[TS] The Return of The Gamer - Chapter 204

In the morning and afternoon, there were no particularly special official schedules.

Due to that, our team, which naturally didn't have enough people to run internal scrims, had no choice but to immerse ourselves in solo queue under the guise of personal practice.

[Game Found!]

[Accept / Decline]

Just as I was about to queue for solo ranked as usual, Seo Yeon-woo, who was sitting next to me, peeked her head out.

"Uh..."

"Hm? Why?"

"Perhaps, uh, what is it... duo... could you do it with me?"

"Well, sure."

I accepted Seo Yeon-woo's duo offer without much thought. There was no particular reason to refuse.

'It's not like there's absolutely nothing bothering me......'

It must have just been like that yesterday.

As time passes, she'll naturally return to her usual self.

There was a time when I thought something along those lines.

["I'll leash."]

"...Do as you please."

I admit it.

That was a misconception.

A very significant and fatal misconception.

["Are you going for a counter-jungle? I'll back you up right away."]

"...Just testing the waters. If it doesn't feel right, I'll pull back, so you don't need to come."

["I'll go anyway."]

The duo with Seo Yeon-woo was a perfect win streak.

My condition wasn't too bad today, and since Seo Yeon-woo was trying to play jungle-centric games, it naturally turned out that way.

+

[OLZ Outlaw]

Ranked 1st

Solo Queue

- Challenger

- 1866 LP / 135 Wins 3 Losses

- Win Rate 98%

+

The ranking is still firmly holding onto the number 1 spot, and the points have already surpassed 1800.

If there's any slight change here, perhaps it's just that the win rate has dropped a little.

I lost 2 games recently.

Did I meet trolls again? That wasn't the case.

Of course, if you ask if they were good teammates, I'd deny that too.

There were several reasons for that, but the biggest reason was that I could no longer devote my entire concentration solely to solo queue.

This was mostly because solo queue was now done only after all the team schedules were finished.

'It's a bit of a shame, but it can't be helped.'

The time to be obsessed with solo queue win rates or points has already passed.

The place I'm heading is pro.

For now, it's the second league.

After spending the day on individual practice like that, it was already time for the MSL to start.

"Yujin-ah."

"Yes?"

"It's time for MSL. Are you going to watch?"

"Hmm... Yes."

To be honest, I thought about whether or not to watch this MSL final for quite a while.

When I watched the LCKR finals before, we had quite a bit of time to spare, but now we don't have much time.

But today, I had played solo queue to the point of being fed up, and there was no separate schedule, so watching didn't seem like a bad idea.

"Aren't you casting today?"

"I'll just watch a bit and stop."

"Too bad."

Kim Jaemin, perhaps because the last broadcast was quite entertaining, subtly suggested I broadcast, but I firmly declined.

For one, if I were to broadcast the cast, I'd have to watch the entire game until the end, unlike my original plan.

'If push comes to shove, playing solo queue might even be better.'

Or, taking a complete break for condition management isn't bad either.

+

[ NEXT GAME ]

[ SCV vs GRS ]

[ 6:04 ]

+

As I was blankly waiting for the game to start, Kim Jaemin asked.

"Who do you think will win, Noona?"

"Hmm, I don't really know. I haven't watched either team's recent games."

I did watch the LCKR finals for SCV, but I hadn't watched any of their recent MSL games.

Given the situation, it was impossible for me to know how good GRS was, let alone SCV's performance level.

"Still, won't Korea win?"

"Well......"

Based on general information, viewing it that way might be reasonable.

But......

'Would it be that easy?'

At that moment, Baek Sung-an chimed in.

"Usually in MSL, there have been many cases where Korean teams couldn't win the championship. It's also a tournament where Europe or China are particularly strong."

That was true.

It's true that Korea is an esports powerhouse, and furthermore, a country that has swept the League of Legends scene so far, but in MSL, there have been quite a few times the championship was taken by overseas teams.

Meaning that you couldn't just optimistically assume SCV would win.

"Still, I hope SCV wins."

"Me too. BlackDog is seriously freaking good... Ah, MobyDick is good too."

I'm not sure if it's because he's an ADC player, but Kim Jaemin really liked the existing superstar ADC players.

When we finally won our first game against SCV in a scrim, Kim Jaemin was so overjoyed......

"What about you, Yujin?"

"I hope the Korean team wins too."

Of course, it might be slightly different from cheering passionately, but even so, I hope the Korean team wins.

There's no particularly special reason.

To put it in a word, just.

Just, I hope they win.

+

[ NEXT GAME ]

[ SCV vs GRS ]

[ 0:03 ]

+

As the team members chatted like that, the game was already about to begin.

"Where are Yeon-woo and Jihun?"

"They said they're doing more solo queue."

"Oh?"

Well, they aren't the types to show interest in things like tournaments.

And then, the full-fledged MSL finals finally began.

At first, as always, short interviews with players from the teams participating in MSL flashed by.

『"Winning? Of course, it's ours (Winning? Of course, I think it's ours)."』

『"Many people say. That SY should have come instead of us. But we will prove it this time. That we are the champions of LCKR."』

『"I know no one expects us. But this time, it will be different (I know no one expects us. But this time it will be different)."』

As the quickly edited player interviews passed, Kim Jaemin's mouth dropped open with a dumbfounded look.

"Wow......"

After all the interviews finished like that.

The casters with familiar faces welcomed us with enthusiastic voices.

『"Finally, this day has come. SCV and GRS, GRS and SCV. The Korean and Chinese teams have met here, in the MSL finals!"』

『"That's right! I'm really looking forward to seeing what kind of game these two teams, counted among the best in the world, will show us!"』

『"It is true that there were signs of instability in the games SCV showed in the previous matches. However, they must show that they have changed today, right?"』

『"That's right!"』

The casters showed data for each team and compared the strengths of the two teams.

+

───────────

SCV / GRS

───────────

[KDA] 3.2 / 6.1

[Team Kills per Minute] 0.501 / 0.815

[Baron Acquisition Rate] 78.8% / 85.4%

[Baron Power Play] +3,440 / + 4,101

[Average Win Time] 33:14 / 24:11

[Average Loss Time] 37:54 / 31:32

+

Baek Sung-an spoke while looking at the data.

"...GRS is definitely strong."

"Right?"

GRS was ahead of SCV in almost every metric.

Moreover, to have such unbelievable numbers in the MSL, where the dominant teams from each region gather...

It was a part where one could roughly gauge how strong GRS was this time.

"If there's any chance of winning, it would be......"

Average game win and loss times.

SCV's game time is long whether they win or lose.

On the other hand, GRS's time is consistently short whether they win or lose.

In other words, based solely on the revealed data, if SCV could drag the game into a long battle, there was a chance of winning.

'This is a story based only on the outwardly visible parts, though......'

The reason for GRS's short average loss time is that the team itself displays extreme aggression.

Thanks to that, they show destructive performance in most games, but it also means they occasionally stumble.

However, to put it the other way, one could also see how destructive GRS's aggression was.

High risk, high reward.

The current GRS was a very strong team in that edge-of-the-sword struggle.

And at the center of that team style, the performance of the newly recruited jungler for GRS this time, MaBing, was said to be very significant.

"MaBing? He's really good."

According to Baek Sung-an, he's like a ferocious wild horse of a player.

"...Still, the Korean team will win, right?"

"I told you I don't know."

Amidst everyone feeling a sense of foreboding,

The full-fledged game began.

***

The game was one-sided.

To the extent that it was difficult to watch with open eyes.

"...Uh, uh?"

Kim Jaemin uttered regret in a reluctant voice.

『"Uwaaaaah! GRS, why are they so strong! SCV can't keep up right now!"』

『"SCV, it'll be difficult, but you can't give this up! You have to get up! You have to get up!"』

Game 1.

Game time 21 minutes 41 seconds.

GRS victory.

『"MaBing, MaBing, MaBing! You can't stop MaBing! What do we do!"』

『"BlackDog has to do it. BlackDog has to get kills somehow, get more, and carry!"』

"This is... going to be tough."

Baek Sung-an said that.

"Right?"

I also agreed.

And......

The time of pain, which felt like an eternity, finally came to an end.

Game 2.

Game time 19 minutes 11 seconds.

GRS victory.

『"Ah......"』

『"They are strong, GRS! Too strong!"』

SCV, the representative of LCKR, was cornered at once.