A shockwave of Sjokz rippled through the League of Legends esports scene after scrappy underdog Cloud9 beat, and then subsequently lost to, tournament favorite Not Faker. Not Faker, who obtained legendary status after almost winning three world championships, was reportedly distracted by the smoldering, lust-filled glances of C9’s pizza boy, allowing him to be easily dispatched by a sentient beard and a piece of candy.

This remarkable new strategy allowed the (mostly) Americans to win three out of the four games they played, a phenomenal triumph for a team expected to lose five times. Rather than be eliminated, the team will move on from the group stages and into the semifinals, the first time an NA team has done so since Cloud9 made it out of groups last year. Joyous NA fans embraced this news by crawling, ever so carefully, out from underneath the enormous rock they burrowed under after the first day of worlds. There are also reports of fans pulling their heads out of sand, or even going outside.

“We were with them all the way,” claims Redditor and self-professed TSM TL C9 superfan DoubleliftIsLord, having spent the last week smugly quoting IWillDominate. “Sure, we said all that stuff about Fortnite, all that stuff about NA being the worst region, and all that stuff about hype followed by disappointment becoming a vicious cycle we can never escape, but WOOOO! WE DID IT, REDDIT! TSM WORLD CHAMPS! USA! USA!”

The Cloud9 squad was, as many Europeans are quick to point out, revitalized by the underrated European team, YamatoCannon. With this victory, a “western alliance” has bloomed from the salted, bloodstained field of petty rivalry, and is expected to last until the quarterfinals, when Rekkles knocks C9 out of the tournament again.

Keeping this in mind, Riot officials have expressed concern, worrying that the space under the NA rock will become uninhabitable due to this surge of uncharacteristic hope and optimism. Thankfully, Team Liquid fans have agreed to stay behind, so they can “keep the rock nice and warm.”