Chapter 192 - Mid-Season Tournament Opens, First Battle Against CLG
Amid the players' anticipation and excitement, the MSI preparation period passed in the blink of an eye, and soon, it was the opening day.

May, 4th.

Youth Day.

Shanghai Oriental Sports Center.

Crown of the Sea.

Although it is jokingly called the "Overseas Network Manager" by many LPL players, it does not affect the fact that it highlights China's most obvious characteristics.

That is, big!
This is a comprehensive stadium with a large scale that can accommodate as many as 15,000 people.

As Riot Games held a world-class event in China after three years, domestic players and fans showed amazing spending power. All the tickets were snapped up on the first day of sale. Even the tickets for watching the game outside the stadium were bought one after another and sold out...

Many spectators who arrived late and really wanted to watch the game in person could only buy tickets from others at a higher price, or bite the bullet and trade with scalpers.

On the opening day, two hours before the game started, a sea of ​​people gathered outside the stadium, queuing to enter the venue. The crowds were so dense that it was impossible to count them.

There are 15,000 spectators inside the stadium, and no limit on the number of people watching outside the stadium, plus the stadium staff and security personnel...

"Wow, there are so many people!" Rookie widened his eyes.

"Look, humans are like garbage."

Ming sneered, wondering which anime character he was cosplaying.

The IG members went to bed early yesterday and got enough rest. Now they are taking the club bus to enter the venue.

The best thing about competing domestically is that you don’t have to adjust to jet lag or worry about acclimatization.

Of course, the biggest advantage is——
"Ahhhhh! Here it comes!"

"Go IG! Go, go, go, go!"

"Defend your honor in your own territory!"

"MSI champion! Fighting for two consecutive championships in the region!"

When the audience saw the bus with the IG team logo coming in, they immediately ignored the formation and all moved to the side of the road, holding up their cheering signs and light boards and started cheering loudly.

There are many young ladies and many otakus.

But without exception, everyone looks very young, just like the age of e-sports. Most of the domestic e-sports fans started out in the 90s.

The cheering was so loud that the taxis, private cars and other onlookers passing by on the asphalt road looked at this side with curiosity, thinking that another big star was holding a concert tour.

"The fans are so enthusiastic. We have so many fans..." Ming opened his eyes wide.

No matter how loud the support is on the Internet, it is not as direct as the real world.

TheShy, on the other hand, was more like a kid who had never seen the world. He suddenly came to such a magnificent place. He was a little overwhelmed, a little flattered, and a little... excited.

"of course……"

Yuan Shen smiled and said seriously: "This is our home ground!"

Being at home is both an honor and a responsibility.

For a competitive team, nothing can make fans more sad than a crushing defeat at home.

According to the original timeline, S5 and S6 were certainly the darkest two years for LPL. The best result in the World Championship was the quarterfinals, which made many old players give up supporting LPL games.

But if we talk about the year with the most people quitting the game and the circle, it would have to be S7.

The two highly anticipated teams both failed in the semi-finals. In the huge Bird's Nest in the capital...the LCK teams met in a civil war.

shame.

Coupled with the impact of PUBG, the whole of 2018 was very depressed.

RNG, who was favored for a whole year, fell in the quarterfinals. If IG hadn't come out of nowhere to save the family, I really can't imagine...

Although this year's MSI did not gather such high expectations, it is also the bridgehead of Riot's official events. They bear the trust and hopes of thousands of fans.

"We must win this battle!"

……

In the center of the huge stadium with 15,000 independent seats, there are four large screens that form a "square" and face four directions. Directly below the large screens are the stage for the battle and the seats for the players.

This time, the opening ceremony invited the famous Korean girl group Tara to support.

It has to be said that the performance level of the professional girl group is simply not comparable to the previous LPL regular season cheerleading team. Dancing and singing are one thing, but the long legs of the Tara girls alone, and the gorgeous costumes that deliberately highlight their figures, made many viewers feel that the trip was worthwhile.

The authorities understand human nature.

Give me more of this kind of work!

After the girl group sang and cheered, the promotional video of this MSI, "Who Will Conquer the Canyon", was played on the big screen.

It was a CG clip that showcased China's totem culture, using totem symbols to describe the teams from each participating region, and each region had its own symbolic slogan poster.

After the totem appears, the video of each team winning the championship in their respective league will also be played.

North American CLG team——
Totem symbol: a resolute and unyielding warrior.

A more appropriate description for the North American region should be: World Warriors, because this region has absorbed players from all over the world. When regions around the world look to South Korea to borrow Korean players to strengthen their own strength, the North American region looks to all of Asia, Europe and even South America to introduce players from all over the world.

It is very common for North American teams to have five players who are not locals.

Of course, its local players are not bad either. This is a classic American strategy: absorb the best players and then build a strong force. So far, this strategy has had limited success on the international stage. But every time a North American team fails, it continues to learn and adapt, and then return to the battlefield.

European G2 Team——
Totem symbol: King of wolves.

The most legendary team in Europe is Fnatic, who had a perfect performance in the 2015 Summer Season and reached the semi-finals of the World Championship.

When three of the five players in the team left and went to North America, some people believed that Europe had returned to the situation of a pack of wolves competing for supremacy.

However, the European region itself is a wolf. The battles in the European region are very exciting, and this region always has some very iconic players who are skilled in the professional competition stage, especially those lone wolf mid-lane players, that is, the mid-lane mage they are "proud of".

Today, the pack still competes among itself, constantly producing new fierce competitors to replace those who go hunting elsewhere. G2, which emerged from the European pack, is undoubtedly the king of the pack. In this year's MSI Mid-Season Championship, perhaps the pack can unite and defeat the most powerful prey.

LMS Flash Wolves --
Totem symbol: ferocious jaguar.

Only four regions have ever won the World Championship: EU.LCS, LCK, LPL, and now LMS. Of these four regions, LMS is perhaps the most surprising, but in the second season, the then Taipei Assassins defeated Europe's M2 and South Korea's Azubu Frost to win the Summoner's Cup. Since then, LMS teams have performed only well, not brilliantly.

LMS teams are unlikely to become strong contenders, and they don't have much hope of winning the championship. But the glorious memories of Season 2 remain. LMS is like a jaguar, a threatening force that hides in the shadows and out of sight, but you can't ignore its presence. When will its next attack come?

Since winning the S2 championship, LMS has been performing mediocrely and lacks the competitiveness to win the championship. They are like a jaguar, very threatening and cannot be ignored. If you underestimate them, they will be bitten off, but they have always lacked the kingly spirit of a lion or tiger.

IWC Wild Card Division Türkiye SUP Team——
Totem symbol: Giant Archer.

Although everyone has always been looking forward to regional giants such as LPL and LCK, there are few expectations for teams in international wildcard leagues.

But now it may be time to rethink this situation. IWC teams, like marksmen, have developed the qualities of giant killers. They can find ways to shoot incredible shots and knock down opponents who underestimate them. This happened in the 2014 World Championship, when KaBuM defeated the European No. 1 seed Alliance, and in the 2015 World Championship, we also witnessed paiN Gaming win two games. As of now, the possibility of this happening seems unlikely. But because of this, once an upset occurs, the cheers in these regions will be even more amazing.

LCK Division-SKT Team——
Totem symbol: The king soaring in the sky.

South Korea is the home of the dominant SK Telecom T1 team in the World Championship. South Korea has also been firmly established in the World Championship over the past few years, so it’s no surprise that they are portrayed as the kings here.

The king usually faces two endings: either dominating or falling in hatred. In last year's MSI Mid-Season Championship, they faced the latter ending, and in last year's S game, SKT also lost.

At that time, SKT played against EDG. After 5 painful games, Faker's undefeated Leblanc was finally defeated by PawN's Morgana. Will this year's MSI Mid-Season Championship become the Achilles heel of the Korean team again?

After introducing the MVs of the five teams and the championship videos of their respective regions, the promotional video was quickly moved to the last part.

The audience had already started cheering in anticipation.

"IG, go!"

"Come on Rookie!"

LPL League, IG Team——
Totem symbol: Red dragon
Many people know that dragons have a high status in Chinese mythology. But here, dragons have other meanings: like the legendary dragon, the LPL region itself is huge, both in terms of the number of players and the number of e-sports fans.

Even the LPL is huge, with more teams and more games than any other region. But the sheer size is a double-edged sword, with huge expectations and pressure on the players. Although IG won last year's World Championship, people can't help but wonder if this dragon can use its great power as it wishes.

At the end of the promotional video, six totems appeared on the big screen together, surrounding the huge championship trophy, with fighting spirit boiling.

The dragon and the tiger fight.

Wolves and leopards are all around.

The archer and the warrior are ready to go.
-
Who is the king of this season?
(End of this chapter)