefield, leaving no retreat.

But when the reality's heavy hammer struck, they still felt that mountain‑like, suffocating immense pressure.

Today they lost terribly.

Weren't there rumors that SKT also stopped researching the current version?

But as soon as they clashed today, they discovered, just how fierce SKT is!!

Could those rumors have been deliberately released by SKT to confuse opponents?

But that's also impossible—although the two teams are indeed archrivals, as the saying goes, the one who knows you best is your opponent; given SSG's understanding of SKT, the proud SKT would surely scorn doing such a thing, and moreover, SKT's morale could not possibly be lower than SSG's!

In this situation—after being crushed by VG in the Intercontinental Tournament, could SKT still spare large amounts of time and energy to research tactics destined to be useless on that higher stage?

Would those SKT guys be so short‑sighted?

But regardless, a cruel result now lay before the SSG members.

The path to S7 via playoff promotion has been cut off; if SSG still wants to reach the S7 stage, the only remaining road is to fight their way up from the qualifiers.

Ah, history is so similar.

The SSG members faintly felt a sense of destiny, as if everything had returned to the starting point.

Last year's summer split, SSG was also eliminated in the first playoff round by KT with a 3-0 score. Then SSG started from the second round of the qualifiers, fought their way up, and on the final stage killed the KT that had knocked them out in the playoffs, securing the LCK region's last ticket to the S6 World Championship.

This year's SSG retains the same roster as last summer.

This means everyone present has experienced that summer of last year.

And precisely because they have gone through that experience, they now understand just how brutal and dangerous that road is.

The qualifiers……

Just thinking about it is frightening.

Because it truly is a one‑way road with no return.

Could it be that this year's team can truly follow last year's footsteps and walk an identical path—first‑round playoff exit 3-0, then the qualifiers transform into a killing god and break through? If that happened, SSG would truly be the qualifiers' war god.

That would simply be a miracle.

But how could a miracle be so easily created?

This made everyone in SSG unable to suppress inner turmoil, they began to wander in thought, and inevitably touched upon that trembling idea deep in their hearts—

What if they really can't make it to S7—what would they do?

Whoosh——!

The training room door was flung open from outside, and Coach Edgar strode in, reeking of smoke and the sultry summer air.

Everyone turned their heads in unison.

Edgar stood with hands on hips in the middle of the training room, his expression looking somewhat fierce.

"Don't speak of losing heart, and please set aside any negative thoughts.

"Our ancestors have a saying—'fight with one's back to the water'! Kids, we are now in a back‑to‑the‑water situation! By now we have no retreat.

"But there is still a road ahead of us……