Chapter 79

On January 15th, preseason games of Season 10 formally began.

The teams of the top bracket gathered in the capital city to compete, while the teams of the bottom bracket gathered in Star City, to the south. The nine teams in each bracket would cycle through the others. Preseason games were scheduled to conclude within a week, which meant the schedule was tightly packed. The games would be streamed live online as well.

Tianhuan's randomly drawn battle schedule was very quickly sent into the team's group chat—

On the 15th, they would play against Jingzhe. On the 16th, they would face Binghun. On the 17th, Yueying…

Yan Bin mournfully sent a string of crying emojis into the chat and wrote: [This is too much of a nightmare!]

They were going to have three boss fights in a row!

Xie Xiaotian: [I've been abused by Yang-ge so much that I'm used to it already.]

Xie Xiaotian: [So what if we get killed? Just respawn and fight on~]

After this period of being slaughtered by Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shuo in practice, the newbies on Team Two had already developed much more durable dispositions. Although their chances of victory in these games against powerful teams weren't good, they would go forth and fight at their full might.

Coach Lin wrote: [Don't put too much weight on the outcome of the preseason games. The most important thing for you guys is the opportunity to play against these high-level pros. Just do your best, try to get into Group A. If you can't, I won't scold you. Don't worry about anything and just play.]

The members of the second-string team acknowledged: [Understood!]

On the night of January 15th, Tianhuan vs Jingzhe was set to begin.

Although the youths of Tianhuan's second-string team managed to hold out for more than thirty minutes in both of their first two games, they were still ultimately defeated 2-0 by Jingzhe.

Netizens flamed them like mad.

Under Tianhuan's official club Weibo, fans all came in to voice their doubts—

[What is Tianhuan trying to do this season? Sending their second-string team to play in the preseason games?]

[I was so freaking excited that I set an alarm for the livestream, but then I didn't see Captain Chi. I didn't see Old Qin or Qu Jiang. I saw a bunch of second-string kiddies flailing around up there?]

[You guys playing the part of fools? You guys like losing fans? @CoachLinFeng]

[Sending your second-string team out to play the preseason games… are you looking down on your opponents or are you looking down on yourselves?]

[Tianhuan is losing it, their minds are drifting away, all the way into outer space. They're using the preseason games to train their troops!]

[Hehe, you guys don't understand Coach Lin's deep considerations. By sending Team Two out there, they'll have an excuse even if they lose. If Chi Shuo leads the team out there and still loses, how shameful would that be?]

[I bet they would have lost 0-2 even if Chi Shuo went up there, so this is just a way of letting the kids from Team Two shoulder the blame.]

[Tianhuan is doomed this year.]

A few thousand scathing comments flooded the official Weibo.

The #TeamTianhuan# super topic had also fallen into chaos. A quick glance through the group would show that everyone was badmouthing the coaching team.

Ye Shaoyang skimmed the comments. Only a small number of rational fans were encouraging Tianhuan. Most of their fans were expressing their disappointment. This couldn't really be blamed on them. Tianhuan's performance in the previous season had been bad, which meant a lot of people had already stopped supporting the team. Everyone who remained had been waiting so eagerly for this season, but then Tianhuan sent out their second-string players for the preseason games. It was perfectly normal for their fans to struggle to accept this right away.

But Coach Lin had truly given a lot of thought to this decision.

The starting lineup spent these days training like crazy. In order to avoid leaking their strategies and secrets to other teams in their division, they only scheduled practice games with international teams. A few days ago, they just finished playing against GOW from Japan, and yesterday, they scheduled another practice game against Team TIP from Korea.

Scheduling practice games, reviewing the recordings, summarizing key points, and studying the new strategies and tactics of the new version of the game…

Coach Lin was so busy these days that he hardly knew up from down. He didn't even have time to check Weibo.

The pressure on the kids from Team Two was very heavy as well. Fortunately, the coach had told them that the results of these games weren't important. The important thing was facing off against high-level players and gaining experience in major league games. The young players also steeled themselves and continued to fight.

On January 16th, in the Tianhuan vs Binghun game, Tianhuan continued to lose.

But they didn't lose as tragically as they had the previous day—the match score was ultimately 1-2. They had fought hard and seized one difficult win.

Netizens continued to insult them.

On January 17th, in the Tianhuan vs Yueying game, Tianhuan once again lost 1-2.

The anti-fans who hated Tianhuan rejoiced in Tianhuan's misfortune. They were so happy that they were practically prepared to start setting off New Year's firecrackers. The misery of Tianhuan's fans reached a peak. Even some diehard fans who had defended Tianhuan in the past were starting to change their tune now.

The tag #TianhuanNoGood# was sent straight up the trending topics list.

[Congratulations to Tianhuan on your three consecutive losses, really gotta applaud that fail!]

[Still sending out the second-string team… @CoachLinFeng, Do you have brain damage?]

[Tianhuan is such a joke in this season, they're hilarious. Sending out their second-string team in preseason games for practice, buying an omega player and putting him front and center in the team promo photos… are they just relying on these tricks to hype themselves up because they know they won't play well?]

[So you guys just bought an omega as a decoration. You're not even letting him play. You just want him to look good in the middle of your team pics?]

[That little omega gege really is good-looking. Spending five million yuan to get a nice promo photo isn't bad, I wouldn't call that a loss. As long as the club makes money, who cares about battle achievements?]

[Maybe this omega is a relative of one of the big bosses. Otherwise, why would they spend five million yuan on a newbie and not even let him take the field?]

[I've been a Tianhuan fan for six years, and this is the first time I've been disappointed! You guys do your best to get into Group B, then just get yourselves eliminated as soon as possible to take a long break. You guys will be out in the first round if you make it to the playoffs anyway. Just don't waste that time, hurry up and go home.]

[Is Chi Shuo so afraid of losing that he's decided to retire, leaving everything to the new kids from Team Two?]

[Congrats on your early retirement, Captain Chi.]

[Hurry and retire, Captain Chi. +1]

Coach Lin saw that trending tag and heaved a sigh in his heart.

His decision was indeed quite risky, but the facts would soon prove that he'd made the right choice.

Ye Shaoyang and Cheng Xing were both newbies without any experience in big games. Plus, there were major changes to the game in S10. There were now 90 seconds of 'free time' at the start of a game. Even Chi Shuo would need time to get used to issuing commands in keeping with the new rhythm of the game.

The team spent this time playing practice games with international teams every day. They were still in the process of adjusting their state. There was no need for them to charge into Group S at the start of the regular season. Getting their bearings in Group A and letting their new players build up their confidence while adjusting to the rhythm of professional games was key. When the time was right, they would face off against the strong teams in Group S—and their win rate would be much higher.

Preseason games only determined their group for the regular season; the important games would only come once the regular season began.

The hasty preseason games of S10 flew by, with several matches scheduled per day.

The official tournament ranking of teams changed every day during the preseason period.

In the bottom bracket, Team Beimu—with the addition of the powerful mid laner from Europe, Sean Winston—was exceptionally powerful. Since the start of the preseason, they hadn't lost a single game. In the top bracket, Jingzhe was the strongest. They were on an unbroken win streak as well. The second-ranked team in the top bracket was Binghun. Since Xu Zhuo and Xie Weiyu were still trying to sync up, Yueying was ranked in third place.

Half of the preseason games passed in a flash, and every team that Tianhuan ran into was a major boss. As a result, they were at the bottom of the top bracket.

One week later, the dust settled and the preseason games came to a close.

Tianhuan played a total of eight games within the top bracket, ultimately winning three and losing five. They wound up ranked seventh.

The top three teams in the top bracket were Jingzhe, Binghun, and Yueying—they would go into Group S.

Fourth through sixth would be assigned to Group A.

Tianhuan, who came in seventh, had no choice but to be assigned to Group B—the worst group.

In all ten years of Team Tianhuan's history, this was their first time being sorted into Group B after the preseason games.

On January 21st, the curtains fell on the preseason period. Every major team put out another set of official announcements.

Other teams were all able to post up dazzling congratulatory announcements—

Congratulations Team Beimu for entering Group S!

Congratulations Team Jingzhe for charging into Group S!

Their fans giddily shared and spread their announcements around.

As for Tianhuan's official club account… they couldn't possibly post 'Congratulations Tianhuan for entering Group B', could they?

And so, the little jiejie in charge of official announcements tried to maintain a thick-skinned attitude and wrote: [The preseason games are over. Thank you to all our fans for following and supporting Tianhuan. Team Tianhuan has been assigned to Group B. Although our performance wasn't ideal, our players will take advantage of this time to adjust their mental states and do their best to play well in the regular season. Good luck, Tianhuan!]

Group B was home to the 'dregs' of the league. It was a concentration camp for the six worst teams in the league.

If they weren't careful, if they slipped up just a tiny bit, they would be eliminated before the second round.

Tianhuan's official announcement had people rolling with laughter.

The topic #CongratsTianhuanGroupB# was once again sent up the trending topics list by a flood of insulting comments. Many fans were already crying, and many anti-fans waltzed over to kick them while they were down. It looked to them like Tianhuan was on the verge of disbanding.

[I'm laughing hard enough to throw up. Tianhuan never disappoints… when it comes to disappointing people.]

[In S9, they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. In S10, they may as well get themselves eliminated in the first round of the regular season!]

[When you guys failed to take the podium in S9, I was thinking it was just a fluke. I thought you guys would change after Old Nie and A-Ning retired. I thought you would play well in S10. And now? Now you're in Group B? What should I say now? Can I still say you're awesome?]

[I'm seriously confused. This nonsense the coaching group pulled… did they drop into Group B on purpose?]

[It isn't like Tianhuan doesn't have money. They should just buy a few powerful players! Just take a look at Beimu. They shelled out 20 mil to snag a mid laner from Europe. If Old Nie and A-Ning are retiring, go buy a new marksman and support! What, you're too cheap to spend money? You're messing around with a bunch of newbies?!]

[+1, previous poster. You can tell at a glance that this year's Tianhuan is full of newbies. You can't even tell which ones are starters and which ones are substitutes. Captain Chi's skills are obviously declining as well. It's not a pretty sight, in any case.]

[Other teams are buying players and increasing their strength. Tianhuan just wants to increase their visual appeal. Doge.jpg]

[This is the first time I've seen a team put a player in the middle of their promo shot, then not field that player. Bought him as a decoration, I guess!]

[Buying an omega as a pretty, decorative vase and relying on merch sales to make money… this club's strategies are pretty weird.]

[Let me give you guys some advice. Stop slacking off. It'll be too funny if you guys can't even get into the playoffs.]

[Congrats Tianhuan on making it into Group B. Firecrackers.jpg]

Fans rampaged through Chi Shuo's personal Weibo. His most recent post racked up more than a hundred thousand comments. Half of those comments were insulting him, and the other half were pleading with him to wake up and do something.

Even some fans who'd supported him for years and years were finally breaking down in tears and writing little essays to convince him that he should retire if he really couldn't go on.

Negativity consumed Tianhuan's whole world, but regardless of how their fans cursed and cried, the groups were already set. The famed Team Tianhuan, which had once made it to the finals of the world championships, was dead on arrival in this new season—they plummeted straight to Group B.

Yan Bin privately said to Coach Lin, "I'm sorry, coach. We should have made it into Group A, but we didn't play well in our final game. We were just one point away from making it to sixth place."

They wouldn't have been flamed this fiercely if they'd at least made it into Group A. Falling into Group B in the end was really worse than anyone could have expected.

However, Tianhuan's second-string team had made it into Group B at the head of the pack. That proved that Tianhuan's starting team was more powerful than anyone in the outside world could imagine. In that case, when their starting lineup came out to play in future games, their path would be fairly smooth.

Lin Feng lightly patted Yan Bin on the shoulder and reassured, "It's fine. I've reviewed the tapes from the preseason games, and you guys played pretty well. Even when you faced off against strong teams like Jingzhe and Binghun, you didn't completely collapse. You held on until the thirty-minute mark before you lost. A lot of people who don't understand the game only look at results, not the process of the game. There's no need for you to pay any attention to those comments online."

Yan Bin released a breath of relief. He quietly added, "Going into Group B does have its pros. The pressure at the start of the regular season will be fairly small."

Lin Feng nodded. "That's right. Tianhuan has too many new people this season. We have to farm some mobs and level up. After we gain some experience, we can take on the bosses."

When Tianhuan fell into Group B, they didn't just draw abuse from their fans. Other professional players were also quite bewildered.

Zhao Xin'an straightforwardly sent a bunch of question marks into the pro players' group chat and wrote: [@Tianhuan-Shuoyue, Captain Chi, what's going on with you guys??? With you guys falling to Group B, we won't be able to run into you for the next two rounds?]

Chi Shuo answered: [All according to the coach's plans.]

Chi Shuo had given an answer which seemed completely calm on the surface, but anyone with keen eyes would realize that this season's Tianhuan would perhaps undergo huge changes. This strategy of burning all their boats and leaving themselves in a sink or swim situation was proof of the coaching team's determination.

Right now, Tianhuan may not be able to win against the strongest teams in the league.

But in a month, after Tianhuan spent some time training in Group B… then where would they stand?

The people who truly understood Chi Shuo would never dare underestimate Tianhuan as a team. Even if they'd dropped to Group B now, their wings were only temporarily broken. There would always be a day when they took flight once more.

So, even as they watched Tianhuan fall to Group B, the coaches of all other major teams didn't dare rest easy.

They would continue to keep an eye on Tianhuan's matches in Group B.

The regular season of S10 would officially start on January 22nd.

Every week, game days would fall on Thursdays through Sundays. Saturdays and Sundays were the best times for games to be broadcast. In order to achieve the highest ratings, all of Group S's games would be scheduled for those days. Group S was full of strong teams, after all, and they had the most fans. Nearly all celebrity players were in these Group S teams.

Group A was the 'regular class' and Group B was for the 'dregs', so their games would be scheduled for Thursdays and Fridays—weekdays.

Of course, there was no way for weekday games to hope to achieve the viewership numbers of weekend games.

Tianhuan's first game was scheduled for Thursday night at seven. Their opponents would be Team NTG from Group B.

They still had a few days left to prepare. Coach Lin gathered everyone in a meeting room and started to run through a pre-game analysis. "NTG is a rather unique team. They were the minor league champions that ascended to the major leagues this year. Typically, we don't pay too much attention to minor league games, so I reviewed the recording of their old games—this team's mid laner and marksman are pretty good. Their jungler is a support jungler, and they run a very typical double-carry comp."

Coach Lin swept his gaze across the room, finally settling on Chi Shuo. "This match will be Shaoyang and Cheng Xing's debut match. The coaching team intends to have us face them head-on with a double-carry comp of our own. Chi Shuo, sacrifice your resources. Take a jungler with crowd control skills and move around with Shaoyang. In early-game, let Shaoyang be our main DPS. In late-game, we'll wait for Cheng Xing to develop before he joins team fights."

Chi Shuo nodded. "Okay."

Coach Lin looked towards Ye Shaoyang and warmly said, "Shaoyang, you usually perform very well in training games. So, I believe in you very much. We'll be giving you the role of main DPS in our first match. Will that be too much pressure?"

Everyone turned to look at Ye Shaoyang.

Ye Shaoyang smiled faintly. His gaze was steady, and his eyes were full of confidence. "Thank you for your faith in me, coach. Don't worry. I'll be fine."