Chapter 786: But?

In the afternoon, as it neared six o'clock, the global LOL community was flooded with a piece of news.

The LCK region's S7 qualifying match ended, with SSG defeating KT 3-0 to claim the LCK region's final Worlds slot.

Although most people predicted KT would win before the match, they also thought SSG had a chance, so the upset was not the outcome but the score.

Nobody expected it to be a 3-0 sweep.

KT had won the spring split and been MSI runners-up this year, making them a top-three LCK team by any measure, yet in the qualifiers they were swept 3-0 by Samsung.

Not long after the match ended, hundreds of KT fans gathered outside the KT base, emotions running high, holding banners that read "Disband," "Give us our tickets back," and similar slogans; some carried baskets filled with rotten vegetables and eggs, while others tore the KT flag to shreds, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it… The KT members dared not return, still hiding in the backstage lounge after the match.

Online, it was even harder to watch.

On major Korean media forums, it was all angry fans condemning KT.

【Spring champions can't even grab a Worlds slot—trash!】

【This team is hopeless, year after year just making up the numbers and eating shit】

【You really have something, ticket‑selling kid!】

【Disband KT!】

【Score was treated like a pig for slaughter by Fire in the Mid‑Season Invitational, and back in the LCK he's still the same—after all these years of Worlds he's never made it once, disgusting! Why hasn't he retired!】

【Deft returning to Korea to suffer this—better stay in EDG, since EDG made Worlds; what are you after?】

【With this roster they can't even get into S7; the KT management should all be fired】

【Coaching staff, get lost! This lineup can't make Worlds, and their drafts are completely crushed by Edgar—did they take bribes?】

【Disband, release Smeb, Deft, and Mata—don't waste the players' careers.】

【It's like eating a lump of shit】

【KT is just trash; thank goodness they didn't get the ticket, since they can't even pass the qualifiers, and even if they made Worlds they'd be an embarrassment!】

【VG can win with three Caitlyn picks against EDG, but what about us KT? We got stomped three games in a row—do we even need to mention the gap?】

Korean netizens were shouting abuse, the screen full of "shit, piss, fart, trash" and the like.

Meanwhile the LPL side was also buzzing, but not many people were bashing KT, since KT really has few fans in the LPL; netizens were mainly amazed by SSG's godlike performance.

After watching the match, the LPL side was also in an uproar.

【Samsung again came out of the qualifiers? Damn, every time the qualifiers roll around they just turn on cheats?】

【The qualifier war god really has something—going forward, whenever anyone in the LCK faces Samsung in a qualifier, they should first burn incense to heal the opposition, or they truly won't be able to win】

【Leaving other talk aside, SSG's tenacity is real—last year at Worlds they turned a 2‑0 deficit against Snake into a 3‑2 win, then after two straight postseason losses they fought back from the qualifiers, absolutely savage】

【A 3‑0 sweep is still too exaggerated—what happened in the past half‑month? How did SSG suddenly become this strong?】

【I feel like Samsung got paid off—how could they suddenly become this strong, and how could KT suddenly become this weak?】

【Sheng Qiang Ge and Shuijing Ge: "Great, it's Samsung! Jiao Shen, let me get my revenge!"】

【If KT's roster were placed in the LPL, they'd be a super‑space battleship, yet in the LCK they can't even make Worlds—is the LCK just too cut‑throat?】

【It's the LCK that's too strong; I feel the LPL has no hope this year】

【It's not a matter of whether it's cut‑throat or not—this KT squad is weird, they always choke in crucial moments; they've been perennial runners‑up, always flattered as second place, but now even that's gone—winning the spring split must have taken the combined effort of eighteen generations of every player's ancestors】

【Deft: "If I'd known these guys were this trash, I wouldn't have come back to the LCK; staying in EDG at least guarantees a quarterfinals berth."】

【Don't get your hopes up, I'm afraid there might not even be any quarterfinals this year…】

【Impossible—given EDG's strength, they'll still make the quarterfinals】

【If EDG can't get out of the group, they might as well swim back from the Yangtze】

You know what, the S7 group stage was in Wu Han, EDG's base is in Shanghai, and those two cities really are both on the Yangtze.

……

Korea, LCK home stage, backstage.

The match had ended a long time ago, yet the KT members still hadn't left.

KT head coach FIFAHUN stood in the outside hallway, guarding the trash can, puffing on cigarette after cigarette, his whole self shrouded in clouds and mist.

FIFAHHUN stared at the ceiling, his mind replaying those three games over and over.

He just couldn't figure it out—half a month ago KT could press Samsung and win, yet in the qualifiers they got reversed and swept 3‑0.

What the heck happened to Samsung in this half‑month?

With the sound of footsteps, the SSG team members who had just finished their interview appeared from the corridor corner, chatting and laughing, their steps light.

SSG head coach Edgar was joking with the players; seeing the KT coach off to the side of the corridor, he softened his smile and nodded at FIFAHUN.

FIFAHUN awkwardly returned a faint smile.

Although they fought to the death on stage, offstage SSG and KT's relationship wasn't bad.

"Congratulations…" FIFAHUN reached out his hand.

Edgar paused, let the players go first, then shook hands with FIFAHUN: "Just good luck."

"Luck…?"

FIFAHUN gave a bitter smile.

"No need to be modest—a 3‑0 sweep isn't just luck… I'm genuinely curious; since we won't face each other again this year, I have a question I'd like you to clear up."

"Please go ahead."

"In half a month, how exactly did you manage that?"

Edgar fell silent for two seconds, then smiled and looked into FIFAHUN's eyes:

"VG is a good teacher."

FIFAHUN froze, then his face cycled through expressions—incredulous, then suddenly enlightened, laughing through tears, regretting and struggling, finally letting go.

"I understand."

FIFAHUN let out a long sigh and said wistfully: "Exactly, VG really is a good teacher; playing against them you can easily spot your own weaknesses and then patch them up—they're the best sparring partners and also a shortcut to improving your strength."

"But..."

FIFAHUN wanted to say something but stopped; in the end, they still didn't go on.

"Keep it up, I wish you good results in S7."

FIFAHUN tapped the side of Edgar's arm twice, then walked away dejectedly.

Edgar watched FIFAHUN's retreating back, his brows slightly furrowed.

But what?

The LCK qualifying matches just ended like that, and the allocation of the three S7 slots in the region was completely settled: First Seed LZ, Second Seed SKT, and Third Seed SSG.

Next up is the LPL.