When an Alpha is Marked by One of His Own Kind

Chapter 77

News of Lu Zhe's imminent return quickly circulated throughout the LPL.
Of course, COCO was the team most keen on knowing whether or not these rumors were accurate. They would, after all, be the team facing off against DG next in the third-place match of the summer tournament, and the results of that match would have an effect on which team took the third qualifying spot for the world championship.

The top two teams of the summer tournament had already been decided-

WTG and BLX.

WTG had been the champions of the spring tournament. If they also won the summer tournament, they would undoubtedly be the first seeded team for the world championship from the LPL-by a wide margin, at that.

But if BLX won the summer tournament, then they would be the first seeded team from the LPL. Meanwhile, the second seed would be determined between COCO and WTG. The two teams were neck and neck in their scores that season, so whether COCO won or lost against DG in the third-place match would be very important to them.

Naturally, the best case scenario would be if WTG won against BLX. Because BLX performed very poorly during the spring tournament, only finishing in the top sixteen. If WTG won, regardless of whether COCO or DG won the third-place match, COCO would have more points than DG and BLX. They would be the second seed from the LPL.

Unfortunately...

The game between DG and COCO took place before the finals between WTG and BLX.

Placing their fate in the hands of another team was a foolish endeavor, so COCO obviously wanted to get a clear idea of where DG would stand against them. DG could be said to have three junglers at the moment, after all, and each of them had a different play style. The coach's picks and bans strategy differed from player to player, depending on who DG fielded as their jungler. If Lu Zhe was really going to throw himself into the mix, COCO had to prepare accordingly.

However-

Everyone knew that Captain Lu's defining characteristic was that he was a 'dog'.

If someone were to ask him directly, he would probably respond with some tawdry words that shook the enemy troops. Or perhaps he would simply mock whoever asked for fearing his return.

COCO's only option was to prepare a backup plan and take note of the champions Lu Zhe had been practicing as of late, so that they could target them for the first bans.

The official starting lineup would be formally announced the day before the match, anyway. COCO would be prepared for anything.

......

"Welcome one and all to the LPL's summer tournament playoffs! We're currently looking at COCO and DG. This is going to be a very important game for them. The LPL's season statistics are already out, and we can see that this victory will be crucial for COCO. If they win, they'll qualify for the world championship as the second seed of the LPL. If they lose, they'll have to fight for the third qualifying spot for the world championship alongside other fierce contenders."

After the commentator on the left side of the announcers' booth enthusiastically recapped the current standings for the audience, the other commentator took over and said-

"Yes, but there might be a big surprise in store for COCO today..."

The two commentators locked eyes, both knowing exactly what the other intended to say.

"It's been around two months since Lu Zhe suffered an injury to his arm, and we're sure everyone has seen Lu Zhe playing on the Korean server as of late. Does this mean Lu Zhe's return is imminent?"