Nirvana Top Laner, Reborn Tokyo Girl

Chapter 252, page 249: The Hope of LPL!
Since it's WBG's post-match group interview, how could we leave out Shimamura Yuna?
He is currently the most watched player in the entire WBG, and even in the entire League of Legends community.

Interviewing WBG without interviewing Shimamura Yuna is like not interviewing at all.

In fact, if it weren't for Shimamura Yuna, there would be no point in watching WBG's matches at all.

The team consists of veteran players who are said to have considerable fame, but whose popularity is only so-so.

Everyone's looking at this team, isn't it all for seeing Shimamura Yuna?
Therefore, of course, the camera and the questions should be given to Shimamura Yuna.

When the director focused the camera on Shimamura Yuna, she seemed to be in a daze.

She was wearing her team uniform, sitting alone in a corner, constantly playing with her hair.

This scene really has a very special girlish feel to it.

For the audience, seeing such a lovely girl in the post-match interview booth of the LPL was a truly special experience.

Even though Shimamura Yuna has been playing for a year now, people still haven't gotten used to it.

I still feel that the combination of beautiful girls and the sports field is a dreamlike and unreal thing.

When the reporter suddenly asked Shimamura Yuna a question, she seemed to wake up from a dream, and exclaimed "Ah!" in a daze. Then she immediately sat up straight and smiled at the reporter somewhat embarrassedly.

Upon seeing her like this, the comments section was immediately flooded with "cute".

"Well then, we have a question for Shimamura-san. Right now, everyone in the world is saying that you are the strongest top laner in the world right now, without a doubt. And your performance this year has proven that."

"Almost no one can gain an advantage against you, not even last year's champion like Zeus, or any of the other top top laners in the LCK. It seems like you can outplay anyone."

"Due to the MSI schedule, Bin is one of the few top laners you haven't faced. Given that you're relatively unfamiliar with this player, are you confident you can win against him?"

An unfamiliar player?
Are you confident?
Hearing these questions, Shimamura Yuna felt very complicated.

Just a year ago, in the time before her reincarnation.

She wouldn't even dare to think about comparing herself to Bin.

BIN is a two-time runner-up in the World Championship, a multiple LPL champion, and an MSI champion. He is also one of the most popular and strongest top laners in the LPL.

He might be a somewhat controversial player.

His abilities and off-court conduct are quite controversial.

But regardless of controversy
At that time, people would at least not compare Bin to her.

BIN is one of the strongest players in the entire LPL.

The only controversy surrounding him is whether he is "number one".

Is it number one in China? Is it number one in the LPL? Is it number one in the world?
No one can deny his fundamental strength as a player.

As for himself, he's a terminally ill guy playing vampire on a weak team.

However, a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

Nowadays, it seems that many things haven't changed in essence.

BLG is still a top-tier team in the LPL.

BIN is still the player whose strength is still a topic of discussion.

But I am different now.

These days, when people talk about themselves, it's no longer "Who are these guys? They can't even compare to BIN?"

On the contrary, the opposite will lead to different expectations.

Everyone thinks you're stronger than Bin, but the real test is coming up soon. Please prove it in your own way.

That's right, everyone's feelings are reversed.

It's no longer about me needing to catch up with Bin, but about Bin needing to catch up with me.

BIN
They are the true challengers.

This feeling
It's really quite subtle.

Yuna Shimamura actually has a lot of thoughts on this.

But after thinking it over, I feel that it's better not to say some things.

Therefore, she ultimately chose to give a brief answer: "I can't judge BIN's strength, since we haven't faced each other in actual combat."

"However, I am confident that I will win."

A resolute glint flashed in Shimamura Yuna's eyes.

Among all the teams in the LPL, WBG could have been considered one of the teams with the oldest average age.

Liu Qingsong and Xiaohu are two old guys, and Light and Xiaotian are not young either.

Their previous achievements are probably consistent with their age.

They linger on their experience, crawling along frantically, but their performance remains stagnant.

It's rotten beyond repair, but it's also impossible for it to get better.

It is this feeling.

However, the arrival of Shimamura Yuna significantly lowered the team's average age.

Not only did it lower the team's average age, it also made the team seem more active all of a sudden.

Previously, there were many doubts and skepticism about the strength of the WBG team.

Some believe that Shimamura Yuna's arrival may not necessarily bring about a qualitative change in the team.

Or, to put it another way, some believe that even if Shimamura Yuna is truly strong, she might not be able to solve WBG's problems.

According to many people
[If Light is so bad, would he be any better if Shimamura Yuna came along? If Liu Qingsong is so terrible, would he be any better if Shimamura Yuna came along?]

This team is beyond saving by Shimamura Yuna alone. There are countless problems with this team. The fact that a team has to rely on Xiaohu to carry shows how terrible this team is.

[Going to AL with Yuna Shimamura might actually be a good addition, but AL has filled its foreign player quota and she can't go. WBG should really just forget about it.]

In short, there are many voices that are not optimistic.

Even after WBG defeated JDG and UP, there were still people questioning it.

Winning against JDG and UP doesn't prove anything; they might have won even without Shimamura Yuna.

WBG's poor performance is compared to the top teams, not to these bottom-tier teams.

WBG should have won anyway, what's there to say? Shimamura Yuna definitely strengthened WBG, but it's hard to say how much.

Only now, after defeating AL, have these people finally been silenced.

Liu Qingsong, who used to look so rubbish, actually started to look quite respectable after Shimamura Yuna came along.

It turns out that even an old B team can achieve such results.

WBG is not a fake strong team.

Instead, it is a truly strong team.

They are a strong team with the potential to compete for the LPL annual championship and the World Championship.

The establishment of this fact instantly changed the landscape of the LPL this year.

First and foremost, the most obvious and fundamental impact is on who will win this year's LPL annual championship.

Initially, everyone thought that the championship would most likely come from one of the teams: TES, AL, BLG, or IG.

Among them, IG seems to have the lowest chance of winning, and AL is in poor form, so it's unlikely to win either.

TES and BLG seem to be the most likely candidates.

But now, WBG seems to be the most likely team to win the championship, not even one of them.

If the elderly Xiaohu and Liu Qingsong could win the LPL championship again and go to the World Championship as the LPL's number one seed, that would be truly magical.

However, that's not the most magical part.

The most magical thing is
If WBG can maintain its current performance, then LPL might really have a chance.

Yes, many people have belatedly realized this. Originally, this year's LPL really did seem like a bunch of terrible players.

The fact that both World Championships ended in disastrous defeats, from the first stage to the second, speaks volumes.

Every year it's said to be the weakest year for LPL.

But this year, there is truly no hope at all.

LCK players look like wolves and tigers.
There's also CFO, a dark horse team from the wildcard region.
In contrast, the LPL has been ranked third in the World Championships for two consecutive years, failing to even qualify as the second-best region.

What hope is there left?
LPL viewers immediately abandoned their fantasies and started enjoying the game.

But now, it's different.

First of all, the strongest team this year so far has had its CFO dismantled due to the departure of Yuna Shimamura.

It's hard to say how much weaker the current CFO is, but he certainly isn't as strong as he was in the first two World Championships this year. This is equivalent to clearing an obstacle for the LPL in advance.

Secondly, and most importantly.

The star player of this team that was the strongest in the first half of the year has moved to the LPL.

And they successfully strengthened the LPL with a highly competitive team.
Sigh, things have changed so much.

BLG may be unreliable.

TES may be unreliable.

AL may be unreliable.

So, is WBG reliable?

Hope was rekindled in everyone's hearts.

During the first two stages of the season, some people on the internet would make sarcastic remarks when they saw LPL's defeats, saying, "It's okay, once LPL buys Shimamura, it will be the most hopeful year again."

The original intention was to mock LPL for always being unable to win and relying on buying wins.

They mocked LPL, saying that even if LPL achieved good results, it was because they bought Korean players.

The result was completely unexpected.

A prophecy.

Yuna Shimamura has indeed come to the LPL.

Moreover, with Yuna Shimamura joining the team, this year's LPL seems to be a really promising year.

Many people belatedly realized that the configuration of the WBG team, apart from Shimamura Yuna, was not much different from that of the CFO.

Although these people are older, they are really not weak compared to wildcard teams like the CFO.

If they work well together and the older members recover well, they could even have a breakout performance, which should theoretically make them stronger than the CFOs.

Whether it's Xiaohu, Xiaotian, or Liu Qingsong, they are all players who have proven themselves.

Light also stood out in the more competitive environment of the LPL, and served as the starting AD carry for many years in the LPL.

What makes them think they're weaker than the other four, including the CFO?

Their solid performance against AL was clearly impressive.

What Shimamura Yuna can do as CFO, she might be able to do at WBG as well.

It should even be stronger.

The probability should be higher.

Thinking about this, LPL fans must be getting excited.

[Holy crap, is Shimamura really going to lead LPL to the championship?]

I feel there's a very good chance. The Shimamura version of WBG should theoretically be stronger than the Shimamura version of CFO. If CFO could win, why can't WBG?

If Shimamura can lead Kogoro to a championship, I, a long-time Royal Never Give Up fan, will be a fan for life!

This time it really is the Japanese team.

Some people may think that the idea of ​​LPL relying on a Japanese person to save it is a very abstract concept.

But most people don't think it's a big deal.

after all
Since there is precedent for South Koreans leading the LPL to a championship, and this is something that can be recognized.

It wouldn't be impossible for a Japanese player to lead the LPL to a championship.

While an all-Chinese team championship is certainly something many viewers crave, if that's not possible, settling for a "championship without Korean players" would still be a remarkable breakthrough.

Of course, these are just words that offer some self-comfort.

Compared to these so-called "no Korean teams" or "all-Chinese teams"
More importantly, people simply like Shimamura Yuna.

Even if Shimamura Yuna is not in the LPL, many people will still support her, cheer for her, be encouraged by her victories, and be disappointed by her defeats.

With Yuna Shimamura joining the LPL, it's like two joys combined.

People now have a more legitimate reason to support Shimamura Yuna.

Just like some of TheShy's fans support him because of his contributions to the LPL.

At this point, WBG, where Shimamura Yuna plays, has already dispelled everyone's doubts about their abilities with two matches.

Then, all that was left was enthusiastic cheering.

Yuna Shimamura has arrived in her loyal LPL.

Now, she is the hope of the LPL.
-
Although many people now believe that Yuna led LPL to victory in Fantasy Island Village.

However, in Shimamura's own opinion, the World Championship is still a bit far off.

It's safe to say that nothing is even close to being done yet.

Even now, she can't say she's completely familiar with her teammates in WBG, and they haven't developed any absolute chemistry.

Her high efficiency in the team stems from the accommodations of her teammates and her unique playstyle.

This team still has room for improvement.

However, that's all.
She could sense that the LPL championship was truly not far off.

Based on the training matches and actual games played these past few days...

She had a gut feeling.

BLG is the strongest enemy WBG will encounter next.

Needless to say, AL is confident that even if they play two more best-of-five series, AL will definitely not be a match for WBG.

While TES appears strong on paper, Shimamura Yuna doesn't feel they pose any real threat to her.

Whether looking at past records or the situation in training matches.

369 was almost unable to mount an effective counterattack against Shimamura Yuna.

Neither TES nor AL poses any threat to WBG.

In other words, as long as they can defeat BLG, and do so in a relatively easy way, then the LPL championship will be basically secured, and there will be no suspense.

Therefore, the next game will be very important.

Yuna Shimamura viewed this as a rehearsal for the final battle.

"As long as we win."

If they win, they will have a very high chance of winning the LPL championship and going to the World Championship as the number one seed.

The day before the match, Shimamura Yuna lay in her dormitory at the base, watching BIN's match recordings on her phone.

As she watched, she muttered to herself, "I will crush you."

(End of this chapter)