286. Playoff Broadcast
286. Playoff Broadcast
***
6:50.
As the pre-match player introductions began and each team's players entered the arena, Serin and Eunwoo, who had connected to the official channel within Another World, stopped talking as if focusing on the screen.
Since today's main content was the broadcast of TSJ's playoff match, both of them silently fixed their eyes on the hologram floating in the air.
And in the hologram, the captains of each team entered first.
Jeanne d'Arc Yoo Eunha. Baekya Seo Yuna.
After the two entered the arena first, the starting players and head coaches of each team all entered in turn, naturally taking their places in a line on both sides.
—TSJ FIGHTING!!!
—BS FIGHTING!!
As if on cue, enormous cheers erupted from both sides of the stands. Soon after, grand background music began to play, further elevating the atmosphere of the arena.
Afterward, each player bowed briefly to finish their greetings, and the players headed to their respective positions while the screen shifted from the players to the casters.
—TSJ, with their captain Jeanne d'Arc back! And BS, who just two days ago secured a 3:0 sweep in their playoff match! Today's playoff match between these two spectacular teams is scheduled. To our two commentators, how do you assess the strength of these two teams......
As the person who appeared to be the caster began speaking, Eunwoo naturally spoke up.
"The sight of Jeanne d'Arc back on stage, how should I put it.... Ah, would it be right to call it an aura? Even compared to other players, she has such an exceptional presence that my eyes keep going to her."
"Right. Jeanne d'Arc does seem to give off some kind of aura."
Serin nodded as if agreeing.
'Eunha's whole atmosphere completely changes when she puts on the uniform.'
Just a few hours ago, they had been casually exchanging messages, so seeing her now standing in the arena wearing that distinctive uniform felt surreal.
It belatedly hit her that Eunha really was a pro player.
Standing there with an indifferent, cold expression, Eunha truly did seem to have an aura, just as people said, even without doing anything special.
[Wow...]
[With Jeanne d'Arc there, TSJ's lineup presence is on a whole different level, seriously lololol]
[No but why does Jeanne d'Arc keep getting prettier lololololol]
[Rin, you're killing me!!]
[TSJ is only really TSJ with Jeanne d'Arc]
[BS really has the worst luck, running into Jeanne d'Arc right when she returns]
[With Seola and Eunha there, TSJ is already crushing everyone on looks alone, damn.]
[Baekya isn't bad-looking either, but she had to stand on the same line as Jeanne d'Arc lolololol]
[Is this a TSJ cheering room?]
The chat window heated up as signs of the match starting appeared.
The center of attention was undoubtedly Jeanne d'Arc. Perhaps because it was her long-awaited return match, the viewer reaction felt far bigger than usual.
When I spotted chat messages about the opposing team, BS, I figured I should say something in advance.
"Today's broadcast is going to be biased toward TSJ, so if there's anyone cheering for BS, you might want to watch the official broadcast instead."
"I'm here as someone from SJ to cheer on TSJ as well. I'd like to ask the viewers for their understanding in advance."
Seeing him add that on his own without being asked, Serin couldn't help but think that broadcasting with him was comfortable.
Since he was a celebrity with more fame than she'd expected, she'd had a small worry before the broadcast.
'Guess it was needless worry.'
She'd worried that he might act arrogant or conceited, or say something awkward that would make the broadcast difficult. But now that they were face to face, the more they talked, the more surprisingly well they clicked.
No, I could see he was trying to match my pace. Compared to his fame, it was a little surprising.
While Serin was thinking that, the playoffs were underway.
—Then we'll go straight into the player selection for Game 1!
With the caster's energetic voice, the screen switched to the player selection screen as if ready.
......
The ACK Pro League playoffs proceed in a format not much different from usual.
Games 1, 2, and 4 are team matches played as 3:3. Games 3 and 5 are gauntlet matches, where players face off in 1:1 duels.
It was a best-of-five format, with only Games 4 and 5 added to the usual league rules.
And for each match, the team that picks the 'Blue Side' selects the first player, while the pro team on the Red Side then reveals two players.
Next, the team that picked Blue Side selects two more players to complete their lineup, and the Red Side, after seeing the Blue Side's lineup, selects one player to finish the player selection.
Player selection could be seen as a kind of 'mind game.'
Because from the pool of five players on each team's lineup, you look at the players the opposing team picked and select your team's players while considering favorable matchups.
—TSJ, who chose Blue Side, makes their first pick! In just a few seconds, Jeanne d'Arc is selected!
—Should we say TSJ with Jeanne d'Arc back is still the same? Incredible, TSJ.
—This is essentially a player selection you could call TSJ's classic. Couldn't we see it as confidence from Jeanne d'Arc, returning after a long time?
Along with the excited voices of the caster and commentators, Eunha's portrait appeared in the first slot on the right Blue Side.
"Should I say that's just like TSJ."
As Eunwoo unconsciously admired the Jeanne d'Arc pick, Serin, who had done some research, chimed in with a composed expression.
"It's because it's Jeanne d'Arc. It's also a player selection that's possible."
Always selecting Eunha as the first player—that was the same player selection TSJ had shown every match until she took her break.
No matter which team or which player they faced, she was the strongest and most threatening player to put out as the first card.
Because Jeanne d'Arc was a player who carried the highest praise of having 'no bad matchups,' it was a player selection only TSJ could make.
—The Red Side BS selects Baekya and Jeongmak. Considering the revealed Jeanne d'Arc, this is a surprisingly bold player selection, wouldn't you say?
—That's right. Choosing two ranged-class players makes me wonder if BS has a separately prepared strategy.
—The magic of BS's Coach Baek Seungmin. I suspect they've come fully prepared even against TSJ.
When player selection passed back to TSJ, TSJ also selected two players without hesitation.
—With 'Red Cat' and 'Downfall' revealed back to back, TSJ's player selection is complete.
—Seeing how quickly both teams made their player selections from Game 1, they seem full of confidence.
—This is a lineup you could call TSJ's standard. Jeanne d'Arc's iron-wall frontline holding ability, Red Cat's ability to strike at openings, plus Downfall's ranged support. It's an extremely well-balanced lineup.
With player selections following one after another before they could even comment, Serin and Eunwoo also watched the selections as if focusing.
Before they knew it, only the final player selection for the Red Side BS remained.
—BS's final player selection is... Oh!? 'Lord' is coming out here?
—He's certainly a player on BS's starting lineup, but Lord is a player who's barely appeared this season. I predict this might be BS's most crucial pick.
—Lord is a Wizard-class player specialized in mid-to-long-range support, but hmm... Considering TSJ's frontline with Jeanne d'Arc and Red Cat, an all-ranged lineup doesn't look like it'll break through easily.
Once both teams' player selections were complete, the player selection UI faded away with a 30-second countdown, and the Colosseum background began to fill the screen.
Even in between, the commentators and caster exchanged various remarks about the player selections.
Mainly that TSJ's balance was good and that they were looking forward to the returning Jeanne d'Arc. Also that they were curious about the direction of BS's strategic adoption of ranged classes, and so on.
Serin, who had been listening to their words with interest, glanced at the chat window.
[A free win from Game 1, what is this lololololol]
[BS doing another gamble lineup against TSJ with Jeanne d'Arc?]
[They used triple ranged against G1 and now they're using this on TSJ lolololol]
[Why is BS's lineup like this from the first game?]
[This lineup is so bad, seriously lololol]
[Jeanne d'Arc fighting!!!]
[Honestly, even if Jeanne d'Arc just auto-attacks, this is just a free win lolol]
[You can't stop TSJ's classic]
[TSJ fighting!!]
[They're gonna lose no matter what, so didn't the coaching staff just lose their minds with the picks?]
[They're really gonna win this easily lolol]
The viewers seemed to share almost the same opinion as the commentators.
TSJ's overwhelming advantage. Honestly, even to Serin, it seemed all too obvious.
"Hmm.... From what I can see, a comfortable TSJ victory seems likely. What do you think, Rin?"
"I don't know. I don't think much differently. TSJ will probably take the win comfortably. Though BS's all-ranged lineup is pretty interesting."
The triple-ranged lineup BS had shown against G1 suddenly came to mind, but the situation now was too different from then.
The opposing team wasn't G1, and on top of that, it was TSJ with Eunha.
She remembered that in the match G1 lost to BS, they'd allowed a surprise attack, one player retired, and they gave the match away. But that strategy was already public.
Honestly, Serin was strongly skeptical.
A team like TSJ wouldn't have failed to prepare countermeasures against an already-revealed strategy.
'Considering Eunha's skill, an all-ranged class lineup probably won't mean much.'
The thought even crossed her mind.
Eunha's greatest strength—her ability to hold the frontline—meant she was exceptional above all in defensive aspects.
There was a player called Lord she'd never seen before, but that didn't seem like it would be that big of a variable.
As the Colosseum filled the entire screen and only three seconds remained until the match started, the fans' cheers echoed through the screen again.
—TSJ FIGHTING!!!
—BS FIGHTING!!
With cheers loud enough to shake the entire arena, the match began.
......
The six players, who appeared as light within the massive Colosseum, stood in their respective positions in a hexagonal formation.
Right Blue Side.
TSJ.
A knight balanced with a one-handed sword and shield, Jeanne d'Arc.
A javelin thrower holding throwing spears, Downfall.
A knight holding a massive lance, Red Cat.
Left Red Side.
BS.
An Archer-class player holding a pure-white longbow, Baekya.
An Archer-class player gripping a crossbow, Jeongmak.
A Wizard-class player holding a staff, Lord.
—The duel begins in 10 seconds.
Along with a calm female voice, a massive hologram appeared across the Colosseum to announce the waiting time.
Within the short span of about ten seconds.
The female knight Red Cat, Seola, who had raised her blue-glowing lance, looked at Eunha standing in the center and moved her lips.
"What on earth is BS thinking?"
Eunha raised her pitch-black blade toward the front and answered with an odd expression.
"Who knows? They'll concentrate their firepower in an instant. That's what it looks like."
The lineup BS had chosen was all ranged classes.
It was an extreme lineup with not a single melee class to hold the frontline, so even Eunha felt a small question.
The weapons of the BS players visible across from them being all ranged didn't look particularly good.
'The balance is broken.'
The battle approach she could guess was either focusing fire on one player with instantaneous firepower, or trying to win through firepower while maintaining distance.
But that didn't give Eunha much of a reaction.
As long as Seola and she could close the frontline somehow, that formation looked flimsy enough to collapse easily.
"Then let's go with breaking through as carefully as possible."
As Downfall, who lightly swung his massive spear, spoke calmly, the two women nodded.
—1.
When the countdown ended, Eunha and Seola kicked off the ground and immediately surged toward the enemy camp as if in perfect sync.
And at that moment.
————!
Light burst out simultaneously from BS's camp.
Baekya, holding the pure-white longbow, immediately released the bowstring fiercely as if to pierce the sky, and Jeongmak, holding a crossbow in both hands, embroidered the sky with a countless shower of arrows.
As if it were a practiced combination, Lord, the Wizard-class player, brought his staff down hard toward the ground.
Whoosh!
The massive light bursting from the staff began to envelop the arrows shot across the sky.