Chapter 71
The day of the MSC finals had arrived, and we ran scrims as usual.
The second-division teams we'd scrimmed against already knew that Dice was returning and that Crisu would be debuting as support. Of course, they had no idea I'd become a woman.
Thanks to that, talk on the community forums about Pudge Dice coming back to mid had mostly died down, replaced with chatter about me, Crisu, and the MSC finals. Narrowing it down to posts about us...
>Is Dice really coming back?
>99% sure
>Turn on Tenren's stream or something fuck, what pro? Pros my ass
>GTFO to Eldbang gallery
Later they recruit a new support at the right time, switch her to team streamer, and they get everything
These guys are marketing gods}
>Team's gone full psycho marketing lololol
>(OP) But sixth men are basically useless anyway, right? All the teams that debuted girl players stuck 'em as sixth men for bench depth and pro use
>Freshly warmed bench by a cutie [flips bird]
>(OP) Go die in a ditch
That upper lineup looks insanely promising, no?}
>(OP) Isn't Crisu a Grandmaster ADC though?
>She's been support every game lately, rumor is Phantom's the ADC
>Bottom of Phantom Crisu? Fuck, even Proud grandpa couldn't beat that
>Wouldn't Proud grandpa winning be the default anyway? Dude's ancient
>Aigoo fuck
Dice got TS disease and turned into a cutie, now streaming her way back to pro
Three pieces of evidence
Evidence 1. Spell positions, item placements, ward keys, position & sub-position all identical
Evidence 2. Solo queue styles are almost the same, champ pool shifted a bit but mains overlap, playstyle/operations/duo calls mirror old Dice from tourney streams
Evidence 3. Nah there's no third, I just wanna see Yeonwoo as a cutie}
>Fuck wrote it so convincingly I almost believed it
>(OP) But what if it's real?
>Why tf would it need to be real lol
>(OP) Sacrifice one Yeonwoo for a cutie and we breathe life into stagnant ECK
>Why you turning a fine league into "stagnant" on your own
>BS aside it's convincingly written lol, if you ignore she's a girl it'd raise mad suspicions, they're that similar
>Just cherrypicking convincing bits, by that logic I could claim Proud's a secret cutie pro in disguise
>I'd take that over this
>Aigoo fuck
These were the community posts I'd skimmed after scrims and feedback wrapped up.
Excluding that last post that nailed the truth eerily accurately, the reactions were more or less what we'd expected.
For me, the responses were pretty mild overall. My retirement had been due to a chronic illness from the start, and Tundra fans—who'd been in a bind when I suddenly bailed—now had the powerhouse new mid AOD, so no real reason to hate on me.
Plus, it was second division, so we weren't direct rivals anyway.
But Seo Seohui—Crisu, naturally—wasn't getting any trust just for being a woman, facing outright dismissal as "marketing bait," which wasn't entirely wrong.
I'd told Seohui not to look at community stuff just in case,
"Haa."
But for a streamer who'd spent ages glued to her screen, that was no easy ask.
Meanwhile, Seonho—who'd taken some flak too, even if minor—was the type who didn't live off forums, so it didn't faze him at all.
"Told you not to look."
"You check your phone all the time too, sis. More importantly, what's with this one? How'd they guess that?"
"If it turns out true, the guy's probably like 'Wait, really?' Same shock. At least some fans are cheering."
"Stream viewers were super supportive. Some said just quit and go back to streaming though."
"Ignore 'em."
"Easier said than done."
True enough. I didn't use to obsess over communities like this back in the day.
Tsk.
"Seohui-unnie, you okay? Want me to spam and bury the posts?"
"Arang, you're a pro now... please stop with the throwaways."
"If I don't get caught? Got tons of burners."
"Arang, do it and you're dead."
That last bit was straight from Seohui. From her perspective, Arang's idea was straight-up horrifying, so yeah, fair reaction.
"Hing."
"What're you moping for, miss perfect?"
Speaking of, Arang coming up was pretty unexpected too.
Crisu made sense—she was already a known streamer girl—but Arang? Internet troll origins. Who'd peg her as female?
Plus, she'd only played one scrim game. Not even planned starter; Kim Hanseo suddenly felt off and bailed last game, so we threw her in.
One game sparking rumors? Wild.
Though her performance was nuts. Three solo kills in lane, five isolated towers, straight-up snowballed the game. For our loss.
Still, the girl leak had to come from someone loose-lipped on staff, right?
"You don't seem that down though?"
"You said ignore it earlier. Anyway, scrim results weren't bad."
Yeah, not bad. Hell, they were solid.
Team synergy wasn't perfect yet, but top/jungle weight class, mid's occasional explosions, and bottom's stellar laning kept us winning lately.
But against second-division lower tiers, third-division climbers, or straight amateurs? Baseline expected.
Coach wasn't thrilled either. "Expected results," basically.
So even good scrims only rated "not bad."
Seohui seemed to gain some confidence from it though.
Of course, top second-division teams gunning for promotion wouldn't fold this easy. Needed team sync ASAP.
~
Before the MSC finals kicked off,
the ten players from both teams gathered face-to-face, then turned to the crowd for their entrance performances. Some shy V-signs, others cool arm-extended poses.
Proud went full superhero landing, Starforce teammates hyping him—equal parts ridiculous and badass. Our team mostly agreed.
"Whoa, so corny."
"Isn't it cool?"
"Real."
"Kinda works."
"I like it."
Everyone but Seohui.
In order: Seo Seohui, Kim Hanseo, Jang Seonho, Yoo Seung-eun, Kang A-rang.
"C'mon, what's wrong with everyone's taste? Unnie, you think it's lame, right?"
"Kinda funny, but cool?"
Maybe 'cause Proud did it.
"Unnie, why always side with Proud?"
"Misunderstanding."
"It's 5-1 your loss already. No need for coach."
Luckily, not just me—Seonho nice-assisted, coach piled on.
"I think it's fine?"
"6-1 now."
"Guess I quit tomorrow."
While we bantered, finals started.
Predictions heavily favored Starforce Gaming, but plenty picked Lao Hu for the upset.
Considering Starforce was Korea's top popularity team, this gap meant the matchup was dead even.
Every panel predicted 3-2 regardless—both teams 5-0'd to finals, fair call.
And set 1 began.
Regrettably, Lao Hu Shield Primary took game 1.
Bottom's slump hurt bad. Failed to dodge enemy jungle ganks, kept feeding points.
MSC meta so far: top-carry upper-body dominance. Starforce prepped for Slicer, but bottom imploded early—no top farm time, snowball to enemy, limp loss.
Seohui's call during that pivotal early bottom gank stuck with me:
"Feels like Lao Hu hardcore analyzed bottom?"
"Analyzed?"
"Steak's warded that spot every time till now. Enemy jungler took the inefficient path to dodge it exactly. Steak pushed first without Guardian stun at 2, spotted the gank threat right away and dove pre-3."
Spot-on analysis. Post-game? Meh. Real-time? Impressive—even for me, not easy.
Dodging that ward forced a wildly inefficient path—not viable usually, but Lao Hu pulled it off.
Seohui's hidden talent? Develop it, could help big later.
But did set 1 loss fire up Starforce? Sets 2 and 3 straight wins.
Set 2: Bottom redeemed, pressured lane to burst for revenge kill.
Set 3: Top-carry comp again, executed clean for top carry show.
2-1 now, fate on the line. Lao Hu reverse? Or Starforce golden road?
Lao Hu form check:
Top Zkan—always gapped Starforce—faded vs Slicer sets 2/3, no presence.
Mid Shanghai, "international pigeon chest," no issues but no impact.
Proud: Solid role-fill, nothing flashy—but winning team vs losing? Worlds apart.
Lao Hu bottom: Gapped meaningfully sets 1/3 despite set 2 loss, outshining "ace" upper.
Jungle middling at best. Starforce top-carry vs Lao Hu bottom-carry showdown.
But fateful set 4: Lao Hu all-in. High-value carries top and bottom.
Mid utility belt, twin cannons top/bot—higher skill than mid-carry, weak early, but late-game monster if scaled.
'If scaled.'
Starforce no pushover, especially vs Zkan. Slicer shut down top like he'd mapped every pattern, pure optimal play. Bottom? Bad news.
Time favors Lao Hu late? Nope—snowballed early. Slicer 1v1 crushed Zkan, solo-army tore sieges, nexus flag planted.
Loss win win win.
Starforce MSC champs, Slicer finals MVP.
This moment: Starforce earned golden road. Two left: Summer and Worlds. Win both? Dream Grand Slam.
Around me, noise exploded. MSC win chats, golden road buzz.
But I heard none.
One fact burned in my head.
Starforce won, so their broadcast appearance? Locked in.
Three days later: Proud.
Almost certainly.