Dawn of the Challenger League
The day dawned.
What day? The opening match of Part 2 league, the ECK Challenger League.
That's why we woke up even earlier than usual, finished our preparations ahead of time, and spent the hours in tense anticipation. We ate a hearty breakfast and suited up properly in our uniforms.
Of course, we weren't heading to the arena. Unlike Part 1 league, where all matches are held in stadiums, Part 2 league runs its regular season entirely online.
To actually play on a proper stage, we'd at least need to reach the playoffs—and if we didn't make it that far, we wouldn't even get to set foot in the arena.
Just in case of any issues, the referees and match officials always come by early to inspect the practice room and go through all the procedures.
While Part 1 league plays five days a week from Wednesday to Sunday, Part 2 runs Monday through Friday: two matches each on Monday and Tuesday, then one per day for the rest. It's scheduled to avoid overlapping with Part 1 as much as possible, maximizing viewership.
Thanks to fewer matches per week than Part 1, Part 2's regular season ends a bit later. And since there's no international tournament for Part 2 yet, they can afford that schedule.
Today being Monday, there are two best-of-three matches starting at 5 PM. No idea if it was intentional, but ours is the very first—the grand opening match of Part 2 league. Online viewers are probably going to flood in by the thousands.
I'd done online matches back in my Part 2 days, but the tension was nothing like before.
After running stadium matches over and over, it just didn't feel like the real deal anymore.
Not that everyone felt the same.
"Ugh, I'm so nervous."
"Want something warm to drink?"
"Unnie doesn't seem nervous at all. Though I guess that's normal for you."
"I'm tense in my own way."
Among the five of us, Seohui was the most visibly on edge. Hanseo hyung and Yuseung were way past the point of getting nervous, and even Seonho had Part 1 experience under his belt.
With Arang not playing today, this was basically Seohui's solo debut—and telling her not to be nervous would be asking too much.
"Liar."
"It's true."
Surprisingly, that wasn't a lie.
As I mentioned earlier, the match itself didn't faze me. What had me tense was... well, a complicated mix of reasons.
My skills had improved a ton, but my physical condition still rolled the dice—up one minute, down the next. If I rolled a one in the opening match, botched it, and cost us the game, even I wouldn't escape unscathed.
The community would explode again, and I'd feel like shit. Sure, I wouldn't crumble or quit, but still.
On top of that, I'd been getting these ominous vibes since morning.
Crows randomly flying past the window. Nearly burning my hair while spacing out blow-drying it. Grabbing a cola from the fridge only for it to burst everywhere—someone must've shaken it as a prank—almost soaking my clothes.
I don't believe in superstitions, but come on, it's unsettling.
Still, acting weak in front of Seohui felt off, so I played it cool despite my words.
Anyway, I was anxious. Anxious enough to be tense.
...It felt like some shitty foreshadowing was in play. Like today's games just weren't going to go my way.
But we had to win anyway.
"Unnie, were you really nervous?"
"I told you."
"...Your face looks a bit off."
"Huh?"
"No, nothing... probably just my imagination."
Was my acting that bad? Seohui picked up on it anyway. I forced a smile, and she let it slide.
"Alright, kids. Everyone loosened up?"
"What's there for us to be nervous about?"
"She looks kinda tense, though?"
"You wanna die, Jang Seonho?"
Normally, that would've escalated into a headache-inducing spat with Seonho, but today, even his antics felt welcome. Better pranks and yelling than raw tension.
"Glad you're all holding up better than expected. Today's opponents are KFP Olivers. Spring season runners-up, but they lost promotion and dropped back to Part 2. As you all know, they're no pushovers at our level. We haven't snagged a single scrim series win against them."
"We did take some set wins."
"So they're not unbeatable."
KFP Olivers. Sponsored by a famous franchise chicken chain. Spring runners-up means they're strong—of course—but only by Part 2 standards. They couldn't break into Part 1, so the verdict is they're solidly Part 2 tier.
Like the coach said, we couldn't guarantee a win at our current level, but we couldn't write off a loss either.
"If I had my way, I'd say 'even if we lose today, don't get too down!'—but we don't have that luxury, right? Everyone, let's win this."
Classic coach talk. Ultimately, that's how it is. Don't mope if we lose, but don't plan on losing either.
Obvious stuff.
I had zero intention of losing today.
Sure, my gut felt off, the morning sucked, and I was nervous about performing—but that's that, and this is this.
Then Arang raised her hand.
"What if we lose?"
"What if? We review hard and prep for the next one."
Yeah, that's right.
"Lose and we swap top?"
"Not today."
"Tch."
"We'll talk after."
"Pfft."
Arang's joke—or half-joke, maybe—but it seemed to melt away the last of Seohui's tension.
And at 4:30, it was time. We all filed into the practice room for the match.
"Hello, viewers! I'm caster Jeon Seung-yeop for the ECK Challenger League. With me are commentator Seo Yun-jun and commentator Jin Kang-cheol."
"Nice to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you."
"Today is finally the opening match of the long-awaited Challenger League. Fans have been hyped for a bunch of reasons, right?"
"Yes, especially since one of today's teams is at the center of all the recent buzz: E Revolution Gaming."
"Four players with Part 1 experience. Top laner Sharpness, who made Worlds quarterfinals last year; the Jesus-Dice duo that ran the miracle to Worlds runners-up; and Phantom too. This team's no joke."
"And today marks the first debut of a female starting pro gamer in League of Eternity pro history. The other four were huge topics too, but supporter Crisu's debut is symbolic in so many ways. Can't wait to see her shine."
"We can't forget Dice making her return. Three Worlds runners-up—what a legend. Her sudden retirement shocked everyone, but here she is back in the league!"
"She's changed a lot appearance-wise, but that skill won't have vanished. Excited to see what she brings to the league where it all started for her!"
"Opponents are no slouches either! They fell short in promotion, but Spring season runners-up. Tough matchup right out the gate for E Revo."
"Will the Challenger League vets KFP Olivers claim victory, or will E Revolution Gaming live up to the hype with a stellar showing? Super exciting! I agree. Looks like prep's done—ban-pick phase, let's go!"
KFP Olivers' biggest threat was their mid laner, Ion. His carry potential got them to runners-up.
He's basically the only one considered beyond Part 2 level, and he nearly snagged Spring Challenger League MVP—lost by a 100-point margin, but his skill speaks for itself.
We couldn't win scrim series against them because Ion consistently outplayed me.
...Not an excuse, but my condition was off then.
But I'm way different now. Better shape overall, team synergy up. Current condition feels... a bit weird, though.
"Stick to the plan, like we agreed. Everyone remember?"
"Yeah."