After agreeing with Zeng Qi to meet in the MSI upper group, on April 21, Mingrui left Berlin with the players of the G2 team.

However, the G2 team's destination is not Hanoi, Vietnam, where the 2019 League of Legends Mid-Season Championship will be held, but Seoul, South Korea.

The reason why the G2 team came to South Korea first is very simple, that is, the G2 coach hopes that the players can train in South Korea for half a month before the official arrival in Hanoi, Vietnam before the start of the MSI group stage.

Why South Korea and not China?

It's because the League of Legends Hanbok client is still the server with the highest level of League of Legends players in the world, and if you play Hanbok in South Korea, players don't need to be bothered by the problem of network speed delay.

As for the G2 team, which has won the S7 and S8 Worlds twice, why they still regard this MSI Mid-Season as so important, the reason is also very simple.

One reason is that none of the G2 team members want their G2 dynasty to lose any international titles.

The second reason is that, although the strength of the G2 team is remarkable all over the world, there is a good saying that you have to work very hard to look effortless, so in order to win every World Championship, the G2 team has to train hard.

And every time you have a world champion, you have to train harder and harder, so that the G2 team can win the next world championship with ease!

So, after the G2 team arrived in South Korea on April 22, they immediately began the task of reversing jet lag and preparing for training on the same day.

The other four teams that qualified directly for the MSI main draw were in a similar situation with the G2 teams, none of whom made it directly to Hanoi, Vietnam.

However, for the remaining eight teams that need to play in the Play-In Tournament, they will have to arrive in Vietnam early and start preparing for the Play-In Tournament on May 1.

At the same time, in order to better prepare the eight teams for the upcoming Play-In Tournament, on April 22, Riot officially announced the final grouping of the eight teams in the Play-In Tournament.

Group A, JDG, GRF, PCB and INTZ.

Group B, Team TSM, Team FW, Team DFM and Team ISG.

This year's MSI, because the format has been modified to a double-elimination format, so its popularity is unprecedentedly high compared to previous years, especially fans in the LPL region, not to mention how much they hope that their runner-up team JDG can directly sweep the play-in tournament and then advance to the MSI main event.

But when LPL fans saw the grouping of this play-in tournament, all of them were instantly dumbfounded, and then they were in despair.

Because the JDG team is in Group A, it's too much to die!

You must know that the three second seeds in the four major regions, if they can only be divided into two groups, there must be two second seeds who must be in the same group.

If the JDG team and the TSM team can be divided into the same group, then LPL fans can accept it.

But what they couldn't accept was that Team JDG was in the same group as Team GRF, the LCK team that was rated No. 1 in the world by ESPN before the LCK Spring Finals!

In other words, in such a grouping, the JDG team almost lost the possibility of directly advancing to the main event!

How were the three finalists for the Play-In Tournament determined?

In Group A, for example, JDG and GRF will need to overcome their respective opponents to enter the upper bracket, and then face each other for the only place in the group.

This means that after the AB group is over, the last place to qualify will have to be played by the remaining 6 teams to beat the bracket together, and then have a chance to fight their way out!

In the case that the strength of the two wild card teams is not weak, once the JDG team falls into the lower bracket, it will be difficult to get the last promotion spot again!

However, no matter how dissatisfied LPL fans are with Riot's official play-in group grouping, on May 1, the first round of the 2019 MSI Mid-Season Championship Invitational officially kicked off at the GG Arena in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

The group stage of the play-in round is a BO3 format.

On the first day, the two teams in Group A were GRF and PCB, and it was no surprise that GRF crushed PCB 2-0.

Next up were the two teams in Group B, Team FW and Team DFM, and Team FW also completed the crushing of Team DFM with a score of 2-0.

On the second day, the two teams in Group A were JDG and INTZ.

Although before the game, LPL fans were still a little worried that the JDG team would overturn on the INTZ team, after all, the INTZ team had beaten the EDG team in an upset during the S6 World Championship that year.

However, the JDG team was still very stable in the end, especially when playing B03 instead of B01, so in the end they easily defeated the INTZ team with a score of 2-0.

In the other Group B match, TSM defeated ISG 2-0.

Four BO3 and four 2-0, it is enough to see that the former five major regions still have considerable strength suppression in the foreign card area.

However, the first round of matches in the group is actually not very interesting, and the most interesting thing is the next qualifier, because only one more winner is produced between the two winners in each group, then he can directly advance to the quarterfinals of the MSI main event!

So, on May 3, the third day of the play-in tournament, the two BO3 qualifiers were played again between the four winning teams.

The first match was a battle between Team TSM and Team FW.

I thought that TSM, as the second seed in the LCS region, would be able to beat the first seed in the PCS region FW no matter what.

But what I never expected was that the "North American cult" TSM team, like the LPL team, never disappointed in this matter, so that after three rounds of hard fighting with the FW team, not only did the FW team directly advance to the MSI quarterfinals with a score of 1-2, but also fell into the loser's group.

Although the result of this game broke the hearts of countless LCS fans on the spot, for the LPL audience, it was a great joy.

Because the FW team's victory over the TSM team was a real upset in every sense!

Therefore, in the eyes of LPL fans, in the case that the JDG team's card strength is indeed inferior to the GRF team, they can definitely complete the upset of the GRF team like the lightning wolf team!

But it's a pity that the JDG team still disappointed all LPL fans in the next game.

1-2, after three rounds of the same fierce battle, the JDG team finally lost to the powerful GRF team with a score of 1-2 and lost the opportunity to directly advance to the MSI quarterfinals!

However, at this time, Mingrui, who was still far away in South Korea, had no time to feel sorry for Zeng Qi, because just after the GRF team successfully advanced to the MSI quarterfinals, there was a jungler named Tarzan who actually made a rather arrogant statement in his post-match interview!

Moderator: "Tarzan, congratulations on advancing to the MSI main event, who is the team you would most like to play against in the main event?" Will it be the SKT team that defeated you in the Spring Finals? ”

Tarzan: "The team I would love to play against the most is G2 because they are World Champions and I want to see what G2 is really capable of. ”

Host: "Sure enough, it's Team G2!" Looks like Tarzan wants to beat Dark for once, right? What do you think of FMVP player Dark? ”

Tarzan: "I think Dark is actually a very average player who has been able to win two FMVPs in a row just because his teammates are good enough, but now, with four stronger GRF teammates, I believe I can beat Dark and beat G2!" ”

Facing the camera, Tarzan's expression is not only very firm, but his tone is also very arrogant, and he almost wrote the words "stepping on Dark's upper position" on his pie face.

And when Mingrui learned that there was a jungler in the LCK region who thought he was "very average", he laughed out loud on the spot.

Because you must know that even in the LPL region with the biggest grievances with you, after you won the S7 World Championship, the professional players and fans in the LPL region did not dare to evaluate themselves as "average".

But who would have thought that this LCK jungler named Tarzan would dare to evaluate himself as average even though he has already won two FMVPs!

"Hehe, newborn calves aren't afraid of tigers, are they?"

"Originally, I was a little worried about how to make some dark value on the body of the LCK division, but now it's okay, the LCK has taken the initiative to give me a reason to fire at them!"

"Tazan, huh? You'd better pray that your GRF team doesn't run into our G2 team in the first round of the main event, otherwise I'll definitely kill you like a pig five times or ten times in the jungle, and kill you straight into a tower animal! ”

After searching for Tazan's photos on the Internet and remembering his big pie face, Mingrui sneered and said, and at the same time, he also set the first small goal that must be completed in the process of this MSI in his heart!

After the GRF and FW teams successfully qualified for the MSI quarterfinals, the lower bracket of the Play-in Tournament resumed on May 4.

In Group A, the PCB team eliminated the INTZ team 2-0; In Group B, the DFM team eliminated the ISG team 2-1.

On May 5, the second round of the lower bracket began.

In Group A, the JDG team eliminated the PCB team 2-0; In Group B, Team TSM eliminated Team DFM 2-0.

With the victory of JDG and TSM, the last promotion spot for this year's MSI Play-in Tournament will be officially born between the two.

Because it is the final of the play-in tournament, the final match will officially start on May 7, and it will be competed in the form of BO5, leaving a full day of preparation time for both teams.

However, judging from the results of the game, this day of preparation looks relatively redundant.

Because this time, as the runner-up of the LPL division and one of the four emperors of the LPL, the JDG team finally did not "show mercy" when facing the TSM team, but directly eliminated the TSM team with a 3-0 devastating attitude, and successfully seized the last chance to advance to the MSI quarterfinals!

With that, all the top eight teams in the 2019 MSI Mid-Season Invitational have been selected, and Riot has officially ranked the eight teams according to their "seeded level."

No. 1 seed, G2, IG.

Second seed, Team SKT, Team TL.

Third seed, Team OG, Team GRF, Team FW and Team JDG.

Once the eight teams are ranked according to their divisions, the next thing to do is the draw for the top eight teams in the upcoming main event, which is the winner-lose group.

Before the lottery ceremony officially began, the staff announced the lottery rules.

First, the two No. 1 seeds, G2 and IG, will appear in two different halves to avoid meeting before the upper bracket finals.

Second, teams of the same level evade.

Third, the team in the same division avoids.

After the lottery rules were determined, the lottery ceremony officially began.

First of all, Team G2 and Team IG were divided into the upper and lower halves.

After the draw, the second seeds, TL, were placed in the top half and SKT were placed in the bottom half, but did not play against the two first seeds.

The final third seed draw will be the highlight of tonight's draw as they will determine the final quarter-final match-up in the first round of the bracket!

So, just when the global audience was nervously expecting the teams in their region not to draw the G2 team, the first third-seeded ball was officially drawn!

Then, all the LPL fans instantly let out a wail.

Because the third seed who needs to play against the G2 team at this time is the JDG team!

"I'll go, isn't it, is the JDG team really so unlucky?"

"Even if the play-in tournament is full, you still have to face the defending champion G2 team directly in the first round of the main event!"

"Although I really don't want to see the G2 team win, the JDG team wants to win against the G2 team, and the win rate is basically equal to zero!"

"G2 team 3 to 1 IG team, IG team 6 to 0 JDG team, how can this JDG team fight G2 team?!"

"Damn, this G2 team shouldn't give the draw to the shady scene, right? I knew that I couldn't play the IG team in the first game, so I drew the JDG team, and then deliberately came to disgust our LPL division? ”

"No, Toothpaste is Dark's brother...... Is it possible that Dark will give Toothpaste a hand, and then go to the loser's bracket and wear four kills again? ”

"Thinking too much, the left hand is also the brother of the toothpaste, but didn't you see how hard the toothpaste was on the left hand during the LPL playoffs?"

"You didn't lose your left hand on the line, did you? The main reason why the TOP team lost was that the gap between their teammates was too big. ”

"Convinced, can't understand people's words? I mean, to win the game, Dark can do absolutely anything, including crying toothpaste! ”

“…… I hope Brother Paste won't cry too miserably by then. ”

When the icon belonging to the JDG team unexpectedly appeared below the G2 team, countless LPL fans immediately wanted to cry and talk about it without tears.

Originally, I hoped that the two teams in the LPL region could successfully meet in the finals, but who would have thought that MSI would just start JDG team might suffer!

With the first pair of eight teams confirmed, the next three draws were much faster, and the final draw results were as follows.

In the top half, G2 vs. JDG and TL vs. GRF.

In the second half, Team IG vs. Team OG and Team SKT vs. Team FW.

For the results of this draw, the audience in all major regions around the world is still very satisfied, and even very much looking forward to it.

After all, the "ingredients" of these four quarter-finals can be described as quite chaotic, not only will the four major regions usher in their first meeting with each other, but the SKT team will face the FW team, which is known as the "LCK killer", at the beginning!

In addition, this year's MSI adopts a new double-elimination format, so it is conceivable that this MSI competition is likely to be the most exciting ever!

……

"Brother Anointing, how are you feeling now?"

The Play-In Finals will be over on May 7th, and the first round of the group stage will start on May 10th, so time is very tight for all eight teams.

After all the top eight teams gathered in Hanoi, Vietnam, on May 8, the next day, all the members of the top eight began to cooperate with the official video shooting tasks of various promotional videos at the request of Riot officials.

So at the filming site of the promotional video, Mingrui finally saw Zeng Qi himself again after half a year.

"Very good mood!"

"I thought the two of us would have to meet in a certain round of the winner's group, but I didn't expect such good luck to meet in the first round!"

"In that case, then I'm welcome, you G2 will give us JDG and wait for death!"

Standing beside Mingrui, Zeng Qi grinned while hooking his shoulders.

But his teeth and claws made Mingrui laugh, because Zeng Qi's demeanor at this time was really funny, without the slightest seriousness!

"Okay, okay, since you dare to talk to me harshly, then I will have to take care of your middle road tomorrow."

"How's it going to be in the second catch? Or go to gank you once a minute? ”

"Let's talk about it first, then you don't have to be caught by me and then go straight to the shower!"

Ming Ruile replied to Zeng Qidao, and suddenly trembled with fright.

"That's better don't be, I can't bear it."

"But my family can resist the next road Imp, he is the world champion adc, you go and catch him, it's right!"

Zeng Qi hurriedly said to Mingrui, and immediately heard that the IMP not far away was immediately stunned, and said in his heart that this game has not started yet, why did the toothpaste directly sell his teammates?

"Okay, we'll see you tomorrow then."

"No matter what, we're going to try to defeat you as much as we can!"

When the shooting task of the promotional video finally ended, at the time of parting, Zeng Qi once again said solemnly to Mingrui.

"Then you'll have to get some early tonight, and then have a good dream."

Mingrui smiled and waved at Zeng Qi, and then returned to the hotel where the G2 team stayed with his teammates, and then entered the training state with his teammates again.

It's still the same sentence, strategically despise the enemy, tactically value the enemy, although the JDG team is only the third-level team in the MSI main competition, but to be honest, the JDG team's strength on paper is really not weak, otherwise it would not be possible to get the runner-up in the LPL Spring Tournament!

Therefore, in order to successfully defeat the JDG team tomorrow and advance to the upper bracket, all members of the G2 team must go all out!

So, after a night of training and rest, the next day, May 10th, the main event of the 2019 MSI Mid-Season Championship Invitational finally arrived!

Two more to ask for a monthly pass!

(End of chapter)