Chapter 1341: An Uneventful Round
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
Pan Lin and Li Yibo were surprised at the arrangements Happy had made this round, and at this point, Happy and Miracle were deep into their match.
Target Qiao Yifan's One Inch Ash?
He Ming's analysis and plan was good in theory, but reality told them that Qiao Yifan wasn't someone they could wipe out so easily. When the two sides met, they didn't see a hint of One Inch Ash. The other had gone on some strategic approach.
Matches weren't so inflexible. Since their target wasn't there, they weren't going to cling to this plan, ignore what was in front of them and run off to find their target. Thus, Miracle, seeing that they had the advantage in numbers, decided to just go for it!
They did, in fact, have the advantage in numbers, and a huge advantage, too.
When the two sides met face to face, Miracle was a full team of five while Happy was only Tang Rou and Su Mucheng's characters.
5v2, what was there to be afraid of?
Miracle swarmed over, but they knew that Happy wouldn't just send to people for them to kill, so they were on guard for if Happy would suddenly attack from some other direction.
5v2, with this exchange, there had yet to be a result, but He Ming, Wang Ze and Shen Jian felt rather anxious.
What were they up against? The combo of a Battle Mage and a Launcher! The combo they were most familiar with, the one that the team they had spent years in revolved around. Plus, in the past this combo had done it all: 2v1, 2v2, 2v3, 2v4, 2v5. Subconsciously, He Ming and co had erased their advantage in number from their mind. Advantage? What advantage? They were the ones pinned!
Soon enough, Fang Rui's Boundless Sea appeared and Qiao Yifan's One Inch Ash also arrived from their right and left flanks, executing a pincer attack on Miracle.
One Inch Ash had appeared, but the goal of focusing on getting rid of One Inch Ash wasn't going to be easy to accomplish at all. He Ming and co shockingly realized that they had been trapped. Also, this scene was too familiar! In the past, it was their opponents who would be trapped by the Battle Mage and Launcher duo, while they caused trouble from the sides.
So in the end, it was the strategy we were most familiar with?
He Ming and the other two's spirits fell. Lord Grim and Dancing Rain had used their familiarity with these two opponents to craft a strategy to counteract them. Lord Grim straight up didn't show up though, yet it was like Miracle had lost their core. In the end, however, Soft Mist and Dancing Rain had executed a playstyle that was far more familiar to them than Lord Grim and Dancing Rain, giving them a sense of deja vu.
Sigh, if they had known earlier...
He Ming and co all held such thoughts. In the end, the team competition ended in Happy's victory, and Happy had won a spectacular score of 9 to 1 this round.
In the post-match press conference, no one had much interest in Miracle, and their press conference ended quickly. When Happy arrived, the reports naturally expressed great interest in Luo Ji's appearance in the match and Ye Xiu's lack thereof in the team competition.
The answer they received was that they were preparing for the playoffs.
Happy already getting into the pace for the playoffs!
Soon enough, such headlines appeared on the news. However, this wasn't really anything to be too shocked about. The season was approaching its last stages, and teams that had stable scores were already preparing themselves for the playoffs. No matter now or before, the playoffs had always been different from the regular season. The matches were frequent, and you'd have to travel back and forth for the home and away games. This truly did necessitate some adjustments and planning.
However, it was only Round 28! Wasn't Happy getting into the pace of the playoffs a little too soon? If they started preparing their troops and training them, then weren't they afraid of accidentally slipping out of the playoffs list?
However, this round of training their troops still ended up with a landslide victory of 9 to 1, so what could anyone really say? Those Happy haters could only swallow their words in the face of reality.
Round 28 was a round of landslide victories from the powerhouses. Apart from Wind Howl's 9 to 1 victory against 301 Degrees, nothing unexpected happened in any of the other matches.
Team Happy, gaining another 9 points to their score, had 187 points in total, continuing to place sixth. Next was Team Hundred Blossoms with 183. After Wind Howl had beaten 301 Degrees, they had managed to overtake the other team with their 9 to 1 victory. Though they had the same number of points at 167, Wind Howl had beaten 301 Degrees 9 to 1 this round and lost to 301 Degrees 3 to 7 in the ninth round. The total score of their matches was 12 to 8, Wind Howl in the lead, so Wind Howl was ranked above 301 Degrees despite their equal point value.
Wind Howl and 301 Degrees' ranking switch was the only movement for this round. The other teams all retained their original rankings. For all the teams ranked lower than number 12's Royal Style, it was more or less over for them this season. Now all that was left was to see if they would make a final charge towards gaining a few more points on the rankings. However, this motivation was primarily present in the club, and not the players.
The media was diving into the small area surrounding 8th place. They didn't even bother reporting on the top ranked powerhouses Samsara, Blue Rain, Tiny Herb, etc.. The fight for the top place in the regular season had long since lost its suspense. The powerhouses' score were stable and there was no way they would fall out of the top eight. What was there to write about? The teams heading for the top four did have some juice to them. After all, being in the top four did have the advantage of an extra home game. However, compared to the fight for the eighth place, the charge for the top four could be pushed to the backburner.
April 3rd, Round 29 of the Pro League, 301 Degrees welcoming Misty Rain to their home game became one of the more interesting face offs.
Misty Rain currently had 149 points, ranked tenth, was 18 points away from the ninth and eighth ranked 301 Degrees and Wind Howl. They still had hope for getting into the playoffs. However, considering Misty rain's performance this season, most people didn't really expect anything.
Team Misty Rain's new playstyle had been constantly criticised, but after the winter transfer window, they still didn't make any adjustments. In the latter half of the season, their performance hadn't improved any. Now in these last ten rounds, no one knew if they even had the courage to make the charge for the playoffs. Though the club PR always sprouted messages about trust, diligence, fighting for a chance to turn the tables, these were things everyone knew to say. Bright Green and Seaside had also said that they wouldn't give up, but anyone could see that they had already disarmed themselves.
Round 29 was rather calm. Happy had an away game against Royal Style this round. Once a top team, they had already fallen to the point where they didn't even have a chance for the playoffs. However, Royal Style's home turf was still as lively as ever. This was an old team with ten years of history, after all. How many other teams in the alliance had ten years of history?
There were many older fans in their home stadium, middle aged fans were no rare sight. This was probably a scene exclusive to older teams. These people probably hadn't dedicated themselves to Glory much later than even Ye Xiu. Though they were only normal players, lacking the accomplishments that Ye Xiu had achieved, they definitely didn't love Glory any less, able to persist for a full ten years. Glory had already become an integral part of their lives.
Royal Style had completely fallen, but these people didn't leave. Like how Glory was an integral part of their lives, Royal Style was an integral part of their Glory. They had gotten used to supporting this team. If they did well, then good. If they didn't, it didn't matter either. They were no longer fans at an age where they would run over to young players and new promising teams, howling with excitement.
In the first individual competition, Happy continued to field Ye Xiu, and the audience even applauded when Ye Xiu entered the stage.
They had watched ten years of Glory, so they held respect for this veteran of ten years. Thought this guy had crushed Royal Style in the finals of the very first season of the Glory Pro League, Royal Style didn't have as big of a grudge as Tyranny. After all, they only held a grudge for this one year, not like how Excellent Era and Tyranny had gone back and forth for a full four years, always clashing in the finals; that would naturally result in such a huge grudge.
The applause was rather surprising for Ye Xiu, and he acknowledged the audience with a wave. Thinking of Royal Style's past, and then their present, Ye Xiu grew deeply nostalgic.
Then, on the stage, seeing the opposing player and character, Ye Xiu's breath hitched with emotion.
Tian Sen, Peaceful Hermit.
Royal Style had sent out their core and captain in the first match against Ye Xiu.
Unlike Wind Howl sending Tang Hao up first, Royal Style had probably arranged this with a very different attitude. In this season, they wouldn't be able to do much more or aim for anything further. Thus, they relaxed, and even their core came over to fight an individual match. They probably wanted to try breaking Ye Xiu's record, giving their team a little boost and their fans some action! After all, if they just ended it like this, it would be way too calm.
Peaceful Hermit!
Ye Xiu gazed at the character projected by the central projector of the stadium.
This was the character that fought with Ye Xiu over the championship of the very first season of the Glory Pro Alliance. Back then, One Autumn Leaf, Desert Dust and this Peaceful Hermit were the three most elite, most famous characters of the alliance. And now? Peaceful Hermit… Now how many young people still remembered the strength of this character? In the All-Stars this season, Peaceful Hermit didn't even get in.
Tian Sen. Ye Xiu looked to Peaceful Hermit's current player, getting into the player booth on the other side. This player, tall and built more like an athlete than an esports player, always seemed to struggle to get into the booth more than others; it was somewhat comical.
The Golden Generation, the batch of rookies that had shone the brightest, had all become core members of their teams. Tian Sen was probably the most tragic of them. His pro career had consisted of watching as Royal Style declined from a top powerhouse to a team that didn't even had hope to enter the playoffs. Yet he still persisted, silently. In the winter transfer window, 301 Degrees had invited him to join their team. Before Team Royal Style could express anything, he had stepped forth to speak his own mind.
No matter how well they did, just by this heart, he was a player deserving of respect.
As Ye Xiu entered the player booth, he thought of the player who had Peaceful Hermit before Tian Sen. That player had been known as one of the Three Gods of that era along with Ye Xiu and Han Wenqing: Guo Mingyu.
"God, my ass," Ye Xiu cursed as he inserted his account card into the card reader, "He owes me money, and he just disappeared like that. What an ass!"