Playoff Results (Just Chatting)

On the second day of the exhibition, Kwitch was supposed to play twice in a single day, back to back—first KKT, then AFS.

AFS's no-show canceled that last match and left a pocket of spare time, so Kwitch pulled forward the feedback session they had originally set for Monday and ran it the same day.

That opened up the Monday they had meant to spend reviewing both matches, and unlike the two teams bracing for the playoffs, they got to enjoy a day off sweet as honey.

Well. It was hard to say that everyone enjoyed the holiday.

Kwitch had already punched their ticket to the final, so unlike the other two teams they had room to breathe, and they could take the week with an easy heart.

"Good work again today~"

That didn't mean they had spent the whole week doing nothing but rest.

"Yeah..."

"Heh. Oldboy, we're going to have to build that stamina up. You do know the final's a best of five, right? Feedback in thirty, after a break."

Kwitch, no less than AFS and KKT, still had to grind scrims.

"Ugh, seriously, what am I supposed to do in the final..."

The playoff was set for Saturday, and the final was the very next day. Sunday.

"Wouldn't it be fine if we win 3–0?"

"I mean, you're not wrong, but... haah. I still need to get my stamina up. If it goes all five, I might just collapse."

The team we had just scrimmed was KKT. Not only that match—the entire week of scrims had been packed, start to finish, with KKT.

We had meant to scrim AFS as well, but...

"Looks like AFS is practicing in solo queue again today."

"And who would they even play? Pravengers already got knocked out. They're not going to do them the favor."

Spax had opposed it so fiercely that we never gave AFS a single scrim, and AFS, left drifting on its own, couldn't find a partner.

NPT was already eliminated and had no reason to indulge them, and KKT wouldn't want to leak their plans by scrimming the opponent they were about to meet.

Skill for skill, we didn't lose to AFS, which made us their ideal scrim partner—and it let us keep our own plans from leaking to the team most likely to reach the final.

"I don't know... is it really okay to leave them like that?"

Isolating them felt a little pitiful, but they had brought it on themselves. Who was it that turned down every scrim request we sent ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠during the group stage?

"Just ignore them. We do our job, and we do it well."

If AFS reached the final, then the first match between AFS and Kwitch would be the final itself.

The viewers' anticipation would only swell, and in a sense the canceled main event had been replaced by a brilliant finale fit to close the exhibition.

"Eunha, you asleep?"

"Huh? No?"

"You weren't saying anything. You've been really quiet lately."

I had more weighing on me these days, and without noticing I had started spacing out.

"But isn't Eunha usually quiet anyway?"

"Is she? Maybe I'm imagining it. It's nothing, Eunha."

Get it together. The exhibition isn't even over.

If we lost because I couldn't focus, I would be far too much of a burden on them.

"All right, everyone rested? Into the feedback we go~"

"Ah, no..."

"Can I really not have just ten more minutes...?"

"Nope~ Keep this up and next time we do feedback the second the scrim ends, got it?"

"Tsk..."

"Ah! Pilluelo closes it out and ends the game! GG!"

"And there it is! AFS takes KKT down, 2–0!"

"There was that incident on the last day of the group stage, and word was their scrim prep wasn't even in order, but AFS showed a performance worthy of the expectations."

"Exactly! Pilluelo especially. He was right at the center of that incident, so I thought his mental might shake, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but there's none of that."

"This was Pilluelo as usual. And what is Pilluelo, if not this? Overwhelming firepower. Aggression sharp enough to draw blood. KKT had no answer for him at all."

The match everyone had been waiting for—the last game of the exhibition's group stage, Kwitch against AFS—had been a no-show from Pilluelo, and he had caught a fair share of abuse for it, even if not as much as the substitute, Skyudang.

In the end he proved himself against KKT, and in a single stroke he flipped the mood of the AFS viewers who had been burning over the no-show.

"Last time KKT showed us something that could actually threaten AFS, so a lot of people had high hopes today, but AFS's wall was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠high after all."

"That's right. I think we can sum both maps up as AFS dominating. Let's meet the MVP!"

"MVP is Pilluelo, of course. A performance truly worthy of an ace."

"Which means the matchup so many of you have been waiting for—AFS and Kwitch finally meet in the final. Their first meeting of the 2023 exhibition is the final itself, so the anticipation is enormous."

Because of AFS's no-show, the two teams had never once met in the exhibition.

They hadn't met in the scrims either. AFS refused at first, and afterward Kwitch refused, so the first time they would face each other was the final—the exhibition's last match.

The showdown between the two sides everyone had slotted as the exhibition's top two was on.

"Then let's hear from our MVP, Pilluelo!"

"Yes, we're connected. Hello, Pilluelo?"

"Ah. Can you hear me?"

"Yes, loud and clear. You looked outstanding today. How satisfied are you with your own performance?"

"Ah, honestly I made quite a few mistakes today, so... I'd give myself about a six out of ten."

"I'm sorry? A six?"

"Haha. If I ever put up a ten, I'd be knocking on a pro team's door, wouldn't I?"

"Kwitch will be waiting in the final. It's your first meeting this exhibition, so the feeling must be something else. How are you feeling?"

"Mm... ah, is it all right if I'm honest?"

"Haha. As long as it won't get the broadcast in trouble, go ahead."

"...Excuse me?"

"Honestly, if I hadn't had that situation that day, I think our team just would've won. Seemed like you were dodging scrims to keep us in check. And now we meet anyway?"

"...Yes. Confidence worthy of Pilluelo himself!"

"Oh, and I've got one more thing to say. A lot of you seem excited for a Korea rank one versus Asia rank one showdown, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Nebula only tasted rank one for a minute, and I'm still number one on Korea, aren't I? So it isn't really a rank-one match, is it..."

"Yes, yes! That was Pilluelo, main entry for AFS's Sprout Patrol!"

Before he could say anything more, the casters hurried to cut the line.

"Well. A player as unrestrained as the rumors promised..."

"Haha... a very distinct character, truly. Anyway, that was the playoffs, spent with all of you, and tomorrow at two we'll be back with the final—today's winner, AFS's Sprout Patrol, against the group-stage winner, Kwitch's Youngest and Oldest. Take care!"