Chapter 15: A 2-0 Victory Over WE! Securing a Spot in the Playoffs!

Chapter 15: A 2-0 Victory Over WE! Successfully Advancing to the Playoffs!

"How was that cannon minion taken down instantly?"

Inside the TES team base, the starters, substitutes, and coaches all gathered around the large screen, watching the decisive match for the final playoff spot.

Whether WE or IG won, the victor would trample over the defeated to knock down their door.

With the current situation, IG’s chances of victory were over 80%.

TES had already entered full alert, meticulously analyzing every detail of IG’s team to avoid the same fate as WE.

“Although Breathe seemed a bit overconfident here, he didn’t choose to retreat immediately. Instead, he hid behind the cannon minion. Anyone in his position wouldn’t have thought Thresh could Q through the minion line and hit him,” TES coach White Crescent attempted to analyze Breathe’s thought process at that moment.

“But Shaqima actually did it. In an instant, he took down the cannon minion before Breathe could even react. One combo drained 30% of his health, and the second hook dragged him back under the tower—pure torment,” JKL said, his hand slightly curled, chin resting on his palm, eyes fixed on the screen.

Tower attacks plus extra damage from the cannon minion, Thresh’s E passive, critical hits, and the execution effect from the gold item combined.

What was terrifying wasn’t the individual parts.

It was how damage numbers appeared almost simultaneously, stacking up to instantly annihilate the cannon minion.

At 18 minutes, the enemy base was flattened.

“The key was that he also got a critical hit—the cannon minion’s 20% crit chance.”

A mere Iron rank player who couldn’t even understand the pick and ban phase dreaming of playing at Worlds?

The caster announced the victor.

Either a team that touched on everything but mastered nothing, or a team that delivered two brilliant games.

Small-scale skirmishes, with Cheng Xuan occasionally firing surprise shots from behind, adding a touch of poison.

Now, the balance of victory was clearly tipping towards IG.

Rookie was so overwhelmed with emotion he ran over and hugged Cheng Xuan, tears streaming down his face.

An indescribable feeling, halfway between excitement, joy, and accomplishment, spread through his entire being.

“Thresh solo killed Gwen, adding another kill! The support is now 3-0, absolutely dominating!” Jingde exhaled deeply, ending the skirmish in the top lane.

This year was his last chance, the final year he could chase his dream with abandon.

And on this crucial qualification day—

Top lane agile support.

The Broken Blade King, severely low on health, obviously couldn’t help with last hits, but he stayed within the critical range of Thresh’s gold item passive.

“Let’s congratulate IG on making it to the playoffs!!!”

But no matter what, as long as a pro player remains on stage even for a second—

Coordination or lack thereof, insufficient attention to detail, poor mechanics, being a weak link—none of it matters.

---

“Replay from the director,” someone in the team said, and everyone’s gaze immediately focused.

The director clearly knew what everyone wanted to see, slowing down the moment Shaqima took down the cannon minion to 0.25x speed.

Cheng Xuan’s palms were sweating profusely; he wiped them hard on his pants.

Removing his headset, he looked out at the sea of excited and thrilled faces in the audience, momentarily at a loss.

Especially after that instant kill of a full-health cannon minion to take down Gwen!

The atmosphere in the live broadcast reached unprecedented heights.

This judgment—that was what truly terrified TES.

There was only one goal now:

To secure a smooth, uneventful win to earn a spot in the playoffs! To literally dig IG out of the coffin they had been nailed into.

In the following moments, Xun eagerly followed the Thresh with Boots of Swiftness everywhere. Rookie in mid lane didn’t even bother with the minion wave, his eyes locked on wherever Thresh went.

The snowball grew larger and larger, freezing time at 18 minutes and 37 seconds.

IG’s other lanes were also sensible, knowing who was the big brother now.

Were these cheers really for me, an Iron rank player?

It turned out—

Looking at the entire summer split, all LPL teams had adopted somewhat strange strategies this year: either a single rigid system or a one-trick pony approach.

Now, everyone finally saw clearly.

“The tower prioritized the cannon minion’s attack; in the early game, one tower shot could take down 20% of the cannon minion’s health,” JKL pursed his lips.

Everyone’s eyes naturally converged near the tower.

Facing fans frustrated by the breakdown, mocking onlookers, and excited haters, IG’s situation steadily worsened.

Instant cannon minion kill!

“Then came the cannon minion’s charged shot, combined with Thresh’s E passive,” Karsa added.

Everyone knew: wherever Thresh went, war would erupt.

Countless viewers flooded the chat with Shaqima’s ID.

The substitute support brought in to replace IG’s former player was not favored by many at first.

The mystery was unraveling, but TES’s internal atmosphere grew somewhat heavy.

“Is it a bug?” Karsa glanced at his teammates.

Could an Iron rank player really earn this much love from fans?

He, too, had dreamed, once upon a time, of one day wearing the national flag, representing the LPL on the world stage, bringing glory to his country.

Back then, Cheng Xuan could only dream, dare only dream, never even daring to speak of it with friends.

Besides, the team was already terminally ill, half-buried in the grave.

“Did he really think all this up in an instant?” 369 bit his nails.

---

On TheShy, nearly at death’s door with barely any health left—

Win the championship!

If not, then such a person didn’t deserve to be called a pro.

Later, confident hook predictions on Menacing Graves’ dash.

Low-health minions instantly killed by the charged gold item passive.

Both the live audience and stream chat shouted and spammed the same name wildly.

Before Shaqima stepped onto the stage, IG was clearly a third party in this match.

WE had no chance at all.

What was terrifying was that these details were judged in the two or three seconds when Shaqima saw Breathe not planning to leave.

And now, he had truly done it.

At the moment he recalled to base, Thresh’s gold item triggered.

Cheng Xuan!

Although he’d once won a championship—

“This is only 13 minutes in, even if the AD came, they couldn’t take down the cannon minion this fast.”

“You’ve never changed, have you?” Looking at Rookie’s tear-filled eyes, Cheng Xuan gave a dry laugh.

In less than 15 minutes, four or five skirmishes had already broken out.

“No, Breathe did try to call a pause after being taken down, but the game detected no abnormal damage spikes, so the referees didn’t grant a pause. That means it wasn’t a bug.”

The few staff members in the audience all stood up, applauding thunderously.

“Next match, ban Lux, ban Thresh,” White Crescent closed his tactical notebook, frowning.

Whether it was Thresh at level one facing five men camping the bush or his godlike calm escapes under pressure—

IG’s substitute support, with seemingly reckless yet precise play, showed everyone that the game could be played differently.

“Instantly bringing the cannon minion’s health down to half, then…”

Even later, when surrounded four versus two, he accurately singled out the isolated Sylas to break through and turn the tide with a three-versus-one counterattack.

---

Chicken is a crybaby; that never changes. He’s cried countless times in tournaments big and small.

In the front row of the not-quite-full stands, IG’s original starting support, Lucas, quietly gave Cheng Xuan a thumbs-up.

Cheng Xuan smiled back, returning the gesture.

Brother, rest assured.

I will carry the glory that belongs to you, break out of the LPL, and stand proudly at the pinnacle of the world!

(End of Chapter)