Chapter 130: You Get To Touch This Trophy First!
In the center of the stage, EDG’s players were still immersed in the ecstasy of winning the championship, enjoying the golden rain from the sky and the thunderous cheers.
Although they had won the championship, every time they won it was a new and different experience.
However, on the other side of the stage, WE’s five players had already quietly stood up from their seats, standing silently beside their battle stations, waiting for the post-match handshake segment.
Their faces were full of disappointment and exhaustion, forming a stark contrast with EDG’s side.
Fans on site occasionally glanced over here, making the atmosphere of the WE team seem a bit awkward.
Losing the match and having to stand on stage as punishment was really hard to endure…
The referee saw this and felt a bit sorry for WE, as keeping them standing like this wasn’t a big deal.
Finally unable to hold back, he reminded the EDG team through the headphones: “Fan Ge, please complete the handshake segment with WE as soon as possible.”
“Oh oh oh! Right right, handshake handshake!” After reacting, meiko hurriedly jumped down from Clearlove’s back and somewhat embarrassedly patted his head.
Because the celebration was really intense, meiko had even jumped onto Clearlove’s back.
“Got carried away with the excitement and forgot about this, let’s go quickly.” The others also reacted and hurriedly called their teammates.
Clearlove toned down his smile a bit: “Let’s go, brothers, handshake first.”
Only then did the EDG group slightly recover from the excitement of winning the championship, walking quickly towards WE’s battle stations with a hint of apology.
The handshake process went very quickly.
There wasn’t much exchange between the two sides.
Most of EDG’s players wore polite smiles with a touch of apology.
While WE’s players barely squeezed out smiles, nodding in response, their eyes unable to hide their disappointment.
Kang Di and Xi Ye, when shaking hands with Li Fan, only quickly touched and let go, their gazes lingering for a moment on this rookie’s face who had completely crushed them today, with complex emotions, before looking away.
They had originally thought they had a trump card up their sleeve, and even if they couldn’t win in a direct confrontation, they could rely on the routine to secure the match victory.
But they never expected the opponent to see through it, directly grabbing Ivern, causing their subsequent tactics to fall apart and the laning phase to collapse completely.
Now they were truly behind comprehensively, whether in strength… or tactical routines.
Although losing did make them feel unhappy inside, they had no choice but to admit it.
When the handshake ended, the entire WE team headed backstage. The next time was for them to adjust themselves and find the reasons for the failure.
After all, this year’s matches weren’t over yet, with the Summer Split still ahead… This was a moment that needed to be ended and digested quickly, in order to prepare for the upcoming Summer Split in the best state.
They had already figured this out by the time they were heading to the player tunnel.
If they kept wallowing in self-pity, there might be problems in the Summer Split.
On the way to the backstage lounge, Xi Ye turned his head for a last look at EDG celebrating their championship in the center of the stage.
He secretly made a decision in his heart: he would definitely get revenge for this and take back this lost championship!
The stage lights refocused on EDG’s players.
And that Silver Dragon Cup, symbolizing the highest glory of the LPL Spring Split, was quietly placed in the center of the stage.
The players glanced at each other, their faces still full of extreme excitement, and slowly approached the trophy together.
Clearlove, walking at the front, stopped his steps. Looking at the trophy so close at hand, his eyes were filled with emotion.
Having won the Spring Split championship again, what about his World Championship?
This year… was there a chance?
Although many thoughts flashed through his mind, in reality only an instant had passed.
Then, Clearlove turned his head and forcefully patted Li Fan’s shoulder beside him, his voice carrying a smile: “Lift the trophy, Fan Ge! You deserve to lift it first!”
As soon as he said this, the other players immediately understood and started cheering with smiles.
“Yeah, Fan Ge, you must lift it first today!”
“Exactly, if you don’t lift it first today, none of us dare to touch this trophy!”
“Lift the trophy, Fan Ge!”
Li Fan felt a bit embarrassed by everyone’s words and smiled while shaking his head: “Is it really that exaggerated?”
“Of course it is!” Clearlove said firmly, his eyes full of appreciation and trust for this new teammate, “This championship is largely thanks to you! Don’t dawdle!”
The teammates crowded around him, pushing him to the front of the trophy.
Looking at the shining Silver Dragon Cup in front of him, Li Fan took a deep breath.
He had originally thought he had been through many big scenes and should be able to stay calm at this moment, but when truly standing here…
Feeling the gaze of tens of thousands of audience members in the venue and countless people in front of screens, an indescribable heat surged through his entire body instantly, his heart pounding wildly in his chest.
As a professional player, this moment was incredibly wonderful.
Awesome!
So awesome!
Extremely fulfilling sense of achievement.
One Spring Split championship was no longer enough to satisfy Li Fan; greater and greater ambitions began to inflate in his heart.
Thinking of this, Li Fan no longer hesitated.
He reached out with both hands and steadily gripped the cool and solid base and body of the Silver Dragon Cup.
“Here we go! Three, two, one!” Clearlove shouted loudly from the side.
Li Fan forcefully raised the heavy Silver Dragon Cup high above his head!
The instant the trophy was lifted, the audience’s emotions were completely ignited, deafening cheers and shouts erupting like a volcano throughout the entire venue!
More golden confetti shot out from the ceiling, turning into an even more brilliant golden rain, as if staging a true coronation ceremony.
Li Fan tilted his head up, feeling the weight and cool touch of the trophy with his hands, the flying confetti all around, listening to the cheers in his ears, his face breaking into a full smile.
This was the first LPL championship of his professional career!
The esports journalists below the stage hurriedly picked up their cameras to capture this moment.
At this moment, Li Fan was bathed in glory, with a promising future!
This Silver Dragon Cup witnessed the birth of a new king!
After experiencing the thrill of lifting the trophy first, Li Fan carefully placed the heavy trophy back in its original position.
“Come on, everyone together!” He shouted to the teammates and coaches surrounding him, “This is our EDG’s championship, of course we lift it together!”
Upon hearing this, the players’ smiles became even brighter, and they all rushed forward.
Clearlove, Meiko, Mouse, Zet, plus Abu and Kuaisu Xing, everyone reached out to jointly support the base and body of the Silver Dragon Cup.
“We are the champions!”
Mei Kong shouted first, and the others joined in, then everyone lifted together again, raising the Silver Dragon Cup high once more!
The fans expressed their support and love with even more fanatical shouts, the sound waves nearly lifting the venue’s ceiling!
Ren Dong had quietly arrived at the center of the stage at some point.
He didn’t step forward to interrupt immediately, but stood quietly to the side, leaving the most glorious moment at the center of the stage for EDG’s players to enjoy.
About two minutes later, the venue’s sound waves slightly calmed down.
Ren Dong knew it was time for the next segment. He stepped forward steadily, raised the microphone in his hand, and his magnetic voice spread through the speakers to every corner of the venue: “Let’s give the warmest applause and cheers to congratulate the 2017 LPL Spring Split champions, EDG team!”
“Woo——!!!”
Responding to him was another eruption of cheers.
Ren Dong smiled, waiting for the cheers to subside a bit, then continued: “At this moment, the glory belongs to them! But I think all fans and audience members, like me, can’t wait to hear our champions’ current feelings! Want to hear what the FMVP is thinking right now?”
“Yes——!!!”
As soon as Ren Dong finished speaking, the venue erupted in thunderous responses.
Ren Dong nodded in satisfaction, his smile even brighter, and shouted into the microphone in an even higher pitch: “Then now, everyone shout out loud the most valuable player in your hearts!”
Ren Dong’s hosting ability was uniquely top-tier among LPL hosts; the other three hosts couldn’t catch up even if they tried.
This was also why the official assigned him the finals hosting duty.
In just this short time, the atmosphere was already extremely heated.
At first, the voices were a bit chaotic, with scattered shouts for Clearlove…
This was normal, after all, Clearlove did have quite a few fans.
But soon, these scattered voices were drowned out by a much larger, more unified wave of sound.
“Unreal!”
“Unreal!!”
“Unreal!!!”
Li Fan’s performance was seen by everyone…
If they shouted someone else, honestly it would feel embarrassing, as if others were looking at them strangely.
There were even direct questions like, you’re not a WE fan, are you? Coming over to be a troll?
If they were really Clearlove’s fans, it would just mean forced praise turning into hate; Clearlove doesn’t need fans like you.
So they couldn’t help joining in shouting Unreal.
“It seems the answer is beyond doubt! Yes, he is the FMVP of the 2017 LPL Spring Finals—EDG Unreal!”
“Let’s give another round of the warmest applause to congratulate Unreal!”
Almost the instant his words fell!
The huge main screen behind the stage, and all the sub-screens around the venue, displayed Li Fan’s photo!
No longer the previous goofy funny guy photo.
Instead, it was a visually striking official portrait.
Dressed in EDG’s black and red team uniform, with sharp and calm eyes, a confident curve at the corner of his mouth.
Professional lighting outlined his clear facial contours, perfectly embodying his youthful vibe.
“Aaaah——!”
The moment the photo lit up, screams, applause, shouts… all kinds of sounds mixed together, the terrifying sound waves nearly tearing the venue apart!
“Now, let’s welcome… official award presenter Mr. Jin Yibo to present the FMVP medal to our Finals FMVP!”
From one side of the stage, the ceremonial lady holding the FMVP medal symbolizing the highest individual honor walked gracefully to the center of the stage under the spotlight.
Jin Yibo, full of smiles, walked to Li Fan’s side and first shook his hand.
“Congratulations on winning the most valuable player. Keep working hard in the upcoming matches! I believe you can do even better.”
Then he handed the most valuable player medal to Li Fan.
Ren Dong, with a professional smile, handed the microphone to Li Fan: “Unreal, in the pre-match trash talk segment, you said winning the match was part of your script. Now, the script has played out perfectly, you’ve got both the championship and FMVP. Can you tell us what you’re feeling right now?”
Hearing this question, Li Fan somewhat embarrassedly scratched his head. The flamboyance and excitement from lifting the trophy earlier had subsided a lot. He spoke into the microphone: “Actually… that was just pre-match trash talk, to boost confidence for myself and my teammates.”
He smiled, drawing a wave of kind laughter from the audience below.
“Really being able to win the match and get this championship, for me… it’s actually like a dream, feels extremely unreal.”
Then, he shifted tone, becoming very serious: “WE is actually a very, very strong team; everyone has seen their performance throughout the entire season.”
“In my view, us winning today was probably more because our on-the-spot state was better, with better tactical adjustments and execution; our strength is actually about the same.”
“It’s the result of the entire EDG team’s efforts; my teammates and coaching staff all did amazingly.”
Kuaisu Xing, after hearing the translation, had an even brighter smile on his face.
Li Fan… from now on, you’re the absolute core in my tactics. As long as I’m EDG’s coach, that will never change.
The entire WE team, packing up backstage, also looked up at the big screen in the lounge.
Strength gap not big?
But it clearly felt like being suppressed to the point of breathlessness, to an outrageous degree…
Damn, you can fool others but don’t fool yourself.
However, Li Fan’s answer was unexpected by everyone on site.
After all, in the trash talk segment, everyone heard how cocky it was; how did he suddenly become a different person?
But everyone was still quite satisfied with this answer.
What was said before the match started doesn’t matter.
No need to keep chasing after winning the match.
And he praised all his teammates and coaches…
The audience immediately erupted in even hotter applause, not just for his operation, but also for his emotional intelligence and grace.
Ren Dong nodded appreciatively and followed up: “So, having won the first LPL championship and FMVP of your career, what expectations do you have for the upcoming Mid-Season Invitational?”
“For me, if I play professionally without winning championships, I don’t even know what the point of being a professional player is!”
This statement stunned the audience first, then they erupted in even more fanatical cheers and applause!
Because this was the purest esports spirit…
At this moment, Li Fan’s voice suddenly rose sharply.
“So, for every match I participate in, I have only one goal: to win the championship! The Mid-Season Invitational is the same!”
“Even if the opponents are champion teams from various major regions around the world, the world’s top powerhouses… our goal will never change.”
“When the sun rises, forget yesterday; tomorrow we’re no longer Spring Split champions, but just a participating team in the Mid-Season Invitational!”
“Mid-Season Invitational opponents, are you ready? EDG is coming!”
In the event live stream rooms of various live streaming platforms, the bullet comments completely went crazy.
The already densely scrolling subtitles now surged like a tsunami, almost completely covering the entire live stream screen.
【Overflowing dominance!!!】
【Holy crap, this speech is too handsome? I thought Unreal only knew how to talk trash.】
【Fan now, starting today I’m an Unreal diehard fan!】
【This is the ambition a professional player should have! Goal only championship!】
【I feel this interview speech is several levels higher than other LPL professional players.】
【Casual fan to fan +1, Unreal is too charismatic!】
【EDG charge! Bring back the MSI championship!】
【Just for this line, I’ve booked my Mid-Season Invitational ticket!】
【Unreal, true genius boy! I’m already looking forward to full bloom, because other matches are also aimed at championships.】
At this moment, Ren Dong was also influenced by Li Fan’s interview, raising his volume with passion for the summary: “Goal only championship, this is the ambition of our LPL new FMVP! Let’s give another round of applause and blessings to Unreal, to EDG! Looking forward to them creating more glory for our LPL on the Mid-Season Invitational stage!”
