The next day, Lin Jing had classes all day, and it wasn't until four in the afternoon that she finally had some free time.
Having not updated her art online for a while, she spent half an hour finishing a drawing she had been working on for the past few days and then posted it on the Weibo account of @Tián Tián Tián Tián Tóngxué.
Lately, her update frequency hadn't been very high, but her follower count had increased significantly. She received many private messages, mostly urging her to post more.
Lin Jing rarely replied to private messages, but she would read them to see what everyone was saying. As she was scrolling, a notification suddenly popped up on Weibo:
【@King of Glory kPL Official Weibo: Playoff Schedule】
Lin Jing clicked it without a second thought and, at the very top of the winner's bracket, saw the first playoff match: December 3rd, 19:00: yLs vs gdt.
Lin Jing froze for two seconds before she could believe what she was seeing.
These two teams had already generated the hype of a finals match during the qualifiers, and now they were facing each other in the very first playoff game. She seriously suspected the league was deliberately stirring up trouble.
In the short time she had spent looking at the schedule, the comments section of the Weibo post had exploded.
【Holy shit, is the first playoff match really this intense?】
【Knew yLs and gdt would clash again, didn't expect it to happen so soon】
【Go yLs, I don't care, keep winning, yLs】
【OMG, is the league definitely not doing this on purpose?】
【Infatuated for him, crazy for him, I'd bash my head against a wall for Kuang Kuang】
【This is too dramatic. Two teams that only met in the last game of the regular season are now facing off at the very beginning of the playoffs. If you tell me there's no scriptwriter, I wouldn't believe you even if you beat me to death】
As more and more people discussed this Weibo post, the topic #kPLPlayoffFirstMatchyLsvsgdt# quietly climbed to the trending list.
Two days after the schedule was released, it was time for the official match.
The regular season had already garnered significant attention, and the playoff match naturally attracted even more. On the day of the match, both the stadium and the live stream were incredibly lively.
Although gdt had lost to yLs in the regular season, they didn't seem particularly nervous in this rematch. The five starting players sat side by side, chatting and laughing, looking relaxed and at ease.
The atmosphere on the yLs side was also good. Whoever the camera focused on had a smile on their face, especially Chen Jing, who was grinning the widest. Even though their voices couldn't be heard, through the visuals, one could sense his laughter was so loud it sounded like a goose honking.
Amidst the commentators' anticipation and the cheers from the audience, the first match officially began.
Everyone expected Sheng Kuang to play the jungle role, but no one anticipated that in the opening game, he would directly pick Gongsun Li.
In his long professional career, he had only used Gongsun Li once in a match, which was in the fifth game against gdt in the regular season a few days prior. And in that one instance, Sheng Kuang had secured a triple kill and achieved god-like status.
Commentator A: "Just before the match started, I was saying, I wonder if we'll see Gongsun Li again today..."
The league had now changed the game rules, allowing a player to use a hero only once per match.
In the second game, everyone expected Sheng Kuang to return to the jungle position. However, to everyone's surprise, Sheng Kuang once again picked a marksman. He chose Baili Shouyue, while Chen Jing, playing the support role, chose Mozi.
Although Sheng Kuang picked a marksman, he played the mid lane. He Wang, who was supposed to be in the mid lane, played the side lane with Diao Chan.
This match offered a completely new kind of excitement.
Commentator A: "Oh my god, Miracle has turned King of Glory into a battle royale! Every shot from Baili Shouyue is on target!"
Commentator B: "Kuang Shen is indeed Kuang Shen. He's showing everyone what it means to be a god with his skills. Do you know what I'm seeing when I watch this match? I'm seeing the Li Bai of the past Kuang Shen. I believe that before long, whether it's Gongsun Li or Baili Shouyue, the tag for these heroes will be Sheng Kuang, just like Li Bai and Luna. When you mention these heroes, Sheng Kuang will be the first person that comes to mind."
Commentator A: "It can't be helped. Miracle has that ability. Everyone says he can't do it, that it's impossible, but he always manages to show you what 'can do' and 'I can' really means!"
Amidst the commentators' ecstatic explanations, which felt like they were celebrating Chinese New Year, yLs easily secured victory in the second game, reaching match point in the first game of the playoff winner's bracket.
The barrage of comments was dense, with many yLs fans spamming "yLs 3:0 gdt."
As the yLs fans were extremely active, the third game commenced.
After the heroes were selected, gdt's coach patted Yang Sinian on the shoulder. Yang Sinian looked up at the gdt coach, and their eyes met, suggesting the coach was telling him to stay calm.
Once Yang Sinian's gaze returned to his phone screen, the gdt coach walked to the center of the stage, shook hands with Lan Bowen, and then the third game officially began.
gdt had lost the previous two games, both of which were significant comebacks against them, and their mentality seemed to be wavering. They were clearly more subdued than the relaxed and cheerful demeanor they had before the match.
The heroes they chose for this game were all strong in the early game. However, during a counter-jungle attempt, whether due to pressure or poor execution, gdt's support and mid laner directly gifted Sheng Kuang a double kill.
Sheng Kuang was playing the jungle role this time. His hero was already considered a core position, and once he gained an economic lead, he would generally snowball.
More and more comments of "yLs 3:0 gdt" appeared. At the four-minute mark, Sheng Kuang, accompanied by Chen Jing and He Wang, invaded gdt's jungle and successfully stole Yang Sinian's blue buff. At this point, it wasn't just yLs fans who felt hopeless, even gdt fans believed there was no chance. However, just as Sheng Kuang was preparing to leave with the blue buff, the match was suddenly paused.