“Alright, everyone, let’s gather our gear and get going slowly.”
At the coach’s words, the teammates nearby began putting their keyboards and mice into bags.
I had just arrived, so I stayed standing.
“Today’s opponent is an. It’s a team we beat in all our matches in the Spring season, and there haven’t been any significant member changes, so let’s not get complacent and aim to secure the victory points.”
“Yes.”
Today marks the fourth day since the ck Summer season’s opening. Since our debut match was held online, today’s second game would automatically be an offline one.
“Seo Ha, have you ever been to the ck arena?”
“No, I haven’t been there.”
“Well, it’s more like a 150-seat venue anyway, so much smaller than the vll finals. Thus, don’t be nervous and just play.”
The coach kept talking to me as if assuming I was nervous, but…
“150 seats? That’s way too small.”
The ck arena’s capacity of 150 is a significantly smaller number compared to the 500 seats at the LoL Park where I used to compete or the 600 seats at the Sangam Arena where the vll finals were held.
And for me, who has experienced the Worlds finals, the ck arena’s 150 seats might as well have been empty.
“Don’t worry.”
With a casual smile, I responded, and the coach conveyed trust in me.
“Then, shall we go?”
Following the coach and teammates, I moved towards the garage on the first floor. There was a black van wrapped with the ark logo. Our manager sat in the driver’s seat, and the coach was in the passenger seat.
I waited for all the teammates to get in before boarding the vehicle at the end. Three of them were seated in the back, and next to me was Kim Dojin, the team captain.
As I was about to do some usual mental training by sitting down, Kim Dojin spoke to me.
“Uh, are you continuing to attend school…?”
“Yes, I am.”
Except for me, all the ark teammates were high school students and had dropped out to challenge professional gaming. Though going to school was indeed inconvenient, what could I do? South Korea encourages attendance up to middle school, and my parents wanted me to at least graduate from middle school.
‘But…’
Though he was clearly a year older than me, why was he using polite language?
“You can speak more casually. You’re older than me, so it’s fine.”
“Uh, really…?”
“Yes, I prefer to hear honorifics for convenience.”
After hearing this, Kim Dojin seemed a little taken aback but quickly nodded and began talking casually.
…
ark’s headquarters was only about a 5-minute drive from the ck arena. It was a distance one could easily walk, but we traveled by car to conserve the players’ energy.
“Again, don’t leave your baggage behind and make things difficult for the manager. All set?”
We got out of the car and moved to the second floor, where the stadium was located. The facilities had improved through renovations and looked decent, but the size was surprisingly small.
“We’re in Game 2, so let’s go to the waiting room.”
Through a staff-only passageway, we headed to the waiting room.
‘This is small too.’
A few chairs to sit on and a large screen displaying the matches — that was all. Of course, this was pretty good for a second league. After all, leagues in America and Europe often conduct second leagues entirely online except for the finals.
“Who’s playing in Game 1?”
“Probably ke and gw?”
“A mid-tier battle then.”
Both ke and gw were not top-tier teams but maintained a steady second league presence.
“They’re going to Game 3. Who do you think will win?”
“I’m rooting for ke.”
“I think gw will win.”
At Kim Dojin’s question, the bottom lane duo provided differing answers.
Even though they had been friends before becoming pros, these two were always like this: perfectly synchronized in-game but constantly debating in real life.
“Isn’t it obvious? This is a carry meta, and ke’s racer is much better.”
“Even in a carry meta, a support like Garak is just that—support. The top-laners lack strength. They lost to the difference in performance last season.”
“Yeah, even if the top-laners grow strong, one critical strike at 75% will wipe them all out~”
“Alright, Garak, let’s have a bet on this?”
“Okay, no takebacks later.”
*
“Lost a ten-thousand won bet…”
The wager was won by Jin Yuseong, the ADC.
It seems the teams lacked decision-making, dragging the game into the late game. In the end, an ADC-based finish decided the game. This is why you shouldn’t bet lightly in games.
“Alright, it’s our turn to get out and prepare.”
While e-sports generally have post-game analysis, lower leagues often provide only a summary of key highlights by the commentators. Therefore, grabbing the bags with keyboards and mice, we headed to the arena.
‘There are more people here than I thought.’
Since the first game’s audience seats were half-empty, I thought the second game would be similar. However, now the stands were filled to the brim. There were even fans sporting ark jerseys, specifically ones with my emblem.
Though the seating may be smaller, it certainly looked fuller, making it a pleasant sight.
‘Do smaller spaces create better immersion?’
The arena was equipped with only one large hanging screen, with the stands closer than those at the LCK arena.
I thought it might actually be nice from the viewing perspective. Honestly, in e-sports, where the game is viewed on large screens, hearing players’ calls clearly may add to the ambiance.
While thinking these random thoughts, I began setting up the equipment piece by piece.
‘The gear I used in my previous life—when was it released again?’
Our team didn’t have sponsored gaming gear, so we were using products similar to what I’d used in my previous life. Since the original products weren’t yet released, this was a solution.
I laid down the mouse pad on the table and placed the keyboard and mouse on top. Both were wireless, so I plugged in a USB receiver to finish setting up.
‘For the headset, we’re supposed to use the ones provided by ck.’
In e-sports, personal gear generally refers to keyboards, mice, and mouse pads. You may wonder, ‘What about headsets?’ but most often, headsets provided by organizers are used. This is to prevent teams from inferring opponents’ situations and strategies through crowd noises or cheers.
‘For example…’
If a team moves toward a location with poor visibility and there’s an opposing team hiding there, the crowd might cheer, alerting the team to something unusual.
Even if it may seem trivial, in the professional leagues where matches can be won or lost by a single decision, this is a serious concern.
‘The crowd’s cheers penetrate even soundproof booths.’
You can’t completely block cheering. Setting up soundproof booths doesn’t fully help either because the noise of hundreds or thousands shouting can still reach the players through vibrations.
To solve the issue, high-performance noise-canceling headsets were introduced.
The headsets generate white noise directly into the players’ ears.
The noise is loud enough that the game sounds and mic communication must be increased to be heard over it. Most rookies probably experience discomfort when adjusting to the stage. This seems like the main reason for their struggles.
‘The pros, who throw tantrums if their setup is slightly different…’
Shoveling continuous noise into their ears for the entire game—of course, they’d be troubled. Honestly, those who manage through this are exceptional.
Of course, I was one of the exceptions, and except in rare occasions, it didn’t bother me too much. Let me share an example of those rare occasions:
‘…When will this be resolved?’
It happens when a pause (PBU) is called during the match.
“What? The opposing team’s spawn? Isn’t it from log? What situation is causing this pause?”
Jin Yuseong’s voice barely pierced through the crackling noise.
That’s right. Even during pauses, the players must wear the headsets, and the noise keeps playing.
“It seems the settings were reset due to a conflict with the keyboard program?”
The commonly used keyboards and mice by many pros from log have customizable settings via specialized software. However, for security reasons, the program isn’t installed on the desktops in the arenas. As a result, matches use previously saved settings on the devices.
Sometimes, like now, settings reset, and players are forced to call a pause to reconfigure them.
‘log is the official sponsor for the league anyway.’
Why wouldn’t they install the setting program? I understood it was another instance of Riot Korea’s peculiar behavior.
‘When will it start?’
Though I understood the situation since I’d experienced it multiple times, being bored was still boring. Maybe due to this, the noise that was normally tolerable started to bother me.
“That setting adjustment might take 10 minutes.”
“Are we eating dinner after this ends?”
“Of course.”
“We must have kimchi stew today.”
I turned my head to glance at the opposing team on the other side.
They seemed to be busy working with the referee to adjust something, but it wasn’t clear when it would end. I sighed, resting my face on the table.
While I rested my chin on the desk, someone noticed something.
“What is it?”
“The crowd is cheering suddenly.”
“Commentators seem to be talking about something.”
“If it’s important, the referee will let us know.”
There was a peculiar reaction nearby.
But this main camera… for some reason, it seemed strangely focused on me.
‘Maybe it’s just my imagination.’
