[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 296

Day 2 of the Promotion Tournament.

The day of the winners’ match was approaching.

The team that wins today will be promoted to the first league, LCKR.

Of course, even if they lose today, they can still get promoted by winning in the final match, but nobody among the teams participating in the winners’ match would want that.

Winning today is the plan, and promotion is the goal.

That was everyone’s thought.

The team we were set to face today was GBP, the team that beat BLH on the first day of the playoffs.

Ranked 9th in LCKR.

Some might say it’s a perennial bottom-tier team, but the important thing is that they’re part of the first league, LCKR.

The world’s best league.

Even though the momentum of the leagues in China and Europe has been formidable lately, no one could dispute that fact yet.

Regardless, the important thing was that GBP was indeed part of LCKR.

Naturally, they were an opponent we couldn’t underestimate.

“Our head-to-head record against GBP is pretty good… but we haven’t won every match. You know that, right?”

“Yeah.”

In reality, our head-to-head record against GBP was almost 100:5, indicating our overwhelming dominance, but if you looked at the smaller matches, there were definitely games we lost.

In Legends of League, nothing is absolute.

This means that no matter how dominant our victories have been so far, it’s possible to lose today.

“Let’s go.”

“Go go.”

We headed towards the arena.

*

-Woooaaaaah!

-OLZ! OLZ! OLZ!

You could feel the heat of the arena.

The usual heat felt especially special to Baek Seong-an today.

‘…I must do well.’

Baek Seong-an regained his focus amidst the roar of the fans.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the past few months had been a sprint just for today.

The thought that those months, and his teammates’ time, could be wasted because of him was terrifying.

“Where are you going?”

“…Just a quick bathroom break.”

“It sounds like we’re starting soon, so hurry back.”

“Uh, okay.”

Leaving the waiting room, Baek Seong-an felt dizzy.

The tension made it hard to sleep, and also, the recent major mistake he made in the last match had left him anxious about the fans’ sharp reactions.

Because of that, Baek Seong-an was feeling a level of stress that was unmatched.

Or rather, to be precise, Baek Seong-an had already experienced this kind of situation before.

The stress he felt amidst the fierce criticism just before retirement.

He felt a level of stress that was reminiscent of being on the brink of retirement.

“Ha…”

Just as Baek Seong-an let out a deep sigh, Kim Ji-hoon approached.

“Are you nervous?”

“…Yeah.”

Is he here to cheer me up?

This isn’t like Ji-hoon…

“Take this. And here’s some water.”

Baek Seong-an, feeling puzzled, accepted the pill that Kim Ji-hoon handed over.

“What is this?”

“It’s a supplement containing L-arginine and L-ornithine. It has vasodilating effects, and taking it before exercise enhances workout effectiveness.”

“…Isn’t this going to show up on a doping test?”

“That’s a funny joke.”

“…I’m serious.”

Aren’t eSports players athletes too? Wouldn’t taking something suspicious like this lead to doping tests?

Of course, strictly speaking, there weren’t doping tests in eSports yet, but still, it felt uneasy accepting a pill just like that.

“Don’t worry, it’s just a supplement. Just think of it as coffee in pill form.”

“…Really?”

“What would I gain by lying?”

“That’s true…”

If Baek Seong-an’s performance worsened, the consequences would ultimately fall on his teammates.

There’s no way Ji-hoon, one of those directly involved, would want to suffer because of that.

Baek Seong-an swallowed the supplement and the water.

Gulp, gulp.

“…I don’t feel much change.”

“If you feel instant effects, that would be a drug, so be careful.”

“Haha, that’s true.”

Thanks to Ji-hoon, or maybe the supplement he just took, Baek Seong-an felt a little bit at ease.

Of course, separate from that, his heart seemed to be racing even faster.

“…My chest feels weird.”

“That’s proof that your blood vessels have dilated. It’d be great if you could exercise now… but do it in the game instead.”

“I’m not going to die, am I?”

“If that pill could kill you, you’d have been dead long ago, so relax.”

With that, Baek Seong-an returned to the waiting room with Kim Ji-hoon.

“You’re back?”

“Yeah.”

“Then let’s go. The staff guy is hurrying us.”

“Really? Then let’s get moving.”

Baek Seong-an took a step forward.

His steps felt a bit lighter.

-Wooooaaaah!!!

-Squeak!

-Sis, look over here!

-Honor sister is pretty!

As he stepped into the arena, the cheers of the fans surged around him.

But Baek Seong-an didn’t run away anymore.

Instead, he even thought about wanting to make the cheers of the fans his own.

“Let’s go.”

Baek Seong-an wanted to prove something today.

That today, Getback had returned.

*

“Here we are! The day has finally come!”

“GBP and OLZ, one of these teams will stay in LCKR or get promoted today.”

“For GBP, this game is a must-win to stay in LCKR; for OLZ, it’d be great to win in the winners’ match too, so it’s a must-win for them as well.”

“Haha! I might be making a little wordplay here, but the important thing is that this match is incredibly significant for both teams.”

“So… who will emerge victorious today? I’m already excited and hardly slept last night!”

“I bet a lot of fans feel the same way. This is a high-stakes match between two teams that are the center of attention!”

“Yes! Will GBP show their resilience as veterans of LCKR, or will OLZ showcase the spirit of the newcomers? It’s going to be super exciting!”

-Agreed

-So hyped

-Can’t wait

-OLZ seems like they’ll get wrecked

-But BLH also got wrecked by GBP; the first league is certainly different

-Don’t compare 9th and 10th

-9th or 10th, it’s all the same lol

While the chat buzzed with excitement, the actual ban/pick phase started.

“Ah! The ban/pick phase begins!”

GBP is in the blue side.

OLZ is in the red side.

So, GBP gets the first pick.

“Alright, the ban/pick has started!”

It’s GBP’s turn for the first ban.

[Galion]

The first ban is Galion.

You could say this is a clear mid ban, much like what SS Class did before.

“Is this to be expected? There were concerns that OLZ’s weaknesses were exposed in the previous match against SS Class,” the commentator said.

“Yes. Experts suggested that SS Class’s persistent mid ban was effective.”

“The important thing now is what OLZ has prepared as a counter to that.”

OLZ proceeded with their first ban as well.

[Akali]

“Oh, they’re going this route.”

“You could say OLZ is playing as expected, right?”

And then…

With both teams completing their bans.

+

[Ban List]


Galion / Akali

Malphite / Viktor

Baegah / Kuroki

+

“What can I say… it seems we’ve seen a mid-six ban right from the start?”

“Yes! Though both teams banned three mids, if you look deeper into their champion preferences, there are significant differences, which is somewhat interesting.”

-Lol

-Mid six bans?

-Those trying to break through vs. those trying to block

-Getback, retire already

-The bans are really one-sided

Now, it was GBP’s turn for the first pick.

[Caitlyn]

“Wow… there are so many champions available, but this is a pretty standard choice, right?”

“Yes. While Kayn or Renekton could’ve been picked, perhaps OLZ’s data suggested they wouldn’t utilize those champions.”

[Karna]

[Ezreal]

“Well… if they were going to pick an ADC, wouldn’t they choose Jhin instead? But it looks like they’re going this route.”

“Yes, that seems right.”

After some time, the ban/pick phase left only OLZ’s final pick.

+

[GBP / OLZ]


1st pick: Caitlyn / Karna

2nd pick: Lux / Ezreal

3rd pick: Diana / Yune

4th pick: Irelia / Lee Sin

5th pick: Jui / [this turn’s selection]

+

Now, it was time for OLZ to leverage the advantages of the red final pick.

“Honestly, based on current patterns, OLZ usually leans towards picking top when they have the red final pick, right? That’s one of OLZ’s most powerful strategies as well.”

“Exactly. So it’ll be interesting to see what OLZ will choose… will they send Yune mid and pick top later?”

“But based on Getback’s tendencies, utilizing Yune doesn’t seem likely… we’ll just have to wait and see.”

In the meantime, OLZ finally made their final pick.

“…Huh?”

Though rarely seen recently, a familiar portrait appeared, and…

[Sion]

The commentators erupted in mixed cheers and astonishment.