Nirvana Top Laner, Reborn Tokyo Girl

Chapter 278, Section 275: The Only Chance in This Life

WBG's easy victory was within everyone's expectations.

Because this is what the WBG team should be showing.

As the LPL's number one seed and possessing two FMVP awards from this year's World Championships, this is the kind of performance they should deliver when facing a weakened team like CFO.

But what surprised the audience was the extremely varied system that WBG presented in this match.

In previous years, once the S-series reached the knockout stage, it would fall into a strange cycle.

LPL teams often act like clueless newbies, only knowing how to play the most popular heroes in the current meta, and their understanding of the game is clumsy and outdated.

The LCK teams, which previously seemed quite conventional, have started using all sorts of unconventional techniques and understandings that were never seen before, leaving the LPL teams completely bewildered.

If things go smoothly, some LPL teams will start to steal understanding at this point.

If you steal something cleverly, it can at least look somewhat legitimate.

If you don't understand how to steal, you'll just be kicked to death like a stray dog ​​on the street.

This has been the script for several World Championships in a row.

LPL viewers have become numb to this.

The general impression is that LPL only uses conventional draft picks and only plays cards that are already obvious.

LCK, on ​​the other hand, has both overt and covert cards.

Game understanding will always be ahead of yours.

Sometimes, all I can say is "LPL is trash," and I don't know what else to say.

But this time, WBG gives people a certain feeling.

They are no longer the "classic LPL powerhouses" who are led by the nose by the version updates.

On the contrary, they are the ones leading the way in this version.

The things they play with are things that others can't play and can't crack.

They have many hero choices that seem strange and unconventional, but are actually effective.

It gives people the feeling of being similar to FPX in S9.

Shimamura Yuna, a top laner whose champion pool seemed unusual and unconventional, has now become a key player enabling WBG to break through the limitations of the current meta and develop its own unique system.

Surprisingly, the two contestants, Shimamura Yuna and Kotori, also had a very good chemistry.

One is a mid-lane player who knows how to protect his teammates and how to play top lane.

One is a top laner who knows how to farm gold, deal damage, and play mid lane very well.

If the two of them were on a separate team...
One is a toxic top laner with a significantly flawed champion pool.

One is an older mid-laner whose actions are a bit out of sync with his brain.

When combined, they become a super mid-top duo capable of swinging between mid and top, giving them an immense advantage in the draft phase.

Tiger probably never imagined that he would one day become one of the "Twin Stars".

But this actually happened.

It can only be said that chemical reactions are something that can only be encountered by chance.

Sometimes, when a group of players who appear to be top-tier on paper are put together, the end result is that they fight over possession of the ball, don't get along with each other, and don't play comfortably.

Tiger, who may not seem like a particularly impressive player, combined with Yuna Shimamura, formed the most effective and synergistic mid-top duo in this World Championship.

This WBG team can be said to be the most championship-caliber team in the LPL since the start of the World Championship in recent years.

They even seem to have a better chance of winning the championship than BLG, who were just one game away from winning last year.

At that time, BLG simply had high stats.

While WBG's current stats aren't bad, their tactics and strategies give the impression that they are impossible to break through.

After this quarterfinal match, judging from the odds on betting websites, it's clear that more and more people are favoring WBG to win the championship.

Public opinion can be deceiving.

But the money in a gambler's pocket doesn't lie.

The internet is already buzzing with champagne.

Xiao Hu himself felt more clearly than ever before that he seemed to be only one step away from winning the championship.
It should be noted that he actually had better results before.

That's right, it was during S13, when WBG reached the S-series finals, and was defeated by T1 in the finals, taking second place.

Although it seems like we're very close to the championship, just one best-of-five series away.
But he himself knew very well that he might not be able to win this best-of-five series even if they played it 10 more times.

Back then, the S-series team truly had the real "good positioning".

Ever since the Swiss round, people have been complaining that "WBG is just too lucky with their draw."

"WBG's success in getting this far is entirely due to good luck in the draw."

They were somewhat relieved at the time, relieved that they were lucky enough to advance round after round.

But no one expected that they would actually make it to the runner-up position.

The only tough battle they faced throughout the entire qualifying process was probably the semifinals against BLG.

At other times, almost all of them are theoretically the optimal draws.

In this one and only tough match, they won somewhat unbelievably, and thus advanced to the finals.

But everyone at WBG knew at the time that making it to the finals would be meaningless.

Even if we make it to the finals, it's almost impossible to win.

They had played many scrimmages with T1 back then, so they knew exactly what kind of opponent they would face in the finals.

As expected, the final result was exactly what was predicted.

Since I never expected to win in the first place, I didn't feel too sad when I actually lost.

There was just a sense of frustration, like "I knew it."

What I want to say
Actually, my feelings back then were probably similar to those of a CFO now.

Even though I knew I would lose, when I actually lost, I was just a little upset, but I didn't feel anything was unbelievable or unacceptable.

That's right, there won't even be any regret.

After all, there's nothing to regret; everything was destined.

Therefore, it was clear that, on the surface, that was the closest Xiaohu ever came to the championship.

But he didn't really take it too seriously.

But this year is really different.

He really believed he could win.

Even though they had only just made it to the semifinals, Xiaohu had a gut feeling.
"Shimamura".

"Ok?"

"I feel that if we win the next game, we'll basically have the championship."

When Xiaohu suddenly said this to her, Shimamura Yuna was still a little confused about what was going on.

She paused for a moment, then gave an awkward laugh: "Really? But aren't there GENG or BLG coming up later?"

But Xiaohu shook his head: "No, I just have a gut feeling that T1 and GENG look like a number one seed and a number four seed, respectively, and there seems to be a big difference between them. But actually, in the World Championship, T1's strength has always been at the number one seed level." "If we can beat T1, then we will definitely beat GENG after that."

Xiaohu's statement doesn't seem to make much sense.

But it reveals a strong sense of confidence.

As someone who has dealt with failures for many years, his spirit and temperament were quite unexpected for Shimamura Yuna.

So, Shimamura Yuna just smiled and didn't pour cold water on the idea.

"Let's assume that if we beat T1, we can beat GENG."

So, give it your all, okay?

Xiaohu said to Shimamura Yuna very seriously: "Actually, it's not a big deal for you even if you don't win the championship this year. You have a long career ahead of you. With your strength, winning the world championship may really just be a matter of time."

"This game is already on the decline. There won't be as many geniuses or as many players anymore. The era of brilliant stars is over."

"You might be the last star of this game. So, for you, winning the championship might not be difficult; it's just a matter of time."

Yuna Shimamura muttered under her breath, "No, well, saying it's only a matter of time before they win the championship sounds a bit ominous."

Reminded by Shimamura Yuna, Xiaohu realized that what he had just said might have been a bit off-putting, and couldn't help but laugh.

Then, his expression quickly became serious again.

"I'm serious, I genuinely believe that even if you don't win the championship this year, you'll win it sooner or later."

"Your age, your commercial value, and your media attention will ensure you have access to the best resources for the next decade. Whether it's teammates or the team, your choices are limitless."

In other words, as long as you can maintain your composure, winning the championship is truly just a matter of time.

"But I'm different."

At this point, Xiao Hu's face revealed a sense of helplessness.

"My performance this year has declined significantly compared to last year. I don't know if I will suddenly lose the ability to continue playing professionally at some point."

"This year is very likely my last chance. If I can win a world championship at this age, I will be very grateful to you. Really."

Xiaohu spoke to her so earnestly about these seemingly serious topics that Shimamura Yuna was momentarily at a loss for words.

Despite having joined WBG for a month, Shimamura Yuna has yet to have any in-depth communication with any of her teammates.

She hadn't considered what this competition meant to anyone other than herself.

Hearing Tiger say these things to me suddenly made me feel a little uneasy.

indeed
Although the phrase "I must consider whether this is the only opportunity I will ever have in my life" is considered the bible of the League of Legends esports world.

But in reality, not every opportunity that seems like a once-in-a-lifetime chance will actually be one.

In fact, even when opportunities are equally close at hand, their significance varies from person to person.

At least, compared to Xiaohu, I have more opportunities to come back to this stage.

If you miss this year, maybe next year will come.

But for Xiaohu, this year is most likely his last chance.

Maybe I won't win the championship this year.

Then, even ten years later, he still hadn't won a championship.

At that time, I will also sigh, "This year is the only chance I have in my life, this is my last year."

But that's something for the future.

But for Xiaohu, that's not the future, it's the present.

Yuna Shimamura didn't want to say things like, "I will definitely help you win the championship."

Promises are heavy things.

It's not something you can just say off the cuff.

She wasn't confident that she could help Xiaohu win the championship this year; she just felt it was a high-probability event.

She wasn't sure if she would still be teammates with Xiaohu next year, the year after, or the year after that.

Her intuition told her that if WBG wanted to improve their performance, they would most likely strengthen their roster.

Will Xiaohu be retained when the team is strengthened?

Don't know, not sure.

Moreover, it remains uncertain whether she will renew her contract with WBG next year.

It was only a short-term contract to begin with.

What if I come up with a new idea later?
In summary.

"I will definitely help you win the championship" is just an empty promise.

She doesn't have the courage to keep her promise, so she won't say it.

But
“If this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you, Tiger,” Shimamura Yuna said, her expression turning serious. “Then I will face this competition with my most focused and serious attitude.”

"I will try my best to make this competition without any regrets. At least when I look back on the result, I will feel that whether it was good or bad, it was the best I could do at the time."

Even if you feel that the result wasn't the best at the time, you still gave it your all in the process.

Xiao Hu laughed: "That's very much in your style."

"Then I won't let you down. Although I'm already this age, sometimes it's not that I can do everything I want; feeling powerless is the norm."

"However, I don't want to wait until I retire to regret not seizing this year with the best opportunity."

After saying this, Xiao Hu turned around, returned to his seat, and continued practicing.

The hope that was within reach made everyone feel even cleaner.

Wanting to grasp the light.
The T1 vs KT match then took place as scheduled.

Just like the plot of every year before.

T1 often has various less-than-ideal performances during the league season.

Every time the World Championship approaches, he seems to stumble and perform poorly.

A team that won two consecutive world championships in two years always looked like a complete disaster before entering the world championship.

However, once they enter the World Championship, this team is different.

As the third seed, KT should theoretically be stronger than the fourth seed, T1, after entering the World Championship.

However, it wasn't until the two teams actually faced off in the quarterfinals that we knew who truly reigned supreme in the World Championship.

That's right, T1 has once again made it to the semifinals.

Although the score was only 3-2, it didn't seem like a complete rout.
However, it should be noted that the four LCK seed teams are not actually that much different in strength.

It's unlikely that WBG could achieve a very high win rate against other teams in the LPL.

Basically, any two teams playing against each other have a fairly high probability of winning.

The outcome was decided by some very subtle differences.

T1 is the team that always has a slight edge over other teams in the details.

(End of this chapter)