Chapter 1232: Round 15
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
After Round 14 ended, numerous reports and commentary appeared over the next two days. Scenes such as Tang Hao kicking a water bottle after a match were also reported, but those didn't make the headlines.
Tang Hao had yet to reach the point, where he could lose but still be the central character. The headlines sung for the winners.
Happy's fifth 10-0, Thunderclap's team competition record, and Samsara's fifth 10-0 would not be neglected. 123 points in 14 rounds, leading the second place team by 24 points, these were absolutely ridiculous achievements. This dominance cemented their place as the true central characters this season. Even though there was competition, the Esports Home's headlines displayed Samsara's 10-0. Happy would have to give way. Even Thunderclap's team competition record was inferior in front of Samsara.
Team Samsara had won all 14 matches, while Thunderclap had lost to Royal Style in Round 9. Thunderclap was one missing from a perfect win streak, a pity.
The headlines gave more than enough respect towards the bellwether, but the detailed discussion consisted more of Happy and Thunderclap. After all, Samsara's perfect win had been against Heavenly Swords. To everyone, this win should be easy as pie without any worries of losing. What was there to talk about? However, Happy and Thunderclap were different. Happy had a perfect win over Void, while Thunderclap made a comeback against Wind Howl. Those matches had high-level content to talk about.
After discussing these two team's performances this round, everyone agreed by chance that how long their momentum would continue for would be something to pay attention to.
Next round, Happy would be challenging Lightly in their away game, while Thunderclap would be welcoming Misty Rain in their home game.
No one questioned Happy's strength anymore. Facing the 16th place 46 point Lightly, victory seemed to be there's already. People were simply wondering whether Happy would be able to pull off another 10-0. As for Thunderclap versus Misty Rain, given Misty Rain's recent ups and downs, as well as their questionable unconventional playstyle, Misty Rain would would be facing Thunderclap, who excelled at the team competition. Very few people had hopes for Misty Rain.
In fact, more people were looking towards the round after, Round 16, because Happy and Thunderclap, these two teams that had given them the most surprises this season, would be facing against each other in Happy's home game.
Get out of the way, Round 15!
Quite a few people had these sorts of thoughts.
But time couldn't be skipped. Each round needed to be played one at a time. Round 15 couldn't just pass by in the blink of an eye. On 12/13, Round 15 began on schedule, and the broadcast chose Hundred Blossoms welcoming Void as the highlight match.
In the end, Hundred Blossoms barely beat Void 6-4. There were no changes in their placings on the rankings. Eighth place and ninth place were neighbors, but the difference between them were night and day.
A rather surprising result this round was Blue Rain losing 4-6 to Parade in their away game. Blue Rain had a huge lead after the individual rounds, but unexpectedly lost in the team competition. With this loss, Blue Rain instantly slid down from 2nd to 5th. And right below Blue Rain was Happy, who had advanced another place once again this round.
Happy won their away game against Lightly 9-1; everyone felt that it was a pity they couldn't get one more point for a 10-0. Coincidentally, Samsara also got a 9-1, although their opponents were 301.
Tyranny and Tiny Herb won 8-2 against their mediocre opponents. Another surprising result was Wind Howl, who had the situations reversed by Thunderclap last round, once again stumbled, losing their home game against Royal Style 7-3.
This time, Tang Hao didn't kick a water bottle, but in the post-match press conference, he didn't even show up. His attitude showed just how unhappy he was with Wind Howl's recent performances.
Wind Howl had lost three rounds in a row, and their placings were dropping. Right now, they were at 7th place, lower than Happy by 5 points.
But to be fair, Wind Howl's opponents these three rounds had been Hundred Blossoms, Thunderclap, and Royal Style, all fairly strong opponents. With the team competition's 5 points lost in each of those rounds, Wind Howl had obtained 3, 4, and 3 points. Using comparisons like 8-2, 7-3, looked to be huge disparities, but because the team competition was worth 5 points, these were the most common results.
In an 8-2 win, if the losing side had won the team competition, it would turn into 3-7. In a 7-3 win, if the losing side had won the team competition, it would be a 2-8.
In reality, the wide disparity between points was a result of the way the rules were set up. It was completely different than a 7-3 or an 8-2 in football.
Wind Howl's three consecutive losses were these point differences. It could be said that their strength still had a solid foundation. However, three consecutive losses still raised some doubts over them, although in comparison to the public, Wind Howl themselves had a huge reaction to it. After two losses in a row, their captain Tang Hao couldn't bear it anymore and kicked a water bottle. After their third loss in a row, he wasn't even in the mood to show up for the post-match press conference.
"I think our loss streak ends here…" With their captain not there, vice captain Liu Hao spoke up in the press conference.
Yes, Liu Hao.
The former Excellent Era vice captain had switched to Thunderclap and became Thunderclap's vice captain. In the summer, he transferred to Wind Howl and gradually created a position for himself. After their original vice captain Fang Rui left, Liu Hao was appointed vice captain.
After all, Liu Hao was skilled, and he had plenty of experience. He had acted as vice captain and as captain before, so he had experience in leading. At Wind Howl, he was seen as someone who would be a great help to Tang Hao.
For example, Tang Hao had gotten angry and didn't show up to the press conference, while Liu Hao talked fluidly as if he were used to be in this position. It was as if their captain didn't exist.
Everyone was a bit astonished at his bearing, but then again, of course Liu Hao was used to this because when he had been in Excellent Era, their captain Ye Xiu never showed up for press conferences. It was always him who had to face the media as the vice captain. Liu Hao had experienced his team's captain not participating in the press conference countless times. How could he not be calm?
Experienced with the media, he resolutely expressed that they would definitely win next round. The reporters quickly checked next round's schedule. Next round Wind Howl would be facing Heavenly Swords in their home game. These three rounds never really showed whether Wind Howl was truly weak. Next round, as long as their mentality was fine, they shouldn't have any problems winning against Heavenly Swords. However, Team Wind Howl's team captain and core, the Tang Hao who succeeded the senior as the junior, seemed to be undergoing an unbearable setback!
"I'm not worried at all," Liu Hao continued to speak calmly, "Our captain thirsts for victory more than anyone else, so he also feels more ashamed than anyone else when he loses. But when the match comes, he'll still be striving for victory. That I believe without a doubt."
A good answer!
Wind Howl's PR team felt very gratified. They were especially moved by their vice captain this time. Thinking of their previous Wind Howl vice captain for many years, Fang Rui… what an irresponsible guy! He would often babble nonsense in the press conference without the bearing of a vice captain at all. The PR team wanted to rush up and beat him up numerous times.
As the PR team, they looked at things from their perspective, and to them, the difference between Liu Hao and Fang Rui was light years apart. As for Fang Rui being an All-Star, what did that help? It didn't!
With Liu Hao's skillful response, Wind Howl's captain Tang Hao's attitude after three consecutive losses didn't garner any particular attention. When the press conference ended, Wind Howl's PR team gave Liu Hao a huge thumbs up and started chatting with this newly appointed Wind Howl vice captain.
This was the scene for Wind Howl, but how about Blue Rain, who had been upset?
Blue Rain's performance in the early season had been quite strong. Apart from their loss to Samsara 3-7 in their away game, whether it was Tiny Herb, Tyranny, or Wind Howl, they always had the last laugh.
But after the early season, Blue Rain was a team whose honeymoon had clearly ended. In Round 11, they lost to Hundred Blossoms 3-7 in their away game. In Round 12, they had a beautiful 5-0 lead in their home game, but Thunderclap won the team competition to even it up 5-5. In Round 13, they were knocked down by Royal Style 4-6 in their away game. In Round 14, Blue Rain unexpectedly lost to Parade.
From their performances these few rounds, Blue Rain had stayed at 2nd place. It could be seen just how strong Blue Rain's opening in the early season was. However, in an instant, this 24 point difference disappeared. After the end of Round 15, Blue Rain dropped three places from 2nd to 5th. They were now only 5 points away from Happy, who was in 6th. 5 points. In Glory, this could be a difference of just a single round.
Blue Rain's decline wasn't just this past match, but rather during this phase. However, no one had been so frustrated to the extent of kicking a water bottle like Tang Hao. In their post-match press conferences, their captain and core replied calmly to the reporters' questions as always.
Where did Team Blue Rain's problems lie?
This was what everyone was wondering.
"I think, it's just a matter of bad luck," Team Blue Rain's captain, Yu Wenzhou, smiled.
"If we keep saving up all the good luck like this, then I think it'll be a good thing when the playoffs come around!" Yu Wenzhou continued.
Saving up luck...
The reporters didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This was a completely unscientific explanation! However, speaking of playoffs, Blue Rain's recent performances had truly started to worry people about their playoffs spot. They never directly said that they would definitely win. They just gently took out the word "playoffs" as if it were as simple as eating food.
This was also a form of confidence!