Chapter 311 – Post-Match Interview
The Chinese team beat three teams in the group stage and finally won the group stage with all wins. Some reporters interviewed players from Australia, Spain and Italy and asked them how they felt about losing to the Chinese team. Many players expressed a psychological shadow towards the Chinese team"s maps.
Italy"s vice-captain, Villedo said, "China is a team without many masters on the world rankings. There are also several players who don"t play according to common sense. We are convinced about our loss to the Chinese team and will continue to work hard…"
On the surface, the national team"s vice-captain was calm but many people in the Italian team were frustrated. In the World Compet.i.tion, they entered the quarter-finals as second in the group. However, they were clear in their hearts. If the next knockout game was against France, they didn"t have much hope of winning.
In the post-match interview, Li Cangyu and Ling Xuefeng appeared in the interview room with Tan s.h.i.tian, Su Guangmo, Lou Wushuang, Jiang Xu and Chu Yan. The media reporters were immediately excited and stood up to applaud the Chinese team"s victory record.
“Congratulations to the Chinese team for qualifying with all wins! I want to ask you, what are you feeling at this time? Can you give a brief summary of the group stage?" A reporter stood up and looked at the commanders before finally selecting Tan s.h.i.tian. "Would Captain Tan like to speak first?"
Tan s.h.i.tian glanced at Li Cangyu. "Should the captain speak first?"
Li Cangyu told him, "It doesn"t matter if you are first. My final summary will be the same."
Tan s.h.i.tian said, "Then I"ll speak first. Cough, I"m really happy that the national team can win with all victories. In the three matches of the group stage, we chose different tactics for different countries. The final result shows that Cat G.o.d"s decision is correct. The command in each game was very strong and the players were also excellent."
The reporter couldn"t pick any faults with Tan s.h.i.tian"s answer and handed the microphone to Chu Yan. "What do you think?"
Chu Yan replied, "I am very pleased that the illusion flow tactic can be seen in the World Compet.i.tion. My wish has been half completed."
"What is the other half?"
"It is naturally to follow the national team to win the prize!"
There was warm applause at this answer.
"What does Captain Jiang have to say?"
Jiang Xu smiled and spoke in a calm tone, "I am very happy that my double taunting lineup can be recognized by all of you in this World Compet.i.tion. I am thankful to the players of the national team. Their standards are very strong and my ideas were realized in the field. I am very pleased."
Chu Yan and Jiang Xu"s team scores in the domestic league weren"t excellent but their personal standards and commanding abilities couldn"t be denied. Li Cangyu was quite bold to use them.
Su Guangmo picked up the microphone and spoke aggressively, "I found a problem in the group stage. The captains of many countries use the world rankings as the standard for judging a player. This is actually very unreliable! In recent years, many newcomers have emerged in China and they hadn"t had time to partic.i.p.ate in the world rankings. Returning players like Cat G.o.d and Vice-Captain Bai also didn"t partic.i.p.ate in the rankings last year. Too many people are missing from the rankings and they should be reshuffled after this compet.i.tion!"
He always had a straightforward personality and wasn"t afraid of criticizing the world rankings. Then he turned to Tan s.h.i.tian and polite wondered, "Captain Tan, can you go back and write a paragraph about this point?"
Tan s.h.i.tian smiled. "I only write about cats and dogs."
Su Guangmo sincerely suggested, "This time you can write about Australian koalas, Spanish bulls and Chinese pandas."
Tan s.h.i.tian coughed. "Captain Su shouldn"t take this topic too far!"
Zhuo Hang, "…"
Zhuo Hang watched the interview backstage and couldn"t help laughing. The two of them were his uncle and his cousin. Their private relationship was really good but in front of the reporters, they were like, "What a coincidence to see Captain Tan here" and "h.e.l.lo Captain Su, nice to meet you." Thus, Zhuo Hang was worried for both of them.
Li Cangyu knew the truth and didn"t say anything. He just looked at the two men. Su and Tan were known to be close friends in private but they had similar first-cla.s.s acting in front of reporters. They could be actors if they stopped being e-sports players.
At this time, the microphone ended up in the hands of the cold king, Lou Wushuang. Lou Wushuang was like a natural air conditioner as he sat there. The eyes behind his gla.s.ses were cold and didn"t contain any emotion. His eyes swept over the reporters and he spoke indifferently, "I am very happy that the national team can win with an all victories record."
The audience, "…" We really can"t see that you are happy!
He spoke a simple sentence and handed the microphone to Li Cangyu. Li Cangyu took the microphone and said, "Then I will summarize it. Our complete victory in the group stage is due to the contribution of the 22 members of the national team. The several commanders present here are even more important. I believe that the strength of the national team and the maps designed by the Chinese map designers are very distinctive. It isn"t an accident that we could achieve a complete victory."
Ling Xuefeng nodded in agreement. "Yes, the map advantage in the group stage is really great. However, this advantage will be weakened in the knockout rounds. We will also be facing stronger opponents in the knockouts."
A reporter asked, "The national team has many commanders and everyone has different ideas. Has there been an inconsistencies in the command during the group stage?"
Li Cangyu replied, "So far, there hasn"t been many arguments because every game is handled by different commanders and the national team is very harmonious. Still, there is no denying that this might happen in future games. Different people have different tactics. You can rest a.s.sured that even if there is an argument, I will do a good job adjusting it with Xuefeng."
The reporter received a satisfactory reply and sat down. Someone next to him stood up and asked, "Cat G.o.d said that the maps designed by the Chinese team are very distinctive. We can see that the Mechanical City, Mount Huangshan Plank Road and Bamboo Sea have Chinese elements and their design ideas are very innovative. We didn"t get to see the full image of Suzhou Gardens, which was banned in the previous match, and there is also a map that hasn"t shown up at all. Will it appear in the knockout stages?"
Li Cangyu nodded with a smile. "It is for certain. The World Compet.i.tion has adjusted the probability and it is highly likely that maps that haven"t been played will emerge later. You will definitely meet these two maps in the later stages."
The reporter then asked, "It is said that the system is slightly adjusted for the knockout stages. Can Cat G.o.d explain it in detail?"
"No problem." Li Cangyu patiently explained. "There are still three types of mode, the arena, death racing and economic war. The group stage was a B03 three games, two victories system. The knockouts are a B05 five games three victories system. This is to minimize any unexpected factors."
"The specific adjusted rules are similar to our domestic playoffs. The home team can choose the map and mode while the away team can send players to target them. The home and away teams will swap with every game. If each team achieves two victories, a final random tiebreaker will be selected."
Li Cangyu was afraid people wouldn"t understand and gave an example, "If the Chinese team meets France in the quarter-finals, the captains of the two teams will decide who goes first with a draw. If I get the first move, I will play at home and decide the mode and map. The French team will wait for us to send our players before sending a targeted lineup. After the first game, the home team is swapped. France will decide the map and mode while the Chinese team will send people. If it is a 2:2 draw after four games, the fifth game will be a random mode and random map."
Some reporters asked curiously, "If you choose a map, is it a fixed map?"
Li Cangyu shook his head. "The domestic league is a fixed map but the World Compet.i.tion is different. You can choose three maps from the Miracle gallery and those submitted. The opponent has the right to disable two maps and leave one to play the game. The map that has been used can"t be chosen again in the next game."
The reporters figured it out. It was impossible to use the same map to trap others twice. In addition, the map with the most pits was likely to be banned by the opponent.
They had asked up to here when a reporter excitedly stood up and exclaimed, "Cat G.o.d! Your words came true. The Chinese team"s opponent in the quarter-finals is France!"
HIs words shocked those present.
Li Cangyu had an expression of "What?" It seemed even he didn"t think he would have a crow"s mouth and his words would become true…
Ling Xuefeng looked at him helplessly. Li Cangyu touched his nose and smiled innocently. "I was just talking casually."
This was really surprising. The French team"s performance in Group D had been very good and it was reasonable for them to be ranked first. Thus, they should avoid the quarter-finals with the Chinese team. Since the reporter said that France was China"s opponent, it meant the French team won second place in Group D.
Sure enough, the reporter followed up with, "The match just ended. The British team defeated France in the economic war and death racing. Originally, the two countries had similar points. After the match, the British team won first in Group D and France qualified in second place. They will meet the Chinese team in the quarter-finals!"
Li Cangyu nodded. "Oh, it was like this…"
The reporters were worried. "The overall strength of the French team is actually very strong. It is likely that some of the players were ill today. If Cat G.o.d encounters them in the quarter-finals, what are your plans?"
Li Cangyu looked over at Ling Xuefeng and whispered into his ears, "If I remember correctly, the captain of the French team is an old friend of yours?"
"Yes." Ling Xuefeng answered very calmly. "I explained it to your before. I only knew him when playing the online game on the US server. I haven"t seen him in many years and don"t have much contact with him. Don"t think too much."
Li Cangyu replied lightly, "I"m not thinking too much."
In fact, he was thinking, "How good is it that I can abuse the captain of the French team? He seemed to be very arrogant when I met him that day in the hallway?"
The author has something to say:
Cat G.o.d running to abuse Ling Xuefeng"s buddy.
Xuefeng: You can eat fish. Don"t be jealous.
Li Cangyu: I"m not jealous. My hands are just itching.
Captain of the French team: I suddenly feel a killing energy QAQ.
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Chapter 312 – China VS France (Official Opening)
The interview ended and Li Cangyu and Ling Xuefeng returned to the hotel together. As soon as they entered the room, Ling Xuefeng reached out to hug the other person and whispered, "Do you mind that I knew Stein earlier than you?"
Li Cangyu pretended not to understand. "Who is Stein?"
"…" Ling Xuefeng helplessly replied, "The captain of the French team."
Li Cangyu spoke calmly, "Oh, I can"t remember the name of foreigners.
Ling Xuefeng had an expression that said, "Don"t hide, I know you"re jealous."
Li Cangyu smiled and confessed. "In fact, I"m not happy with him because he is arrogant. When you met in the hallway, didn"t he say that he didn"t want to meet you in the knockouts? It"s as if our Chinese team will lose if we meet France in the knockouts."
Ling Xuefeng remembered the conversation and couldn"t help frowning.
Based on his memories, Stein was indeed very confident. When he was playing the online game on the US server, Stein had a tyrannical style. Every time he PKed, he had an "I am the strongest, you are all weak trash" impression. Of course, Stein was 16 or 17 years old at that time. He was a rebellious boy who wasn"t in a good state. He was too arrogant and was taught several times in the online game.
Later, Ling Xuefeng returned to China to prepare for the formation of the Wind Colour team and Stein went to France to join a giant club. The two men agreed to set up teams in different countries and left their contact information. They occasionally contacted each other to exchange the team formation progress and league situation.
He didn"t expect them to have another chance to meet at the World Compet.i.tion. The thing that made Ling Xuefeng even more unexpected was that the arrogant Stein actually became the captain of the French team.
Li Cangyu saw that Ling Xuefeng was silently thinking and couldn"t help pinching his chin. "Are you thinking about your old friend again?"
Ling Xuefeng"s mouth was pulled by the pinch and he said, "Your hands are so strong. Aren"t you afraid my face will be deformed?"
Li Cangyu dared to pinch Ling Xuefeng"s face while others didn"t even dare touch him.
He thought of this and Li Cangyu"s mood improved. He gently touched the sore chin and said, "Well, tell me honestly. That Stein…"
Ling Xuefeng rushed to explain, "He is an ordinary friend I only contact once or twice a year."
“What are you so worried about? I wasn"t asking about that." Li Cangyu smiled before becoming serious. "I want you to tell me his weaknesses. I heard he is very strong but you definitely know him better. For example, is there a cla.s.s he fears most?"
They were talking about tactical issues so Ling Xuefeng thought about it seriously. "He hates a summoner the most."
Li Cangyu was pleased. "That"s just right. I will personally deal with him!"
Ling Xuefeng looked at Li Cangyu"s eyes that wanted to abuse people and couldn"t help feeling sympathy for Stein. Wouldn"t he die very badly under the hands of Cat G.o.d?
***
That evening, the World League"s official website announced the points of all countries and those who qualified from the group stage.
The teams that eventually entered the quarter-finals were j.a.pan and USA from Group A, China and Italy from Group B, South Korea and Sweden from Group C and the United Kingdom and France from Group D.
According to the Group A and Group C, Group B and Group D matchup, the Chinese team"s next opponent was France. The game was scheduled for three days later in the afternoon.
The next morning, Li Cangyu summoned all members of the Chinese team for a meeting and continued to use the PPT that Ling Xuefeng stayed up late making, briefly giving a lecture on the lineup and characteristics of the French team.
"It was an accident that the French team lost against the British team in the last game. The French team had two main players who were sick and played abnormally on the field. This gave the British team a chance to counterattack. Objectively speaking, France"s overall strength is very high and their lineup is comprehensive, somewhat similar to our team.
"France has many world-renowned players. Their captain is one of the world"s top three archers while the vice-captain is a world famous swordsman. There are several top-ranked magicians, a.s.sa.s.sins and summoners among their main players. Their lineup is quite rich. In order to play against such a strong team, we must be extra cautious and be fully prepared."
Li Cangyu glanced at Ling Xuefeng. "Xuefeng, tell them about the results of our discussion last night."
Ling Xuefeng nodded and spoke seriously. "The quarter-finals has a five games, three wins system while the national team has 22 people. There is a chance for everyone to play. What Cat and I mean is that if we are the home team, we will try to choose the arena because we have many powerful combinations such as Tan Cheng, Lou Zhang, Su Yu, Qin Xiao, etc. There are also fewer uncontrollable factors in the arena and our winning rate is relatively high." Ling Xuefeng paused before continuing, "In a home game, we will first pick the arena. The second home game depends on the score. If we lose the arena, we might change it to death racing for the second home game."
"Does anyone have any suggestions about this point?" Li Cangyu asked.
After all, the national team wasn"t a one person show. The two of them had discussed it for a long time last night and felt it was reasonable to start with the arena but they couldn"t completely decide. They would properly listen to other people"s suggestions.
Su Guangmo spoke straight away, "The chances of winning the arena isn"t necessarily high. After we select the map and mode, the other side can send people in a targeted manner. For example, if I play with Yu Pingsheng, they are likely to send a ranged combination of archers or black magicians to target it. Doesn"t this mean it won"t be easy to win?"
Li Cangyu explained, "It is relative. Compared to the arena, death racing is more unstable because the refresh locations are too random. At least the arena is well controlled. We will indeed be targeted but there is always a chance for the later combinations to be adjusted. For example, the opening combination might be at a disadvantage. We can send a transitional lineup such as Shu Bai to slowly move back the disadvantage."
Su Guangmo nodded. "That is reasonable. What do other people think?"
Tan s.h.i.tian said, "I personally feel that the second game at home would be better to choose death racing. If we choose three maps, two of them can be maps submitted by the Chinese team. According to the rules of the World Compet.i.tion, they can only ban on Chinese map at most and one will stay. On our own map, the chances of winning death racing are actually quite high."
Chu Yan agreed. "Yes! Our Suzhou Gardens and Eight-Trigram Array have never appeared! We are free to choose these two maps in the quarter-finals, right?"
Li Cangyu smiled. "I don"t want to expose our ace Eight-Trigram Array too early. Others like the Mechanical City, Mount Huangshan Plank Road, Suzhou Gardens and Bamboo Sea can be used in the knockouts. The next game is against France. If it is the arena, I plan to choose Mount Huangshan Plank Road and Suzhou Gardens. They are likely to ban Mount Huangshan Plank Road and keep Suzhou Gardens. Then our advantage is obvious."
Chu Yan praised him, "Very witty!"
Cheng Wei had a look of adoration. "Cat G.o.d is too bad! Previously, we used Mount Huangshan Plank Road against Spain in a thrilling manner. The French team is likely to ban Mount Huangshan Plank Road and we can use Suzhou Gardens to kill them!"
The players" faces were filled with enthusiasm as they discussed tactics.
Lou Wushuang was cold from beginning to end. People who didn"t know him would think he wasn"t happy. People familiar with him would know that the captain was listening carefully to everyone.
Li Cangyu looked at Lou Wushuang and found he didn"t seem to want to talk. Thus, he turned to Zhang Shaohui and asked, "Vice-Captain Zhang, what do you think?"
Zhang Shaohui readily smiled. "Me? I have no opinions. I will follow the arrangements!"
Li Cangyu nodded. "Then for the arena, the fixed combinations of Tan Cheng, Lou Zhang, Su Yu, Jiang Zhuo, Yan Guo and Shu Bai will be ready to play at any time. Xiao Han, you should also be prepared to come out with Qin Mo."
The group immediately exclaimed, "Yes!"
Ling Xuefeng opened his mouth. "In regards to the group battle, the commanders will pick people in advance and they will practice cooperating. The economic war will be controlled by either Captain Tan or Captain Yu, with the focus on kite flow or melee flow. Death racing will be the responsibility of Captain Lou and Captain Chu. It might be the a.s.sa.s.sination flow or illusion flow. We will decide according to the lineup sent by France and the scores."
Li Cangyu followed up with, "In short, everyone must go all out! The quarter-finals is a knockout system. We will have to go home if we make any mistakes. Our national team must not disappoint our country"s supporters by stopping at the quarter-finals!"
The pa.s.sionate words ignited the bones of everyone present.
Far across the ocean, there were many fans, friends and family members in China who were concerned about this World Compet.i.tion. How could the Chinese team be eliminated in the quarter-finals? They would feel too sorry for the domestic supporters. Besides, it was hard to go all the way to the United States to play the game. They wouldn"t be able to explain it to themselves if they were knocked out in the quarter-finals.
Thus, they had to win this match against France.
***
Three days pa.s.sed in the blink of an eye and the quarter-finals of China against France finally started.
As the players arrived at the venue, it was filled with people and the seats were full. Kou Hongyi and Yu Bing excitedly explained the characteristics of the French team and the match officially started.
The Chinese captain Li Cangyu and the French captain Stein sat down at the command post where French drew the home team first!
The captain started to select the map and game mode before submitting the lineup. Stein had long done the arrangements and quickly submitted the information to the referee.
The maps selected: Notre Dame de Paris, the Eiffel Tower and Frost Temple.
There were two maps submitted by France and one official Miracle map. This was also part of the league"s rules. They didn"t allow three country submitted maps or three official maps.
Stein chose the arena for the map mode!
The lineup: Archer of the French team, Captain Stein and archer for the French team, Ono! These two men were teammates from the same team in the French league and partners for many years.
This was obviously a double bard kite flow tactic!
Li Cangyu smiled and quickly banned Notre Dame de Paris and Frost Temple, leaving the Eiffel Tower. Then he submitted the Chinese team"s players, Li Cangyu and Bai Xuan!
"You take your old partner and I"ll bring my old partner."
The domestic audience was in a daze. [Cat G.o.d is going against Stein! It started with such a big smell of gunpowder?]
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