[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 378

-Waaaah!!!

The cheers from the audience resonated all the way to the waiting room, echoing alongside the commentators’ excited exclamations.

[“HONNNNER!!!”]

[“That was an unbelievable play, even seeing it live! Amazing, Honor!”]

[“What just happened? Irelia literally chopped Darius to bits!”]

[“Yes! And not just any Darius, but the one known as the North American King, Euphoria’s Darius!”]

[“Who could have predicted such a result?”]

[“Of course, one-on-one tournaments can yield very different results than a player’s actual performance… But still, Honor hasn’t even played a single match in the first division excluding the promotion matches! He’s a real rookie!”]

It was no surprise.

The kind of play Honor showed was flashy and intense, true to the name of an event match.

After all, the job of commentators in the professional league is to help create stars, so it’s only natural they might exaggerate a bit.

Soon, the screen flashed to Honor’s image.

He looked a bit shy but had a charming smile, leaving the commentators momentarily at a loss for words.

[“Uh… this looks quite different from that ferocious play earlier, huh?”]

[“We could call it the charm of a twist, perhaps?”]

[“Yeah. His looks definitely suit more of an idol than a professional gamer.”]

[“Looks like OLZ has a lot of good-looking players.”]

[“Right. And many fans have high expectations for OLZ, not just because of their looks, right?”]

[“Absolutely. Since their undefeated streak in Challengers Korea, there’s been a lot of talk that this time would be truly different. It seems like the Outlaw and Honor participating in this All-Star event have proven that to some extent.”]

Kim Jae-min perked up at that.

“Oh, they’re talking about us. But why am I not mentioned at all?”

“You didn’t make it to this All-Star event.”

“Ugh… why did I have to lose the vote? So unfair.”

“Wasn’t there quite a gap in the votes?”

“Was there? I don’t remember.”

The chaos wasn’t just here; the comments were just as lively.

-Your younger sister’s beauty ㄷㄷ

-OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ!

-Stop spamming

-It was epic ㄹㅇ

-Euphoria’s merciless play, lololol

-Honor! Honor! Honor! Honor! Honor! Honor! Honor! Honor! Honor! Honor! Honor! Honor! Honor! Honor! Honor! Honor! Honor! Honor!

-Is this… North America?

-First place in North America gets cut by a second division top!

-hahahaha

As we chatted among ourselves, Seo Yeon-woo returned from finishing her match.

“Oh, Yeon-woo’s back.”

“Good job. You did really well. I honestly didn’t think you could beat Euphoria.”

“Thanks.”

Kim Jae-min, Baek Seong-an, and Kim Ji-hoon welcomed Seo Yeon-woo, but she ignored them and shifted her gaze toward me.

“…Betrayer.”

Her eyes seemed a bit teary, mixed with resentment, and I instinctively avoided her gaze.

“I’m sorry.”

It seemed leaving her alone in the waiting room with only strangers had been quite shocking for her.

But honestly, I couldn’t stay there long either.

“What’s up, why the long face?”

“Did something happen?”

When Baek Seong-an and Kim Jae-min asked, I responded.

“I think it’s because I ditched Yeon-woo.”

“Oh. That makes sense.”

“Ugh, a guy leaving a girl alone for even a bit? Tsk tsk.”

“………”

Seo Yeon-woo silently punched Kim Jae-min in the side.

“Ouch! Side! It hit my side!”

Oh, nice liver blow.

As Kim Jae-min doubled over from the sudden surprise, the first part of the one-on-one tournament had come to an end.

Now, there was only one event left on the first day of the All-Star event.

[“Alright, so… the only thing left is what could be considered today’s main event match?”]

[“Finally, the moment has come!”]

[“North America versus Europe, Europe versus North America. An unavoidable rivalry!”]

[“Indeed! Of course, they say Europe is comparatively stronger than North America, but as always, the length of a match only shows once it’s played, right?”]

[“That’s right! And is North America just North America? This is a super team made up of some of the top players in North America!”]

Watching the commentators cheer excessively for the North American team, it was clear there was a significant power disparity.

Well, it wasn’t just the commentators; anyone could see it.

“Who do you think will win?”

“Haven’t we got to see the match first?”

“Come on, you know that’s not what you mean. You have a hunch, right?”

“If it’s about that, was there really a need to ask? I’d say the European team will win.”

“Is the gap really that severe?”

“Yep.”

Of course, there were variables.

The team participating in the All-Star event wasn’t the North American first-place team, but rather an All-Star team gathering superstars from North America.

If they were dispersed across different teams, it might not have been the same, but now, they had a chance to compete against the European team.

While the European team indeed had more competitive strength, having superstars on board could lessen that gap in every All-Star event.

“Most importantly, they probably didn’t have time to sync as a team, so essentially that gap should shrink even more.”

And on top of that, there was the single-elimination variable as well.

Ultimately, the All-Star stage was quite a boon for North America.

However, despite all this, it was hard to easily root for North America due to the gap they had consistently shown against Europe.

[Regional Rival Showdown]

[LCSA (North America) vs LECL (Europe) 5v5 Showdown]

As we chatted among our teammates, the main event of the first All-Star day began.

[“Alright, the ban/pick phase begins!”]

Europe vs North America.

North America vs Europe.

The two teams’ ban/pick phase officially kicked off.

“Oh, it’s starting.”

“Who do you think will win, Yeon-woo?”

“Europe.”

“You’re pretty decisive. So decisive you could be called a pumpkin.”

The overall ban/pick structure progressed rather simply for an All-Star event.

[Annie]

[Yuumi]

They banned and picked decent champions without much fuss.

Considering the rivalry aspect, it seemed they prioritized winning for their home fans more than treating this as an event match.

The ban/pick continued in order.

Even though it was an event match, there was an undeniable feeling of tension in the air.

[“Ah, this is how it’s going down.”]

[“Should we call it the expected structure?… They seem to approach this quite carefully, don’t they?”]

[“Right. Even though it is an All-Star event, everyone enjoys a win, after all.”]

[“Haha, true. It’s hard to enjoy a match you lose.”]

And finally….

The ban/pick phase was completed.

[LCSA (North America) / LECL (Europe)]

Top: Jax / Renekton

Jungle: Sejuani / Vayne

Mid: Annie / Arin

Bot: Aphelios / Zeri

Support: Nautilus / Yuumi

The main event of the first day of the All-Star was finally starting.

[“The match has begun.”]

[“Overall, I think both teams made some good choices in their ban/picks, and in this scenario, eyes will be drawn to the top and bottom lanes, right?”]

[“Yes. Especially in this meta, if the bot lane starts losing, it often leads to losing the game entirely, making it especially important.”]

Early game invades didn’t lead to any major mishaps.

Given that the North American comp is extremely strong in invasions, the European side deliberately avoided invading.

In the process, the North Americans successfully placed wards in the European jungle, gaining an early vision advantage.

[“This means Vayne’s route is starting off clear.”]

[“We’ll have to wait and see how this plays out.”]

[“The early top dynamics will be connected with this, I’d say?”]

[“Exactly. Especially in a Jax versus Renekton match-up, the jungle movements are crucial.”]

In a Jax versus Renekton matchup, excluding the initial one-on-one timing at level one, Renekton usually leads until Jax wins again around the first item.

Thus, Renekton had a couple of tasks: to put dive pressure on Jax early and to transition that advantage to the Rift Herald.

That was the reason Renekton persisted in pro play—his limited-use play needed to be executed perfectly.

Maybe that’s why.

Even after Vayne’s location was exposed, she steadily pursued the top strategy, and Euphoria’s Jax seemed well aware of the situation.

Even though the Renekton/Vayne combo was a potent dive duo, diving against a Jax, both being auto-attack reliant, isn’t easy.

Still, Renekton and Vayne went for the dive, and Euphoria seemed to punish that decision, calmly managing to withstand the dive.

-First Blood!

Renekton died, and both Vayne and Jax fell simultaneously.

In a dive they absolutely needed to capitalize on, they ended up trading 2 for 1 instead.

[“Euphoriaaa!”]

[“What a super play! How is Renekton supposed to deal with Jax now!”]

At this point, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the top lane was finished.

But unpredictably, disaster struck in the bottom lane.

-Enemy slain!

-Double Kill!

Zeri’s double kill.

The European bot lane obliterated the North American bot lane, blowing the game wide open.

[“The bot lane has exploded!”]

[“Ah… Euphoria made such a play, but if the bot lane encounters such a disaster…!”]

It didn’t matter how well the top lane had performed.

Now, the game was just being led by that ridiculous duo of Zeri and Yuumi.

“Zeri is really broken.”

“Why are you looking at me when you say that?”

“I mean, not that you’re bad at Zeri… You’re just a bit bad.”

“Should you really be saying that to me, Mr. Meta-Champ Fail?”

“I’m a template.”

Baek Seong-an chuckled.

Naturally, it was an unjust game for the top lane, but that’s just how Legends of League goes.

Especially in a meta like this one.

[“As the European team takes down the North American team, the first day of the All-Star event concludes!”]

[“Woot woot!”]

There were no surprises.