[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 89

I immediately launched the tournament server client to prepare for scrims.

Although it had gathered dust from lack of proper use, I had already received a dedicated account after passing the entry test, so it wasn’t an issue.

– Welcome!

I quickly jumped into practice mode and began checking the settings.

“Hmm.”

Smooth and seamless.

In this place, it wouldn’t be too difficult to fully showcase my skills.

As expected, the equipment in the first-team practice room was incomparable to that of the second-team.

The monitor’s refresh rate seemed to be at least 240Hz, and the computer specs were enough to run full options without a hitch.

No matter how well-optimized Legends of League was as a game, objectively speaking, you could say the gear here was pretty solid.

“Then again, this is the first team practice room.”

I already knew from rumors and experience that YSG treats the first and second teams, as well as trainees, with massive disparities.

Not just in gameplay environment, but the first team even has personal rooms, and there are disparities when it comes to snacks and whatnot.

Of course, given the limited budget, it was unavoidable, but that level of disparity, rather discrimination, was excessive and tended to spark chatter among trainees.

“…Well, that’s not really the important thing right now.”

SCV.

The opponent team we, no, I had to face going forward.

There was no room for distractions regarding such opponents.

[YSG Outlaw]

My nickname popped up.

It was the nickname I had just changed.

“Hmm…”

To be honest, my acceptance of YSG’s offer was driven not only by the desire to debut as a pro but also by the need to confirm my doubts.

A choice I could discard at any time.

Due to the various impressions I had of YSG, I didn’t harbor any deep attachments, and if my uncertainties turned into certainties, I wouldn’t hesitate to leave YSG.

But then why…

Staring at the ID that belonged to a team for the first time, I felt something… off.

“Um… I sent you an invite.”

The one awkwardly speaking to me was Kim ManGi, the top laner and captain of YSG sitting to my right.

Due to the usual seating arrangement of Support-ADC-Mid-Jungler-Top, it seemed he spoke up because we were close in distance.

“Oh, right.”

Just as I was caught off guard, it seemed all preparations were done, and the game invite came through.

[“……”]

[“……”]

Despite being on the verge of a scrim against SCV, there was an awkward atmosphere filling the practice room.

It wasn’t just because of me, the silence was almost palpable as if it had always been this way.

“Alright, everyone knows who we’re facing today, right? It’s an important scrim, so focus up.”

At that moment, Coach Park Tae-Hyung’s voice came from behind, causing me to instinctively flinch.

“Now that I think about it… from this point on, the coaches will be participating in the Ban/Pick process.”

When scrimming with the second team and trainees, the coach hadn’t been involved in Ban/Pick.

But now, with scrimming against another team, Coach Park Tae-Hyung would start taking part in it.

“By the way, isn’t there another coach? What was their name again…?”

Honestly, that coach hadn’t stood out much, so I hadn’t even memorized their name yet.

“Looks like Coach Park Tae-Hyung is doing most of the work here anyway.”

Of course, I assumed Director Choi Tae-Dal or other coaches were busy elsewhere, but that was just my observation.

It was surprising that the team YSG had been running smoothly up to this point.

“The Blue side is us, and we’ll play a total of four games alternating. Line up.”

As we lined up one by one per Coach Park Tae-Hyung’s instructions, the nicknames of YSG and SCV players soon gathered in one spot.

[Blue Team]──────────


(Diamond 1) YSG ManGi

(Grandmaster) YSG Outlaw

(Challenger) YSG GoGoSing

(Challenger) YSG JuWon

(Grandmaster) YSG YYYSSS

───────────────

[Red Team]──────────


(Challenger) SCV KING

(Challenger) SCV Vendetta

(Challenger) SCV AllDay

(Challenger) SCV BlackDog

(Challenger) SCV WhiteCat

───────────────

Seeing the full lineup of SCV made my heart race.

All Challenger.

Meanwhile, our team’s only challengers were the mid and ADC.

“Well, I’m technically Grandmaster right now…”

Of course, solo rank scores don’t completely represent a professional gamer’s capabilities, but the aura of those scores surely has its own impact.

For pro gamers, solo rank is something that usually gets brushed aside after following the team schedule, serving as a place to learn new metas and expand champion pools, or it can simply be a stress relief for the day.

The key is that solo rank typically takes a backseat for pro gamers, and achieving high scores despite falling concentration means their original skills must be outstanding.

In that sense, there was something utterly overwhelming emanating from SCV.

“YSG may not have the best teamwork, but their individual skills are quite decent… the comparison is definitely apparent.”

Top-tier teams and bottom-tier teams.

The gap between these two teams was one that couldn’t easily be crossed, even more than the visible rank difference.

The Ban/Pick process began.

Our side as the Blue team.

We were on the lower side and had the first pick.

[“Hmm, since it’s the first game, let’s leave the ADC open to see how it goes. Is bot okay?”]

Since the SCV bot lane’s destructive power and champion pool rendered bans practically meaningless, it was about testing the waters.

[“Yes.”]

[“Great, then I’m thinking we should ban Lee Sin first. Outlaw, what do you think?”]

“I’m fine too.”

[“Alright then. Let’s ban Lee Sin first.”]

+

[Ban List]


Lee Sin / Raise

Viego / Lucian

Xin Zhao / Diana

+

Coach Park Tae-Hyung spoke up.

[“Hmm, looks like Jason is up. Should we pick him?”]

Currently, Jason was a top-tier champion for his lane according to tournament standards.

Due to his powerful laning phase, he performed solidly as a first pick, excelling in poking and standing out as a versatile champion who could do it all.

Yet, the champion did come with drawbacks, but at the very least in the current meta, his strengths outweighed his weaknesses, which is why he had a high pick/ban rate.

[“ManGi, can you handle him?”]

However, aside from the champion’s innate abilities, there was one more critical flaw to Jason.

[“……”]

That was his complexity.

Jason was what you’d call a champion that requires a lot of finesse.

While the basic skillset was solid enough for them to consider it to have an MMR coefficient like other champions, he was still undoubtedly a tricky champion to master.

Even among pro gamers, evaluations of Jason were often mixed, making matters even trickier.

[“ManGi?”]

[“…I’ll take him for now.”]

His response took quite a while, which indicated Kim ManGi’s confidence had significantly waned.

“His tier was Diamond, right?”

I remembered he was a Master just a few days ago… It seemed his rank had dropped during that time.

“But for Coach Park Tae-Hyung to still insist on Jason, there must be various reasons.”

The most likely reason was to find out whether Kim ManGi could utilize Jason effectively.

Can his Jason work?

If it doesn’t, what should they do? Let it be banned? Or prepare a counter-pick?

“That’s the coach’s territory, though…”

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I felt slightly concerned.

There are generally two ways to deal with a first-picked Jason.

The first is to go with a tank champion and endure through trading, while the second is to take a sharp champion like Irelia and duke it out head-to-head.

The former is a safer choice, and the latter is riskier but has a higher return.

While I was lost in these thoughts, the opponent made their pick.

[Ezreal]

[Nidalee]

The fact that their top laner didn’t pick a top champion even after a first pick means they wanted to snag Ezreal and Nidalee.

Coach Park Tae-Hyung seemed to agree and remarked.

[“Looks like they want to counter us with a poking composition, so I suspect they’ll take Renekton now. We should grab him. What do you think?”]

[“I’ll go along with that.”]

[“Alright. Let’s pick Renekton.”]

Renekton was selected.

[“Next, um… should we secure a jungler? I could go down if it’s not an issue.”]

“I’ll head down.”

[“…Really?”]

Park Tae-Hyung sounded slightly hesitant, clearly caught off guard by my response.

But I had my reasons for this.

The moment I surveyed the Ban/Pick situation, a feeling hit me.

In this game, I needed to take the lead.

[“Then, let’s pick the ADC. I think Ashe or Aphelios would work well. What do you think?”]

“I think Ashe is better.”

“Alright, let’s go with that.”

Finally, the third picks between the two teams were done.

+

[Ally / Enemy]


Jason / Ezreal

Renekton / Nidalee

Ashe / Oren

+

Unlike solo ranks, in tournaments, each team adds two bans after the third pick.

“Hmmm.”

Our top and mid picks were Jason and Renekton, so we naturally had to go for an AP champion.

However, both Diana and Nidalee, which are currently among the highest-tier APs in the meta, had already been banned or picked.

This naturally limited my options severely.

‘AP junglers viable in the current meta are… Rumble, Elise who synergizes with Renekton, Karthus, and maybe Lillian or Taliyah at best?’

None of them were particularly easy picks.

Furthermore, considering my role as the hard carry AP, picks like Rumble or Karthus sounded preferable.

At that moment.

[Rumble]

[Karthus]

Rumble and Karthus were banned.

My already limited choices shrank even further.

‘…No, actually, this works in my favor.’

If I had options, I might’ve spent time pondering, but now that my choices have dwindled this much, I didn’t have to think twice.

[“Now we need to grab a jungler. What do you want to play? You know it has to be an AP, right?”]

“Give me Elise, please.”

[“…Are you sure?”]

“Yes.”

In the current meta, Elise has a dual face.

While she stands strong as a top-tier champion in solo rank, she regrettably hasn’t received much love in tournaments.

Due to her inherent limitations that cause her power to wane over time.

Then how do we win the game with Elise?

The answer was clear as day.

‘Let’s give it a shot.’

Using the solo killer’s method to explode the game.