[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 21

Kiwich 1v1 Tournament

This year’s Kiwich Championship, which marks its fifth iteration, had no eligibility requirements and was considered the largest scale event, excluding the For One tournament, attracting even F1 drivers to participate.

In fact, from the first iteration to the previous four, all first places were claimed by drivers.

Due to this, concerns about fairness arose, and some voiced, “What’s the difference from a real F1 tournament?” However, such public opinion quickly lost its strength and vanished.

If the unfairness had arisen during the race process, it could have been a concern, but questioning fairness in a tournament with no initial eligibility restrictions was nonsensical.

Moreover, contrary to people’s expectations, it wasn’t just the first place that captured public interest.

Participants entered the Kiwich tournament with their titles and honors as players.

They raced with the risks of winning even while just breaking even, or losing everything, yet the reason for their participation was purely their competitive spirit and desire to win as F1 drivers.

On the other hand, regular participants entered without pressure, racing freely as mere ordinary individuals.

Winning was good, and losing was just part of the game.

Thus, for regular participants, merely qualifying for the top 256 when the broadcast began skyrocketed their popularity simply because they were “regulars.”

There was nothing more sensational than an ordinary person competing among skilled players.

Additionally, on the broadcasting platform Kiwich, recognition is an intangible value that cannot be bought for billions.

Debuting as a streamer opens the path to success.

In summary, practically the rankings are dominated by players, while regular individuals have the top 256 in the broadcast as their ultimate goal.

In a way, it was an incredibly low hurdle for ordinary people, making claims of unfairness irrelevant.

One prominent figure who became famous was Kang Ho-yun.

Playing around the 500th rank, he started streaming for this very reason.

He reached the top 128 in the fourth tournament and showcased solid techniques, demonstrating strong and masculine racing, thus making a successful debut as a streamer and gaining many fans.

In reality, many ordinary participants joined the tournament looking up to Kang Ho-yun, who also excelled as a Kiwich ambassador with his decent looks.

And now.

I was among a swarm of participants dreaming of becoming the second Kang Ho-yun.

“Please call your nickname and tag.”

“Yes, it’s KING#16007.”

“Ah…”

The supervisor’s eyes widened immediately upon hearing the tag.

At least in For One, they knew me, KING#16007.

I shook hands with him as he approached, claiming to be a fan.

“Once confirmed, the channel and password will be sent via voice. Good luck, King!”

“Thank you.”

After completing on-site registration and waiting a moment, a voice message arrived from the official Kiwich account.

kiwitch*: Due to security reasons, we ask for your understanding as we provide information via voice. KING#16007, the channel is Kiwich Championship Channel 617, room 32, and the password is 6A5E. 6A5E. If you would like to hear it again…

I skipped the voice guidance and immediately moved to the channel.

Due to the tournament, I was going crazy skipping ranking matches even with F2 just around the corner.

Moreover, today was not even the main event but a preliminary round with 20 people proceeding simultaneously.

Given the numerous people of various ranks randomly grouped, the level of the preliminary round was expected to be worse than a ranking match, so I didn’t even have high hopes.

I just wanted to finish it quickly and get back to ranking matches.

[Please enter the password.]

“6A5E.”

[Entering room 32.]

Anyway, it was still the start of the tournament through its preliminary rounds.

“Let’s secure first place, first place.”

My determination was more serious than ever.

Thanks to over 50 million participants, the Kiwich 1v1 Tournament’s preliminary round progressed with 20 users racing together, with only the top 3 surviving.

The preliminary matches were not much different from ranking matches. They continued until the last 1024 remained, and only after that did the true 1v1 tournament begin.

Right now, we were in the process of weeding out the stragglers.

“Lastly, I will confirm your nicknames and tags before we enter the race. Lemon#901.”

“Yes. Lemon#901.”

“Next…”

The supervisor began calling the nicknames and tags, and despite the tournament atmosphere, people fell into silence, wrapped in their own tension.

As I waited for my turn…

“Song Dan-g*n#001.”

“Yes, here.”

The man in the last row, raising his hand with arrogance, was Song Dan-g*n.

He had a history of attempting to trash talk and physically intimidate me unsuccessfully back in the Academy.

A foe met on a narrow bridge.

Considering the horrible odds of 20 out of 50,000,000, meeting like this seemed almost fated.

“Nothing wrong with the old saying.”

This felt like destiny.

“KING#16007.”

“Here I am.”

I raised my hand and answered upon hearing my nickname.

Naturally, all eyes turned towards me, as did Song Dan-g*n’s.

His mouth hung open in shock.

He approached, restless like a puppy needing to relieve itself and bowed his head.

Was he here to apologize?

Ah, he doesn’t know who I am.

Right now, I’m just a mysterious master named KING who appeared in For One, not Yooihyun.

While Song Dan-g*n participated through his Academy account, where all information was public, I floated by with only my nickname.

He couldn’t even imagine that I was Yooihyun.

“I respect you! KING!”

Seeing him wide-eyed and bowing deeply was almost disconcerting.

I was curious how he would react if he knew it was me, but revealing it here was out of the question.

I decided to enjoy this situation.

“Looking at your nickname, it seems you’re an Academy trainee?”

“That’s right. I attend the Seoul branch.”

“Your passion is admirable. It must not have been an easy decision to pursue the Academy.”

“I’m flattered!”

While holding back laughter at the rigid Song Dan-g*n, I steadied my mind with the seasoned reflexes of an F1 driver and continued.

“When I was there, school bullying was rampant, like ostracism… Is it not like that anymore?”

A precise dig aimed at the bully, Song Dan-g*n!

“Oh… well, that doesn’t happen anymore. It shouldn’t happen, of course.”

“Then that’s a relief.”

His anxious reaction was quite entertaining.

“Anyway, it’s commendable that you’re at the Academy and working against school bullying. With that in mind, would you like a gift…?”

“A gift?”

“If you pass this preliminary round, I’ll add you as a friend as a gift.”

“Is that true? It’s an honor! I will definitely pass!”

With Song Dan-g*n’s personality, he would brag about adding KING as a friend all over the place.

What would happen later when I debuted as a streamer and it got revealed that KING was actually Yooihyun?

It’d be fortunate if he didn’t d*e of embarrassment.

“Now we will proceed with the selection of the circuit and weather.”

Soon, the supervisor opened two windows to select the circuit and weather for the preliminary round taking place in room 32.

One displayed 22 circuits spinning rapidly, while the other displayed the weather.

When the host pressed the red button in front of him, both the circuit and weather screens froze.

[Circuit: Bahrain International Circuit / Weather: Overcast]

The Bahrain International Circuit itself was relatively easy due to its wide track and long length.

However, because it’s built in the middle of the desert, engine overheating and high tire and brake temperatures can cause it to underperform, making it a difficult track even for F1 drivers.

Sometimes, severe sandstorms could lead to engine blowouts.

At least since the weather was set to overcast, there was a hope for rain.

Whatever it was, it didn’t apply to me.

“The grid order will be assigned randomly. Currently, it is 11:54, and the pit settings will close at 12:00. Please note that you will be automatically placed on the grid as time expires.”

As the supervisor finished speaking, we were moved to the pit.

I confidently donned all my attire, including my race car elements, in red, setting my tires inside the cockpit.

“What tire are we using now?”

[Current tire is Soft Tire, S.]

“Hmm…”

I fell into thought for a moment.

Assuming it rains, using wet tires would be fair; however, whether it rains or not was uncertain.

That falls entirely into the realm of luck, so it could be excluded from the considerations.

Therefore, the remaining tires were SS, S, and M, but because of Bahrain’s hot desert climate, the inferior endurance of SS can be ruled out.

That left only S and M.

Tire strategy can also change depending on grid placement, so it would have been easy to choose once the grid order was known, but since the grid was also random.

In such unpredictable circumstances, my choice would always be aggressive.

“Let’s keep the tires as they are. Let’s head to the grid.”

[Race Waiting Room, heading to the grid. KING’s grid is 20th.]

It’s such bad luck to be assigned the last position at 20.

Who else has faced such bad luck yet still achieved three consecutive championships?

That would be me, Jin Hyun-woo.

As participants began to show up on the grid, once all 20 were ready, the formation lap commenced.

The weather was overcast, but given the inherently high temperature in the desert, everyone cautiously warmed up their race cars with appropriate weaving.

Returning to the grid, I looked for Song Dan-g*n’s position and saw he had been assigned the first grid.

“Seriously, how unfair.”

Regardless of my protests, the red lights steadily illuminated, and when all five were lit, they extinguished, signaling the start of the race.

Vroooom!!!

Vrrroooom!!!

I swiftly overtook six participants right from the start with quick reflexes.

Vroom!!

【 351km/h 】

CLUNK!

【 DRS Activation 】

The first step towards the throne of F1 in this world begins now.

…Although the race ended much too easily for a straightforward path.

It was a preliminary round anyone could enter, so it was to be expected.

Name / Time

① KING 1:17:442 🏁

② FlySuperCar 1:43:323 +25.881

③ Song Dan-g*n 1:51:559 +34.117

I took first place with overwhelming performance, while Song Dan-g*n managed to stay in the ranking.

Even with a 9-second gap from second, he somehow took third, showing he was lucky.

As promised, I sent him a friend request.

Bowing like he was going to prostrate himself, Song Dan-g*n left me a goodbye message, and I headed straight to the next preliminary round.

The second preliminary round was filled with those who had filtered through once, so I expected there might be variables, but the result was no different from the first preliminary round.

I finished first with over a 20-second gap from 2nd place, and the same held for the third and final preliminary round held today.

From the fourth preliminary round to the sixth would certainly see numbers diminish drastically, so I felt hopeful for tomorrow.

“Thank you everyone. We will conclude today’s Kiwich tournament preliminary round here. Thanks to all participants.”

As soon as the tedious preliminary round ended, I returned to ranking matches.

F3, while not providing the same intensity as the previous matches, was still better than the preliminary rounds.

Not knowing how long till F2, I sensed there were only a few strides left, given my encounter with the Speed Racer main account, so I couldn’t delay.

I wanted to race another round at least against high-level players, and the surprise gift for Kang Ho-yun would mean even more the higher my rank.

[Race matched! Would you like to join the grid? YES / NO]

“Yes.”

Though freed from the academy, my daily life became even more intense.

I met him in the third preliminary round, and naturally, KING crushed it and passed first.

It was an honor to race alongside him…

I guess we won’t meet on the grid again?

ㅇㅇ(223.87): This b*stard is low-key bragging about going up to round 3 while talking about KING.

ㄴKuromi*: That’s not it;; Anyone can get to 3 with a bit of luck…

ㅇㅇ(39.978): I just want to finish this boring preliminary round and see the main event. I’m curious how far KING will go.

ㄴPochangLife*: Our KING is literally a KING. He only looks at 1st place.

ㄴForLoveKING*: Hoeeeng~ KING! KING! KING!

ㄴEungGit*: Uh… Uh, EungGit!!!

ㄴㅇㅇ(321.123): These brainless fanatics should just d*e…

The For One Gallery after the preliminary round was a complete mess.

Including KING, Yoo Seon-jin, Kang Ho-yun, Han Joo-hyuk, and others.

Everyone was busy spreading the results of their favorite player’s preliminary rounds and some even posted bragging about their own results.

However, among the numerous posts, the most viewed ones were undoubtedly those related to KING.

You guys are unimaginably intense.

Racing alongside him on the circuit brings an insane level of pressure.

When he’s ahead, I feel chills down my spine, and when he’s behind, my knees go weak.

Just letting him take even one line makes me feel like I’ll never catch up again.

With KING, it really felt like he could beat all the rankers.

ㅇㅇ(321.123): Please stop the brain rot. How far can you really get with just a F3 b*tt?

ㄴPochangLife*: Hey, shut up. Don’t mess up the gallery’s atmosphere, trying to nitpick every post.

ㄴㅇㅇ(321.123): That’s how brain-dead this guy is. Is this the KING gallery? Stop whining in the For One gallery and just stick to your own.

ㄴPochangLife*: This is what happens with dumb fanatics, haha. Just trying to write whatever I want in the gallery while being censored.

ㄴㅇㅇ(321.123): Ahahaha, the defense of “the randoms” has emerged. If you can, meet me one-on-one, haha.

ㄴPochangLife*: Call out your tag, you idiot.

PoringLife*: Please don’t fight in the sacred For One Gallery.

EungGit*: Fight more, more!!!! EungGit!!!

ㅇㅇ(298.991): Yooihyun? Seeing that girl beat Han Joo-hyuk gives the impression that 1v1 could work differently from regular races.

The battle between the so-called “KING lovers” and “KING haters,” balancing out on both sides while tearing into each other, was truly a spectacle.

Can KING win the championship?

Or will he crash out without even a prize?

The arguments surrounding KING, now no one’s personal affair, quickly escalated into a debate between the fans and the haters, actively driving the For One Gallery.

Upon seeing him, I expressed my respect and he accepted my friend request.

It’s my greatest achievement in life.

ㅇㅇ(89.132): Stop talking nonsense. A person who keeps everything private and blocks contacts from the representative and foreign teams accepted your friend request? Come on, get real.

ForLoveKING*: Why… Hoeeeng!!!

Lemon*: I met him too today—should’ve just said hello.

ㅇㅇ(332.998): Can’t even get aggro right.

ㄴSong’s Son*: It’s true…

Thus, there were many aggro posts, but most disappeared into the graveyard of data, receiving downvotes and reports.

Song Dan-g*n, who spoke the truth but was accused of being troublemaking, was utterly frustrated.

“These bastards need proof to believe anything.”

He decided to endure the trouble, logging into For One to capture a screenshot of his friend list as proof and posting it.

However, his effort turned to naught.

Manipulated, fabricated, same nicknames, etc.

Every post faced various reasons for deletion, ultimately leading to his IP being banned while bantering in the comments.

“F***! I swear it’s true!!!”

Unable to contain his rage, Song Dan-g*n broke his monitor.