Chapter 127: Expedition Ceremony! The Chaotic Battle of the Regional Qualifiers!

The next day, Ye Bo woke up at ten o'clock sharp again, and after getting up, he had a sumptuous lunch with his parents in Shanghai.

Abu and Mingkai arrived early to make arrangements, and the full car service and sense of ceremony were quite well done; it was clear they wanted to express how much they valued Ye Bo.

"Little Ye Bo, actually, if you're homesick, you can go home and rest for a few days; we're on break these days anyway," Mingkai suggested kindly.

"No need, I can rest for two or three months once the World Championship is over," Ye Bo shook his head.

"Mainly because we still need to watch the matches together these next few days; it's not convenient to discuss them if we watch online separately."

After the playoffs of each region conclude, there is a gap of nearly a month before the World Championship begins.

During this period, teams that have already entered the World Championship generally give their members a week off to adjust their state before starting intensive training.

Of course, this does not include those teams still hovering at the gates of the World Championship.

The most brutal regional qualifier stages for LCK and LPL have both begun, which is the reason Ye Bo ultimately decided not to go home.

As someone now deeply involved in the tactical and draft design for EDG, the matches of these teams in the qualifiers are naturally extremely important.

No one knows if there might be an unknown dark horse for the World Championship among them.

Come to think of it, many of EDG's tactics and draft structures were the result of Ye Bo's flashes of inspiration while watching matches, such as that level-one design with Gragas back then.

"Holy crap, Master Ye, you're trending again!" Jiejie suddenly rushed over, making a fuss while holding his phone.

"So you and your aunt and uncle went to an internet cafe last night? I couldn't tell, Auntie is actually a pro!"

Everyone was gathered in the base, having ordered fried chicken, burgers, and peanuts, ready to watch the matches.

And when Ye Bo took the phone and looked, he knew what was going on.

Last night, when he took off his mask to play games, he was quickly noticed by passersby walking outside the internet cafe cubicle.

League of Legends is still the absolute mainstream in internet cafes today, occupying at least half the landscape, and this face, which had just hit the headlines of major esports news that very morning, was naturally hard not to notice.

The news spread rapidly, causing the area inside and outside the cubicle to become overcrowded with people wanting to come in and ask for photos.

Ye Bo's parents also once again, face-to-face, directly experienced just how exaggerated their son's popularity is today.

There was even a socially confident fan who asked Ye Ying directly: "Auntie, Auntie, are you that 'forty-year-old aunt who wants to play professionally'?"

It was Ye Ying's first time experiencing the feeling of being a "celebrity."

That scene made Ye Xiong, who was standing nearby, nervous; for a moment, he was at a loss for what to do while standing in the room.

And once this matter was posted online, it was naturally full of discussion.

It is not the first time a professional player's parents have supported them or even played games together, but it is truly rare for the whole family to join in.

Plus, given Ye Bo's former nickname of 【Auntie Brother】, this association naturally carried quite a bit of story.

"Alright, alright, watch the match, watch the match!" Ye Bo handed back the phone, and thinking of his mother's happy expression last night, he couldn't help but chuckle.

The first to start was the LCK regional qualifier.

It was a competition between four teams in total: DK and LSB, who only needed to win one match, and KT and DRX, who needed to win two.

On the first day, DK swept LSB 3-1, becoming the first to secure the "third seed" spot.

"Geez, it really has to be the top-mid-jungle of the old Turtle!" Flandre exclaimed: "I feel like if Nuguri had played in that playoff match, they might have beaten T1."

DK continued to display the team's traditional "stereotypical" style.

The mid-jungle duo Canyon and ShowMaker had crazy synergy, and the top laner steadily exerted laning pressure.

As for the bot lane, just like in the past, as long as they stayed stable, it was fine.

The match between DK and T1 back then, where they managed to push T1 to a 2-3 score despite Nuguri's absence due to testing positive for COVID, was enough to prove that this DK still possessed some of the "turtle" form of the old DWG.

"But I feel like Canyon's style has changed; he doesn't seem to love counter-jungling as much, and instead, he's more stable?" Jiejie was also analyzing the changes in his opponent.

Ye Bo did not join the discussion immediately.

He was just scribbling in his notebook, as if recording something.

Next was KT versus DRX, a duel between two teams in the losers' bracket.

Whoever lost would be directly eliminated and miss out on S12, with no margin for error.

This match was also the one the EDG members were most concerned about.

The reason was simple: DRX had EDG's former player Deft, an old friend who kept in frequent contact with Meiko, Mingkai, and the others.

In the first game, DRX fought for 41 minutes and finally secured the victory, with Zeka's Sylas showing great power and taking the MVP.

But starting from the second game, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse.

Zeka had Sylas banned or picked away from him for two consecutive games, and he picked Azir both times, but his performance in both games was incredibly poor—his damage in both games was even lower than the top laner Kingen's Sejuani and Gragas!

"Do you think there's a problem with Zeka's champion pool?" Maokai said, turning to look at Ye Bo.

"I don't think that's it."

Ye Bo flipped through his densely packed notebook and stated his thoughts: "As far as I know, Zeka's champion pool still includes Akali and Ahri, or even LeBlanc; the opponents didn't ban them, and he didn't pick them."

"Both games they were picking Zeri for the bot lane, and in one of them, they even picked the Zeri + Renata combo, which we have already confirmed is a trap."

"It feels... hmm... the bot lane didn't seem to achieve the intended draft effect."

Considering the relationship between Deft and EDG, Ye Bo spoke quite tactfully.

But the fact was that, looking at the results, the draft that leaned toward the bot lane for two consecutive games did not achieve any effect.

Deft's performance couldn't be called terrible, but there were no outstanding moments, and he failed to shoulder the impact a key carry should have.

In Ye Bo's eyes, he always felt the tactics of this DRX were somewhat "chaotic."

It was as if they hadn't completed a clear structure, and everyone hadn't found their position.

"Sigh, it's 1-2, it's very dangerous now..." Meiko couldn't help but break into a cold sweat for his old friend who was already standing on the edge of a cliff.

However, by the fourth game, there was clearly someone with a clear head on the DRX team.

They decisively made a huge personnel adjustment while on the edge of the cliff.

"Changing the jungler at a time like this!?" Mingkai widened his eyes, looking quite shocked at Pyosik being subbed out.

But the result proved that this choice was actually wise.

Because it was clear that the top laner, who was in the best form in this best-of-five, was paired with the substitute jungler Juhan to launch a top-jungle offensive, and they actually delivered two perfect performances!

One game on Camille and one on Aatrox, combined with Zeka's Azir, who also returned to form, the top and mid exerted pressure together and poked through the whole field.

In the end, DRX completed a reverse sweep, making a desperate comeback and entering the regional qualifier finals on the lifeline.

And Ye Bo noticed a small detail during this match.

He discovered that although the support Beryl chose Yuumi and Lulu, both big enchanters, his roaming during the game was very frequent, and he keenly noticed that his "mouth" seemed to be moving the whole time...

Ye Bo wrote this small detail in his notebook, adding a section to his analysis of Beryl.

【Beryl】: {Likes to pick enchanters to make plays? {Doesn't focus on laning based on laning pressure? {

On the final LCK finals day, DRX faced LSB.

The first game was still Zeka killing everyone and taking the MVP, only this time, Sylas was replaced by Akali.

But the result was that they were chased down for two consecutive games again!

And even the heroes picked were exactly the same: the fixed combination of Zeri + Yuumi + Lulu + Renata, and the same two games of Azir in the mid lane.

"Why, for heaven's sake!"

"It was 1-2 just like this last time, are they still going to force the pick? What is the DRX coach thinking!"

The usually calm Meiko watched his friend standing on the edge of the cliff again and again, and his tone became anxious.

Ye Bo, who was biting his pen cap on the side, was also thinking about this question.

He looked at the bot lane laning in these few DRX games and only felt two words—"twisted."

It clearly felt like Beryl was very eager to do things, even if he picked enchanters that were hard to move with, he always wanted to move, but he was paired with Zeri, who had a weak laning phase and relied heavily on the support.

This led to a disconnect between the support and the AD.

Yet Zeri is a top-tier AD in this version; they didn't want to give it to the opponent, but Deft's Zeri play was quite average.

Perhaps, ever since a big throw during a dive in the ancient era, Deft had lingering fears and was hesitant to use heroes that required face-to-face engagement.

Zeri, as a hero, although it is easy to have "mountain-crossing" highlight moments, the output at critical moments really does require that bit of charging in.

This point is more aptly interpreted by Mr. JackeyLove, who is good at dying suddenly.

However, this DRX team seems quite magical.

Every time they are on the verge of elimination, they can always suddenly come up with something new to make a comeback, and there is always someone who can suddenly stand up, as if someone is protecting them in the dark...

In the life-or-death fourth game, Zeka's Azir and Kingen's Aatrox managed to carve out a bloody path in the team fight, contributing several heaven-defying team fights, and combined with Deft, whose form also suddenly soared, they forcibly completed the comeback!

And the fifth game was even more shocking.

In such a thrilling best-of-five, it was clear that the strength difference between the two teams was neck and neck.

But in the final fifth game, in just 23 minutes, DRX seemed to have evolved, crushing the deciding game with an exaggerated "bot-level" score of 23 to 3!

The gold gap between the two sides at 20 minutes reached a full 16, 00!

You have to know, this is a kill and gold gap that even EDG, who is currently best at fast-paced attacks, rarely achieves.

And Deft's Zeri, who was criticized in both best-of-fives, seemed to be reborn to his peak of ten years ago in this game, proving that he is not old yet.

"Nice! Nice! Well played, Alpaca!" Meiko was so happy it felt like he had won the match himself.

"It really wasn't easy," Mingkai was clearly also very happy.

But soon he said with some melancholy: "But with their fluctuating form..."

Online, there were clearly mixed opinions about this LCK final.

【Wuwuwu, Mr. Deft is really not easy! The jungler is rotten to the core; he was subbed in for the third game, lost one, and was rolled back out immediately. I guess even the coaching staff doesn't trust him anymore; he'll probably be sitting on the bench for good.】

【Now it's good, at the World Championship, Deft, Hope, and Viper will be sitting next to Meiko, all asking Meiko: "Who do you love more?"】

【Only Ghost is left from DK who didn't make it to the World Championship; this story tells us again where the gate of the old DWG was, it's all the fault of the sea-whip boy who ran off to do stupid things in the middle of the night back then!】

【Actually, I feel like DRX's ceiling isn't low; as long as Beryl doesn't troll and focuses on protecting the bot lane, they can win!】

【This mid laner from DRX has always been underestimated. Looking at it this way, the LCK mid lane is really fierce this year, Lee ShowMaker, plus a Zeka.】

"Saying all that is useless; with DRX's current state, they're destined to be a stinky quarter-finalist. Mr. Dai, you'd be better off working hard to reach double-digit quarter-finals, and learn from the traditional virtues of my 'Waste Ming Kai, eight strokes per character, eight quarter-finals every year'!"

"Factory Manager, let me ask you a question." Jie Jie suddenly raised his head.

"What for?" Ming Kai cast a sidelong glance, sensing this guy was about to stir up trouble again.

Ever since this person started hanging out with Ye Bo every day, it was obvious he had become much more sharp-tongued.

"Just pure curiosity! In the end, do you have more quarter-finals, or does Brother Alpaca have more?"

"You little brat! Your account is done for!"

The base erupted into laughter.

In fact, someone had already provided the facts under the post.

They actually have the same amount.

Both are the Kings of Quarter-finals; the Factory Manager's were in 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, and Deft's were in 5, 6, 8, 10, 11—both have five quarter-final appearances.

These are also the two players with the most quarter-final honors among all competitors.

And as the LCK's fourth seed was decided.

The LPL's regional qualifiers were also in full swing.

The first day at 7 o'clock was the main event—the Spring Champion and MSI Champion, RNG, facing off against the Summer regular season first-place team, JDG.

Unfortunately, RNG flopped again.

Looking at the entire Summer Split, it was clear that the state of everyone on RNG was just plain terrible!

Anyone who didn't know would think "Summer Tiger Brother" was a disease that could spread.

Interestingly, despite the entire best-of-five being a one-sided affair, the final score was 3-1, with the team only managing to turn one game around thanks to Wei stealing the Baron.

Yet no one expected the only advantageous matchup to be in the top lane!

More accurately, in their laning throughout the summer, Breathe generally had the advantage over 369—and this was even with the "Kindred" duo combined.

The shortcomings of the top laners on both teams were very obvious.

One is a mess in laning, the other is a mess in team fights.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that 369 had issues in laning, and this might potentially become a hidden danger for JDG on their journey to the World Championship.

As for Breathe, once they reached the mid-game team fights, they would start throwing randomly, and combined with the team's chaotic shot-calling and tempo, they naturally couldn't change anything.

RNG seemed to have lost all their martial arts, losing the players' form, losing the tactical execution from the spring, losing their top-tier late-game macro and team fighting, and also losing the aggressive trident tempo system of the regular season, as well as their valuable tactical development ability.

In the end, RNG regretfully missed out on the third seed spot, with only the final life-or-death battle the day after tomorrow left to wait for!

Fortunately, the remaining two teams were not very competitive.

BLG's form had not been able to recover since their crushing defeat to EDG, and everyone was still a bit dazed.

They were eventually defeated 3-2 by LNG.

And this "Battle of the Two Saints," unsurprisingly, stirred up a storm; it was as if Mount Emei was celebrating the New Year.

【Oh my god, I want to scream! This is the junior? How did he get stepped on by my Brother Coin!】

【Don't make me laugh, what does it have to do with you, Big Mixed B? Didn't the mid lane just lie there and lose? Forgot about being solo-killed in the second game?】

【So what if he was solo-killed? Did you win? Did you win!】

【Exactly! Oh my god, kicked out the door by a rookie who's only been playing for a few months, seriously stop barking, I'm sitting here waiting for Doinb to have no job next year!】

【Go Brother Coin, you must go to the World Championship!】

Just as the match ended, Ye Bo originally wanted to go and comfort Chen Zebin.

But at that moment, he received a push notification from the BB space almost simultaneously.

"BLG-Bin": "Next year, I will definitely come back!"

It was originally a very normal sentence.

But when paired with the "Grey Wolf" avatar the other party was using, the words suddenly became a bit strange.

Ye Bo knew that the other party probably didn't need comfort.

So he only replied with a 【Pleasant Goat Stare】 emoji underneath.

On the other side, Bin saw this reply, first gave it a like, and originally wanted to reply with something to interact.

But after smacking his lips twice, he finally pressed the backspace key.

Thinking that Ye Bo had only debuted for a few months and already won the Silver Dragon Cup, while he had been competing in the LPL for 3 years and hadn't even entered the Summer Split finals!

Thinking back to those years.

One of them was a well-known master-level content creator in the high-rank circle, and the other was an unknown player preparing to sign up for youth training; they were still at a parallel starting point.

He had been ahead for three whole years, and originally thought that looking back, he had definitely surpassed all his former peers.

But the result... he was actually overtaken by Ye Bo in just a few short months!

Is there no justice, no law?

The proud Bin secretly made up his mind that he would go find the manager later and strive to have BLG make some big moves during this year's transfer period.

Next year, he must slaughter his way back to Goat Village!

September 5th.

The last LPL regional qualifier began.

Although RNG's form was truly poor, they ultimately took down LNG 3-2.

Top laner Ale and Breathe had similar temperaments, both being players who emphasized laning, and Brother Breathe's effectiveness was successfully brought into play.

Especially in the final life-or-death game, when the team was on the verge of missing the World Championship and potentially facing disbandment.

Brother Breathe suddenly seemed possessed by divine power, putting on a remarkably brilliant performance with his "Sword Immortal" Fiora, successfully carrying the lane and leading the team to victory.

And among this, Doinb was actually solo-killed by Xiaohu again, which caused the public opinion that Doinb had stirred up just yesterday to take a sharp turn for the worse again.

"Three to two!" Miller's booming voice could be heard by Ye Bo in the backstage: "RNG held onto their last breath! Successfully grabbing the LPL's final ticket to the 2022 World Championship!"

The "Departure Ceremony" would be held immediately at the venue where the final regional qualifier ended.

The players from the other three teams had already changed into their departure uniforms under the guidance of the staff and were waiting in the backstage area to head to the main stage.

Ye Bo walked through the player tunnel.

He could still see the RNG members who seemed to have survived a disaster, as well as the dejected LNG members.

The completely different emotions of both sides were vividly displayed in this small space.

Doinb had lost his usual noisiness and looked much more subdued; perhaps he was still thinking about fighting again next year.

Ye Bo was just about to step forward to say hello when he heard the sound coming from the front stage.

"Next, please welcome the first seed representing the LPL region to compete in the 2022 World Championship—EDG!"

"On the day the knights return, EDG, who brought us countless miracles and excitement this summer, will surely represent the LPL region and overcome all obstacles in the upcoming World Championship..."

Ye Bo and his teammates stepped onto the platform, listening to the EDG summer match highlights playing on the giant LED screen behind them.

Due to the severe lockdown situation in Shanghai over the past few days of the regional qualifiers, spectators could not gather offline again.

Therefore, this year's departure ceremony was also quite short and concise.

The four teams appeared in turn, and after being simply set off by some cheap special effects, Miller began his concluding remarks.

"A year of LPL journey has ended; the four teams that emerged from the hail of bullets will be crowned with the LPL nameplate to fight hard at the World Championship..."

"In the past four years, the LPL has won three Summoner's Cups! This is the honor that belongs to our entire region!"

"This year's four teams are not lacking in those who have experienced past glory, nor are they lacking in young newcomers who are just starting out and showing their sharp edge. Let us wait and see what kind of brilliant golden light they will bloom under the test of the World Championship, this touchstone!"

"Everyone, see you at the S12 World Championship!"

Ye Bo stood in the center of the stage, under the glare of the spotlights, looking at the empty player seats in front.

The simple ceremony did not affect his inner, uniquely passionate emotions in the slightest.

He stood in front of the stage, straightening his waist and shoulders with immense effort, and lifted his chin.

It was as if he were standing at military attention.

Especially in stark contrast to the lazy, sleepy, and comedic Left Hand, Toothpaste, and Xiaohu nearby.

There was no help for it; it was the first time a big girl had ridden in a bridal sedan chair.

As long as he thought of the words "World Championship," Ye Bo felt his mouth go dry and his heart race.

However, it was cold offline.

The major online streaming rooms, however, were quite lively.

【LPL go go go go go go!】

【This year seems to be the year with the fewest Korean imports going to the World Championship, right? Only three, the local players are becoming more and more capable!】

【Reposting hot discussion from the Korean web: The four LPL teams are confirmed, just looking at the team names is terrifying!】

【Seriously? If you really want to compare team names, aren't the three on the other side even more terrifying? Adding up to 6 S-titles!】

【So what? Wasn't it these same three teams last year? Watch my EDG team top your three teams! Just wait for my Master Ye to go to the World Championship and collect achievements, and that'll be it!】

【Such a boring departure ceremony, not as good as last year's. I will always remember last year's departure ceremony... the short film of the four teams was all footage of beating WE!】

【Indeed boring, my evaluation is that it's not as good as watching EDG's season microphone.】

And as the departure teams from the major regions were released one after another.

The sky over the Summoner's Rift seemed to be filled with rising winds and scudding clouds.

The League world was about to enter the hottest season of the year!

(End of chapter)