Magnificent and loud music sounded in the venue. The music was enhanced by the speakers around the venue, and seemed to resound in everyone's ears. The sound was very clear.
The music that should have been loud became more exciting because of this environment. The audience's hearts were filled with excitement, and everyone's eyes were focused on the central stage.
Many clothes slowly fell from the beam, including jackets and short-sleeved shirts, with black characters on a white background and the words LPL Professional League printed on them. Five white short-sleeved shirts slowly rose in the middle of a group of team uniforms, with the words "LPL Professional League" printed on them.
It’s CP’s logo!
The team uniform has the name of each player on it. This is the MSI team uniform specially customized by the LPL official for the players!
The large screens around the top of the stage lit up at the same time, first showing the LPL league icon, and then switching to the MSI logo.
Chen Lang and his group walked out one after another amidst the audience's great expectations and bright lights. They walked to the center of the stage and stood side by side.
"Hurry up and say hello!" Chen Lang kept smiling and spoke quietly to his teammates on the left and right.
JackeyLove and others immediately raised their hands to greet the audience. The five people smiled on their faces and put on the "war uniforms" that fell from the rafters at the same time!
Inside are the team uniforms they are wearing, and the outer jacket is an official custom-made jacket. It also has a check mark, which is Nike's sponsorship trademark.
The stage gradually began to "fog up".
Dry ice curled up like smoke from the four corners of the stage, and then lingered on the stage. The stage fell into a vast white fog, as if it had become a fairyland!
Chen Lang and others were surrounded by mist, as if they had become gods.
At this time, the audience discovered that the floor tiles on the stage had changed color. They were no longer the previous white porcelain color, but seemed to be burned by flames!
No, it should be said that the "ground" seems to have become a piece of magma, with countless flames and sparks burning and jumping!
The location where Chen Lang and his group were standing was at the top of the mountain, where the volcano erupted.
Gold ribbons fell from the sky, just like the scene of winning the championship, and dry ice was sprayed around the stage, as if to celebrate their triumphant return!
...
“It’s so cool!”
After the expedition ceremony, JackeyLove said excitedly.
Chen Lang chuckled and said: "It's not your first time to participate, why are you still so excited?"
The expedition ceremony of the S competition is larger. After all, there are three teams, and the official organization is much more formal. Moreover, the S competition is the largest event in LOL, far exceeding msi in terms of influence and gold content.
Xiaotian also nodded and said: "Yes, yes, if you don't know, you might think it's your first time!"
JackeyLove had a smile on his face: "You don't understand this, right? Although I also participated in the expedition ceremony last year, there were three teams at that time. This year, we are the only team in MSI. It feels different!"
"What's different?"
JackeyLove replied: "This means we are the only ones!"
"And we will face off against SKT again soon. We all want to defeat each other and become the only team in the world to win a Grand Slam. If we defeat them then, it will definitely be great!"
"What if we lose?" Xiaotian exclaimed.
As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed a few eyes around him falling on him. He couldn't help but shudder, and then said with a smile: "Just kidding..."
...
After the expedition ceremony, there were heated discussions on all major forums about the opponents MSI encountered.
The teams participating in MSI are all spring champions of each division. In theory, they are all very powerful. At least in the spring division, they are the strongest teams in their respective divisions!
There are a total of 6 participating teams, namely CP, SKT, G2, CLG, SUP, and FW.
They represent the spring champions of each division to participate in the competition. They will compete in a bo1 match for a total of 4 days, and then the four teams that enter the finals will be selected based on points to compete in pairs, and the winner will decide the winner!
Judging from the schedule, the game arrangement is very full, and BO1 is the most accidental format. Unlike BO3 and BO5, which consider the overall strength of the team, BO1 often leads to upsets.
This format is more suitable for European and American teams, because their regular season is BO1, and sometimes the routine is very useful. After all, if you win, you will get a point. Unlike BO3, if you win one game and lose two, it means you have not won.
"To be fair, CP's biggest opponent this time is SKT. There's no doubt about it, right?"
"No, Europe and the United States are not good at competing. I think Flash Wolves should pay attention. This team is better at playing BO1."
"To put it bluntly, if 6 goes into 4, CP will not be eliminated. There is no way they will become the two remaining teams~"
"Don't think about it in the finals. In the battle between SKT and CP, both sides had a personnel change. I thought SKT was going to die, but then the playoffs became unstable again. Unexpectedly, they defeated rox. It was really surprising."
"It's such a pity for Little Peanut. I thought Rox was the sure winner. The regular season was too fierce. Little Peanut's style also suits Rox. I didn't expect that he would be cured by SKT's management~"
"Without Brother Lang's control, Faker is really a bit fierce. Kuro is really no match for Faker. He can beat all the mid laners in the LCK, but he is no match for Faker..."
"I hope Brother Lang and others will help Little Peanut take revenge, defeat SKT, and become the first Grand Slam team!"
Basically, mainstream voices believe that the highlight of MSI is the showdown between SKT and CP. These two teams met in the finals last year and now they meet again.
Like the turning gears of fate, they seemed to have become old enemies.
The same is true for the LCK side.
With the fury of revenge, faker once again went to MSI to challenge CP who stole the championship trophy from them. This is also the goal that many SKT fans expect faker to complete his revenge.
...
"I'll give you a live broadcast of doing math.
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Just take the paper..."
VG base.
A slender, handsome boy wearing glasses and looking very polite was chatting with water friends in the live broadcast room.
He is easyhoon, who left SKT and joined VG, known as Mr. Hou.
He is one of the few highly educated people in the e-sports circle and is a mathematics student at a university in Seoul.
The college entrance examination in South Korea is actually more difficult than that in China. Being able to study in a university in Seoul is no less difficult than getting into a key university in China. He is very diligent. VG also entered the playoffs this year, but it was a pity that they missed the first round.
However, VG's progress is obvious to all. He is also actively learning Chinese and is making rapid progress. Daily communication is no problem. His pronunciation is smooth and standard, unlike Rookie, who has a XJ flavor.
While waiting for the queue, he chatted with friends in the live broadcast room. When he had nothing to do, he remembered that the live broadcast would explain to them the math questions of the Chinese College Entrance Examination...
The barrage was incomprehensible. Even though I didn’t understand it, it was so awesome. Mr. Hou didn’t say anything. Instead, he took it very seriously and explained the process of the question to the audience over and over again.
He is a person who is more serious about doing things. He either doesn't do it or does it well.
Since you have explained the topic, you must finish it. Maybe someone is really studying?
For a moment, when he saw someone discussing MSI, he felt dazed for a moment.
I still remember last year, when he was still in SKT, he also participated in the S5 MSI. At that time, he lost to EDG in the finals. After he lost two games in a row, kkoma replaced faker.
At that moment, the entire audience shouted Faker's name, which was a huge blow to Easyhoon, who was serious but sensitive at heart.
At that moment, he truly felt that he was not loved by SKT fans and that he was living in the shadow of faker.
"Which team do you support?" Mr. Hou looked at the barrage and answered the question without any hesitation.
"SKT."
Before the barrage could ask why, Mr. Hou smiled and began to explain to the audience.
"I originally came from SKT. For these teams, I definitely support SKT."
"Although the fans there may not like me very much. When I came on as faker's substitute, I was often insulted by SKT fans, but the team actually took good care of me."
"When I left SKT, I was actually resentful. But now that I have been in LPL for a year, I have thought about too many things clearly. In fact, it is not entirely other people's problems."
"What caused me to leave SKT was that when I played KT in the quarterfinals, I won the first two games and performed well. I thought I could continue to play in the third game, but Faker replaced me and I left.
When I got off the stage, the whole audience was cheering loudly [faker].”
easyhoon's voice was very soft, and his thoughts went back to last year's S game.
"When I left the stage, endless thoughts came to my mind. What role did I play in this team? Does everyone like Faker instead of me?"
"At that time, I wanted to leave SKT and go head-to-head with Faker. Now that I have left SKT, I have figured out that maybe it's not those people's problem, they just like Faker, and there is nothing wrong with cheering for the players they like.
.”
"Just like S4pawn won the championship, when the host asked who is the best mid laner in the world, the audience still shouted faker. I don't think they were wrong. People will cheer and shout for their favorite people."
"The moment I left the stage, I fully understood how Pawn felt at that time. We are all victims of fan culture, but in other words, who doesn't like Faker?"
"Being close to Faker day and night, I can see all his actions. These are all the characteristics of an excellent player. He can always keep his heart. If I were not easyhoon and I was a spectator, I would also
I like players like Faker..."
"Now that I am a spectator, I will naturally support my old teammates."
After finishing his long speech, easyhoon always kept a faint smile on his lips.
This is what easyhoon really thinks in his heart. Many people are curious about why he left SKT, and his words now reveal the answer.
All the comments were filled with tears, and easyhoon smiled.
"I actually want to see what it would be like for Faker to face CP again with anger. He is stronger this year than last year."
...
May 4th.
MSI has started.
The opening ceremony of MSI was held at 1:30 pm at the stadium in Shanghai. The venue was full and everyone came to support. After all, it is rare to hold a competition in China.
This is also the first time that an official LOL world-level event has been held in China, which is indispensable for the reason why this game is so popular in China.
The opening was the traditional Chinese drumming culture, supplemented by the performance form of ink painting. After the performance, the six teams appeared one by one.
When every team appears, the audience cheers enthusiastically. Among them, CP and SKT have the most fans, so when these two teams appear, the audience is the most excited.
The first game starts at 3 o'clock.
The commentator remembers talking to the factory director’s coach, Abu.
Although EDG was not able to participate in MSI, Abramovich did come. In addition to his role as a coach, Abramovich, as EDG's meritorious coach, has a very deep understanding of the game.
SKT's first opponent was CLG from the North American Division, and the starting jungler was Blank instead of Bengi.
This year SKT's goal is very clear. It has begun to train Blank, a new jungler, to replace Bengi.
The substitute mid laner originally had a scout, but before MSI started, EDG found SKT and rented scout.
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This makes SKT currently have no substitute mid laner.
Abramovich suggested to the management to introduce scout. The reason for persuasion was simple. EDG's performance in the spring split was not ideal, and pawn's back injury was getting worse. They had to prepare for cultivating a new mid laner.
SKT showed strong strength in the early stage and established an advantage. However, their very stable operation was found by CLG. A wave of opportunities was found, and the team was defeated and the situation was deadlocked again.
However, the gap in strength between the two sides was still quite large. At 40 minutes, SKT took away CLG and won the game, and their Highland Tower did not lose any blood.
Then SKT continued the game, and their opponent was G2 from the European Division.
G2's mid laner is the recently famous "European King" perkz, known as Ah P.
He looks very handsome and his hair is very thick at this time.
How happy everyone in G2 was laughing before the game started, and how sad the game was.
With a head-to-head ratio of 23-3, SKT brutally beat G2. All members of G2 no longer had a smile, and all members looked in pain.
This also shows how powerful SKT is now, and their opponent may only be CP!
After SKT's game ended, it was CP's turn. Their opponent was FW from the LMS division, known as the Flash Wolf who resisted Han Qixia!
"The opponent is pretty strong, be careful." JackeyLove smiled while chatting with his teammates.
FW's coach is Char Siu, and there are three well-known players on the team, one is the jungler Kasa, one is the auxiliary Snake, and the other is the mid laner Mapple.
Xiao Tian confidently said: "Except for SKT, I think the rest of the teammates are a bit less interesting."
"You're so jumpy!" JackeyLove raised a brow: "You treat SKT as your opponent when you come up?"
"If you want to win the championship, you don't have to use the strongest team as your imaginary enemy. If you don't have this confidence, how can you win the championship?"
"It makes sense." Chen Lang laughed.
"Then how many minutes will it take for us to end the game?"
"I guess 35."
"I guess 30."
Chen Lang said with a smile: "25 minutes ago, everyone, please work harder."
"In the first game, we have to win well and don't let down the audience who came here to support us. A ticket is not cheap."
All members of CP made an OK gesture, and Hongmi couldn't help but smile.
After all, he is a young man, he is energetic.
Although their words may be a bit arrogant, CP itself is not an ordinary team. They are aiming to win the championship this time, and it is normal to be arrogant.
FWban removed the Captain, Enchantress and Syndra.
CP banned Leopard Girl, Spider and Poppy.
Flash Wolf is clearly targeting Chen Lang in banning people, while CP is banning the version.
"Since we want to end the game in 25 minutes, our early advantage must be large enough to defeat the enemy."
Chen Lang discussed with his teammates: "In this game, just take the strong hero in the opposite lane, and then use the spider to cross the tower to kill!"
"no problem!"
"CP's lineup is such a strong matchup!" Abramovich couldn't help but exclaimed after seeing CP's choice.
Remember to nod: "This is purely a pursuit of laning, and is not the mainstream choice in the current version."
Abu said: "They are very confident, otherwise they would not choose this way."
"However, they also have this capital. As the last champion, and judging from their performance in the spring split, CP is still one of the strongest teams in this MSI. It will not be easy for other teams to defeat them."
Compared with CP's lineup, FW is much more "stable".
CP top laner Lucian, jungler Spider, mid laner Yasuo, bottom lane skate shoes + bull head.
FW top laner Ekko, jungler Kindred, mid laner Ryze, bottom lane EZ + Thresh.
It can be said that CP is extremely proactive in all three lanes, but FW doesn't dare to confront CP when they see this choice, so they can only take a step back and not fight against CP.
There is no way, the main CP players have very strong personal abilities, and they have no confidence that they can compete with CP in the lane.
The rhythm of this game has been very tense since the early stage. Xiaotian caught the third level, and Lucian, who cooperated with TheShy, directly took the first blood of Ekko. The version of Ekko suffered a lot in front of Lucian.
He couldn't make up for it with last hits, he couldn't beat him in a fight, and he couldn't defeat him through consumption. For the first time, MMD tasted the torture and pain TheShy gave him.
Casa's Kindred was biased in the early stage, and Xiaotian's Spider was roaming with the first five-speed shoe. When he went to the bottom lane, he cooperated with JackeyLove and lqs to kill the FW bottom lane combination.
The time was less than 10 minutes, the head ratio was 7-2, CP's rhythm was very good, and the FW line was a bit broken, especially on Ekko's line, which was downgraded by 2 levels.
After Xiaotian got the Canyon Herald, he and Chen Lang roamed the bottom lane together, TheShy went up to push the tower, and Ekko TP supported.
CP beat 4 against 5, directly beating FW to wipe out the team, and they only lost two people. The rhythm of the early stage was completely changed by CP.
Maaple's Ryze doesn't have much output, mainly because Chen Lang's development in the lane is very poor, and this hero needs boxes and tears, which are growth equipment, and they don't add much combat effectiveness to him.
Therefore, CP was like a sharp spear, piercing through FW's defense. The second vanguard directly caused CP to push down all the high ground of FW!
Finally, the game ended at 24 minutes.
The head-to-head ratio between the two sides was 27-6, and CP crushed FW!
CP's win in this round was even better and faster than SKT's win against G2!
Several of the six dead heads were lost because of jumping over the tower.
The first day of competition ended quickly, and the audience was excitedly discussing today's competition and the performance of each team.
CP and SKT have become the two most eye-catching teams and have been discussed by the most viewers.
The next day, there will be the game that everyone is most looking forward to, the showdown between CP and SKT!