LOL: What does it mean to torture players?

Su Mo was no exception, and LPL even sent Luo Xin to interview him specifically to get his opinion.

Su Mo naturally chose to support LPL, as the current situation is quite special and LPL needs more support and encouragement.

#Mozi says LPL has a high chance of winning the championship
#Mozi is optimistic about all LPL teams

#The young people of LPL are about to take up the mantle

#LPL's fourth championship is imminent.
Su Mo's words made the already optimistic LPL even more optimistic.

Even fans of TES and JDG started discussing which championship skins to choose, and they started arguing about it.

After a two-day break, the group stage of the main tournament has begun!

Because it is held in the LPL, the opening match must include an LPL team; this has been an unwritten rule in every S-series tournament.

Therefore, the organizers chose to have EDG play the opening match, since EDG has the greatest popularity.

As for the opponent, it can't be too strong, so EDG will face TSM!

After the opening match was confirmed, Su Mo also received a message from Bjergsen:
"Mo, you're not going to suddenly jump out during the opening match, are you? If you do, we won't be so cruel."

Su Mo: "Of course not, I've already retired."

Bjergsen: "Just kidding, Mo. It's a shame I didn't get to play against you. Have a nice day."

Su Mo: "Thank you."

Su Mo hadn't seen Bjergsen for a while. TSM's performance hadn't been good in the past two years, and they hadn't even made it to the World Championship.

Judging from the group draw, TSM is in a tough spot this time, with little chance of advancing.

It was afternoon, and the competition began!
Su Mo didn't have time to watch the game, so he could only wait and see the result.

As evening fell, Su Mo got off work and glanced at her phone.

#EDG wins their first match!

#JDG defeats DWG!

#Currently airing, GEN vs EDG
There were seven matches on the first day, and it looks like four have already been played. There are three more to go, and they'll probably play until very late.

Su Mo glanced at the comments section of the JDG vs. DWG match.

"Is this the LCK's number one seed? Hahaha, so easily defeated."

"I thought LCK was really strong this year, but they couldn't even beat JDG."

"Brothers, Top Esports is definitely going to win this year. The finals might even be JDG vs. TES."

"Meeting in the finals is reasonable!"

Su Mo wasn't surprised; a best-of-one (BO1) outcome was more likely.

Moreover, the gap between the top teams in the LCK and LPL regions is not very large, and it's not to the point where they can't win a single game.

Su Mo then checked the live streams of EDG and GEN to see what EDG's current strength was.

At this point, both players have taken the stage and are conducting the draft phase.

The camera pans to the factory manager, whose pressure is clearly visible.

In this match, GEN picked Nidalee for jungle and Azir for mid.

In the LCK, BDD's Azir proficiency is on par with Faker's.

There's debate about who's more skilled, but both are a level above the others.

Scout picked Orianna in this game, and Orianna is currently a Tier 0 mid laner, so he wasn't at a disadvantage in terms of champion selection.

Upon entering the game screen, Su Mo glanced at Jiejie's jungle route, which was clearly a plan to quickly reach level three and gank top laner Rascal.

Meanwhile, Aodi was also looking for an opportunity to trade blows in the top lane, but the Renekton couldn't push the minion wave as well as the Thunder Roar in the early game. After the opponent's passive was fully stacked, the Renekton couldn't win a fight either, so he had no choice but to give up the lane.

It looks fine; the minion wave is under control, making it easier for the jungler to gank.

Generally speaking, top laners can defend against the first gank around three minutes in.

Jiejie chose to gank the top lane as soon as she reached level two, which was faster than Su Mo had expected.

"This doesn't seem right." Su Mo sensed something was wrong because the crocodile hadn't taken down much of Thunder Roar's health, and with the crocodile only at level two, it would be difficult to kill the opponent.

As Su Mo had expected, an unexpected event occurred.

Rascal was indeed caught off guard by the two-level gank and immediately used Flash to run away.

Crocodile Flash W... but this isn't the empowered W, so the damage isn't high and the control duration is very short.

Jiejie used the red buff to chase forward, all the way to the front of the turret. Seeing that Thunder Roar was left with only a sliver of health, Jiejie seemed a little anxious and entered the turret.

He was killed by the turret without even getting a replacement.

"The jungle is destroyed." Su Mo knew at a glance that this was troublesome. It wasn't just a matter of the top lane collapsing, even though the commentators and viewers were saying that the top lane had exploded.

Actually, the top lane is alright, the real disaster is in the jungle.

When Jiejie returned, she wanted to farm the top jungle, but Nidalee invaded right on time, ambushed her, drove her away, counter-jungled, and even tower-dived the top lane.

The live stream chat exploded instantly:

"Wait, what are EDG's top and jungle doing?"

"Whose problem is it exactly? I have a feeling that Jiejie has a lot of issues."

"It's the crocodile's fault. Why didn't the crocodile give his W (Red Fury)? Otherwise, the enemy would definitely be dead!"

"Stop talking, they're trash. Let's watch TES and JDG instead."

The game continued, and after this exchange, both the top and jungle players were at a significant disadvantage.

However, just when everyone thought the explosions would continue, Meiko stepped forward!

Jiejie was repeatedly invaded by Nidalee in his jungle, and he was not satisfied with that, so he chose to fight Nidalee.

In terms of pure champion strength, Lillia is not inferior to Nidalee, because Lillia has a high movement speed and can dodge Nidalee's Q skill and kite her if played properly.

The two were locked in combat when suddenly Meiko appeared, catching Clid off guard and securing the first kill.

The jungle has managed to catch its breath, but the top lane has completely collapsed.

The level 6 Thunder Roar tower dived and solo killed the Crocodile, who had no chance against it.

Once the next ultimate skill is off cooldown, Thunder Roar will continue to secure solo kills!

Two solo kills in a row!
The chat room erupted again:

"When has our EDG top laner ever suffered such a loss?"

"No, back when Mozi was around, would the opposing top laner dare to be arrogant?"

"I can't watch anymore, I'm leaving. This match makes me sick."

"The reputation that Brother Mozi has built up has been ruined by these good-for-nothings!"

Just when EDG fans were in despair, Scout and Meiko stepped up, dictating the pace of the game and dealing significant damage in team fights.

BDD's Azir performed worse than Scout's Clockwerk.

Thanks to the efforts of the two players, EDG gradually caught up in terms of economy, and the two sides also went back and forth in team fights.

The commentator also saw hope.

However, Su Mo was not so optimistic.

From a team composition perspective, GEN's late-game fighting power is much stronger than EDG's. If the economy is even, the longer the game goes on, the less EDG can win.

Having figured things out, Su Mo chose to end the live stream and go eat first.

After finishing my meal, I looked and sure enough, it was true.

#EDG suffered a regrettable defeat
#GEN narrowly defeats EDG
#EDG's top laner was repeatedly solo-killed
These days, editors are quite adept at riding the wave of trending topics, deliberately saying "EDG's top laner" without revealing who it is.

It evokes endless imagination.

After the first day of competition, LPL achieved a record of three wins and one loss, which looks quite good.

LCK also has a record of three wins and one loss.

Currently, neither region has lost to any other region except the other.

Meanwhile, inside the EDG training base, Abu was leading the EDG team in reviewing today's match.

After reviewing the two games, Abu looked at Clearlove and said, "Mingkai, you take charge of the arrangements."

With a serious expression, the factory manager scanned the entire arena, making everyone else seem a little nervous, especially Aodi. The factory manager said, "Judging from today's match and the scrims over the past two weeks, if we want to advance, we must beat FNC. Winning against GEN will be quite difficult."

Scout suddenly chimed in: "There's a chance. GEN isn't as strong as we think; they're just the third seed from LCK."

The factory manager's position as a coach is different now than before.

As players, especially those who are strong and have won championships, they often overestimate the strength of their teams. Of course, this overestimation is often done to boost morale or because of personal emotions.

As a coach, one must be objective and rational.

"The chances are slim. We can't put all our eggs in one basket. FNC is relatively easier to deal with. We should focus our energy on goals that are easier to achieve. So, tomorrow's game against FNC is the most important game. Everyone, prepare well."

The factory manager's attitude was very tough.

Scout fell silent, and Meiko stepped in to smooth things over: "Everyone wants to win the game, and we all have the same goal. However, we should be down-to-earth and take it one step at a time, focusing on advancing first."

So the EDG team continued training, preparing for tomorrow's match against FNC.

The following day marked the second day of the group stage.

Su Mo went to work as usual, and would check the results of the game after get off work.

The last match today is against EDG and FNC, which Su Mo will be able to attend.

However, he is not optimistic. FNC is not weak now, and EDG must have an advantage in the draft and tactics if they want to beat them.

As evening approached, Su Mo glanced at the notifications on his phone after getting off work.

#G2 defeats SN
#DWG easily defeats RGE
#GEN easily defeats TSM
Finally, there's EDG vs. FNC, which is probably still going on or just about to start.

Just as Su Mo was about to enter the live stream, he suddenly received a message from Meiko:
"Brother Mozi, I don't know if you've finished get off work yet. We're about to go on stage, and we hope to get your blessing!"

Meiko also sent a cute emoji.

Su Mo responded: "Go EDG! Go Tianye!"

This match is indeed very important for EDG. If they can't beat GEN, their only way to advance is to break through FCN.

But then, the most outrageous thing happened.

Su Mo had just finished sending messages to Tian Ye.

I received another message from Rekkles:
"May our FNC win, Mo, I'm your biggest fan."

Su Mo laughed. Fortunately, he wasn't a true god, so his words had no effect; otherwise, things would have been really difficult.

Su Mo went to a restaurant and ate while watching.

Just then, both sides finished their ban/pick phase and entered the match screen.

EDG's tactics were completely different in this match.

Jiejie picked Kindred and let the top laner pick Ornn.

Let the jungler carry, the top laner can just play passively.
In the mid lane, Scout picked Ekko.

Although Orianna is a top-tier mid laner in this patch, this champion relies heavily on her teammates' decisions and isn't very proactive.

Ekko is different; Ekko's ability to set the pace of the game is much stronger than Orianna's.

Entering the match screen, EDG's early game rhythm was quite good, although the top lane was still at a disadvantage and the first tower was destroyed very early.

But Ornn is different from Renekton. Ornn has hope in the late game, so he can accept being at a disadvantage.

When the crocodile is at a disadvantage, it becomes a super minion.

EDG did a much better job in the draft phase this time than before.

The two sides traded blows, each winning and losing, and the economic gap remained around one thousand.

In terms of the situation, it's similar to the previous match against GEN, but considering the overall lineup, the chances of winning this match are much higher.

After all, the top laner is Ornn and the jungler is Kindred, both of whom are late-game carries.

Sure enough, in a team fight around the dragon at around 30 minutes in, EDG seized the opportunity and executed a perfect team fight.

The strength of the lineup became apparent at this point; FNC was no match for EDG and was wiped out.

EDG ended the game with a single push down the mid lane.

With this result, EDG's record is now 2-1, which is already quite good.

Soon, Su Mo received another message from Meiko:
"Brother Mozi, I love you! Thank you for your blessings!"

Su Mo: "You guys performed well. Keep up the good work."

Soon, Su Mo received another message from Rekkles:
"Mo, although we lost today, we will come back stronger. Please continue to bless us."

Today's matches have concluded, with LPL securing two wins and one loss.

LCK secured two wins and zero losses.

Online opinion has also become much more optimistic:

"EDG seems alright, as long as they let Audi in the top lane play passively."

"That's right, why play Renekton? Play Ornn instead, can't you just mix and match?"

"EDG finally knows the winning formula, keep it up!"

"Even EDG, the fourth seed, can advance. LPL is too strong this year."

Su Mo was not so optimistic. If there was only one way to win, sooner or later someone would find a weakness.

The next day, the third day of the group stage, there were no EDG matches, so Su Mo didn't pay much attention.

He chose to wait until the end of the match to see the result.

#SN easily defeats TL
#DWG easily defeats PSG
#JDG's three-game winning streak is in explosive form

#TES VS DRX is currently airing!

It's here! The highly anticipated battle.

A showdown between LPL's first seed and LCK's second seed.

It happened to be the last match of the day, and Su Mo made it in time.

Before the competition officially started, Su Mo went straight to the restaurant for a meal.

On the way, Su Mo received a message from Chovy:
"Mo, what do you think our chances of beating DRX are?"

Su Mo: "The two teams are evenly matched, and both have a chance. It depends on the lineup and their performance."

Chovy: "Okay, I will try my best."

Su Mo felt that Chovy's personality was quite easy to get along with; he was honest and unassuming.

Su Mo entered the live stream and took a look. Miller and Wawa were still commentating today, since it was a highly anticipated match.

The draft phase has begun, and the director gives close-ups of the players and coaches from both sides.

At this moment, his left hand looks energetic and confident.

Jackeylove, in addition to confidence, also has a touch of flamboyance.

It feels like TES has the victory in the bag.

On the other side, Chovy, representing DRX, had no expression and a cold face.

People who don't know him well probably think he's some kind of aloof male god.

Of course, Su Mo knew that he was an introverted boy.

Deft, on the other hand, always gives people the impression of being honest and unassuming.

DRX got the cards directly on the first floor in this match.

The commentators and viewers were a bit surprised, since in their minds Chovy was a strong laner, while Twisted Fate was not a laner.

Su Mo wasn't surprised, because the strong mid laners in this version are all traditional mages. Chovy isn't good at playing traditional mages. If he picks a traditional mage and farms against Left Hand in the mid lane...

In the end, he'll be the one who suffers.

Therefore, choosing Twisted Fate is actually a wise choice, and it all depends on the carry potential of the top and bottom lanes.

Of course, it also depends on how TES responds.

Suddenly, TES picked a hero that no one expected on the fourth floor: Nightmare! (End of Chapter)