Chapter 62: One-on-One

“Oh, right, Coach. Where are the finals being held this time?”

During our celebratory dinner at the now-familiar barbeque restaurant after securing our spot in the finals, Kim Do-jin, who was grilling the meat, suddenly asked.

“You didn’t even know where it’s being held? It’s in Incheon.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Why?”

“My parents said they might not be able to come if it was too far away, because of my younger siblings.”

Come to think of it, unlike me, an only child, my other teammates had several siblings. Most of their families lived in Seoul or the surrounding metropolitan area, so there were a few times when they couldn’t attend finals or events held in other regions.

The memory of them saying they were glad their families couldn’t come after we lost in the finals surfaced, dampening my mood.

“Why the sudden change in expression? Is the meat undercooked?”

Kim Do-jin, sitting next to me, asked, looking puzzled.

Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand…

“It’s that newly built arena in Incheon… what was it called again?”

Regardless, the coach, seemingly having forgotten the name, tapped his fingers on the table, trying to recall it.

“Right, Inspire Arena. They said it’s being held there.”

“Inspire?”

All the team members looked puzzled.

Inspire Arena, a subsidiary event hall of the Inspire Resort located in Yeongjongdo, Incheon. Accessibility wasn’t bad with the shuttle bus, and it was a convenient location for international fans as well.

“Since there aren’t any finals matches in CK, this will be your first finals, right?”

As dinner was winding down, the coach shifted the atmosphere, stood up, and addressed the team.

“Even if we lose, it doesn’t matter. Just play without regrets. And manage your condition well until the finals; that’s part of your skill as well.”

“We have to win and go to MSI. What are you saying?”

“As the team captain, you’re interrupting the coach’s motivational speech?”

“Since we’ve come this far, we have to win. Don’t you all agree?”

“He has a point. And you each get five tickets, so let me know if you need any.”

‘Tickets…’

I’d need two for my parents if they could come. Choi Eun-seo said she had a way to get tickets, so she wouldn’t need any. Han Byul-i would also be doing her cheering stream that day.

‘I don’t really have anyone else to give them to.’

In my past life, my relationship with my parents wasn’t great, and I didn’t have a friend like Choi Eun-seo, so I never cared about extra tickets. But now that I had given some away, I wanted to give away as many as I could. It felt like a waste not to.

After pondering for a bit, an idea came to mind.

‘This is it.’ A good plan formed in my head.

---

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[Surprise Stream]

[Why is she suddenly streaming?]

[I don’t know]

[Congrats on reaching the finals, streamer!]

[God exists, and her name is Yoon Seo-ha God exists, and her name is Yoon Seo-ha]

[The Great Seo-ha]

[Seo-ha~]

---

---

“Hello, hello! Can everyone hear me?”

A few days later, I started an unscheduled stream. The reason was simple: to execute the event I had planned earlier.

As usual, I turned on my camera and chatted with the viewers until enough people had joined. Most of the questions were about the LCK and my thoughts on reaching the finals.

“I’m happy to have reached the finals, and that’s why I’m holding an event today.”

[???]

[Oh!]

[A sudden event?]

[Is this finally the second season of the high school girl game-worn uniform auction?]

“First, I’ll tell you about the prize. I figured some of you might not have been able to get tickets for the LCK finals.”

[For real, selling tickets during Round 1 of the playoffs is insane.]

[There aren’t even any resale tickets…]

[It’s tough because ARK is surprisingly popular.]

[Seriously, many people said they would watch ARK even if their own team lost.]

“So, I’m holding an event to give away finals tickets.”

[Oh!]

[Please, I’m the only one who can have it, please choose me!]

[ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ]

‘The manager said it was okay.’

The team had already given away quite a few tickets for fan events. But those were for team fans, and I wanted to give away three tickets to my stream viewers as well. There might be people who were my fans, but not team fans, who hadn’t thought about attending.

“Participating in the event is simple.”

[What is it, a roulette like before?]

[Or a raffle?]

[First-come, first-served?]

[My child loves you ^^ Please give us tickets.]

[Let’s go~ Let’s go~ Let’s go~ Let’s go~]

They seemed to have forgotten what kind of stream mine was.

“I’m busy now and only chatting, but my stream was originally a skill-based stream, with lectures and coaching.”

[?]

[Isn’t this just a stream for looking at the streamer’s face?]

[For real lol.]

[What’s left if you take away her face?]

[LCK Regular Season MVP, most solo kills, most POG awards, highest individual stats~]

[ㄴ She’s a monster.]

“So, this is today’s event.”

I changed the stream title, and a wave of question marks flooded the chat.

[????]

[Huh?]

[You’re kidding, right? lol]

[Is it April Fools’ Day?]

The title was “Beat Para (1v1).”

Today’s event was simple: beat me in a 1v1, and you win a ticket. Of course, there was a handicap since I was a pro player and they were amateurs.

“I’ll random my champion, and I won’t use one ability that you tell me not to.”

And I wouldn’t use summoner spells either. After hearing the full explanation, the viewers finally reacted positively, saying it seemed doable.

[If she’s not using summoner spells, it’s actually winnable.]

[Seriously, she’ll have no tools.]

[Just pick your champion carefully lol.]

[The most important thing is what she gets from the random pick.]

“I’ll create a custom game, so join on a first-come, first-served basis, and we’ll start.”

[Let’s go lol.]

[I’ll just watch.]

[Who will be the first challenger?]

Almost as soon as I created the room, the first challenger joined. Their rank was…

[Bronze lol.]

[King Bronze ㄷㄷ]

[Bronze after 400 games? What?]

[That’s some confidence.]

Well, even a Bronze player could have good mechanics.

As the game started, the champion I randomly received was Yorick. A champion with stats close to the weakest in the game. And the ability the opponent banned was Yorick’s E, the only one arguably useful in a 1v1.

‘At least he’s ranged, right?’

I bought a Doran’s Blade and ran to mid lane, where I saw my opponent. He had picked Yasuo.

True to his status as a 400-game Bronze Yasuo main, he started showing off his level 7 mastery as soon as he arrived in mid lane. The incessant clicking sound of his mastery emote was truly something to behold; his showmanship rivaled that of a Challenger player.

[This is winnable lol.]

[Yorick knows nothing~]

[Show us the pride of Bronze.]

[1.5 million mastery points? Seriously?]

[Reverse Para ㄷㄷ]

The opponent, perhaps underestimating Yorick, aggressively looked for trades from level 1. However, Yasuo had no way to approach a ranged champion at level 1, resulting in a one-sided zoning.

[There’s a reason they’re Bronze.]

[Please, at least reach level 3 before fighting.]

[Oh, Yasuo things.]

[Lethal Tempo Yorick is pretty strong.]

“If you don’t back off, you’ll die.”

Taking advantage of the Lethal Tempo rune, I hit level 2 first and moved in front of the enemy minions to deny him experience. Against a Yorick without summoner spells or his E, Yasuo would normally win the matchup easily once he reached level 3, but…

[?]

[This is crazy.]

[A legendary forward flash just happened.]

Perhaps considering it a disgrace to be pushed around by Yorick, Yasuo, still at level 1, flashed forward with his Q and ignited me, trying to all-in. Already at a significant health disadvantage and taking minion damage, Yasuo had no chance of winning.

“Let’s invite the next challenger.”

The next challenger was Diamond, a considerably high rank for an amateur. Moreover, he was a Syndra one-trick, a champion strong in 1v1 laning. Perhaps because of this, he expressed confidence, wanting a fair fight without any handicaps.

[Oh!]

[Isn’t that a bit arrogant against a pro?]

[What lol. This isn’t a tournament, it’s just a challenge.]

[The confidence is admirable.]

.

.

.

“Are you all really my viewers?”

This was my fifteenth win in a row, and the person I just beat was a Master player last season. There were quite a few high-elo challengers, including the Diamond Syndra player from earlier, but they all fell without putting up much of a fight.

“I teach and coach on stream; don’t you all review the VODs…?”

I wasn’t even using any difficult techniques. I was winning through simple spacing, something I had taught repeatedly on stream, so I was a bit disappointed. Was this the average skill level of my viewers…? As someone who prided myself on my educational streams, I was shocked.

[We just watch for your face; who would rewatch those boring lectures…?]

[But even Diamond and Master players are getting stomped.]

In the end, I had a strong feeling that if I kept winning, I’d end up on the wiki with a “controversy” section for “viewer massacre,” so I had no choice but to conclude the event with a raffle for the remaining tickets.