Perfect Scrim (5)
taGar Headquarters.
Shin Hyerim, Purple's dedicated reporter, couldn't take her eyes off the monitor.
"Wow..."
Her coverage target, Purple, was performing so well on screen that exclamations ca out involuntarily.
But soon, she flinched and glanced to the side.
"Ah, sorry. I'm sure you're busy."
She wasn't the only one monitoring the scrim match. Beside Shin Hyerim, another reporter was quickly typing away on their keyboard.
"No, it's fine. I can multitask at this level."
Shin Hyerim casually glanced at the monitor next to her. The words he was typing appeared rapidly on the screen.
"Wow... You can write up content right as you're watching. I always get confused when I try."
"Haha, thank you. But compared to the seniors here, I'm still considered slow."
"Really? As expected, professional reporters are different."
Nodding, Shin Hyerim took in her surroundings.
She wasn't at her own Influencer team workstation.
'Everyone sure looks busy during tournant season.'
This was the dedicated office of "Mystic League," the largest of the online ga teams.
"Thank you so much. You must be busy with MCK, but you still made ti for ..."
"Of course I should."
At her renewed thanks, the reporter smiled.
"We got help from you during the Elephant interview article. What goes around, cos around, right?"
He then slid his chair slightly back and continued.
"I've wrapped up the write-up. Would you like to check it over?"
"Oh, yes, please!"
Shin Hyerim quickly read through the docunt, absorbing the neatly organized content.
'That's right, first Blood! They created a kill play by sacrificing Geno early, which started the snowball effect.'
The first official death champion was Shaka, Geno. But since he had died to a turret, none of the LattePro mbers claid the champion kill reward.
By contrast, Purple successfully defeated Caffeine and took the reward.
'Yeah, ecl perford surprisingly well as a sub-champion, too.'
While Caffeine resurrected, the jungler filled in mid lane. Thanks to that, the balance of the top lane collapsed.
Eclipse, in his first real match in Kaiser Mode, showed skills so polished it was hard to believe it was his first ti.
'Caffeine had no choice but to watch out for Shaka's ganking, and ultimately bought extra wards.'
Caffeine didn't fall for the sa trick twice. But such preparation inevitably required extra resources. anwhile, Purple still managed to grow safely without any wards.
The result was that the gap between mid laners grew ever wider.
'He helped out with tily roaming and buff creep leash. Originally, that's what the bottom duo would be doing.'
With so breathing room, Purple left his lane and helped Geno hunt buff creeps. After receiving the buff, Geno supported the bottom lane, which had been on the weaker side, restoring equilibrium.
'Just like Purple said. Both Geno and Caffeine died, but the value difference was huge.'
The value of the traded lives early on was not equal; the resulting gap decided the ga's outco.
Shin Hyerim again clapped in admiration.
"Wow, you've summarized everything so clearly! I have a lot to learn from this."
"Oh, it's nothing."
As Shin Hyerim downloaded the file, the reporter added a word.
"Um, reporter Shin? Could you stay just a little longer?"
"Yes?"
"It's just... if you're here, I get to rest a bit longer."
He whispered softly, and Shin Hyerim nodded gently. The office was bustling; as soon as she left, he'd be given more work.
"This CrazySmurf this ti is pretty unusual."
Still, since it would be awkward just to space out, they segued into talking about the tournant.
"Normally, the MCK is the main event, and CrazySmurf is like a fun bonus after the league ends."
"Oh, that's right. But this ti feels different."
"Seems like the higher-ups are taking it much more seriously. They even want us to analyze it almost like a semi-pro league."
Shin Hyerim rolled her eyes and nodded. It was true—CrazySmurf was always popular, but it had never been scrutinized so deeply.
"But it's unavoidable. Audience numbers are drastically different from last year."
"How many viewers did it get last year?"
"At that ti, the average was about 15,000. That's for the main event—scrims didn't even hit 10,000."
For an amateur tournant, that was quite a lot. But it still paled compared to this year.
"But now, even for just a scrim match, there are almost 70,000 viewers! And that's including international viewers, too."
"Wow, 70,000. Even hearing it again, it doesn't feel real. No wonder the higher-ups decided we had to write articles."
It wasn't even the main tournant, just practice scrims; yet 70,000 people gathered. Naturally, where people gathered, the dia followed.
"In the end, the status of a tournant isn't decided by the hosts, but by the consurs—the viewers."
Shin Hyerim smiled with a sense of pride she couldn't quite explain.
"And this year, the one person who's been dragging all those viewers around is competing."
Her eyes returned to her monitor. On the frozen screen was a mage holding a card.
"I'm telling you, Purple Coin isn't just a joke."
Strear Purple—wherever he went, the prestige followed.
* * *
Last year's CrazySmurf champions, money Damas.
They gathered together in a studio to watch the broadcast.
〈And that's the end of the scrim!〉
〈Thanks for your hard work, everyone.〉
Geno, caffeine, and the rest of the team greeted each other.
"Wow..."
"So that's how it ends up."
The team mbers muttered in awe. PerG-Day and LattePro's scrim result was...
〈A 3:0 sweep—looks like we need to ramp up our preparations.〉
PerG-Day had scored an overwhelming victory with three straight wins. Yet Caffeine didn't look fazed at all.
[-LattePro really did play well though, lol]
[-PerG-Day was just too strong, that's what it cos down to]
[-???: There's nothing shaful about losing to a strong opponent]
[-How is Ecl so good on Kaiser?]
[-He is a Wraith Knight after all~]
[-Surprisingly, today Choo-nom was Geno]
[-As expected, only if you grind Black Company workers to the bone do you get the real results!]
[-What do you an, "is Geno freshly ground"? LOL]
[-How many highlight monts are there in this scrim, seriously, lol]
[-There were three gas, so three highlights maybe?]
[-No, each ga was packed with highlights, for real]
The chat was full of praise for both teams, even though it was Purple's stream.
With the gas over, there was no more reason to keep watching. Team leader Donkak turned off the stream and looked at his teammates.
They all wore serious expressions, clearly shaken by what they'd seen.
"What's with the mood? Already getting cold feet?"
He tried to lighten the mood with a joke, but it didn't quite work.
"Seriously, is now the ti for jokes?"
"Co on, honey, I'm just kidding! You all got way too serious, isn't that right, brother-in-law?"
"Uh, hyung, I really can't defend this."
"Yeah, hyung, this isn't the ti for jokes."
"LattePro getting swept 3-0 isn't just your everyday thing."
Donkak pursed his lips at his teammates' responses.
Money Damas had a quirk: its mbers were actually a family and their relatives.
"Hey, maybe LattePro was just saving their strength?"
"Oh? That's possible. Strategically hiding their real skills."
"No, no way."
Donkak imdiately waved his hands in denial. All eyes turned to him.
"With other teams, sure, but not against PerG-Day. You can't hold back against PerG-Day."
"Why them? What makes them different?"
"Think about why Caffeine is so famous. That sharp ga sense, and their analysis using that sense! That's what they're known for."
Donkak rolled his eyes as he spoke. As a passionate Mystic League fan, he rembered Caffeine's pri.
"But where does good analysis co from? From good data. If you just fool around against PerG-Day, you don't get accurate data."
"So to get their best, you have to give your best, is that it?"
"Exactly! Knew you'd get it right away, brother-in-law."
Donkak laughed heartily, though the mood was still somber.
"So, will the main match have the sa result as the scrim?"
"I can't say for sure."
He shrugged at his younger brother's question.
"LattePro, plus Alpha—who knows what they'll bring?"
"Wait, hyung, if you really don't know, what's the point of analyzing?"
"Oh, co on. What did I say? Accurate data leads to proper analysis. There's sothing we know for sure from this scrim, right?"
At that, everyone's eyes widened. Donkak turned the stream back on.
"Even when neither team had much intel, PerG-Day outmaneuvered the others. No matter what the other teams prepare..."
He turned his head.
The stream had already ended, and only the channel logo was on display.
"PerG-Day is likely to have an answer ready."
The favorite to advance to the playoffs from Group A was PerG-Day.
* * *
A few days later.
All scrim schedules for Group A and every other group had concluded.
Finally, official match week arrived, and countless viewers flocked to Riot Gas' official channel.
― It's finally starting, lol
― That was the longest week ever, seriously, lol
― I couldn't have survived the wait without the scrims, lol
― Why did Group A only get one scrim?! Boo!
― But the scrim quality was sothing else, right?
― For real, group A's VODs are more fun than most ranked streams
― At least Group D had Money Damas so that made it worth watching
― The other groups are good, but honestly, group A's scrim is on another level, lol
As the chat filled with chatter, caster Wanggeom and the analysts arrived to greet the audience.
"Today! It's finally here! The day everyone's been waiting for—CrazySmurf is starting now!"
"Yes, that's right. Did you all catch the scrim matches?"
"Wow, it was insane! Wanggeom, what you said before was spot-on. This really is a record-breaking tournant!"
The three reminisced lightly about last week as they raised the hype. Soon, wanggeom raised his hand for attention.
"Excuse , can I confess sothing here?"
"A confession?"
"Out of nowhere? Well, let's hear it."
He clasped his hands and bowed his head in mock seriousness.
"You see, I'm the caster. I don't have to analyze as much as the analysts. So usually, I don't keep up with scrims."
The two analysts exchanged glances—how were they supposed to respond to this?
But Wanggeom didn't wait for them.
"But I said it! This tournant is really once-in-a-lifeti! You'll regret it for years if you miss it! That's why this ti, I watched every single scrim, no exceptions!"
"Ah, that's what you wanted to say!"
"Honestly, I thought we were about to have a broadcast accident! Wanggeom, give us a heads up for that kind of thing!"
― What's with the real excitent, lol
― That's the Wang Myung-su I know!
― On the verge of crossing the line, lol
― A guy who's like a shot of Sozhou in the caster world...
― Ah, lol, you gotta get tipsy fast
Wanggeom saw the reactions in chat and raised both hands.
"Of course, I'm joking. I always keep up with the scrims, even in past tournants! Knowing the scrims gives plenty to talk about."
"Yes, that's right. Seeing how teams respond, why they use these strategies—a lot of that cos out in scrims."
"In that sense, honestly, you can't predict Group A. Really! If you've seen them, you know—can you even call this a scrim? Makes you wonder."
The chat filled with 'agree's and 'for real, lol's at the analysts' comnts.
"I couldn't watch live because of work, but when I heard the viewer numbers after, I was shocked."
"Oh, sa here! Seventy thousand—it's just not believable. At first I thought they ant seven thousand; I even doubted my ears!"
"Honestly, at this level, you could call it a semi-pro league and not exaggerate! Are any sponsors watching!? Could our pay, perhaps..."
Wanggeom joked, making the analysts laugh.
"That's just Wanggeom's personal opinion!"
"I'm satisfied with my pay!"
"Obviously a joke! But the results were unexpected, right? When we released the group draw, we called Group A the Group of Death—but the wins and losses were decisive."
"Yes, just so no one's confused, group A scrims only had five gas! Five gas total, and one team swept."
"That's right. PerG-Day went five wins, zero losses. That's a first in CrazySmurf scrim history!"
Wanggeom nodded and checked the ti. The pre-match warmup ti requested by the organizers wasn't quite over yet.
"And that's not all that was surprising. The two teams that played against PerG-Day—Plus Alpha and LattePro—didn't scrim at all!"
"Yes, that's right. It's not really a problem; scrims are at each team's discretion. But we've never seen this before."
"Just that alone tells you both teams are wary of PerG-Day. I'm sure they ca to so sort of agreent—and that deal was probably to buy more prep ti against PerG-Day."
Plus Alpha and LattePro did not play scrims. No one knew the exact reason, but you could make an educated guess.
"Makes you wonder—were there ever this many amateur tournants with this much fierce preparation?"
"Exactly. With these viewing numbers, this level of competition between teams, the mind gas—it's just not your average amateur tournant!"
"I daresay, after this year, we'll talk about CrazySmurf as 'before' and 'after' this tournant."
Wanggeom nodded again and checked the ti. Now it was almost ti to begin the real show.
"All right, crazySmurf, loved by so many! We'll now kick off the first match in earnest. The excitent hasn't stopped since the start!"
"Yes, it's the deadly Group A! The intense battles among these top teams, we're in for a real treat."
"Based on scrims alone, PerG-Day's domination is clear, but no one knows what's changed since then."
As the analysts smoothly took over, the viewers followed their lead.
― It's wild, all the secret scrim practice, lol
― Plus Alpha is probably really going all-in, lol
― LattePro didn't stream, probably so they wouldn't reveal strats, lol
― Huh? But PerG-Day stread scrims the whole ti?
― Ah, you don't know about Purple confidence, do you?
The other two teams shut off their streams to hide strategies, but PerG-Day kept doing five-man collab broadcasts.
Most took that as a sign of confidence, but so weren't so sure.
― Or maybe it's all for show?
― What if Geno gets kicked?
― For real, lol, no one saw the position swaps coming
― Don't underestimate a Black Company strategy, lol
― Seriously, anything could happen in this tournant
As the chat bubbled with rowdy anticipation, wanggeom confird a ssage.
"All right! Both teams are ready to go now."
"Finally, it's starting! The historic opening match of CrazySmurf!"
"The CrazySmurf kickoff! Let's head in to et our stars!"
The analysts' words drew everyone's attention.
And in that mont, amidst all the anticipation—
"When you think of a tournant opener, you think of this man! Purple, on the PerG-Day team!"
"What kind of return will they show us? Don't underestimate the training of soone with an athletic background! The dalist Pride leads Team Plus Alpha!"
"The first Group A match: PerG-Day vs. Plus Alpha! Plus Alpha vs. PerG-Day!"
The match between PerG-Day and Plus Alpha had begun.
User Comments
0 comments from readers