Chapter 231. Wall (3)
The match between High Protein and Balloon Stars ended in a 2-0 defeat for Balloon Stars.
Commentary proceeded from the broadcasting booth to fill the time for selecting the POG (Player of the Game).
"OrangeKing, today's match was Balloon Stars' first defeat. What do you think?" the caster emphasized Balloon Stars' first defeat and lamented the fact.
"Hm," OrangeKing briefly stroked his chin. "Someone was bound to taste their first defeat today. It just happened to be Balloon Stars. However..."
"The difference in skill was clear."
"Indeed! Just looking at the score shows that!"
The score clearly showed the difference in kills and caught the audience’s attention.
"What was the issue?"
"I wouldn’t normally point out which lane had a big gap in skills if this was the pro league, but this is an in-house tournament. Considering that skill gaps are inevitable, I'll speak about it."
"Seeing that OrangeKing is laying down such groundwork, I'm excited for what harsh words you’re about to say!"
— The LIL Grim Reaper is back!
"I'll tell you straight! Mid!"
— What did you say, OrangeKing?!
— From now on, you're just an orange.
— From now on, you're a worthless orange.
— How dare you critique Miho as mid?
Not just the chat, but jeers also erupted from the audience.
"Did Miho make a mistake? Is that it, OrangeKing?"
"No, no. That's not it."
"It doesn't seem like it!"
OrangeKing scratched his chin once and started talking faster by threefold to survive.
"It's not that. There’s naturally a skill gap between Miho and SweetRadish. How Balloon Stars overcomes this is key to victory. In my opinion, they need to find other strategies. I’m anticipating…"
OrangeKing finished what he had to say in almost forty seconds instead of five minutes.
— Please take a breath.
— Did he increase his talking speed using an item?
"Ah, OrangeKing. You didn't use any items just now, did you?"
"No, it's purely my physical ability."
The caster also smiled back and moved on to the next point, "Anyway, both teams did very well! They advanced to the playoffs as the top two seeds!"
"Yes, Balloon Stars still has a direct ticket to the semifinals even though they lost today. They've already secured at least a bronze medal! They won't be feeling too bad!"
— For real. Advancing to 2nd in the playoffs is already a big deal
— It was obvious they would lose... ㅠㅠ
— Just bringing Bubblegum to this point is another level. Don't you know?
The analyst also added, "The other players in Balloon Stars are also improving as the tournament progresses. The top lane's skill level is the same, but Miho and StrawberryShooter have significantly improved. Of course, they couldn't fully show off their skills against SweetRadish."
— The top is honestly the same. LOL
— Gum bro, don't rise up or you won't be able to broadcast;
— Chewing hard to maintain his skill level!
OrangeKing nodded, "Yes, everyone is doing well. They’ve advanced to second place in the playoffs, right?"
The caster interjected and explained, "Ah, for those who may not know the rules in this tournament, sixteen teams compete in a league to enter the playoffs."
The caster pointed to the back screen as he spoke, "Starting from the playoffs, you're out if you lose once. The top teams are ranked from first to fifth based on league performance. Then the fourth and fifth-ranked teams will compete. That winner faces the third-ranked team, and so on!"
"Yes, so right now, High Protein is guaranteed at least the silver medal, and BalloonStars would get at least bronze."
"If Balloon Stars wins against a team from below, then they'll face High Protein again, right?"
“They could have another strategy prepared for the playoffs since they've been playing comfortably so far."
OrangeKing was quite sharp as a former veteran in the pro league. He pointed out that Balloon Stars hadn’t faced any particular difficulties in the in-house tournament. He also knew from experience that such teams usually had something prepared.
"Normally, you prepare for the future when you have leisure. Balloon Stars had some leisure."
"But isn't that also true for High Protein?"
"Ah, yes, of course. Still, the tricks prepared by a weaker team tend to be scarier. Gentlemen don't just go around stabbing with spears, do they?"
— What a comparison, LOL
"Well, that concludes the league matches. We'll see you again in the playoffs. Oh, and tomorrow! Tune in for some fun content prepared for the teams that have made it to the playoffs!"
"Yes! There will be team dinners and an opportunity to watch all the streamers' mukbang!"
Ju-Hyeok watched up to this point and closed the broadcasting window. He rubbed his chin with a rather serious expression.
"....Hmm. They lost."
Frankly, he couldn't really feel it yet since they always won. Sang-Hyeon wasn't a pro gamer. He was just a streamer, but Ju-Hyeok thought to himself, 'That guy probably feels worse.'
Sang-Hyeon’s competitiveness was second to none. This would likely depress him. Therefore, Ju-Heok blinked for a while at the unopened capsule.
'Are they in the middle of a feedback session?'
There was no way to know since every member of Balloon Stars still wasn’t broadcasting.
'Did Tako get angry?'
Finally, the capsule opened around 10 P.M. The game had ended a while ago, but Sang-Hyeon's top was still damp.
It was strange for Sang-Hyeon to continue sweating during a feedback session. He should’ve been dry by now due to Aston's ventilation capabilities.
Ju-Hyeok asked him, "What's up? Did you do something else?"
"Yeah, I practiced a bit more. We can't lose in the playoffs."
Sang-Hyeon wiped his sweat with his clothes and faintly smiled.
He looked tired, but didn't seem to be in a bad mood. It looked like a refreshing scene with a mountain climber who just finished climbing.
Ju-Hyeok felt awkward that he had been unnecessarily worried and adjusted his glasses. Predicting that guy's mental state was difficult for someone like him.
"So, does winning look possible?"
"Um..." Sang-Hyeon slightly tilted his head.
Before, he confidently answered that their goal was to win. However, saying that their goal was to win was different from acknowledging if that was even possible.
"It's a bit iffy," Sang-Hyeon enigmatically replied and went to the bathroom with a towel.
An article appeared on LIL Pro.
[Playoff Roster Confirmed!]
The post had a simple title with simple content. Which team advanced to first place, and which teams were eliminated... A chart with explanations summed up everything.
Most of the online comments mentioned Balloon Stars and Solo Is Back. Their performances were the most unexpected.
— I guess it is possible to reach the top 2 with Bubblegum.
— This is the snowball effect from Tako shaving his head!
└ Tako's head is a snowball?!
— Of course, they're going to do well. Almond came in as a silver, but now he's basically a challenger!
└ Challenger?! Get out of here.
└ Didn't you see him destroy BlackTea???
└ He beat BlackTea's main champion, and you guys are still not seeing how good he is?
— Wow, they're right beneath High Protein??
— Damn, ForeverAlone! Third place!!
— Where's Green Tea Bagging?
Most comments expressed surprise at how Balloon Stars placed so high. Because of this, several comments followed.
[The true winners of the tournament: Balloon Stars]
[The real winner is Almond even if he doesn't win.]
[For real. This guy destroyed everyone, starting from silver to challenger...]
[Almond proved that Kingdom is the best game.]
[The best silver, Almond]
[Tako shaving actually makes a difference]
The scrolling finger stopped.
"The best silver? Pfft," Miho smiled while checking the community's reactions.
"Wow. The reactions to us are pretty good. This much on LIL Pro is huge, right?"
Beside her was Bubblegum. He sipped his beer and continued, "The reaction is good, but it's a miracle that my team even brought me this far. Right?"
Miho burst into laughter at Bubblegum's self-mocking words.
— Bubble boys are like that.
— Bubblegum knows his skill level too well even though he doesn't play as good.
The chat window scrolled up as Miho laughed. She zoomed the camera in, smiled, and moved on to the next person.
"Oppa, share your thoughts too. The tournament warrior who returned after shaving his head! Takoyaki!"
Tako rose with a furious expression when Miho touched his head.
"Hey! Touching a man's head is picking a fight!"
He wasn't genuinely angry at Miho. It was just one of his streaming gimmicks.
Sang-Hyeon was also sipping his beer from across the table. He was watching Tako and felt impressed that Tako was maintaining his streaming concept even in a pub.
Miho laughed and retorted, "Head? Where is it?"
"Not hair, my head! My head is still there!"
"Ah~ Oppa, do that thing. That thing."
Tako smoothed his own head. Then, he turned toward the camera and fired a finger gun.
"Your complex hairstyle is the reason for your defeat!"
He perfectly concluded as the lighting passed over his head.
"Puahahahaha!" Miho laughed uncontrollably.
They said they would express their true feelings, but were just exchanging pointless chatter. Live broadcasts were originally like that.
Sang-Hyeon grabbed a handful of almonds and looked at his phone.
[Current Viewers: 88k]
They all came to see Balloon Stars. Amazingly, this was only the individual viewer count for Almond’s chat room.
The chat went up too fast to read every single message.
— Say something, Almond~
— Miho, go to Almond!
This was the power of a joint stream and the privilege of a team in the playoffs. Many streamers participated in the in-house tournament for this.
'I can become famous too.'
The content for this stream was a playoff team's dinner party. They weren’t just casually holding phones and going live (Although Miho was walking around holding a camera. That was just part of the concept). There was a separate filming team.
A professional filming team from Treevy, producers, and writers were assigned separately to each participating team. Later, their content would go through editing and get uploaded to YouTube.
Their viewership would be quite considerable with all this production in mind. Advertisements were guaranteed with excellent sponsors.
Sang-Hyeon was currently drinking a beer sponsored by a famous manufacturer.
Companies were willing to spend large sums of money just to advertise. Players freely received such benefits just for winning, like audition programs in the entertainment industry.
Miho turned the camera to StrawberryShooter.
"Next is~ Strawberry oppa!"
"Hey, you should call me unnie."
"Next is Almond oppa!"
As if nothing happened, Miho quickly passed over StrawberryShooter and approached Almond.
"Oppa, how do you feel about participating in the playoffs?"
"Um... Just a moment."
Sang-Hyeon finished the beer he was drinking.
— Wow, he’s even snacking on almonds LOL
— Why is Almond eating almonds alone? Haha
— Wow, the beer advertisement is amazing.
— Indeed, an advertising dog
— Almond doesn't speak well
Comments about his personal snack went on for a while.
Then, Sang-Hyeon opened his mouth, "Pure Lager. Rakkle! Clear your frustrating daily life with one line!"
Miho became confused.
"The producer asked me to say this..."
The directors in the distance laughed. So did the chat room.
— Why do these words fit so well? LOL
— He checked the viewer count and advertised like a ghost. This nutcase
— When advertising, he speaks clearly
"Ah, oppa. Your feelings? You just did an advertisement, so you should talk about your feelings now."
— His tone drops as soon as he tries to talk about his feelings
— Will he talk about his feelings!?
— Almond's specialty: Cutting off the stream here, but now it's a joint stream, so he can't LOL