Chapter 283-The battle in Chicago, the battle for the top eight!

"Get ready, the drawing ceremony will begin soon."

The three LPL teams met in Chicago, and the faces of the EDG players were all filled with joy after surviving a disaster.

"They are all familiar faces. It's not easy for TSM to make it out of Group D."

"After all, we are playing in our home country, how can there not be a single player in the quarterfinals? It's just a pity for the European region, haha."

"ANX is also European, there's no problem."

“I hope we get to draw TSM. It will be a big battle no matter who we meet in the semifinals.”

After Su Xiaoluo finished speaking, everyone in IG was silent for a moment.

Although this is very realistic and cruel, everyone knows that it is also the truth.

Many people want to avoid the civil war in the World Championship.

Last year they beat LGD and made it to the finals. Fortunately they won in the end, otherwise some people would say they owed LGD a championship.

So what’s the difference between it and RYL?
It's always a bit lacking to enter the World Championship by stepping on the team from your own region.

In the draw for the quarterfinals, the eight teams are divided into two half-zones, with four teams in each half-zone. This half-zone will determine the schedule for the quarterfinals and semi-finals.

Before the finals, it is impossible for the teams in the left half to meet the teams in the right half.

After fierce fighting in the two halves, the strongest team will be left and advance to the finals to duel with the team from the other half, and finally the champion will be determined between the two.

In the half where IG is located, there are four teams, two of which are the first teams in the group.

In the long run, meeting AHQ in the semi-finals is the best option, and it is almost guaranteed to advance to the finals.

That also means that they will meet one of EDG or RNG in the quarterfinals.

At 7:30 in the evening, at the Chicago Theater, after half a month of competition, the world's eight strongest teams have all arrived.

The director notified everyone and everyone stood up and went backstage.

Then each team began to discuss who would select the team to participate in the draw ceremony.

Not every team needs to attend the draw ceremony. Each team only needs to send one representative.

While they were discussing here, things were already getting lively outside.

The influence created by IG's victory has been suppressed a lot after three consecutive days of group matches. Instead, countless people flocked to major live broadcast rooms to watch the upcoming draw ceremony.

This is true at home, abroad, and in major competition areas around the world.

The draw for the quarterfinals actually represents the last draw ceremony for this year's World Championship.

The result of the draw will affect each team's opponents in the quarterfinals, semifinals and even the finals.

Therefore, the level of attention and influence are so high that they cannot be compared to the previous qualifying matches and group stage draws.

Before the game, countless viewers had already done countless analyses on Tieba and forums.

Major celebrity anchors, including retired players, have even launched special live broadcasts to analyze and predict the draw results for their audiences and fans, and to guess the approximate pattern of the quarterfinals and semifinals.

What is the best draft for RNG? What is the best and worst draft for IG? Including the drafts of top teams like SKT and ROX...

It seems like a situation of national carnival.

"I'm a little nervous. I hope everyone gets a good draw."

In the LPL commentary booth, Wawa Miller and others were also waiting for the draw and were still broadcasting live.

Everyone was also very nervous and felt uneasy.

They want a civil war, and even want to put all three LPL teams in one half zone.

AHQ is unlikely to win the game against EDG or RNG, so IG may be able to kill EDG or RNG first and advance to the finals.

LPL can at least guarantee one quarterfinal and one semifinal.

ROX and SKT will meet in the semi-finals of the other half of the zone. No matter who wins, they will lose a lot of money and expose all their cards.

IG is well-rested and can maximize the possibility of winning the championship!
Since S3, LPL has won two runner-up titles and one championship.

In the LCK/OGN region, there are two champions and one runner-up.

As long as they can win the World Championship this time, LPL will completely catch up with the Korean region in terms of historical results in the World Championship.

Although the Korean region still has a runner-up in S2, but...

The runner-up defeated by LMS, even if they are Korean, is often selectively ignored.

Besides, doesn’t LPL still have a bunch of top eight and top four teams?

"Welcome to the draw for the 2016 League of Legends World Championship knockout round. Hello everyone, I'm Ren Dong!"

"Hello everyone, I'm Yu Shuang!"

After Ren Dong and Yu Shuang finished speaking with smiles on their faces, cheers suddenly broke out from the audience.

Ren Dong adjusted his mood and said with a smile: "Of the 24 teams that once dreamed of becoming champions, after half a month, only the last eight teams remain. They are also the eight strongest teams in the world this year. Let us welcome them together!"

"Ahhhhh!!"

"IG!!!"

"RNG!!"

“Come on LPL!!”

The audience was already excited. Ren Dong smiled and said, "First, the teams that advanced to the knockout stage as the number one seeds are -"

“Invictus Gaming!!!”

“ROX Tigers!!!”

“SKTelecom T1!!!”

“AHQ E-Sports Club!!!”

"Oh oh oh!!"

"IG!!!"

"SKT!!"

……

As Ren Dong finished speaking, the camera moved to the center of the stage. The first place winners of the four major groups in the global finals group stage were now standing side by side on the stage.

Yuan Shen stood in the first place and represented IG in this much-anticipated draw ceremony.

Behind the four of them are the huge logos of their respective teams, which look cool, dazzling and very imposing.

Fans and spectators from all major regions were screaming at the scene. The four teams are now the most popular and well-known teams, with many supporters on the scene, and ROX is no exception.

Although they have not won the world championship yet, they are strong enough, and this alone is enough to make the audience cheer.

The representatives of the four teams all enjoyed this moment. Yuan Shen glanced at Smeb, who seemed a little reserved, and smiled what he thought was a kind smile.

Unexpectedly, Smeb was stunned and gave him a smiling face that was uglier than crying, which made Yuan Shen feel very unhappy.

It's just that I abused you a few times, is it that serious?
Glass heart?
Feeling the warm atmosphere, Yuan Shen couldn't help but wave to the audience.

"Ah!!! God Yuan!!"

"Ahhhhh!!"

“Look here!!!”

What Yuan Shen didn't expect was that the fans at the scene went crazy immediately after he waved, with enthusiasm beyond imagination. In the huge venue, the ID "Yuanshen" was heard for a while.

The representatives of several major teams nearby were dumbfounded, especially Smeb, who was standing in front of Yuan Shen like a background board, with a gloomy expression on his face.

"I should have let Wanghu come earlier. I'm so stupid. Really, I should have known that IG would send him here..."

At this time, Faker had already followed suit and waved his hand calmly.

Others saw the same thing.

In the end, the host had no choice but to wait there, but everyone was happy because the atmosphere at the moment was so great, and this was the treatment that the winner deserved.

However, no matter how loud the cheers from other teams were, they could not match IG’s momentum.

After all, since last year's World Championship, IG has won almost all the championships.

Even the Olympic champion Chinese team has three IG members in the starting lineup.

After the scene calmed down, Yu Shuang said with a smile: "Similarly, let us welcome the second place team with the warmest applause. They are——"

"Albus NoX Luna!!!"

“Royal Never Give Up!!!”

“EDward Gaming!!!”

"Team SoloMid!!!"

The second place winners knew what was going on and were not as arrogant as the first place winner. Only Likkrit from ANX waved his hands foolishly, which made the audience laugh.

It is extremely difficult for ANX to advance.

Even the weakest AHQ is not something they can easily break through.

BO5 and BO1 are almost two different games.

It is still very difficult to create an upset in a BO5.

"Yes, the four teams that won first place in the group stage will face the other four teams that won second place in the group stage... Then, all the teams are ready, let us invite today's guest drawer, welcome to the guest drawer - Wild Turtle!!"

Wild Turtle, dressed in formal attire, walked to the center of the stage with a beaming smile on his face. He came to the lottery table and waved to the audience, looking very handsome and free and easy.

As CLG's former ADC, Wild Turtle was not too sad.

At least NA still has a team, right?
It's much better than Europe.

Then there was no need to say anything. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Wild Turtle reached into the transparent lottery box, took out a ball, and broke it open.

At this moment, everyone held their breath and widened their eyes.

Wild Turtle looked down and couldn't help but widen his eyes, then raised his arms and unfolded the lottery results to the public.

On the long drawing stick, there was a black, red and white team logo - SKT!

There was immediate cheering at the scene.

On the big screen, SKT's name also appeared in the first quota column in the left half.

Yuan Shen waved to the audience.

Then Wild Turtle started to draw the second one. The scene was gradually becoming lively. When Wild Turtle took it out and opened the ball, everyone was dumbfounded.

It was shown to the audience, and the venue suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

On the lottery ticket in Wild Turtle's hand, there was a black and white icon with the word - IG written on it.

"The top four will play against SKT?"

Yuan Shen was somewhat confused, and there was an uproar at the scene.

The venue that was noisy just now was now completely silent.

There was also a commotion in the LPL live broadcast room.

In fact, many viewers are not clear about the rules of the draw. They only saw that the first draw was SKT and the second was IG, so this scene happened.

Similarly, Faker seemed a little confused, but he still walked over and prepared to shake hands with Yuan Shen.

This was their fourth fight, and this time, he was very well prepared.

Yuan Shen was also confused when he saw Faker coming towards him.

I looked left and right, but since the other person's hand was extended to me, I felt embarrassed to refuse, so I hesitantly shook it.

The two held hands in front of Smeb, looking awkward.

The next moment, there was a cry of surprise from the audience, and then on the big screen, IG’s team logo directly came to the first position in the right half…

"what?"

Yuan Shen was stunned for a moment and looked down.

He was met with Faker's slightly confused look, while Smeb behind him laughed out loud.

“You are in two half zones!”

Not only can we not meet them in the quarterfinals, we can't even meet them in the semifinals.

If you want to play against each other, wait for the finals!
"Oh... Jinghao, do you want to go to the left or the right?"

Yuan Shen asked in a low voice in Korean, and the smile on Smeb's face froze instantly.

That’s right…if IG and SKT separate, it means that no matter which side ROX is on, there is a high probability that they will meet one of them in the semi-finals.

A tough battle!
Smeb suddenly became distressed.

Judging from the win rate alone, they want to beat IG.

They did not meet SKT in the playoffs, and SKT was defeated by KT 3-2.

During the regular season, they played two BO3 games with SKT, and were defeated - both times.

Although the version has changed now, he still doesn't want to meet SKT too early.

But IG...

Whenever Smeb thought of his several battles with Yuan Shen, he felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

Although Yuan Shen is a jungler, no one can say whether he will suddenly switch to the top lane, right?
During the group stage, Yuan Shen played a counter-version of Riven and carried the entire game.

This person is really hard to figure out.

"Then... please Faker and Yuanshen, please restrain yourself. You are not my opponent. You are both first in your group and will not meet in the quarterfinals. Please return to your original positions."

The host couldn't help laughing as he spoke, and the audience suddenly burst into laughter.

Faker scratched his head awkwardly. Yuan Shen also had a silly smile on his face. He rubbed Faker's head awkwardly and stepped back.

"No, you two are so close? Wouldn't Old Song be angry if he knew about this?"

Xiang Guo came up to him curiously and asked, and Yuan Shen coughed.

"I'm used to rubbing Chengluo's head. It's because he's not tall."

Xiang Guo swallowed and took two steps back.

"You are too tall, brother..."

There are very few e-sports players who are 1.8 meters tall, let alone a bean sprout like him.

The cheers at the scene became louder. Smeb looked to the left and then to the right, his heart filled with curiosity, as if he was being scratched by a cat.

After the subsequent draw, IG and ROX were finally placed in the same half.

AHQ is in the same zone as SKT.

Although it was expected, Smeb still felt sad when he saw the result of this half of the zone.

"Then it's confirmed here! IG and ROX are in the same half of the division. If both advance to the semi-finals, these two teams will meet sooner or later. This... eh?"

"SKT is almost guaranteed to make the finals. It feels like no one can stop them."

On the scene, Wild Turtle started the second round of draws and drew TSM in the first hand.

However, because TSM and AHQ are both teams in Group D, they will be moved to the right half below IG.

At this point, the first match list of the quarterfinals has appeared, IG vs. TSM!

As soon as this draw was announced, the audience cheered and the LPL audience was even more delighted.

“No civil war!!! No civil war!! The weakest team was picked by IG!!”

"I'm so lucky, IG vs TSM?? Doesn't that mean they'll definitely make it to the semifinals?"

“I don’t know who will play ROX between RNG and EDG. It’s hard to say!!”

"The above, it's actually been confirmed. Due to the rules, it seems that ROX can only play against EDG. Will Zweita play against Peaunt?? I want to see it!!"

"The only suspense now is whether RNG will play against SKT or AHQ. If they play against AHQ, they have a great chance of reaching the semifinals."

……

The audience in the live broadcast room immediately discussed a lot, and on the big screen, team logos were drawn one by one.

The final result was soon presented to the audience.

Left half:
SKT vs. ANX.

AHQ vs. RNG.

Right half:
IG vs. TSM.

ROX vs. EDG.

Life and death are destiny, wealth is in heaven!
"I still say the same thing. I hope EDG can beat ROX a little bit and not let them get swept 3-0. I don't expect to win, but even if we lose, we can't be without any information. That way, if IG wins the championship, we can give them one-sixth of the credit."

"RNG has to charge. They can't lose to AHQ, right? AHQ is EDG's favorite player in the tournament. As long as they can beat AHQ and fight to the death to take a bite out of SKT in the semifinals, IG's victory can be attributed to them as one-third of the credit."

"LPL is one family. EDG and RNG can both contribute to IG's championship. We all have a bright future!"

"IG is sure to advance to the semi-finals. It all depends on whether EDG and RNG can give it their all. Just go for it! Come on!"

"I'm an IG fan, a rational fan..."

"A pure passerby, I think..."

……

All the major LPL bulletin boards and forums were immediately filled with noise.

And IG is also in constant training.

Due to the schedule, they were scheduled to play on the third day of the quarterfinals, which was October 10.

There is still plenty of time for preparation.

On October 10, the quarterfinals officially began.

……

Eight teams, all arrived at the Chicago Theater.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the number "10" appeared on the big screen on time.

There was almost no need for the host to guide the audience; they all started cheering in unison.

"10!!"

"9!!"

……

"3!!"

"2!!!"

"1!!!"

When the last second was counted, the scene changed.

On the big screen, a red fist smashed the screen fiercely.

Riot Games used the promotional video to tell everyone who the real boss of League of Legends is!

"Ignite" sounded, and the MV incorporating elements of European and American hardcore anime began to play.

On the big screen, representative moments from every competition since the 2011 World Finals appeared one after another.

Suddenly, the big screen flashed.

Willis Tower soars into the sky. Although it no longer has the title of the tallest building, it is still an unignorable tall point in the Chicago city skyline.

Smeb boarded the sightseeing elevator. On the screen inside the elevator, every time he went up a floor, the current floor, height and world-famous buildings at the same height would be displayed.

The 25th floor is as high as the Statue of Liberty in New York, the 86th floor is as high as the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and the 102nd floor is comparable to the Empire State Building in New York.

In a blink of an eye, Smeb was standing on the transparent glass observation deck on the 400rd floor, more than 103 meters high, overlooking Chicago. The entire city was in his sight, much like a poet looking far into the distance from a high place.

His eyes penetrated the forest of steel and concrete and looked into the distance.

"I want to prove once again that the Korean League of Legends team is the best in the world."

At that moment, he seemed to recall the moment when EDG and IG defeated SKT at MSI, KOO's defeat at IEM5, and the scenes of himself facing Yuan Shen at last year's World Championship and this year's Olympics.

These scenes reappeared as if it were yesterday, eroding his heart like a shadow.

"We will defeat EDG, and I will take back the glory of LCK."

Millennium Park is located on one side of Chicago's busiest street, Michigan Avenue, and on the other side is the beautiful Lake Michigan.

Yuan Shen stood next to the Crown Fountain. The open-air concert hall and the giant Cloud Gate were not far away. Many tourists who came to Chicago took photos at the Cloud Gate.

Next to the fountain, the water splashed brightly in the sun. Yuan Shen's voice was firm and powerful: "As Grand Slam players and Olympic champions, our goal is to win the world championship for the second time in a row and establish unprecedented glory."

"In this world championship, we represent the hopes and dreams of the LPL region. We will use our own strength to prove to the world the rise of the LPL and the establishment of the IG dynasty!"

At Navy Pier, on the shore of Lake Michigan, ANX's mid laner Kira stood by the lake and looked at the sparkling water. Behind him was the world's first Ferris wheel. "We are not satisfied with just relying on others' mistakes to advance. We want to prove ourselves through our own strength. As a wildcard team, our goal is not only to participate, but also to leave our mark on this stage."

"I am looking forward to the game with my old teammates. TSM's road to revival is full of challenges, but I believe we will create miracles."

Kakao walked all the way in front of the Art Institute of Chicago, with the camera constantly panning across a wide range of objects, from ancient Egyptian pottery dating back 3000 BC to contemporary pop art.

On the high-rise building of John Hancock Center, all SKT members appeared in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, overlooking the bustling city.

"SKT is an extraordinary team. We have reached the peak and fallen to the bottom, but now we are standing here. SKT has only one goal, and that is to return to the top."

As the BGM reached its climax and the top eight teams made their debut, the audience in the Chicago Theater became excited.

Their cheers, applause and slogans combined into a powerful force that shook the entire venue.

The warm atmosphere of e-sports events and the enthusiasm of fans are perfectly reflected here.

“Hello, audience friends! Welcome to the opening ceremony of the quarterfinals! On this passionate night, each player has engraved his or her determination and dream in the memory of the city of Chicago. Their stories, their determination, and their glory will all be shown in the upcoming games.

This is not just a game, it is a competition to surpass oneself, pursue dreams and fight for glory. Every player is ready to meet the challenge and every team is ready to write history.

On the League of Legends world stage, they will use their strength and wisdom to conquer every opponent, win every game, and realize their dreams.

They know that this will be an arduous battle, but no matter what the outcome, they will go all out to create their own legend. Let us summon the heroic heart together! Heroes, let’s go beyond together!!”

As soon as the host finished speaking, cheers suddenly broke out at the scene.

The opening match of the quarterfinals is between SKT and ANX.

The Riot client is promoted throughout the process, and major live broadcast rooms are also attracting traffic at the same time.

Now that we have reached the quarterfinals, even those who did not watch the group stage must watch it now.

Every game, every BO5, may produce operations that shock the world and will also affect the winner of this championship.

Before the game, commentators from each major region predicted today's score.

Three to zero.

SKT will win the game without any controversy.

And this is indeed the case.

The progress of the quarterfinals was much faster than anyone expected.

Every day, a team will bid farewell to the world stage completely.

Every day, a team advances and qualifies for Madison Square Garden in New York.

SKT 3-0 ANX.

RNG 3 to 1 AHQ.

On October 10, the IG competition officially began.

The trash talk session came as expected, but compared to the confidence of the IG players, the TSM players clearly lacked confidence.

"IG is very confident! Today's match will decide the third ticket to New York. If we win today's match, we will be just one step away from the finals."

"That's right, the players ahead are ready, let's move on to today's quarter-finals, the first game of BO5!!"

As Miller finished speaking, the camera switched and the BP interface appeared.

In this game, TSM is on the blue side and IG is on the red side.

As soon as the game started, TSM banned Graves and EZ, and after much consideration, they finally banned Caitlyn.

IG banned Kakao's signature Elise, as well as Big Mouth and Björk's Clockwork in the bottom lane.

Both sides were very targeted at their opponents and it was obvious that they had made adequate preparations before the game.

Soon, the lineups of both sides were determined.

“IG Red Side:
Top laner TheShy: Rune Mage - Ryze
Jungler Yuanshen: Lee Sin
Mid laner Rookie: Yasuo
Bottom lane JackeyLove: Holy Lance Ranger - Lucian

Support Ming: Soul Chain Warden - Thresh
TSM Blue Side:
Top Hauntzer: Jax

Jungler Kakao: Jarvan IV, Prince of Demacia
Bjergsen: Dark Sovereign - Syndra

Bottom Lane DoubleLift: Tristana
Support Biofrost: Minotaur Chieftain - Alistar. "

(Only one match will be written, the quarterfinals will end tomorrow)
(End of this chapter)