Chapter 67: Elimination Match Grouping, Feeling Bad for Little Pei~

Dongmen, awesome!

What you said is great; why should the first place have to look at others' faces?

I'm so jealous of you, Dongmen; every time I go up, I imagine being as confident as you, but each time I don't know what to say.

Xu Dongmen returned to the resting room and gained his teammates' strong support.

"Dongmen, I've held you back," Da B said with an apologetic expression.

He browsed the Tieba forum together with Apocalyptic Disaster, seeing many trolls.

Their main criticism centered on the "World's Strongest Mid/Jungle"; this flag they set up is even bigger than the factory boss's back then.

Xu Dongmen claimed to be the world's strongest jungler, with no one able to fault him, yet he insisted on also taking the mid lane.

Given Doinb's current overall strength, he obviously can't yet uphold that title.

What's there to be afraid of? Just let it go.

Upon hearing that, Xu Dongmen shook his head.

He wasn't angry at all; instead, he had Doinb go to the Korean net forum to act as his translator.

Just the anti-pressure blame-bearing forum isn't enough; we need to add the Korean net's idiots to really satisfy.

All we can say is, the aggressiveness needs improvement!

The match has started.

In the broadcast screen, the ban/pick interface appeared, with FW on one side and CLG on the other.

The first extra match, competing for second place.

"Flash Wolves were double-killed by CLG in the group stage; CLG's style somewhat counters them."

"But the Electric Wolves' lineup this game is not bad; Maple's Azir is still very stable, and they also banned Dragon King and Caitlyn this time."

"The key Mimidan also got Maokai; I'm optimistic about the Flash Wolves' lineup."

Xu Dongmen and the others didn't misjudge.

In their third encounter, FW showed some toughness.

Steady and solid, with excellent execution.

Karsa and the others successfully defeated CLG, securing second place in the group.

"Brothers, the main event is coming!"

"The upcoming match will determine who our elimination-round opponent will be."

SKT versus CLG!

The second extra match: the winner gets third place, the loser fourth.

Both sides banned heroes against each other; SKT still greatly respects Stixxay's Caitlyn, banning her in all three of their encounters.

By contrast, Dragon King was left open.

"Faker is still this confident."

"The pressure is on Huhi; should we take this Dragon King?"

Xu Dongmen and the others watched and discussed at the same time.

SKT and CLG's group-stage head-to-head record is 1-1, with Huhi picking Dragon King in both games.

The first game they won by surprise; the second game they were healed by Faker's Old Baldy.

SKT is the side with the psychological advantage.

"Ryze, CLG snatches Ryze!"

"This move is not bad."

Xu Dongmen's eyes lit up; in this game, Azir is in the ban slot, and Ryze almost has no counters.

Moreover, Huhi has used Ryze before and played it decently, at least stronger than Maple and Doinb.

Most importantly, this must not be let SKT get it.

"Lulu, Faker's Lulu..."

Everyone was guessing what mid laner SKT would pick, when a quirky icon appeared before their eyes.

Faker locked in Lulu!

At that moment, everyone turned to look at Doinb's reaction.

Da B, unusually not jumping up and down, said helplessly: "Faker knows how to play Lulu, and he plays it well; do you guys know he played Lulu more than I did in the spring split?"

Doinb didn't lie.

He only used Lulu five times in the spring split; Faker's Lulu count is double his, ranking first among all champions.

Of course, on MSI, this is still the first time it's been brought out.

Lulu vs Ryze

"Ying Bi Ge, how do these two match up?" Xu Dongmen asked.

"In the early lane, Lulu definitely has the edge, but can't kill; once Ryze reaches a higher level, Lulu can't push, and SKT's lineup will snowball."

Da B elaborated on his game understanding.

"Both sides are double-adc lineups."

Stain also joined in: "Early game SKT is easy to beat, late game CLG is strong, but I feel CLG can't make it to late game."

One side is Lulu, Graves, Lucian; the other side is Ryze, Kindred, Zyra; CLG's core needs more.

Unexpectedly, CLG held up in the early game this match, with every lane seeing back-and-forth action against SKT.

Blank repeatedly went on the offensive, but was repeatedly seen through by Xmithie's tricks.

Until 30 minutes, both sides' economies remained tightly locked, the situation deadlocked.

Speaking of the lineup, CLG should have the advantage now.

On the match stage, Hihi and the others also thought their strong lineup had arrived, but when the clash actually began it was completely not so; they lost every team fight, and the great advantage was gradually eaten away by SKT.

There's no way, they can't deal with Bang.

Xu Dongmen frankly speaking, before each team fight Bang's Lucian would slide in to poke, like a slippery loach, and CLG had no way to deal with it.

"Lulu's impact is huge; Lucian even bought Mercury's Treads, and CLG finds it hard to kill him." Stain sucked on his finger.

"Faker's Lulu is the strongest mid-lane Lulu I've ever seen." Even Da B couldn't find fault.

A support Lulu is the seventh item for an ADC.

Mid-lane Lulu's buffs are even greater than a support's!

It can protect Lucian and also protect the male gunner.

This is also why QG always picks Lulu; with Da B's godlike Lulu, he supports Xu Dongmen and UZI's dual marksmen output, making team fights maxed out and flawless.

But CLG didn't realize this; in the final team fight they directed all their fire at Bang.

Including the dual cores, they went all out, hoping to instantly kill Lucian.

The result was tragic.

Bang slid wildly on the match stage, dodging the sky-full of skillshots, each movement perfectly timed.

With Lulu's support from behind, he not only avoided being focused down, but also took out the CLG members one by one.

Leisurely strolling, every gesture made enemies vanish in smoke.

"So strong."

UZI couldn't help but praise; although they are rivals, this mutual admiration between top-tier ADCs is genuine.

The match ended amidst sighs of regret.

CLG lost, SKT won!

Bang's undying Lucian earned MVP.

【Truly worthy of SKT】

【SKT in top form is terrifying; there's not a single opponent they can't beat】

【Flash Wolves are already trembling】

【I think I know why QG had to lose to SKT; if they had beaten SKT, there would be no rematch and they'd directly place fourth】

【Sparrow food, this is obviously picking opponents】

【I just said QG is playing a big game of chess】

【Hehe, if they truly had championship caliber, would they need to pick opponents?】

【This is the LPL's inherent flaw; look at SKT, they know how to give their all in every match.】

【There's nothing to be done; teams with crybabies are like this.】

【You bunch of assholes, if SKT loses, will you again claim they deliberately lost to drop to fourth to mess with QG?】

【If you want to hate, just hate; this is truly disgusting.】

【A 9-1 record can't hide fatigue; a 7-4 record fully shows vigor.】

【………】

SKT won the rematch, QG got caught in the crossfire while lying down.

In the esports community, public opinion is often just chasing shadows.

"Mo'er, it's your turn to go out."

Xu Dongmen and the others sent the Natural Disaster Doomsday back to the forefront.

Under the camera, Natural Disaster Doomsday joined hands with CLG's black support Aphromoo, forming the first semifinal matchup.

The two already knew each other, so it wasn't awkward.

On the other side, Karsa took the stage and brought the sole Li Ge to his side.

The semifinal matchups are now officially set.

QG vs CLG

FW vs SKT

"A good draw, this is the ideal grouping for the elimination rounds."

"At least it's not an internal conflict!"

"We could have an internal match, but it'd be best to meet in the final!"

"Let's look at the Flash Wolves, the true SKT killers."

"Cheer on the Flash Wolves, repel external threats first, then secure internal peace!"

Compared to the armchair generals online, most of those who can attend in person are true fans, and they better represent the voice of the LPL.

Not only the spectators, but QG's side is also satisfied with this grouping; the coaching staff led by Park Ryong-un even breathed a sigh of relief.

At least we don't have to go all-out from the start; we have a much better chance against CLG.

Besides that, as everyone said, Flash Wolves have a psychological edge over SKT.

"Expecting FW to win isn't realistic, but we can let them first wear down SKT's spirit, achieve something, then in the final we'll settle the score with SKT!"

Lin Ke knows the art of war.

Of course, even at this time, he hasn't forgotten to use his silver tongue, continuing to fan the flames of SKT's three veteran elders.

【—Daxiang He is amazing】

【—He's impressive, but this guy is basically an inhuman gaming machine.】

【—Unfeeling and unjust, loving the new and discarding the old.】

【—Only newcomers laugh; who has heard the old-timers cry?】

【—Damn, feeling sorry for Xiao Pei~】