[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 206

Legends of League Challengers Korea Promotion Match.

As the name suggests, this is the place where teams participating in the next season of the second division league are determined.

Unlike the first division promotion matches, the entire schedule for the second division promotion match is completed on the same day.

In other words, only two matches will be played in a best-of-five format.

Today, the teams that will fall from the second division will be decided.

“Of course, we didn’t get picked.”


“Can’t be helped.”

The teams participating in the second division promotion are the lowest-ranked teams, the 7th and 8th teams.

The relatively higher-ranked 7th team gets the privilege to choose their opponent from the first-placed teams in Groups A and B.

It’s basically an advantage based on rankings.

The 7th team of CKR, BSM (BrainStorMing), chose the first-placed team of Group B, PBHG (ParkBokHee Gaming), and naturally, the 8th team, GKG (GurKha Gaming), ended up facing us.

Soon, the matches were as follows.

+


[MATCH 1] [Best of 5]


CKR Spring 7th Team BSM


vs


CKR Promotion Qualifier Team PBHG

[MATCH 2] [Best of 5]


CKR Spring 8th Team GKG


vs


CKR Promotion Qualifier Team OLZ

* Winning teams of each match will earn a seed for the Challengers Korea Summer Split.

* 1st, 3rd, and 5th sets pick priority: BSM, GKG.


* 2nd and 4th sets pick priority: PBHG, OLZ.

+


Although it’s a minor detail, the existing CKR teams have a slight edge in terms of pick priority.

You could say it’s a sort of home advantage.

In any challenge, the challenger must always surpass the defender, so I had no complaints.

That was the original rule too.

“Anyway, we’re in the second match. What do you want to do? Want to watch the first match? I’m thinking of watching it.”


“Um… No.”

Baek Seong-an wanted to check the ban/pick and other schemes, but I didn’t want to waste energy watching another team’s match for no reason.

‘I did have a bit of trouble sleeping last night anyway.’

Although I hadn’t really been on an outing before, I somehow understood what it was like to get excited the night before.

So, I was trying to rest and relax on the sofa in the waiting room when some strange noises kept coming in.

Hoo─


Hoo!


“…Ji-hoon, don’t exhaust yourself and just sit there and watch the match.”

I scolded Kim Ji-hoon, who had brought dumbbells into the waiting room, and he shook his head.

“This is fine.”


“I’m not fine. It’s distracting.”


“…Understood.”

Despite his appearance, Kim Ji-hoon surprisingly listened to me quite well. Aside from being obsessed with working out, he’s a pretty diligent guy… after all, moderation is key.

‘So then…….’

I closed my eyes and began to simulate today’s match in my head.

We already had quite a bit of scrim experience with our opponent, GKG.

Scrim results? It’s obvious.

We won all of them.

So I didn’t think it would be a difficult match, but the opposing team knew well that they had fallen behind in scrim results, so they would likely come prepared with some tricks of their own.

‘What tricks could they even pull? They can’t use picks that they haven’t practiced at all. So the picks that GKG players tend to use in solo queue are…’

I had all that data already.

That would mean GKG had about two choices.

Either they fight head-on according to the norm.

Or they could whip out a joker pick they had saved till the very end that they had occasionally used in scrims against other teams.

Regardless of what they choose, we had no reason to avoid it.

No matter what method the opponent used, we could just bulldoze through it.

Some might call it arrogance, but I was confident, and so were we.

And…….

As I lay there with my eyes closed, I could naturally hear the faint voices of my teammates shouting their unsolicited advice while watching the game.

“Wow, they’re doing it like that over there. They really can’t do anything, can they?”


“Don’t say that where people can hear. It’ll cause trouble.”


“Yes.”

Of course, even with that, it’s not like they could hold it in, and even Seo Yeon-woo, who was quietly watching the match, piped up now and then.

“I think the top players are making weird calls. They shouldn’t be doing it like that…”


“Definitely. If they keep that up, the jungle will get completely eaten. Won’t they come back to help?”


“Right.”


Kim Ji-hoon chimed in.


“The difference in the supporters seems significant.”


“That’s true. More accurately, the bot lane itself seems to be lacking.”


“The bot lane fight is led by the supporter.”


“That’s true.”

As the chatter between teammates mixed with the commentary, I could roughly follow how the match was going without even needing to watch closely.

‘Looks like BSM has a major advantage.’

Well, as you can tell from the name, Park Bok-Hee Gaming is initially a team formed by amateurs coming together.

Even though they reached the promotion match, they still can’t compare to a team capable of competing seriously like BSM.

‘In reality, Park Bok-Hee Gaming struggled a lot in the Group B qualifiers too.’

It’s a different situation compared to us, who breezed through Group A with a clean sweep.

I guess it’s precisely because of that that BSM chose them instead of us as their opponent.

As I pondered these thoughts, the first match soon ended with BSM’s smooth victory.

“They really just bulldozed through.”


“It looks like it’ll be almost a 3:0, huh?”


“Right.”

Hearing that conversation, I thought.

‘As expected, it was a match I didn’t need to see.’

It’s not like I didn’t have a reason. Our team had scrimmed with both Park Bok-Hee Gaming and BSM several times.

The results were all wins for our team.

And we had won by a considerable margin, so it was hard to find interest in the match between the two teams that lost to us.

As I dozed off with my eyes closed, time passed, and the long match came to an end.

“Shall we say there were no surprises? The skill gap between the two teams today was substantial?”


“Yes. It’s a pity for Park Bok-Hee Gaming, but I think it would be good for them to prepare more and take on the challenge again next time.”

The first match between BSM and Park Bok-Hee Gaming came to an end.

The result was 3:1, with the existing Challenger team BSM winning.

Finally, I tidied up my messy hair and turned to Baek Seong-an and asked softly.

“How was it?”


“…Not really useful for reference.”


Baek Seong-an shook his head and added.


“After watching the last MSL finals, I feel like my expectations have gotten too high.”

After all, the difference between MSL, where the world’s top teams gather, and the second division promotion match was like comparing heaven and earth.

“It’s not just expectations that have risen.”


Because next year, we’ll be in that position.

“Hmm, if you say so…”


Baek Seong-an struggled to hide his usual awkwardness, but none of the other teammates seemed to be denying it either.

“Honestly, if we played, I think BSM would have lost to us.”


“And haven’t we won them many times? We… scrimmed with them, didn’t we?”


“Oh, yeah. That’s true. Yeon-woo, you have an impressive memory.”


“……”

At this point, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say our team’s condition and form were at their peak.

Just as we were preparing, the staff entered the waiting room and shouted.

“OLZ members, please get ready now!”

TEAM OLZ (OutLaw Zone).

From now on, it’s our time.

*

Slowly leaving the waiting room and heading towards the computer-equipped competition area felt incredibly long.

“Hah…”


“What’s wrong? Nervous?”


“Yes, well…”


“Actually, I feel the same way.”

I was momentarily stunned by Baek Seong-an’s words.


“Pardon?”


“I’ve always felt nervous before a match. But now I’m trying not to.”

“Why’s that?”


“Because we’re going to win.”


“Hah.”

It felt uncharacteristically boastful for Baek Seong-an, but it wasn’t bad at all.

As he said, we will win.

Not just today, but going forward as well.

Today is the first step toward that.

As we slowly walked down the hallway, we finally saw the booths and the audience seats.

Right now, the audience seats are empty.

Of course, there aren’t completely empty seats, but those people are more like staff than spectators.

‘Audience…’

It felt so vivid.

I can clearly picture the day when those currently empty seats will be packed, cheering for me and our team.

“What are you doing?”


“Oh, yes.”

As I took my seat, I made a vow.

When the day comes that those audience seats are filled, I will proudly show them.

How a once-imprisoned prisoner turned back into an outlaw.