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"The Buddha said there are three things that cannot be hidden long. Sun, Moon, and Truth. The fat bastard was wrong, it's obviously Shanks, Dev, and Sietse"

Daoist.Piousfire

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Anonymous

Chapter 233 - Real Pros Dont Give Up

Lee Dojae had done something truly vile! Hed used the Worlds award ceremony to show his supremacy to the rest of the world! Countless stream chats lit up with angry messages and questions about why Riot Games had allowed this! But this was only a cover to hide their despair. SSK had defended their world title. Rake had won Worlds for a record breaking third time. And there wasnt a single team in the world who looked capable of beating them.

F.u.c.k It wasnt even close at the end

SCREW THAT! F.U.C.K THOSE STUPID C.O.C.KY ASSHATS!

how much did they pay riot for this stupid f.u.c.k.i.n.g show!>?!?!!

... ssk was the best. UCH i hate to admit it. but they got this through their own hard work...

:CCCCC how we evah gonna win????????? iz hopeless guys :C just give up

Is there really no one who can beat them?

Countless professional players all around the world were also upset. They cursed and shouted and flung their monitors out of the window. But their anger didnt stem from Lee Dojae being an arrogant prick, though they all agreed that he was. Their anger was aimed at their inability to compete against SSK. Theyd been practicing every day for years, yet they werent even good enough to stand on the same stage as SSK. As a professional, as someone who considered themself as one of the best in the world, this was incredibly difficult and painful to accept.

In Taipei, Taiwan. Read XIII was the Jungler for Assassins. Hed played in Season 5 Worlds and made it all the way to the quarterfinals, where he eventually lost to KG. But hed put in a strong performance. His team had done well. And they were overall happy with the result. Tonight, that changed for him. Hed watched the Finals. More specifically, hed been analyzing how Mafa played in the Jungle.

F.U.C.K.I.N.G HELL! Read XIII yelled as he threw his mouse across the room and shoved his keyboard off the desk. How the hell am I supposed to compete against that? F.U.C.K! F.U.C.K! F.U.C.K! Im a King, just like Mafa! I should be just as good as he is! He gritted his teeth and slammed his fists down on his desk. F.U.C.K! He pulled at his hair as he looked back at the stream. It zoomed in on Mafa holding the Summoners Cup. ARGHHHH! He smashed his fist into the monitor, cracking the screen. How is he so much better than me? WERE BOTH KINGS

Read XIII suddenly had a moment of clarity. The anger disappeared from his body as he collapsed in his chair. No. Im no King. Im a f.u.c.k.i.n.g nobody next to him! He looked around the room at the damages hed caused. He sighed and said, F.u.c.k.i.n.g hell. I train every f.u.c.k.i.n.g day, ever since I lost to Eleven during the Season 1 World Championsh.i.p.s! All to get revenge on him And look where Im now What a joke. Im competing against a guy playing in the LSPL. Maybe thats where I went wrong. Maybe Ive been focusing on the wrong person this whole time

IN London, England. Team Legend had watched the finals of the League of Legends Season 5 World Championsh.i.p.s together in their gaming house. Theyd started watching that night with a drink and some ch.i.p.s, just there to watch a good game. And that was how they still felt after the first two games. Both Season and SSK showed strong performances. Legends players pointed things out they noticed and chatted about aspects of the game that they should put more time and effort into. That could help them win next year.

But that all changed in Game 3. And then Game 4. SSK was so much better than Season that it wasnt even funny anymore! It looked like professional players giving a masterclass to a group of high schoolers! The laughter and chatter died down. No one touched the ch.i.p.s or took a sip from their drinks. They just sat there, stunned.

Legends Jungler finally grabbed his beer and chugged it down. Then he slumped back in his gaming chair and said, Dont mind Rake. Even Mafa is so insanely good. Its I dont know, guys. I have no clue how to get that good

No one said anything for the next couple of minutes, until Demon finally broke the silence. Its not just Mafa. Even their Toplaner That guys awareness in teamfights is better than mine He might actually be better than me.

Phoenix shook his head and sighed. He took a sip of his beer and then said, Their Midlaner and Jungler. Their Toplaner, Support and ad-carry All five of them are phenomenal players. And they only get better when they play together. Theyre the world champions for a reason. Even on our best day we cant beat them. Rip.

IN Shanghai, China. Hermes had joined Nightsong in the Hand of God headquarters right as Worlds was about to start. Theyd watched the games together and were now watching the replay together. During the first two games, they felt optimism. SSK and Season both looked beatable. There were openings and opportunities that the two of them felt confident they could exploit. But then Game 3 started. The dread they felt while initially watching it returned.

Hermes leaned back in his chair and sighed loudly. Crap, Nightsong. Crap, thats how I feel. He shook his head and looked back at the monitor. Then he continued, I thought it was back when we watched it live. But it only looks worse on replay. Theyre playing it perfectly. I dont I dont know, man. Theyre next level.

Nightsong stood up from his gaming chair and started laughing. Were idiots. You know that, right? We actually thought we could compete against them! HA! WHAT A JOKE! You know it, Hermes. Screw SSK. We cant even beat Season! Were He gritted his teeth and felt his stomach contracting. Were not even good enough to beat Season! I was right. Were trash! TRASH! He snorted and then said, Its true. You know it, Hermes. Im the best ad-carry in China. And youre the best Midlaner He started laughing again, shaking his head, and continued, You know whats funny? Those guys, there, on screen? They probably think about us just like we think about high schoolers. F.U.C.K MY FLACID D.I.C.K! WERE TRASH! TRASH!

Hermes looked up at his friend. Youre right. He pursed his lips. Then he shook his head and said, Were David. Season is Goliath. And SSK is Kronos. Hahaha. Crap. Crap. Am I really saying this? Crap. He took a long, deep breath, then continued, What do we do now? Continue training like nothing happened? What do we even train? Mechanics? Strategy? Champion pools? Team synergy? Awareness? Or do we just replace our coach and blame it all on him? He paused for a moment, then added in a quiet voice, Or maybe were just not good enough

Nightsong let himself fall down in his gaming chair. Were little kids next to SSK. Were the little kids He thought back to the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. Back to the kids hed seen playing. They werent half bad. That Lulu was actually really goo TRASH! SHUT YOUR UGLY PIEHOLE! Youre better than this. Youre better than some stupid high schooler! Youre going to lift yourself up and find a solution. Thats what you do! You get better in the face of challenges. You dont give up like a p.u.s.s.y!

Hermes looked up at his friend, spooked by the sudden outburst. But then collapsed back in his gaming chair and looked at the stream, half hoping to see SSK losing. It was still Game 3. And SSK was still crushing Season. Crap, he mumbled.

Hey, Hermes? Nighsong asked, looking over at his friend. What do you think? Will we get some new talent on the team? I really want to believe that we stand a chance. But Its just Well, just look at the screen! How are we going to beat them? And if we dont, then who? Were the best d.i.c.kslapping, tentacle-f.u.c.k.i.n.g badasses China has to offer! Were all there is! He shook his head and added, Id just like to see us win for once. It doesnt even have to be me. Just a Chinese team is enough.

Hermes watched the end of Game 3 in silence. Then he finally turned and looked Nightsong in the eyes. Well win. And if we dont, another Chinese team will. Someday.

High School 13s team exited the NetCow Cafe well after 1 A.M. The Finals of the League of Legends Season 5 World Championsh.i.p.s had ended up during a little over two hours. They decided to have an afterparty at their favourite barbeque place around the corner before going home. It was the same place they always went to after a big win or a drink too many. The original plan was to go here to celebrate their victory at the Shanghai 16 School Tournament, but the World Finals had dampened their mood. It had once more shown just how big the gap was between them, the best high schoolers in Shanghai, and the professional scene.

Ouyang shook his head and grumbled, Id give up our win in the Shanghai 16 School Tournament for Season winning Worlds!

Ren Rou rolled her eyes back and said, If were going by that logic, Id have rather given up our win for KG to win Worlds.

Ouyang groaned and replied, I dont care who wins, just not SSK

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses and interjected, It cant be helped. SSK is the best team in the world right now. You saw it. Season just isnt strong enough. And honestly, I dont think theres any team in the world who can really compete against SSK. We just have to learn to admit that.

An Xin took a large gulp of her soda as she listened to Yang Fans analysis. She finally shook her head and said, This really didnt come as a surprise. We knew from the start that Season was most likely going to lose. SSK is the better overall team. They have five very strong players, each with deep champion pools. She took another gulp of her soda and then continued, Now look at Season. Yes, they have Autumn. But what else? Their other players are good, but not as good as the players from SSK. And their Toplaner and Jungler have relatively shallow champion pools on top of that. That just makes them easy targets. SSK knew exactly what they were going to be up against and could prepare for those specific scenarios. She shrugged and added, It was always going to be difficult for Season. SSK is just the better team.

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses and said, I agree. SSK was the better overall team.

This is mad, Chen Ze said, lowering his head. According to you, no one can beat SSK They got the deepest champion pools, the best players, and the best coaching staff, and I dont know what more! Thats mad, right? What are they? Some kind of superteam?

Lin Feng had been lost in his own little world ever since the World Finals began. He didnt even really hear what his friends were talking about for most of the night. But when Chen Ze said the word superteam, he suddenly was back in the present. He looked over at his friend and mumbled quietly, A superteam? He smiled and nodded at himself. We had a superteam back in season 1. With me, Fatty, Eleven, those two in the bot lane And An Xin as our coach. We shouldve been the best team in the world. We were! Worlds shouldve been ours! And we were still getting better so quickly If wed kept going, SSK wouldnt have won tonight. I wouldve made sure of that!