[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 375

Finally, the first part of the tumultuous 1v1 Tournament Round of 32 has ended.

With so many matches in the 1v1 tournament, they probably split it into two parts to avoid any potential boredom.

As I returned to the waiting room, the All-Star participants, including Seo Yeon-woo, welcomed me.

“Good job!”


“Thanks, sis!”

“Wow, Outlaw, your Gragas was insane! Totally looked like a mid. You took down Andro!”


Thanks to the praise from Rainbow, Seo Yeon-woo, and GuineaPig, I awkwardly replied.

I had gotten pretty used to being with my team, but mingling with people I didn’t know brought back that chronic antisocial syndrome that used to bother me.

“Well… it’s a pick I normally use.”

“Oh, right. It’s also a pick for jungling. Haha.”

GuineaPig, who was called one of the best supporters in the world, must have known that, but saying it that way was probably just the style of a sociable person.

…A style that was a bit much for me.

“Wow, Andro is supposed to be a super strong contender this time with Hyun-kyu, and you just knocked him out… Why don’t you just play mid from now on?”

“Haha… no way.”

“No, really, you did really well. Right? Hyun-kyu?”

Rainbow nodded calmly along with him.

“Yeah. You did well.”

“See? It was amazing.”

It felt strange to receive compliments about mid from a player who was called the best mid laner in the world, but I forced myself not to show it.

“Wow… Outlaw is good at mid too. Don’t you excel at any other lane?”

Seo Yeon-woo chimed in.

“Actually, if I top against her, I lose.”

“Wow, really? I heard Honor is good too.”

GuineaPig said.

“Let’s see… So, has everyone in Round 32 Part 1 played already?”

“Looks like it.”

“Cool. So, who’s coming out for Round 32 Part 2 today?”

In response to GuineaPig’s question, Seo Yeon-woo raised her hand shyly.

“Oh, I’m going out in Part 2.”

“Oh wow. I heard Honor is good! Who’s your opponent?”

“Um, it’s that North American top player… I think their ID is Euphoric or something.”

“Wow, that person is probably a top-tier player. I heard they won the championship recently… Big match, huh?”

Even though North America tends to lag behind other leagues in competitiveness, players who reach the championship hold something special.

Especially since people like me and Seo Yeon-woo are just entering the first league.

Of course, the 1v1 tournament is mostly an event, but still, facing off against world-class players is quite meaningful.

“Well, now it’s U.R.F mode… BlackDog, you’re up, right?”

“Ah, yeah.”

“Who are you going against?”

“Well, in LCKR, it’s just me alone, and I think there’s a Blue TV streamer on the opposing team. You know Bibubavi?”

“Oh, I know that person! I knew they were coming to All-Stars, but I didn’t realize they were diving straight into U.R.F. That’s awesome.”

GuineaPig clapped as if he knew.

Of course, I didn’t.

Since I originally streamed and still do at Red TV, I couldn’t possibly have much information about streamers from the relatively different platform, Blue TV.

As we talked about this and that, the first part of the 1v1 Tournament Round of 32 was soon over.

At that point, the staff announced.

“BlackDog, please prepare for your next match.”

“Yes.”

As BlackDog got ready and stood up, I did too.

“Hey? Outlaw, where are you going?”

In response to GuineaPig’s question, I nodded slightly.

“Oh, yeah. My schedule here ends for today, so I’ll head over to where the team members are.”

“Oh, already?”

“Yeah. Today’s schedule is done.”

“That’s a bummer.”

As I announced I was leaving, Seo Yeon-woo, unexpectedly left behind, looked at me like a baby bird looking at its mother.

“…Sis. Are you leaving already? I still have a while before I do my 1v1 tournament…”

I’m sorry.

I can’t stay here any longer.

I tried hard to convey my feelings silently, but I wasn’t sure if Seo Yeon-woo understood.

“See you later.”

Who can I blame?

I should blame my lack of social skills.

I left the waiting room feeling like a mom fleeing from an orphanage, leaving behind a child.

Sorry, Yeon-woo.

*

“Wow, sis! That was amazing!”

“Good job!”

“Oh, your line Gragas was doing well too.”

As I returned to the waiting room with my teammates, Jaem-min and the others welcomed me.

As expected, I felt comfortable here.

“I was lucky.”

“Oh, come on, it was all part of the plan, right? No?”

“Actually, that’s somewhat true.”

Baek Seong-an chuckled.

“Wow, it was really impressive. Can I play mid instead of you next time?”

“Who’s going jungle then?”

“Um, maybe I’ll go and just pick something like Amumu?”

“That’s a bit…”

Amumu isn’t an objectively bad pick; in fact, statistically, it’s relatively good. However, in LCKR, where early dominance is crucial, it’s a risky pick to bring out recklessly.

“No, it’s really doable. Jungle is just like playing an RPG, isn’t it?”

“…Jungle isn’t easy.”

Of course, the laners always say that.

They think jungling is just fighting against AI, so what’s the difficulty?

Laner always fights against the opposing laner, of course.

That’s not incorrect, but the jungler’s true battle isn’t against jungle mobs but the intense positional war against the enemy jungler.

Since jungling is generally a bit calmer than laning phase, they can channel their extra energy elsewhere.

“Just talking nonsense.”

Baek Seong-an chuckled.

“So, is it U.R.F now?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Oh, it’s starting.”

The next part of today’s schedule was the U.R.F mode battles.

Since U.R.F mode is more of a fun gaming mode, it’s not serious like a national competition; it’s more of a game where pro gamers and influencers from various countries mix and just have fun.

The players representing Korea are BlackDog, the ranged dealer from SCV, and Bibubavi, the streamer active on Blue TV, who will face off against each other.

With all sorts of people, countries, leagues, and pro gamers mixed in, it’s strictly aimed at being a pure event match that could potentially heat up.

“Oh, so BlackDog and Bibubavi are coming out from Korea. That person is really good.”

I hadn’t realized it before, but the Bibubavi appearing on the screen turned out to be a female streamer.

As expected, it was proof that various individuals gathered for the All-Stars.

“Oh, it’s starting.”

Not long after a few simple introductions, the ban/pick phase began.

The ban/pick was done as a blind pick.

Without separate ban cards, the players would weigh event-showmanship and champion performance in their picks.

Basically, U.R.F mode is completely different from the traditional Summoner’s Rift.

It’s inevitable, as the mana costs that previously hindered mana-cost champions or energy-cost champions in the initial phase of laning have completely disappeared.

Conversely, for champions that originally had no costs, like no-cost champions, their tiers often end up dropping.

Of course, because of this, U.R.F mode has a separate balance compared to Summoner’s Rift, but that said, the gaming company isn’t exactly leisurely enough to tweak the balance to that extent, so the balance tends to be all over the place.

Hence, good champions for U.R.F mode tend to be relatively set characteristics.

The first is champions like Ezreal, Lux, or Ashe that can mercilessly poke from the laning stage.

The second is champions like Gragas, Maokai, or Annie that have powerful crowd control abilities, able to hold an enemy until they almost die once caught.

The third is champions like Fiora or Jax with incredibly short cooldowns and invulnerability skills, leading to absurd potentials in the late game.

The fourth is champions like Shaco or Kiana, capable of dominating the entire game through stealth and unique mobility.

Of course, there are plenty of other good champions, but those four broadly cover the essentials.

And even then, this often changes with U.R.F mode-specific balance patches from time to time.

“A lot of people seem to be unfamiliar.”

“Yeah, right?”

Given that various influencers from different countries are involved, it’s not surprising that it’s somewhat foreign.

However, it’s not that there aren’t any familiar names; there were retired pro gamers turned influencers who had made a name for themselves before.

“Wow, look, Eldin is here too. That person used to be really good.”

“Wow, right? They were incredible.”

I know Eldin too.

A former pro gamer from China, one of the top players in the Chinese league during the time when Korean players predominantly ruled.

Maybe that’s why.

In U.R.F, Eldin was hard-carrying as an AP Shaco.

He was on the same team as BlackDog.

“Wow… even though Eldin retired, he’s still playing well.”

“Yeah, I heard he’s still a Challenger.”

“Is it really that level? Why did he retire?”

“Maybe he was too expensive for the team? Or maybe he just wanted to take a break.”

There were plenty of speculations, but it’s hard to make assumptions about the reasons for a pro’s retirement since there are so many possibilities.

The lifespan of a professional gamer is notoriously short, after all.

“Is it Yeon-woo’s turn now?”

“Looks like it is.”

1v1 Tournament Round of 32 Part 2.

It’s about to begin.