Starting with Zaozi Ge, a dream lineup

Chapter 19 Zhuge Mingkai's Investigation

Despite the uproar online, the RNG members, who didn't have phones, were unaware of it.

At this moment, they, along with the factory manager who came to help, arrived at Shanghai's largest villa-style hot pot restaurant.

Speaking of Yangfang Hotpot, we have to talk about the man behind it - Sima Laozei.

Brother Ma usually appears serious and somewhat withdrawn, but he enjoys treating his friends in the industry to meals, and they always go to Yangfang Hot Pot.

Many people in the industry, such as Clearlove, PYL, Snake Esports' support player, and Liu Qingsong of FPX, have been invited by Ma Ge.

Previously, iboy Xiao Zhao mentioned on his way back that he and his friends had once again enjoyed the perk of eating at Brother Ma's villa hot pot restaurant.

The cost is not low; even the entry fee is over a thousand yuan per person.

However, today RNG's big boss didn't care that a few more people came to freeload; as long as there was food, he offered it all.

"The puppy is here, come and sit down quickly."

When the RNG team arrived, they found that the entire venue had been booked and was filled with many familiar faces.

Even Wu Wukai's grandfather was all smiles. As soon as he saw me come in, he rushed over to greet me, looking very happy.

"Hey, Lu Ben, you're damn fast! Make way for our hero!"

PDD's voice rang out from behind Wu Wukai's grandfather. Li Luo looked up and saw not only Wu Wukai and PDD, but also Shenchao.

"Wow, everyone's here today! Chao Ge and PDD are both here!"

Li Luo greeted them; these were all veteran players and acquaintances who had stayed in Shanghai and had come specifically to celebrate, even though they hadn't won the championship yet.

But everyone was very happy to have defeated SKT.

"Come in, everyone, come in and sit down. Don't block the doorway," Brother Feng said as he walked in from behind. Only then did everyone sit down.

The big boss gave the order today: eat as much as you want. If anyone wasn't trying to save money, he just waved his hand and ordered whatever was expensive.

Yangfang Hot Pot specializes in high-end seafood hot pot, using carefully selected premium ingredients and organic vegetables, making it a new representative of high-end hot pot in Shanghai.

The secret broth is made with Jinhua pork bone broth, which, as the name suggests, is made with Jinhua pork. Black-haired pork is not commonly found in hot pot restaurants in Shanghai, but this restaurant focuses on using it as its main ingredient.

After simmering for a while, first enjoy a bowl of rich soup. In addition to the fragrant pork bone flavor, there is also a subtle peppery aftertaste and the fresh aroma of vegetables, making it an amazing first impression!

The premium Australian Black Angus Wagyu beef has distinct marbling; when cooked to medium-rare, it's tender, smooth, and bursting with beef flavor.

The black pork that followed could only be described as amazing.

The pork is sliced ​​into butterfly shapes, coated with a thin layer of batter to reveal its pinkish texture, and cooked through in just three to five seconds in the pot.

Dipping it in slightly sweet soy sauce brings out the pork's crispness and sweetness, resulting in a rich and tender texture that changes the previous unfair view of pork as a hot pot ingredient.

Fish skin dumplings are made in the authentic Chaozhou style. You can tell they're something special just by looking at them when they're served. The fish skin is made by pounding fresh yellow eel into a paste and then patting it into a skin. It's indeed very chewy and delicious.

Moreover, it has a strong fishy flavor, and when you bite into it, the meat juices burst out, full of the sweetness of pork. Everything is made with high-quality ingredients.

It's worth mentioning the soy sauce; the soy sauce used at the Yangfang Hot Pot restaurant is made from premium Hong Kong soy sauce.

We chose Japanese red king crab for seafood. The live king crab, weighing over a pound, had firm, delicate meat with a rich crab flavor. The chef had carefully split all the crab legs open before cooking, making it very convenient to eat.

In the ball combination, both shrimp balls and cuttlefish balls are of the refined type, refreshing and sweet, but I prefer the more unique dace balls.

Unlike products that simply aim for a chewy texture, this one has a delicate, pinkish feel, thanks to the addition of dried tangerine peel strips, dried shrimp, and coriander bits, which adds a layer of flavor.

(The author recommends that everyone try it when they have time; it's really delicious!)
Everything was treated at an extremely high standard. Although RNG's owner, Wang Sicong, is not as rich as IG's owner, they are just as good at rewarding their heroes.

As the dishes were quickly served, everyone started chatting as they ate.

"Little dog, Xia played really well today. Honestly, when did you secretly practice?"

Seeing that no one spoke, Zhuge Mingkai couldn't help but ask. As is EDG's tradition, before coming here, he was three parts celebrating and seven parts investigating. After all, Uzi's stats fluctuated too much; judging from his performance in the fifth game, it was practically a return to his peak.

In the EDG team, Abu, who transitioned from analyst to coach in his early years, has done a very comprehensive analysis of the players' abilities.

ID: Uzi
Laning ability: S+
Teamfight Ability: S
Support capability: A
Game awareness: S
Compressive strength: B+
Hero Pool: B+
Overall assessment: As Uzi ages and his physical condition deteriorates, his performance has declined year by year, but targeted measures are still necessary.

This data-driven player evaluation system is no secret within EDG; it was learned from the rigorous coaching staff of the LCK region.

The contestants' abilities in all aspects will be divided into S-level, A-level, B-level...B-level.

As for those below B-level, they are basically not included in the discussion, because if you can't even reach B-level, it's a dereliction of duty for a professional player and a major weakness.

The calculation is based on the following: S+=10 points, S=9 points, A+=8 points, A=7 points, B=6 points, C=4 points, D=2 points.

Therefore, Grade B is also known as Professional Grade.

The plus sign indicates that the player is among the top professional players at that level and is exceptionally talented.

For example, B-level players are those who perform relatively consistently among professional-level players.

In the LPL league, most well-known professional players are at least at the B-level in all aspects of their abilities.

Reaching Grade A, which is above Grade B, signifies having a performance that surpasses others in a certain area.

Among the three teams participating in S7, there are EDG, RNG, and WE.

In order to have a chance to enter the world championship, the players in the three teams must at least have two A-level skills.

Once a player's skill level breaks through A-level and reaches S-level, according to Kkoma, the coach who developed this evaluation system...

That's truly world-class, just like how Letme's other abilities, while not outstanding and generally hovering around B-level, only reached A-level in laning.

However, Letme's ability to withstand pressure is top-notch, making him an S-level player.

Even when facing Huni, who also has an S-level laning ability, he is not at a disadvantage at all.

As for S+ level abilities... well, that basically means they're among the people who are almost at the top of the cliff in that regard.

As for SS-rank, once someone reaches that level, they're practically halfway off a cliff.

Historically, very few people have been able to do this: Faker, Uzi, Clearlove, GodV, Mata.
Even at their peak, with their incredible feats, no one has yet reached SSS rank.

SSS-level requires more than just players to be invincible in their preferred positions; it places greater emphasis on overall ability.

For example, an SSS-level laning ability means being invincible in all three lanes.

By S7, most players who can maintain an SS-level ranking are only those who have a brief moment of glory in a particular match.

In traditional sports competitions, even if an athlete is not in good form, their physical attributes are still there, and strong teams will always be strong teams, with a low probability of upsets.

But esports is different; it relies heavily on the player's performance in real-time.

Yesterday's food wasn't to your liking, and being in a bad mood can all affect your performance today.

Even not getting enough sleep can cause players to sleepwalk during matches, and there are countless examples of players turning into slackers the moment they slack off in training.

For example, even someone as hardworking and diligent as Faker can't maintain his peak performance indefinitely.

For most of his careers, he could only maintain a consistently world-class level.

For example, Uzi shocked the world during the MSI tournament in S8, showcasing his amazing Kai'Sa skills and winning the MSI championship.

However, his performance declined significantly during the World Championship, his skills couldn't keep up with his confidence, and he earned the nickname "Jian Lantern".

(End of this chapter)