Two days later, SKT ended their trip to Jeju Island and returned to Seoul for their final preparations.
On the 2nd of October, the qualifiers officially began. SKT took the time to watch the first match of the qualifiers, CG against UOL from the Commonwealth of Independent States.
It had to be said that the teams in the qualifiers had limited skills. Even CG, the third seed from North America, and UOL, who were once part of the LCS, were ridiculously strong in Li Xu's eyes. Although there were occasional highlights, many of the players' basic skills were not solid enough. All sorts of mistakes were made, and it was hard to explain.
In a competition to see who was worse, CG lost to UOL unexpectedly. Li Xu did not know where Huni got the confidence to say that he wanted to beat him.
He was not interested in watching the rest of the match, so he buried himself in the game.
Usually, the first and second seeds of the S Tournament would arrive at the competition venue before the start of the tournament to practice with teams from other divisions. This was to understand the playstyles of the other divisions, so that they would not be caught off guard in the international tournament.
It was the same this year. Many teams left for Europe early, but SKT chose to stay at the training ground. They even streamed the qualifiers.
The outside world was full of doubts about SKT's approach. It was S9, and every year, the champion would come from the division with the deepest understanding of the version. SKT did not go to Europe to practice with teams from other divisions. Instead, they trained behind closed doors at home. How could they hope to win the championship?
Last year, RNG and FW had also practiced together behind closed doors. In the end, one of the brothers fell in the group stage, while the other fell in the quarterfinals. This was enough to explain the problem.
Of course, even though many people were pressuring them, the entire SKT team continued to do as they pleased.
'If you're all pressuring us, why don't you send us a plane ticket?'
In fact, practice matches were good for a team to improve their playstyle and the players' competitive state. However, there were drawbacks when playing against direct competitors.
Everything in practice matches, including playstyle, tactics, and heroes, were trade secrets. Practice matches could improve the players' condition, but at the same time, sensitive information such as tactics could be leaked to the opponent.
Therefore, most teams would deliberately hide their tactics during practice matches. Teams that were too direct would generally be at a disadvantage.
For example, TSM, who used to be an honest and straightforward player, realized that SKT was easy to beat up in the mock competition. However, when it came to the official competition, SKT showed their true strength and pummeled them to the ground. Only then did they realize that they had been tricked.
Another example was LCK's team. Before the S7 World Championship, Longzhu had played against SSG many times in training matches, and they were able to maintain a winning record.
However, after the group matches, the hot favorite Longzhu was happily defeated by SSG with a 3: 0 score.
At that time, Long Zhu's jungler, Cuzz, had been thoroughly arranged by the cunning Sect Leader An. From his jungling route to his gank habits, it was obvious that Sect Leader An had seen through Cuzz during the mock competition. At the crucial moment, he had played a trick on Cuzz.
During the mock competition, he had been submissive, waiting for the actual competition.
However, this time, SKT did not choose to travel to Europe to communicate with other teams. It was not because they were afraid that their tactics would be leaked to their opponents. After all, SKT's tactics were not complicated. However, their opponents would not be able to handle them. First of all, there were not many top laners who could withstand Li Xu's pressure in the first lane.
The reason why SKT did not travel to Europe to participate in the mock competition was because it would not be meaningful if their opponents were too weak. Moreover, strong teams would not reveal their true strength before the official competition.
After all, SKT was considered to be the strongest contender for the championship. Teams that were aiming for the championship would have something up their sleeves to deal with SKT.
Therefore, instead of fooling around with their opponents, it was better to stay at the training ground and participate in the mock competition.
… ….
7th of October, evening, Seoul University.
Li Xu and Lin Yuqing walked side by side on the green path of the campus. Both of them were leisurely eating ice cream. The dim yellow lights beside them elongated their shadows.
Li Jiu scooped up ice cream and stuffed it into his mouth as he rambled on and on, "Hey!
"Lin Yuqing, I'll be leaving with my teammates tomorrow. Call me if you need anything. You have to eat properly when you're alone. Don't just make do …"
Lin Yuqing found it funny. "Didn't I do the same when I was alone? Besides, I'll be there a few days later anyway. Why do you look like you're going to be away for a long time? "
Li Xu chuckled. The corners of his mouth were covered with cream. "After tomorrow, won't we be separated by half a world? That's more like it. "
"You're right."
Lin Yuqing rolled her eyes at him and gently pulled him back. "Wait."
"What's wrong?"
Lin Yuqing stood in front of him and carefully wiped his clothes with a tissue. "How old are you? Why are you still eating like a child? It's fine if you eat all the way to your mouth, but look at how you're eating all the way to your collar. "
Li Xu looked at Lin Yuqing's serious expression. He couldn't help but lower his head and quickly kiss her cheek. The white cream stained her delicate face.
"Hey! Why don't you wipe your mouth clean? "Lin Yuqing complained while wiping her face.
But, to her surprise, right after she wiped the cream off her face, Li Xu suddenly kissed her other cheek and smeared the cream on it. After that, he turned around and ran away.
"Haha! I won't wipe it off. "
Lin Yuqing felt funny and helpless looking at Li Xu who ran a few steps away. While wiping her face clean, she waved the ice cream in her hand. "Li Xu, I can't finish it. Help me finish the rest."
"Okay, I was just thinking that it wasn't enough."
Li Xu walked over and took the ice cream in her hand. Lin Yuqing immediately hugged his waist. "Let's see where you're going."
Li Xu realized that something was wrong. He was holding two ice creams in each hand. Now, he didn't dare to move, for fear that he would smear the cream on Lin Yuqing.
Lin Yuqing smiled and tickled Li Xu's waist. Li Xu twisted his waist stiffly and turned the tables.
"Aiya! Okay, okay, Lin Yuqing, why are you so childish? "
Lin Yuqing was used to Li Xu's shamelessness. She didn't tease him anymore and tidied his messy clothes.
"Li Xu."
"Yes."
"You have to work hard. If you can win the championship this time, I will reward you."
Li Xu was very interested. "Really? What's the reward? "
Lin Yuqing blinked. "Guess?"
Li Xu rolled his eyes and smiled. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Are you going to wear beautiful clothes for me to see?"
"Ah! Why are you so wretched? "Lin Yuqing pinched his waist angrily.
Li Xu held up the ice cream in both hands. "How am I wretched?"
"You know."
"I don't know."
"Are you still pretending?"
"I'm not pretending."
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