Chapter 142: A good draw, why is it a good draw? The sudden change

The guest for the knockout stage draw is still Perkz.

The host briefly introduced the draw rules; it remains the old format where group winners draw group runners-up, and group stage opponents cannot be placed in the same half of the bracket.

Two glass bowls each contain four colored balls, representing Pool 1 and Pool 2 respectively.

Perkz comes to the stage and reaches in to draw the four group winners—RNG, DRX, EDG, and Gen. G—arranging them in order.

Immediately following is the most exciting part: the Pool 2 draw.

This will determine the matchups for the knockout stage.

Perkz opens the first ball in his hand and suddenly reveals a mysterious smile.

The familiar red and black small-winged team logo draws gasps from everyone in the arena!

"T1!" Uzi shouts out in the livestream chat.

"Oh no, it's RNG vs. T1 in the quarterfinals again, again! How does it feel like getting first in the group is worse than not getting it!"

"It really is impossible to escape..."

Although he says that, Uzi clearly enjoys watching the chaos.

The livestream feed cuts to the backstage areas of the two teams at the venue.

In previous years, players would be on-site to act as representatives, but due to the special circumstances this year, everyone is just cooperating by being at the venue to watch the ceremony backstage.

The T1 members, having just lost their match, seem to instantly regain their energy upon seeing this familiar logo, as if there is fire in their eyes.

Looking closely, one might even see the phantom of burning chakra behind them.

If they want revenge, they must reach the finals, and before that, they need to trample every opponent blocking their path.

Conversely, the entire RNG squad on the other side can't seem to smile.

Clearly, even though T1 just lost to EDG in the group stage, no one would question their strength because of it.

At least RNG wouldn't.

Because if anyone flips through history, they will find:

Since T1's founding, in all their S-series quarterfinal matches, they have never met any LPL team other than RNG.

Coincidentally, T1's S-series performance has never been lower than the semifinals~

The implication: T1 has never lost a quarterfinal match, and within the entire LPL region, they only beat RNG.

If the previous EDG was the "Group Stage King of Corruption,"

Then RNG is definitely the "Quarterfinal King of Corruption."

S12 history repeats itself once again.

It can absolutely be called "Fate, truly mysterious."

Backstage, Xiaohu originally wanted to show a fearless smile to ease the atmosphere.

But after a practiced, stealthy look to the left and right, he noticed his teammates all wore incredibly stiff expressions, so he quickly reined in the corners of his mouth as well.

Instead, he specifically aims for the camera, revealing a pair of determined eyes.

Perkz continues with the draw for the second group.

The JDG logo appears, confirming the second set of matchups.

"Wow! Nice, this is an ultimate good draw for JDG!"

Seeing the RNG backstage feed disappear, Uzi pretends nothing happened and lets out a two-stage laugh in the livestream.

"This way, an internal war is avoided! And for JDG, this is the best draw; there couldn't be a better one, it's definitely a top-tier draw!"

"The main thing is that this bracket distribution might guarantee a spot in the finals!"

Although this has the suspicion of changing the subject and stirring up trouble,

The first half of the sentence is true.

After JDG and RNG are settled, at least the worry of an LPL internal war is eliminated, and DRX doesn't seem to be a big threat at the moment.

As Perkz's hand reaches into the second team pool again,

The EDG members backstage immediately sit up straight, leaning forward to peer at the screen.

Perkz unfolds the ball, and his eyes widen instantly!

"Whoa~~~"

When he turns to unfold the ball, with a one-in-two probability, it's a precise hit.

The gray double-door team logo.

"EDG's quarterfinal opponent is—DK!" The bearded commentator at the venue is equally excited.

"The peak battle of last year's S11 finals! This year, S12, it's actually being staged early in the quarterfinals again!"

"The situation is incredibly similar, also a battle for the two-time championship defense, only the positions are swapped. This time, will DK avenge their throne, or will the miracle of Iceland continue to spread?"

The atmosphere at the venue was ignited by the heat.

Because this matchup is exactly last year's finals!

Last year, EDG fought DK for five games, finally carving out a miracle from a sliver of hope, shattering DK's dream of a repeat championship, and standing at the pinnacle of the world themselves.

More importantly,

In the eyes of the vast majority, DK's top laner Khan was the biggest liability in that Bo5, even considered to be the biggest breakthrough point who single-handedly threw away the championship.

But this year, DK has recalled Nuguri, reforming the original DWG top-mid-jungle trio.

Clearly, this will be an incredibly anticipated matchup in the quarterfinals.

Then the remaining matchup is automatically matched: European Champion vs. Korean Champion.

Thus,

The results of the quarterfinal knockout stage are officially out.

Upper Bracket: RNG vs. T1; DRX vs. JDG

Lower Bracket: EDG vs. DK; Gen. G vs. RGE

"The waves wash away the sand, the quarterfinal lineup for this World Championship has been born!"

"Three days later, Madison Square Garden will reignite with the flames of war!"

The voiceover from the commentary desk disappears, and the livestream feed freezes on the final bracket results.

LPL netizens are clearly extremely optimistic about this draw, having already popped the champagne.

【An peerless good draw! Never has there been such a wonderful start! Please cheer for me, cheer for me!】

【Please combine the draw results and write an article titled "Good Draw" with the theme of "Hitting things, fate, rational fan," reflecting your feelings and thoughts. Any style is fine, except poetry—PS: Five characters are not enough (content must not be less than five characters).】

【Good draw, why is it called a good draw? Just hoping EDG, RNG, and JDG can beat the stuff out of T1, DK, and DRX, clearing some obstacles for TES's resurrection. Of course, winning is better. If they lose, and TES resurrects and wins the championship, then EDG, RNG, and JDG all deserve one-third of the credit. As for GAM? 5 characters, resurrection coins are limited. I am a TES fan, a rational fan.】

【No problem, I can only say that the one with the biggest advantage in this draw is TES, as they avoided LPL internal wars and didn't encounter LCK powerhouses! The only downside is that I don't seem to see them in this picture?】

【Turtle, thought of a very scary possibility: if T1 beats 3 LPL teams in a row and wins the championship, I don't even dare to imagine it!】

【The tadpoles are still dreaming, they were beaten into the group runner-up spot and are still thinking about a 1-v-3? Step over my RNG, the longest sewer, first!】

【Why don't you look favorably on my RNG? Didn't we beat you T1 at MSI this year? If EDG can break history, so can we RNG!】

【This year's World Championship theme is One & Only, the chosen one and the unique one. Does it imply the champion is me—the last remaining glory of European and American teams, Rogue!】

The EDG members also have deep feelings about this quarterfinal opponent.

Among all teams, the one with the deepest bond with DK is them; that final battle last year is undoubtedly fresh in their memories.

Importantly, they are all very clear about the opponent's strength.

The reason DK was the group runner-up was mainly because all five members were infected during the group stage, and even so, they still managed to win one game against RNG to force a tiebreaker.

Clearly, by the time the quarterfinals start, this DK team will definitely have recovered 100% of their combat power, and they will inevitably be the second-strongest existence in the Pool 2 seeds, worthy of being called a hidden shark!

But Ye Bo is quite satisfied with this draw!

He just hopes to draw strong enough opponents so that he can continuously improve and progress during the battle.

DK is undoubtedly the best target among the quarterfinal opponents.

However, Ye Bo didn't expect it either.

Accidents always come faster than plans.

On the night the last day of the group stage ended, the entire EDG team returned to the hotel and first performed their routine daily antibody test.

Afterward, they gathered in Mingkai's room to eat hot pot, celebrating the birth of the record of double-killing T1.

But just as they were halfway through the hot pot, the door was suddenly knocked on urgently.

"It must be Coach returning!" Barrier gets up to open the door for Mingkai, who had just gone to the bathroom: "Wait, don't expose that I put the wasabi in!"

But when the door opened,

What appeared was not Mingkai.

It was an official staff member wearing a white protective suit.

"One of you has an abnormal nucleic acid test result. You must separate and quarantine immediately! Re-test!"

The group, who were just having a good time, look at each other in dismay at the news, their tightly huddled figures instantly stunned.

Not even bothering to take the phones on the table, they quickly follow the staff back to their quarantine rooms for re-testing.

Five minutes later.

Having just finished his business, a light-footed Mingkai jogs back to his room.

Arriving at the door, he finds it slightly ajar.

Entering, he sees the room is empty, with only the aroma of the bubbling beef tallow hot pot base.

"Where are the people? Did they go to the bathroom too?"

"These little brats wouldn't be playing tricks on me, would they?"

Looking at the phones everyone left on the table, Mingkai doesn't think too much.

Picking up his phone to scroll through Weibo, while dipping a large piece of fatty beef into the pot, he feels satisfied seeing netizens so confident in their team for the first time.

He scoops a large spoonful of the sesame sauce he prepared before leaving and eagerly puts it into his mouth.

Just then, a WeChat voice call comes in.

It's a staff member accompanying the team.

Mingkai answers the phone without thinking.

"#￥@Hello?"

"It's bad, Coach! All four of them have abnormal daily test results! It's really bad this time!"

"What... Pfft!!!"

"Ah%#%#@% Damn it, what the hell!"

The staff member on the other end hears the anxious shout and quickly comforts him: "Coach, don't be anxious yet. There is barely one piece of good news: Ye Bo's test is temporarily the only normal one. We are waiting for their re-test results now."

"Oh my! Coach, don't cry, it's not that bad yet..."

Four hours later, the re-test results come back, confirming the outcome.

Except for Ye Bo—the entire EDG team is infected!

Based on the experience of daily testing,

It is clear that they were just infected on the last day of the group stage today.

After all, in the first round of the group stage, each team only had one Bo1 per day. Although the risk was not small, the process was fast, and they only needed to be exposed at the player stage for half an hour.

But on the last day of the group stage today, they had to play three games in one go.

And they were constantly crossing over, frequently entering and exiting the venue, where the risk was clearly more than three times higher.

Of course, it is indeed hard to say whether this thing can be prevented.

It's even somewhat metaphysical.

For example, no one knows why Ye Bo, who basically stays with everyone every day and is the most frequent participant in post-match interviews, is the only one who didn't get infected.

The testing personnel think it's normal.

Indeed, some people just don't get infected, or the probability of infection is very low.

However, Ye Bo vaguely guesses—perhaps it's because of his previous improvement in "physique."

After all, he was someone who had "three-time positive" at home before, so he definitely doesn't count as someone naturally resistant to infection.

The only explanation might be that during his improvement of {Basic Physical Talent}, he changed from the original 30-year-old concept of Old Deng Bo to an 18-year-old body continuing to strengthen.

At the time, Ye Bo wanted to complain, feeling his physique had improved but without any "substantial" ability enhancement.

But looking at it now,

Perhaps, for this World Championship, this is his greatest "improvement."

That night, the EDG official Weibo urgently released an announcement, first synchronizing the routine text for the knockout stage, and then concisely and clearly displaying the current situation of all team members.

It is afternoon in China, and this news instantly explodes on the hot search.

The impact of the infection has been proven more than once before, including RNG losing to DFM, DK losing to RNG, etc., all clearly reflecting the impact of symptoms on players' competitive state.

The most fatal thing is the arrangement of this World Championship.

The official had already shortened the schedule because it was inconvenient.

This resulted in only three days between the last day of the group stage and the first day of the quarterfinals!

The quarterfinals are one match per day.

That is to say, although EDG's quarterfinal match is scheduled for the third day, they still only have five days of rest.

You know, even the group stage had three days of rest in between!

And DK had people infected from the first day of the group stage, and by the ninth day when Group D ended, the whole team still hadn't recovered to full state. This is already a warning.

It is almost certain—the quarterfinals for the other four members of EDG will almost certainly be affected.

【????????????】

【Just say RNG is smart, they got infected during the play-ins and the CD was already up!】

【It really is, feels like EDG's so-called militarized management actually did a bad thing. In this North American environment, it's 100% unavoidable, you have to go through it, so it's better to get infected in the group stage, at worst just lose to T1!】

【No, you can negotiate with the virus, right?】

【Don't, I'd rather watch EDG in the quarterfinals than change the group stage results. Can only say that this year is worth dying for.】

【Hoho, the ancestors have manifested, look at EDG, they are indeed destined for the quarterfinals, even heaven has destined you to be in the quarterfinals!】

【Still TES brother who sees it clearly, championship skins are all fake, only one's own physical health is real!】

【Wait... Ye Master actually didn't get infected? What kind of positioning is that! How does it feel like there's still a chance?】

【He is an army by himself, right? Hey, don't say, you really don't say!】

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 143 =====