Thursday: Tundra vs. Team VP Match Day
Thursday, the day Tundra faced off against Team VP. Tomorrow was Starforce versus Hansam, and skipping Saturday, Sunday brought the grand finals.
Odds were high that the finals would be Tundra versus Starforce.
"And so, no stream on Sunday."
"Not a boyfriend, but a girlfriend."
Arang wasn't a guy, so fair enough.
"Sunday we're watching the Eld Champs finals. With a friend."
"Same gender as me."
Not wrong. Things were different now, but that wasn't the point anyway.
Fuck, glancing at chat made me flinch for a second. Every now and then some idiot spouts total nonsense like that. They probably didn't even believe it themselves, but from my side, it honestly made me a bit uneasy.
...Not like I could hide it forever anyway.
"I have no idea why you guys care so much about this stuff. Anyway, whatever you're worried about? It'll never happen, so relax. I'll go have some fun."
"Tundra and Starforce."
"Tundra's match is first, duh. You guys nitpick everything."
"Hansam's strong too."
Wasn't that obvious?
"Because of Proud."
"Not like that. Just objective skill assessment. Saber’s a strong mid too. Proud’s just too damn good."
This came from personal experience getting wrecked by him. My record against Saber was positive, but against Proud? Overwhelmingly negative. Rating Proud higher was only natural.
Of course, I couldn't admit that here.
"Anyway, let's queue solo. Tournaments? What tournaments? Since when do we care about that shit."
I flinched, chills running down my spine without warning.
"Pro? What pro? Like I got the skills for that."
Why did saying it out loud sting my chest like this?
Furry Dice? What kinda ridiculous nickname was that?
Anyway, I didn't want them catching on that it bugged me. I averted my eyes from chat and just waited for queue pop.
And so, today I grinded solo queue again.
Record: 2 wins, 3 losses. No games where I bombed hard. Just... nothing special, like I was dragging dead weight.
In the end, blaming condition, I called it quits a bit earlier than usual.
"Condition sucks, I said. Alright, stream's over for today. I'm out. Byeee."
Not suddenly—Arang recommended it yesterday. Yeah, it was a bit cutesy, but wasn't that normal these days?
"What? When'd you show up, Arang?"
"Tired, I said. Shoulda come earlier. Manager ditching streams—what're you even doing?"
I knew, but it wasn't official, and it wasn't from her mouth, so no spilling.
"No no, you don't have to."
She'd be swamped with pro life—when for main stream watching?
"Always making me the bad guy. Anyway, for real this time—I'm out. Byeee everyone."
Stream ended.
I let out a tired sigh.
Whew, finally over. Not sure if it was just me, but my condition felt off today.
Stretching and catching my breath, first thing I checked was the Tundra vs. Team VP result.
3 : 0 Tundra Win
Totally expected. Team VP was one of the few to smack Tundra in regular season, so I wondered, but best-of-five? They got crushed anyway.
One finals spot filled.
The other... tomorrow, it'd be decided.
Complicated feelings bubbled up, but I shoved them down and hit the sack earlier than usual. Sleep wouldn't come easy, and I ended up tossing all night.
Next day, condition was predictably trash.
I emergency-no-showed, citing poor form. I'd been pretty consistent with streams, so public opinion wasn't too bad, but complaints rolled in of course.
One memorable one:
Exactly. Did that guy slather his face with honey or something? Made sense why he had so many girl fans. I didn't care much. Not sure what the fuss was about.
...Wasn't I hotter back when I was a guy? Tch.
Anyway, that first comment had some sharp insight. I wasn't a Starforce stan or Proud fan, but yeah, no-show meant I'd watch Starforce vs. Hansam.
...Why watch this when I skipped Tundra's? No clue. Nothing better to do, and it nagged at me. Good enough reason, right?
Condition sucked, no-show called—no gaming. Surf other LoE streams while waiting for the match.
Browsing, Bang Chang-sik's stream—the streamer from the gym—caught my eye. Way more viewers than expected.
Top laner, plus that incident, not exactly thrilled to see him. But thinking back, he connected me with Arang.
Started over hack suspicions—not great, but not real controversy, and he denied it flat-out. Not his fault. Arang went wild solo; he was more the victim.
Anyway, he had Eld Champs broadcast rights apparently. Solo queuing now, but title said Starforce vs. Hansam soon. Ex-Starforce trainee, so rooting for them probably.
But when'd he drop to Master? Hadn't seen him lately, but he used to be solid for a streamer.
Pro trainee background, tanking this hard in such short time? Tilting my head in doubt, chat had answers.
"Ah, this ain't working. Tsk."
"Not because of that girl, I swear..."
"Haa, driving me insane. Fuck it. Anyway, got an announcement. Saying it now."
...I closed the stream right there. Just as [Defeat] popped.
Thought about watching the match here since he was casting, but official stream it was.
Missed whatever announcement, but what would it have to do with me? Zero interest. No issues.
"Sunday I'm heading to Eld Champs finals, and doing some wild streaming. Ffs, going alone. Alone! Happy now messing with a solo fan?"
Probably.
The match ended.
Figured Starforce would win, but couldn't underestimate Hansam's grit. Down 0-2, one more loss and out—they exploded back with straight wins.
One more and it'd be loss-loss-win-win-win, a miracle comeback.
But that was it.
Why's loss-loss-win-win-win so rare and legendary in best-of-fives? 'Cause it's that damn hard.
Fifth game, Hansam fought valiantly but fell.
Starforce Gaming, Proud's army, advanced to finals.
As expected, yet unexpected. 3-2 meant one more loss and Hansam would've gone instead.
Some questioned Starforce's form. Tundra dominated 4th seed en route; Starforce scraped through brutal five-gamer. Fair skepticism.
But I knew better.
Tough road meant more experience gained. Big stage Starforce? Never sleep on 'em, no matter what.
Could Tundra claim the throne from Starforce?
Or just another cup for Starforce?
Had nothing to do with me anymore.
So why was my heart pounding like this, aching so bad?
Sunday came. Yesterday sucked. No-show got viewers nagging, games didn't go well.
But today? No gaming, no streaming. Just chill at the arena, watch, have fun. Pure bliss.
"...Where you off to?"
"Meeting Yuseung. Going somewhere together."
Dad spoke up as I prepped to leave. Our relationship was still awkward, but improving-ish.
Some resentment lingered, but pro days over, no more forcing his views. No need to fight. Still a bit uncomfortable.
"Where you meeting? I'll drive."
This kinda thing.
"Nah, I'll manage."
"Texted Yuseung—replied right away. Thanks, can you drop her at the arena?"
This fucking asshole.
Grumbling, I left with Dad, hopped in the car toward Yuseung.
Meeting spot: lanky dude in sunglasses and mask.
Kicked straight at the lanky fucker. Hard kick, but not a peep of pain.
"You fucking asshole."
"Yo, you made it. Oh, hello. Thanks for today."
"Yeah, hop in."
"Hey, ignoring me? What's with the perv shades and mask?"
"Get snapped with you? Nah."
"Who gives a shit about a 2nd league scrub."
Yuseung, Dad, me.
Ended up all three to the arena. Dad obviously not staying—no ticket. Dropped us, headed home.
"Have fun. Yuseung, take care of Yeonwoo."
"I'm not a kid..."
"Yes, sir. Drive safe."
Dad kept it brief, polite goodbye, drove off. Confirmed gone, I ragged on Yuseung.
"Dude, why drag my dad into this?"
"Better than subway."
"Subway's better, dumbass."
"Shut up."
Anyway, time till match start.
We bickered, wandered. Around: LoE cosplayers, streamers dragging viewers wild-streaming, staff interviewing folks.
Afraid of interviews, rushed Yuseung inside. Browsed goods store, cafe—savored the familiar venue one more time. Then, time.
Tundra vs. Starforce finals. About to begin.