Chapter 154: Public Opinion Carnival, The Semifinal Showdown!

After the quarterfinals concluded on the third day, the members of EDG were also testing negative one after another.

There is a one-week break between the quarterfinals and the semifinals, unlike the tight schedule between the group stages.

This amount of time is clearly enough for all EDG members to recover their form.

The first to be released from quarantine was Flandre, who today joined Ye Bo to watch the final quarterfinal match of the bottom half of the bracket, which would also be their opponent in the upcoming semifinals.

After being apart for many days, Ye Bo finally saw him in person again and gave Flandre a big hug the moment they met!

As for this final quarterfinal match, although it is dubbed the "Battle of the First Seeds."

But with one North American first seed and one Korean first seed, it is clear that no one is betting on the former.

"Flandre, guess where this Rogue jungler was before~" Having not seen many living people for several days, Ye Bo was clearly feeling a bit talkative.

"Who? Feels like a Korean." Flandre fiddled with his Graves figurine in his hand and glanced at the appearance of the player on the screen.

"This Malrang was at DK last year, rotating with Canyon; back then Canyon went to play mid, and ShowMaker went to play ADC. And this guy even beat Chovy!"

Ye Bo enthusiastically shared the battle reports he had looked up.

Having gone through the battle of the quarterfinals, even the third-seeded DK had caused quite a few shocks and surprises, which made him take his next opponent quite seriously.

And he did indeed discover some interesting facts.

It turns out that in the summer of S11 last year, after suffering a loss at MSI, DK had actually conducted an outrageous "Super Internal Rotation"!

They kicked the severely underperforming Ghost, let ShowMaker play AD, Canyon play mid, and let the substitute jungler play for half a month.

And believe it or not, the results were unexpectedly good.

They actually crushed Hanwha Life Esports, who had the dual-carry lineup of Chovy and Deft at the time, in two games!

"No way, such a thing happened!?" Flandre leaned over curiously to look at the information Ye Bo had collected: "How come I have no impression of this news?"

"Because they didn't play many games and switched back later, but when I was looking up the data, I felt..."

Ye Bo stopped mid-sentence, not saying things he couldn't be sure about.

Because he had watched enough recordings, he vaguely felt that this year's DK and last year's DK had changed quite a bit in both playstyle and approach.

Even though the core components of top, mid, and jungle were still there, and the bottom lane's replacement combination was still in a "passive/supportive" role, the players' individual styles hadn't changed much.

Yet there was an indescribable feeling.

"Listening to you, does Rogue actually have a chance?" Flandre asked curiously.

"That's hard to say. Although Rogue beat TES in the group stage, they were swept by DRX, and both games were the kind where they had no power to fight back; and DRX is only the fourth seed."

"I can only say Rogue shouldn't be as weak as the outside world imagines."

As the two were chatting, Ming Kai hurried in from outside the door.

"Chicken soup is here~"

"Huh, chicken soup? Where did the chicken soup come from?"

Ming Kai said proudly: "I specifically went to find a local Chinese restaurant to order it. I'll send some to Jiejie and Meiko later so they can nourish themselves and recover faster!"

The three of them had the savory old hen soup together, looking forward to the start of the match.

Unfortunately, the result held no surprises.

The team Rogue did not display the "unique" traits of Western teams—all sorts of rare, cheesy tactics and off-meta hero trump cards; instead, their pick-and-ban phase was very conventional, all being meta-standard heroes.

And clearly, Rogue had no advantage over Gen. in any of the three lanes.

This year's Gen. roster can definitely be called a "Galaxy Battleship"!

There are four first-team players on the roster, and almost every position is considered the top choice within the LCK region!

The top laner is Doran, who professionally educates Zeus, and the jungler is Peanut, who was on the first team all year.

The mid laner is Chovy, the "appointed protagonist" of Riot's World Championship MV in recent years, and the bottom lane is Ruler, who is in explosive form; the only slightly controversial one is the support.

The Roaring Emperor became full of vigor again during this match: "C~H~O~V~Y~~~!"

"Gen. takes the opponent down three-nil! This is the strength of our LCK first seed!" CT, separated by a day, seemed to have forgotten yesterday as the sun rose again.

"Although DK regretfully fell, we still successfully surrounded EDG with Gen. , DRX, and T1 in the semifinals! He has been surrounded by us!"

"The LCK region still has a huge chance to meet in the finals!"

The Roaring Emperor agreed very much: "That's right! I personally have high hopes for Chovy; he is the pillar and face of our LCK's younger generation! Undeniably powerful strength! The eternal core of the team!"

"At the same time, Chovy is also the player ranked first in this year's World Championship Top 20 list!"

"To be honest, I am incredibly looking forward to his clash with Ye!"

The Roaring Emperor spoke with great conviction, even calling him out by name; it was clear that yesterday's match had a significant impact on him.

As everyone knows.

Whether it is LCK viewers or casters, and even Riot officials, they can be said to "revere" the player Chovy to the extreme.

Even though he has reached the quarterfinals three times in the three S-series tournaments since his debut in '19, and has increasingly trended toward becoming "Chovy7," it does not affect the narrative of him being the "Best Mid in the World"!

Especially this year, after joining this Galaxy Battleship Gen. , there was even a sense of him challenging for "Best Mid in the World"!

Anyway, the Roaring Emperor has a lot of confidence in him.

He firmly believes that Chovy will definitely be able to stop this guy Ye!

And with Rogue barely making a splash, not even having the strength to fight back, they were naturally carried away.

This is clearly not good news for EDG.

After all, EDG playing against DK exposed quite a few things—at the very least, the two points of {Azir} and {Maokai} are destined to become Gen. 's key focus!

Flandre also muttered: "They didn't expose a single bit of information..."

Ye Bo, who was silent on the side, did not respond.

However, it wasn't a complete loss either.

With the end of this match, the semifinal spots were set in stone.

Top half: T1 vs DRX

Bottom half: EDG vs Gen.

When all the quarterfinal matches ended, the pre-match discussion about the semifinals online reached an unprecedented height.

【Same plot again, is the LPL only one step away from being completely wiped out before the semifinals? Wait, isn't it the whole region relying on one team for two consecutive years!?】

【If EDG really does it again this year... wouldn't they really become the savior of the region? The quarterfinals of the past few years were all just for luck, right!】

【Very blue (hopeless), don't forget Gen. beat T1 like bots three-nil! They are not on the same level as DK at all! Just wait, EDG!】

【The main thing is, even if they get past them, there's still a T1 waiting in the finals. A reminder, it's T1 in a BO5~】

【I really want to laugh at the Korean fanboys. EDG 1v5 crushed DK; wait until the semifinals when everyone is revived, let's see if they smash this Samsung into stardust!】

【Believe in EDG! Believe in Master Ye!】

【Just wait, let's see if Master Ye finishes Chovy, that's all!】

The internet was clearly divided into two camps.

After all, even though EDG's performance in the quarterfinals was beyond reproach, they had indeed not played against this Samsung team.

On the surface, this LCK overlord Galaxy Battleship is indeed the strongest Korean team on {paper}.

Of course, EDG's performance in the quarterfinals undoubtedly conquered many people—especially since that was while everyone was positive (with COVID).

There is already a lot of "room for imagination" here.

Ye Bo, who had no scrims to play, logged onto domestic websites to surf after finishing a simple rest and review, relaxing his tense mood from the past few days.

He just didn't show it, but it was clear that the quarterfinals were a significant test for him, both on and off the stage.

Of course, he also really likes to see the reactions of netizens!

After a day of fermentation, the public opinion had completely erupted.

Even after a day, the posts about yesterday's EDG vs DK match were still at the top and hadn't sunk down for a long time.

【This match is definitely a legendary battle! It's just ridiculous!】

【God Ye: "I am the God!"】

【Today's match was too tragic; is he really carrying the team forward alone? He has historic moments in his first year of debut, right?】

【God of Responsibility! The LPL's last weightlifter!】

【I can only say, compared to the "Flash that bets on a career," there were several "Pushes that bet on a career" in this BO5!】

【I've discovered that as long as the mid laner doesn't disconnect, all of EDG is steady as a rock!】

Next to the rating posts, the DK members were being repeatedly whipped.

Among them, ShowMaker took the most heat.

【Pure mid lane gap!】

【Ye turned his head to look beside him and found no one.】

【Canyon turned his head to look beside him and found no one was human!】

【ShowMaker's peak was too short, right? He's become this washed up in just two years? Can't even play LeBlanc against Azir anymore?】

【Even I could play LeBlanc against Azir! Take Exhaust, W in and exhaust, then use the slow to bind with E, and that Azir will just be depressed—I simplify this playstyle as Step, Exhaust, Bind, Azir, Depressed!】

【You even made my Brother Long depressed, ShowMaker, you are guilty of terrible crimes!!】

Ye Bo likes to see netizens praising him; he feels this is a special "reward," even no worse than the system's mission rewards.

No one doesn't hope to get more recognition.

This is also recognition of his own hard work!

However, every time he saw the parts where netizens attacked the opposing team, he didn't continue reading.

It wasn't "sympathy" or anything.

It's just because every time they win a match, there seem to be comments saying it's because "the opponent is bad"... but can't it just be that we are strong!

Fortunately, Ye Bo had long since realized the cruelty of competition.

Regrets and misfortunes are both part of the arena; there will always be someone who has to play this role.

On the stage, that place bathed and illuminated by the lights is reserved only for the final victor.

The loser can only exit silently; this is the rule of the game.

Moreover, if one really wants to talk about cruelty, the diary of Old Deng Bo is simply a cruel epic masterpiece of frustration!

Therefore, what Ye Bo has always used to spur himself on is hard training, and even harder training.

He does not want that kind of moment to happen to him.

Ye Bo spent some time deliberately searching, and only after much effort did he find the latest discussion thread, which was discussing the preview for the semi-finals.

The pinned image of the thread is the classic image used every year.

In the picture, the Grim Reaper holding a scythe is knocking on doors one by one as he advances.

In fact, in the earliest version that circulated during the group stage opening this year, the Grim Reaper's clothes were photoshopped with the T1 team logo, and the head was Li Xianghe.

And those three doors were labeled with the logos of EDG, G2, and DFM in order.

However, right after the group stage ended, domestic forum users quickly created a brand-new version!

The Grim Reaper was replaced with the head of Ye Bo's EDG—and T1 was conversely turned into the target being knocked on!

By the quarter-finals, this image evolved once again.

The T1 gate in the front was already left ajar and passed by, life or death unknown.

The DK gate behind it had already been marked with a big cross, and the doorway was flowing with blood.

And EDG, wearing the Grim Reaper's head, was walking toward the next one, Gen. .

Watching the quite significant proportion of the audience in the thread supporting his own team, the curve of Ye Bo's mouth was somewhat hard to suppress.

Exiting the forum, he casually opened Bilibili.

The homepage's precise recommendation was a video with an eye-catching title: "The Faces of the Quarter-Finals! Streamers Collapse as Their Main Teams Are Eliminated One After Another! EDG Fights Through Illness and Sets the Stream Ablaze!"

Clicking in, the voiceover by Shanhai Jun began: "No one expected that 369, who was highly anticipated by Teacher Dachu, would fall at the final step of the quarter-finals."

And Chujun's familiar Northeast accent came head-on, starting immediately with a "mournful" wailing tone.

"Bai! Ge! Ah!"

"My Bai Ge, why did you fall in the quarter-finals! My~ Bai~ Ge~ ah~!"

"It's over, now only the last hope of the whole village remains. Master Ye, keep it up! Master Ye, we are all counting on you!"

Immediately following this, the footage of EDG versus DK appeared in a flash.

A rare face appeared, seemingly a Pyke specialist streamer called 'A Shuai Pyke'.

This person's appearance was even more heavyweight; he started with an ultimate critical hit!

It was just fortunate that there was no one beside Ye Bo at this moment, otherwise, it would have been an instant social death scene.

"Holy crap!!! Master Ye!!! The God of Pyke!!!"

"I declare that Master Ye's status here overturns Prowler's Claw and Axiom Arc! Master Ye is my daddy!"

"This solo kill is too handsome! This face-to-face E dodge! Holy crap, it's too &@... % handsome!"

"He was born to be the protagonist! We Pyke players only get this once in a lifetime!"

Looking at the refined streamer, who might even be able to recite hundreds of flying flower poems, he suddenly seemed to have mutated, scratching his head and dancing his limbs wildly on the spot.

"The streamer wants to become this Prowler's Claw, let Master Ye use it."

【A Shuai couldn't sleep all night after watching this match, unable to help but extend his Bone Skewer into the deep pool, gushing wildly.】

【Understandable, it's human nature.】

【The streamer's sense of immersion is too strong; watching the match, he couldn't help but hum along.】

【Actually, that's not the case; even without Pyke, I would still want Master Ye to use it.】

Ye Bo shuddered at the "creepy" barrage and hurriedly pressed the fast-forward button.

Then, a dragon's roar followed immediately.

"Xu Ge's flank! Xu Ge is awesome, ah, holy crap Xu Ge!"

"Damn it, Alistar and Thresh just sabotaged my Xu Ge, come gank mid instead! Gank mid! If you don't gank this game, can you even play? Huh?"

"Not watching anymore~ next."

Although it was called the "Faces of the Quarter-Finals," there wasn't much material available regarding the two previous LPL teams, especially RNG, who were swept 3-0.

So this video was almost a highlight reel of EDG's operations in the three games.

The Imperial Mandate of the Blast Cone, the design of the wall-jumping saplings, the counter-attack of the displacement Ghost Slash, the solo kill of the triangular roll Ghost Slash, the soul fusion technique of mountain-flipping and warehouse-entering.

Every reappearance of a scene was accompanied by the exaggerated facial expressions of various streamers.

And the most shocking one—was still that wave of "Positioning to Dodge the Maokai Ultimate."

In the first-person perspective footage.

Everyone finally knew that it turned out that the Azir was rapidly clicking markers, and only then did the four people instantly move to their positions according to the markers, while Azir then charged into the enemy backline alone.

【Ah, no way, bro! This can be commanded too!?】

【Can't hate on this, this is the real Azir.】

【I thought EDG's discipline was really that perverted; it turns out they were connected to the Shurima network!】

【Holy crap, this scene is so fitting, just like a General leading an army into battle! Commanding the front line to meet the enemy while seeing the opportunity deep inside at the same time, it really has that flavor!】

【A strategist should observe the eyes and ears of the world! This is the real Sima Yi!】

【Ye, what exactly did you do? As a mid-laner, not farming minions or pushing lanes, not lifestealing to grow, how are we supposed to contend with DK!? Only to see Ye smile faintly: "Heh, simple, I'll just wipe out DK by myself, won't I?" Saying this, the aura of Azir was no longer concealed, the imperial power of the heavens was instantly revealed, grabbing Xu Xiu and refining him in an instant!】

Even more interesting was the immediately connected backstage footage of DK.

Originally, seeing the super flank by the mid and jungle, the design had clearly succeeded, and a look of ecstasy appeared on Daeny's face; he had even stood up!

The result in the next moment was a two-stage reversal.

With his expression changing drastically, he ran back, his silent lip-reading very obvious on the broadcast screen, successfully joining the "Two-Stage Family" and presenting a scene of "Two-Stage Sibal."

The reactions of the various streamers and the barrage can only be said to be a bit exaggerated, but they were clearly all genuine expressions of emotion.

It is visible to the naked eye that many things have been quietly changing since this match.

This is the charm of the arena.

There are many brilliant scenes in Faker's career, but the most representative one must be the Battle of the Two Zeds!

Yet Ye Bo already has no idea how many "Battles of the Two Zeds" he has had by now.

After finishing the video.

Ye Bo, who had been satisfied, took the initiative to turn off his phone screen.

The "oil" had already been added again.

After his ambition surged, he was already prepared to sprint toward the next stage's goal.

The semi-finals were to be held in Atlanta.

And the other three teams had already set off.

EDG wanted to travel as a whole group, so they stayed in New York for a few more days until everyone was out of quarantine before setting off together to carry out arrangements such as pre-match filming.

Soon, a week passed in the blink of an eye.

October 30, 2022, the match day for the semi-finals officially arrived!

However, what surprised Ye Bo very much was.

The "Diary of Old Deng," which had not changed for a long time, actually had an anomaly on the eve of the first semi-final match!

(End of this chapter)