Something I Didn't Want to Know But Couldn't Ignore
Not that I particularly wanted to know, but there was one thing I couldn't afford to ignore.
Tundra vs. Starforce
The grand finale of the Spring Season regular round 2 on the weekend—a big match to decide first and second place.
And that was today.
Normally, it was rare for the rankings to stay undecided until the very end like this. Starforce, the undisputed dynasty of the LoE world, and Tundra, always blocked by them, kneeling just before the throne.
By all rights, this should've been a match where Tundra—famous for their 15-game losing streak against Starforce, always dismissed as "luxury supporting actors" after humiliating defeats—were expected to lose again.
But after breaking their losing streak in the first round for the first time in nearly two years with a hard-earned win, few were dismissing Tundra now.
The situation was simple. Winner takes first, loser gets second.
In the ECK Champions playoffs, third faces sixth and fourth faces fifth; the winners advance to the upper bracket. First and second automatically go to the upper bracket to await them, so as long as you finished in the top two, exact placement didn't seem that crucial.
But first place earned the right to choose their playoff opponent from the two advancing teams, so it wasn't something to brush off lightly. And beyond that, this was a battle of pride—nothing to take casually.
Would Tundra claim back-to-back wins and overwrite their history of humiliation, or would Starforce deliver another crushing blow? It was a preview of the finals.
Not that I was going to watch.
"Yeah, so I'm skipping solo queue today."
Battlefield was a game mode where two-player teams took turns fighting 2v2 on a set battlefield, with the team that kept winning taking the victory.
While LoE was practically synonymous with Rift for most players, Battlefield was popular too—pure mindless brawls without the brain games.
Not that we were doing it now.
"Yeah, it's with Arang, but not Battlefield. Wait, isn't assuming I'll only play LoE a bit premature?"
"LoE."
"Today it's 1v1."
"What's ZeroTwo? Whatever, doesn't matter. Don't tell me. Lately I've been feeling like I need to work on my mechanics while playing."
How long were these idiots gonna drag that joke out? It had turned into a full-on meme on my stream now. They probably meant it as a joke, so no big deal, but it worried me sometimes.
It was fine now that I was a girl, but if they found out I used to be a guy... that'd be a whole other story.
"Anyway, I'm planning to test—no, train—my mechanics through some 1v1s."
"I'm not old. Pros older than me are still playing."
"Anyway, I was gonna spar with Arang... but why isn't she replying?"
Arang's mechanics were legit—even I'd admit that. I figured 1v1ing her wouldn't be easy. But hearing it from a third party still pissed me off on reflex.
As I was about to snap back, a brilliant idea hit me.
"What do you mean wrecked? I'm not that bad. Oh, perfect—she's not here. Hey, the guy who just chatted, come out."
"I just whispered you the room name and password. Join for 1v1."
Of course, no viewer could respond. I'd already banned him.
"Win and I'll unban you."
I set up the room and waited, and eventually that chat guy joined. Things were getting fun.
"Hey, hi. Mic ok? No? Chat's fine then."
"Plat huh? No biggie. Wasn't a serious ban anyway—I'll unban after the 1v1."
"After I see you play. Show effort and you're good."
"Yeah, you're next in line. I'll yield first pick—go wild."
I picked Saintess. Meta pick lately, but as a support, not ideal for 1v1.
Plat deserved that handicap.
He picked Telekinetic, infamous for strong laning. Decent choice, but at this tier gap, picks didn't matter.
6 minutes in—it dragged a bit, but his Plat Telekinetic did nothing and lost.
"Hm, you try hard?"
"Kidding. Unbanned—play nice next time."
That mindset'd last maybe an hour, but whatever. Not a total troll.
"Alright... next challenger?"
And so began the viewer 1v1 gauntlet.
Stomping bronze/silver/gold was boring, but the occasional high-elo made it fun.
Started with bans for trolls and scratches, but soon volunteers lined up—and higher tiers followed. No Masters yet.
"Next up... huh."
DoReMiFaSoLaTi?
"What, you actually watch my stream?"
That gorilla-looking high schooler I'd fought before—DoReMiFaSoLaTi—challenged me to 1v1. Invited him to voice chat.
"Ahem, hi. I watch your stream every day, sis."
"Don't 'sis' me—why would I be your sis? Cut that out."
Gave me chills just hearing it.
"For the newbies: the guy who dueled me, lost, begged for mercy cuz he couldn't pay up."
"Next 1v1 confirmed. And stop calling me sis—pisses me off."
"That's mean..."
Don't fake cry. Gross.
"Anyway, highest tier challenger so far—ex-Master, so finally a real fight?"
"Huh?"
"Uh, lost a streak haha."
"...Diamond? Not even D1—D2."
Wow, this dude was seriously unevolved. How do you drop to Diamond?
Not a noob—ex-Master dropping to D2 wasn't under-evolved; it was devolution.
"Kinda primitive, but let's go."
"If I win, any reward?"
"Reward? Yeah, should've thought of that—been winning so far. Chicken ok?"
"Chicken no—something else?"
"Pizza?"
"L-like aegyo?"
"Banned."
Is he insane?
"N-no! Wait—not me aegyo! Viewers! Tell viewers to do it!"
"Banned."
No way in hell I'd do that for any guy.
But chat was weird.
"What bs is chat spewing?"
"What a load of crap."
Fine, whatever—I'll do it once. Not cuz that manly honor bs scratched me.
D2 wasn't even Master—I had zero intention of losing. Win guaranteed, zero risk, return... meh. Stream life.
"Fine, once. But lose and perma-ban."
"Got it!"
But as game start loomed, I chickened a bit. D2 now, but ex-Master—slim chance, but what if...
"...First pick?"
"Who chickened? I'll first pick, fine."
Whatever. Debated Gladiator vs. Revolutionary, picked Gladiator. Revolutionary solid 1v1 but falls off late; ult efficiency drops. Gladiator stronger.
"Quiet—it's first pick."
Chat raged at blatant 1v1 monster Gladiator—near uncounterable. Few laners troubled it, especially ADCs.
Unless Spear Gladiator.
"Spear Gladiator here?"
"Bs. Didn't chicken."
Ok, chickened a little. Spear Gladiator was one of Gladiator's few bad matchups—ADC that could win. Even skill 50/50 favored Spear. My state... risky pick.
Time to get serious. Gripped mouse tight.
"Even I'm shocked. What confidence for Spear Gladiator?"
"Felt like auto-loss otherwise..."
Tension? Game ended anticlimactically. Dude sucked at Spear Gladiator.
Not clueless, but nowhere near viable here. High-skill pick—better off any other ADC.
Ridiculous, but relieved no aegyo—went soft, no perma.
"One-time pass."
"Thanks..."
"Still chatting? Means I passed you."
"Bye."
Whew, dodged bullet. No aegyo for dudes—be more careful with bets.
"Next up then..."
Absurdly quick 1v1. Scrolling for that earlier troll when Arang messaged.
Arang finally showed—my planned opponent—but seemed off.
"Rough shape huh."
Couldn't bully a sick kid.
Casual joke. Her call if sick but gaming—can't stop solo q. Or duo maybe?
But not her intent.
Fuck.