[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 340

Of course, while SY did steal the Rift Herald, they weren’t exactly in a position to go munching on it just yet.

Nevertheless, it was a fact that the steal had clearly doused the favorable vibe that ESD had built up until now.

『“Sure, it’s a bummer they couldn’t get the Herald, but hey, at least they managed to do something!”』

『“Yeah! If ESD had managed to snag that Herald too, it would’ve been… Anyway, Rainbow player just brilliantly cut off the opponent’s momentum!”』

『“As expected, Rainbow always comes through in these tight spots!”』

『“Absolutely!”』

『“To be fair, ESD is still in the lead overall. But with this, SY needs to rally!”』

As the commentators mentioned, even though the atmosphere had shifted a bit, ESD still held the reins.

“Could SY actually win?”

“Not just win; they better hope for it!”

“So, who do you think will come out on top?”

“Me? Well… I guess ESD still has the advantage. But SY has potential too.”

“I could say the same!”

Of course, if I were to shift the question and ask what I would do in their shoes, there wouldn’t be no shortage of ideas.

It was just a matter of whether SY could actually pull them off.

‘If it’s SY, they might just do it… but the opposing team isn’t a pushover either.’

No matter how much they say LCKR (Legends of League Championship KOREA) is top-tier, it’s a fact that they’ve been caught up a bit by the Chinese league, LPLC (Legends of League Professional League China).

Among them, ESD, who reached the Red Cup, certainly wasn’t a team to underestimate.

How many teams would allow a comeback after climbing to a positional advantage like that?

Expecting ESD to throw away such an opportunity wasn’t going to be easy.

Anyway, the first Rift Herald timing came and went in a haze.

What was clear was that the first Herald ESD should have claimed simply vanished, giving SY some breathing room.

Yeah, even enough for the second Herald.

– The Red Team has slain the Wind Dragon!

In the meantime, ESD secured the Dragon.

But hey, with just 1 stack, what nutritional value could the Dragon possibly have?

『“Sure, ESD got the Dragon, but for SY, it’s not too shabby. They’ve bought themselves some time.”』

『“Yes. Of course, that’s assuming nothing goes wrong while they’re at it.”』

『“Haha…”』

The commentators hit the nail on the head.

It was true that SY gained some time, but that didn’t mean ESD would willingly let SY enjoy that time; that choice rested entirely with ESD.

It should’ve been like that…

『“Hey! Check out Mid! Graves and Wukong are both eyeing each other in the Mid lane!”』

『“Twisted Fate’s got the Gold Card ready.”』

『“And just like that! Rainbow’s Sylas dived in first!”』

『“Wukong and Graves are on the move too!”』

A 2v2 clash in the Mid lane.

Since both sides had somewhat anticipated this fight, strategy was less important than tactics this time.

The key to a 2v2 exchange is focused targeting.

And SY managed to successfully lock onto Twisted Fate for a moment.

『“Whoa! Wukong dove in brilliantly! Looks like they might take down Twisted Fate!?”』

– Enemy has been slain!

Twisted Fate fell.

In the Mid lane, Rainbow’s Yoon-ki again delivered the goods.

『“Rainbow! Just when things get tough, Rainbow comes through again!”』

『“Great job SY! They’re closing the gap! Now they just need to figure out how to turn the tables before the next Herald!”』

Left alone by SY’s focus, Graves managed to hit both Wukong and Sylas but didn’t deal enough damage to take anyone down.

Now, all that awaited was the second Herald.

That moment finally arrived.

『“Now, SY can definitely do this. And it looks like they’re planning to!”』

『“Yes! Even though this Herald isn’t as crucial for the game’s fate as the first, a lot is still riding on this teamfight!”』

『“Check the positioning! SY is taking the initiative on the Herald!”』

In truth, considering both team compositions, ESD was better at measuring the distance.

So SY intended to start the fight by taking the Herald first to avoid awkward distance-measuring battles.

『“But they need to be careful. If Twisted Fate lands a Gold Card, their frontline could get rolled back!”』

『“So far, SY players are dodging opposing skill shots well! Oh! Just as I said, Jason landed a poke!”』

Even if Jason was having a rough time, that didn’t mean he lacked firepower entirely.

All things considered, with no tank on the opposing team, even the scaled-down Jason’s firepower could definitely hit home.

Just before the second Herald got wrapped up.

‘Wukong stopped.’

Wait, since earlier, Yoon-ki’s Wukong had been faking it like he was using his W.

And right now, even though Wukong had halted, ESD’s champions didn’t step back at all.

What Yoon-ki was aiming for was precisely that moment.

‘This is it!’

Wukong initiated.

Then Sylas snatched Ruler’s ultimate, following the initiation like a perfect painting.

『“He’s in! Watch Yoon-ki now!”』

『“SY charges in first!”』

– Enemy has been slain!

『“Ruler couldn’t do a thing and just got wrecked!!!”』

『“This is it! ESD is getting mopped up!! SY is absolutely amazing!!”』

The well-farmed Irelia tried to put up some resistance, but thanks to Jason’s pushing and Tahm Kench’s marking, she couldn’t shine.

– Double kill!

SY’s teamfight victory.

They took down a whopping four members except for Graves.

Having spent the whole game on the back foot, SY seized the momentum with this second Herald skirmish.

The global gold also swung back in their favor.

Now, SY began to lead the game.

“Wow, they actually turned it around.”

“Right?”

I believed they could do it.

But seeing it actually happen made me marvel at the plays.

From here on out, this was the SY we knew.

As ESD’s composition, which needed to fight at a distance, began to flounder, SY had nothing to hold them back.

When spotted, they initiated.

Charge, charge, and charge again.

『“Yoon-ki is going wild!”』

『“You little! Take this!”』

『“Hahaha!”』

Maybe because it was such an intense match, once SY succeeded in the comeback, the commentators’ energy surged.

– What’s with that energy? LOL

– Whoa

– SY! SY! SY! SY! SY! SY! SY! SY! SY! SY! SY! SY! SY! SY! SY! SY! SY! SY! SY! SY! SY! SY! SY! SY! SY!

– Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut!

– Rainbow just killed it for real!

– Wukong dashes and takes one down at a time, LOL

“Looks like it’s over?”

“Yeah.”

Even without Kim Jae-min needing to say it, the situation had clearly tilted heavily in SY’s favor.

They could afford to throw a few times and still be okay.

But SY was a team renowned for not letting up once they seized the momentum, and ESD had no chance of a comeback.

『“With that, SY takes down ESD and advances to the knockout stage as the first seed of Group B!”』

『“Gee gee!”』

『“Gee gee!”』

No sooner had the commentators’ words faded than ESD’s Nexus was destroyed.

[Victory]

At last, SY defeated ESD, emerging as the first seed from Group B.

“Wow, they totally nailed it.”

“Totally. They played so well.”

If our team were in SY’s shoes, could we really have turned it around?

Well…

Honestly, I wasn’t too confident about that.

Despite everything, there was still a clear gap between SY and my team.

‘But we can’t stay crushed under that gap forever.’

I too, along with my team members.

We all needed to improve gradually.

*

After finishing the Group B matches, soon the other groups wrapped up their matches too.

The Korean teams SY and SCV both advanced as the top seeds of their groups.

Though MAX lost to GRS and went through as second seed, leading to the potential of an internal match-up in the quarterfinals, it was right to take this advancement as a positive.

The teams advancing to the knockout stage, which was held in a tournament format, were as follows.

First, Korea’s SY, SCV, MAX.

Then, China’s GRS, ESD.

Europe’s SU5, PK.

And lastly, North America’s KIO.

‘That means there’s a chance of an internal match-up somewhere along the line.’

It couldn’t be seen as entirely negative, as if we had an internal match-up, that would mean the Chinese teams could also potentially face off.

‘Still, it’s best to avoid internal matches if we can.’

Well, that’s that…

“Ready to practice soon?”

“Today? It’s getting late. Let’s just do it tomorrow…”

“Shut it, let’s just play a solo queue or something.”

“Yes…”