The countdown to the game began at the commentator’s desk.
The three commentators analyzed the team picks and bans. Junhao’s palms were sweating from nervousness: “If TG can win against PPE today, LPL will undoubtedly be the top region, and the Inter-Regional Cup will be our greatest recognition.”
Xiaoli continued: “During spring split, I watched LCK matches. PPE is indeed very strong, setting an undefeated record in group stages. However, they still fell to OG at MSI. This proves they’re not invincible.”
“Although TG is a new team, from the previous finals, we could all see their resilience and fighting spirit. While I’m still a bit worried, I believe they can create another miracle.”
The game finished loading and officially entered the match screen.
Thomas felt he had never been under such mental pressure before. Sitting here carrying the hopes of countless people, he dared not imagine the consequences of losing.
While buying equipment, he sighed: “Ah, we’re up against PPE, how can we possibly win?”
Van focused intently on his computer screen: “Those who dare to fight will win. Just play normally and don’t get too excited.”
Killer made a joke: “If LPL’s big brother can’t do it, we can’t fall. Didn’t Conquer say he’d carry us today?”
Van started from the bottom jungle.
After helping him clear, Ultraman followed Chen Yuzheng to lane. The enemy bottom lane duo was very relaxed, even stopping in place to dance and interact with them.
In the small camera view below the match, he concentrated intensely, constantly giving instructions, directing Ultraman to move forward and trade abilities.
In the bottom lane matchup, they controlled the minion wave and hit level 2 first, forcing the enemy AD to use a health potion.
Van roamed to mid lane and said: “Conquer, call me if anything happens, I’ll be your dog this game.”
Ultraman: “No worries, I still have my escape ability.”
Chen Yuzheng: “Don’t worry about me, you guys do whatever you want in top and mid, they can’t kill me.”
The entire match process was grueling. At the ten-minute mark, the enemy team four-man dove bottom lane, relentlessly pressuring the bottom duo. Ultraman was killed, Chen Yuzheng escaped to tower, Killer got anxious and called out: “I’m coming over now, I have ultimate, Conquer hold on a bit longer.”
Chen Yuzheng escaped to the second tower with a sliver of health and recalled.
At eighteen minutes, TG’s mid and jungle coordinated to gank PPE’s top laner several times, taking down the first tower.
Meanwhile PPE took Rift Herald and traded for TG’s mid tower. At this point, both teams had even gold.
At 25 minutes, Killer was caught and died in mid lane. PPE’s members took the fourth earth dragon and cleared all of TG’s outer towers.
The commentator took a sharp breath, his voice changing: “This is bad, the situation looks very dire. The jungle is lost. TG needs to be careful not to get caught – if they die now and lose Baron, once the super minions come after losing inhibitors, they won’t be able to defend at all.”
Having lost vision over most of the map, TG still fought tenaciously, defending their inhibitors for two waves and forcing a 0-for-3 trade against PPE without letting them push up to inhibitor towers. Meanwhile, TG’s carries gradually completed their items despite being behind.
After forty grueling minutes, with river vision mostly cleared, Killer and Chen Yuzheng found an opportunity to sneak Elder Dragon.
The commentator held his breath: “They’re taking it very quickly, it’s almost down.”
The broadcast switched between both teams’ views as the commentator raised his voice: “PPE has realized TG is doing Elder Dragon, they’re already rotating towards Baron pit.”
To buy time, Thomas didn’t hesitate and charged straight into the enemy team to sacrifice himself. Before his last bit of health was gone, he activated Zhonya’s to stall for damage.
Baron was nearly dead, and PPE’s members were hitting dragon while waiting for Thomas’s Zhonya’s to end.
Commentator: “Van has arrived too, Conquer and Killer are coming from base. Is Van going to try to steal Baron alone? TG already got Elder Dragon, they don’t need to contest Baron, it’s not worth it! They should just teamfight!”
Just as he finished speaking, the game screen showed the red team had slain the dragon!
The commentator cried out in disappointment: “Ah– it’s over, they couldn’t steal it, and Thomas died too.”
The situation suddenly became dangerous. Not just the players, but the commentators and audience were all on edge.
Seeing PPE group up after taking Baron with multiple Exhausts on Van, Van flashed out of the dragon pit as PPE members moved to surround him. Chen Yuzheng and Killer arrived at the battlefield, and chaos broke out as all heroes unleashed their abilities, the game screen flashing with dazzling effects.
Ultraman died almost instantly in the crowd trying to protect Chen Yuzheng.
After trading abilities, TG’s members were either dead or heavily wounded. Ultraman was so anxious he almost cried: “It’s no good, it’s no good, I’m dead, we need to retreat.”
“No need to retreat.” Chen Yuzheng gripped his mouse tightly, clicked on some honeyfruit in the river to heal, and raised his voice to tell Killer: “We can fight, come here.”
At this point there was no way back. Killer took a deep breath: “Can we win this?”
“I’m not dead yet, pull back a bit.” Chen Yuzheng spoke very quickly, calling out the enemy’s status: “Enemy mid and AD have no Flash, jungler is out of mana.”
“Hit the frontline first, find Zoe’s position!” Chen Yuzheng calculated the damage amounts, waiting for his ultimate to come off cooldown, and said: “You retreat first, my cooldown is almost up.”
5, 4, 3, 2, 1–
Chen Yuzheng shouted: “Go!”
Having just finished Baron and trading with TG, PPE wasn’t in great shape either. They planned to group and slip away through top lane to reset and organize their items. Killer was just waiting for Chen Yuzheng’s command – he flashed in and taunted four people. Chen Yuzheng followed immediately, flashing in with a full combo and two crits to instantly kill the enemy AD.
The team voice chat exploded:
“Holy shit, Conquer what is that damage.”
“We can fight we can fight, keep chasing, PPE has no resources left, don’t let them back.”
“Amazing, Killer bro, Zheng bro, forever gods!!!”
The whole sequence happened in just ten seconds. This 2v5 outplay left the commentators stunned. After a few seconds of delay they shouted: “Unbelievable, Conquer is still alive, he’s not dead! TG’s carries are popping off!!! Killer flash-taunted four people, PPE’s formation is broken, Conquer is still outputting damage!!!! They’re going berserk, PPE’s jungler is dead!”
Not just the commentators – all the spectators in the venue couldn’t contain themselves, standing up from their seats to cheer and raise their arms.
Chen Yuzheng and Killer, bathed in Elder Dragon buff, blocked the brush entrance above dragon pit. They went in and out three times, trapping all of PPE. The two of them, one on the left and one on the right, killed everything in their path, whether god or buddha.
[TG Conquer has slain PPE kuila!]
The commentator’s voice was almost hoarse: “These are our LPL carries, calm in crisis, charging forward!!! This is what young people are like, just one word – fierce!!! They might make reckless mistakes, but they will never retreat out of fear!!!!”
This scene was too thrilling. Junhao shouted passionately: “Too savage, Kuila is down too!! PPE must all die!!! Don’t let any escape!!!”
The female commentator was so excited she could barely speak clearly: “It’s over, PPE is done, their fastest respawn is still over forty seconds, they won’t make it in time.”
After slaughtering four enemies, Killer and Chen Yuzheng didn’t choose to recall. In the official broadcast, they were surrounded by minions as they charged unstoppably towards PPE’s base.
Thomas, who had just respawned, lit up his TP to teleport to the enemy base entrance.
Ultraman and Van frantically commanded from the fountain: “Straight down bot, one push, one push, hit towers, hit towers first, they only have one support alive, ignore them, just hit towers, don’t worry about anything else.”
“TG going all in, break it break it break it, push!!!”
The moment Chen Yuzheng led TG to break the towers, thousands of fans were moved to tears. In the backstage rest area, TG’s team manager had jumped up from his chair, raising his arms and cheering: “We got it, NICE!!!!”
The coach helplessly let himself be bear-hugged.
Yu Nuo was a bit dazed, staring blankly at the TV, still immersed in that roller coaster of a match. In that final teamfight, Chen Yuzheng and Killer survived in a desperate situation and stubbornly charged in for a 2v5. Her eyes unconsciously grew wet.
A thousand words became one as the commentator raised both hands above his head, shouting with passionate excitement: “We!! Are the champions!!!!”
Staff members came to find them, and YLD, OG, and WR’s players gradually stood up, put on their team uniforms, and pushed open the break room door. TG’s victory meant they would also need to go on stage to lift the trophy together.
The front venue thundered with applause.
TG’s five members had walked to center stage, looking at the silver trophy before them, none of them moving. As they looked, Van, a grown man, was almost moved to tears, lifting his sleeve to wipe his eyes.
Ultraman clasped his hands behind his back: “Chen Yuzheng, we kept the championship in LPL.”
Chen Yuzheng looked at his cowardly appearance and sneered. After the match his whole person had relaxed, still with that arrogant manner: “There are so many cameras filming, can you not cry?”
Ultraman touched his face in horror: “Huh? Am I crying?”
They turned around as the other three teams lined up to come on stage. WR’s mid laner rushed over in the applause and cheers to hug Ultraman: “Manman! Amazing, you guys are really amazing, you got me so excited watching from backstage.”
Ultraman was a bit shy: “It’s all thanks to strong teammates.”
After everyone had gathered, glittering confetti rained down from above the stage as the venue’s smoke machines and streamers went off. Chen Yuzheng lifted his eyes slightly to look up at the sky.
The host smiled while standing to the side: “You can collect the trophy now.”
Each of the four teams selected one person. When it came to TG’s turn, everyone pushed Chen Yuzheng forward. Gathered around the trophy podium, very naturally, OG’s people didn’t move, WR’s people didn’t move, and YLD’s people looked at Chen Yuzheng.
Chen Yuzheng shook his head: “Together.”
The four of them lifted the trophy as over a dozen players and coaches behind them all applauded. The waves of cheering from below stage came one after another, all the LPL fans in attendance shouting TG’s name. After receiving the trophy, Chinese fans in the venue refused to leave, watching as the four teams exited from the side of the stage.
As soon as they reached backstage, countless cameras surged forward, surrounding the TG members like returning heroes.
Ultraman looked frightened by this setup, with a shy smile at the corners of his mouth, secretly telling Killer: “Killer bro, I’m not dreaming right?”
Killer was squeezed back and forth by people, with a dreamy expression: “Who knows, I feel like I’m dreaming too…”
In matches before this, whether TG won or lost, basically no one wanted to pay attention to them. All along the way, all the audience’s applause and flowers were willingly given to this rising new force.
And today, after one match against PPE, the world’s focus finally landed on them. Countless domestic websites and forums exploded. LPL region’s League of Legends official account passionately tweeted:
We are Champion!!!
The final teamfight against PPE, Chen Yuzheng and Killer’s extreme 2v5 in the top lane brush became the focus. Those dozens of seconds of outplay were made into a GIF that directly shot to #1 on Weibo hot search.
“Ten years of study and no one asks, instant fame known across the world.1 Thorn Game, this team that appeared out of nowhere, ignited LPL’s final faith in this forty-minute battle, created a miracle, shattered PPE’s legend, and led all of LPL to the peak, stunning the entire world.”
Shortly after, League of Legends official Weibo also posted:
#LOL Inter-Regional Championship#
After five intense games, LPL region defeated LCK 3-2, successfully defending the title. Four teams kept the championship in LPL, kept the trophy in China!!
Congratulations @OG Esports Club @TG Esports Club @WR Esports Club @YLD Esports Entertainment Club
Although they tagged four teams, the comments section had already been taken over by TG:
[TG too fierce, too fierce, Conquer and Killer both flashy and strong, completely destroyed LCK’s first seed in the last fight]
[If gods really exist, Conquer was tonight’s god]
[Sincerely suggest you change the order of the tags, put our big brother TG first.]
[Everyone line up to apologize to TG!!! I’ll say sorry first! I criticized you before, I was blind, bang bang bang, kowtowing to the daddies!!!!]
[Congratulations to PPE for becoming the strongest background character in a famous scene]
[PPE’s botlane was dancing at the start, who knew their heads would be smashed thirty minutes later?]
[People were still flaming TG before the match??? One game slapped how many faces, when they return home can airport fans clapping for ten minutes to welcome them be enough?]
[My TG finally started shining, finally waited for this day, typed so much but can’t express the excitement in my heart. TG is the most awesome!!!!!]
Beijing time 1 AM, Chen Yuzheng’s Weibo and super topic fans were growing at an alarming rate every second. The super topic heat even surpassed some third and fourth-tier celebrities, reaching the top tens. Some old fans who were too excited to sleep after watching the match were shocked, and fan hosts posted:
[What’s happening, why are there suddenly so many people??? Am I blind???]
[Zheng, are you finally going to be famous? Mom waited until the flowers wilted, finally waited for this day.]
[God…. what’s going on….]
[Welcome new friends, remember to check the pinned post~]
New fans reported in:
[Noob question, is this Conquer’s super topic? I declare, from today I’m his wife, no one can fight me for him!!]
[Husband, do you mind that I’m male?]
[Conquer’s ten-year old fan, coming uninvited.]
[How can someone be so good at games and so handsome, why didn’t I notice before wuwuwuwu, my god!!!!!]
[His name is Chen, Yu, Zheng. I remembered it.]
—
After winning the match and completing interviews in the media room, the LPL organizers specially booked a hotel to host their celebration banquet.
The gathering lasted two or three hours, with TG’s table being particularly lively as people continuously came to toast them.
Killer threw up twice, while the others all had red faces from drinking.
Qi Ya’nan looked at the excited group of boys before her and cleared her throat: “Alright, everyone’s happy about winning today’s match, I won’t say much, but you’re only allowed to be proud for one day. From tomorrow you still need to train hard, there’s still a long road ahead.”
Ultraman took a drink and said unsteadily: “I want to remember this feeling of winning championships, the feeling of fans shouting our names below stage was so wonderful, I want to win many many championships in the future. Many many, want many many fans.”
His words made everyone present laugh, but after laughing they felt some sadness. These five young men’s dreams and efforts were finally recognized after today’s finals.
Yu Nuo knew her alcohol tolerance wasn’t good and feared making a drunk fool of herself like last time. She was also genuinely happy for them but felt too embarrassed to say overly sentimental congratulations, so she just took small sips of beer.
By the end of the meal, all of TG were drunk and barely conscious – some throwing up, some collapsed.
Chen Yuzheng was also lying on the table with his eyes tightly shut, frowning as he endured the effects of the alcohol.
Yu Nuo sat beside him watching.
After today’s match ended, Chen Yuzheng had been the center of attention, constantly surrounded by people interviewing him along the way. Yu Nuo was pushed away by countless crowds, not daring to approach, only able to quietly watch him from the corner.
She suddenly felt a bit grateful.
The people around hadn’t noticed, and he was unconscious, just quietly lying beside her like this.
No cameras, no video equipment, no lights – she could openly look at him.
His breathing gradually slowed, and she carefully studied his handsome features. Half of Chen Yuzheng’s face was hidden in shadow, below his nose his lips were red and appeared very soft.
Yu Nuo stared in a daze, suddenly having an absurd thought. She quickly snapped out of it, mentally berating herself for several seconds.
The person who should have been drunk suddenly smiled, and while Yu Nuo was still spacing out, she heard Chen Yuzheng’s voice: “Sister, have you looked enough?”
Yu Nuo jolted, startled.
He still kept his eyes closed, his eyelashes trembling slightly. After saying those words just now, there was no other movement.
Yu Nuo’s body froze, momentarily embarrassed, even doubting if she had imagined hearing things.
“If you haven’t looked enough you can keep looking for a while.”
Yu Nuo: “……..”
She reacted after a delay: “You’re not drunk?”
“I am drunk.”
She helplessly asked to confirm: “Are you really drunk or not?”
Chen Yuzheng opened his eyes, saying lazily: “What do you think?”
Yu Nuo awkwardly met his gaze, her face somewhat red as she said: “I think you’re drunk.”
He made an agreeing sound, his eyes clear as he followed her words: “I am drunk.” Yu Nuo grabbed the water glass from the table and took a sip to hide her embarrassment, “Forget it, I know you’re not drunk, stop pretending…”
Chen Yuzheng sat up slightly, shifting to a more comfortable position, propping his head up with one hand as he looked at her for a few seconds before drawling: “If I don’t pretend, how else can I trick you into secretly looking at me?”
- ??????????????? (T/N: Chinese characters haven’t been showing up on my site, pardon me if you can’t see it!): This is a Chinese proverb describing someone who works hard behind the scenes and suddenly achieves a breakthrough. Rooted in the traditional Chinese imperial examination system (ke ju) where scholars would have studied years for just a chance of success. ↩︎
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