Although they did not perform well in the group stages of this year's World Championship, SSK Team was still the strongest contender for the championship trophy. In the eyes of the outside world, SSK Team still had a high chance of defending their title.
But at the same time, because SSK's performance so far was not as good as in previous years, SSK and even the Korean LCK were no longer the only contender in this year's World Finals.
Under the stage lights, other strong contenders for the World Finals also appeared.
Among them was Autumn, who was ranked second in the Yonkō (Four Emperors), and Season, who won the World Finals last year.
This also included Team Fate, who had eliminated Assassin and Minx consecutively in the death group this year and advanced to the next stage as the second team in the group.
KG, who had been placed in the same group as SSK in the group stages, and had almost forced SSK into a dangerous situation in both matches.
Of course, Legend and MLG in the European region were not to be underestimated either.
But —
Even though there were so many top-tier teams that had the strength to compete for the championship trophy, there was only one team that could pose a fatal threat to SSK, which was publicly acknowledged by all the players and professional commentators to be the biggest threat to SSK.
And that was the top seed of the LPL, God- Hand of God.
And today was the first match of the quarterfinals.
Today was the first match of the quarterfinals.
It was a match between Team God and Team MLG.
Therefore, for the netizens watching the official livestream channels of the various streaming platforms, they did not find it strange to see the members of SSK here today. In fact, it was a matter of course —
That's right.
SSK's performance this year has not been as good as last year's.
Moreover, so far in the World Finals, the top seed of our LPL, Team God, has displayed the most domineering performance and momentum. They have even outshone SSK.
They could not beat you last year.
But this year, Team God has returned with a brand new attitude. It's finally time for the high and mighty SSK to panic, isn't it?
The majority of the netizens could not help but be excited. Instead, they were not the least bit worried about the match that was about to begin.
Playing MLG …
Are you not panicking at all?
Long before today, they had already heard the detailed analysis and evaluation from many different retired players, professional commentators, and streamers through various channels and methods. Although MLG was the number one seeded team in the European region this year, they had met Team God. It was like they were the natural nemesis of MLG.
In terms of overall ability, MLG's tactics, operations, and coordination were all inferior to God.
Spoon, who was the core midlaner, was also slightly inferior to the top midlaner "Star Emperor" Morning Star, who was also the core midlaner.
It just so happened that MLG's bottom lane was their weakness, and God's bottom lane's Barren Snow Nightsong was the other core carry in Team God, almost on par with Morning Star at Dawn.
After a series of comparisons.
They couldn't see any possibility of Team God losing!
In the audience, Ceng Rui, Li Shiyi, Lin Feng, and the others were also discussing the upcoming match.
"If it was before yesterday, God's condition might have been a little worrying."
"However —"
Li Shiyi paused and let out a heartfelt sigh.
"It's really because of Senior Number One's words last night. They had such an effect."
Ceng Rui nodded solemnly.
"Yeah."
"If they had completely adjusted their mentality, Team God would definitely win today's matchup!"
At the same time, on the China commentary platform, the three official commentators, Old Mi, Mo Sheng, and Fei Yan, were also analyzing the upcoming quarterfinal matchup. Although they were undoubtedly on Team God's side, the three still tried to be as objective as possible in their evaluation of MLG.
"We can say that Team God has a high chance of winning this matchup, but we can't underestimate them."
"Yes. After all, MLG is the number one seeded team in this year's LCS region. Their strength and condition might even be slightly better than Legend."
"And as one of Europe's top seven king-tier midlaners, MLG's Spoon's individual strength should not be underestimated. The highlight of this matchup might be the confrontation between the two players in the middle lane. If Spoon has a certain advantage, then Team God will still be at risk."
The same opinion was being shared by the Western and American commentators on the official commentary platform.
Below the stage, in the front rows of the audience, the players and members of the various Clubs all nodded slightly in agreement.
They acknowledged the strength of Team God.
They also acknowledged Morning Star's strength.
But after all, the matchup between the top midlaners could not be concluded just by theoretical research on paper. Even if Spoon's ability was slightly inferior to Morning Star's, if they really fought … the outcome might not be decided so soon.
Only Lin Feng, who was sitting in the front row with his companions, still had an indifferent expression on his face.
The analysis of the commentators on the platform —
It couldn't be said that they were wrong.
As an old rival, he was well aware of Spoon's strength.
But it was precisely because of this that he could make a more certain judgment.
Today's matchup.
MLG and Spoon would lose without a doubt.
…
At nine o 'clock sharp.
The first group of best-of-five matches of the quarter-finals had officially begun.
In the arena on the platform, the ten players of Team God and MLG took their seats in front of their respective computer screens.
In the arena of Team God, several of the main players were taking deep breaths to adjust their state. Huangxue Nightsong looked at the noisy audience and twitched the corner of his mouth.
"Tsk, we're firing the first shot in the quarter-finals —"
"No matter what, we should at least get the LPL division off to a good start, right?"
As soon as he said that.
The other Team God members cheered up and responded one after another. Their morale gradually rose.
Morning Star, who was sitting in the midlaner seat in front of the computer screen, closed his eyes slightly and then slowly opened them. The gaze in his eyes suddenly became sharp and bright.
"So …"
"Let's show them."
"The true form of God- Hand of God!"
The next moment.
The entire Team God roared in agreement.
At the same time, accompanied by the cheers of the audience, the BAN selection interface of the first best-of-five match appeared on the giant LCD screen on the platform. The match officially began.
A full three and a half hours later.
What was even more sensational was the thunderous applause and cheers of the entire Pullman venue, rushing straight to the dome.
A "Victory" emblem slowly appeared in the center of the giant LCD screen on the platform.
It announced the end of the first group of the quarter-finals.
God- Hand of God.
Victory.
Defeating Europe's top seeded team MLG 3 to 0.
Advancing to the semi-finals first!
*****
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