Chapter 61: Semifinals (I); Please Beat Them to a Pulp
The cubs began using the samples sent by the brand immediately. They couldn’t put them down, and their water intake skyrocketed.
Their opponent for the Semifinals had also been determined: Team KVG.
This team was something of a legend. Three years ago, KVG fought their way up from the secondary league. They had poor results in their first season, but they rose rapidly in the second to secure the runner-up spot. Since then, they had remained a consistent Top-8 to runner-up team.
However, KVG’s reputation within the domestic region was quite poor. After the original veterans retired three years ago, KVG introduced two Korean imports. Those two imports had been exposed for various scandals, including sleeping with fans, online gambling, and insulting players’ parents in ranked matches. Every time, KVG would only give them a token fine of two months’ salary and continue to use them as starters.
The KVG fans had protested against the imports for countless rounds, but the KVG officials turned a deaf ear, causing many fans to turn into haters.
Now, the team had very few fans left; those who remained were notorious online trolls. Every time KVG had a match, 99% of netizens would support their opponent.
“Fugui, Wall—for this Semifinal against KVG, you two will be playing against the two Korean imports.”
Zuo Chi pulled up the replay of the Quarterfinal match between KVG and GO on his computer, focusing on the two imports.
The two imports were notorious and universally hated at home, but there was a reason KVG insisted on using them. They were twins, and they shared a unique synergy. Their skill chaining in matches was almost zero-frame, with AI-level reactions.
As long as there were results, KVG could get massive prize money. As for the online backlash—negative fame was still fame.
Fugui and Wall watched the replay beside him. As they watched, their expressions gradually grew solemn.
Wall signaled for him to replay the team fight again: “While one is still on the way, the other initiates with an Ult-Flash. By the time the follow-up arrives, the skills chain perfectly. Fugui and I… we probably can’t pull that off.”
“Have some confidence, Wall. We definitely can’t do that.” Fugui ruffled his hair. “Those bratty Xibas are actually pretty good. If we can’t beat them, will the netizens mock us as ‘Xiba Prisoners’?”
“Most likely. Anyway, the day GO lost to KVG, they were mocked as ‘Xiba Prisoners’ until it reached the trending searches. The GO players told me they haven’t dared to go online lately.”
Fugui: “Hiss—Wall, how about we do a crash course on synergy these few days?”
“There are only three days left until the Semifinals. Unless you two awaken some telepathic superpower, it’s impossible to achieve that level of synergy in such a short time. Even three months wouldn’t be enough,” Zuo Chi said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
The Korean twins had been playing together since the youth training camps. That kind of synergy was built over years; it couldn’t be rushed in three days.
“The synergy of the Korean twins is their strength, but it’s also a weakness we can exploit. Look at these two games from last year’s Autumn Split, the match between BLUE and KVG.”
“BLUE’s solo-laner used himself as bait, pretending to split-push alone to lure the twins into ganking him. In reality, two of BLUE’s members were counter-camping in the brush…” Wall’s tone held a hint of thoughtfulness. “They trust their synergy too much, which sometimes leads to them becoming decoupled from their teammates.”
“Fugui, I remember your acting skills have always been good.”
“Pretend I can’t beat them to lure them into killing me?”
“You can actually get killed once in the first wave. After losing to BLUE last Autumn, KVG likely reviewed and optimized their play. They rarely make that mistake now. You have to make them truly believe that you’re a weak link and that our VEX doesn’t have many schemes. Only then will they gank you frequently.”
Zuo Chi paused. “But if we lose… there will probably be a lot of backlash.”
Most netizens watching wouldn’t care if you died because of a team strategy or because you were just trash.
“As esports players, who hasn’t been flamed?” Fugui said with a grin, looking eager. “How about we schedule another training match with BLUE today? I’ll see if my acting can fool BLUE.”
While Fugui was showing off his acting in the training match, Zuo Chi went to the conference room with Manager Li to interview the new coaching staff members President Zhang had assigned to them.
Because they had been busy with the endorsement, the interviews had been pushed back until now.
The team was hiring for three positions: Data Analyst, Second-Team Coach, and Psychologist.
There were three candidates for each position. President Zhang didn’t care about the coaching staff matters; he only cared about paying the salaries. The final decision was up to them.
“Coach Zuo, how should we do this? Should I stay here while you go manage the players’ training? I can print out a summary of their statements for you later?”
“No need. Have each of them do a self-introduction, no more than five minutes each.”
Manager Li was stunned. “…Isn’t that a bit too casual?”
“It’s fine. I have my own way of picking people. Don’t worry.”
Manager Li sat back in his chair in the conference room, relieved.
[Position: Data Analyst. Black Entry: Spy Sent by the Enemy (The reason he was fired by his previous and second-to-last bosses was that he was secretly selling team data).]
The candidate was still rambling on.
Zuo Chi interrupted him calmly: “Sorry, you may leave.”
“But it was a three-minute self-introduction! I only spoke for thirty seconds! Coach Zuo, if you’re rejecting me, you should at least give me a valid reason!”
“You don’t suit my eye.”
“?”
[Position: Psychologist. Grey Entry: Fake Credentials (His degree was obtained through connections. He was a veterinarian in undergrad, and it’s unknown how he got his psychologist license).]
“Sorry, you may leave as well.”
“Why? I—”
“Doesn’t suit my eye.”
“?”
In less than half an hour, the conference room was nearly empty, leaving only the three chosen candidates.
[Position: Data Analyst. Name: Fang Tao. Purple Entry: Addicted to Scholarship (He is a pure soul, immersed in the ocean of data. Aside from data analysis, he ignores everything else).]
[Position: Psychologist. Name: Qiao An. Purple Entry: Spring Breeze and Rain (She has a gentle personality and excellent professional skills. Chatting with her can resolve many troubles. Why isn’t it a Golden Entry? Perhaps the system feels that with the Host around, VEX doesn’t really need a psychologist).]
[Position: Second-Team Coach. Name: Yu Qing. Purple Entry: Meticulous (He is very responsible. His coaching level is enough to be a head coach for many teams; being a second-team coach is more than enough).]
Zuo Chi confirmed the entries one last time, satisfied. He then received a message from Ning Luzhao, urging him to return for their match review.
[Land: Coach.] [Land: Stickers of five dogs waiting sitting down.jpg]
He stood up and shook hands with each of the chosen candidates: “Welcome to VEX. Manager Li will handle the contract and onboarding details with you. The players are preparing for the Semifinals, so I have to go first. My apologies.”
The three candidates watched in a daze as Coach Zuo left the conference room like a whirlwind.
“…Onboarding? Manager Li, are we just hired like that?”
Was a Top-4 team this easy to join?
They remembered the previous candidates looked quite upset when they left, and a few were even cursing. They thought the interview would be difficult, but after only thirty seconds of self-introduction, Coach Zuo had simply smiled and nodded.
Manager Li: “Well… as you might know from watching VEX’s matches, Coach Zuo has his own way of reading people. It’s hard to explain… anyway, welcome! The contracts are ready!”
The three new members entered their roles immediately after signing.
Dr. Qiao An mentioned she could also handle new media and took over the team’s Weibo directly. She even posted some of her previous edits—highlights of the cubs’ matches.
Coach Yu Qing went straight to the second-team training room.
Data Analyst Fang Tao sent over a massive file containing a detailed analysis of every team’s match data from the Spring Split so far. It included basic stats like KDA and Gold-to-Damage ratios, as well as average match duration, win rates for various time periods, dragon control rates, and steal rates.
It was very practical, but Zuo Chi didn’t have time to read everything. He first picked out the data for their own team and KVG.
Time always flew in the training room. Sometimes he’d blink and it would be broad daylight, and the next it was already one or two in the morning.
The first match of the Semifinals.
VEX vs. KVG.
[The battle for the first ticket to the World Championship! Will VEX’s rising flame keep burning, or will KVG become the first team with Korean imports to reach the Finals? Tonight at 8:00 PM, official livestream. A clash between tigers and dragons, starting on time!]
[If one of the spots for our region goes to a team with imports like KVG, I’m seriously going to explode with rage!]
[I’m not a VEX fan, but seeing the opponent is KVG… F*ck! VEX, please beat them to a pulp! I’m a ten-year VEX fan starting today!]
[Rational discussion: putting aside the character of those two Korean imports, is their skill enough to reach the Spring Split Finals and go to the World Championship?]
[Putting aside character? Why don’t you put aside your brain while you’re at it? Fan-sleeping, gambling, cyberbullying strangers… with all those buffs, if these people represent our country at the World Championship, I can’t afford to lose that face!]
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