While champions from smaller cities were already dreaming of the regional qualifiers, the true esports powerhouses—Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, and other major cities—were just beginning their city finals, like late-arriving behemoths slowly revealing their fearsome fangs. Matches in these areas were destined from the start to be higher-dimensional, more brutal battles.
Unlike the dozens or hundreds of teams in small and medium-sized cities, these major cities saw thousands, even tens of thousands, of teams register. The two teams that emerged from such a massive pool, after several rounds of bloody elimination, to stand on the city finals stage, were without exception top-tier powerhouses who had endured the most rigorous tests. The value of a city championship here was entirely different.
The official organizers invested unprecedented resources into these focal matches. They not only arranged multiple official commentators and set up exclusive live streaming rooms on partner platforms, but also dispatched their strongest OB (observer) teams to ensure every exciting moment was captured. The promotional efforts also reached their peak, as if these finals themselves were a preview of the national grand finals.
The Shanghai finals were contested between Team Tiangong and Team Xinghuo.
Team Tiangong was a veteran semi-professional powerhouse from the East China region. Most of their members had extensive offline tournament experience and were known for their stable operations and flawless team fights, earning them the title of "Shanghai Overlord." Their opponent was the biggest dark horse, Team Xinghuo, who had risen to fame in the qualifiers with Chasing Star's five-kill Vayne.
This was a classic "dynasty defense battle" versus a "new challenger match."
The finals adopted a Best-of-5 format. Even before the matches began, the official live stream's popularity had already surpassed ten million, with bullet comments so dense that the game screen was almost obscured.
In the first game, Team Tiangong immediately showed Team Xinghuo who was boss. Using their seasoned experience, they steadily encroached upon Team Xinghuo's jungle resources in the early game through exquisite vision control and lane swaps. Without even a large-scale team fight, they accumulated a gold advantage of nearly five thousand. Team Xinghuo's renowned aggressive playstyle was completely stifled, like a heavy punch landing on cotton, and they were ultimately taken down by Team Tiangong in a slow, suffocating manner.
In the second game, Team Xinghuo adjusted their strategy. Mid laner Ink Stain once again brought out Twisted Fate, attempting to open up the game with global support. However, Team Tiangong was well-prepared for this; their support player frequently roamed mid lane, severely restricting Twisted Fate's growth and tempo. Although Chasing Star's ADC gained some advantage in the bot lane, the overall tempo remained firmly controlled by Team Tiangong. It was another operation-driven victory, putting Team Tiangong up 2:0 and giving them match point.
In the live stream, viewers favoring Team Tiangong had already begun celebrating prematurely, believing the dark horse's journey had come to an end. Immense pressure loomed over Team Xinghuo.
In the third game, with their backs against the wall, Team Xinghuo shed all their burdens and picked a lineup that heavily emphasized early-game aggression. They no longer competed with Team Tiangong in terms of operations, but instead aggressively invaded the jungle from level one, seeking every opportunity for skirmishes. In the chaos, Team Xinghuo's young players' daring and fighting spirit were fully unleashed. Team Xinghuo's jungler repeatedly made successful plays, helping the team establish a huge early-game advantage and, in one fell swoop, clawed back a win!
In the fourth game, the surging Team Xinghuo continued their fierce playstyle, while Team Tiangong seemed to have their rhythm disrupted, making some uncharacteristic mistakes. Team Xinghuo took another game, stubbornly tying the overall score at 2:2!
The match was forced into a decisive game! The entire Shanghai division, and all players watching the live stream, erupted! Who could have imagined that this young team could push the veteran overlord to such an extent?
In the decisive game, both sides brought two hundred percent of their focus. Team Tiangong regained their characteristic composure, and Team Xinghuo showed no weakness. The game dragged on for over forty minutes, with both sides' gold remaining even and the situation extremely stalemated. Finally, in a vision control battle before the Elder Dragon spawned, Team Tiangong, relying on superior team coordination and detailed execution, pulled off a perfect 1-for-4 team fight, and then ended the game in one push!
3:2! Team Tiangong defended the throne of Shanghai! But Team Xinghuo, though defeated, emerged with honor. Their stunning performance earned them everyone's respect; though they didn't win the championship, they had already become famous.
Compared to the thrilling contest in Shanghai, the Guangzhou finals showcased a different kind of terror—the absolute dominance of Team Pojun.
Their opponent, Lingnan Tiger, was also a strong contender, but against Team Pojun, they seemed utterly helpless.
Han Feng's (Sharp Edge) mid lane was as precise as a surgical knife, completely dismantling his opponent in the laning phase. Wang Hao's (Gui Shu) jungling treated the enemy jungle as his own backyard, with perfect tempo. Both top and bottom lanes easily crushed their opponents thanks to the huge advantage provided by the mid and jungle.
3:0!
Clean, decisive, and without any hesitation.
Team Pojun didn't even give Lingnan Tiger any chances. The average duration of the three games was less than twenty-five minutes, and almost every game was a standard "tutorial game." Their strength was a despair-inducing, all-encompassing power. The official commentator exclaimed after the match, "This Team Pojun has already shown strength beyond the city-level competition. They are absolutely the hottest contenders for the overall championship of this tournament!"
Shenzhen, Chengdu... The finals in other major cities were equally spectacular, with strong teams gathered and tactical mind games emerging endlessly. There were Ultimate comeback (epic comebacks), classic operations, and ultimate displays of individual skill, each attracting a massive number of players and pushing the event's popularity to wave after wave of climaxes.
When all the champions from the major cities were finally decided, the official organizers released a consolidated battle report and the complete list of teams advancing to the regional qualifiers. The teams on this list were truly "elites among elites." They not only possessed top-tier individual skill but also had mature tactical systems and rich experience in major tournaments.
From over 127,000 teams to just over a hundred city champions, the elimination rate was as high as 99.9%. Only the true powerhouses remained.
Qin Feng scrutinized this final list, especially Team Tiangong, Team Pojun, and Team Xinghuo—teams that had shown different characteristics and formidable strength in their respective divisions. He knew that the preliminary stage of the national tournament had concluded.
Next would be the grander regional qualifiers, involving regional honor! These city kings, who had fought their way through a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, would represent their respective cities in a new round—the final and most brutal internal struggle before the national grand finals—for a spot in the regional qualifiers!
The phase of "beacon fires connecting cities" had ended, and the horn for inter-regional expeditions was about to sound.