Chapter 338: Failure is the Only Result if You Don't Win the Championship!

"So that's how it is."

Ye Bo looked at the tournament bracket on the screen.

Only then did he understand why the Asian Games in the old man's diary had resulted in a "bronze medal."

Although the timeline and the participating personnel had undergone some changes, everything felt like a fated intersection; the two sides were destined to collide after all.

The players from the KR representative team who were watching the draw on-site also showed clear expressions of shock when they saw the result.

Meanwhile, everyone from the CN representative team back at the base jumped up.

"What the hell!?"

"I believe it now, our draw really wasn't rigged!"

"The KR side really can't say anything now, there's no draw more real than this."

Ye Bo plopped down into his gaming chair and spun around leisurely: "This is fine too, finishing it early means no pressure~"

Although everyone was surprised, it was clear that most were excited.

After all, from the moment they stepped onto this stage, they knew this battle was unavoidable; the difference between fighting early or late wasn't actually that big.

"This means we're locked in to play the Korean team in the semifinals, it's basically playing the finals early!" Xun seemed unable to wait, bouncing on his toes.

"That's not certain, who knows if they might get upset by Coach Tabe~" Flandre joked with a smile: "Seriously speaking, at least they should be able to force out some tactical reserves, right?"

"Who's on the Xiangxiang side again?" Meiko asked curiously.

"I know! White3zz!!"

The group looked through the roster for the Xiangxiang region, but unfortunately, other than the top laner YSKM, his substitute Solokill, and Coach Tabe, there were no familiar IDs.

Come to think of it, the Xiangxiang region has indeed always only produced top laners; not only the two top laners currently qualified to play in the LPL, but even AJ, one of the very few players to ever make a name for himself, was also a top laner.

Ye Bo took out his phone to browse the forums and found that the netizens' discussions were heated.

[No way!? Does this mean someone has to fight for the bronze medal?]

[Doesn't matter, which year has the runner-up not been scolded to death? Not winning the championship is a capital crime in esports!]

[Looking at it this way, it feels like Brother absolutely chose not to go on purpose. Anyway, winning this thing is "worthless," and losing makes you a sinner for all eternity, nailed to the pillar of historical shame~]

[Don't say it, really don't say it, just looking at this quarterfinal opponent, it was right for Knight and JKL not to come!]

[Sorrow! Why fight even more? — Defeat Vietnam? Zhuo and Yu Zhi! — A test, this time verified! — Look at me! Striding across Asia!]

[Anyway, the Wanwan side is definitely grinning, they've actually made it to the finals!]

Many netizens in the comments were begging for someone with big connections to repost reports from foreign websites.

Below the post, a hero actually appeared, directly reposting the real-time highlights from foreign sites.

The classic, hellish PTT forum layout of Wanwan came rushing in; being able to see the black-background-white-text formatting of the nineties in 2023, one could only say the recognizability was extremely high.

[What a fair draw!! Can already pop the champagne~]

[I really like a saying from the mainland: Good draw, why is it a good draw?]

[Hope the CN representative team can help us reveal KR's trump cards first, that way if we win the championship later, we can give the CN team 1/3 of the credit!]

[What are you saying? This year we have Fofo + Karsa + Doggo + SwordArt + Coach WarHorse, we are totally a dream team! Even without this draw, we could defeat the CN and KR teams!]

[Indeed, we can already study our finals opponents in advance, this time we will let everyone see who the true glory of the all-Chinese team is!]

The attitude of the netizens on the Wanwan forum was as festive as the New Year.

Previously, almost everyone assumed that the Asian Games would be monopolized by the CN and KR regions, and that the remaining dozen or so countries and regions could consider it a great honor just to fight for the bronze medal.

As a result, it was now equivalent to a giant silver medal pie falling from the sky onto their heads!

Ye Bo was just about to keep scrolling down, but his attention was drawn by the sound coming from the broadcast.

On the screen, the KR representative team, having just finished their group stage, was being interviewed.

Being interviewed on-site were Li Xianghe and Zeus.

"First of all, congratulations to the Korean representative team for entering the knockout stage. We have invited two players from the T1 team to accept an interview!"

Although the Korean reporter on-site said it that way.

In reality, the reason these two were chosen was simply because the other three all played in the LPL, and these were the only two positions in the team that were "pure" Korean players.

"Everyone should have seen the upcoming draw and grouping. Regarding the quarterfinal opponent in the upper bracket tomorrow, and the semifinal opponent after that, what are your thoughts?"

"Let's start with Faker!"

Li Xianghe, who always had a strong "idol burden" in front of the camera, still kept a serious face, his tone sounding as if his heart had no ripples.

"The draw doesn't mean anything to us. Since we are participating in the competition, we are naturally prepared to defeat all opponents; it's just a matter of the order."

"For us, not winning the gold medal is a failure."

The audience on-site and in the livestream erupted in screams.

In fact, KR players are required to undergo "Interview Rhetoric Training" in their clubs, and the advantage of their country's developed entertainment industry was undoubtedly on display.

This is actually why LCK players' interviews always seem to produce golden quotes, and one rarely hears anything particularly outrageous.

However, Zeus next to him looked a bit "abnormal" at this moment.

From the moment he saw the draw results, his cheeks had turned flushed and excited, as if he were experiencing some inexplicable agitation.

"I am very satisfied with this draw, and I am also very much looking forward to meeting the Ye Bo-led CN representative team!"

"I am very much looking forward to meeting them in the semifinals!"

He was so excited that he even corrected himself three times in a row, drawing a burst of laughter on-site and in the bullet comments.

[What's up with Zeus's inexplicable sense of destiny? How did a top laner become a mortal enemy with Master Ye!?]

[Indeed, your Brother Fei is still standing right next to you, it's not your turn to be the mortal enemy.]

[Heh, the tadpoles say Big Fei and Master Ye are mortal enemies, it's as funny as RNG saying they are mortal enemies with SKT; can you really call them mortal enemies if you've never won once!]

[Not to mention anything else, "Not winning is a failure" vs "Making the semifinals is a success," that is the difference!]

[Big Fei is bragging again~~~]

[Faker: Doesn't matter, I'm not playing anyway, if they lose it has nothing to do with me~]

On the surface, both sides seemed full of confidence for the upcoming decisive battle.

However, unlike the outside world's belief that they could "treat the quarterfinals casually."

Late that night.

The lights on the first and second floors of the Asian Games esports building seemed to stay on until very late before being extinguished.

"Player Zou Shude has been defeated in a solo lane matchup again!"

"In this quarterfinal match, the Korean representative team's top laner, Choi Woo-je, is truly shining on the stage! This is already his sixth solo kill in this best-of-three!"

"For two consecutive games, he has been the team's primary tactical resource, and he has lived up to expectations with a perfect performance! The massive breakthrough in the top lane has become a flaw that the Xiangxiang representative team is completely unable to fill!"

On stage, YSKM, who had been extremely confident since the moment he created his ID—with a name meaning "You Should Know Me"—was completely in the mindset of a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger when facing Zeus.

Having debuted a year ago, he had a dark-horse performance this year in IG that sparked a youthful storm; even when facing top laners like TheShy and Bin, he had extremely impressive performances, even shining with solo kills!

It was precisely because of this that this young player who had just debuted was able to get a precious spot on the Asian Games roster, and even become the team captain.

But no one would have thought.