Starforce Gaming's Easy 3-0 Sweep Over Pioneers
Starforce Gaming had an effortless 3-0 victory against Pioneers in their head-to-head matchup. Sure, they occasionally got caught off guard by some unexpected team in international matches, but it seemed they had no intention of letting that happen at least until the end of this MSC.
The next day, FQ Horizon naturally took down Astral Esports 3-1, earning their spot as Starforce Gaming's semifinals opponent.
On the other side of the bracket, Lao Hu Shield Primer clawed out a 3-2, full five-game set win over Blink Peerless, while I7 Esports shut out Pun FarmYays 3-0.
In the end, there were no upsets in any of the quarterfinal matches, and the semifinals lineup fell into place naturally.
Starforce Gaming VS FQ Horizon
Lao Hu Shield Primer VS I7 Esports
During that time, we ran two more scrims, both against second-division teams, and surprisingly managed 2-1 wins in each. We weren't even fully synced up yet, so this was a pretty rapid upward trajectory.
Seo Seo-hee pulling herself together quickly had been the biggest factor.
Maybe my pep talk had meant something after all? She hadn't completely abandoned her sense of responsibility and gone full autopilot like I'd suggested, but either way, Seo Seo-hee moved better than in our first scrim and showed some real improvement.
Of course, we had to factor in that the opponents were second-division teams, not first-division. But the teams we'd face in the upcoming season were second-division anyway.
At least for now, this was more than enough.
"Laning phase is going better than expected, everyone."
"Good thing bot lane's stepping up."
Our top and mid—excluding me—were at a level where they wouldn't lose to second-division standards even if they tried, and I usually put up solid performances depending on my condition.
In that setup, if bot lane just held their own in lane, we had more than enough to succeed.
"Still, we gotta fix that teamfight synergy ASAP."
The main issue was our team coordination, or lack thereof. We were fine in laning, but teamfights saw us falling out of sync and splitting calls constantly. We could brute-force wins for now with raw power, but if we didn't fix it soon, it'd become a huge problem.
"Anyway, everyone did great today. Feedback ends here."
"Got it~"
Once feedback wrapped, we all jumped into solo queue in the practice room like usual.
That's where another notable change popped up: Kim Han-seo climbed back to Challenger, and A-rang got demoted to Grandmaster.
It was only natural. Holding Challenger isn't easy.
She'd exploded onto the scene that day and hit Challenger, but maintaining it was a whole different beast.
"Kang A-rang. What'd you say before? 'I don't listen to weaklings'? 'Listen to me since my tier's higher'?"
"Ugggghhh…."
Kim Han-seo must've taken it to heart more than I thought, because the second he hit Challenger, he started teasing her relentlessly.
"Something like, 'Hold my spot. It'll be mine soon'?"
"Ugggghhhh."
A-rang just taking the ribbing without a word back was honestly pretty adorable.
"You two are getting along."
"Where do you see that?!"
"Top laners gotta stick together."
I'd been pretty worried about A-rang fitting in, so seeing Kim Han-seo goof around like that was honestly a relief.
His usual demeanor was a bit uncomfortable, though.
"Ah! You fucking shit! Goddamn asshole! Did they put honey on top lane or what?! Ignoring their own jungle to keep ganking—fucking bullshit!!!"
His temper wasn't exaggerated; it wasn't frequent, but when games went south, he'd shotgun his keyboard and unleash a torrent of swears.
You'd never see it in scrims or daily life.
Even A-rang steered clear when he got like that, and I worried she'd pick up bad habits watching him. No wonder he had stacks of new keyboard boxes under his desk.
The scariest part? Even mid-rage, he'd never trash-talk in chat or fight anyone—just kept communicating normally.
Yelling in-game? Fine, happens.
Stockpiling spare keyboards to smash? Uh… debatable. Possible? Maybe?
But staying stone-cold polite in chat through all that? That was straight-up psychotic. Even the even-tempered Yuseung snapped in chat sometimes.
Even if it didn't happen often, it always soured the practice room vibe. None of the others were the type to rage like that.
Eventually, Yuseung and I pulled him aside for a word. I was nervous he'd bite back hard.
"Yeah, you're right. Sorry. Didn't think about it."
Surprisingly chill, he apologized and promised to work on it.
"My old team, those Lao Hu guys, were all crazy hotheads. Everyone did it there, so it stuck as a habit. Makes sense with kids around."
"Everyone there was like that?"
"Pretty much. Not smashing keyboards like me, but pad-lipping was baseline."
I'd heard bits about it. Lao Hu clips flooded communities constantly—legends brawling in their own fan gallery. Never imagined it was their default.
Yuseung, who skipped communities, looked a bit grossed out.
"I'm already holding back a ton here. Old team was all dudes my age, rough types—no joke. With kids here, yeah, I gotta rein it in more."
High schoolers know plenty, but still.
"Spill some stories. Sounds fun."
"You into that?"
"Not if it's mine."
When I egged him on, Yuseung shot me a disgusted look too. He didn't stop it, though. Kim Han-seo seemed reluctant anyway, just chuckled and wrapped it up.
"Nah. Nothing worth spilling. Anyway, sorry everyone—I'll keep it in check. Yuseung, you don't smoke?"
"Huh? Nah."
"Aw, bummer. No smokers here? Leaves me lonely."
For the record, obviously I don't either. A-rang, Seo-hee, and Seon-ho are minors.
Coach was an adult, at least.
"Asked him before—guy doesn't drink or smoke. Total madman."
"Isn't that good?"
"Yeah. Don't you kids start."
With that, Kim Han-seo headed out alone for a smoke.
"Hope he's okay."
"What?"
"Seemed like he vented with smokes normally. What if holding back for us makes him sick? If I smoked, I could've joined, but nah, can't start for that."
"Right, no smokes. He'll manage."
"Hope so."
Yuseung had a point, but we couldn't pick up the habit just to help.
"Worried Han-seo hyung feels awkward with the others."
"He messes with A-rang fine."
"Is that 'fine'?"
Anyway, after that, he really stuck to his word. No more swearing or smashed keyboards. Just a lot more solo smoke breaks.
"Kinda feel bad."
"Can't leave it like that, though. Not Lao Hu—three minors here."
Just hope he wasn't bottling it all up.
~
Night fell, time for MSC to kick off. We all gathered to watch Starforce Gaming vs. FQ Horizon.
"What score you predicting for Starforce?"
Seon-ho asked the group. As if Starforce losing was impossible.
"What if they lose?"
"You think they will, noona?"
"No."
"Then why say it."
Everyone picked 3-0 or 3-1. Coach alone went 3-2.
"How's North America taking two games off Starforce?"
"Heard FQ Horizon scrim rumors are wild. Don't know details, but can't sleep on 'em."
The kids doubted Coach at first, but he was spot on. Horizon dropped the first two, but showed scary potential.
"They're legit good."
"Still headed for 3-0, right?"
Nope.
Horizon stole games 3 and 4, dragging it to a full five.
And in game 5, they were leading Starforce—evoking miracle comebacks like loss-loss-win-win-win.
Horizon's grit was one thing, but Starforce's bot duo underperformed, and jungler Wolfdog's slump was fatal.
Losing smite trades cost them key timings and objectives, snowballing disadvantage.
"Pudge looking rough."
"Not rough. Just tense."
"Hmm."
But Starforce had a plan: this game's big objective at 30 minutes was the Incarnation of the Dragon Fighter. Survive till then, snag it, flip the game.
Horizon knew, tried to crush momentum first—but Starforce held, and it spawned.
Instead of defending, Horizon dove first for the buff. They were ahead; secure it, win Dragon Fighter stably, end it.
Made sense—risky 1v1 without the buff.
That led to Horizon's mid Fever vs. Starforce's top Slicer in a 1v1.
"Damn, he's cracked."
Like A-rang said, Slicer flexed insane mechanics to turn a bad fight.
The first semifinal—packed with twists between Starforce and Horizon—ended without the ultimate upset: win-loss-win-loss-win for Starforce.
Regretful for Horizon. A straightforward Frost Lord or Gravekeeper's Vanguard? Starforce wouldn't have flipped it easily.
No excuses after losing a super-advantaged 1v1 with the buff, though.
Still, Horizon earned praise—no one could bash their performance. They shattered everyone's predictions except Coach's. That alone merited respect.
And so, Starforce Gaming reached finals.
"Win this, and Starforce's golden road looks real."
Sucked that my team—and I—couldn't hit first division this year. If Starforce was poised for golden road glory… I'd kill to be the one stopping them.
Reality: we could only watch.
"Heading to bed first."
"Me too."
It was late. Amid swirling thoughts, everyone called it, and I headed to my room for some overdue sleep.
Next day, Lao Hu edged I7 in another five-game epic for their finals ticket. Lineup set.
Starforce Gaming VS Lao Hu Shield Primer
One day off, then finals.
That's when it hit me—something I'd forgotten.
If Starforce won, I'd appear on Idiot Games' official broadcast the same day.
High chance of facing Proud again.
I didn't want to meet him like this—hell, closer to avoiding him—but my heart raced anyway. Excitement and dread mixed.
What would Proud think seeing me now?
No clue.
But… we'd clash eventually.