[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 376

To be honest, I didn’t really care much about any of the matches in the 1v1 Tournament Round of 32, except for Seo Yeon-woo’s match.

Most of the players I was interested in had already played in the first half of the Round of 32, and without Seo Yeon-woo, I barely recognized anyone else.

It just felt like whatever the outcome was, it wouldn’t affect me much.

Of course, seeing some foreign players I had occasionally faced in Solo Queue brought a strange sense of familiarity, so I ended up watching without realizing how much time had passed.

“Wow, did you see that?”

“I thought it was impossible, but he actually did it.”

“Well, he’s a prince of the great royal family, so I guess he gets those angles.”

“Isn’t it a spoon?”

“Hey now, let’s avoid any controversial statements, shall we?”

Baek Seong-an and Kim Jae-min were chuckling and chatting as usual.

What can I say… Having those two around gave me a peculiar sense of reassurance, as if I had forgotten for a moment that I was in a foreign country.

Anyway, the matches continued.

Among them were some foreign players and quite a few Korean players who had gone overseas, so there were some pretty entertaining matches.

[“And that’s how the match ends!”]

[“GG!”]

As expected, we were watching the All-Star Event in the Korean commentary version.

Even though we were on-site, there was no need to listen to the foreign commentary that we couldn’t even understand.

[“So the next match is… ah, the player we’re all talking about!”]

[“Yes! OLZ’s Honor player is finally making his appearance in the All-Star Event!”]

[“I can’t wait to see what kind of performance he’ll show!”]

[“Yes! Honor’s prowess was well-known even in Challengers! The top player among the Challengers!”]

[“It’ll be a great opportunity to see if that top-tier Challenger skills hold up on the world stage!”]

“Oh, it’s Yeon-woo’s turn.”

“Finally! I thought I was going to die waiting.”

Baek Seong-an and Kim Jae-min were practically sprawled out with snacks in hand.

Their antics felt oddly ridiculous, but I didn’t bother to point it out.

Bringing that up would just feel strange.

[1v1 Tournament Round of 32 – Part 2]

[OLZ Honor vs RONO Euphoria]

With so many matches in the 1v1 Tournament Round of 32, they quickly jumped straight into the Ban/Pick phase.

“Oh, it’s starting.”

“Who do you think will win, sis?”

“I don’t know. I’m not very familiar with Euphoria. But I hope Yeon-woo wins.”

While Kim Jae-min and I were discussing this and that, Baek Seong-an shook his head.

“Realistically, it’ll be tough for Yeon-woo to win. They say Euphoria is top-tier North America.”

“Is that so?”

“Still, let’s cheer for Seo Yeon-woo!”

In the midst of our chatter, the bans were soon completed.

[BAN LIST]

OLZ Honor / RONO Euphoria

Renekton / Vayne

Pantheon / Jayce

Rumble / Cassiopeia

Considering they were both top laners, the bans mainly focused on champions that typically appear in the top lane.

While champions like Vayne and Cassiopeia were included, they are still frequently seen in the top lane, so it’s not surprising.

“They banned mostly kiting champions. Yeon-woo is good at that.”

“Pretty standard bans from Yeon-woo.”

“Yeah. I’m curious what he’ll pick.”

In fact, in a game like Legends of League, it’s quite possible to predict your opponent’s picks to some extent through the bans.

Especially in cases where there are hard counter champions for one-trick players. For instance, Rek’Sai players often ban Kindred or Graves.

Of course, that’s mostly applicable in solo queue; in a 1v1 tournament, the champion pool is significantly broader, making predictions based on bans somewhat tricky.

Nonetheless, one thing we could gather from Euphoria’s bans is that they are wary of champions that excel at kiting.

In other words, there’s a higher chance they will pick relatively melee-based champions rather than long-range ones.

Well, they might use psychological tactics to go for a ranged carry or a mage, but considering Euphoria is a top laner, that possibility seemed low.

“What do you think Yeon-woo will pick?”

“Huh? I wasn’t listening.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

The Ban/Pick phase is fluid, and even if someone has a preset choice, you can’t be sure if they’ll stick to it.

Honestly, I hadn’t even asked Seo Yeon-woo that question before.

[Irelia]

Yeon-woo’s pick was Irelia.

[“Irelia! Irelia is revealed!”]

[“I had high hopes for how Honor would perform in his All-Star debut, and it looks like he plans to make it a flashy one!”]

[“Yes! Especially since he’s up against North America’s Euphoria, it seems he’s not planning to avoid a direct confrontation!”]

[“Now, the next pick for Euphoria is…”]

As everyone held their breath, Euphoria finally made their pick.

[Darius]

Darius.

The nightmare for melee bruisers seemed to have been summoned upon seeing Irelia.

[“Oh, no…”]

[“It’s truly a confrontation of blades, isn’t it?”]

[“Of course, with Irelia and Darius, you’d get the feeling Darius has an edge just by looking at it, but… well, the outcome will only be known when they actually fight!”]

[“Yes. While Darius generally counters melee bruisers, Irelia is definitely not a champion to be underestimated! Especially in a one-on-one!”]

Kim Jae-min chimed in.

“Hey sis, who’s favored in the Irelia vs. Darius match-up?”

“I think Irelia has a slight edge? It’s a bit tricky for Darius to deal with Irelia. In a full-stack fight, Irelia can stack much faster, giving her the advantage.”

“Still, if Irelia makes one mistake, she’ll just die.”

“Against Darius, any champion can die if they make a mistake.”

“True.”

Irelia has many names for her dazzling skill set, elegant looks, and strong abilities.

OP champion.


The ultimate overpowered champion.


A so-called skill-champ pretending to be a free win champ.


The Blade of the Ruined King.

The reason Irelia carries such stigmas, despite being statistically a relatively average champion, is clear.

The champion Irelia is exceptionally strong in the laning phase, and even if you miss some skill shots, she still excels in that respect, while conversely, she’s relatively prone to ganks, leading to a number of toxic players.

However, even if you manage to bring Irelia down with a gank, you won’t feel completely safe because once Irelia reaches her core item, known as the “Ruined King,” even if there’s a one-item difference, she often turns the tables for a kill.

Still, the reason Irelia doesn’t show up much in competitive team games is ultimately due to the essence of the champion.

Irelia is a sort of carnivorous champion that needs to engage constantly while trading damage, but team games typically don’t lend themselves to that style of fighting.

However, this is a team game, and this is 1v1.

You can only know the game by playing it.

[“Alright, the match has begun!”]

Finally, the 1v1 Tournament Round of 32 match between Honor and Euphoria began.

It seemed to fall under the anticipated scenario.

As the minion wave started to come in, Darius showed a more reserved demeanor rather than pushing the lane.

[“Ah, it looks like Euphoria is being a bit cautious in the early game.”]

[“Yes. Darius is incredibly strong at level 1, but it seems he’s chosen not to engage with Irelia in the early game because he believes there’s nothing to gain from it. Typically, Darius gains the advantage after reaching level 6.”]

[“Then we’ll have to see how Honor plans to navigate that!”]

In an Irelia vs. Darius matchup, time usually favors Irelia.

But that’s in normal Summoner’s Rift; here, it’s a one-on-one match with time limits.

In this context, achieving a one-core item such as the “Ruined King” isn’t an easy task, so it’s correct to assume that Irelia’s prime time is before hitting level 6.

[“Uh, uh?!”]

Maybe that’s why.

Seo Yeon-woo’s choice was aggression.

Choosing to push the lane meant he could hit level 2 first, which allowed him to gain the upper hand in trades.

At this moment, Darius hadn’t leveled his E skill yet, so even though Irelia came charging at him aggressively, he couldn’t retaliate strongly.

[“Irelia took advantage of hitting level 2 first to force a solid trade?!”]

[“That makes it increasingly difficult for Darius to poke back!”]

He had already gained a sufficient advantage.

[Darius – Level 2]

Darius had finally reached level 2 and could start whittling down his opponent.

“Huh?”

However, Irelia didn’t back down, skirting dangerously close to the tower and starting to kite Darius using her auto-attack range.

[Irelia – Level 3]


[Darius – Level 3]

As Irelia’s kiting continued into level 3, Darius could no longer hold back.

To be precise, it seemed Darius thought Irelia had made a mistake.

Whoosh…!

As Darius activated his ghost, he finally began to engage.