Chapter 80: MSI semifinals (1)

With two days left until the match, after losing a scrim against the European team PG, my teammates sighed and discussed the outcome.

“Wow… They drafted that?”

“It’s definitely tough for Seo-ha to play Yone mid when the enemy picks a ranged AD champion.”

“We need to rethink our bot lane matchup as well.”

“We have to consider banning Miss Fortune and Ashe. The support meta gets weird when you just lock them down and force them to scale.”

Perhaps because we wouldn’t face PG again until the finals, or perhaps because their next opponent was VXG, PG played all their hidden cards.

‘Even in my past life, I never saw everything they had during scrims.’

PG’s drafts and strategies were the driving force behind their reign as kings of Europe and their consistent international success.

They were a team built on the LCK model, with talented players scrimming daily and practicing various strategies, rather than following the typical Western training regimen.

That made them a formidable opponent.

“But honestly, aren’t we favored to win? Is it okay for them to reveal everything now?”

“Their next opponent is VXG. They can’t test these strategies in solo queue, so they’re experimenting now.”

“A best-of-five between VXG, who overwhelm with raw skill, and PG, who twist every matchup, would be exciting.”

“I think VXG will win. In best-of-five series, the better team usually wins.”

I agreed with Lee Yoo-chan’s last statement.

In best-of-ones or best-of-threes, weaker teams can sometimes counter with drafts or strategies, but pulling that off three times in a row is difficult.

Winning a best-of-five requires a certain level of fundamental skill, laning knowledge and mechanics, and minimizing mistakes in the later stages of the game.

“This isn’t the time to worry about other teams.”

The coach, who had stepped out for a brief call, returned to the room.

“TXG probably won’t pick a radical strategy like the ADC top again since they’ve already used it. Even if they do, we can counter it this time.”

“I think I can handle it if we face them again.”

The coach discussed the draft for a while, then gathered the team.

“I was going to bring this up later since we’re in the middle of the tournament, but I need to ask just in case.”

His serious tone made everyone tense. He then asked,

“Are any of you dating a fan?”

“Huh?”

The unexpected question left everyone bewildered.

The coach, exasperated, sighed and said,

“Have you all seen this?”

He showed us a community forum on his tablet.

“Wow… this guy got caught dating a fan.”

A jungler from a lower-ranked LCK team had been caught in a dating scandal with a fan.

Dating itself wasn’t the issue, but he had apparently been two-timing and had various other problems.

“I understand that you guys are mostly stuck in the practice room playing games, and it’s natural to be attracted to people, but there’s nobody like that on our team, right?”

Park Jin-hwan spoke up,

“You know I’ve been dating my girlfriend since before I started playing League.”

“You’re an exception.”

“Me? I have to take care of my younger siblings. I don’t have time for dating.”

Park Jin-hwan indeed had a long-term girlfriend, and Jin Yu-seong had a difficult family situation and had been taking care of his siblings since childhood.

That left Kim Do-jin and Lee Yoo-chan.

“Why would I date?”

Lee Yoo-chan, the most likely candidate for dating rumors, proudly showed us a game screen on his phone.

“Isn’t my new girlfriend pretty? I got her after only spending a truckload (120,000 won).”

Everyone gave him a “that’s what I thought” look.

Finally, Kim Do-jin said,

“I… well, I want to focus on the game right now.”

“If everyone is like that, that’s fine. Honestly, I don’t mind if you date. Just please, don’t date a fan.”

‘Our team didn’t have dating issues, I think.’

As far as I could remember from my past life, everyone had a relatively scandal-free career.

Compared to other sports, esports didn’t have as many issues with personal lives.

Most controversies revolved around dating streamers or having a partner at all.

“But coach, do you really think we’d just fall for any fan that hits on us?”

“Other teams thought the same way, and then one dating scandal blows up, creates a roster gap, and ruins their entire season.”

“But we’re different.”

“How are we… Oh, right.”

The coach and the team looked at me.

“Honestly, after spending every day with someone like her, it would be weird to be interested in anyone else.”

“That’s true.”

“Hello! We’re here with the first playoff match of MSI, ARK versus TXG!”

“Hello! The highly anticipated best-of-five series is finally here!”

“Best-of-five, it just feels different. Best-of-ones and best-of-threes are exciting, but best-of-fives have a special charm.”

“For those who haven’t checked the bracket, today we have ARK versus TXG, and tomorrow it’s PG versus VXG.”

“And the winners advance to the finals.”

[ARK, let’s go to the finals, fighting!]

[My high school girl, solo queue rank 1, carry machine, undefeated CK champion, LCK regular season 1st place, Finals MVP. No slander!]

[Sigh, they’re playing the team that beat them before. ARK is going home today.]

[That was because they picked Aurelion Sol lol]

[Why did they even pick Aurelion Sol?]

[Even after the nerfs, he’s still a champion picked for late-game scaling. Stop the hate.]

“What a twist of fate. ARK’s opponent today is TXG, the team that handed them a bitter defeat on the first day.”

“Indeed. Who would have thought they’d meet right before the finals?”

“A semifinals without the home team? It just goes to show how well TXG has performed.”

“TXG is like something out of a shonen manga. They barely scraped by in the Play-In Stage with the other minor region teams, but since the Rumble Stage, their gameplay has evolved tremendously.”

“But their opponent is ARK, another team that fits the shonen manga narrative!”

“ARK, who have risen through the ranks from CK, and TXG, who have set their domestic league ablaze. Fans of both teams must be on the edge of their seats.”

“Let’s move on to the draft!”

[Will TXG pick Behin top again today?]

[It’s a viable pick since ARK’s top laner is weak.]

[Will we see the red glasses guy again?]

“It’s interesting that TXG chose the red side even though they had side selection.”

“They’re probably aiming for that powerful red side fifth pick to enable their top laner’s carry potential.”

“ARK starts with a standard KSante pick.”

“He has counters, like ranged champions and Gnar, but he’s still a solid tier 1 blind pick.”

“TXG’s answer is…”

“Behin!”

“Seems like a direct response to KSante.”

[He rolls. He rolls. He rolls. He rolls. He rolls.]

[Shall we hunt those who have fallen into darkness? Shall we hunt those who have fallen into darkness? Shall we hunt those who have fallen into darkness?]

[The red glasses guy is back!]

[I predict a 100 CS difference in top lane again today, just like last time.]

“Being a former ADC, he can confidently blind pick Behin against tank champions.”

“Spacing is mostly about instinct, and ADCs are the best at that.”

“And for their next pick, they take Maokai. Probably jungle.”

“A safe pick for the jungle, considering late-game scaling as well.”

“ARK’s next two picks are… Aphelios and Lulu.”

“With Aphelios Lulu, they can hold their own in lane even against Ashe or other lane dominant champions.”

“TXG picks Orianna mid. No reason not to pick her in the current patch; she’s strong in lane.”

[What will Para play?]

[Wow… Para’s visuals are unreal.]

[Please, if you’re Korean, don’t cheer for the Japanese team.]

[Can someone ban this Korea team parrot?]

“With both teams banning champions for the remaining roles, we’re all curious about their next picks.”

“TXG picks Ashe. ARK’s picks are… Lillia, and… No way, they picked that?!”

“Are they sending KSante mid? Or are they playing that mid?”

“With ARK, we’ll have to wait and see!”

[They’ll probably send him top.]

[Can he win against Vayne?]