[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 330

In reality, despite the Red Cup being an international event, there are relatively few hardcore fans who follow the Play-In Stage from teams that are not part of their own country’s league.

And it was the same for professional gamers who made a living off Legends of League.

A tournament itself often has a tedious aspect, and matches featuring teams that aren’t of interest can be even more so.

But not this moment.

“No way, not like that!”

At some point, the team members had fully focused their minds on the tournament.

And after each turn, they shared their opinions.

“But did Yacht Gaming really play like that?”

“I think their mid messed up a bit.”

“True.”

“Still, I feel like their mid is better than Seong-an.”

“That’s pushing it.”

“That mid is from a Red Cup qualifying team, you know?”

“Hey now. What do you think of the undefeated mid of CKR?”

“That’s true.”

Kim Jae-min and Baek Seong-an were chatting and chuckling among themselves.

However, just because the atmosphere was good didn’t mean they were taking this match lightly. Not at all.

Sometimes, watching matches from other teams can be more helpful than playing the game directly.

Especially when it came to foreign teams whose interpretations of the meta are different.

“Usually, Korean teams are a bit slow to adapt to the meta.”

Of course, that didn’t mean Korean teams were slow in every meta or that they weren’t trendsetters at all, but it was true that foreign teams tended to discover new metas faster.

Whether you like it or not, despite Korean teams being good at recognizing changes, there has always been some rigidity, while foreign teams have been relatively freer in that regard.

In other words, foreign teams are quite skilled at finding new metas, while Korean teams excel at studying those metas deeply.

That’s been the backdrop of why Korean teams have performed so well in international tournaments.

Meanwhile,

Seo Yeon-woo, who had been watching the match closely, suddenly shouted.

“Oh, Top!”

Almost simultaneously, the screen switched to the top lane.

‘“A fierce exchange where neither side will yield an inch!”’

‘“Let’s see…!”’

‘“Aaaaah!!!”’

The action erupted in the top lane.

Riven versus Fiora.

In a literal sword fight, Asai Berry Esports had the upper hand, and the ensuing snowball effect reached the jungle.

And the lane affected next by the jungle was mid, which is the center of the game.

‘“Uh-oh, Yacht Gaming’s in big trouble?! A highway just opened up in the top lane!”’

‘“Yeah! And it’s been a long time since we’ve seen a champion like Riven, but if she gets this strong, her burst in team fights is insane!”’

This is where the charm of a one-shot format comes into play.

In a best-of series, the team with superior power is likely to win, but in a one-shot format, any variable can occur.

That fact was unfolding right before their eyes.

Even as the third seed, Yacht Gaming from North America was being overwhelmingly outplayed by Asai Berry Esports from a non-major region like Brazil.

The huge snowball that took off in the top lane rolled too far.

“See, the top should just be tanking.”

“Agreed.”

As Kim Jae-min and Baek Seong-an were chatting away, Seo Yeon-woo flinched and said.

“…If you think about it, Riven did well, so Asai Berry won?”

“Not yet, it’s not over.”

“That’s true.”

“……”

The lonely top lane had no choice but to fight a bitter battle against the mid and bot duo’s bombardment.

It felt too pitiful just watching, so I cautiously chimed in.

“Still, Yeon-woo is better than that Riven, right?”

“No way.”

“That one’s from the Red Cup top lane team?”

“Agreed.”

“Where’s the second division player here?”

“……”

These guys, this won’t do…

What Kim Jae-min and Baek Seong-an said was just some playful banter, but Seo Yeon-woo, who had a notoriously fragile mindset, was getting quite serious.

“……”

Is she going to cry?

“Everyone, stop it.”

“What are we stopping?”

“Recognition hasn’t even started.”

…What a mess.

As the match continued, Asai Berry Esports, having taken control of the top lane, smoothly transitioned to the first and then the second Rift Herald, snowballing aggressively.

Game time: 18 minutes.

The gold difference had now skyrocketed to 6,000.

The game had blown up massively.

‘“For Yacht Gaming, it’s a blessing that Baron hasn’t spawned yet!”’

‘“But that won’t last long. It’s coming… soon.”’

‘“Should Yacht Gaming be forcing vision now? If they just give Baron away, that’s the game gone!”’

Despite the commentators’ shouts, Yacht Gaming’s champions could not step forward recklessly.

The disparity in vision was too great, and if one of them got caught while trying to push for vision, it would be game over as Baron would be taken.

“This isn’t looking good.”

“Looks done.”

“Maybe giving it up and trying to block isn’t such a bad idea?”

The team members chimed in one by one.

I agreed too.

“Sure, if you want to win, taking a gamble here would be right, but…”

How many teams can bravely gamble their fate in a game like this?

Only the top teams worldwide, who have built data and experience through such bold gambles and wins.

Or those who just kind of throw the game entirely.

Unfortunately, Yacht Gaming, the North American third seed, wasn’t that kind of team.

Judging to give it up and block.

However, in the current meta, such a judgment was definitely not helping with a victory.

“It’s over.”

“Can’t stop it.”

Kim Jae-min and Baek Seong-an exclaimed.

And they were right.

‘“Here it comes! It’s happening!”’

‘“Can they stop this?”’

Yacht Gaming’s champions fell one by one.

– gg

– game over

– getting wrecked

– North America hype! North America hype! North America hype! North America hype! North America hype! North America hype! North America hype! North America hype! North America hype! North America hype! North America hype! North America hype!

[Victory]

The game was over.

It was a victory for Asai Berry Esports.

‘“Ah… Yacht Gaming has started off on a tough foot.”’

‘“Indeed. No matter how you slice it, a North American team collapsing this quickly in the Play-In Stage on the first day, first match is a major upset for Asai Berry!”’

– North America hype lololol

– This is North America

– Honestly, I expected this, right?

– Yup.

– So entertaining lol

– This is why we cheer for North America.

A complete triumph for the Brazilian team, Asai Berry Esports.

An upset right from the first match.

“…It’s more fun than I expected.”

“Right?”

Baek Seong-an and Kim Jae-min wore perplexed looks on their faces.

At first, they probably wanted to half-heartedly watch the opening ceremony match, but now they found it quite informative.

Regardless, the teams currently in the Play-In Stage can be seen as the leaders from each region.

For us, who just got promoted to LCKR, it was natural to have things to learn.

“Sis, are you going to watch all the matches today?”

“For now, yes. It’s the first day after all.”

“Hmm, then I’ll watch too.”

Kim Jae-min casually joined the Red Cup party.

“Really? I need to first see how it goes today and then think about tomorrow.”

“Me too.”

Baek Seong-an and Seo Yeon-woo nodded in agreement as well.

Just then, as if on cue, Kim Ji-hoon walked back in from the practice room, wearing a towel around his neck.

I couldn’t tell if he had returned from watching the first match or just finished exercising, but he casually sat down on the sofa next to us.

“I felt I could concentrate better here, so I came back.”

“Oh, cool.”

Shortly after, the second match began.

*

Before long, the first day of the Play-In Stage Round 1 came to an end.

To sum up today’s matches in one phrase, what could I say…

“Whew, it was something else….”

Of course, not every team showed perfect performance.

It’s true that there were teams that showed terrible execution as well.

But even teams I thought would struggle exhibited some flashes of brilliance here and there that were definitely worth learning from.

The biggest upset? Yacht Gaming’s back-to-back losses as a North American team.

At this rate, there was a chance that the North American third seed could be eliminated in the Play-In Stage.

As everyone started getting up one by one, Baek Seong-an suddenly called everyone over.

“Hey, everyone. Gather around!”

“Why?”

“GRS just requested a scrim.”

“Huh?”

GRS. The red cup first seed team from China was requesting a scrim with us.

“Why don’t they just ask their own teams to scrim? Why are they asking us?”

Kim Jae-min chimed in.

He had a point; this scrim wasn’t exactly going to be beneficial for our team.

We wouldn’t be in a tournament until after the Red Cup finishes and the next season begins.

“That’s true, but… what do you think, Yujin? It just looks one-sided in how we’d be helping them out, but I don’t think it’s a bad opportunity. This way, we could ask GRS for help when we need it later on.”

Baek Seong-an’s argument was valid.

But I wanted to accept the scrim for a different reason.

“Let’s give it a shot.”

“Are you sure?”

“Don’t you want to see how big the gap is between us and a team that’s one of the favorites to win?”

Kim Jae-min said.

“What gap? We’re winning.”

“That’s true.”

Kim Jae-min and Baek Seong-an chuckled.

“What about Yeon-woo and Ji-hoon?”

“I mean… if our team is doing it, I’ll do it too.”

“I’m okay with it. I’m done with exercising for today.”

“Okay.”

Baek Seong-an said, “Then I’ll tell them we’re ready.”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s go!”

“Time to go smash some heads.”