Chapter 817: Boiling Over the Heavens

But regardless of the group draw results, Liang Yan, based on his own observation, found that aside from a few teams like G2 and CNB that he had deeply interfered with, the other teams showed no significant difference in strength compared to his historical impression.

In particular, he knew more about the other two teams from his own region.

Historically, EDG made a complete fool of itself at this World Championship; looking at overall team performance, it was even more exaggerated than the S6 meme frequently associated with Changzhang, and this time EDG's shortcomings were widespread, not just Changzhang's fault.

The current EDG is indeed somewhat stronger than the original EDG, but Liang Yan feels that if EDG were placed in a hell‑level group, history would likely repeat itself.

For example, if EDG were put into FW's Group A, then SKT or MSF were drawn in, and finally a C9 or SSG came from the play‑in, that would be interesting...

So Liang Yan felt that Xiao Duan's remark was somewhat one‑sided.

Of course, this doesn't change the fact that FW is indeed the weakest of the four first seeds.

What Liang Yan never expected was that the A‑group scenario he imagined actually happened—only EDG's script was taken by RNG.

Although the tragic script was snatched by RNG, EDG's group situation is also not optimistic.

On the contrary, VG, the LPL's big brother, ultimately got a decent group.

Rookie's move is actually quite something.

At 8 p. m., the World Championship group draw ceremony concluded, and all major League of Legends‑related official accounts immediately posted the group results on Weibo.

At this point, the promotional work for the S7 World Championship had officially begun, so after the draw livestream ended, official outlets such as Central Media and Xinhua also retransmitted the results, and in no time the whole internet was abuzz with discussion.

The group stage draw results are as follows:

Group A:

FW, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan (LMS) First Seed

SKT, LCK Second Seed

RNG, LPL Third Seed

Group B:

LZ, LCK First Seed

TSM, North America (NA) First Seed

GAM, Southeast Asia (GPL) First Seed

Group C:

G2, Europe (EU) First Seed

EDG, LPL Second Seed

IMT, North America (NA) Second Seed

Group D:

VG, LPL First Seed

MSF, Europe (EU) Second Seed

AHQ, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan (LMS) Second Seed

To be honest, Liang Yan was left stunned.

Not considering how the play‑in qualifiers will be allocated later, just looking at the current groups: Group A is already a veritable group of death, RNG's pressure is maxed out instantly; EDG's situation in Group C is equally grim; on the other hand, B and D groups, where LCK's top seed LZ and LPL's top seed VG reside, at least for now face no pressure to advance.

Looking at this result and then at the future allocation of play‑in qualifiers, the only team worth noting is SSG; according to the same‑region avoidance principle, Groups A and B already contain LCK teams, so SSG can only go to Groups C or D.

If SSG ends up in VG's Group D, then Group D will become another group of death.

If SSG goes to Group C, then Group C's strength will instantly surpass Group A, becoming the most authentic hell group of this World Championship's group stage...

Except for VG, which couldn't stream easily because G2 and CNB were staying at its base, the other two LPL teams were watching the draw on team streams; when the group results were basically set, the faces of the EDG and RNG players in front of the camera instantly darkened several shades.

Fans of both teams wailed in the live chat, amid many sarcastic and mocking bullet comments, and the mood of everyone from both teams was utterly terrible.

But EDG and RNG weren't the worst off.

Seeing the group draw, the netizens of the LMS region couldn't help but burst out crying with a wail.

Who gets it, folks? Though FW is supposed to be the leader of Group A, it now looks like it has the slimmest chance to advance; even the second seed AHQ isn't optimistic, with a super‑boss‑level VG holding down the group, and MSF is rumored to be Europe's biggest dark horse this year—clearly not a pushover—and Group D might yet get another SSG, a ten‑mile‑slope sword god from the rookie village...

And that's not all; for the LMS region, the hardest blow is that the third seed HKA, who was slated to be the leader of the Play‑in Group D, actually ran into VG's disciple CNB...

Damn, could there be some past‑life grudge between LMS and VG?

G2, staying at VG's base, reacted fine; although Group C's strength is not low, G2 is confident that even if SSG is added, they can still top the group and advance—this is the confidence of last year's World Championship winners.

But it's tough on the other teams in the group, such as EDG.

Ka Lao Si clenched his fists and grinned at Gao Jun.

Gao Jun also laughed, saying, "Don't look at me—though we're from the same region, we have no ties with EDG, so we don't need to give them face."

"Hehehe, then we won't hold back."

"By the way, what's your relationship with MSF?"

"We don't need to give them face either!"

"Haha~"

Of course, the two teams' managements just exchanged a few jokes; they would neither sell nor ask for intel on their own region's teams.

The group stage draw results settled, and the global internet boiled over the heavens.

People's joys and sorrows are not shared; netizens from each region have both happiness and worry.

Even within the same region, fans of different teams differ greatly.

VG fans include plenty of over‑the‑top show‑offs; fans of the other two teams, unable to stand it, unleash a few jeers, VG fans surely shout back, and since this side has more people, when the other side can't shout them down they start rallying allies, then this side does the same, and when the other side still can't prevail after pulling in everyone, they begin to form a pig‑and‑dog alliance...

A massive shouting match erupted instantly, with both sides fighting from Hupu to Tieba, from Tieba to Weibo, from Weibo to...... eventually turning into all‑out war, so that the entire Chinese‑language internet became a battlefield of insults among the three fanbases, and it was lively.

As for the earlier slogan "present a united front," no one mentions it anymore.

With public opinion so heated, the authorities naturally saw it but did not intervene—first, because such matters are awkward for officials to handle, and second, because the authorities actually enjoy the spectacle; the louder the uproar, the higher the popularity, which surely suits their intentions.

All promotional efforts will then proceed more smoothly.

This year's global finals are not very different from any previous edition.