The day after sweeping DK, all EDG members got a rare rest day.
The 3:0 victory in that game, especially the comeback after the Holy Gunner was ordered to take over at the critical moment, brought the team's morale and cohesion to an unprecedented peak.
Jiejie fulfilled his promise. With Abramovich's special approval, the whole team luxuriously enjoyed a real Icelandic lobster dinner, which was regarded as a reward for the intensive preparations during this period.
The carnival on the Internet continues, with the entry "EDG 3:0 DK" dominating the hot search lists on major social media around the world.
Countless LPL fans have opened the champagne in advance. In their view, after crossing the most dangerous mountain of DK, the final championship trophy is already within their grasp.
Su Mo and others also saw the comments online, but they didn’t pay too much attention.
In the next few days, the EDG team once again devoted themselves to intense and orderly preparations, but compared to the hell week before the semifinals, the atmosphere now is much more relaxed.
Until the day when another semi-final begins.
On this day, EDG did not arrange any training matches.
After lunch, everyone gathered again in the familiar tactical analysis room.
What is about to be broadcast live on the huge electronic screen is the civil war in the LCK division, and it is also the ultimate showdown that will determine who their final opponents will be - T1 versus GEN.G.
“Come on, come on!” Jiejie was the first to find a comfortable position on the sofa and lie down, holding a bag of potato chips in his hand. “Come and see who our opponent is in the final!”
"It must be T1, is that necessary?" Meiko smiled and said firmly, "We played against them in the group stage, and their current state and resilience are much better than GEN.G."
"Indeed," Scout also clicked. Nodding, as the mid laner, he felt the changes in Faker's status most intuitively. "In the second round of the group stage, I felt that Faker's status had improved a lot, and the cooperation of the entire T1 team was better than in the first round. GEN.G's slow operation can easily be overwhelmed by T1's fast break."
Su Mo did not participate in the discussion. He just sat quietly on the gaming chair in the corner, drinking Coke leisurely and looking at the screen calmly.
As for T1, he didn’t want to say too much.
· During the two matches in the group stage, he could feel that the team was evolving and growing at an astonishing speed, especially Faker, whose desire for victory was very obvious.
Some people say that he is the purest professional player, and this is actually true.
On the screen, the game has entered the BP stage.
The first game between the two sides was full of LCK-style rigor and calculation from the beginning.
T1 has come up with a lineup with strong mid-field linkage, while GEN.G has chosen a teamfighting system with stronger late-stage capabilities.
The game begins.
T1's jungler Oner's rhythm is flying. In the early stage, he constantly made fuss around the middle, trying to help Faker establish an advantage.
But GEN.G's defense is impeccable, and their jungler Clid can always appear in key positions in advance to neutralize T1's offensive.
The two sides were going back and forth, and the situation was very tense for a time.
"GEN.G is still the same as before," the factory director touched his chin and commented, "Water can't be poured in, and oil and salt can't get in. Their operation is like a big net. Although it doesn't seem offensive, it will drag you into their favorite rhythm little by little."
“But T1 has changed,” Su Mo said calmly, attracting everyone’s attention. “They are playing more proactively and smarter now. Look at Oner, he seems to be hitting the target all the time, but in fact every move he makes is for the next player. The core of their tactics has changed from a pure midfielder to a three-point linkage between the midfielder and the jungler. As Su Mo said, the turning point of the game happened at the 28th minute of the Dragon Soul Group.
GEN.G occupies a favorable terrain and is about to capture the key dragon soul.
But T1's auxiliary Keria used an elusive hook to forcefully reach GEN.G's core C-position Ruler from an angle that no one expected!
Faker's Ryze drove instantly and led Oner's Prince straight into the back row!
GEN.G's formation collapsed instantly, and was wiped out by a wave of 0 for 4, losing the baron and the little dragon.
In the end, T1 won the first game without any danger.
"Keria is really good at playing as an assistant." Meiko nodded repeatedly, with admiration for meeting his opponent in his eyes, "His timing and angle of starting a team are so tricky."
The second game started quickly.
GEN.G, who lost a game, made adjustments to their BP. They chose a lineup with stronger combat effectiveness in the early and mid-term, trying to compete with T1.
However, T1 responded better.
They backhandedly selected a lineup with extremely strong pull ability, and Faker even locked down the mid laner, a late-game core that needs a lot of development.
The progress of the game was almost a replica of the first game.
GEN.G played very fiercely in the early and mid-term, and once took an economic lead.
But T1 relied on their unparalleled resilience to drag the game to 30 minutes.
Faker's aircraft equipment took shape and he took over the game.
In team battles again and again, Faker's aircraft was like a mobile turret, dealing devastating damage.
In the end, T1 completed the comeback, won another victory, and got the match point.
"Faker is still the same Faker," Scout said with emotion, looking at Faker's still calm face on the screen. "As long as he is given a chance to develop, he will still be the most terrifying mid laner in the world."
"Their entire team has become stronger," Abramovich's expression became a little more serious, "During the group stage, they still relied heavily on Faker's personal performance. But now, their bottom lane Gumayusi and Keria have grown into carry points that can stand alone. This T1 team is much more difficult to deal with than what we encountered before."
Although the atmosphere in the lounge is still relaxed, everyone has put away their contempt.
In the third game, GEN.G, who was forced into a desperate situation, burst out with amazing energy and relied on the superb performance of top laner Rascal to regain a victory.
However, this also became their last swan song.
In the fourth game, T1 did not give the opponent another chance.
They designed perfect tactics from the BP stage, and all three lines gained advantages in the laning stage.
Oneer's blind monk even performed jungle teaching, completely suppressing Clid's rhythm.
Finally, the game came to an end at twenty-eight minutes.
3:1!
T1 defeated GEN.G with an undisputed score and got the last ticket to the finals!
With the explosion of the T1 base crystal, the atmosphere in the EDG tactical analysis room reached a climax.
"T1 in the finals!" Jiejie jumped up, "I know this script well! How you win the group stage, you will win in the finals!"
"Don't be happy too early," although Abu was also smiling, he was still used to it. He poured cold water on them, "This T1 team is completely different from what it was in the group stage. Their growth rate is a bit scary."
Indeed, on the screen, everyone in T1 was hugging and celebrating, and everyone's eyes shone with infinite desire for the championship.
Especially Faker, he just high-fived his teammates calmly, but his deep eyes seemed to be burning with the flames of an entire era.
At the same time, the result of this semi-final was like a depth charge, setting off huge waves in the global League of Legends community.
LPL's major forums and social media have long been occupied by enthusiastic fans.
On the home page of the Hupu e-sports area, a title was quickly pinned to the top, and the popularity exploded:
"[S11 Ultimate Preview] A new king is established, and the old god returns! Mo or Faker, who will be on top of the world? 》
· The comment area below has already reached tens of thousands of pages:
· "Here it comes! The final showdown that I have always dreamed of seeing! Even Riot writers dare not write this script like this!"
"Don't be too excited upstairs! Faker can return to the finals after so many years. He is a legend in itself. We must give the greatest respect! Of course, the championship must be ours. (Dog Head)"
"To be honest, I'm a little panicked. After watching these games between T1 and GEN.G, The improvement is too obvious. Their support Keria is a genius, so good at finding opportunities. "What are you afraid of? EDG can win with any dog on the road, let alone a god? As long as Brother Mozi plays normally, no team in the world can beat EDG."
On the other side, the LCK online forum was filled with ecstasy.
"Back! Everyone is back! That man finally brought his SKT back to the top of the world! Faker!!"
"I cried, I really cried. From the trough to returning to the finals, Faker proved to us that God will not fall!"
"The opponent in the final is Mo, which may be God's best arrangement. Only by defeating the strongest existence today, Faker's fourth championship will be the most valuable!"
"Rational analysis, T1 has little chance of winning. Mo There is no solution to the dominance in the top lane. But... I still want to believe in Faker, believe that he can create miracles. "
"This is our last hope for the LCK! T1, for the sake of the glory of the region, please bring the championship back!"
The eyes of the world are focused on this upcoming peak showdown spanning two eras.
The final was scheduled for five days, which gave the two teams a final breather and preparation time.
· EDG’s players have not relaxed at all because of the praise from the outside world.
Early the next morning, the whole team devoted themselves to extremely intense preparations for the battle.
Abu and the coaching staff led by the factory director studied the videos of the four games between T1 and GEN.G over and over again. Every detail of eye position, every lane change, and every skill release was put under the microscope and analyzed repeatedly.
"The core idea of T1's current play style still revolves around Nakano Suke." Abramovich drew a circle on the tactical board, "Oner likes to play in the upper half, build an advantage for Canna, and then liberate Faker. Keria is an unstable X factor. His roaming is unconventional, so you must be careful."
In order to simulate T1's tactical style, EDG even took the initiative to contact GEN.G, which had just been eliminated by T1, and sent them an invitation to a training match.
Surprisingly, GEN.G agreed without hesitation.
Although the competition regions are different, their respect for the strong and the desire to learn from EDG made them gladly accept the invitation.
So, in the next few days, EDG will have high-intensity secret training matches with GEN.G every day.
The atmosphere in the training room is tense and focused, with the sounds of keyboard and mouse tapping happening one after another.
Su Mo's state was still unstoppable, so after one game, he let Brother Holy Spear take the role.
But this is just a training match after all. EDG's goal is not to win, but to hone tactics and find possible flaws in T1.
In order to avoid leaking tactics, EDG also played very casually.
Besides the intense training, there is also a rare relaxing daily routine.
In the evening, after training, Jiejie mysteriously summoned everyone to his room, saying he wanted to do some "team building."
As a result, the so-called team building is that a few people gather together, connect the Switch to the hotel TV, and play Mario Kart.
"Holy shit! Meiko, don't hit me with a turtle shell! We are teammates!" Jiejie's character was accurately hit by a red turtle shell, and instantly fell from the first position to fifth place, making him scream in anger.
“On the field, we are teammates, here we are opponents!” Meiko chuckled and made a beautiful drift around the corner, overtaking him to first place.
Viper and Scout were laughing sideways, and even the usually steady Holy Spear brother was having a great time playing with the controller.
Su Mo did not participate. He just leaned on the sofa and watched his teammates playing around like children, with a faint smile on his face.
He picked up his phone and checked the news as a habit, and a notification caught his attention.
is a finals preview article officially released by Riot Games, with a very eye-catching title - "Gods and Gods".
In the article, we reviewed Faker's legendary career in detail. With three crowns and countless honors, he is the well-deserved number one player in the league and a monument that all professional players look up to.
The other half uses the same thick and colorful brushstrokes to describe Su Mo's invincible path since his debut.
· He was at the top of his game since his debut. He has won multiple S competitions and dominated the entire Summoner's Rift with a kind of dominance that is unprecedented and may even be unprecedented.
At the end of the article, a question is raised that makes everyone excited:
"When the immortal legend meets the undefeated myth, can the glory of the old era be rekindled? Or will the throne of the new era be more stable? All answers will be revealed in the finals."
Su Mo read this article and felt a wave of excitement in his heart.
He recalled the thumbs up that Faker gave him when they shook hands in the group stage.
It is a kind of pure recognition, a kind of sympathy that spans competition regions and eras.
"What are you thinking about? Brother Mozi." Meiko came over at some point. The game was over. He had defeated Jiejie by a slim margin, and he was looking very proud.
"Nothing." Su Mo put away his phone, "I just think it's interesting to be able to play the finals with a player like Faker."
"Indeed," Meiko also put away his joking expression and said with emotion, "Our generation of players can be said to have grown up watching Faker's games. Being able to play against him on the highest stage of the World Championship is an honor in itself."
"So," Su Mo turned his head, "we must win."
"Of course!" Meiko nodded vigorously, with an infinite desire for victory in his eyes.
The gorgeous aurora bloomed quietly in the night sky outside the window.
The atmosphere of the decisive battle was gradually pushed to the climax amidst the tense preparations and relaxed daily life.
League of Legends players all over the world are waiting for the ultimate showdown that is destined to be recorded in history.
They are waiting to witness whether the old god returns to the throne or whether the new king is crowned. (End of chapter)