[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 381

1v1 Tournament Round of 16.

Among the Korean representatives participating in the 1v1 tournament, there were a total of four, excluding GuineaPig Yoo Sang-hyun, and three of them, except for BlackDog, successfully advanced to the Round of 16.

Baek Seong-an, who was looking at the list of qualifiers, spoke up.

“Huh? Ah. BlackDog also participated in the 1v1 tournament, huh? Why didn’t I see that?”

“Right? I totally forgot.”

“You were in the waiting room with him and didn’t know?”

“…I stepped out for a bit.”

Maybe it was just because everything was so hectic, but even knowing BlackDog was competing in the 1v1 tournament, I hadn’t paid much attention.

It was probably because most of my focus was on Ryu Jin-hyuk and Seo Yeon-woo.

“By the way, who was his opponent? BlackDog isn’t someone who would lose easily.”

“Was it Nightmare? The one from China.”

“Oh.”

If it’s GRS’s Nightmare, I know him too.

Well, to be fair, I had a pretty positive impression of GRS to begin with, so I wouldn’t forget.

After all, GRS was practically the first team that recognized me as a professional gamer.

It was hard to feel any resentment toward them.

“Whatever, I gotta go. There’s not much time left.”

“Ah, okay.”

I looked at Seo Yeon-woo and said, “Let’s go.”

“…Okay.”

Maybe the sulkiness from waking up had worn off a bit, as Seo Yeon-woo nodded.

Once we entered the All-Star Player Waiting Room, we saw the All-Star players, including Ryu Jin-hyuk.

“Oh, everyone is here!”

Yoo Sang-hyun, who had been causing trouble the day before, greeted us cheerfully as always.

“Hello….”

“Yesterday’s scrim was amazing! I knew Outlaw was good, but he was practically sweeping the floor with everyone!”

“No way, it wasn’t that extreme….”

“Oh come on, be humble. What do you call that then?”

“Sang-hyun, that’s enough.”

Yoo Sang-hyun’s excitement calmed down only after Ryu Jin-hyuk stepped in.

“Um, um, both Honor and Outlaw have matches today, right?”

“Ah, yeah.”

“I think Honor goes first? Right?”

Seo Yeon-woo nodded.

“…Yeah, that’s right.”

“Awesome. Who’s the opponent?”

“Wynhar. The Vietnamese League All-Star Mid Laner.”

“Oh! I know that player! He’s really good. Of course, the jungler in Vietnam is really strong, but that player is also no push-over, right? Jin-hyuk hyung?”

“Yeah, true. That player is good.”

Ryu Jin-hyuk spoke blandly about Wynhar as usual.

As Yoo Sang-hyun chatted away, it was soon time for the actual 1v1 Tournament Round of 16 to start.

“Honor, please get ready!”

“Ah, okay.”

When the staff called for Honor, Seo Yeon-woo started preparing to step up.

“Do well.”

“…Yeah.”

Seo Yeon-woo’s opponent in the Round of 16 was Wynhar, the All-Star Representative from the Vietnamese League and Mid Laner.

If there was one position that was considered the most powerful in the 1v1 tournament, it would definitely be the Mid Laners, who are quite similar in position.

In fact, the Mid Line had the highest representation among the players who advanced to the Round of 16.

Of course, Top Laners also stood their ground.

If this were Summoner’s Rift, it might have been a different story, but in pure 1v1 duels, there wasn’t any line that could match their madness.

– This is the match everyone has been waiting for! It’s a showdown between Honor and Wynhar, and Wynhar and Honor! Who will be the ultimate winner?

– Honor’s performance in the Round of 32 was nothing short of ruthless! What will he show us this time?

– I can’t wait to see Yang’s performance!

The commentators’ voices echoed outside.

I still had no idea what they were talking about, but regardless, I shifted my gaze to the screen.

“Oh, the Ban/Pick starts now.”

As expected with such a tight schedule, the Ban/Pick began swiftly.

Seo Yeon-woo’s bans were as follows:

[Cassiopeia]

[Akshan]

[Sandra]

Since the opponent was a Mid Laner and the bans were mainly centered around their commonly used champions, this is how it turned out.

Soon after, Wynhar’s bans appeared.

[Irelia]

[Renekton]

[Fiora]

Wynhar’s bans seemed to be mindful of Seo Yeon-woo’s performance in the Round of 32, focusing on sharp blade champions usually played in the Top Lane.

It looked like they thought it would be a bad idea to give Seo Yeon-woo a skilled pick.

[Vayne]

Seo Yeon-woo’s pick was Vayne.

[Orianna]

Wynhar’s pick was Orianna.

“Hmm… isn’t this a bit unfavorable? If it were Top, it wouldn’t be so bad, but mid-wise, Vayne seems way too disadvantaged.”

“True.”

As Yoo Sang-hyun pointed out, in a Vayne versus Orianna matchup, it’s reasonable to say Orianna, with her much longer range, has the advantage.

If it were Top or Bot Lane, the longer lanes might give Vayne a chance to find a kill, but in the Mid Lane, she was likely to be poked repeatedly by Orianna.

The match began.

The scenario unfolded just as expected.

Vayne cautiously farmed to hit level 6, while Orianna relentlessly harassed her, slowly gnawing away at Vayne’s health.

Under normal circumstances, Vayne would be aiming to survive and then create kill opportunities with her ultimate after reaching level 6.

Or, she could hold out longer and wait for a sudden death to come into play.

However, Seo Yeon-woo’s choice was neither of those.

[Orianna – Level 3]

[Vayne – Level 3]

Orianna hit level 3 first, while Vayne followed suit a moment later.

Under normal circumstances, it would seem as though Vayne had no chance to turn the tables, but Seo Yeon-woo’s Vayne boldly used a forward Flash, forcing a nonexistent opportunity.

“Uh, huh?!”

Even Yoo Sang-hyun was taken aback by that audacity, mouth agape.

“Hmm.”

It was an emotional play we usually don’t see from him.

Or to be precise, that particular playstyle wasn’t entirely foreign.

3 Min Top School Honorary Member.

Whether there was a jungler or not, it was a reminder of Seo Yeon-woo’s solo queue style during his amateur days. That was just it.

– Oh my God! What a play!

With the commentators’ shocked cries, Seo Yeon-woo’s Vayne and Wynhar’s Orianna both fell almost simultaneously.

– First Blood!

Technically, while the First Blood itself was secured by Seo Yeon-woo’s Vayne, he too soon fell to the Ignite damage.

The score was now 1:1.

For an emotional play, he successfully seized an opportunity for an equal exchange.

“Ah, what a shame!”

“That was unfortunate.”

“Wow, but did you see the kill opportunity? If he hadn’t gotten that, he would have been done for.”

“It seems he felt he couldn’t just let it go and decided to risk it.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Yoo Sang-hyun, Ryu Jin-hyuk, and BlackDog exchanged comments about Honor’s play among themselves.

After that, Honor hit level 6 and made another bold move, but Wynhar’s quick response rendered that gamble fruitless.

[Victory]

The result was Honor’s defeat.

From the start, the pick was already unfavorable, but for some reason, it felt like he lost more due to an emotional play rather than just the mismatch.

“Ah man, what a bummer. The matchup really wasn’t good.”

“Yeah.”

Yoo Sang-hyun and Ryu Jin-hyuk expressed their disappointment, but from my perspective, it felt more strange than disappointing.

No matter how unfavorable the match was, if it were the Honor I knew, he definitely could have won.

If Vayne could seize a kill opportunity after hitting level 6, Orianna wouldn’t stand a chance in a head-to-head duel.

But why?

“Hmm… I don’t get it.”

Regrettably, I didn’t have the luxury to ponder that thought.

I was up next.

“Outlaw! Please get ready for your match!”

“Ah, okay!”

My opponent in Round of 16 was MaBing from the Chinese representative team.

As much as I personally had good memories of GRS, I had no intention of losing.

No, rather, I would prove my victory with a definitive win to show that my insight was right.

That they were right.

*

MaBing looked at his opponent as he stepped onto the stage.

With a look that seemed hardly human, at that moment, for MaBing, she was just an enemy.

The reason for that was simple.

“My next opponent is Outlaw… well, good luck. Winning will be tough, though.”

He knew that Li Zhi-Xuan harbored an intense obsession with the Prisoner.

Li Zhi-Xuan himself might have thought he hid it well, but MaBing, as his jungler, had felt that subtle sentiment.

In fact, whenever Li Zhi-Xuan asked him for something specific, it often stemmed from Outlaw’s plays.

“Outlaw, Outlaw, Outlaw… I’m so tired of it.”

Thus, MaBing intended to show here.

That what Li Zhi-Xuan so desperately desired was just a mere illusion.