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About the Author:
Author: EDG Sam (三少)
Bio: Co-founder and Current Manager of Edward Gaming
Translator:
Name: Kelvin
Twitter: @Hodeken
PS: Feel free to view it on my GP10 as well.
EDG: Worlds Diary (Day 2)
+ Show Spoiler +
Original Post: http://weibo.com/p/1001603892720853757913
Day 2: Adapt
It’s early in the morning. I wake to the sound of pigeons chirping as they fly in the light of dawn. Still half-asleep, I open my eyes and drag myself to open the window. As I pushed it open, I was greeted with a familiar feeling. A cool yet comfortable breeze brushed against my face. Looking out at the vastness of the morning horizon. Beyond the green trees and the clear blue sky. That plane that seemed so close yesterday had long disappeared (T/L: From Day 1’s Diary).
As I reflect upon the events of yesterday. Apart from the worrying and the waiting, something good did happen. Coming to France, how can we not feast upon the local French cuisine? With some help from a friend, we arrived at a restaurant in the 1st district (T/L: Where the Louvre is). I emphasise again, the 1st district.
Although the restaurant was small, the atmosphere was very much exotic. The inconspicuous doorway could not hide the elegance of the restaurant inside. As for the food itself, everyone was incredibly excited. Apparently the head chef was awarded two michelin stars. Even though the players heard that the chef specialised in cakes, it did not stop them from finishing every last speck on their plates. Even the usually very picky Clearlove could not resist telling me that the steak was fantastic! The most memorable part of our dinner was young Koro. As the others were gulping down their dinner, he kept trying to advertise the main course that he picked himself. While he ordered a plate of fish on top of some spaghetti, the others mainly chose steak, roasted duck, rabbit, or lamb chops. As the one who wanted to be different, Koro had no choice but to steal some leftover steak from his neighbour Fireloli.
Eating together should be a joyous occasion, and everybody made sure to toast to the beauties of life, the prosperity of our nation, and world peace.
After we ate and drank to our hearts content, we left the restaurant. Under the gleaming moonlight, the group of youngsters laughed and skipped about. Showing a side of innocence and youthfulness that kids their age ought to have.
As usual, I stood to the side and enjoyed the happy scene. Only Clearlove was his usual imposing self.
I saw Deft sitting on a tree stub giggling to himself (T/L: Someone call a taxi). I went to check on him and asked: “Have you heard about the folktale about the Farmer who waited by a tree stub for for rabbits to run into it and knock themselves out?” (T/L: http://chinablog.cc/2009/01/waiting-for-more-hares/). He stared at the translator, who was also speechless. He asked me: “How do I translate that?” (T/L: It’s a story about how in life, there’s no free lunch)… Therefore, I had no choice but to tell this parable to him from start to finish. After he heard it, he said: “That rabbit’s so stupid, just like Meiko!”
Afterwards, next to a statue of a sphinx, they decided to play a game that requires a lot of thinking: Rock, paper, scissors. The loser has to eat the local fruit that we got earlier (TL: Anyone care to tell me what this is?).
I actually tried one earlier and it has an incredibly unique sour taste and a wrinkled texture. When I ate one, I could barely fit it all into my mouth. At the start, it was only these 3 mischievous boys PK’ing one another.
Who would’ve thought that the noble Clearlove would take part!
In the end, this little turkey (AmazingJ) lost. He tried to run, but Clearlove took matters into his own hands.
On our way back, Meiko and Fireloli requested that they had to ride with me. I thought, maybe it’s because they like me! However, the truth was not like that. On the way to the restaurant, the taxi driver that they were with was incredibly irritated with them. I asked them why and they explained: “The driver earlier said that we took too long. Since he had to park in front of the hotel, he was afraid that someone would come and damage his car.” A chill ran down my spine, and I immediately told the driver not to stop at the front entrance and to head straight to the 4th building of the hotel. On the car, the emperor Clearlove unexpectedly decided to tell a few jokes to the two kids. Even though it was a bit lame, it was enough.
As for the exact joke he said, I scratched my head but could not remember. Whatever, it’s time to wake them up. Today we begin our official practice. As the champions of MSI, we had to attend a team interview today. As I left the window, I picked up my phone and told everyone: “We’re leaving in 30 minutes! If you’re late then walk there yourselves, it’s pretty close!” Today, everyone was early. I guess they put a lot of thought into the location of the hotel since it plays a big role in ensuring that the players get to the matches on time.
Todays lunch was pretty good. The only thing is that we aren’t too used it it. Therefore, I took the liberty of contacting a local Chinese restaurant to see if they can help with catering. At the dining area, I ran into some LGD players and casually listed some of the food we’d have: “Spicy fried meat, Yuxiang shredded pork, Minced meat and eggplant”. The whole room was silent, as the players dropped their bread and cheese. Some even brought out a handkerchief to wipe away their tears. Their eyes were filled with desire and hunger. Only a minute ago, PYL even asked me: “San Shao, did you bring Lao Gan Ma (TL: A kind of Chinese chili paste)?” His expression now, was that of a man walking through the dry desert and seeing a well of water, of a man stumbling upon a bonfire in the freezing cold, or a man finding a portable charger as his phone is about to run out of battery! You want to eat some? Then send a representative over to find me later tonight As I turned around to leave, without waving my sleeves, and without leaving a single cloud (TL: A Poem by Xu Zhimo). Behind me erupted a thunderous applause.
Today, the topic on everyones lips was the intense collision when Fireloli met Faker. The scene was as follows. As Fireloli was leaning against the wall of our training room chatting, he sees Faker walking by and yells: “Faker Faker Faker!”. The previously calm and cool Faker could not help but smile and replied with a series of: “Hi Hi Hi!” At that moment, due to this brief two-second exchange, everyone was frozen in place. Since we knew that Faker probably had no idea who he was. Yet, the way they spoke, their expressions, both seemed as if they’ve known each other for years. Afterwards I looked over at him, I think even he has no idea what happened and what made him act that way!
To sum things up: Our jet lag, quality of sleep, and living conditions, we’re starting to get used to France. Hopefully things will go well for our matches as well.
Day 2: Adapt
It’s early in the morning. I wake to the sound of pigeons chirping as they fly in the light of dawn. Still half-asleep, I open my eyes and drag myself to open the window. As I pushed it open, I was greeted with a familiar feeling. A cool yet comfortable breeze brushed against my face. Looking out at the vastness of the morning horizon. Beyond the green trees and the clear blue sky. That plane that seemed so close yesterday had long disappeared (T/L: From Day 1’s Diary).
As I reflect upon the events of yesterday. Apart from the worrying and the waiting, something good did happen. Coming to France, how can we not feast upon the local French cuisine? With some help from a friend, we arrived at a restaurant in the 1st district (T/L: Where the Louvre is). I emphasise again, the 1st district.
Although the restaurant was small, the atmosphere was very much exotic. The inconspicuous doorway could not hide the elegance of the restaurant inside. As for the food itself, everyone was incredibly excited. Apparently the head chef was awarded two michelin stars. Even though the players heard that the chef specialised in cakes, it did not stop them from finishing every last speck on their plates. Even the usually very picky Clearlove could not resist telling me that the steak was fantastic! The most memorable part of our dinner was young Koro. As the others were gulping down their dinner, he kept trying to advertise the main course that he picked himself. While he ordered a plate of fish on top of some spaghetti, the others mainly chose steak, roasted duck, rabbit, or lamb chops. As the one who wanted to be different, Koro had no choice but to steal some leftover steak from his neighbour Fireloli.
Eating together should be a joyous occasion, and everybody made sure to toast to the beauties of life, the prosperity of our nation, and world peace.
After we ate and drank to our hearts content, we left the restaurant. Under the gleaming moonlight, the group of youngsters laughed and skipped about. Showing a side of innocence and youthfulness that kids their age ought to have.
As usual, I stood to the side and enjoyed the happy scene. Only Clearlove was his usual imposing self.
I saw Deft sitting on a tree stub giggling to himself (T/L: Someone call a taxi). I went to check on him and asked: “Have you heard about the folktale about the Farmer who waited by a tree stub for for rabbits to run into it and knock themselves out?” (T/L: http://chinablog.cc/2009/01/waiting-for-more-hares/). He stared at the translator, who was also speechless. He asked me: “How do I translate that?” (T/L: It’s a story about how in life, there’s no free lunch)… Therefore, I had no choice but to tell this parable to him from start to finish. After he heard it, he said: “That rabbit’s so stupid, just like Meiko!”
Afterwards, next to a statue of a sphinx, they decided to play a game that requires a lot of thinking: Rock, paper, scissors. The loser has to eat the local fruit that we got earlier (TL: Anyone care to tell me what this is?).
I actually tried one earlier and it has an incredibly unique sour taste and a wrinkled texture. When I ate one, I could barely fit it all into my mouth. At the start, it was only these 3 mischievous boys PK’ing one another.
Who would’ve thought that the noble Clearlove would take part!
In the end, this little turkey (AmazingJ) lost. He tried to run, but Clearlove took matters into his own hands.
On our way back, Meiko and Fireloli requested that they had to ride with me. I thought, maybe it’s because they like me! However, the truth was not like that. On the way to the restaurant, the taxi driver that they were with was incredibly irritated with them. I asked them why and they explained: “The driver earlier said that we took too long. Since he had to park in front of the hotel, he was afraid that someone would come and damage his car.” A chill ran down my spine, and I immediately told the driver not to stop at the front entrance and to head straight to the 4th building of the hotel. On the car, the emperor Clearlove unexpectedly decided to tell a few jokes to the two kids. Even though it was a bit lame, it was enough.
As for the exact joke he said, I scratched my head but could not remember. Whatever, it’s time to wake them up. Today we begin our official practice. As the champions of MSI, we had to attend a team interview today. As I left the window, I picked up my phone and told everyone: “We’re leaving in 30 minutes! If you’re late then walk there yourselves, it’s pretty close!” Today, everyone was early. I guess they put a lot of thought into the location of the hotel since it plays a big role in ensuring that the players get to the matches on time.
Todays lunch was pretty good. The only thing is that we aren’t too used it it. Therefore, I took the liberty of contacting a local Chinese restaurant to see if they can help with catering. At the dining area, I ran into some LGD players and casually listed some of the food we’d have: “Spicy fried meat, Yuxiang shredded pork, Minced meat and eggplant”. The whole room was silent, as the players dropped their bread and cheese. Some even brought out a handkerchief to wipe away their tears. Their eyes were filled with desire and hunger. Only a minute ago, PYL even asked me: “San Shao, did you bring Lao Gan Ma (TL: A kind of Chinese chili paste)?” His expression now, was that of a man walking through the dry desert and seeing a well of water, of a man stumbling upon a bonfire in the freezing cold, or a man finding a portable charger as his phone is about to run out of battery! You want to eat some? Then send a representative over to find me later tonight As I turned around to leave, without waving my sleeves, and without leaving a single cloud (TL: A Poem by Xu Zhimo). Behind me erupted a thunderous applause.
Today, the topic on everyones lips was the intense collision when Fireloli met Faker. The scene was as follows. As Fireloli was leaning against the wall of our training room chatting, he sees Faker walking by and yells: “Faker Faker Faker!”. The previously calm and cool Faker could not help but smile and replied with a series of: “Hi Hi Hi!” At that moment, due to this brief two-second exchange, everyone was frozen in place. Since we knew that Faker probably had no idea who he was. Yet, the way they spoke, their expressions, both seemed as if they’ve known each other for years. Afterwards I looked over at him, I think even he has no idea what happened and what made him act that way!
To sum things up: Our jet lag, quality of sleep, and living conditions, we’re starting to get used to France. Hopefully things will go well for our matches as well.
EDG: Worlds Diary (Day 3)
+ Show Spoiler +
Day 3: Reserve Strength
Original Post: http://weibo.com/p/1001603893071745052746
As I open my eyes, I realise that it’s already morning. The pigeons from yesterday are also long gone. Kicking aside my blankets, I reach out towards my phone. It’s almost time to begin our last day of preparation. As everyone gathered at the training room, there was a sense of nerves ahead of our final day to rest, wait for lunch, and prepare for Worlds.
The condition of all the Chinese teams today is not very good. Especially in the case of LGD’s players, who struggled to adapt to the local cuisine. Naturally, after the way I teased them yesterday, they could no longer hold back. Today I went ahead and organised some Chinese food for them. TBQ in particular said that it felt like years since he had last eaten rice.
Hopefully they can quickly get themselves match-fit.
Soon, the last few bits of preparation will commence. As for our starting roster for the opening game, after extensive discussion, we’ve settled on using our substitute Toplaner: AmazingJ to replace Koro. As for Koro, he seems a bit lonely today.
However, he still stayed with his team throughout practice and the discussion that followed. Practice was especially intense today. Today, we scrimmed numerous times with Taiwanese and Korean teams. After the games, there was much discussion as well as suggestions made.
It’s apparent that the players could feel the added intensity. The atmosphere backstage was no longer casual and there was definitely less commotion. The training rooms of all the teams were tightly shut. When we do run into one another, there’s no longer any casual gossip or chit chat. Just the polite nod and gesture before bidding one another farewell. Behind every door, it was difficult to fathom what kinds of preparation they had. After a year of hard work, tomorrow they will face the real test. Every match means more than a simple win or a loss. The teams also shoulder a tremendous amount of expectation, pressure from management, the reputation of their region, as well as the hopes and dreams of the fans. As for our own players, it’s obvious that they are anxious and even more hard working during todays practice. At night, the dry weather made everyones eyes uncomfortable. Luckily I brought some stress-relief eye drops beforehand.
There are countless articles analysing and predicting the results. As for key areas to watch, there are many different opinions. As for my personal opinion on the group stages, perhaps they’re very different than most people out there.
I believe that the groups with the most competition are A and D. Especially in the case of group A, the fight between CLG, Koo, and the Flashwolves for the two qualifying spots will be incredibly intense. The Flashwolves have the ability to topple the other two teams. As for my prediction for this group, it’s really hard to say at this point.
Group D is naturally the most difficult group in this tournament. LPL’s LGD have to play like they normally do in order to have a chance to qualify. As for KT’s style, it kinda counters LGD. As for who wins on the day, it’s totally up to who’s form is better. TSM is the experienced old guard that’s been through countless tournaments, LGD has to make sure they’re not taken by surprise. The biggest watching point in this group is the fact that it has the strongest 3rd seed team: OG. This team, led by the legendary Xpeke, must not be taken lightly. The aforementioned three teams, if one of them falls off or makes a mistake during pick/bans, then they could lose to OG. The matches in group D should be worth watching and analysing. Even though I still think LGD and KT makes it out of this group, you never really know.
Group B may appear to be unpredictable, but in reality it should be pretty easy to rank the teams. iG, as far as their overall strength, is higher than the other teams in this group. If they manage to perform at their usual level, they should top the group. As for the remaining spot, it should be between FNC and AHQ. As long as iG performs at the level they showed during Regionals, they should have a good chance to beat all the other teams in this group.
After having experienced two international tournaments, we’re much more familiar and organised with our preparations this time around. Our new addition this year: AJ, as well as Fireloli, have both been very good at lifting the teams spirit in the training room.
Tomorrow is his (AmazingJ’s) debut on the world stage. Hopefully he can show you guys his skills and help us get the win. During the entirety of practice today, the one who had the most to say was Clearlove.
Still recovering from his injury, the man of few words: PawN trains silently.
The one who’s rather moody today is Deft. The who’s been running around all day is Meiko.
The 2015 World Championships will commence tomorrow. We’ve finished our preparations. As for the readers, are you ready?
Original Post: http://weibo.com/p/1001603893071745052746
As I open my eyes, I realise that it’s already morning. The pigeons from yesterday are also long gone. Kicking aside my blankets, I reach out towards my phone. It’s almost time to begin our last day of preparation. As everyone gathered at the training room, there was a sense of nerves ahead of our final day to rest, wait for lunch, and prepare for Worlds.
The condition of all the Chinese teams today is not very good. Especially in the case of LGD’s players, who struggled to adapt to the local cuisine. Naturally, after the way I teased them yesterday, they could no longer hold back. Today I went ahead and organised some Chinese food for them. TBQ in particular said that it felt like years since he had last eaten rice.
Hopefully they can quickly get themselves match-fit.
Soon, the last few bits of preparation will commence. As for our starting roster for the opening game, after extensive discussion, we’ve settled on using our substitute Toplaner: AmazingJ to replace Koro. As for Koro, he seems a bit lonely today.
However, he still stayed with his team throughout practice and the discussion that followed. Practice was especially intense today. Today, we scrimmed numerous times with Taiwanese and Korean teams. After the games, there was much discussion as well as suggestions made.
It’s apparent that the players could feel the added intensity. The atmosphere backstage was no longer casual and there was definitely less commotion. The training rooms of all the teams were tightly shut. When we do run into one another, there’s no longer any casual gossip or chit chat. Just the polite nod and gesture before bidding one another farewell. Behind every door, it was difficult to fathom what kinds of preparation they had. After a year of hard work, tomorrow they will face the real test. Every match means more than a simple win or a loss. The teams also shoulder a tremendous amount of expectation, pressure from management, the reputation of their region, as well as the hopes and dreams of the fans. As for our own players, it’s obvious that they are anxious and even more hard working during todays practice. At night, the dry weather made everyones eyes uncomfortable. Luckily I brought some stress-relief eye drops beforehand.
There are countless articles analysing and predicting the results. As for key areas to watch, there are many different opinions. As for my personal opinion on the group stages, perhaps they’re very different than most people out there.
I believe that the groups with the most competition are A and D. Especially in the case of group A, the fight between CLG, Koo, and the Flashwolves for the two qualifying spots will be incredibly intense. The Flashwolves have the ability to topple the other two teams. As for my prediction for this group, it’s really hard to say at this point.
Group D is naturally the most difficult group in this tournament. LPL’s LGD have to play like they normally do in order to have a chance to qualify. As for KT’s style, it kinda counters LGD. As for who wins on the day, it’s totally up to who’s form is better. TSM is the experienced old guard that’s been through countless tournaments, LGD has to make sure they’re not taken by surprise. The biggest watching point in this group is the fact that it has the strongest 3rd seed team: OG. This team, led by the legendary Xpeke, must not be taken lightly. The aforementioned three teams, if one of them falls off or makes a mistake during pick/bans, then they could lose to OG. The matches in group D should be worth watching and analysing. Even though I still think LGD and KT makes it out of this group, you never really know.
Group B may appear to be unpredictable, but in reality it should be pretty easy to rank the teams. iG, as far as their overall strength, is higher than the other teams in this group. If they manage to perform at their usual level, they should top the group. As for the remaining spot, it should be between FNC and AHQ. As long as iG performs at the level they showed during Regionals, they should have a good chance to beat all the other teams in this group.
After having experienced two international tournaments, we’re much more familiar and organised with our preparations this time around. Our new addition this year: AJ, as well as Fireloli, have both been very good at lifting the teams spirit in the training room.
Tomorrow is his (AmazingJ’s) debut on the world stage. Hopefully he can show you guys his skills and help us get the win. During the entirety of practice today, the one who had the most to say was Clearlove.
Still recovering from his injury, the man of few words: PawN trains silently.
The one who’s rather moody today is Deft. The who’s been running around all day is Meiko.
The 2015 World Championships will commence tomorrow. We’ve finished our preparations. As for the readers, are you ready?
EDG: Worlds Diary (Day 4)
+ Show Spoiler +
Original Post: http://weibo.com/p/1001603893472439474708
Day 4: The Battle Begins
Match day. This is our second time attending Worlds. If we were considered novices last year, then you can say that we are now experienced veterans coming into the tournament. Today there’s no time for sunshine or birds chirping. After we woke up, everyone headed straight to the venue. Our meals were prepared beforehand, but the usual chatter was missing. As the games were about to begin, the atmosphere within the dining hall was especially quiet. Perhaps they were worried that a team would have someone fluent in 36 languages who’d be able to steal their strategies if they spoke.
Well, experienced veterans do have their own strengths. After quickly finishing his own meal, a certain player calmly retreated into a hidden corner where he pulled out two kiwi fruits. Seemingly out of nowhere, he conjured up a fruit knife and began skilfully cutting the fruit. As the scent of the Kiwi fruit began to fill the air, Meiko, who was sitting in the corner, said: “Love(Fire)loli, the kiwi fruit tastes bad right?” While stuffing half of the kiwi fruit in his mouth, Fireloli replied: “Kid, you know nothing… This kiwi fruit’s incredibly sweet!”
AmazingJ, who looked like he wanted some too, slowly walked over and said: “Sigh… I’ve been here for a few days but I could never find out where they put the kiwi fruits.” “I’ll let you have some! I’ll let you have some!” Fireloli said cooly. As he was saying it, his hands were already moving. All I saw was that he was holding the knife in his right hand. He adjusted his grip to his thumb and index finger. Without looking, he flicked his wrist twice and sliced the whole kiwi fruit into four pieces. I was shocked. What amazing skill with the knife. Sure there are many different kiwi-cutting styles passed down from generation to generation but nothing like this. The smooth cut and natural finish is not something you see every day. AmazingJ hurried over and instantly gobbled a piece. “Sweet! It’s so sweet!” The experienced veteran could not help but feel satisfied at his work.
The opening ceremony’s about to begin and we’re about to step on stage. Once again, I realised why I’ve always loved the western venues. I’m not sure exactly why, but I really enjoy the atmosphere. It makes you feel like you’re intoxicated.
I enjoy seeing the fans let loose and cheer for the teams that they love. The scene of the crowd, fans unable to hold back their excitement, screaming and yelling for their heroes on the stage.
Whenever FNC stole a Blue Buff, took a turret, or got a kill, the crowd would go wild. Today, there was an unforgettable moment that made me feel incredibly proud. The crowd began applauding Meiko’s incredible Thresh mechanics. Soon, the applause turned into chants of Meiko’s name: “Meiko! Meiko! Meiko!” This shy kid, with his amazing performance, won the hearts of the audience.
Today, at the other end of the stage, there was a group of fans that constantly cheered: “EDG! EDG! EDG!” Their resonant cheers could be heard throughout the entire Dock Pullman.
I suddenly felt that even I was a bit taller and stronger. Even in far-away Europe, there are fans cheering for us. Last night, two fans found us back stage and gifted us a box of their precious instant noodles. The reason I’m mentioning this is because that box of noodles has already been completely finished today. We feel blessed that we’re still receiving your support even though we’re so far away from home.
Today we were very lucky and were able to win our first match. We also debuted our new uniforms. Does it looks good?
The real battle has yet to begin. Let’s wait and see!
Day 4: The Battle Begins
Match day. This is our second time attending Worlds. If we were considered novices last year, then you can say that we are now experienced veterans coming into the tournament. Today there’s no time for sunshine or birds chirping. After we woke up, everyone headed straight to the venue. Our meals were prepared beforehand, but the usual chatter was missing. As the games were about to begin, the atmosphere within the dining hall was especially quiet. Perhaps they were worried that a team would have someone fluent in 36 languages who’d be able to steal their strategies if they spoke.
Well, experienced veterans do have their own strengths. After quickly finishing his own meal, a certain player calmly retreated into a hidden corner where he pulled out two kiwi fruits. Seemingly out of nowhere, he conjured up a fruit knife and began skilfully cutting the fruit. As the scent of the Kiwi fruit began to fill the air, Meiko, who was sitting in the corner, said: “Love(Fire)loli, the kiwi fruit tastes bad right?” While stuffing half of the kiwi fruit in his mouth, Fireloli replied: “Kid, you know nothing… This kiwi fruit’s incredibly sweet!”
AmazingJ, who looked like he wanted some too, slowly walked over and said: “Sigh… I’ve been here for a few days but I could never find out where they put the kiwi fruits.” “I’ll let you have some! I’ll let you have some!” Fireloli said cooly. As he was saying it, his hands were already moving. All I saw was that he was holding the knife in his right hand. He adjusted his grip to his thumb and index finger. Without looking, he flicked his wrist twice and sliced the whole kiwi fruit into four pieces. I was shocked. What amazing skill with the knife. Sure there are many different kiwi-cutting styles passed down from generation to generation but nothing like this. The smooth cut and natural finish is not something you see every day. AmazingJ hurried over and instantly gobbled a piece. “Sweet! It’s so sweet!” The experienced veteran could not help but feel satisfied at his work.
The opening ceremony’s about to begin and we’re about to step on stage. Once again, I realised why I’ve always loved the western venues. I’m not sure exactly why, but I really enjoy the atmosphere. It makes you feel like you’re intoxicated.
I enjoy seeing the fans let loose and cheer for the teams that they love. The scene of the crowd, fans unable to hold back their excitement, screaming and yelling for their heroes on the stage.
Whenever FNC stole a Blue Buff, took a turret, or got a kill, the crowd would go wild. Today, there was an unforgettable moment that made me feel incredibly proud. The crowd began applauding Meiko’s incredible Thresh mechanics. Soon, the applause turned into chants of Meiko’s name: “Meiko! Meiko! Meiko!” This shy kid, with his amazing performance, won the hearts of the audience.
Today, at the other end of the stage, there was a group of fans that constantly cheered: “EDG! EDG! EDG!” Their resonant cheers could be heard throughout the entire Dock Pullman.
I suddenly felt that even I was a bit taller and stronger. Even in far-away Europe, there are fans cheering for us. Last night, two fans found us back stage and gifted us a box of their precious instant noodles. The reason I’m mentioning this is because that box of noodles has already been completely finished today. We feel blessed that we’re still receiving your support even though we’re so far away from home.
Today we were very lucky and were able to win our first match. We also debuted our new uniforms. Does it looks good?
The real battle has yet to begin. Let’s wait and see!
EDG: Worlds Diary (Day 5)
+ Show Spoiler +
Original Post: http://weibo.com/p/1001603893823624367085
Day 5: Nerves
Today is the second day of Worlds. With the collapse of LGD, the atmosphere at the venue was incredibly tense. The LPL region has yet to win a single game against a real opponent. As for H2K, we’ve done our research beforehand and they’re definitely not a team we can take lightly. Even though the eventual victory was through a splendid performance by us, I was incredibly nervous before the game began.
This time around, we’re a lot more nervous compared to MSI or Season 4 Worlds. At Worlds last year, we were considered newcomers and could be excused for blindly charging forward. At MSI, even though we lost two games in groups, we were still able to make it into the knockout stages. Group C, at first glance, may seem already set in stone. On paper, EDG and SKT are much stronger compared to the other two teams. However, after two days we can see that the Western team’s form and match performance are both on the rise. So even though it may seem like we can relax, we’re actually rather worried. The more clear-cut the groups are, the less room there is for mistakes. If anything goes wrong, it would not only mean a single loss, but would also negatively affect our future performances.
Therefore, when we made the mistake trying to steal the enemy Blue Buff, miscalculating the opponents damage and losing 3 for 1, my heart would not stop pounding.
Well, we all know what happened later so there’s no point going over the match in detail. Tomorrow we will face our strongest opponent in the group: SKT. After a simple dinner, we held a meeting discussing our strategy against them and finalised our preparation.
Tomorrow, all three LPL teams will play. Every match will be incredibly important for each of the clubs. If we can achieve our third victory, we will find ourselves in a very comfortable position within our group. The current atmosphere in our team is very healthy. We’re focused, eager, and calm. Hopefully we can put on an exciting match for you guys tomorrow.
The match today was played in front of H2K’s home fans. However, among the incessant cheering and screaming of the home crowd, the voices of our fans could still be heard.
Despite H2K’s best efforts, we were able to stand our ground. To hear fans screaming our name away from home is the best form of support. With your voices behind us, we won’t let you down!
This morning, Clearlove took the role of the pizza delivery boy. He even tried to be funny by signing the pizza box!
It’s pretty rare to see him like that. Also, I’d like to make an announcement. The instant noodles have arrived!
I’d like to thank the leader of the French fans for organising this! This time around the amount should be enough. Besides instant noodles, they even got us pickled vegetables. This is truly amazing! On behalf of every member who ate the instant noodles, thank you for the hard work!
After iG and LGD’s losses, fans have been openly criticising them for their poor performance. The World Championships are not as simple as everyone thinks. Every team capable of qualifying are incredibly strong. Each team has endured a year of struggle and hard work to get here. Therefore, please give these warriors fighting on the world stage your encouragement and support. It’s fine if you guys don’t love them but please don’t hurt them.
We’ll see you guys tomorrow.
Day 5: Nerves
Today is the second day of Worlds. With the collapse of LGD, the atmosphere at the venue was incredibly tense. The LPL region has yet to win a single game against a real opponent. As for H2K, we’ve done our research beforehand and they’re definitely not a team we can take lightly. Even though the eventual victory was through a splendid performance by us, I was incredibly nervous before the game began.
This time around, we’re a lot more nervous compared to MSI or Season 4 Worlds. At Worlds last year, we were considered newcomers and could be excused for blindly charging forward. At MSI, even though we lost two games in groups, we were still able to make it into the knockout stages. Group C, at first glance, may seem already set in stone. On paper, EDG and SKT are much stronger compared to the other two teams. However, after two days we can see that the Western team’s form and match performance are both on the rise. So even though it may seem like we can relax, we’re actually rather worried. The more clear-cut the groups are, the less room there is for mistakes. If anything goes wrong, it would not only mean a single loss, but would also negatively affect our future performances.
Therefore, when we made the mistake trying to steal the enemy Blue Buff, miscalculating the opponents damage and losing 3 for 1, my heart would not stop pounding.
Well, we all know what happened later so there’s no point going over the match in detail. Tomorrow we will face our strongest opponent in the group: SKT. After a simple dinner, we held a meeting discussing our strategy against them and finalised our preparation.
Tomorrow, all three LPL teams will play. Every match will be incredibly important for each of the clubs. If we can achieve our third victory, we will find ourselves in a very comfortable position within our group. The current atmosphere in our team is very healthy. We’re focused, eager, and calm. Hopefully we can put on an exciting match for you guys tomorrow.
The match today was played in front of H2K’s home fans. However, among the incessant cheering and screaming of the home crowd, the voices of our fans could still be heard.
Despite H2K’s best efforts, we were able to stand our ground. To hear fans screaming our name away from home is the best form of support. With your voices behind us, we won’t let you down!
This morning, Clearlove took the role of the pizza delivery boy. He even tried to be funny by signing the pizza box!
It’s pretty rare to see him like that. Also, I’d like to make an announcement. The instant noodles have arrived!
I’d like to thank the leader of the French fans for organising this! This time around the amount should be enough. Besides instant noodles, they even got us pickled vegetables. This is truly amazing! On behalf of every member who ate the instant noodles, thank you for the hard work!
After iG and LGD’s losses, fans have been openly criticising them for their poor performance. The World Championships are not as simple as everyone thinks. Every team capable of qualifying are incredibly strong. Each team has endured a year of struggle and hard work to get here. Therefore, please give these warriors fighting on the world stage your encouragement and support. It’s fine if you guys don’t love them but please don’t hurt them.
We’ll see you guys tomorrow.
EDG: Worlds Diary (Day 6)
+ Show Spoiler +
Original Post: http://weibo.com/p/1001603894167028767448
Day 6: Defeat
Writing a diary entry when you’ve just lost is the hardest. In the cruel world of E-sports, if you don’t win then your words are worthless. If we wan’t to win Worlds, there’s going to be a lot more difficulties for us to overcome along the way.
The majority of fans are looking for two things from my diary today. They wan’t an explanation for the loss to SKT, especially in terms of our composition, play-style, and where it all went wrong. The second question is why we aren’t playing Koro.
As for our post-match analysis, I can’t reveal much. I’ll merely let you know some of my own thoughts. The biggest mistake occurred during the lane-swap in the early game. Both sides decided to prioritise different things with our side focusing on the Dragon for its bonus. This decision resulted in the wave pushing away from us in the Top Lane. The enemy Renekton not only had the extra gold from pushing the turret with his duo lane, but also had around two waves of extra experience. This lane-swap resulted in our Toplaner being behind in both experience and gold. Also, since our bot-lane decided not to push down the turret, we found ourselves behind in terms of team gold. After we killed SKT’s midlaner, our decision-making was not decisive enough. As a result, we ended up giving them a large lead at the dragon fight. Personally, after the failed fight at dragon, the game was already over for me.
SKT made very little mistakes that game and were able to snowball their lead to victory.
As for the second question that you guys wan’t to know about I’ll try my best to provide a complete answer. To those saying: “I don’t think Koro is any worse than AJ, why won’t you let him start?” I wan’t to ask: “How do you know that?” To those of you who keep asking us to “give Koro back”, well Koro’s actually mine. EDG, from it’s founding till now, has always tried its best to prepare for matches. We will lose some games. However, we will not allow ourselves to lose focus. Every position on the team needs to be earned through hard work. The first part of the group stage matches has finished and we now have a short time to rest and recuperate. As for the starting lineup going forward, we’ll have to see after scrim results and evaluations by our coaching staff.
It’s getting late now. Tomorrow I will spend some time off to chat with you guys on stream. If there’s time, I’ll invite a few of the players over as well. I’d like to apologise for failing to deliver a victory for you guys. There are still many areas we’re looking to improve.
Day 6: Defeat
Writing a diary entry when you’ve just lost is the hardest. In the cruel world of E-sports, if you don’t win then your words are worthless. If we wan’t to win Worlds, there’s going to be a lot more difficulties for us to overcome along the way.
The majority of fans are looking for two things from my diary today. They wan’t an explanation for the loss to SKT, especially in terms of our composition, play-style, and where it all went wrong. The second question is why we aren’t playing Koro.
As for our post-match analysis, I can’t reveal much. I’ll merely let you know some of my own thoughts. The biggest mistake occurred during the lane-swap in the early game. Both sides decided to prioritise different things with our side focusing on the Dragon for its bonus. This decision resulted in the wave pushing away from us in the Top Lane. The enemy Renekton not only had the extra gold from pushing the turret with his duo lane, but also had around two waves of extra experience. This lane-swap resulted in our Toplaner being behind in both experience and gold. Also, since our bot-lane decided not to push down the turret, we found ourselves behind in terms of team gold. After we killed SKT’s midlaner, our decision-making was not decisive enough. As a result, we ended up giving them a large lead at the dragon fight. Personally, after the failed fight at dragon, the game was already over for me.
SKT made very little mistakes that game and were able to snowball their lead to victory.
As for the second question that you guys wan’t to know about I’ll try my best to provide a complete answer. To those saying: “I don’t think Koro is any worse than AJ, why won’t you let him start?” I wan’t to ask: “How do you know that?” To those of you who keep asking us to “give Koro back”, well Koro’s actually mine. EDG, from it’s founding till now, has always tried its best to prepare for matches. We will lose some games. However, we will not allow ourselves to lose focus. Every position on the team needs to be earned through hard work. The first part of the group stage matches has finished and we now have a short time to rest and recuperate. As for the starting lineup going forward, we’ll have to see after scrim results and evaluations by our coaching staff.
It’s getting late now. Tomorrow I will spend some time off to chat with you guys on stream. If there’s time, I’ll invite a few of the players over as well. I’d like to apologise for failing to deliver a victory for you guys. There are still many areas we’re looking to improve.
EDG: Worlds Diary (Day 7)
+ Show Spoiler +
Original Post: http://www.weibo.com/p/1001603894529899019578
Day 7: In Pursuit
Today marks the end to the first round of Group Stage games with the results of the LPL teams being poor. From the viewers perspective, perhaps this has been the most exciting Worlds with no absolute powerhouse dominating. There is the Flashwolves that beats Koo. Then there is the Flashwolves that manages to lose to a Wildcard team. The performances of the Western teams during groups has been particularly eye-catching. Group B’s C9, Group D’s OG, and Group C’s SKT have all practically ensured their qualifications with 3 wins.
Why is something like this happening? The opinion and analysis from China points to the Pick/Ban and Champion selection as the major issue. After the first round of scrims and practices, I feel that the Western teams have a better grasp on strategy and wave management compared to the other regions. I’ll admit that I’m no professional when it comes to tactics. However, as the saying goes, even if you’ve never tried pork, at least you know what a pig looks like (Even if you’ve never personally experienced something, at least you’ve heard about it). Therefore today, I’ll be showing off my swordsmanship in front of Guan Yu (T/L: Chinese General), displaying my mastery of the axe outside Lu Ban’s (T/L: Carpenter) front door, selling Watermelon in front of Wang Po (T/L: Farmer/Merchant. There is a story about her selling cantaloupes), and writing my resume in front of Mao Sui (T/L: Another historical figure who’s considered talented). I’ll try and act the part and guide you through my analysis of the games.
Why do I say that the western teams are better at strategy? There are a few points to consider. The first is in terms of summoner spells on mid laners. The use of teleport is an example of where Western teams have a better understanding of the current patch. Another point is in pick/ban where the traditional priority on mid lane counters has shifted to the top lane. A third example is their decision-making and execution of lane-swaps. This third point, I feel, is the main reason why Western teams have performed so well in the group stages. At the moment, the LPL team’s understanding of lane swaps is too simple and incomplete. When we decide to push down the first turret, we don’t have a system or procedure that takes into account the waves in the top and bottom lanes. The outcome of the match is therefore often decided in the first eight minutes. The wildcard teams victory over the Flashwolves today was achieved through the use of a simple laneswap, without any fighting, to destroy the top lane. They were able to achieve this victory despite being inferior in both skill and synergy. Something similar also happened in our match against SKT. Simply through a superior laneswap, they were able to build up an early lead. The emphasis on support/jungle roaming that’s commonplace in the LPL and Season 4 SSW’s impressive laning and early invades for vision control, are both made useless by a properly executed lane-swap in the current meta. After the first round of Group Stages, it appears that the LMS, Wildcard, and LPL regions are inferior to the Western and Korean regions in this regard.
You can argue that if you draft a certain team comp, that you can win in team fights or something similar later on. However, teams aren’t going to fight you when you want. By the time team fights happen, you realise that you’re already so far behind that you can’t win. In terms of champion priority, besides the bugged/op champion in this patch, it seems that there is more emphasis on the ADC’s Tristana and Sivir. These two champions make it incredibly easy to wave-clear and take down early turrets through the lane-swap. Which also allows you to invade for vision and jungle camps. Why do teams on the Blue-side place so much emphasis on Darius in the top lane? It’s because there’s always one champion that’s bound to be countered on the blue side and letting Darius get countered is more forgiving.
At the moment, the situation for the 3 teams from LPL is looking rather grim. In Group B, even though iG managed to get a single win, the other teams have all been impressive. With the group now wide open, there is still a chance for iG in the second round of the group stages. However, if they don’t make the right adjustments and fix their strategic issues, it’s hard to say who will qualify.
In Group C, even though EDG managed two wins in the first round, it is clear that we are tactically inferior to SKT. If we fail to beat H2K in the upcoming games, there is still a chance that we’ll be sent packing.
In Group D, LGD failed to get even a single win. The only thing they can do now is wait for a miracle to happen. If they still can’t figure out their opponents tactics and choose to mindlessly rely on their mechanics, then the only chance for them to qualify is in their dreams.
The LPL scene at the moment is lacking in strategic and open-minded talents in the backroom staff. If you wan’t to talk raw mechanics or team fighting, I think nobody can disagree that Western teams are lacking. However, when the gap in skill’s not that big, tactical understanding and adaptation more than compensates for this. Skilled players who can think and express themselves often go on to pursue other careers. People who do analysis and try to enter the industry rely to much on breaking the status quo in hopes of making it big. The scene in China is truly missing talents who are willing to fill the less glamorous positions.
For the second round of group stages we shall fight with our lives on the line. In the unavoidable battles ahead, may the wise man win!
To all the viewers out there, you’re only seeing what’s going on on the outside. Instead of merely jumping on the obvious criticisms, try and understand what’s going on behind the scenes. To the readers, are you ready?
PS: The images are from the Riot-organised fan meet. The reason there’s only four players in the images is because Pawn’s back condition made it difficult for him to attend while Koro’s still recovering from his neck injury. Please don’t comment and ask why we’re not letting him start, attend events, or appear in picture.
Day 7: In Pursuit
Today marks the end to the first round of Group Stage games with the results of the LPL teams being poor. From the viewers perspective, perhaps this has been the most exciting Worlds with no absolute powerhouse dominating. There is the Flashwolves that beats Koo. Then there is the Flashwolves that manages to lose to a Wildcard team. The performances of the Western teams during groups has been particularly eye-catching. Group B’s C9, Group D’s OG, and Group C’s SKT have all practically ensured their qualifications with 3 wins.
Why is something like this happening? The opinion and analysis from China points to the Pick/Ban and Champion selection as the major issue. After the first round of scrims and practices, I feel that the Western teams have a better grasp on strategy and wave management compared to the other regions. I’ll admit that I’m no professional when it comes to tactics. However, as the saying goes, even if you’ve never tried pork, at least you know what a pig looks like (Even if you’ve never personally experienced something, at least you’ve heard about it). Therefore today, I’ll be showing off my swordsmanship in front of Guan Yu (T/L: Chinese General), displaying my mastery of the axe outside Lu Ban’s (T/L: Carpenter) front door, selling Watermelon in front of Wang Po (T/L: Farmer/Merchant. There is a story about her selling cantaloupes), and writing my resume in front of Mao Sui (T/L: Another historical figure who’s considered talented). I’ll try and act the part and guide you through my analysis of the games.
Why do I say that the western teams are better at strategy? There are a few points to consider. The first is in terms of summoner spells on mid laners. The use of teleport is an example of where Western teams have a better understanding of the current patch. Another point is in pick/ban where the traditional priority on mid lane counters has shifted to the top lane. A third example is their decision-making and execution of lane-swaps. This third point, I feel, is the main reason why Western teams have performed so well in the group stages. At the moment, the LPL team’s understanding of lane swaps is too simple and incomplete. When we decide to push down the first turret, we don’t have a system or procedure that takes into account the waves in the top and bottom lanes. The outcome of the match is therefore often decided in the first eight minutes. The wildcard teams victory over the Flashwolves today was achieved through the use of a simple laneswap, without any fighting, to destroy the top lane. They were able to achieve this victory despite being inferior in both skill and synergy. Something similar also happened in our match against SKT. Simply through a superior laneswap, they were able to build up an early lead. The emphasis on support/jungle roaming that’s commonplace in the LPL and Season 4 SSW’s impressive laning and early invades for vision control, are both made useless by a properly executed lane-swap in the current meta. After the first round of Group Stages, it appears that the LMS, Wildcard, and LPL regions are inferior to the Western and Korean regions in this regard.
You can argue that if you draft a certain team comp, that you can win in team fights or something similar later on. However, teams aren’t going to fight you when you want. By the time team fights happen, you realise that you’re already so far behind that you can’t win. In terms of champion priority, besides the bugged/op champion in this patch, it seems that there is more emphasis on the ADC’s Tristana and Sivir. These two champions make it incredibly easy to wave-clear and take down early turrets through the lane-swap. Which also allows you to invade for vision and jungle camps. Why do teams on the Blue-side place so much emphasis on Darius in the top lane? It’s because there’s always one champion that’s bound to be countered on the blue side and letting Darius get countered is more forgiving.
At the moment, the situation for the 3 teams from LPL is looking rather grim. In Group B, even though iG managed to get a single win, the other teams have all been impressive. With the group now wide open, there is still a chance for iG in the second round of the group stages. However, if they don’t make the right adjustments and fix their strategic issues, it’s hard to say who will qualify.
In Group C, even though EDG managed two wins in the first round, it is clear that we are tactically inferior to SKT. If we fail to beat H2K in the upcoming games, there is still a chance that we’ll be sent packing.
In Group D, LGD failed to get even a single win. The only thing they can do now is wait for a miracle to happen. If they still can’t figure out their opponents tactics and choose to mindlessly rely on their mechanics, then the only chance for them to qualify is in their dreams.
The LPL scene at the moment is lacking in strategic and open-minded talents in the backroom staff. If you wan’t to talk raw mechanics or team fighting, I think nobody can disagree that Western teams are lacking. However, when the gap in skill’s not that big, tactical understanding and adaptation more than compensates for this. Skilled players who can think and express themselves often go on to pursue other careers. People who do analysis and try to enter the industry rely to much on breaking the status quo in hopes of making it big. The scene in China is truly missing talents who are willing to fill the less glamorous positions.
For the second round of group stages we shall fight with our lives on the line. In the unavoidable battles ahead, may the wise man win!
To all the viewers out there, you’re only seeing what’s going on on the outside. Instead of merely jumping on the obvious criticisms, try and understand what’s going on behind the scenes. To the readers, are you ready?
PS: The images are from the Riot-organised fan meet. The reason there’s only four players in the images is because Pawn’s back condition made it difficult for him to attend while Koro’s still recovering from his neck injury. Please don’t comment and ask why we’re not letting him start, attend events, or appear in picture.
[He took two days off here]
EDG: Worlds Diary (Day 10)
+ Show Spoiler +
Original Post: http://www.weibo.com/p/1001603895601111684567
Day 10: Confusion
On the topic of my last diary post, I received a lot of positive comments about my analysis on groups and the meta so far. Soon we will start the second half of Group Stages. In a day and a half, we will find out our fate for Quarters. From the moment we arrived in Paris, every team received a detailed itinerary which specified the plan for every day of our stay: matches, scrims, individual/group interviews, and filming. On the last page of the itinerary there was a sentence: “You will either receive the itinerary for the next leg of the tournament or go home”. Of course this was written in English but I’m translating it into Chinese so you guys can easily read it.
Honestly, I didn’t wan’t to bring up this topic but the fact is that it’s been bothering us. Every day, there’s countless analysis, begging, abuse, and suggestions telling us that Koro needs to start in order for us to win. You guys have your reasons, and we understand. I especially took the time to read pretty much all the articles, Weibo comments, private messages, posts on our app (Android and Apple users can search “EDG俱乐部” in the app store to download and participate in our daily prize draws) regarding Koro and AJ’s differences, positives and negatives, strengths and weaknesses, body shape, character, and even their backgrounds, family, history, and pretty much everything you can think of. Don’t worry, even though I said “Koro is mine”, I will share him with you guys. He’s a talented player who we’ve nurtured from back when the team was still starting until now. At this moment I can confirm that we have no personal, managerial, salary, bonus, contractual, technical, housing, bedding, food, air-conditioning, table, chair, carpet, towel, toothbrush-related etc. issues with him. AmazingJ is a new player who arrived from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. In terms of his experience, looks, speaking, hairstyle, skin, smile, eyes, mouth, face, profile, running, jumping, walking, standing, turning etc. he is still lacking compared to Koro. No matter how we do at Worlds, neither Koro nor Clearlove are going to retire. Therefore, please give those two a little time so they can learn from one another and grow while engaging in healthy competition for a starting spot. Also, please trust us. As the three-times LPL and Demacia cup champions who recently won the Mid-season Invitational, our backroom staff knows what they’re doing. Everyone at the club wants to win.
Okay, enough about that. Let’s return to what I said last time about the strengths of the Western teams. The current ability of the West has thrown a lot of the regions into disarray. It’s as if in a soccer tournament, Brazil starts to use long-balls, England plays tiki-taka, Germany picks up total football, and China actually figures out how to organise itself. Everyones confused. All the coaches and analysts, during their breaks and when they meet up for lunch or drinks are all complaining about it. These days those physically or mentally collapsed players and clubs can be found everywhere. Paris this week, in every scenic location, delicious restaurant, old streets/towns, plain and mountain, river and ocean, you can find E-sports players touring the city. Some are shopping, trying out the local cuisine, and taking photos, while others are boating, climbing the Notre Dame, or buying gifts for family.
Soon we will begin the second leg of the Group Stages. Under the current chaotic situation, if you were to ask me to pick a runner up for Worlds I’d choose KT. If you wanted me to pick the winner I’d choose OG. If you consider that, LGD’s done as expected so far. However, during breaks, we’re all giving them encouragement. Hopefully they can create a miracle in the last minute and win their first game! Uh… Achieve victory! Make it out of Groups!
While I was skimming through posts about Koro, I also read the posts about the hot topic recently. Regarding your dissatisfaction with LGD, I’ve already told them face-to-face in a clear and straightforward way. They’re very well aware of your views and attitude towards them right now. I've also recommended that they take an alternate route when they swim home incase they get jumped half-way. Hopefully in the days to come everyone can put more effort into watching the games and let them work in peace. Who knows, maybe they can pull off a miracle!
Also, rumours are circulating that if LPL performs poorly this year, Season 6 will eliminate one of the LPL spots and grant it to the region that wins MSI (Unconfirmed). Therefore, lets give them a chance!
To the viewers, the games are about to begin. Are you nervous? I’m not nervous at all since I don’t have any time to be. I’m busy everyday with training, adjustments, meetings, and writing the diary. The matches to come will definitely be even more exciting and fun to watch. Please give all the warriors here at Worlds your cheers and support. Even though some of them have not been performing, even though some of them are not from China, they’ve spent a years worth of hard work and dedication to prove that they deserve to represent all the fans and players in China who love League of Legends. EDG has not forgotten this and I’m sure the rest of them remember too. I’ll say it again, If you have the time and ability, we’d love for you to come and cheer us on in person. If you don’t have the ability or time, we hope that you can support us while watching the stream. Even if you can’t watch the broadcast, we hope that when you hear the news of our victory, that your heart will scream: “We did it!”
It’s okay to not like something, but please don’t hurt it.
See you guys tomorrow!
Day 10: Confusion
On the topic of my last diary post, I received a lot of positive comments about my analysis on groups and the meta so far. Soon we will start the second half of Group Stages. In a day and a half, we will find out our fate for Quarters. From the moment we arrived in Paris, every team received a detailed itinerary which specified the plan for every day of our stay: matches, scrims, individual/group interviews, and filming. On the last page of the itinerary there was a sentence: “You will either receive the itinerary for the next leg of the tournament or go home”. Of course this was written in English but I’m translating it into Chinese so you guys can easily read it.
Honestly, I didn’t wan’t to bring up this topic but the fact is that it’s been bothering us. Every day, there’s countless analysis, begging, abuse, and suggestions telling us that Koro needs to start in order for us to win. You guys have your reasons, and we understand. I especially took the time to read pretty much all the articles, Weibo comments, private messages, posts on our app (Android and Apple users can search “EDG俱乐部” in the app store to download and participate in our daily prize draws) regarding Koro and AJ’s differences, positives and negatives, strengths and weaknesses, body shape, character, and even their backgrounds, family, history, and pretty much everything you can think of. Don’t worry, even though I said “Koro is mine”, I will share him with you guys. He’s a talented player who we’ve nurtured from back when the team was still starting until now. At this moment I can confirm that we have no personal, managerial, salary, bonus, contractual, technical, housing, bedding, food, air-conditioning, table, chair, carpet, towel, toothbrush-related etc. issues with him. AmazingJ is a new player who arrived from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. In terms of his experience, looks, speaking, hairstyle, skin, smile, eyes, mouth, face, profile, running, jumping, walking, standing, turning etc. he is still lacking compared to Koro. No matter how we do at Worlds, neither Koro nor Clearlove are going to retire. Therefore, please give those two a little time so they can learn from one another and grow while engaging in healthy competition for a starting spot. Also, please trust us. As the three-times LPL and Demacia cup champions who recently won the Mid-season Invitational, our backroom staff knows what they’re doing. Everyone at the club wants to win.
Okay, enough about that. Let’s return to what I said last time about the strengths of the Western teams. The current ability of the West has thrown a lot of the regions into disarray. It’s as if in a soccer tournament, Brazil starts to use long-balls, England plays tiki-taka, Germany picks up total football, and China actually figures out how to organise itself. Everyones confused. All the coaches and analysts, during their breaks and when they meet up for lunch or drinks are all complaining about it. These days those physically or mentally collapsed players and clubs can be found everywhere. Paris this week, in every scenic location, delicious restaurant, old streets/towns, plain and mountain, river and ocean, you can find E-sports players touring the city. Some are shopping, trying out the local cuisine, and taking photos, while others are boating, climbing the Notre Dame, or buying gifts for family.
Soon we will begin the second leg of the Group Stages. Under the current chaotic situation, if you were to ask me to pick a runner up for Worlds I’d choose KT. If you wanted me to pick the winner I’d choose OG. If you consider that, LGD’s done as expected so far. However, during breaks, we’re all giving them encouragement. Hopefully they can create a miracle in the last minute and win their first game! Uh… Achieve victory! Make it out of Groups!
While I was skimming through posts about Koro, I also read the posts about the hot topic recently. Regarding your dissatisfaction with LGD, I’ve already told them face-to-face in a clear and straightforward way. They’re very well aware of your views and attitude towards them right now. I've also recommended that they take an alternate route when they swim home incase they get jumped half-way. Hopefully in the days to come everyone can put more effort into watching the games and let them work in peace. Who knows, maybe they can pull off a miracle!
Also, rumours are circulating that if LPL performs poorly this year, Season 6 will eliminate one of the LPL spots and grant it to the region that wins MSI (Unconfirmed). Therefore, lets give them a chance!
To the viewers, the games are about to begin. Are you nervous? I’m not nervous at all since I don’t have any time to be. I’m busy everyday with training, adjustments, meetings, and writing the diary. The matches to come will definitely be even more exciting and fun to watch. Please give all the warriors here at Worlds your cheers and support. Even though some of them have not been performing, even though some of them are not from China, they’ve spent a years worth of hard work and dedication to prove that they deserve to represent all the fans and players in China who love League of Legends. EDG has not forgotten this and I’m sure the rest of them remember too. I’ll say it again, If you have the time and ability, we’d love for you to come and cheer us on in person. If you don’t have the ability or time, we hope that you can support us while watching the stream. Even if you can’t watch the broadcast, we hope that when you hear the news of our victory, that your heart will scream: “We did it!”
It’s okay to not like something, but please don’t hurt it.
See you guys tomorrow!
EDG: Worlds Diary (Day 11)
+ Show Spoiler +
Original Post: http://weibo.com/p/1001603895907191002361
Day 11: Restart
The last round of the Group Stages starts in less than 15 hours. If the first round was everyone trying to get a feel for the opposition, then the second round should be a showcase of every team’s real strength. When I returned to my room, my mind was a complete mess. Memories of the past, places I’ve been, and people I’ve met were overlapping with one another. From Seoul, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tallahassee, Tongji University, to the E-sports Arena, Tai Cang (2014 LPL), Jing Wu Stadium…
I rubbed my face and realised that it’s already been two years since I started working to make our dream of winning Worlds come true. Those countless days and nights, working without sleep or rest…
This year, we can do it! Bring on the matches!
Day 11: Restart
The last round of the Group Stages starts in less than 15 hours. If the first round was everyone trying to get a feel for the opposition, then the second round should be a showcase of every team’s real strength. When I returned to my room, my mind was a complete mess. Memories of the past, places I’ve been, and people I’ve met were overlapping with one another. From Seoul, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tallahassee, Tongji University, to the E-sports Arena, Tai Cang (2014 LPL), Jing Wu Stadium…
I rubbed my face and realised that it’s already been two years since I started working to make our dream of winning Worlds come true. Those countless days and nights, working without sleep or rest…
This year, we can do it! Bring on the matches!
EDG: Worlds Diary (Day 12)
+ Show Spoiler +
Original Post: http://weibo.com/p/1001603896313388375333
Day 12: Crawling Forward
Despite having our lives scared out of us, we managed to barely edge it into the Quarter-finals. We weren’t able to show our usual level against the stronger team and almost had to leave Paris with regrets until we made a comeback against the weaker one. After five hours of matches, we were all physically and mentally exhausted. When the fifth game ended, every member of our staff collapsed onto their seats. Luckily, we can still comfort one another. More importantly, this means that we’ve survived and qualified for the next stage in London.
After the match I told Clearlove: “Your Gragas in the second game wasn’t throwing barrels of beer… You were throwing barrels of crap.” He was embarrassed and laughed: “I messed up, I messed up!” The world-stage is a difficult place to compete on. With the Groups format, unless you completely steamroll the opposition, things can always go wrong. Quality of practice, physical condition, player form, mentality, mechanics, decision-making, and communication, all aspects must be top-notch. The LPL teams this year have all been stumbling. It’s not because we got weaker, it’s just that we’ve not been able to show our best in the aforementioned areas. My biggest realisation from the matches this year is that there’s no absolutely dominant team, just a bunch of mid-to-upper level teams. Under this format, every team has become incredibly strong. The Western teams have shown their innovation in tactics, the Koreans continue to be consistently strong, while the Taiwanese teams have shown off their aggressive play style. This makes every match incredibly tense.
Our first match against SKT today was incredibly depressing for all our players. After five minutes we knew that we’d lost. Through a series of individual and team mistakes, we not only lost the advantage that we got in the pick/ban, but also found ourselves in a passive state. To be exact, the level 2 Gragas gank, where we couldn’t manage a kill due to communication and execution errors, costed us. Since Elise was always going to level 3 tower dive with the Darius, the routine approach should’ve been to countergank and help the Toplaner. By choosing to gank bot first, the Jungler must quickly recall and head straight for the toplane in order to make it in time. Due to the early mistake in the bot lane, top was dove, and the Jungler fell behind. Our Midlaner tried to help Top, but did so at the cost of his own turret being taken. We focused on one thing, but lost sight of another, and swiftly lost the game.
After the first game finished, we had a lot of things to cover. On the one hand we had to analyse our mistakes, but we also didn’t want to lose our confidence. Going too in-depth would risk ruining our mentality, but not saying enough would have no effect. We also had to prepare the pick/ban for the next game. At the same time, due to the loss, we had to try and motivate and encourage the players. We had to criticise, yell, but also praise… The program was pretty complicated. Against BKT, the match was probably one of the most memorable for the players. Not only were the fans nervous and probably angry, but I imagine that the big-name players in the match today were probably also worried and feeling goosebumps. Luckily we won, making this a good mental practice match for the important fixtures ahead. However, if we had lost, we would’ve become practice for another team.
Against H2K, since it was a do-or-die situation, it was a good idea to pick a comp where we could confidently showcase our strengths. For games like this, there’s no need to make the match entertaining. As long as we don’t make any mistakes and play like we do in practice, a safe and secure victory is the best for the team right now. Therefore when we crafted our pick/ban, we decided to pick the Lulu and Jinx first. As long as we allow Jinx to farm safely past the early-game, we can’t lose. We were pleasantly surprised by a few of the nice Tahm Kench plays during that game as well.
After the match we all sat down for a chat. It’s obvious that we currently have issues in the Top lane position. The thing that we want the most at this point is either for Koro to quickly reach match fitness, or for AJ to make use of this experience to develop further. On the way back to the hotel I was in the same car as Koro. I asked him: “How much longer?” Since his performances during scrims have been far behind AJ, and did not warrant a starting position. He knew what I meant when I asked him but he simply looked at me and didn’t say a word. Since we finished the group stages earlier, it means that our matches for the Quarters will happen later on. For our adjustments in the Top lane, perhaps this is a good chance.
After the matches, numerous fans gathered outside our practice building. I arranged for the players to head outside after their interviews to meet the fans for pictures and autographs. Some are from Eastern Europe, some are here in Paris for exchange, and some are here from Milan, Italy. Thank you all for your support! Whenever I hear you guys cheering for us at the matches, I always inexplicably find myself feeling touched! Some say that our victory today was all because of those voices from the crowd… I think that’s true! Thank you so much! Those chants of: “EDG, EDG, EDG!” when we left the venue made us feel both proud and thankful!
Today was an unforgettable experience. We will definitely keep marching forward in order to fulfil our dreams!
Day 12: Crawling Forward
Despite having our lives scared out of us, we managed to barely edge it into the Quarter-finals. We weren’t able to show our usual level against the stronger team and almost had to leave Paris with regrets until we made a comeback against the weaker one. After five hours of matches, we were all physically and mentally exhausted. When the fifth game ended, every member of our staff collapsed onto their seats. Luckily, we can still comfort one another. More importantly, this means that we’ve survived and qualified for the next stage in London.
After the match I told Clearlove: “Your Gragas in the second game wasn’t throwing barrels of beer… You were throwing barrels of crap.” He was embarrassed and laughed: “I messed up, I messed up!” The world-stage is a difficult place to compete on. With the Groups format, unless you completely steamroll the opposition, things can always go wrong. Quality of practice, physical condition, player form, mentality, mechanics, decision-making, and communication, all aspects must be top-notch. The LPL teams this year have all been stumbling. It’s not because we got weaker, it’s just that we’ve not been able to show our best in the aforementioned areas. My biggest realisation from the matches this year is that there’s no absolutely dominant team, just a bunch of mid-to-upper level teams. Under this format, every team has become incredibly strong. The Western teams have shown their innovation in tactics, the Koreans continue to be consistently strong, while the Taiwanese teams have shown off their aggressive play style. This makes every match incredibly tense.
Our first match against SKT today was incredibly depressing for all our players. After five minutes we knew that we’d lost. Through a series of individual and team mistakes, we not only lost the advantage that we got in the pick/ban, but also found ourselves in a passive state. To be exact, the level 2 Gragas gank, where we couldn’t manage a kill due to communication and execution errors, costed us. Since Elise was always going to level 3 tower dive with the Darius, the routine approach should’ve been to countergank and help the Toplaner. By choosing to gank bot first, the Jungler must quickly recall and head straight for the toplane in order to make it in time. Due to the early mistake in the bot lane, top was dove, and the Jungler fell behind. Our Midlaner tried to help Top, but did so at the cost of his own turret being taken. We focused on one thing, but lost sight of another, and swiftly lost the game.
After the first game finished, we had a lot of things to cover. On the one hand we had to analyse our mistakes, but we also didn’t want to lose our confidence. Going too in-depth would risk ruining our mentality, but not saying enough would have no effect. We also had to prepare the pick/ban for the next game. At the same time, due to the loss, we had to try and motivate and encourage the players. We had to criticise, yell, but also praise… The program was pretty complicated. Against BKT, the match was probably one of the most memorable for the players. Not only were the fans nervous and probably angry, but I imagine that the big-name players in the match today were probably also worried and feeling goosebumps. Luckily we won, making this a good mental practice match for the important fixtures ahead. However, if we had lost, we would’ve become practice for another team.
Against H2K, since it was a do-or-die situation, it was a good idea to pick a comp where we could confidently showcase our strengths. For games like this, there’s no need to make the match entertaining. As long as we don’t make any mistakes and play like we do in practice, a safe and secure victory is the best for the team right now. Therefore when we crafted our pick/ban, we decided to pick the Lulu and Jinx first. As long as we allow Jinx to farm safely past the early-game, we can’t lose. We were pleasantly surprised by a few of the nice Tahm Kench plays during that game as well.
After the match we all sat down for a chat. It’s obvious that we currently have issues in the Top lane position. The thing that we want the most at this point is either for Koro to quickly reach match fitness, or for AJ to make use of this experience to develop further. On the way back to the hotel I was in the same car as Koro. I asked him: “How much longer?” Since his performances during scrims have been far behind AJ, and did not warrant a starting position. He knew what I meant when I asked him but he simply looked at me and didn’t say a word. Since we finished the group stages earlier, it means that our matches for the Quarters will happen later on. For our adjustments in the Top lane, perhaps this is a good chance.
After the matches, numerous fans gathered outside our practice building. I arranged for the players to head outside after their interviews to meet the fans for pictures and autographs. Some are from Eastern Europe, some are here in Paris for exchange, and some are here from Milan, Italy. Thank you all for your support! Whenever I hear you guys cheering for us at the matches, I always inexplicably find myself feeling touched! Some say that our victory today was all because of those voices from the crowd… I think that’s true! Thank you so much! Those chants of: “EDG, EDG, EDG!” when we left the venue made us feel both proud and thankful!
Today was an unforgettable experience. We will definitely keep marching forward in order to fulfil our dreams!
EDG: Worlds Diary (Day 20) *Final Entry*
Original Post: http://www.weibo.com/p/1001603899256015558014
Day 20: Defeat
I’ve already forgotten those feelings from a year ago when we were knocked out. In a blink of an eye it’s been 365 days and nights. Someone once asked me: What E-sports means to me? I wonder for the fans at the stadium or those of you watching on stream, when you saw the players step on stage to the voice of the announcer chanting our name, what were your emotions? When I heard them say: “Edward… Gaming! Top… Koro! Jungle Clearlove…” I couldn’t help but cheer for them. Deep inside I felt incredibly proud of my players. I suppose for me, E-sports is my passion, my commitment, and my dream.
Before the match, the media kept asking if I felt confident. I was aware that we were everyones last hope for the LPL and all the clubs in the Chinese region. We really wanted to advance to Berlin, but we failed to live up to your expectations! After all, this is E-sports. At the end of the day, if you aren’t strong enough, you will eventually lose. Next year, there’s always next year. However I wonder how many more “next year’s” there are for my players. The monotonous training and matches, year after year, day after day. How many of them can carry on?
When the match ended, nobody was willing to face the reality of defeat. The waiting room was silent. The dazed eyes of the players were fixated on the wall. Suddenly someone blurted: “Those who bought the EDG icons must hate us.” I quickly replied: “They won’t! They won’t! You’re overthinking it.” It’s just that nobody will probably buy it anymore or show it off in-game. Since we couldn’t perform and let you guys down. Honestly, I’ve had to reflect on myself as well. With E-sports becoming more and more professional, I realise that there are many areas where we weren’t professional enough and made mistakes. We failed to provide proper medical coverage or a proper backroom staff, resulting in our players being negatively affected by injuries. We were also lacking in terms of our daily practices as well as allowing for proper rest and recovery. By perhaps overworking our players, we ended up causing long-term injuries. Every big tournament this year, we saw that our players were always plagued with injuries. This is an area we have to improve on in the future.
I think that you guys are probably more interested in the players conditions. They’re probably still recovering from the defeat. The fact is that those emotions from the loss will take time to heal. Just like you guys, I wish that they can quickly recover and that we can fight again next year. I’m extremely thankful for those fans who stayed behind after our defeat to cheer for us. Thank you so much! The cold London breeze couldn’t extinguish your passion! We hope that we can offer more exciting matches for you guys in the future. However, today we were not good enough and let you guys down.
Along this three-week journey, I’m really thankful for everyones interest and support. I’m also grateful for those of you who commented and made suggestions to us. Words cannot describe the shame and guilt I’m feeling right now. Todays diary post will also be the final entry of our Worlds journey in Europe. In the end, we failed to draw a successful conclusion and will now have to leave with regrets. But I want to climb out of these ruins one more time. For the sake of our undying passion for E-sports, for the sake of proving that hard work pays off, and for the sake of proving EDG’s founding motto: “Dreams can become reality!” Even if our path is covered in thorns, even if we find ourselves battered and bruised, as long as we work hard our dreams will definitely come true!
Surrounded by soldiers, Veterans in battle, Passion still unextinguished, If we don’t defeat our enemies, Then we swear that we shall not return home (TL: A poem by Wang ChangLing《从军行》). We won’t give up on our dreams and the belief in our hearts. In the coming year, let us fight once more!!!!