[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 195

Group A, Team 1.

First match of the single-elimination round.

Game time 19 minutes and 16 seconds.

OLZ (OutLaw Zone) wins.

More than just snagging the first win pleasantly, it was encouraging that they finished the game before the 20-minute mark.

If they did lose in a subsequent match, thanks to dragging the game out a bit, they could easily advance.

Just a while ago, they were in a state of anxiety, so for now, they felt a bit relieved.

“Great job, everyone. Especially…”

I slowly turned my gaze.

The top laner, who looked more like a boy with a youthful face than a young man, caught my eye.

“Yeonwoo. You did well this game.”

“Ah… yeah.”

Seo Yeon-woo nodded slowly, looking a bit awkward despite the usual behavior.

In some ways, it felt like his everyday self, but somehow it seemed slightly off to me.

“I need to talk to him after today’s preliminaries.”

Both Seo Yeon-woo and I were not the type to initiate a conversation first, so this strange atmosphere had lingered up until now.

But it seemed like that couldn’t go on longer.

I had to tackle this overdue business before the day ended.

“This match was a free ride. So lucky.”

“You’ll have to carry the next match then. You can do it, right?”

“Well, um… I’ll try.”

Kim Jae-min and Baek Seong-an were having a casual chat, while Kim Ji-hoon, as always, quietly watched the replay. Most of it were plays he executed well.

However, compared to the relatively cheerful atmosphere of our team, the expressions of the QS Ulsan players, who were the losers this game, were gloomy.

Even though I wasn’t consciously observing them, I could hear their voices from a distance.

“Ah…”

“Why did we have to meet them here…”

“…It’s not over yet, so let’s try to do well in the next match.”

“No, before that, why did you lose a solo kill at top? What was there for Renekton to trade hits with Graves early on?”

“Weren’t we supposed to play top lane?”

“I said to play top lane, not to get smashed!”

“What did you say, you idiot?”

“What? You piece of trash?”

Ah, a fight broke out.

“Hey! Everyone, stop it!”

Only after a coach from QS Ulsan rushed in did the fight finally calm down.

“Uh…”

“Let’s prepare for the next game.”

In the suddenly chilled atmosphere, Baek Seong-an spoke.

“Ah, yeah.”

“You all sit down too.”

Kim Jae-min and Kim Ji-hoon nodded and settled back into their seats.

Surprisingly, we had never seen how the opponents who played against us shared feedback.

Of course, this was only if we could indeed call that feedback, but the important thing was that we witnessed the scene of our opponents bickering and tearing each other apart because of us.

“Come to think of it…”

Had we ever fought like that, openly expressing our emotions?

To be precise, we hadn’t faced a defeat shocking enough to trigger a fight like that.

We also lose during scrims.

But usually, those who made mistakes would admit it willingly, and they would discuss it.

“Rather, do we not show it outwardly?”

Seo Yeon-woo, Baek Seong-an, me, and Kim Ji-hoon.

Excluding Kim Jae-min, everyone was not the type to openly express dissatisfaction.

Thus, what they were showing right now was quite a shocking sight for me, and for us.

“Things can’t always be good.”

Nothing stays the same.

No matter how kind and innocent-seeming the team members may appear at the moment, that wouldn’t exempt our team either.

“What’s going on?”

“Ah, yeah.”

“It’s not over yet. Focus.”

Baek Seong-an’s words were right.

The preliminaries weren’t over yet.

“OLZ, get ready for the next match.”

“Sure.”

Our next opponents are TBW (Team Blood Warriors).

If we snag one more win here, we don’t even need to look at the results of other teams; we’ll advance as the first place in our group with 2 wins.

“Hmm.”

“What’s up?”

While checking his smartphone, Baek Seong-an said.

“I thought I’d seen them somewhere… that team is the one that beat BAN last year in the K-Star Cup.”

The K-Star Cup.

This is a tournament hosted by the Korean eSports Association, not part of the regular league, which can be seen as a combined tournament for amateurs and pros.

Soon, since amateurs and pro teams both participate, and it’s entirely unrelated to the regular league, it’s generally considered an event for fans or a showcase for professionals… but Baek Seong-an’s comment couldn’t be ignored.

“Beat BAN?”

It’s not entirely impossible for an amateur team to reverse-sweep a pro team in the K-Star Cup.

In fact, it could be said that it happens quite a bit.

BAN is a mid-tier team that’s struggling in the 1st division LCKR.

Regardless of how different amateurs and professionals approach the K-Star Cup, the fact that they beat BAN in the best-of-five series is not something to overlook.

“Right, they won in the top lane?”

“…In the top lane?”

If they had lost because of differences in the bot lane, I could understand.

But who is BAN’s top laner?

Despite being stuck in the mid-tier for years, he’s often mentioned as a candidate for the best top laner.

BAN EZ.

And yet they lost in a skirmish in the top lane and ended up losing the best of five?

“Oh, yeah. Their top, jungle, and mid tiers are all high.”

Top mid challenger.


Jungle grandmaster.

Glancing at their records, I noticed I had faced some of them in solo queue a few times.

It was quite rare for a challenger, whether domestic or overseas, to get offers from teams in the main league.

“Roughly checking, it seems like quite a few people are expecting them.”

“If they beat BAN, they’d have a reason to.”

“But it won’t be the same with us.”

Baek Seong-an was blabbering as usual.

Of course, I agreed.

“Of course.”

Just while chatting like this, an official in charge of the preliminaries approached.

“OLZ and TBW, if you’re all ready, we’ll be starting soon.”

*

Five-hundred won coins soar into the sky.

They crash down.

“It’s heads.”

With the result of the coin toss, TBW gets to choose their side.

The side they chose is blue.

The same choice we made in the previous game.

It’s generally believed that the blue side has a bit of an edge in the current meta.

“The difference is, TBW must have watched our match.”

To prove that, unlike QS Ulsan, TBW focused their bans on the opposite side rather than mid.

[Lee Sin]

With the enemy banning Lee Sin first,

Soon, the ban/pick phase was completed.

+


[OLZ / TBW]


Top: Kamal / Kennen


Jungle: Kindred / Jarvan III


Mid: Sylas / Galion


ADC: Ezreal / Miss Fortune


Support: Morgana / Leona


+


Overall, the composition seemed simpler for the opponents, who had an ‘easier’ setup.

With the strong initiation combo of Jarvan and Galion, plus the support from Kennen and the powerful backline provided by Miss Fortune.

It’s a solid and strong setup based on strong crowd control and teamfight capability.

One of the typical comp setups used for teamfighting in low-tier games.

On the other hand, our team’s pick seemed more focused on countering the opponent’s intentions.

Countering Galion in the laning phase and picking Sylas for mid, who could match the tempo in the late game while also countering the opponent’s strong teamfight skills with Kindred.

Moreover, both Ezreal and Morgana in the bot lane were optimized picks to counter the opponent’s strategies.

“In some ways, you could say we were forced to pick by the opponent… but for now, we managed to counter them in terms of comp.”

Pick/bans are just pick/bans after all.

What’s important is how smoothly those picks translate into in-game play.

“What we need to watch out for… is still the top lane.”

I slowly painted the scenario in my mind.

The mid match-up has already been determined, so from Galion’s perspective, he would likely want to influence the other lanes instead of doing anything in mid.

Also, considering the characteristics of the opposing team, the scene would most likely unfold in the top lane.

Kamal vs. Kennen.

Just judging by the pure early laning phase, it’s obvious that the ranged champion Kennen has the edge.

However, when it comes to gank response and making kill opportunities, Kamal holds the upper hand.

Thus, in general, the overall laning performance would be perceived as Kamal having an edge over Kennen.

Of course, since Kennen is often picked more for his utility rather than laning, Kamal would usually come out ahead in this match-up.

“Well, Kamal doesn’t really need to rush…”

Even if Kamal doesn’t completely push Kennen out, once the laning phase ends and a split-push scenario develops, the opponent would likely struggle to deal with Kamal’s split-pushing.

However, if they do decide to focus down on the main force, it wouldn’t be easy for our team to force Jarvan into bad engagements either.

“The scenarios drawn from pick/bans look good.”

What remains is the in-game play.

-Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!

It’s time to prove that.