From the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, to the Chicago Theatre, to Madison Square Garden in New York.
Starting from September 30th, spanning a month—
Along this journey, there were moments of joy and disappointment, laughter and tears... There were those who cheered and embraced each other under the spotlight, brimming with fighting spirit as they charged toward the next battlefield; and there were others who stood in the corners, watching enviously before turning away with downcast eyes, clenching their fists and silently vowing to the world stage: Next year, I will return.
And now, October 30th.
The day everyone had been waiting for had finally arrived—
The stage of the 2016 League of Legends Pro League World Championship had come to the Staples Center on the west coast of the United States in Los Angeles. Here, players from all over would gather to witness this year’s ultimate champion lift the coveted Summoner’s Cup in glory!
On this day, the massive venue was packed to the brim, with not a single seat left empty. Four hours before the event, people had already begun lining up in an orderly fashion to enter—each face beaming with excitement as they discussed their favorite teams, holding up banners printed with their favorite team logos. As they waited, they whispered among themselves about their beloved teams and professional players... Players from all corners of the world had gathered here, just as they once gathered on the map called Summoner’s Rift—they might hail from different countries, speak different languages, and have different skin tones and hair colors... Yet at this very moment, when talking about the teams they supported, the proud glimmer in their eyes was exactly the same!
[ (English) I never expected G4 to make it this far—I mean, it’s been so long since we last stood on the World Championship stage. No one even believed in this team at first, but they fought their way here, defeating two LPL teams in a row! ]
The random guy being interviewed in front of the mic was ecstatic, his face adorned with a G4 team tattoo sticker. After the interview, he walked back to his friends as more people surged toward the reporters on-site... [ (German) No one should underestimate European teams anymore! We’re strong, hahahahaha, seriously—how long has it been since we’ve seen a World Championship without LCK? I hope today’s BO5 goes the full distance. No matter what, let me enjoy it a little longer! G4! Yeah! ]
...
[ (Chinese) I’m studying in LA—now I’m beyond grateful for my decision to come here for university two years ago! LPL! LPL! LPL! After so many years, we’re back! ZGDX, go for it! ]
...
[ (English) Honestly, I’m rooting for ZGDX—how could I not when they have a girl on the team? The first time I saw Smiling sitting at the competition desk, I was completely smitten. How can someone be so adorable and still be so good at the game, carrying people to Challenger like that... ]
...
[ (Chinese) The regrets of Smile in S2—I hope you, bearing an ID with the same meaning, can fill that void on the World Championship stage for him. Those who know, know what I’m talking about. Chinese Operator Team, go! ]As night fell, the audience finally settled into their seats—a dense sea of people filling the massive venue, their glow sticks and banners twinkling like fireflies in the darkness... Some hadn’t managed to secure good floor seats and were too far from the stage, so far that the players might not even see their cheering banners clearly... Yet when the players began entering the arena one by one, waving to the crowd, they still raised their banners, iPads, and phones high, shaking them excitedly and screaming!
Amid this lively and joyous atmosphere, the three commentators took their positions—
Commentator D: [Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome back to the 2016 League of Legends Pro League World Championship Finals! I’m your host, D!]
Commentator F: [I’m F.]
Commentator G: [I’m G… Uh, as you can see, the two beside me are laughing their heads off—must say, their month-long free trip around America seems to have treated them well, huh?]
The crowd erupted in laughter.
At that moment, the big screen lit up, playing this year’s S Series World Championship promotional video. Since the two finalist teams hailed from the LPL and LCS respectively, the footage had been remixed, with scenes from both regions interwoven—the final shot showed Tong Yao lifting her head in the darkness, a beam of light falling on her. The scene then cut to the same sunlight piercing through layers of mist as the G4 Mid Laner emerged, waving his hand to dispel the fog!
With a resounding boom ! The logo of Riot Games, the developer of League of Legends, appeared at the center of the screen before it darkened again. The crowd roared with excitement as the familiar BGM began—it was time for the most thrilling part—
The pre-match trash talk segment.
[TOP LANERS]
G4, ABB: I’ll prove with skill who the real No. 1 Top Laner is—crushing him is a foregone conclusion, just like crushing their sister team.
ZGDX, CAT: Honestly, at this point, who the No. 1 Top Laner is should be obvious… Is there a Top Lane Champion Old Cat can’t play?
No.
Being a blue-collar player is just one of my identities. There’s an old Chinese saying that fits here— Rotten wood may look decent on the outside, but inside it’s pure gold … Know what that means? The quiet dogs bite hardest—the ones barking are all Chihuahuas.
…
[JUNGLERS]
G4, TOM: Facing me, Player K is like a deer meeting a lion—utterly hopeless. I know the LPL Junglers’ weakness: their legs turn to jelly in direct competition.
Brawling Region? Nice joke.
ZGDX, K: Stop yapping, the LPL’s laughing; don’t lower your head, or the “noob” cap from EU and NA might fall off…
On stage, Tong Yao held her headphones, glancing at the Top-Jungle duo: “Did you inherit Little Fatty’s legacy and spend the entire flight brainstorming trash talk?”
Old Cat: “Just improvising. What can I say? I’m a cultured man.”
Little Fatty: “Don’t listen to him. He wrote a whole list and even had staff vote on it.”
Tong Yao: “…”
[MID LANERS]
ZGDX, Smiling (raising both hands): No trash talk here. Long live the King, long live Gao Xucheng, long live the LPL!
G4, Gogone (with a mysterious smile): The opposing Mid Laner is adorable.
…Lu Sicheng: "Are you guys idiots?"
Little Fatty: "Can you guys stop with the nonsense? Old Cat and Old K put in all that effort, and you just extinguish it with a single shout of 'long live friendship'?"
Old K: "Truly idiots."
Old Cat: "Like a cult. Did Gao Xucheng pay you for advertising? You've been promoting him from the World Championship qualifiers all the way to the finals..."
【SUP Group】
G4, bigleg: Heard the opposing support is really good at trash talk. I wanna hear what he has to say... ZGDX, pang: I’ve watched G4’s matches. Their support’s vision control and map awareness, tsk tsk, might as well be Columbus stepping onto America and insisting he’s in India.
G4, bigleg: Hahahahahahahahahahahaha I’m done, that’s savage indeed!
Tong Yao: "Hahahahahahahahahahahaha even the granny across the street wouldn’t help you up, but I’ll bow to you hahahahahahahahaha!"
Lu Sicheng: "The collapse of international friendships starts the moment Little Fatty opens his mouth."
【AD Group】
G4, riot911: Chessman? Not even on my radar. I was once this close to solo-killing Pope, if only I hadn’t misclicked my skills in the heat of the moment... ZGDX, chessman: Oh, the moment you clicked 'Install Game' years ago, you already misclicked.
...
Tong Yao: "Compared to you guys, I really feel like an idiot now—did you all conspire to be this unfriendly without even consulting me first?"
Lu Sicheng: "This kind of thing relies entirely on self-awareness and IQ. No one would stand on the World Championship stage, in front of their fiancé, shouting another man’s name and yelling 'long live,' not even Empress Wu Zetian would dare do that."
Tong Yao: "..."
Tong Yao: "Let’s change the subject. What should we pick for the first game today? I doubt they’ll let me have Twisted Fate or Leblanc again."
Lu Sicheng: "Pick Dog Head. It suits you."
Tong Yao: "Are you trying to pick a fight?"
Lu Sicheng: "I’m trying to throw hands, actually."
Tong Yao: "..."
The team silently watched as their Double Carry bickered, seemingly on the verge of a dramatic fallout. No one dared speak or even breathe too loudly, afraid of being noticed and dragged into the crossfire... Amid their argument, the referee signaled for players to put on their headsets and prepare for the Ban & Pick phase. Everyone collectively sighed in relief—once the in-game comms were up, Ming Shen, who turned fierce during Ban & Pick on stage, would surely shut both Tong Yao and Lu Sicheng up... Following the referee’s cue, Tong Yao put on her headset—
The surrounding noise vanished instantly.
She gripped her mouse, unable to suppress the boiling excitement in her veins.When she clicked into the game interface and entered the tournament server to input her gaming ID, it felt surreal—like a dream. She remembered that summer vacation when she first started playing League of Legends, recklessly feeding kills while shouting excitedly; the frustration of being mocked by teammates for performing worse than an enemy minion; the exhilaration of securing her first Penta Kill. Back then, she had even fantasized about the professional stage, though it seemed so distant... something she could only gaze up at from afar.
Until today—when she stood here as a professional Champion herself.
Representing her region. Representing her country. Finally arriving at this world championship showdown.
Author's Note: Some of the witty banter was inspired by quotes from foreign netizens... We're almost at the finale—time to celebrate!
Daily life extras will be included in the physical book release. As for length... I'll try to write more—mainly because I feel like the daily life extras you all want to see are things that can only happen after retirement. But I really don't want to mix that content with the main story... Otherwise, it'd feel weird—like the female lead plays professionally for half a year, wins a championship, finds a husband, then retires? ............................... Something just doesn't feel right about that.
OpenNovel