Division 3 Promotion/Relegation Match (6)
We claimed the first set in a victory that shattered the world record for the shortest official Eternal Combat league match across the globe.
The Team Riddle players only figured out what the hell had happened to their top-lane minion wave in the early game after the match ended—and from that point on, their mentality crumbled to pieces.
Reeling from that bizarre strategy they'd never seen before, in the second set they panicked every time Ha-young vanished even briefly, rushing wards to our Tier 2 tower or sending players over, convinced we were up to some nonsense again.
But our team had no intention of repeating that strategy in set two, so every one of their frantic moves ended up as a total waste of time—a self-inflicted wound.
They were burning wards they desperately needed for key objectives on pointless spots around our Tier 2 tower, leaving their vision critically lacking. And because they kept darting back and forth whenever Ha-young dipped out of sight, their growth slowed, delaying the siege power they prided themselves on.
In the end, Team Riddle tripped over their own feet, suffering a complete rout in the second set as well. We swept our first promotion match 2-0 and advanced to the winners' bracket.
That same day Shining Star crushed Team Riddle, the team was suddenly on everyone's lips in the Eternal Combat scene—without Yuseong even realizing it.
Korean eSports Association.
"Jeong, you know the Division 3 promotion matches are going on right now, right?"
"Of course. Surprisingly fun to watch."
"That Shining Star team—if they pull off the promotion, set up an interview with our college reporter squad."
"Got it. I'll reach out once the finals wrap. First time interviewing an academy team, huh."
"Never thought I'd be pushing for an academy interview either. But this team's no joke. Their name pops up in community hot posts every damn day. They're beyond basic academy level, so let's get the college kids on it—coordinate something."
Game media outlets.
"Everyone catch Shining Star's match? Pearlman, get that game review up ASAP for tomorrow afternoon. Lea, pull a list of their standout academy league plays and prep a feature—aim for two or three days out. What? You think that's overkill for an academy squad? Dude, even Division 1 doesn't have a team like this—strike while it's hot!"
The casters who commentated today's match—and those off-duty.
"Insane. I can vouch for this: that team is not academy level. Looks like five total rookies with zero pro experience—how?"
"Their coach is that 'Nightmare' guy, right?"
"Yeah. Figured it was just some weirdo using an old-school ID, good at solo queue maybe. Even at rank one, a kid with no pro scene experience coaching? No way. I was wrong."
"What'd Seojun hyung say?"
"What else? He loves strong teams. Just kept going 'whoa' after the broadcast."
"Never imagined he'd react like that to an academy league game."
"Me neither. But honestly? The players are good, but coach Kang Yuseong is the real star. Gotta ask him sometime—how does a guy with no pro career cook up strategies like that?"
Division 3 teams.
"Crazy... you see that Land Crusher blocking the path?"
"Yeah, but they reversed it. We'd have lost 100% too."
"Thanks, Team Riddle!"
"Gotta think ahead—how to handle if another team pulls that crap."
"Ugh, annoying. Ever since they used Lightning, solo queue's infested with Lightning scrubs—now it'll be hell."
"Coach Hwang, Shining Star's coming up, right?"
"Looks like it. Peacemaker's a lock, so probably those two."
"Pull all their off-season games and analyze."
Division 1 and 2 teams.
"Listen up! Got practice material!"
"What?"
"Hard to explain—grab the footage and watch."
"Whoa... game looks like total bullshit."
"Blood pressure rising just watching. How pissed would the enemy be?"
"First, scout other terrain we can block to screw their growth like that. Second, figure effective counters if they try it. Blindly warding like the enemy did? You're dead."
"Who pulled this off?"
"Some team called Shining Star."
"Fuck, them again! Already dealing with their level 1 bait and Lightning bullshit!"
The victory felt great, but there was no time to bask in it this time.
The winners' bracket match was just two days away. With the game wrapping past 9 p.m., we effectively had only tomorrow—one day—to prep.
Whipping up new gimmick strategies was impossible. Even the simplest ones needed at least 12 hours a day for a week of drills to be match-ready. One day? No chance for anything new.
Matchup two: Academy's Team Brilliant vs. Division 3's Peacemaker. I'd been tracking bottom Division 3 teams since the regular season's endgame, so I knew the winner cold.
Peacemaker would take it. If we leaned gimmicks, Brilliant patchwork comps, and Riddle siege pushes, Peacemaker blended all three—with a bigger weight class.
Seamless, maybe bland, but simple is best. Higher-spec teams with balanced hex stats outshine color-heavy ones like ours.
Small hex or big hex, though—that's the difference.
Analysis showed Peacemaker's class was clearly above ours: laning, macro, teamfight synergy—all superior.
We'd drawn once and won the rest in academy league, but those were academy strats. Never faced a team this definitively heavier.
Up till now, my stockpile of strategies let us seize control early. But with one day? Back to basics.
Reusing old tricks? They'd counter hard.
I spent the late night sharing game feedback and Peacemaker-tailored analysis with the players.
"We using today's stuff next game too?"
"Nah, they watched it all. Might still fumble, but Peacemaker level? They'll counterpick straight-up or find a workaround. Set one's our most comfy picks. Their tendencies are here like I prepped. Bots tomorrow get tuned to this data—drill it."
"Sweet, smash the day-after tomorrow game too and hit Division 3!"
"Strong team. Stay confident, but no slacking. This is our class test—shows how far we go. Give it everything."
At that moment, in a Ilsan building.
A girl smoked in the smoking area on the first floor, where Peacemaker's dorm was. Her shirt front bore the team logo; the back read "Jeong Yujin - CARRY."
The door opened, and an older woman followed, lighting up. Her tee matched Yujin's.
Smoke thickened the room doubly. Yujin spat in the ashtray, crushed her butt out.
"Saw the match?"
The older woman cut straight in.
"Yeah, coach."
"Counterable?"
Team Brilliant next? Not even on the radar.
"Honestly? Nothing comes to mind. Could smash 'em home, but carry pathing's a time sink, support's no real threat..."
"Yeah, talked it over with the coach—still no clue on that strat. Hit external factors instead."
"Same wavelength as me?"
"Yeah? On three, spill. One, two, three! Offlaner."
"Cha Yuna."
Brief silence. Then they both snickered.
"Different words, same brain. Academy kids said in scrims, their offlaner's a hothead."
"Yeah. Friend tried their open audition once, teamed with her—ditched before kickoff over her attitude."
"Fiery temper in a team game? Tough. But perfect for us to poke."
Yujin nodded, face brimming with certainty.
"Love that confidence. Got more?"
"You and coach said in analysis: Cha Yuna trusts her Wave Sorcerer tankiness, pushes up hard for an offlaner."
"Right. Go on."
"Their mid dives brainless, carry lane plays safe-ish but support roams a ton—usually duo bot."
"Good memory, Yujin."
"Means their HP bars thin out teamwide. Perfect champ for that."
"Knew you were thinking it too."
Yujin nodded again. Coach and Yujin's eyes met midair, sharing the unspoken plan.
"Hides behind that shield? Time to smash it wide open."