Chapter 1063: Semifinalists
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
In the post-match interviews, Zhang Jiale was faced with many more sensitive questions as the MVP and Hundred Blossom"s ex-captain. Zhang Jiale was composed, only expressing his determination to win the champions.h.i.+ps.
For the champions.h.i.+ps, Zhang Jiale mercilessly crushes Hundred Blossoms...
The media, who always liked to twist things a little, had to write much drama into the topic. The match of the second day arrived amidst the clamour and discussion.
This match wasn"t as drama-filled as Tyranny versus Hundred Blossoms. Samsara still had Zhou Zekai as their ace and core, while Void, as always, had their Ghostblade Duo of Li Xuan and Wu Yuce. In the end, Zhou Zekai"s fast shooting broke through Void"s Ghostblade Duo and Team Samsara won their away game 11 to 8 against Void.
On the third day, it was Wind Howl versus Misty Rain. Wind Howl"s Zhao Yuzhe desperately wanted to become the Alliance"s number one Elementalist. In the Rookie Challenge, he had tried to imitate his captain, Tang Hao, challenging Misty Rain"s ace, Chu Yunxiu. Unfortunately, he lost in the end. The two teams were paired in the playoffs and, for Zhao Yuzhe, this was another good opportunity to prove himself. Unfortunately for him, he was far from being the star of the show. Tang Hao was undoubtedly the star of Wind Howl. They also had number two player Fang Rui. As the representative of playing dirty, how dirty he could play each match was always something people eagerly antic.i.p.ated seeing.
For Misty Rain, Chu Yunxiu had never been an extremely compet.i.tive person, so there wasn"t all that much to see about Zhao Yuzhe challenging her . Zhao Yuzhe"s ambitions had never aroused much attention. It was the beautiful twin sisters, Shu Keyi and Shu Kexing, that Misty Rain had dug up during the winter season who gained the most public attention. Team Misty Rain didn"t give them two new characters. They used the two male Sharpshooters that they had used originally in the game, Lower Your Head and None Dare Attack.
In the end, Team Misty Rain had three female players, yet not a single female character appeared on the field. The three characters played by the female players, Windy Rain, Lower Your Head and None Dare Attack, were all male characters.
Of course, after being equipped with pro level equipment, the strength of the two new characters had skyrocketed. In the latter half of the season, the twins had more and more chances to appear on the field. The two were both doing their best to get used to the pro circle and enter a better state. Everyone was wondering. Would these two become Misty Rain"s ace card in the playoffs?
Not disappointing everyone"s hopes, Shu Keyi and Shu Kexing ended up being a part of the starting lineup in the team compet.i.tion for their opening match of the playoffs. Unfortunately, they didn"t become the aces to Misty Rain"s victory, because Misty Rain seemed to have forgotten that Wind Howl had Fang Rui, a man who would die if he didn"t play dirty, and playing dirty was definitely the way to suppress noobs. The twins" first journey in the playoffs wasn"t a smooth one and Team Misty Rain lost 9 to 11 to Wind Howl in their home game.
Three matches of the first round of playoffs had gone by and what resulted was a flood of visiting teams winning home teams. It was on the fourth day that this status quo was finally broken. In the much-antic.i.p.ated Tiny Herb versus Blue Rain match, the home team, Team Blue Rain, finally won back some face for home teams and won 11 to 9 against the visiting team, Team Tiny Herb. These two teams were already archrivals. Now that both had spectacular rookies, this match was full of ups and downs, a wonderful experience for the audience. This match was definitely the most spectacular match amongst the opening round matches.
With the opening round coming to curtain call, next up was the second round. In the end, the first match of the second round was a totally unexpected victory for Team Hundred Blossoms who managed to win against Team Tyranny in a close call 11 to 9.
Team Hundred Blossoms hadn"t had any sort of obvious advantage throughout the match, but gave a performance full of persistence and desperation. The entire team was feeling the pressure. In this season, they hadn"t started out well and were plagued by criticism. It was good that they were able to catch the last bus to the playoffs after the big update. This achievement filled the team and fans with hope that they might be able to advance in the playoffs. Yet, the very first match was coincidentally against the team that Zhang Jiale had joined, the team that public opinion said was the most likely to be the champions, Team Tyranny. The fans all hoped that they would be shown their place.
But while hopes and dreams were wonderful, reality was cruel. In the first round, they lost their home game, bringing the Hundred Blossom fans back to that chilling season opening. Especially since Zhang Jiale had gotten the MVP for that match, that made things unbearably painful. However, Team Hundred Blossoms didn"t give up. They managed to surge up under this pressure and counter with a heavy blow to Tyranny on Tyranny"s home turf. There were no weak teams in the playoffs. The Hundred Blossom fans were proud of their team. Their tie with Tyranny was enough to make many media groups write the headlines of the following day as "The flouris.h.i.+ng resurgence of a Hundred Blossoms".
No such reversal appeared in the two matches of the next two days. Samsara defeated Void in their home game, Wind Howl took down the visiting Misty Rain, and the two teams were set as semi-finalists.
Team Void always managed to enter the quarterfinals, but would also always get stopped there. Their Dual Linking Ghost Boundary duo was a cla.s.sic pair in the Glory circle, but this pair never managed to achieve a convincing accomplishment. Should Team Void make some greater adjustments to achieve a breakthrough? This was something many people started discussing after this match.
As for Misty Rain, they might have lost the match, but their fans gained hope. This hope came from the twins. Though these twins were girls like Chu Yunxiu, their demeanor on the battlefield definitely wasn"t like some maiden-in-distress. The two had open and strong personalities and great cooperation. Team Misty Rain had often been seen as lacking in a headstrong temperament because their ace was female, but now this might change because of these other two female players. Misty Rain"s tactical system was changing rather obviously. This pair of twins might very well become the future core of Misty Rain, if they developed their skills well. As for Chu Yunxiu, she was changing from a DPS based Elementalist to a support. Perhaps this role was better suited to her personality. Then, Misty Rain"s other All-Star level player, Li Hua, was a sneak attack and a.s.sa.s.sination expert. People were eagerly antic.i.p.ating Misty Rain"s future developments.
Then, on the fourth day, it was Tiny Herb versus Blue Rain again, but this time they were competing on Tiny Herb"s turf. This time, it was Tiny Herb who had used their home advantage to wipe out Blue Rain. From this, it was clear that the two teams were very close in skill level, having to eventually use the home advantage to influence the scales of victory.
Tyranny versus Hundred Blossoms and Tiny Herb versus Blue Rain both needed a third match to decide the victor. The third round of compet.i.tions would continue on the same home turf of the second round matches. That meant, it would still be the higher ranked Tyranny and Tiny Herb"s home games. However, for the third round, the home advantage would be greatly reduced.
The home team would only have a familiar environment and the support of local fans, but this round, they would no longer have the right to choose their maps.
The right to chose the map was the greatest home advantage in Glory compet.i.tions and the Alliance considered how to make this as fair as possible. They were giving the team with a higher rank a part of the home advantage, but this advantage couldn"t be too influential on the final victor. In the past, it was just the situation of away then home that gave them an easier time taking control of the situation. Now, the third round had been handed to them, but the right to choose the map was too big of an advantage, so they took away this right. The map for the third round would be randomly chosen from the map bank that had been prepared for the playoffs. These maps were designed specifically for the playoffs by the developers and info on them wouldn"t be leaked at all. That meant that the third round would be played with the teams having zero knowledge of the map.
This sort of match would definitely be a test of the adaptability of the two teams.
The first match of the third round was Tyranny versus Hundred Blossoms again. The experience veterans had helped them greatly on this sort of unfamiliar map. Having one senior was like having a treasure, and Tyranny had three, no? In the group arena, this sort of advantage wasn"t evident, but in the team compet.i.tion, the veterans understood the map better and were better able to find opportunities in battle than Hundred Blossoms. Team Hundred Blossoms might be persistent, but they were still suppressed by Team Tyranny. In the end, Tyranny won 11 to 8.
Hundred Blossoms lost.
But this time, they weren"t the target of any blame.
Tyranny"s strength this season was clear as crystal to anyone with eyes. Though the fans hoped for more from Hundred Blossoms, they were satisfied that the match had gone this far. Team Hundred Blossoms had found their rhythm. So long as they continued down this path, they believed that victory would descend on them. The team and the fans both bid the playoffs goodbye with this sort of confidence in their hearts.
As for the other match after this, it was Tiny Herb versus Blue Rain. One of the two powerhouses was doomed to be eliminated in the opening round. This was quite the shame. In the end, Team Tiny Herb managed to win this match. What had influenced the scales of victory, in the end, wasn"t the tiny home advantage that Team Tiny Herb held. In the match, Team Blue Rain"s rookie, Lu Hanwen, made a serious mistake which became the turning point for the match.
This optimistic and energetic young man finally shed tears in the post-match interview, causing the reporters to be unable to blame him at all. No one would forget, this was a teenager who wasn"t even fifteen yet. But would Blue Rain be hindering his growth, letting such a young player bear the weight of such a heavy responsibility?
"Next time, I"ll be stronger!"
No one would"ve thought that in the end, Lu Hanwen would wipe away his own tears and say this to the reporters with determination.
He was truly an amazing rookie!
The reporters were surprised. They had seen plenty of players be finished for good after experiencing a setback, especially those that had dragged down their team in important matches like this. But this young man wouldn"t. He would be regretful enough to shed tears for his mistake, but this didn"t dishearten him. He turned this all into motivation to get stronger.
A player like this, full of positivity, wouldn"t just get stronger, but someday, he"d become a role model for all pro players, wouldn"t he?
Everyone had full confidence in this in that moment.
The quarterfinals of the playoffs came to a close there. Tyranny, Samsara, Wind Howl, Tiny Herb. The top four of the regular season had all defeated their opponents, reaching the semifinals.
Translator"s Thoughts
Nomyummi Nomyummi
The TKA OVA will be coming out on 4/27 and it"ll be covering the season eight All Stars arc! For more information + trailer: