You promised a top lane tutorial, but you're just using Worlds as material for your videos?

Chapter 405 Oh no, I've been cursed by the ultimate poison!

The period leading up to the start of the World Championship was indeed a rather boring time for many League of Legends esports fans.

During this period, there wasn't a single legitimate professional League of Legends match in the world.

For viewers, without matches, there's naturally not much to discuss online.

During this period, Riot Games released the theme song for the S7 World Championship – Legends Never Die!
However, this song seems tailor-made for Faker.

Of course, given Faker's current achievements, he certainly deserves it.

This theme song immediately sparked a heated discussion.

However, the hype quickly died down.

Indeed, in the end, it's just a song.

No matter how much we discuss it, there are only so many points to talk about, and we can't talk for too long.

On September 20th, three days before the start of the qualifying rounds, there were finally new topics to discuss on various platforms related to LOL esports.

Riot Games released its list of the top 20 players in the S7 World Championship today.

The list of the top 20 players in the world is a ranking of players officially produced by Riot Games before each World Championship.

In this list, players for all five positions in League of Legends are grouped together, not listed separately.

This list was first released before the S4 World Championship.

This is the fourth time this year.

Just before the start of the S4 World Championship, the first list of the top 20 players was released, which immediately earned the official list a nickname – the "poisonous milk list"!

The "Poisonous Milk List," as the name suggests, means that the higher a contestant ranks on this list, the worse their fate will be.

Especially on the list, those who are ranked number one in a single position, that is, the world's number one XX, often do not have a good ending.

It's so effective that whoever it heals dies!

Of course, such mystical matters are not absolutely correct.

This is just a way of joking around among many viewers.

However, on the other hand, this top 20 list has indeed ruined many players who were riding high before the World Championships.

Take, for example, the first list of the top 20 players in the S4 World Championship.

That time, the players ranked first and second on the list were both mid-lane players.

They are Dade and Cool.

Ultimately, both players were eliminated in the semifinals of the S4 World Championship.

Judging by this result alone, reaching the semifinals of the S-series is actually not bad.

However, after the S4 World Championship, starting from the S5 season, both of their professional careers began to decline.

Now, 17 years later, the Emperor has vanished from the professional scene.

Wu-Zhuang also spends most of his time on the bench, with few opportunities to play.

Mata ranked third on the list of the top 20 players in the world during Season 4, and was officially recognized as the world's best support player at the time.

Mata seemed unaffected by the "poisonous prediction," as he successfully won the S-series championship that year and was awarded the FMVP.

This is also the only support player to win the FMVP award in the S-series.

However, Mata's professional career subsequently declined.

Apart from a brief period of dominance when RNG won the LPL championship in the 16 Spring Split, this year, despite being part of the KT group's super team, they didn't even make it to the World Championship.

To be honest, his career has been quite unlucky these past few years.

The worst off is NaMei, who ranks fourth on the list.

This player, who was officially recognized as the world's number one AD carry at the time, was the one most severely affected by the "poisonous prediction" list.

First, in Taiwan, a bowl of beef noodles caused him to have a serious hip injury, which led to his elimination in the quarterfinals of the S4 World Championship.

After that, his career could no longer be described as a decline.

It was practically freefall.

He lost his place in the EDG team after the S4 World Championship.

After that, he played as a substitute for RNG for a period of time.

Just when things were starting to look up, his skateboard shoes got stolen from him, and he lost his position again, ultimately leaving him with no choice but to retire in disappointment.

By the time of the S5 World Championship, Riot Games' official list of the top 20 players became even more ruthless.

Aside from Faker, who's ranked number one on the list and seems to be a chosen one, he's truly unkillable by luck.

Following Faker, this list is simply appalling.

On the eve of the S5 World Championship, LPL teams, led by LGD, were hyped up.

Riot Games also gave it a lot of praise.

On the list, from Faker in first place, the nine people from second to tenth place, except for Yellowstar, the support player of FNC in eighth place, are all LPL players, and each of them has a "famous moment".

imp, ranked second on the list and officially recognized as the world's best AD carry, failed to advance from the group stage along with LGD.

He was determined to kill the enemy but was powerless to turn the tide, leaving behind only the regret of Skateboard Shoes being killed by Iron Man with a single blow.

Following imp in third place is GodV, who shot in the opposite direction. I wonder if he can get back at GodV this year.

The fourth and fifth spots are occupied by IG's jungler and mid laner, KaKao and Rookie.

As a result, IG surrendered in the first group stage match on National Day and ultimately failed to advance from the group stage.

Next, in sixth place is PYL, officially recognized as the world's best support player.

In the group stage, they stubbornly refused to ban Mordekaiser and confidently countered with Brand support, ultimately sending LGD home from the group stage.

The saying "fire can be used to make steel" has been passed down through the ages!
Later, Deft, in the S5 quarterfinals, used Jayce to teleport Thresh's lantern, earning him the nickname "Golden Lantern Teleporter."

The players who weren't ranked that high were okay, but the three from LGD at the top, even though LGD spent a lot of money to bring in Marin in S6 after S5, LGD's "super team" was eliminated in the first round of both the Spring and Summer Splits.

They directly defeated Marin so badly that he had to flee back to LCK overnight, and the rest of LGD also started to fight back.

The emergence of Zhou Dian this year could even be said to have saved the professional careers of these LGD players.

These people were already losing their spirits.

The sheer toxicity of Riot Games' official top 20 player list is evident.

By the time of the S6 World Championship, Riot Games' official top 20 player list was less problematic and less toxic.

However, the biggest victim of this "jinxed list" for the S6 World Championship was none other than Clearlove.

Clearlove ranked fourth in the S6 top 20 players list, the highest-ranked jungler among them, which means he is officially recognized as the world's number one jungler.

As a result, they suffered a heavy blow right from the start of the group stage.

Revolta, the jungler for the Brazilian wildcard team INTZ, publicly stated on multiple occasions before the match: "Clearlove, I'm your fan."

EDG's first match in the S6 group stage was against INTZ.

As a result, EDG lost to the wildcard team.

The factory manager was completely outmatched by the fans, and Revolta secured the MVP of the game by defeating the factory manager.

For a fan to completely dominate their idol, especially against an MVP, Clearlove has really lost face!

In the knockout stage, EDG faced off against ROX, with Clearlove going up against the up-and-coming Peanut, resulting in many memorable moments.

What 4396, Horse Trampling Arrow, Olaf stomping on Caitlyn's traps without using his ultimate.

These, along with "Factory Manager, I'm your fan," have become classic jokes used to tease the factory manager.

After S6, the heavily damaged Clearlove once considered retiring.

Fortunately, they pulled through in the end, which led to Clearlove7 this year. This happened on the afternoon the S7 top 20 player list was released.

After a ranked game, Zhou Dian also looked at Riot Games' official list of the top 20 players in the world for this year's S7 World Championship.

He was still very curious about where he would rank on the official list.

To be modest, I'd say I'll at least be in the top three.

Then Zhou Dian opened the "Poisonous Milk Ranking" and saw that the ID ranked first in this year's top 20 players...
It was none other than LGDZhou!

Oh no, I've been cursed by the ultimate jinx!

Zhou Dian originally thought he would be ranked second by Riot Games, while Faker would be ranked first.

As a result, he's now going to suffer the most severe consequences of his own bad luck.

I don't know if I can handle it!
However, on the other hand, considering Zhou Dian's achievements this year, including being the LPL Spring Split FMVP, MSI Mid-Season Invitational FMVP, and LPL Summer Split FMVP.

With three FMVP awards in the previous World Championships, it's only natural that Riot Games ranked him first on this list.

Following closely behind Zhou Dian, Faker naturally ranks second on the list.

Faker is also the highest-ranked LCK player on this year's list of the top 20 players.

Although he is not the number one seed from the LCK region this year.

However, looking at the whole year, SKT was the Spring Split champion, the MSI Mid-Season Invitational runner-up, and also the Summer Split runner-up.

To be honest, judging from the results alone, they're really not bad.

Moreover, in terms of total points for the year, SKT actually has the same number of points as this year's LCK number one seed, Longzhu Gaming, both with 180 points.

Because they only finished seventh in the Dragon Ball Spring Season, they didn't get any points.

However, according to Riot Games' official rules, in the event of a tie, the player with the higher Summer Split points will be given priority.

This means the summer champion will inevitably be the number one seed for that region.

Given Faker's past three world championship titles, ranking him second among the top 20 players and first among LCK players this year is quite reasonable.

Next, let's look at this list of the top 20 players from Riot Games' S7 World Championship.

The third, fourth, and fifth players all come from Longzhu Gaming, the number one seed from this year's LCK region.

Ranking third and fourth are Pray and Gorilla, the bot lane duo from the Dragon Ball team.

These two are veterans who have played for many years and are jokingly referred to by LPL viewers as the "Two Mysterious Elders of LCK".

These two were the LCK's second seed and runner-up in the World Championship in 15, and the LCK's first seed and a semi-finalist in the World Championship in 16.

As the number one seed from the LCK region this year, it's understandable that they're ranked here.

Fifth is Khan, the top laner for the Dragon Ball team.

Khan is actually the absolute core of the Longzhu team now, and also the FMVP of this year's LCK Summer Split.

Of course, Khan also suffered because his resume was too poor, so he was ranked behind his own bot lane duo on this list.

Of the top five on this list, apart from Zhou Dian, who is from the LPL, the next four are all LCK players.

Therefore, even though LGD won the MSI championship this year, Riot Games still looks up to LCK.

LCK remains the number one region in the hearts of Riot Games and viewers this year.

This also indirectly demonstrates the prestige of the World Championship, which is far superior to that of the MSI.

If you can't win the S-series championship, you can never be called the number one region.

Let's continue looking at the list.

After Khan in fifth place, an LPL player has finally reappeared on the list.

Imp ranked sixth on the list.

imp is the second LPL player on this list, second only to Zhou Dian, which is only natural.

However, Zhou Dian originally thought that imp could be ranked in the top five.

It seems that Riot Games doesn't really think much of the LPL!
Sixth in the rankings after imp is BDD, the mid-laner for the Dragon Ball team.

This player, who was once the number one Zed player in Korean solo queue, quickly demonstrated his talent and ability after going pro.

BDD's performance in this summer split was no less impressive than Faker's.

However, within the Dragon Ball team, he is not as outstanding as the top and bottom laners, and his tactical status is not as high as theirs, so ranking him here is appropriate.

From BDD onwards, Zhou Dian felt that Riot Games' official ranking was just random.

Some players who have been weak in major competitions for years, whose IDs are obviously not good enough, can still make it into the top 20 list.

September 23, Saturday, the last weekend before National Day.

The play-in stage of the S7 World Championship will also begin today.

The twelve teams participating in the qualifying rounds had all arrived in Jiangcheng several days ago.

Jiangcheng, located at the confluence of the Yangtze and Han Rivers, is the largest city in central my country.

The qualifying rounds and group stage of this year's S7 World Championship will both be held here.

The S7 World Championship Play-In Stage kicked off at 1 p.m.

Since it's the opening match, the host team must participate.

In the first match of the qualifying rounds, WE faced off against LYN, a wildcard team from Mexico.

At noon, Zhou Dian sent a WeChat message to WE's top laner 957: "Since we're playing against a wildcard team, why don't you go all out with Fiora and Camille!"

957 immediately replied: "Can't cut it! Can't cut it!"

Of course, Zhou Dian was just making a small joke.

Although they were playing against a wildcard team, this was the opening match of the S7 World Championship, and the whole country was watching. WE would definitely prioritize playing it safe.

However, after the match started, Zhou Dian didn't expect WE to be so stable!

That's an overly cautious approach.

The top, mid, and jungle lanes consist of Cho'Gath, Corki, and Gragas, while the bot lane is Xayah and Janna.

This lineup has very poor offensive capabilities; it's purely about farming, managing resources, and fighting in team fights.

If you didn't know better, you'd think WE was playing in the LPL finals.

Sure enough, the opposing wildcard team knew they couldn't compete with WE in terms of macro play and team fights, so their mid and jungle picked Syndra and Lee Sin, ready to go all out!

This pick of Syndra with the blind champion actually worked, leaving WE somewhat bewildered in the early game and putting them at a disadvantage.

Fortunately, this wildcard team still has weaknesses in terms of raw strength and is not good at snowballing.

After WE stabilized their position, they dragged the game into the late stages, where their lineup became stronger, and they successfully turned the tide.

However, in the opening match, they fought a grueling 47-minute battle against a wildcard team whose name they had never even heard of before before finally winning.

It's somewhat unsatisfactory!
But they won after all, and that's good. LPL viewers will probably just complain a bit.

However, WE's opening match did make LGD's head coach Dgc feel a little threatened.

Based on what they showed in this match, the WE players clearly seemed to have been out of practice for a while.

Since WE was able to draft such a solid lineup, they shouldn't have any issues with underestimating their opponents.

The most likely explanation is that he hasn't played in a competition for a while and has become rusty.

Will LGD face the same problem when the group stage starts in a little over a week?
This is a problem that we must take very seriously!

After all, the World Championship is not like a long league; there aren't as many opportunities to adjust. Losing just one more game can sometimes mean going home empty-handed.

(End of this chapter)