58 The Regionals Without Me (2/2)
”We, of course,” Howard answered matter-of-factly. So, in the end, the first string went 3-2, which made the second string's 4-1 unnecessary. Yuel stressed so much over getting that 4-1, but it didn't even matter in the end. He felt cheated.
”Gotta admit though,” Howard said. ”It was close. Good thing you got that 4-1 as a backup.”
”Yes, after somebody pressured me about it to death.”
”Haha, did I press too hard? My bad.” Howard said that, but there was as nothing apologetic about his smirk. ”Well, rejoice. You passed the test with flying colors.”
”What test?” Thinking of it, when they talking about subbing Lars in, Howard said: [”Consider this a test your future depends on.”] And, Gilbert also mumbled something along these lines. ”You never told me what this 'test' is about.”
”You'll find out.”
”When, exactly?” Yuel frowned.
”After we win the championship.” Howard grinned.
”That's some confidence. How are our chances?”
”We're in a pretty good spot for the regionals, at least,” Howard said. ”I mean, we just beat the team that's favored to represent the region. That's not too shabby, right? Haha.”
”You lost 0-2 to them at first, though.”
”You're a real party popper, anybody ever told you that?” Howard shook his head. ”But, you're right. We only ended up winning because it was a best of five. It's tough to beat them 2-1, but if it's 3-2 we got a decent chance. Gotta pray we'll only meet them at the finals.”
”So it seems.” Yuel nodded. In the regionals, all matches were best-of-three, except for the finals which were best-of-five. They're bound to run into Leopards as long as they keep winning, so it's best if that happens in the finals.
That's where the seeding system came into play. If StormBlitz and Leopards get first and second seeds, they're bound to meet only at the finals.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. StormBlitz managed to secure first seed, but for some reason, the Leopards only secured fourth seed. After the scrimmage against StormBlitz, the Leopards lost most of their subsequent scrimmages.
Was it on purpose? Did their coach order them to lose so they avoid meeting StormBlitz at the finals? It sounded like a stretch, but it's hard to put anything past Fernando Rodriguez. After all, he's the man who came up with an unconventional strategy like the mixup to increase the chances of winning best-of-three games.
Aron and Howard spied on one of the scrimmages and Yuel tagged along. The lineups the Leopards used there were quite different from the ones Howard played against. There was also an abnormal amount of subs during that scrimmage. The only consistent element was Fenrir, the team captain. He was the one player who had never been subbed out.
Were they experimenting with new formations for the tournament? Perhaps their coach was preparing a special strategy to deal with StormBlitz.
The most surprising part of the scrimmage was when ComboBreaker and Freezer were subbed in. Could it be this scrimmage was used to test them? After all, they were capable players. Being stuck in the second string definitely didn't suit somebody of Breaker's caliber.
[Are they being given a chance to become starters?] Yuel clasped his hands. He played against these two. His team even won 4-1. And yet, Breaker and Freezer were apparently given a chance to prove they were fit for the first string, whereas Yuel was stuck in the second string. As a mere rookie, there was no hope for him this year.
[No, that's not important right now.] Yuel shook his head. He came here to observe the scrimmage, not to lament his situation. Besides, it's possible the coach just used this scrimmage to give Breaker and Freezer some practical experience, a thing both of them seemed to previously lack.
Either, the two of them put on a solid performance. Breaker played Pirate, but she was an entirely different beast compared to when she faced Lars. Her movements were as refined as ever, but now she also knew how to adapt to unforeseeable situations on the fly.
”RELEASE THE-!” The Pirate began yelling, then stopped. There's no telling whether the enemy Elf intended to dodge the Kraken in the last second, but Breaker didn't care to check. All she wanted was to startle the enemy with the threat of an incoming Kraken.
While her opponent was momentarily fazed by this development, Breaker closed the distance with Backfire Cannon. One slash. Two slashes. The Elf took two hits before finally escaping with Elven Leap.
However, what awaited the Elf at his landing spot was a vicious Kraken. Breaker forced this sequence of plays to completely trap the Elf. The Kraken smacked the enemy into the ground and Breaker finished him off.
Breaker's plays were already polished before, but now they were also swift and brimmed with confidence. She must have gained a tremendous amount of practical experience over the last month. She was no longer a one-trick pony whose only dangerous weapon was combo. Right now, Breaker was an all-around powerhouse.
Similarly, Freezer also put on a surprisingly solid performance as Electromancer. All he did were mostly basic plays, but at least they no longer had any glaring flaws in them. He patiently applied Electric Charges via basic attacks, followed up with Chain Lightning for maximum hits and wrapped it up with Electrical Explosion. The minion wave was blown to pieces.
On top of that, Freezer also utilized Thunderstorm in the nastiest way possible. He always placed the storm in the center of the enemy's formation during team fights, forcing the enemies to scatter and break formation. This usually led to an easy team fight win.
Compared to how poorly Freezer played Electromancer last time, he truly improved a lot. Or rather, it's more like he was rusty before and now got back in shape. Combined with his sharp decision-making and his deadly ability to punish overextension, he was shaping into a tough opponent.
The Leopards ultimately lost 2-3. However, the two only games they won were the ones where Breaker and Freezer played.
So, did it mean these two really had a chance to be promoted to the first string? They definitely improved a lot since the last time Yuel played them. They were moving forward, chasing the competitive stage. Yet here Yuel was, still stuck in the second string like before. Ugh.
Before long, the regionals came around. StormBlitz pushed forward all the way to the semifinals, where they ran into the Leopards. Whether it was a calculated arrangement or purely bad luck, this best-of-three was an unwelcome matchup for StormBlitz.
Neither Breaker nor Freezer participated in the tournament until this point, so it's safe to assume they didn't make it into first string. Phew, that was good. Yuel felt a little bad for thinking this way, but he couldn't deny he was glad these two didn't make it into the first string. Because otherwise, he'd feel terrible for still being stuck in the second string-
”ComboBreaker!” The announcer shouted as he read the roster. ”A face we haven't seen this tournament yet! And a girl, no less! Is she Rodriguez's secret weapon!? Or, perhaps a special tech against StormBlitz!? After all, the Leopards lost to StormBlitz in a scrimmage earlier this year. Oh? I also hear she used to be the captain of the second string? That sounds promising!”
The announcer's loud words hammered Yuel. So, Breaker made it. Freezer wasn't in the roster, but Breaker made it. In just a span of a few months, she ascended into the first string. Even though she didn't get to play in every match, she still achieved way more than Yuel did, which was zilch. Nada.
And, Breaker didn't come on stage just to shock Yuel. She actually put on a lot of work during the StormBlitz vs. Leopards match, displaying her hyper-aggressive combo style in all its beauty. It proved quite effective against Howard's defensive composition. Defending was that much harder against an enemy who could blast you apart in an instant.
”Amazing!” The commentator shouted. ”From hundred to zero in an instant! To all you folks out there who call combo a 'meme', watch and learn!”
So much praise. So much attention. Even though Breaker wasn't necessarily the most amazing player in the match, the caster hyped her enough to make her look like a star. Her competitive debut was nothing short of dazzling.
Meanwhile, Yuel was downstairs in the audience. He was sitting in the shadows of the glimmering lights, unnoticed. The stage was right there in front of him, yet it felt like it's on the other side of the world.
This year, Yuel didn't make it there. It's Howard and Ellen fighting on that grand stage instead of him and Lars. They were appointed as substitutes, but that's only in case something were to happen to Howard or Ellen. In practice, they weren't considered part of the first string in any shape or form.
Worse of all, Howard and Ellen were juniors. They'll be around for another year and will keep overshadowing Yuel and Lars, stealing their spotlight on the competitive stage.
[No. Next year will be different.] Yuel swore to himself. For now, he had no choice but to admit defeat against Howard. However, next year he'll seize the Support role for sure! He'll no longer stay in the shadows.
Even at his current level, Yuel led a team to score 4-1 against a team led by Breaker. And, Breaker proved herself a strong player who had what it takes to reach the first string. So, Yuel definitely had what it takes to compete on that dazzling stage too. And the same went for Lars, who defeated Breaker multiple times.
They'll get there. Next year, they'll play on this same stage and facing strong teams. Next time, Yuel will lead a team to beat the Leopard's first string.
The StormBlitz vs. Leopards match concluded in three rounds. StormBlitz lost 1-2. As Howard predicted, beating the Leopards in a best-of-three was unlikely. It's impressive enough they won one game, largely thanks to Aron's strong late game.
Nevertheless, a loss was a loss. The regionals had a single elimination format, so StormBlitz was out of the tournament. Despite Howard talking big about winning the championship, they didn't even reach the nationals this year.
In the end, the Leopards won the regionals. However, even they didn't get all the way to the championship. They reached the semifinals of the nationals and were stopped there.
In other words, there were even stronger teams out there, waiting for Yuel on the national stage. He had to get there, no matter what. Next year, for sure! It'll be a long road, but the first step was clear: surpassing Howard as a Support.