Rise

The curtain finally closed on the second semi-finals match of the League of Legends Season 5 World Championships. Team SSK had won, and Team KG had lost. Miserably so. SSK won three games in a row, utterly crushing KG. The score of 0-3 hovered in the minds of everyone watching. And it was etched in the hearts of every League of Legends fan in China. The entire LPL had been humiliated on this day, and this match would become a permanent black stain on its record. As far as most people were concerned, today was the darkest day in the history of LPL. When that last victory screen floated over KG’s ruined Nexus… the sheer torrent of despair that washed over the tens of millions of Chinese fans watching Worlds was indescribable. It was bad enough that Team SSK had completely and utterly crushed Team KG. What made it even worse was that Team KG never gave up, they kept fighting and never stopped trying to make a comeback. The futility of all that effort though, and the fact that there was literally nothing they could do to resist SSK’s overwhelming strength, that’s what hurt the most.

Team KG’s knockout also meant that the LPL no longer had any team playing that could carry its beacon to the Finals of this year’s Worlds. Even the three Shoutcasters had given up. They just sat there, all gloom and melancholy, not saying a word. They just didn’t know what to say. They felt the blow from this loss just as keenly as any other normal fan, and they did not have the words to express it. Or the will to provide any analysis or hype. So they sat there. Quiet and forlorn.

Then the post-match interviews started, and that was a whole new dimension of misery. Fans watched as the God Roundy broke down live on stream. They watched as he got up in front of the camera, holding the microphone with both hands. They watched him tremble and shake. When he looked straight at the camera, they saw the tears, unfallen, welling in his bloodshot eyes. Then he muttered the words, “I-i-i so-s-so SORRY!” With those words, he could no longer hold it together. He broke down sobbing, still holding the microphone and still looking at the camera. “I’m sorry…. I’m sorry... I’msorryI’msorryI’msorry—” Tian Tian repeated over and over again while choking on his own snot and tears. His tear stained face dead center on every camera and every stream. Finally, he bowed his head to the camera and continued apologizing to the viewers. The rest of Team KG’s players were similarly glum, but holding it together better than Tian Tian. They stood next to him with tears in their eyes as well, and faced the cameras. Then they also bowed and said, “Sorry.”

The Chinese fans, both those who had flown to watch the games in person and those watching it on stream, felt their heart’s ache as God Roundy broke down. His many female followers were livid with anger that the cute and cuddly God Roundy had been made to feel such grief. No one blamed Team KG for the loss. No one could blame God Roundy for what happened. How could they? Just the fact that Team KG had made it all the way to the Semi-finals of Worlds was an incredible accomplishment, both for them and the LPL. No one on Team KG had anything to be ashamed of. The fact that they made it all the way to the semifinals of Worlds was already incredible. Standing up to SSK was incredible. God Roundy had no reason to be ashamed or sad! KG had done nothing wrong, there was nothing to criticize about how they had played!

Despite the pride they felt in KG for making it all the way to the Semi-finals and the despair they felt at Tian Tian’s grief, the fact that KG lost to SSK hurt in a completely different but equally painful way. Just thinking about how SSK trampled all over KG with a score of 0-3. That made the blood of every Chinese fan run cold and choked the breath in their throats. For a brief moment, every Chinese fan of League of Legends connected and thought the exact same thoughts. This reality that was etched in stone was difficult to confront for all of them. The pride they had for their region, for the LPL, it had just been smashed to pieces in front of their eyes. The weight of this reality pressed down on them, suffocating them.

“W-why is it like this…” Su Xue muttered. She was also starting to tear up. The mood in the chat was also gloomy. The thousands of people on her stream, none of them knew what to say to comfort her. Or to comfort each other. At this point, anything they could possibly say seemed meaningless.

Lin Feng sat next to Su Xue. Also not saying a word. He bit his lips, so hard that he actually drew blood. His hands both balled up into tight fists. His nails dug crimson crescents into his palms. But he seemed completely oblivious to the pain. All he did was stare at the monitor, at the stream of Worlds, without blinking his eyes. He stared at the score of 0-3. He stared at Fatty, crying and bowing and sobbing. Whatever physical pain was overshadowed completely by the pain in his soul and his heart at all of this.

✹

Now that the Semi-finals had ended, the two teams that would be moving onto the Finals were decided. Team Season and Team SSK. A clash between North America and South Korea. They’d be going head-to-head next weekend to decide who the champion of the League of Legends Season 5 World Championships would be. It was a duel between the Support God Autumn and the Midlane God Rake. A collision between the two top Emperors. As exciting as it all was though, many Chinese fans no longer had the heart to continue watching Worlds. They hadn’t gotten over their disappointment from KG’s loss in the Semi-finals.