Chapter 832: Congratulations CNB!

In today's match, CNB played flawlessly; even professional players couldn't find any serious flaw. Early defense was watertight, mid-game operation was calm and unhurried, late-game chance-taking was quick and accurate—compared to yesterday's nail-biting comeback, it's completely a different state.

Next up against RPG, CNB won easily without much effort.

But even against RPG, CNB didn't get reckless; they still picked their lineup steadily and played methodically, finally winning with a terrifying 19-2 kill score.

Thus, CNB bid farewell to the group stage of the qualifiers with an all-win record.

After watching today's two matches, many teams began to reassess this Brazilian team and seriously consider what comes after CNB's advancement.

The qualifiers consist of two stages; the first stage is a double round-robin group Bo1, with the top two from each group advancing to the second stage. CNB secured the group top spot with a 4-0 record, pocketing it, but this only qualifies them for the qualifier knockout stage—they haven't yet secured a spot in the S7 main event.

Later, the first stage of the qualifiers ended completely, and the eight teams advancing to the knockout stage were revealed.

Group A: SSG, GMB

Group B: C9, FB

Group C: FNC, YG

Group D: CNB, HKA

Eliminated teams: LYN (LLN), DW (OPL), KLG (CLS), RPG (LJL)

Afterward, the knockout stage group draw was conducted, with rules similar to the quarterfinals of the main event: each group's first place faces each group's second place, Bo5, single elimination, winners advance to the main event.

When the draw began, CNB's members had already returned to the hotel, visiting G2's side, with both teams watching the draw together.

When the results came out, the whole room erupted.

CNB's opponent in the qualifier match is the second-place team from Group B.

FB.

Well, Fenerbahçe.

That name, anyone who understands football knows it right away.

This FB team is none other than that Turkish powerhouse, Fenerbahçe Club, an esports squad backed by investment.

CNB has behind it football legend Ronaldo, while FB has behind it the football powerhouse Fenerbahçe; these two wildcard teams with deep football roots clashed in the League of Legends World Championship qualifier showdown.

The draw commentators all laughed:

"Isn't this basically moving a football derby to the Summoner's Rift?"

"Ronaldo versus Fenerbahçe—what a headline!"

"Hahahaha"

……

After the draw results were confirmed, the qualifiers had a day off.

September 28, the qualifier matches officially began.

The knockout stage is more brutal than the group stage and truly tests a team's real strength. It's a life-or-death battle—lose and you pack up and go home; win and you get to stand on the main event stage.

The first day featured two matches.

Group B's first-place C9 faced Group A's second-place GMB, winning 3-0.

Group C's first-place FNC faced Group D's second-place HKA; although people thought the two major regions' third seeds would be hard to separate, the result was 3-1.

Both matches were one-sided Bo5s, with no suspense.

LMS netizens burst into tears; this result almost means that, aside from the top FW team, the rest of the LMS region's strength has practically fallen to wildcard level.

The barrage began to lament:

{LMS: I'm quitting the group, no more playing! }

{From now on, don't call it five major regions; only four remain}

{C9 and FNC teach wildcards how to behave, rock-solid}

{This is the gap between wildcards and the four major regions; CNB is just an exception}

{So yesterday CNB beat HKA only because HKA was terrible, not because CNB is truly strong—don't hype the VG Brazil branch}

People's worries dissipated.

A wildcard like CNB beating a major-region team isn't an exception; rather, the so-called five major regions simply don't exist, and HKA is essentially a wildcard team!

Wildcard beating wildcard—nothing to say about it.

A true top-tier team still handles wildcards with ease.

Some people breathed a sigh of relief, feeling this qualifier season has no suspense.

Then, the next day of the knockout stage.

The opening match saw the highly anticipated SSG perform, taking a clean 3-0 victory without suspense.

The LCK's bubble-match war god, with maximum prestige.

After that came the final match of the qualifiers.

CNB versus FB.

Netizens wondered, did Ronaldo stuff money into the fist? Again it's wildcard versus wildcard—how could CNB's luck be so good?

Surprisingly, this match sparked considerable discussion in the football community.

Even football fans who don't understand LOL chatted enthusiastically.

Although CNB had previously beaten HKA twice, HKA is the weakest team in the LMS, its prestige limited. FB is different—FB is the top team of the Turkish region, significantly stronger than HKA. Well, it seems a bit mixed up, but nobody really cares.

The mainstream prediction among football fans was a 7-3 split, even 6-4.

Yes, most were optimistic about FB, which feels surreal.

LOL-savvy netizens, being more knowledgeable, naturally predicted CNB had a higher chance to win—after all, VG and G2 jointly coached them, making them top-tier among wildcards—so expectations were higher, but most score predictions were 3-2 or 3-1.

Nobody thought CNB could win 3-0.

At this critical juncture, Ronaldo posted a tweet:

{I have absolute confidence in our team; we will surely become a dark horse in this year's World Championship! }

Just these two sentences, plus a photo of him giving a thumbs-up.

After this tweet went out, the betting site's odds for CNB dropped 0.1 point immediately.

That is, those who bet on FB will earn a little less.

But that's all.

The mainstream prediction hasn't changed; most people still think CNB will face a tough battle, while Fenerbahçe football fans have already prepared to pop champagne.

……

Two hours later.

"Congratulations, CNB!!!"

The old commentator Wawa shouted in surprise.

On the screen, FB's Ji Di exploded with a boom.

The five CNB members jumped up from their seats, huddled together, and celebrated excitedly.

Three to zero.

CNB swiftly sent Fenerbahçe packing.

In the whole Bo5, CNB gave FB no chance at all. Starting from the end of the first match, the odds on the betting site kept falling, and by the third match, the odds for a CNB win had dropped to just 1.01.

That means after deducting fees, they basically earn nothing.

In the three games, remarkably similar, CNB firmly controlled the overall pace, establishing an advantage early-mid, rolling a big snowball mid-game, then a wave to break high ground late-game, followed by a second or third wave push.

Exactly the same as yesterday's way C9 and FNC crushed the wildcards.

Even more impressive.

Only this time, the team being crushed was FB.

And the ones doing the crushing were also the wildcards.

……

……

Important reminder:

For the sake of the plot, we do not advocate any gambling behavior!

Don't gamble! Don't gamble! Don't gamble!

Gambling ruins lives!