After the Victory (1)
[Interview] Cha Yuna, Star of the Comeback Victory: "I'll Approach It with the Mindset That I'm the Best"
Only one media outlet had shown up to cover the event, so there was just a single interview article.
Probably no one else would bother covering the academy league for a while, so it might be quite some time before another interview like this.
"Alright, debut match must've been nerve-wracking—great job, everyone! We'll do game feedback back at the practice room. For now, let's stuff ourselves!"
"Yesss!"
After the match ended, we celebrated with a lively barbecue dinner at a beef place, letting off steam.
The players chattered about the day's game or shared stories about the stadium they'd visited for the first time, the conversation blooming like flowers.
They also expressed excitement about competing in front of even bigger crowds if they kept succeeding in promotions.
Yuna and Seona apologized to each other over their post-Game 1 spat, and the mood was nothing short of joyful.
"Whoa, unnie, check out your article."
"Ugh, what the hell? They made me look ugly."
"What're you talking about? You wanna look even better? Too greedy."
"Aww, I wanna do an interview too! Think there'll be reporters next match?"
"What reporters in the academy league? Today's the opener, so they scraped by with one. No one's coming after this."
My blunt response made Seona's lips pout out.
But that didn't last—soon, Seona and the others were devouring the spread of meat in front of them without leaving a scrap.
"So good."
"Sniff sniff, beef on someone else's dime is the best! Glad I auditioned to go pro."
"Boss, another ten servings of skirt steak here!"
"Two more Colas!"
"One more beer, please!"
"...Kids?"
After the feel-good debut win came my wallet, shedding bloody tears.
Stuffed from the feast, we jumped right back into our regular practice schedule the next day.
Luckily, with the season underway, other academy teams were hungry for practice partners too, making it easy to line up scrims.
The players hopped into the scrim channels like they had yesterday, prepping for matches, while I spectated as coach.
Fueled by yesterday's victory, they dove into scrims with even more fiery enthusiasm.
From the in-game spectator view, I watched and listened to their plays and calls, nodding in satisfaction.
"Seona, enemy's support's MIA—fall back!"
"Yuna unnie, they're gonna dive there. Portal out if you see 'em."
"Sera, teamfight incoming. Stop farming and group with us."
"Hayoung, check for wards here."
"Eunjae unnie, farming done. Wanna take the lane?"
They called out to each other nonstop, making crucial shots, and thanks to supports Hayoung and Eunjae's sharp calls, Seona's braindead plays dropped off sharply.
With games going smoothly, Yuna had no reason to snap, and Sera kept growing safely in protected spots.
"Nice, GG~"
And just like that, we swept all three afternoon scrims.
The players emerged from capsules drenched in sweat, high-fiving and sharing the thrill of victory.
"Whoa, 3-0 sweep for real? We heading to the top ranks like this?"
"Coach said we're gunning for promotion. Can't afford losses here."
"This is way more fun than dance practice. Should've gone pro sooner."
Above all, back-to-back wins from debut to scrims had the team vibe soaring.
A great sign. For a fresh squad like ours just forming and debuting, that initial momentum was the most crucial thing in the world—and we'd nailed the first button.
I played back the recorded scrims, breaking down our team's and opponents' minute movements and the reasons behind them, teaching the players more efficient paths.
If they retained even 10% in real matches, our girls would keep climbing.
Evening scrims got canceled by the other team, so we had to run practice games among ourselves.
"Scrim's off, so practice games it is. But our usual routine's losing steam now, so from here on..."
I bumped up the enemy bot's difficulty.
"You'll face Grandmaster level."
"Coach, you feeling okay? Heatstroke?"
I chuckled and shook my head at Seona's impeccably polite jab.
"Nope."
"Then why?! How do we beat Grandmaster?!"
"Yeah! You said last time if the skill gap's too big, there's nothing to learn!"
"I wanna try. If we win head-on, doesn't that mean we're basically Grandmaster level?"
Opinions split, but I felt this was the perfect time for a test, so I stuck to my guns.
"You've trained with me over two months now. Your skills shot up fast. We beat Brilliant and Bluelight once each, right? You've scrimmed Master bots enough. We're aiming for Division 1, aren't we? Time to climb higher mountains. Don't you wanna know how far your level goes?
Yeah, huge gaps mean no learning—that's true. But you're ready to pick up tricks from Grandmaster bots now. You'll face top Grandmasters and Challengers eventually. Can't chicken out yet."
The players relented, prepping practice games against the Grandmaster bot.
And soon enough, I got to hear those desperate screams I hadn't caught in two months.
"Argh! What the hell?! When'd they get here?!"
"Hold up, can't see the enemy... Aaaah!"
"Ugh, what?! They smoked and dove us!"
"Damn, they stole our jungle."
"...This is so freaking annoying."
The bot was set to lower Grandmaster—typical of bottom Division 2 teams in league terms.
And our girls were getting utterly crushed, experiencing a whole new world.
Sera, who barely talked in-game, was even grumbling with real frustration.
The gap between Master and Grandmaster was night and day.
Control, judgment, macro, pathing, teamfights, unit coordination—everything a full tier higher.
Academy league was winnable at bottom Master, but mid-Master+ dominated Division 3, let alone low Grandmaster in Division 2.
But this was necessary too.
Our girls weren't just solo queuing after meals; sheer game count lagged their tier behind raw skill.
From watching and facing them myself, our team's level was already mid-Master. Jumping from Platinum through Diamond to mid-Master in just over two months? Normally impossible.
But I'd coached them—the guy who'd ruled the Eternal Combat world summit—drilling them day and night with real stamina training alongside in-game practice, skyrocketing their skills.
Of course, I didn't expect wins against Grandmaster bots. It was unwinnable.
What I wanted: dissect their pathing's hidden intent through these losses, absorb it, make it theirs.
Our five got toyed with by first-time Grandmaster spice, crushed before 30 minutes.
"My head's spinning my head's spinning my head's spinning"
"Quit mumbling! You're making my head spin too!"
"Coach, for real? First time getting wrecked like this."
"This is it. So, thoughts on getting thoroughly smashed?"
"You're mocking us?!"
"Dead serious. What made them tough? What'd they do well? Spill your gut feelings."
They paused, then shared their thoughts.
Trading before CS for profit, stealing jungle on tiny openings, perfectly timed ganks and roams, hard-to-predict smoke timings to dodge wards...
"That's Grandmaster level. Division 2 bottom-tier."
"Not even Division 1—Division 2? Bottom of that?!"
"Yep. No win path now, but it's a level you'll surpass someday. I'll summarize key points from these games, send to your capsules—review constantly, read their moves. I'll annotate intents, but think for yourselves too. Why group and move then? Why poke there exactly?
Think. Understand. Can't? Memorize it. That's how you'll conquer academy league—and beyond."
We ran two more against the Grandmaster bot—same brutal losses, ending 0-3.
Frustrated, they ground teeth and stomped, then hit solo queue after a break, trickling back to dorms near 1 a.m.
'Time for me to sort the match reviews...'
Knock knock.
I was about to compile key points from the three games when someone knocked on the meeting room door.
Opening it, there stood Seona.
She grinned at me.
"Coach, a promise is a promise, right? Time for special training."