novelODS Chapter 100 The Suffocating LCK Team
Chapter 100 The Suffocating LCK Team
Chapter 101 The Suffocating LCK Team
7 month 4 day.
Jangchung Gymnasium, Seoul.
It was the first domed indoor stadium in South Korea to open in 1963.
This place was not only the site of the presidential election and the presidential inauguration, but also the venue for Pastor Moon Sun-myung's mass wedding and the venue for judo and taekwondo competitions at the Seoul Olympics.
More than 4,000 spectators gathered together to enjoy the visual feast brought by the Intercontinental Games.
At the Intercontinental Cup, not only South Korean spectators but also League of Legends players from all over Asia gathered together to cheer for their favorite teams and their regions.
"The first match is between the two teams we'll be playing tomorrow. Who do you think will win?"
IG didn't have a match today, but they still came to the venue.
After all, the Intercontinental Cup is a competition for their own region, so of course they have to come to the venue to cheer on the other LPL teams.
The group stage will begin at 3 PM Beijing time, and all group stage matches will be in B1.
According to the competition rules, there will be six matches today.
Today's opening match is SKT (LCK) vs. FW (LMS).
The second match is between DWG (LCK) and EVS (VCS).
The third match is JDG (LPL) versus DBL (VCS).
The fourth match is between KZ (LCK) and FPX (LPL).
The fifth match is between TES (LPL) and EVS (VCS).
The sixth match is GRF (LCK) vs. JDG (LPL).
Today, LPL teams will play four matches: JDG will play two matches (against DBL and GRF), while TES and FPX will each play one match (against EVS and KZ respectively).
Judging from the timeline, the IG team will be watching the match live for nearly five hours.
The advantage of having a match tomorrow is that you can spend another day studying your opponent, looking at their draft picks and bans, and doing targeted analysis.
"SKT is a team you're targeting. Although SKT's dominance isn't what it used to be, they're still a force that FW can't easily overcome."
JackeyLove said, leaning back in his chair.
Although IG doesn't have a match today, as a team participating in this Intercontinental Cup, they still have a rest room.
The main stage is located in the center of the circular audience seating area. Under the huge dome, several giant LED screens are pieced together to create a surround visual feast.
The main screen is currently playing the opening animation of the Intercontinental Championship, as well as the exciting performances from various regions.
The stage floor is a giant, retractable screen, currently displaying the battle symbols of LCK and LMS.
Ten camera positions on both sides are arranged in a fan shape, and the robotic arm photographer glides silently through the air.
The lighting technician focused the main beam of light on the center of the stage, where the trophy stood quietly, reflecting a cold, metallic sheen.
The venue was playing League of Legends' signature music, and the atmosphere was getting increasingly heated.
As the camera panned across the stands, the Korean audience waved glow sticks in unison, chanting "SKT fighting! SKT fighting!" repeatedly.
Scattered LMS fans held up FW light boards and tried their best to cheer for FW amidst the cheers.
The four-sided funnel screen directly above the stage had switched to the players' screens. When Faker was scanned, he was adjusting his headphones with an indifferent expression.
The live broadcast director gave Faker a five-second close-up, which instantly raised the cheers of the crowd even higher.
With both teams' players ready, the opening match of the group stage officially began.
FW (blue side) versus SKT (red side).
The lineups for both sides were quickly finalized.
Blue side FW: Top lane Renekton, Jungle Sejuani, Mid lane Vladimir, Bot lane Sivir and Galakrond.
Red side SKT: Top lane Camille, Jungle Sylas, Mid lane Neeko, Bot lane Varus and Tahm Kench.
It can be said that the strength of the two teams is almost the same.
FW's lineup is more LPL-oriented, while SKT's lineup is a standard LCK lineup.
"I think FW's lineup wasn't strong enough in the early game."
After seeing FW's lineup, Ning said, "There's no point in picking Vladimir against a team like SKT. You should definitely prioritize heroes that are stronger in the early and mid-game. Vladimir is too late-game."
"They must be confident that they can beat SKT in the late game."
JackeyLove smiled.
Compared to the relaxed IG players sitting in the lounge, FPX and JDG were quite different.
Today they have matches against KZ and GRF from the LCK, and the coach has said that they must do their best to defeat the LCK teams no matter what.
In contrast, TES had it much easier. Playing against EVS from the VCS region was, to put it bluntly, no different from TES stomping a noob.
According to everyone's guess, SKT would easily defeat FW in this match.
Indeed, this match perfectly demonstrated what LCK strategy truly means.
Throughout the game, SKT made almost zero mistakes, gradually chipping away at FW with an almost suffocating pace.
At 27 minutes into the game, with a 15,000 gold advantage, SKT destroyed FW's Nexus. The SKT players also showed great sportsmanship by voluntarily entering the fountain and giving away two kills. The final kill score was 12:2.
In the match between LCK and LMS, LCK took the first point.
As the host country, South Korea erupted in thunderous cheers after winning against FW.
In contrast, the FW players showed no signs of frustration.
After all, they were facing SKT, and they had already prepared themselves mentally before the match began.
"SKT is still the same SKT! This pace is suffocating."
In the IG players' lounge, Baolan took a deep breath.
No matter which team a player is on, seeing the ID SKTFaker will give them a very strong sense of pressure.
That feeling was like a mountain, forever pressing down on my heart.
"What, are you scared already?"
Ning turned to look at Baolan and smiled.
The second match, DWG vs. EVS, was seen by everyone as a game with no suspense whatsoever.
Korean fans are even speculating about the score at which DWG will sweep EVS.
But the result was not what they expected.
"DWG's dominance is much weaker than SKT's."
Mafa looked at Chen Song.
As a Korean, Mafa, despite coaching an LPL team, still instinctively pays attention to LCK teams.
Objectively speaking, DWG's dominance in matches is indeed much weaker than SKT's.
"DWG looks pretty good."
Chen Song offered his analysis.
The fact is that this game didn't look like SKT's previous game, where they achieved a clean sweep in kills, but DWG's pace in this game was no worse than SKT's in the last game.
If SKT won the game with an almost suffocating pace, then DWG slowly boiled EV to death, like a frog in lukewarm water.
S.
EVS has been resisting and has developed quite well.
But as the battle progressed, all the outer towers fell, and the dragon was also lost.
Under this agonizing pace, EVS's crystal was destroyed.
The next match is between JDG and DBL.
As a team from the VCS region, DBL, like EVS, comes from a region that is not highly regarded.
For the VCS region, being able to participate in the Intercontinental Cup is already a great honor.
As for the ranking, don't worry about it. Just treat it as a process to come to the Intercontinental Championship and get some recognition.