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

"This is the closest we've ever come to terms with our actions."

Xiao Yan's voice wasn't loud, and it was mostly drowned out by the faint sobs and noise in the arena, but to Uzi's ears, it was like a thunderclap from a clear sky.

Uzi's grip on Xiao Yan's hand suddenly stiffened.

He raised his head, his bloodshot eyes, swollen from prolonged intense concentration, staring intently at the new starting AD carry for SKT, who was a few years younger than him.

Sweat streamed down Uzi's round cheeks, dripping onto his black and gold RNG jersey. He was breathing heavily, his chest heaving.

The smallest gap ever?

What does this sentence mean?

Is this mocking him for not being able to change the outcome of a team wipe even if he maxed out his skills, dodged fatal crowd control, and forcibly traded kills with the jungler and crippled the mid laner?

Uzi gave Xiao Yan a deep look.

In those eyes, there was resentment, anger, and humiliation, but not despair.

As the uncrowned king of the LPL, he has experienced too many defeats, but he has never been defeated.

"You're even more arrogant than me." Uzi gritted his teeth, his voice squeezed out from between his teeth, "But in esports, the one who laughs last laughs best. This time our roster was outmatched, but next season, this won't happen again."

Xiao Yan smiled noncommittally and gently withdrew his hand.

"I'm looking forward to it."

He didn't say anything more and turned to follow the SKT team.

The dim spotlight shone on Xiao Yan's back, making the "SKT T1 Xiao Yan" ID on the back of his team uniform stand out starkly.

Watching Xiao Yan's departing figure, Uzi collapsed back into his gaming chair, utterly exhausted. He stared at the dim screen, covered his face with his hands, and remained motionless for a long time.

……

Back in the backstage lounge, the atmosphere at SKT was completely different from the deathly silence outside.

"Nice! You played brilliantly!" Coach Koma patted each player on the shoulder.

Faker adjusted his black-rimmed glasses. "Uzi's individual skill is undeniable, but League of Legends is a five-player game. Their system is too distorted."

"Alright, forget about them. Let's pack up and head back to the hotel. We've won big today, so I'll treat everyone to barbecue tonight!" Kouma waved his hand.

Just as the SKT team was celebrating their victory, a storm was brewing online.

Just ten minutes after the match ended, major esports forums, online communities, and Weibo trending topics were completely abuzz with the devastating sweep.

In particular, the post-match rating section of Hupu Esports has become a dumping ground for countless emotional outbursts.

Without a doubt, Xiao Yan's rating has once again hit a new low.

【Yan】

Rating for this match: 2.1 points

Player reviews:

[Hot Comment 1]: You won the game but lost your character! What's with all the arrogance? You're just showing off because of your mid-jungle advantage. What are you anyway without Faker?

[Hot Comment 2]: The smug look on someone's face is disgusting. Don't forget you're Chinese. To attack your own compatriots so ruthlessly within a South Korean team—you're a traitor!

[Hot Comment 3]: You call this the world's best AD? In the third game, weren't you pinned under the tower by Uzi and unable to even farm? If RNG's top, mid, and jungle hadn't been so terrible, you would have been riddled with holes by Uzi!

[Hot Comment 4]: Even 2.1 points is too much, I suggest they just get out of the e-sports circle.

Looking at the vile insults on his phone screen, Xiao Yan, sitting in the back of the bus, couldn't help but chuckle.

"What's wrong? Why are you laughing so happily?" Wolf, who was sitting next to Xiao Yan, leaned over and curiously glanced at Xiao Yan's phone screen. He now understood some Chinese.

"You got criticized by netizens in your country again?" Wolf patted Xiao Yan on the shoulder sympathetically. "Don't take it to heart. Those people are just jealous of you. You have a very high reputation on our Korean forums right now."

"Jealousy? No, they just desperately need an outlet after their faith collapsed." Xiao Yan locked his phone screen and looked out the car window at the dazzling night view of Wuhan.

Sure enough, as time went on, the online public opinion began to undergo a strange shift.

After a brief period of devastation and lamentation, the royalists quickly regrouped and launched an unprecedented campaign of "purge" and "deification."

On Weibo, Tieba, and NGA, a unified sentence began to flood the screen:

RNG lost, but Uzi didn't!

This slogan was like a shot in the arm, instantly igniting the fighting spirit of countless royal fans.

They started using magnifying glasses to analyze the match footage frame by frame, word by word, trying to prove Uzi's flawlessness.

"Are you guys blind? In the third game, Uzi's Tristana managed to trade kills with the jungler and cripple Faker in that desperate situation. Who else could pull off that? If it were Xiao Yan, he would have died eight hundred times over!"

"Exactly! RNG lost because their tactics were outdated, and because their top, mid, and jungle players were incompetent! Letme played Maokai like a block of wood, Xiaohu did absolutely no damage, and Mlxg just mindlessly fed! Four control wards were used to protect one carry, and even that carry did his best, but the teammates were terrible!"

"Can't you see how badly Uzi dominated Xiao Yan in lane? SKT relies entirely on team strategy; in terms of individual skill, Uzi will always be a god!"

"I feel sorry for Dogzi. These four teammates really don't deserve him. They should get a better top, mid, and jungler next year. He just can't carry the team."

For a time, the entire LPL esports scene was engulfed in a chaotic war of words. Aside from RNG fans frantically whitewashing Uzi and blaming his teammates, fans of other teams were relentlessly mocking RNG's "four-protect-one" strategy and the behavior of RNG fans.

"He boasts wildly when he wins, and shifts the blame when he loses. He truly lives up to his title of Pure Emperor."

"The 'Department Chief' is back online again. You guys have ruined your teammates' careers."

"Classic RNG lost, but Uzi didn't. So, when the Nexus exploded, Uzi was taking a bath in the fountain, right?"

The internet is in an uproar, but for the person at the center of the storm, the upcoming matches are the key to their fate.

With RNG being swept by SKT, their points in the group stage have become extremely precarious.

The standings in Group C are currently very complex. SKT has already secured first place in the group and qualified for the next round, while RNG and C9 are very close in points.

The next match will directly determine RNG's fate.

C9 vs. Rabbit Team

The outcome of this match is extremely delicate. If C9 defeats RNG, their points will directly surpass RNG's. RNG will be eliminated in the group stage, suffering a humiliating defeat!

For all LPL viewers who are not RNG fans, and for the global gossip-loving masses, at this moment, they are all C9's long-time fans.

"C9, charge! The pride of North America! Send that disgusting team home!"

"Kill Sneaky, the cross-dressing master! If you beat the Rabbit Team, you'll be my god!"

"Let the Royal Never Give Up fans experience what despair truly means! Go C9!"

The entire internet's attention has been focused on this European and American battle, which originally didn't garner much attention.

On the day of the match, the Wuhan Gymnasium was once again packed to capacity.

When the players from C9 and Team Rabbit took the stage, a very strange cheer erupted from the audience.

That wasn't cheering for either team, but rather anticipating the downfall of one of them.