LPL didn't want me? I joined SKT instead!

The night in Wuhan is deep, and the neon lights reflect on the surface of the Yangtze River, creating a shimmering effect.

However, for LPL viewers who have just experienced a rollercoaster of emotions, this is destined to be a sleepless night.

RNG's comeback from the brink of defeat, and Uzi's pentakill that saved the day, sent the entire Chinese esports community into a frenzy.

But in a five-star hotel suite not far from the stadium, the atmosphere of SKT was unusually relaxed, even with a touch of eerie cheerfulness.

In front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, Faker was sitting on a beanbag chair, holding a book in his hand, but his eyes kept drifting to the tactics board in the center of the room.

Huni and Peanut were huddled together watching the match replay on their phones, occasionally letting out strange, ambiguous laughs.

Xiao Yan sat in a gaming chair in the corner, toying with a lighter in his hand. The flame danced on his slender fingertips, reflecting on his calm and unfathomable face.

Bang was the most relaxed one. Ever since accepting the "rotation" system and witnessing Xiao Yan's suffocating dominance on the field, this two-time champion AD seemed to have a huge burden lifted off his shoulders. He was lying in bed, eating snacks and scrolling through Korean social media. Seeing that the posts that used to criticize him had all turned into comments saying "we miss Bang," he couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Bang senior."

Xiao Yan suddenly spoke, breaking the silence in the room.

Bang paused for a moment, still chewing on his potato chips, and mumbled, "Huh? What's wrong, Xiao Yan? Are you hungry? Should we order some midnight snacks?"

Xiao Yan closed his lighter, turned around, and looked calmly at Bang: "In the next match against C9, you'll play ADC."

The room fell silent the moment those words were spoken.

Faker stopped flipping through the book, and Huni and Peanut looked up from their phone screens, staring at Xiao Yan in astonishment.

Bang's eyes widened in surprise. He finally managed to swallow the potato chips and pointed at himself with astonishment, "Me? You mean... I'm going to play ADC? In the next game?"

"Yes." Xiao Yan nodded.

Bang blinked, his first reaction not of excitement, but instinctively waving his hand to decline.

"No, no, no, are you kidding me?" Bang sat up straight, his tone completely devoid of the bitterness of losing his starting position. Instead, it revealed a genuine "couch potato" mentality. "You're on fire right now, and you're the MVP, why would I join in? And to be honest..."

Bang scratched his head, a frank, wry smile on his face: "I think I'd get even more flak if I went up there. Some of your incredible plays are just beyond my capabilities. Watching you dominate from the sidelines is pretty satisfying, really."

He was sincere. As a two-time world champion, Bang had long been satisfied with his achievements. He knew his reaction speed and skill ceiling were no match for this monstrous rookie. With someone carrying the torch, what more could he ask for? Wasn't a comfortable victory the best he could hope for?

"You're too modest, senior." Xiao Yan smiled, stood up and walked to the tactics board. "I'm letting you play not because I don't want to, but because I want to try a different position."

"Shall we change seats?"

Even Coach KkOma poked his head out of the bathroom, looking completely bewildered: "Xiao Yan, what are you talking about? If you're not going to play ADC, what do you want to play? Support? You want Wolf to jungle?"

Wolf rolled his eyes: "Yeah, I'm really good at jungling, but I don't think Xiao Yan can protect me."

Xiao Yan picked up a marker and drew a heavy circle on the "TOP" position that originally belonged to Huni on the tactics board.

"I want to try top lane."

Dead silence.

It was even more utterly silent than before.

A full five seconds passed before Huni let out a strange yell: "Moragu (What did you say?! Bro, are you trying to steal my job?!"

Faker also pushed up his glasses. Although he didn't say anything, his eyes clearly said, "This is unreasonable."

"Why do you suddenly want to go top lane?" Koma looked at Xiao Yan in confusion.

"Brother, you wouldn't be thinking of... hehe."

Huni, as the team's "troublemaker," was most sensitive to this points situation. He suddenly slapped his thigh, his eyes shining like light bulbs:

"Wait a minute! Let me calculate..."

Huni jumped up, ran to the tactical board, picked up another pen, and started drawing.

「我们现在是全胜。C9是2胜2负。RNG现在是3胜2负。如果我们输给C9，C9就变成3胜2负。然后C9后面还有一场打兔子队，那场C9大概率能赢，那就是4胜2负。」

"Then..." Huni turned his head, a wicked grin spreading across his face, "If we win against RNG in the last match, and RNG loses to us, they'll also have a 3-3 record..."

"In that case, RNG will be eliminated immediately!"

Huni became more and more excited as she spoke, her voice trembling slightly: "Wow! This is so exciting! They crushed that overhyped RNG in the group stage? They didn't even let them make it to the quarterfinals?"

Peanut realized what was happening and covered her mouth, chuckling, "This...this is too mean! But it sounds so funny."

Wolf stroked his chin thoughtfully: "If RNG gets eliminated, their fans will definitely be furious."

All eyes were once again focused on Xiao Yan.

That's it!

They thought they had seen through Xiao Yan's "deeper meaning".

The so-called "top lane play" is actually just a smokescreen!

Xiao Yan wanted to lose a match to C9 by "playing around" and giving C9 points, thereby squeezing RNG out of the competition!

After all, if SKT's full-strength lineup loses to C9, they'll be accused of "throwing" or "fixing the game." But if an ADC player suddenly switches to top lane and loses due to "lack of proficiency" or "laning phase collapse," then it seems perfectly reasonable!

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" Huni gave Xiao Yan a thumbs up, his face full of admiration. "Brother, your tactic of using someone else to do your dirty work is ruthless. To destroy RNG, you're even willing to sacrifice your KDA and reputation to play top lane and take the blame?"

Bang suddenly realized what was going on and looked at Xiao Yan with emotion: "Xiao Yan, I didn't expect you to sacrifice so much for the team's strategy. In that case, I'll gladly accept your offer. I'll play ADC in the next game, and I'll 'try my best' to cooperate with you."

Bang emphasized the word "effort," his face clearly saying, "I understand, I understand everything."

Even the usually meticulous Faker's lips twitched slightly, and a sly glint flashed in his eyes.

"If it's for strategic reasons..." Faker pushed up his glasses and said seriously, "I think I need to try Yasuo mid in the next game, or... Master Yi mid? After all, I need to expand my champion pool to prepare for the knockout stage."

"Pfft—" Peanut couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Sang-hyuk hyung, just say you want to have fun."

Kouma looked at his teammates who had already begun to "plot" how to lose gracefully, and helplessly rubbed his forehead.

As a coach, his instinct was to stop this unsportsmanlike behavior. But then he thought, LCK and LPL are mortal enemies, and eliminating one opponent without bloodshed is indeed the optimal solution from a tactical perspective.

Moreover, SKT has already secured their place in the next round, so losing one game is insignificant.

"Ahem." Koma cleared his throat, trying to maintain his coaching authority. "Although... I don't advocate this kind of opportunistic behavior, trying out new tactical systems is indeed part of our preparations. Click to begin the wonderful journey of 'LPL doesn't want me? I'll join SKT instead!' Since Xiao Yan wants to try top lane, let's give it a try. However..."

Koma looked at Xiao Yan with a complicated expression: "Are you sure you want to do this? If you play terribly in the top lane, the online criticism will explode. Those haters will say you're arrogant and courting death."

Xiao Yan found it somewhat amusing to look at everyone's expressions that said, "We all understand, we'll play along."

He did consider trying to sabotage RNG by controlling their score, but that wasn't the main reason.

The main reason is that he really wants to play top lane.

In this meta where top lane warriors are gaining popularity, he got the itch to play. Moreover, he wanted to prove to the world that true "genius" isn't bound by position.

"Coach, seniors," Xiao Yan said with a slight smile, revealing a set of white teeth, "Actually, my top lane is really strong. I'm serious."

"Yes, yes, very strong, very strong." Huni nodded perfunctorily, a mischievous grin on his face. "Brother, don't worry, when the time comes, just pick... um, pick Teemo? Or pick Vayne top lane? Do whatever makes you happy, if we lose it's on me, just say it's because I didn't teach you well."

"I think so too." Bang stretched comfortably. "Then I'll pick Ezreal tomorrow and use Q a few times from behind. I definitely won't steal your thunder."

Faker had already mentally visualized Yasuo's unstoppable E charge, and nodded slightly: "Okay, then I'll reward myself."

Looking at his teammates who didn't take his words seriously at all and were only focused on "acting," Xiao Yan shook his head helplessly.

"Alright then." Xiao Yan shrugged. "I hope you guys won't be scared when the time comes."

……

The next day, at the Wuhan Sports Center.

The highly anticipated second round match of the S7 group stage is between SKT and C9.

In the commentary booth, LPL's top commentators Wawa and Miller, along with special guest PDD, were warming up for the match.

"This match is crucial for C9," Miller analyzed. "If they can beat SKT, their chances of advancing will be much better. But SKT's current form... tsk tsk, it's going to be tough. Especially that Xiao Yan, he's practically a monster."

"That's right." PDD chuckled, rubbing his bald head. "That kid's got some skills. But I heard SKT will be making roster changes today? I wonder if it's true."

Just then, the starting lineups for both sides were displayed on the big screen at the stadium.

The more than 10,000 audience members erupted in gasps of surprise the moment they saw the list.

Then came a deathly silence.

Then, a clamor ten times louder than before erupted once again!

"Holy crap?!" Wawa exclaimed on the commentary stage. "Did I see that right? What... what's going on?"

On the big screen, SKT's lineup was displayed:

TOP: Xiao Yan

JUNGLE: Peanut

MID: Faker

ADC: Bang

SUPPORT: Wolf

"Xiao Yan...top lane?!" Miller's voice trembled. He even took off his glasses to wipe them, thinking he was seeing things. "What is SKT doing? Putting an ADC who was just dominating the bot lane in the top lane? And Bang is back?"

"This...this is the legendary 'swingman'?" PDD's mouth dropped open, his face filled with disbelief. "But this is too much of a swingman! From the bot lane to the top lane? That's a huge leap! Is he going to traverse the entire Summoner's Rift?"

In the live stream room, the barrage of comments instantly flooded in, densely covering the screen.

【？？？？？？？？？？？】

Has SKT gone mad?

[Looking down on C9, huh? Making their AD carry play top lane?]

[Hahaha! It must be because Xiao Yan is too arrogant and insists on playing tricks!]

Is this training exercise or an attempt to humiliate the opponent?

[Oh no, C9 is going to be played like a fool, or SKT is going to crash and burn!]

[RNG fans are furious! Is SKT trying to feed C9 and eliminate RNG? How insidious!]

Some astute netizens have already sensed a conspiracy.

[The comment above is spot on! SKT definitely did it on purpose! They sent Xiao Yan to the top lane to feed, then lost to C9, putting RNG in danger!]

Holy crap! That's ruthless! Is this what tactics are all about?

This is disgusting! They'll do anything to win!

The RNG fans at the scene turned deathly pale. If SKT really did intentionally lose to C9, then RNG's situation would truly be in grave danger.

Amidst the uproar from the crowd, the SKT players took to the stage.

Bang walked at the front with a relaxed smile on his face, and even waved to the fans below the stage.

They looked like they were on vacation.

Xiao Yan, wearing a baggy SKT jersey, walked straight to the far left, to the top lane position.

Huni was sitting in the lounge, watching the screen, a bag of chips in his hand, laughing so hard he was doubled over: "Hahaha! Look at Impact's expression! He's definitely stunned! His former teammate has become his opponent, and a top laner who switched from AD carry to AD carry!"

On C9's battle seat.

Top laner Impact was staring blankly at the opponent's ID.

"Xiao Yan? Top?" Impact took off his headphones and asked his teammate next to him, "System error?"

"No idea, man." C9's jungler Contractz looked equally bewildered. "Maybe they're disrespecting us."

Impact's eyes sharpened instantly. As a former world champion, he had his own pride.

"Disrespect?" Impact scoffed, rubbing his wrist. "Very well. I'll teach him a lesson. Top lane is a long game; no support can save him."

BP begins.

C9 was clearly caught off guard by this move, and all their planned bans against Huni were rendered useless. They could only ban a few strong heroes in the current patch as usual.

It's SKT's turn to select players.

As the red side, SKT has the last counter position.

In the first four player picks, SKT's choices were very... random.

Faker instantly locked in Yasuo.

The crowd cheered.

Bang chose Ezreal.

The entire audience booed.

Peanut picked Lee Sin.

Wolf chose Lo.

Finally, only Xiao Yan, who plays the top lane, hasn't picked a champion yet.

At this point, C9's top laner Impact had already locked in Cho'Gath. This is an extremely solid champion with a very high margin for error, and its late-game tankiness is unmatched.

Clearly, Impact wanted to teach this arrogant newcomer a lesson with his own strength.

"The big bug... is very stable." Miller frowned. "This hero has strong lane sustain, heal, and crowd control. If Xiao Yan doesn't choose a heavy-armored warrior, it will be difficult to persuade him."

"But can Xiao Yan play warriors?" Wawa questioned. "He's an AD (Attack Damage) player."

Just as everyone was speculating about what Xiao Yan would choose, an avatar lit up on the fifth floor of SKT.