[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 334

Shocking defeat.

GRS’s performance was nothing short of overwhelming.

“…Well. We lost.”


“Yeah.”

The team members were left speechless.

We had rarely lost even against solid teams in scrims before.


In fact, we didn’t really have many losses at all.


But in this second scrim against GRS, we suffered a brutal 25-minute loss.

“…Alright, everyone gather up. We’ve got a lot of feedback to go through from this game.”

Baek Seong-an urgently called the entire team together.

“First off, it seems like we messed up the ban/pick.”

Everyone agreed with that observation.


It’s only natural that when you lose a game, you start with feedback on the ban/pick, especially after a disastrous defeat like this one.

“I think I pushed too hard against Renekton early on.”

Baek Seong-an even chose Cleanse as his mid spell to deal with Renekton, but still couldn’t handle the Renekton-Nidalee combo.


Even cleansing Renekton’s empowered W didn’t help; he just got crushed by the damage.

“And also…”

Feedback continued to flow.

“The game in top lane went way too smoothly for them. Once Gangplank and Aatrox both hit level 6 without any issues, Gangplank naturally started affecting other lanes.”

“True.”

In fact, after Gangplank hit level 6, it not only toppled the already struggling mid lane but also disrupted the tense balance in bot lane.


With the teleport patch making it extremely hard for top laners to roam, Gangplank’s ultimate was simply unfair.

“Okay, let’s wrap up the feedback here… I’ll wait for the other team.”

As if on cue, GRS had already finished their feedback and were waiting for us.

“Let’s redo the ban/pick.”

“Okay.”

Even though we lost in the second scrim, we had won the first game, and most importantly, the opponent was GRS, so no one was feeling down.

An opponent we could definitely lose to.


In fact, it was even more impressive that we took the first set.

‘Still, I’m not planning to stop here.’

Our ultimate goal is to qualify for the Red Cup next year and win it.


Just because the opponent is a strong contender among the Red Cup teams doesn’t mean we should be intimidated.

“Let’s go!”

*

[Victory]

Game time: 57 minutes 13 seconds.


Kill score: 24:21.

After a fierce battle, we barely snatched victory.


It was such a tough game that even Kim Jae-min, despite winning, let out a groan before any cheers.

“…If my sister hadn’t played Kindred, we might have been totally wrecked, right?”


“Agreed.”

Just as he said, thanks to my Kindred pick, I was able to save allies who would have been easily cut down by the enemy and kept dragging out what could’ve been the end of the game.


By continuously blocking and blocking, eventually, one chance arose, and we capitalized on it to achieve victory.

“…Hyung, let’s call it a day after this last one. I can’t go any further.”


“I was thinking the same.”

Baek Seong-an exchanged messages with someone who looked like GRS’s coach on his smartphone and nodded in acknowledgment.

“Thanks for the help, and next time, they said they’ll help us out.”

“See, they’re good at returning favors.”

“Since it was their request.”

Our connection with GRS, one of the strong contenders for next year’s Red Cup and a powerhouse in China, would definitely pay off later.

No matter how you slice it, finding a practice opponent of that caliber for key moments later on is tough.

‘Well, they might change their minds later.’

Of course, in that case, we could simply decline GRS’s request later on, so there was no need to worry too much.

“Great job, everyone.”


“Ugh….”


“But still, we have to do what we have to do. Let’s follow me.”


“Can’t we take a break?”


“No.”

We delved into feedback to solidify what we had learned today.

For our time ahead, leading to next year.

*

[Defeat]

A defeat after such a fierce contest always leaves you feeling drained.


GRS felt the same way.

“…We actually lost.”


“Yeah.”


“That Outlaw is no joke. Isn’t he basically Sechoong?”


Rumors about Outlaw were rampant.


Moreover, the players had met Outlaw a few times in Korean solo queue, so they had a general idea of who he was.

However, that was just fragmented info and solo queue experiences.


Facing Outlaw in a proper team game made even the prideful GRS players unable to deny his strength.

To put it bluntly, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say GRS lost that third match primarily because of Outlaw.

“MaBing, what did you think? Facing Outlaw directly.”


“…He played just as well as I knew he would.”


“How good is that?”


“Really damn good.”

Given the situation, Li Zhi-Xuan suddenly had a thought.


If OLZ had participated in this Red Cup, perhaps a tremendous upset would have taken place.

‘…Well, that’s a pointless assumption.’

While Li Zhi-Xuan was lost in thought, the GRS players began discussing OLZ among themselves.


The hottest topic was whether OLZ would make it to the Red Cup next year.

“What do you think? At this rate, OLZ looks likely to make it next year.”


“I think so. I’ve got it figured out now.”


“Figured out what?”


“OLZ’s weakness.”

And Li Zhi-Xuan thought.


This might actually be a more significant gain in the long run than anything else.

*

After the scrim with GRS.

Since there was no specific schedule for our team, time quickly passed.


During the Play-In Stage, since there was no Korean team participating, it felt a bit lackadaisical.

『“And just like that, the final teams for the Group Stage have been decided!”』


『“Woohoo!”』

Finally, the Red Cup Play-In Stage had come to an end.


First, the European and Chinese 3rd seed teams successfully advanced to the Group Stage, followed closely by the Taiwanese team.


The North American 3rd seed team lost to the Vietnamese team and failed to advance.

Just as it had been on the first day, it was quite an upset to see one of the four major regions fail to pass the Play-In Stage.

“Now it’s the Group Stage.”


“Isn’t it really starting from here?”


“Right.”

Unlike the Play-In Stage that had no Korean teams, the Group Stage now included teams that had passed the Play-In Stage along with Korean teams.


SY, SCV, MAX.


Korean powerhouse teams.

‘Plus, strong teams from other countries are coming out too.’

Particularly in Group B of the Group Stage, Korean SY faced off against Chinese 2nd seed ESD, plus North American 1st seed RONO and European 3rd seed ILI, forming what was aptly dubbed the “Death Group.”

‘Group A also has GRS and MAX, making it no walk in the park.’

But were the other two teams in Group A pushovers? Definitely not.


MAX and GRS could both just as easily fail to advance from the Group Stage.

Each match was crucial, without a single one to overlook, igniting excitement as expected.

“Sister, you’re watching all the Group Stage matches, right?” Kim Jae-min asked.


Since he looked pretty bored during the Play-In Stage, he seemed thrilled that the Group Stage was finally starting.


“That’s the plan for now.”


“Oh… So you’ll do commentary too?”


It looks like that was his real motive.

“…I’m not really thinking of it.”


“Why not?”


“I’ll think about it based on how you perform.”


“Really?”

Given the way Yujin usually spoke, it was a hint that she wouldn’t be doing it, but Kim Jae-min took it as if she would.

Well… I wasn’t too concerned about him feeling betrayed later on.


“By the way… did you raise your solo queue rank? Did you hit Challenger?”


“…What’s the point since the season is resetting soon?”


“I’m not saying to raise your score but to improve your gameplay in line with your score. And the reset is still far off.”


“Yay.”

In truth, it was hard to motivate teams that weren’t participating in the Red Cup during this period.


There was a reason other teams were taking lengthy breaks to recharge.

However, our team’s aim was to keep pushing forward without stopping from next spring, meaning there was no time for us to rest.


To be precise, none of the team members wanted that.

It’s no wonder that when we finally gave them a break, they instinctively gathered in the practice room.

‘…Or maybe they just don’t have friends?’

Whatever the case, it wasn’t a significant issue.


What mattered most to us was the Red Cup.

‘The Group Stage…’

Finally, the true Red Cup was about to begin.