Chapter 154

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

There would be a one-week off-season between the quarterfinals and the semifinals, not as tight as the transition from the group stage.

This time was clearly enough for all EDG members to recover their condition.

The first to be released from quarantine was Brother Shengqiang Ge, who today also joined Ye Bo to watch the last quarterfinal match of the bottom half of the bracket, which was also their next opponent in the semifinals.

After being apart for many days, Ye Bo finally saw a real person again, and upon meeting, he gave Brother Shengqiang Ge a big hug!

And this last quarterfinal match, although it was called the "Battle of the Number One Seeds."

But with one North American number one seed and one Korean number one seed, clearly no one would favor the left side.

"Brother Shengqiang Ge, guess where this Rogue jungler was before~" Ye Bo, who hadn't seen a living person for several days, was clearly becoming a bit of a chatterbox.

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

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

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

Having experienced the battle of the quarterfinals, even the third seed DK had caused quite a few shocks and surprises, which also made him take the next opponent quite seriously.

And he had indeed discovered some interesting things.

It turned out that in the summer of S11 last year, after experiencing the MSI defeat, DK had actually carried out a very outrageous "Super Team Rotation"!

They kicked out Ghost, whose condition had declined severely, let ShowMaker play AD, Canyon play mid, and let the substitute jungler play for half a month.

And don't say, the effect was unexpectedly good.

They actually won against the Hanwha team, which had the dual-carry lineup of Chovy and Deft at the time, in two crushing games!

"Good fellow, there's such a thing!?" Brother Shengqiang Ge leaned over curiously to look at the information Ye Bo had collected: "Why didn't I have any impression of this news back then?"

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

Ye Bo hesitated, but still didn't say things he couldn't be sure about.

Because he had chewed through enough recordings, he vaguely felt that this year's DK and last year's DK felt quite different in both playstyle and style.

Clearly, the core components of the top, mid, and jungle were all still there, the bottom lane's replacement combination was still a "leaning towards mixing" positioning, and the players' personal styles hadn't changed too much.

But there was just an indescribable feeling.

"Listening to what you mean, Rogue might really have a chance?" Brother Shengqiang Ge asked curiously.

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

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

As the two were chatting, Coach Maokai hurried in from outside the door.

"Chicken soup is here~"

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

Coach Maokai said proudly: "I specifically went to order it from a local Chinese restaurant. Wait, I'll send a portion to Jie Jie and Tian Ye as well, so they can nourish themselves well and recover faster!"

The three of them had the strange-tasting old hen soup together, looking forward to the start of this match.

It's just a pity that the result didn't have any unexpected points.

The Rogue team didn't show the "unique" traits of Western teams—various rare cheesy tactics and killer moves with unpopular heroes; instead, their BP was very conventional in every game, all being meta-default heroes.

And clearly, Rogue had no advantage in the three-lane laning phase against Gen. G.

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

There were four first-team players in the team, and every position could almost be considered the first-choice player in the LCK region!

The top laner was Doran, who professionally educated Zeus, and the jungler was Peanut, the first-team player for the whole year.

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

The Roaring Emperor became full of energy again in this match: "C~h~o~v~y~~~!"

"Gen. G takes the opponent down three-to-zero! This is the strength of our LCK region's number one seed!" CT Ge, separated by a day, seemed to have forgotten yesterday when the sun rose again.

"Although DK regretfully fell, we still successfully surrounded EDG with three teams: Gen. G, DRX, and T1! He has already 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 think very highly of Chovy; he is the pillar and face of our LCK region's younger generation! Undoubted 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 personally look forward to his collision with Ye!"

The Roaring Emperor spoke very fully, even naming him directly; it was clear that yesterday's match had a significant impact on him.

As everyone knows.

Whether it's LCK viewers or casters, and even Riot officials, they can be said to "admire Chovy to the extreme."

Even though he has participated in three S-tournaments since his debut in '19 and has consecutively won three quarterfinals, becoming more and more like "Chovy7," it doesn't affect the rhetoric of him being the "World's Number One Mid"!

Especially this year, after joining the Gen. G Galaxy Battleship, he even had the intention of challenging for "World's Number One Mid"!

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

He firmly believed that Chovy would definitely be able to stop this guy Ye!

And as RGE almost didn't stir up any waves, and didn't even have the power to fight back, they were naturally carried away.

This clearly wasn't good news for EDG.

After all, EDG playing DK had exposed quite a few things—at the very least, the two points of {Emperor} and {Tree} were destined to become Gen. G's key focus!

Brother Shengqiang Ge also muttered: "They didn't expose a single bit of information at all."

Ye Bo, who was silent on the side, didn't respond.

However, it wasn't a complete loss either.

With the end of this match, the semifinal spots were settled.

Upper half: T1 vs DRX

Lower half: EDG vs Gen. G

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

【It's this plot again; is the LPL only one step away from being wiped out in the semifinals? Ah, isn't it that for two consecutive years, the whole region has been counting on one team!?】

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

【It's very blue; don't forget Gen. G swept T1 like bots three-to-zero! They are not at the same level as DK at all! Just wait, EDG!】

【The main thing is, even if they cross that, there's still T1 waiting in the finals; a reminder, it's BO5 T1~】

【I really want to laugh at the Korean fans; EDG 1v5 could crush DK, wait for the whole team to revive in the semifinals, let's see if they don't smash this Samsung into stars!】

【Believe in EDG! Believe in Master Ye!】

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

Online, it was clearly divided into two factions.

After all, even if EDG's quarterfinal performance was beyond reproach, they indeed hadn't played against this Samsung team.

On the surface, this LCK overlord Galaxy Battleship was indeed the Korean team with the strongest {paper strength}.

Of course, EDG's quarterfinal performance undoubtedly conquered many people—especially when it was under the condition that everyone was positive.

This already left a lot of "room for imagination."

Ye Bo, who had no training matches to play, logged onto domestic websites to surf after 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 also a significant test for him, both on and off the field.

Of course, he also really liked watching the netizens' reactions!

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

Even though a day had passed, the post about yesterday's EDG vs DK match still remained at the top and hadn't sunk for a long time.

【This match is definitely a god-tier battle! It's just outrageous!】

【Brother Ye: "I am the God!"】

【Today's match was too tragic; is it really one person carrying the team forward? It's the first year of his debut and there are already historical-level scenes.】

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

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

【I've discovered that as long as the mid-laner doesn't disconnect, the whole EDG team is stable as hell!】

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

Among them, ShowMaker accounted for the most.

【Pure mid-lane gap!】

【Ye turns his head to look beside him and finds no one.】

【Canyon turns his head to look beside him and finds that none of them are human!】

【ShowMaker's peak period is too short, right? He's become this washed up in just two years? LeBlanc can't even play against Emperor?】

【Even my grandma could play LeBlanc against Emperor! Bring Exhaust, use W to step on him, then apply Exhaust, and then use E to bind him while slowed; that Emperor will just be autistic—I simplify this playstyle to Step, Exhaust, Bind, Emperor, Autistic!】

【You've even made my Dragon Brother autistic, ShowMaker, you are guilty of terrible crimes!!】

Ye Bo liked to see netizens praising him; he felt this was a special "reward," even no worse than the system task rewards.

No one doesn't want to get more recognition.

This was also recognition of his own efforts!

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 was just because every time they won a match, it seemed like there would be comments saying it was because "the opponent is bad"... but can't it be that we are strong!

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

Regret and misfortune are all part of the arena; someone will always have to play this role.

On the stage, the place illuminated by the lights will only be left to the final winner.

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

Moreover, if we really want to talk about cruelty, Old Deng Bo's diary is simply a cruel epic masterpiece of frustration!

Therefore, what Ye Bo has always spurred himself with is to train hard and train even harder.

He doesn't want that kind of moment to appear on himself.

Ye Bo searched deliberately and finally managed to find the latest discussion post, discussing the preview of the semifinal.

The post's pinned image was the classic image of every year.

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

In fact, in the earliest group stage opening version that circulated this year, the T1 team logo was photoshopped on the Reaper's clothes, and the avatar was Lee Sang-hyeok.

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

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

The Reaper was replaced with EDG with Ye Bo's avatar—T1 conversely became the target being knocked on!

By the quarterfinals, this image evolved again.

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

The DK door behind was already marked with a big cross, and the doorway was flowing with blood.

And EDG, wearing the Reaper's avatar, was walking towards the next Gen. G.

Watching a considerable proportion of the audience in the post supporting his team, the curve of Ye Bo's mouth was somewhat hard to suppress.

Exiting the forum, he casually opened Bilibili.

The homepage accurately pushed a video with an eye-catching title—"Quarterfinal Faces! Streamers watch their home teams get eliminated one after another in a breakdown! EDG kills enemies while sick, burning up the broadcast room!"

Clicking in, it was Shanhai Jun's broadcast narration: "No one expected that 369, who was highly anticipated by Teacher Dachu, fell at the last step of the quarterfinals..."

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

"White! Brother! Ah!"

"My White Brother, why did you fall in the quarterfinals! My~ White~ Brother~ Ah~!"

"It's over, now only the last hope of the whole village is left... Master Ye, come on! Master Ye, we are counting on you!"

Immediately after, the scene of EDG vs DK appeared in an instant.

What appeared was a rare face, seemingly a Pyke expert streamer named "Ashuai Pyke."

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

It's 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!!! Pyke God!!!"

"I announce that Master Ye's status here overturns Umbral Glaive 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 have this one time in our lives!"

Watching the refined streamer, who might even be able to recite hundreds of Feihua orders, suddenly start scratching his ears and cheeks on the spot as if he were mutating, dancing his limbs wildly.

"The streamer wants to become this Umbral Glaive and let Master Ye use..."

【Ashuai couldn't sleep all night after watching this game, and couldn't help but extend his Bone Skewer into the deep pool and frantically gush.】

【Understandable, human nature.】

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

【Actually, it's not; even without Pyke, I want Master Ye to use it.】

Ye Bo shivered at the "creepy" bullet comments and hurriedly pressed the acceleration button.

Then, a dragon roar followed.

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

"Damn, Alistar and Thresh only know how to pit my Xu Ge; come and gank mid! Gank mid! If you don't gank this Ye, can you play, huh?"

"Not watching anymore~ Next..."

Although it was said to be the faces of the quarterfinals, there wasn't much usable material about the previous two LPL teams, especially RNG, which was swept 3-0.

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

The Blast Cone Emperor's Army, the design of the wall-flipping sapling, the counterattack of the displacement Ghost Slash, the solo kill of the triangular roll Ghost Slash, the soul fusion skill of flipping over the mountain and entering the warehouse...

Every reappearance of the scene was an exaggerated expression of the streamers' facial art.

And the most shocking one—was that wave of "Positioning to dodge the Tree's ultimate."

In the first-person perspective screen.

Everyone finally knew that it turned out that wave was Emperor rapidly clicking markers, and then it was four people instantly pressing the markers to position themselves, and then Emperor alone killed his way behind enemy lines...

【Ah, no, brother! This can also be commanded!?】

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

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

【Holy crap, this scene is too fitting, just like a Grand General leading an army to fight! Commanding the enemy on the front line while seeing the opportunity deep inside, it really has that flavor!】

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

【Ye, what exactly did you do? As a mid-laner, you don't farm minions or push lanes, you don't lifesteal to grow, how are we going to contend with DK!? Only to see Ye smile faintly: "Heh, simple, won't I just kill DK all by myself?" Saying that, the Emperor's aura was no longer concealed, the sky-filling imperial power was instantly revealed, and he grabbed ShowMaker and refined him in an instant!】

What was even more interesting was the immediately connected DK backstage footage.

Originally, seeing the mid-jungle's super big flank, the design had clearly succeeded, and Danny's face showed an ecstatic expression, and he had even stood up!

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

He ran back with a sudden change in expression, his silent lip-syncing was very obvious on the live broadcast screen, successfully joining the second-stage family and presenting a scene of "second-stage Xiba."

The reactions of various streamers and bullet comments can only be said to be a bit exaggerated, but they were clearly all true feelings.

What was visible to the naked eye was that many things after this match were quietly changing.

This is the charm of the arena.

Faker has many wonderful scenes in his professional career, but the most representative one must be the Battle of the Two Zeds!

But Ye Bo already has I don't know how many "Battles of the Two Zeds" by now.

After watching the video.

Ye Bo, who was satisfied, actively turned off his phone screen.

The "oil" had been added again.

After his ambition was satisfied, he was also ready to sprint towards the next stage's goal...

The semifinals would be held in Atlanta.

And the other three teams had already set off.

EDG thought about everyone going together, so they stayed in New York for a few more days until everyone was released from quarantine before setting off together to arrange pre-match shooting and other matters.

Soon, a week passed in a flash.

On October 30, 2022, the match day of the semifinals officially arrived!

But what surprised Ye Bo very much was.

The "Old Deng Diary," which hadn't changed for a long time, actually had an anomaly on the eve of the first semifinal match!

(End of chapter)