Chapter 47 : D-Day

On the day Curry allowed sniping, I sniped him with all my might to ensure he would never make such a dangerous statement again.

If we were on the same team, I played for fun, but if we were on opposing teams, I relentlessly killed Curry just like in the scrim.

“Stop it, you crazy woman!!!”

“Seeing Curry so happy makes me feel proud.”

“Don’t feel proud! Aaaaargh!!!”

After repeating this process a few times, Curry screamed in joy.

Though I was annoyed by his cursing, I didn’t provoke him further since he was on the verge of breaking.

In fact, Curry’s intense reactions made it even more entertaining.

Looking at today’s sniping pattern, it was very similar to Nayeon Queen’s, but the chatroom atmosphere on Curry’s stream didn’t seem suspicious yet.

Of course, if this sniping continued for several days, suspicions that Barcode and Nayeon Queen were the same person would surely arise.

But I didn’t worry about that and enjoyed sniping with peace of mind.

After all, it didn’t matter if the secret that Nayeon Queen and Barcode were the same person was revealed.

The day after the platform battle finals ended,

I would arrange a match between Barcode, Nayeon Queen, and Curry.

From Curry’s perspective, collecting various circumstantial evidence and clues,

If Barcode and Nayeon Queen suddenly appeared in the same match,

It would be like a fish that thought it was caught only to escape with the bait.

I wondered how Curry would react then. Just imagining it made me excited and sent chills through my body.

In fact, this fight was structured too favorably for me.

If Nayeon Queen and Barcode played simultaneously, it would be game over.

What I had to be careful about in this tournament was not leaving definitive evidence that Nayeon Queen and Barcode were the same person.

Examples included exposing the list of accounts under my name or broadcasting while logged into other accounts, including Nayeon Queen.

These were mistakes I could never make unless I was drunk or mentally unhinged.

Thus, the routine of scrims and sniping Curry continued.

Time flowed like water, and the day of the ‘Representative Selection’ for the platform battle dawned.

The number of Twitch streamers participating in this platform battle was a whopping 80.

In terms of teams, 16 teams participated, and considering the Challenger limit, 48 Challengers participated.

Given that the Challenger limit in LoL rank is 300, a significant number of Challengers participated as streamers.

Of course, most of the Challenger streamers started streaming as soon as the platform battle was announced, like me.

But they had become proper streamers, broadcasting for over 50 hours.

The representative selection was basically a tournament format, and with 16 teams, it naturally proceeded to the round of 16.

Two matches were held per day, and today’s match was scheduled for the evening after the opening ceremony and group draw.

I watched the opening ceremony with other team members who had turned on their broadcast.

The opening ceremony was nothing special, just ordinary, and it was a bit boring since I didn’t turn on my broadcast.

However, since I declared a week-long break, there was no way to take it back.

Of course, if I turned on the broadcast, the chat would be filled with messages like “I knew it.”

In that case, there might be backlash later, so I decided to turn it on tomorrow, the seventh day.

If I’m unlucky, I might draw the first match and have to turn it on this evening.

“I hope I meet Curry’s team in the finals.”

“That means we need to be in opposite brackets.”

Hearing Jericho and Latte’s conversation, I recalled the rules of the representative selection.

The tournament is divided into four brackets, with the round of 16 and quarterfinals conducted within each bracket.

In simple terms, the selection within each bracket is the preliminary round,

And the semifinals, where different brackets face off, is the main round.

So, for Curry’s team to meet in the finals, ‘Curry Breaker’ team needs to draw brackets 1 or 2, and ‘Unbeatable’ team needs to draw brackets 3 or 4.

• “Now, let’s start the group draw!”

While listening to the team’s talk with the sound of the dull opening ceremony turned off, the group draw had started before I knew it.

“I’m going.”

“Why do you act so solemn just to draw groups?”

“Shut up.”

Jericho, the team captain, left the call to draw our bracket.

The draw was a tedious process where the host picked balls with each captain’s nickname.

The sequence of draws determined the groups.

“Well, is anyone feeling nervous?”

“Not at all.”

“Hmm. I’m not really nervous.”

While listening to the three people chatting to fill the broadcast sound, I watched the group draw.

Unlike the slow-paced opening ceremony, the group draw proceeded quickly.

By fate, Jericho drew Group 1, position 1, and Curry drew Group 3, position 4.

“This means we won’t meet until the finals.”

“Our first opponent is… Team Whistle?”

“It’s a team composed only of new streamers.”

Listening to the three’s conversation quietly, I stifled a laugh.

The team name felt like an extra passing by.

Team Whistle’s members were all unfamiliar names to me.

Just as not all geniuses are of the same level, not all Challengers are of the same caliber.

Before I knew it, the group draw had ended.

Now all that was left was to crush Curry, who had risen to the top.

“Now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for, the first match of the representative selection. First, let’s take a moment to introduce the two teams who will adorn the first match of the representative selection.”

The host, who also hosted the opening ceremony and group draw, took charge of this match as well.

As the broadcast screen of the official Twitch channel switched, profiles of the two teams scheduled to play appeared.

The summarized team profiles were shown, making it feel like a real league game was about to start.

“They’re a very famous team, often mentioned as a contender for the championship! The ‘Curry Breaker’ team has a clear purpose!”

“It seems like the Curry Breaker team has many streamers with unique characters.”

“Just as Caster Hyun-ah Cho said, the Curry Breaker team seems to be composed of very distinctive members.”

After the caster and host eagerly introduced both teams,

And after the commentators for the representative selection introduced themselves,

Finally, the two teams were ready, and they moved to the waiting room.

[Whistle? What’s that unheard-of team?]

[Never heard of them before, lol]

[It’s a team composed only of new streamers]

[Were they people who never broadcasted before?]

[They streamed 50 hours to participate in this tournament]

[Who’s going to win?]

[No matter what, with Barcode, Curry Breaker will win]

[Do you think the kingly team Curry Breaker is a joke?]

[Curry Breaker special: Actually breaks Curry]

[20 ==]

Most viewers watching the official Twitch channel predicted the victory of the Curry Breaker team.

They had an overwhelming record of victory in scrims against the Unbeatable team, which Curry captained.

Moreover, if Team Whistle had outstanding skills, rumors would have spread somehow.

But since no one had ever heard of a team named Whistle, it was natural to think Curry Breaker would win.

With everyone already certain of the outcome, the ban-pick phase began.

Team Curry Breaker banned three solid early-pick cards.

Team Whistle banned Yasuo, Yone, and Talon in that order.

“The bans from Team Curry Breaker are quite standard. On the other hand, the bans from Team Whistle clearly aim to specifically counter Barcode, which shows how much they’re wary of her.”

[It seems like they’re focusing too much on one person]

[Honestly, I’d be scared of Barcode too and would counter her]

[If you’ve watched even a bit of the scrims, you’ll understand the bans]

[Barcode’s Yone, Yasuo, Talon are crazy]

[Aren’t those three basically fixed bans?]

[I don’t know about Yasuo and Talon, but Yone is definitely a fixed ban]

[Is that Barcode girl really that good?]

[She’s so good, you’d wet yourself just watching her]

[You should’ve seen her assassinate four people with Talon]

Since this was the official channel, the chat reactions were divided into two.

Some felt Team Whistle wasted bans on just one person, while others thought the bans were justified.

The difference between these reactions came down to whether the viewers regularly watched scrims featuring Barcode.

“With Team Curry Breaker’s picks done, the ban phase resumes!”

“Team Curry Breaker’s mid hasn’t been picked yet, right…?”

As soon as the commentator finished speaking, Team Whistle banned Sylas.

The final ban that followed was Azir.

“Taking one of Barcode’s main champions, Akali, they banned all her other most-played champions.”

“It’s clear that Team Whistle is definitely wary of Barcode.”

[They’re just cutting off all her limbs, lol]

[This makes it clear the captain of Team Whistle has a personal grudge against Barcode]

[Banned five of her most-played and took one]

[That’s ruthless]

[How scary must Barcode be for this to happen….]

[Doesn’t this mean Barcode is screwed?]

[I’m a Barcode fan, and I’m sure she’s screwed]

The focus on countering Team Curry Breaker’s ace by Team Whistle was extreme, to the point of seeming too much. Most of Barcode’s most-played champions from the past and those used in scrims were banned.