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

Under the spotlight of the Wuhan Sports Center, the air seemed to freeze for a moment, then was torn apart by Miller's shrill exclamation from the commentary booth.

"Vayne?! My God! SKT's last pick is Vayne, the Night Hunter, for Xiao Yan?!"

On the big screen, the image of a ruthless hunter wearing sunglasses and holding a giant crossbow suddenly lit up and locked onto the target, causing an uproar throughout the venue.

"Top lane Vayne? Against Cho'Gath?" PDD took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, then put them back on, his face full of disbelief. "Is this...is this ranked? Has SKT completely let loose?"

Wawa chuckled wryly, a hint of helplessness in his voice: "To be honest, if this were ranked, I'd say this Vayne is just smurfing. But this is a professional match, and the opponent is Impact's Cho'Gath! Even if this champion dies a few times, he can still bite you to death in a team fight and you won't be able to do anything about it. Xiao Yan's choice... it seems SKT is just here to have fun today."

The live stream chat exploded instantly, with dense text covering the entire screen like snowflakes.

[Hahaha! Vayne top lane! This kid really dares to pick that!]

[This is clearly a sign they don't want to win! SKT is so calculating!]

[RNG fans, speak up! Are you panicking when you see this Vayne?]

If they can beat C9, I'll do a handstand while washing my hair!

Is this SKT's strategy? To take down RNG without firing a shot?

Impact grinned, "This is a free win, isn't it?"

At this moment, however, SKT's voice channel was filled with joy and peace.

"Oh—Vayne!" Bang whistled, his tone full of schadenfreude. "Xiao Yan, are you paying homage to Uzi? But you're going top lane, be careful you don't get eaten to pieces by Impact."

"Don't worry." Xiao Yan adjusted the runes, a faint smile playing on his lips. "It's just fighting a big bug; anyone can do it."

Faker pushed up his glasses, looked at Yasuo on his screen, and said casually, "Hasaga."

Game start.

This match is destined to be recorded in the history of the "most fun match" of S7.

From the very first team fight, SKT displayed an exceptional talent for "performance." Wolf's Rakan inexplicably flashed and used his W to launch himself into the air, giving up First Blood. Immediately afterward, Faker's Yasuo used his E to dash forward recklessly in the mid lane, happily weaving between the minion waves, before being ganked and killed by C9's mid laner Jensen and their jungler.

"Oh dear! Faker was a bit careless this time." Miller tried to smooth things over, but the embarrassment in his voice was impossible to hide. "Sang-hyeok's Yasuo was fun, but a little... too fun."

But once on the road, it was a completely different story.

Contrary to expectations, Xiao Yan's Vayne wasn't completely dominated by Cho'Gath. Instead, through masterful kiting and precise distance control, he managed to keep Impact pinned under the tower, preventing him from last-hitting minions.

Whenever the giant bug tries to stomp the ground (Q skill), Xiao Yan can always easily dodge it with a roll using the Q skill, and then immediately unleash a three-hit combo to deal true damage.

"Wasn't this a throw-in?" C9's jungler Contractz stared blankly at the Cho'Gath who was down 20 CS in the top lane. "Impact, are you alright?"

Impact smiled and shook his head. "It's nothing. It seems Xiao Yan wants to test the strength of Vayne in the top lane."

After speaking, Impact's eyes showed a hint of seriousness.

Individual skill is insignificant in the face of a team's "collapse".

Ten minutes later, Peanut's Lee Sin attempted a Dragon's Rage, but ended up kicking the full-health Cho'Gath into the face of the low-health Faker. Impact tearfully secured Faker's kill, and his size increased even further.

Fifteen minutes in, Bang's Ezreal used his E to attack directly, but was instantly killed by C9's focused fire.

Twenty minutes in, C9 grouped up and pushed mid. Xiao Yan's Vayne had decent equipment, but with his teammates completely collapsing and the enemy Cho'Gath's ultimate ability becoming overwhelming, he was powerless to turn the tide.

Ultimately, after an extremely chaotic and dramatic team fight, SKT's base crystal was destroyed by C9.

"Congratulations to C9!" Wawa shouted, his tone complex. "They defeated the mighty SKT! They've secured this precious point!"

Despite losing the match, the SKT players' bench was filled with laughter and jubilation. Faker, looking at his 0-5-2 Yasuo score, even managed a rare smile; Bang was laughing so hard he was doubled over, as if they had won the game.

The online world has already been thrown into turmoil.

[SKT loses to C9, RNG's chances of advancing are in jeopardy!]

This phrase instantly rose to the top of the trending searches.

The royal supporters were completely devastated, and there was widespread lamentation on various forums and online communities.

[It's all over! SKT really threw the game! This Vayne top and Yasuo mid pick was clearly just feeding the enemy team!]

[This is disgusting! The South Korean team has no sportsmanship!]

This is blatant targeting! They don't want two LPL teams to advance!

Is Uzi going to be eliminated in the round of 16 this year? I'm so upset!

I think SKT did this on purpose, afraid that RNG making it to the knockout stage would threaten them!

In stark contrast, EDG fans (the "pig offal") and WE fans ("60E") were celebrating.

On Baidu Tieba, all sorts of sarcastic and sarcastic posts are popping up everywhere:

[Oh dear, will some of the teams that claim to be the "world's best ADCs" not even make it out of the group stage?]

[Hilarious! They were making such a big fuss about it before, saying it was the most promising year, but now they have to depend on other people's opinions?]

[SKT did a great job! That's what you call tactics! That's what you call winning without bloodshed!]

If EDG and WE both advance, and RNG goes home, the scene is too beautiful to bear!

[Royal fans, stop yelling. Being bad is the original sin. You're blaming SKT for throwing the game because you didn't perform well?]

This atmosphere of mockery and schadenfreude left RNG fans both angry and desperate, yet powerless to refute it. After all, their fate was now in the hands of others.

……

In the lounge.

The atmosphere was even more relaxed than after winning the game.

Coach Koma looked at this group of "actors" and shook his head helplessly, too lazy to even say a word of reprimand. After all, this win or loss was insignificant to SKT, and they could also annoy their potential rival RNG along the way, so why not?

"Aigoo, that Yasuo was really fun." Faker stretched, took off his glasses and wiped them. "Even though we lost, it was a lot of fun."

"Bro, is that happiness? That's just giving it away," Peanut complained from the side, holding a bottle of yogurt in his hand. "But to be fair, those guys from C9 are probably laughing their heads off, thinking they're invincible."

Huni had another idea. Looking at Bang, he rubbed his hands together. "Bro, let me play AD next game. I want to experience what it feels like to be protected by everyone."

Hehehe~~

Everyone smiled with relief upon hearing Huni's words.

At that moment, Peanut, who had been scrolling through his phone, suddenly looked up, a sly glint in his eyes.

"Brother," Peanut leaned closer to Xiao Yan and asked in a low voice, "Seriously, if we weren't acting and just playing normally, what do you think your chances would be against C9's top laner, Impact?"

Xiao Yan was slightly taken aback, then thought about it seriously.

"Let's split it 30/70," Xiao Yan calmly replied.

"So confident?" Bang raised an eyebrow. "You're seven, he's three?"

"Hmm." Xiao Yan nodded confidently. "If it's a typical top lane matchup, I'm confident I can whittle him down while he's farming. If it's a fighter duel, I can kill him at level three."

There was a moment of silence in the lounge upon hearing those words.

Xiao Yan wasn't joking; he was actually serious!

Peanut stared into Xiao Yan's eyes for a few seconds, and after confirming that he was not joking, a bright, even somewhat "evil" smirk suddenly appeared on his face.

"Since that's the case..." Peanut turned to look at Kkoma and Faker, "Bro, how about we have some more fun in the next game?"

"One more round of fun?" Koma looked at Peanut warily. "What are you planning?"

"Since Brother Xiao Yan is so confident, why don't we go all out?" Peanut pointed to the tactics board. "Next game, let's pick an even more abstract lineup. Let C9 think we're still messing around, and let RNG fans completely despair. Then..."

Peanut paused, his gaze shifting to Xiao Yan:

"Let Xiao Yan go top lane first and crush Impact. The rest of us won't feed like we did last game. Let's play steadily and give RNG fans a little something to look forward to."

Faker's eyes lit up after hearing this: "That sounds... very interesting."

Wolf chuckled, "I agree! I'll be happy as long as I can see those people break down."

Xiao Yan looked at his teammates who seemed to thrive on chaos and sighed helplessly, but he couldn't suppress the smile on his lips.

……

Soon, the second match began.

After the draft phase ended, all eyes in the world were on SKT's champion selection screen.

RNG fans clasped their hands together, praying that SKT would act like human beings and play a good game.

The C9 players looked relaxed and even joked in voice chat, discussing where to go for a late-night snack to celebrate qualifying for the next round.

However, when SKT's first three picks were finalized, everyone was stunned.

First pick, Faker instantly locked in Master Yi, the Wuju Bladesman.

"Master Yi mid?!" Miller's voice trembled. "What is Faker trying to do? Is he paying homage to Bronze-level games?"

For the second pick, Peanut locked in Ezreal as the jungler.

"EZ jungle? That's too..." Wawa was at a loss for words. "EZ jungle is playable this patch, but paired with Master Yi mid? Does this mid and jungle even have any crowd control? Are they going to farm forever?"

Third pick: Wolf locks in Bounty Hunter, Miss Fortune.

"Miss Fortune support?" PDD scratched his head. "Is this a throwback to Season 6? But the AD carry hasn't even been released yet!"

At this point, RNG fans were already feeling quite disheartened.

It's all over.

SKT has completely given up on winning.

[Master Yi mid, Ezreal jungle, Miss Fortune support... This lineup is as fragile as paper, no crowd control, no frontline, how can we win?]

C9 is about to win again; RNG is really going home.

[The entire C9 team must be laughing their heads off! This is practically an easy win for them!]

C9 was definitely laughing their heads off. Looking at the opposing team's lineup, Impact couldn't help but taunt in the voice chat, "Are they playing ARAM? If that's the case, then I won't hold back."

C9 countered with an extremely solid lineup: Shen top, Jarvan IV jungle, Syndra mid, and Tristana and Lulu bot. It had control, tankiness, and burst damage.

By any measure, SKT is destined to lose this game.

It was SKT's turn to make their last two picks.

Bang locked in—the demolition genius, Giggs.

"Zap to the bot lane?" The commentators were already dumbfounded. "An all-AP lineup? Is SKT going for an all-poke strategy? But the enemy team has Shen and Jarvan IV, who are strong engage champions!"

Xiao Yan glanced at the draft and was stunned. He realized that this time, that hero had actually been released.

I chuckled and decisively chose it.

Finally, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Xiao Yan's top laner icon lit up.

It was a ghost wielding a spear, wearing a green cloak, and sporting a vengeful mask.

Kalista, the Spear of Vengeance.

The moment the profile picture was locked, the entire Wuhan Sports Center fell into a deathly silence, followed by a cacophony loud enough to lift the roof off.

"Skateboard shoes top lane?!"

"SKT, on the red side, surprisingly didn't ban Kalista!"

"And C9 hasn't even chosen Kalista yet. Did they plan this all along?"

Miller's voice cracked completely. He jumped up, hands gripping the commentary booth, his face flushed: "My God! Has SKT gone mad? Five squishy champions! Not a single frontliner! And the top laner is a marksman! What kind of insane lineup is this?!"

"This is the legendary... five-core lineup?" The doll was stunned. "This lineup has a negative margin for error, right? If you get trapped by Jarvan IV or taunted by Shen, you're doomed!"

The live stream chat completely crashed.

[Abstract! Too abstract!]

Is SKT paying homage to the "tanking teams" in ranked games?

[Royal fans, is it windy on the rooftop?]

If C9 loses this game, I'll eat my keyboard on stream!

[This lineup can win? I'll swallow my computer screen!]

RNG fans are in utter despair.

Looking at this seemingly randomly selected lineup, they could almost see the announcement that RNG had been eliminated.

On C9's battle seat.

"This game's in the bag, guys." C9's mid laner Jensen whistled. "Looks like even God wants us to advance."

The loading screen for the match has finished, and Summoner's Rift has begun.

The five members of SKT, having bought their gear, rushed out of the fountain with cheerful steps.

Move online.

Impact's Shen walked steadily to the lane, ready to endure the pressure, farm minions, and wait for the jungler as usual.

However, he soon discovered that the script was wrong.

One level.

Instead of controlling the lane like a typical AD carry, Xiao Yan crossed the minion wave and stood right in front of Shen.

Basic attack, jump. Basic attack, jump.

With each basic attack, Kalista's figure would shift a short distance like a ghost.

Impact tried to scratch with his Q skill, but Xiao Yan easily dodged it with a sidestep and then stabbed him with a spear.

"So fierce..." Impact frowned, sensing something was off.

Secondary.

Peanut's Ezreal didn't go to farm jungle camps; instead, he went straight to the top lane bush with the buff.

"Is this what you call happiness?" Peanut grinned mischievously. "Level two ganking, isn't that fun enough?"

Impact realized the danger and tried to retreat, but he was already surrounded by Xiao Yan's spears.

E skill - Tear!

puff!

Shen's health dropped significantly instantly, and he was slowed down.

Peanut's Ezreal jumped out and landed a precise Q skill.

First Blood!

A blood is born!

"So fast?!" Miller exclaimed from the commentary booth, "Peanut ganked top at level two, is he not going to throw the game?"