Perfect Debut Sweep
The feedback session wrapped up quickly.
It was simple from the start—Siwoo's carry had led to a smooth win, and only one player had failed to deliver on Coach Shin Seung-hyun's demands.
That player was...
"Chanseong, I told you to widen your angles! A defender with great mechanics has to be ready to unleash aggression at any moment! Yeah, like a bumblebee charging in!"
It was Park Chan-seong.
He'd always been a bit short on the physical side for pro gaming. His tier wasn't that high, and he'd never even stepped onto a stage like a cup tournament.
His one claim to fame was the streamer showdowns in the 'Apocalypse Wars' content, but with no tier restrictions, it didn't mean much.
"Yes..."
Park Chan-seong couldn't help but shrink back. Everyone else had flashy resumes, like grizzled street fighters from back in the day, while he was just some basement noob who'd shown up out of nowhere.
"Chanseong, look at me."
"Yes."
Shin Seung-hyun straightened up Park Chan-seong's slumped posture and dove into the feedback.
"A defender has to be ready to go aggressive at any time. If you're too specialized in just protecting allies and lack that edge, you can't climb higher. So what do you do?"
As he lectured Park Chan-seong, Shin Seung-hyun suddenly grabbed a folder and launched into a tirade.
"Alright, this is your shield. Watch me. What am I doing right now? Protecting my allies, right? You two—Siwoo, Su-hyuk—hide behind me for a sec."
"Got it."
Siwoo and Lee Soo-hyuk ducked behind him.
"I'm the defender. What am I doing? Shielding my team, yeah? You're the enemy now. You gotta break through the defender to get anywhere, right? You can't just slice through a shield-wielding defender."
Suddenly, Shin Seung-hyun leaped forward. Kim Ho-jong and Kim Yong-taek, caught off-guard during the demo, let out startled screams.
"Aaaah!"
"Wh-what?!"
"That's me showing defender aggression right there."
"...???"
The players stared at him blankly. Their faces said it all: Oh, this guy's off again. It happened all the time.
"How'd that feel? Sudden? Startled? Right?"
"Yeah, kinda..."
"Your brain went blank from the panic? Like, what the hell just happened?"
"Yes..."
"Exactly! A defender has to be able to poke those gaps anytime! Chanseong, show me that aggression—aggression!"
Defenders focused on protection, sure—but that didn't mean they should just sit back.
The top defenders could pump out attacker-level DPS all on their own.
That's right.
Shin Seung-hyun was demanding pro-level peak performance from Park Chan-seong.
"You don't have to protect your team perfectly. But don't make the call that kills your aggression when the chance comes. That's killing your potential—and wiping out the strengths I saw in you. Got it?"
It was solid feedback.
People often wrote themselves off before even trying, calculating and quitting ahead of time.
But that was the worst mindset. It set artificial limits, pruning talent before it could bloom.
To Siwoo, Shin Seung-hyun seemed to guard against that above all else.
No wonder he had a rep for great player development. The nickname wasn't for nothing.
"Yes..."
Park Chan-seong, oblivious, just nodded repeatedly, mumbling his agreement.
"Yeah, don't get down on yourself. It's just the first game of the season—no need to rush."
Shin Seung-hyun patted his shoulder.
"When you think it's time to go for it, commit hard. Don't rely on the others. That's the one thing you never do. Got it?"
"Yes..."
"Alright, let's do this. Feedback over! Siwoo and Su-hyuk were great, Ho-jong nailed that choke point, Yong-taek's heal focus was spot-on! Let's take the next set too!"
"Yes!"
Clap!
Shin Seung-hyun clapped his hands.
"Okay! Let's go, go! Siwoo, want a banana?"
"Nah, I'm good. Empty stomach feels better."
"Alright? Guess I'll eat it then."
As Shin Seung-hyun peeled his banana behind them, Siwoo glanced at Park Chan-seong.
He still looked deflated. No way he'd play properly like that...
Hmm.
A drop in ally performance bred doubt, and doubt led straight to defeat.
He knew from teaming up with friends in the Series Cup. Overlant got called an 'attacker carry fest,' but no one won solo.
How could you win with a teammate doubting himself before trusting the team? Siwoo couldn't just leave Park Chan-seong like that.
"Hyung."
"Y-yeah?"
Park Chan-seong jolted up at Siwoo's call.
"No one's gonna curse you out for messing up. The only ones left are people giving feedback on how to improve. Keep that in mind."
"R-right..."
No telling if it'd help, but he hoped so.
Set 2.
Event: Deathmatch.
Stack points by killing the enemy—first to the target wins.
Shortest game time of any mode, with bloodthirsty intensity that even drained the viewers.
The map: Eternal Base.
Fair for non-attackers, but enabled stealth behind structures, with towers galore making it sniper heaven.
Agile assassin or close-range attackers? Nope—space gravity slowed everything down.
Hence, sniper healers and snipers thrived here.
And Kaiserst had league-top sniper healer Kim Yong-taek, praised for godlike aim-scanning and quick reads.
Plus the Series Cup dominator, the league's top prospect—Lee Siwoo.
On their home turf? It was...
...overwhelming.
Kaiserst was playing violently.
Siwoo was at the center, naturally.
Not a single miss—pure perfection. He toyed with the enemy relentlessly.
The viewers were in full party mode over his performance.
From a fan's view, a superstar's rise was always welcome.
That moment, Siwoo perched on an antenna hurled himself off. Force Enhancement propelled him wall-running, then he fired his grapple hook—like a movie hero soaring through the air.
And...
Bang—!
The game tipped completely.
They'd narrowed angles and fronted the defender to escape the sniper's picks—but Siwoo mocked them, soaring high for the hook shot.
"Insane..."
"...This guy's a wall."
"That psycho?!"
EG's players were speechless. How do you counter a sniper owning the skies? Physics said no.
Pros, coaches could analyze eventually, maybe—but Siwoo was a debut rookie. No time for that.
As casters said, Siwoo's hook shot was peak bullshit. 100% accuracy ruling the skies? GG.
The game ended.
Time: 17 minutes, 8 seconds.
Way under the 25-minute Deathmatch average.
Kaiserst escaped their endless losing streak.
The chat was pure chaos.
Dormant Kaiserst fans wailed like Koreans celebrating independence in '45, drunk on a long-overdue win.
Debut match.
Score: 2-0.
Perfect victory.