Starting with Zaozi Ge, a dream lineup

Chapter 260: A Legendary MV! History Cannot Be Surpassed!

Busan.

Many people are familiar with this place. As evidenced by the numerous e-sports arenas featured in movies set in Busan, the city has a strong e-sports atmosphere.

Today, not only the venue itself, but also the area outside the venue was surrounded by organized crowds.

Spectators from all over the world were present, and Chinese people were also scattered among the vast crowd of spectators. Before long, just over halfway through the entry time, the venue was already full.

When the LPL's official bus arrived at the venue, the tense atmosphere of the World Championship was palpable without any preamble.

The time difference between South Korea and China is only one hour, and the opening ceremony was scheduled for 4 PM.

Starting at 15:20, a grand girl group performance began inside the venue to create an atmosphere.

Of course, in terms of opening ceremony effect alone, S8 cannot be compared with S7 at the Bird's Nest.

As the clock struck 15.59.50, a number 10 suddenly appeared on the large screen in the center of the stadium.

And the host enthusiastically invited everyone to join in the countdown.

"10"

"9"

"8"

The moment all the audience members shouted that the countdown was over, the scene changed.

Every year, the World Championship (S-Series) can be said to be the biggest carnival for esports players, including some veteran players who have quit the game, who will come back to watch the competition.

Since S7, this kind of opening ceremony has evolved to its extreme, and its equipment is in no way inferior to some top-level concerts.

Once the countdown ends, the promotional video and theme song played at this time are naturally the most important parts.

Many people even say that Riot Games' main business is making music, because the theme songs they release every year are so catchy and the music videos are so exciting.

This statement is mostly meant as a joke, but it also illustrates that the theme song and music video for the annual S-series have become an indispensable part.

In the history of Riot Games' theme songs, S7 and S8 have become unsurpassable classics.

S7 was all thanks to the theme song, Legends Never Die. The song was so well-written and sung, and the lyrics and music conveyed the spirit of the League of Legends even to people outside the League of Legends community.

S8, on the other hand, made everyone remember that theme songs could be played in a different way. The first-ever narrative summary music video, with its storytelling and gimmicks, could send chills down your spine every time you listened to the song and watched the music video.

The prince of the sect leader climbed upwards, and although he was severely injured by Uzi along the way, he still managed to reach the summit.

Master An, who was going up the mountain, encountered Brother Li, who was going down the mountain, and the two were about to fight.

Every time I think of Faker's wandering book-closing appearance, with blue rune energy emanating from his body, I get goosebumps.

Compared to the promotional music video for S8, neither S9 nor S10 could surpass it. S8 became the most classic generation.

The fact that the company kept the promotional video under wraps until after the opening ceremony broadcast naturally whetted the appetite of all viewers.

As the lights in the venue dimmed, both viewers in the live broadcast room and those at the venue enjoyed the best viewing experience.

Ta-ta-ta.
The ethereal sound of dripping water from the sewer could be heard.

There was no background music; the empty, clear sound lasted for a full two seconds before a sliver of light appeared from the center of the screen.

In the vast, snow-covered mountains, a group of five people walked forward, the whole scene looking extremely desolate, with only the howling of the north wind between heaven and earth.

Suddenly, an avalanche collapsed ahead, and a blue void barrier blocked the way down the mountain. The five climbers were about to be swallowed by the avalanche.

A fast-moving image flashed across the five people climbing the mountain, and sharp-eyed players instantly recognized them as RNG from S6.

Faced with the avalanche, the two at the front did not choose to stick together to resist. Almost the next second, the two strongest vanguards scattered and fled, leaving only two thin figures to block Uzi.

Just then, S8's background music finally started playing.

Welcome to the cruel, icy wasteland where good and evil intertwine!

"Natural and man-made disasters are spreading before our very eyes!"

As soon as the two lines of lyrics were sung, the unique singing style and the bizarre American comic book narrative style immediately drew screams from the audience.

The scene shifts to a sanatorium at the foot of the mountain, where the three have been rescued and are lying in bed. The headstrong Fatty AD no longer trusts his teammates and, after recovering from his injuries, insists on challenging the summit again.

Unable to be pulled away by his two teammates, the fat man set off alone. He secretly carried a thick pack of kiosks late at night, and his figure disappeared into the vast snowfield at the first light of dawn.

"Pick up your weapon and face it (no regrets)."

"There's blood on the crown, go and take it (if you have a dream, defend it)."

Blizzards, lone wolves, steep cliffs, and cracks where he nearly fell. One life-or-death ordeal after another cost him all his supplies, but there was one exception: his weapon pouch, which seemed like a burden on his mountaineering gear, gradually became fuller and remained firmly attached to his body.

You get one shot to make it out alive, so (this is your only chance to prove yourself).

"The higher you climb, the more you chase it (fight against fate and strive to catch up)."

After many hardships, one night the fat man finally found a crevice in the cliff where he could take shelter and rest.

There was no blizzard here. As night fell and the figures fell into a deep sleep, a pair of scarlet eyes suddenly lit up inside the cave.

Like an arrow released from a bow, when the faint light shone through the cracks in the cliff wall onto the rushing figure, everyone realized that it was a ferocious rat that was half a person's height.

The source of the plague - Twitch.

Seeing that the fat man hadn't moved yet, the evil rat grinned maliciously and was about to shoot its venomous arrows at the figure for a feast.
Can!
The fat man is awake!

A musket was suddenly pointed at Tuchi's head, and with a roar, the bullet left a blood-stained, tragic scene on the cliff face.

"Prove yourself and"

“RISE RISE”

"Make them remember you (I became famous in World War I)"

After a night's rest, the fat man set off again. As the music reached its climax, he defeated Verus, who was modeled after Eurythmus, once more, using only a musket.

This time, the fat man seemed to feel that he was about to win, and that he was about to climb to the summit of that unattainable yet coveted mountain to prove himself.

A mountain peak!
Another mountain peak!
We are just a stone's throw away from the highest peak.

Until the fat man entered a crimson-hued demonic lair, where a slumbering demon king sat upon a towering throne—
Although it has Galio's body, it has Faker's face.

This bizarre art style shocked Li Ge, making him lose his usual elegance. Three crowns, one of light, one of darkness, and one of darkness intertwined, hung crookedly on the throne behind the Demon King, looking extremely violent.

He is no longer the Colossus of Justice! He is more like the Supreme Demon King - Nine Crimson Galio.

The fat man showed no mercy, even when facing a demon king who was dozens of times taller than him.

A gleaming silver crossbow bolt was drawn from behind. Nocked, the string pulled, and the trigger was pulled. The arrow shot forward relentlessly, piercing the Demon King's dark barrier and embedding itself deep within his body. Wisps of black mist seeped from the wound inflicted by the bolt—an attack even the Demon King could not ignore!

At this moment, the Demon King, who was still fast asleep, flew into a rage and leaped up from his throne, displaying an agility completely disproportionate to his size.

"Get along 'long, get a move on up (rush forward, bravely climb)"

"And as you fight amidst death beneath the dirt (stepping into the vortex of destiny)"

"And when the giants call to ask you what you're worth (fight for your dreams without regrets at this moment)."

The stirring sounds, the magnificent battles, the flashing swords in the cave—even mortals could rival gods.

A man with a crossbow!

he!
done!
With a deafening roar, the Demon King was pinned to the ground by the massive crossbow bolt, motionless, and the figure seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

From the perspective of the audience, the figure's quiver was empty. Clearly, this deadly arrow was his last stockpile, meant for a fatal blow.

As the figure prepared to pass the Demon King and continue climbing the mountain, he failed to notice that the arrows on the Demon King's body were constantly melting.

The magical seal is being broken! But the figure remains motionless!

The moment the seal was broken, the climax of the background music rang out again. In this battle, the musket was broken, the crossbow bolts were knocked away, and without equipment to counter black magic, any weapon became an ordinary thing, unable to cause any harm to the Demon King.

The grinning demon king leaped up, ready to end the figure's life, but was shocked to discover...

The figure also flew up!

In my hands!

It's feathers from a crossbow bolt!
"How could this be?" Some viewers had already automatically added a voiceover to Galio's astonished expression.

The crossbow bolt, designed to counter magic, had already been fired, but the fat man had kept all the fletching from it.

The scene shifts, leaving behind feathers scattered on the ground and the sealed Galio. The heavily injured figure sets off again, and this time, he finally reaches the mountain peak.

Here, he encountered the enemy he had defeated before, but this time, he was exhausted; the battle with the Demon King had ultimately taken a heavy toll.

As soon as the figure fell, the video and music suddenly stopped, and the screens in the venue, the live broadcast room, and everywhere everyone was broadcasting went completely black.

Gradually, a faint heartbeat could be heard.

The figure opened its eyes, and there stood the two teammates who had stood in front of it during the last avalanche. This time, they were still there.

There are now two more people in the team!
One is a simple and honest cook who was once a key member of the mountaineering team at the foot of the mountain, but was replaced and eventually became a substitute.

The other is the young doctor at the ambulance station who takes care of several people every day, saving lives and healing the wounded.

At that moment, the hearts of the five seemed to be connected, and together they overcame their powerful enemy and finally reached the summit.

It will be the top of the list, and the mountains are small.

In the distance, another mountain, far more magnificent than the one before, suddenly appeared.

That is?

A forbidden area that no one has ever set foot in!
The climactic background music ended at the right time, and the various sounds and images that appeared around us connected the scene into a complete story.

The various teams, as well as the memes and signature heroes of the players, were vividly displayed in just a few minutes.

Even with the extremely exaggerated and bold American comic book style, everyone can be sure that these people are the professional players they know!
Especially Uzi!

He's incredibly handsome!

Even just looking at the plot, if you expand on the details and connect them, it even feels like watching a trailer for an animated feature film.

"This is so damn cool!"

"Just this plot alone... I'm totally smitten! This time, I'm blown away by the quality of this!

"My God, Faker the Demon King, Uzi the Brave Warrior, and the rat at the very front is Ruler's rat?"

"I will always love Oucheng's Varus look, I love it! Oucheng, fly high, Mom will always be with you!"

"The most classic promotional video ever! I feel like its quality will be hard to surpass in the future!"

"Demon King, hero, climber, descender, higher peak, untouched forbidden land. The quality, the storytelling, honestly, it's outrageous. As a film student, I can't even imagine how so many complex elements could be woven together in such a short song. I'm speechless!"

"!!!"

The promotional video for the 2018 World Championship was played at the event and simultaneously released on Riot Games' official Weibo account. Within just ten minutes of its release, it officially surpassed 1000 million views.

Furthermore, the number of views increases by hundreds of thousands with each refresh, clearly indicating that those who watched it once weren't satisfied and watched it a second or third time.
The S8 promotional video unsurprisingly topped the trending search list, and even some people who don't play games or understand music videos were instantly drawn in by its high-quality and exquisite production.

The deep brown "explosive" text indicated that the promotional video officially surpassed 100 million views at 21 minutes and 35 seconds!
Keep in mind that this is just the number of views on Weibo. If you include all platforms across the entire internet, the resulting data is truly staggering.

"The quality of this year's promotional video, putting everything else aside, just looking at these few shots alone, is truly a high-production-value production."

It's still that familiar EDG base.

After watching this breathtaking S8 promotional video, even Clearlove is envious!

Even though he missed the entire summer split and had already decided to retire at S9, seeing Uzi receiving FMVP treatment on the screen now makes me extremely envious.

The scene then shifts to the live broadcast, where the theme song and music video are played, followed by introductions of all the teams.

In this segment, as each team took the stage, the South Korean team naturally received the most cheers, since Busan is South Korea's home ground.

All the teams stood on the big stage, and the schedule for the first day of the competition appeared simultaneously on the screen:
Opening match: KT vs TL
Match 2: Fw vs G2
Third match: SKT vs PVB
Match 4: Rw vs mad
Match 5: RNG vs C9
Match 6: Gen vs Vit
On the first day of the group stage, RNG had a match. After they finished playing and returned to the rest room, everyone watched the match together.

Inside RNG's lounge, a live Chinese broadcast was being played.

With no Chinese team in Group A, the commentators analyzed the situation, expressing great optimism about the outcome of the match.

As the LCK's second seed, KT's strength is significantly weaker than Doublelift's TL.

Whether in the top lane, mid lane, or even the bottom lane, KT dominated TL throughout the match, securing their first win of the day.

In Group C, SKT completely overwhelmed PVB with their superior strength, leading to the match between RW and MAD.

"What do you think of this game?" Chris asked meaningfully from the side.

"If we're talking about the current Skt, or the Skt from MSI, their chances of winning are very low," Li Luo said frankly.

Although Chris's question might sound like he was inquiring about Rw's chances of winning, Li Luo, as a long-time comrade-in-arms, actually understood exactly what Chris was thinking.

Although SKT didn't reveal too many tactical details in their battle against PVB, some clues could still be gleaned from their subtle lane switching and economic allocation.

If they hadn't been holding back, SKT would likely have faced IG in the quarterfinals and been eliminated!

I hereby announce!!! The Sunfire Aegis cult is back! This patch has a bug in top lane matchups... and the key is that someone has even developed a Sunfire Aegis Fiora build, isn't that amazing!
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(End of this chapter)