[TS] Malicious Sniper

On the day Curry allowed sniping, I put all my effort into sniping him so he wouldn’t dare make such risky remarks again.

When we were on the same team, we had fun, but when we were opponents, I killed Curry relentlessly like in the scrim.

“Stop it, you crazy woman!!!”

“Seeing Curry looking happy makes me feel proud for some reason.”

“Don’t feel proud! Aaaah!!!”

After repeating this process a few times, Curry let out a scream of joy.

It was infuriating, but since he was on the verge of exploding, I didn’t poke the bear.

In fact, Curry’s strong reactions were way more entertaining.

Looking at the sniper patterns I showed today, they were very similar to Nayun Queen’s, but from the atmosphere in Curry’s broadcast chat, it seemed he wasn’t being suspected yet.

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

But I enjoyed sniping comfortably, not worrying about that.

After all, I didn’t care if people found out that Nayun Queen and Barcode were the same person.

The day after the Platform Tournament finals ended, I would set up a matchmaking between Barcode, Nayun Queen, and Curry.

Thinking from Curry’s perspective, gathering evidence and circumstantial proof, wouldn’t it be something if Barcode and Nayun Queen were caught at the same time?

It would be like a fish that thinks it’s caught but only nibbled at the bait and escaped.

What kind of reaction would Curry show then?

Just imagining it excited me, sending shivers down my spine.

In truth, this battle was set up way too favorably for me.

If Nayun Queen and Barcode just played together, it would be game over in an instant.

The only thing I needed to be careful about in this tournament was not leaving decisive proof that Nayun Queen and Barcode were the same person.

Specifically, mistakenly exposing a list of accounts under my name, broadcasting from an account that included Nayun Queen, or making similar blunders.

These were mistakes I could never afford to make unless I was drunk or out of my mind.

And so, my daily life of sniping Curry continued, repeating for a while.

Time flowed like water, and the day of the ‘Representative Selection Match’ to determine the representative for the Platform Tournament dawned.

*

This Platform Tournament had a staggering 80 participating Twitch streamers.

Converted into teams, there were 16 teams competing, and considering the challenger cap, 48 challengers participated.

Remembering that the Challenger limit for League of Legends is 300, it could be seen that a significant number of challengers participated as streamers.

Of course, most of the Challenger streamers, like me, had started streaming the moment the Platform Tournament was announced.

Still, they had streamed for over 50 hours and had become established streamers.

The selection match was fundamentally in a tournament format, and with 16 teams, it naturally progressed to the round of 16.

There were two games played each day, and today’s matches were scheduled for this evening after the opening ceremony and draw.

I watched the opening ceremony with my teammates who had turned on the broadcast.

The opening ceremony was unremarkable, just ordinary, and felt a bit dull since I hadn’t turned on my own stream.

But having declared a week-long break, it wasn’t something I could just take back.

Naturally, if I turned on my stream, there would be loads of chats saying they had believed in me, but that could lead to gossip later. So, I decided to go live tomorrow on the seventh day.

If I was unlucky, I might pick number one in the draw and could be killed this evening.

“I hope to meet that Curry guy in the finals.”

“For that to happen, we need to pick opposite groups.”

Listening to the conversation between Jericho and Latte, I recalled the rules of the representative selection match.

The tournament was divided into four groups, where the round of 16 and quarter-finals would take place in each group.

Simply put, the qualifiers in each group could be considered the preliminary round, and the semi-finals between different groups could easily be thought of as the main event.

In conclusion, for Curry’s team to meet in the finals, the ‘Curry Breaker’ team had to pick either Group 1 or 2, while the ‘Ohapjijon’ team needed to draw Group 3 or 4.

“Alright, let’s start the draw!”

As the boring sounds of the opening ceremony faded, the draw began.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Why are you acting so serious just to go draw?”

“Shut it.”

Jericho, the team leader, left to draw the groups.

The draw was a very dull format where the host picked balls with each leader’s nickname on them, and in the order drawn, they picked their groups.

“Well, is anyone nervous or anything?”

“Not at all.”

“Um. I’m not really nervous.”

The three of us filled the broadcast sound while chatting as we watched the draw.

Unlike the slowly progressing opening ceremony, the draw moved quickly, and fatefully, Jericho picked Group 1, number 1, while Curry picked Group 3, number 4.

“Guess we won’t meet until the finals.”

“Our first opponent is… the Whistle Team?”

“A team made up entirely of new streamers.”

Listening quietly to the trio’s conversation, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

The team name sounded like a passing extra.

The members of the Whistle Team were all people I had never heard of.

Just because someone is a genius doesn’t mean they are all on the same level, and just because someone is a challenger doesn’t mean they are all equally skilled.

Before I knew it, the group draw ended, and now all that was left was to crush Curry who stood at the top.

*

“Now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for has arrived! Before we start, let’s take a moment to introduce the two teams that will kick off the representative selection match!”

The host, who had been in charge of the opening ceremony and the group draw, also took charge of the match.

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

It felt just like before the start of a pro league match, with summarized profiles of the teams displayed, making it feel very much like a real league.

“This is a very famous team rumored to be a champion contender! The ‘Curry Breaker’ team with a clear purpose!”

“The Curry Breaker team seems to have many streamers with unique characters.”

“It looks like, as commentator Jo Hyuna said, the Curry Breaker team consists of very distinctive members.”

As the commentator and host enthusiastically introduced the two teams, the process of the commentators for this representative selection match greeting passed by.

Finally, both teams moved to the waiting room, ready for the match.

[Whistle? What the heck is that unheard team?]
[I’ve never heard of them for real]
[They are a team made up of only new streamers, right?]
[Did they not stream before?]
[Yeah, yeah, they filled in 50 hours of streaming to participate in this tournament]
[Who do you think will win?]
[No matter what, with Barcode here, Curry Breaker will win]
[Is the King God General team Curry Breaker a joke?]
[Curry Breaker Special: Actually breaks Curry]
[For real, lol]

Most of those watching on the official Twitch channel predicted a victory for the Curry Breaker team.

After all, there were overwhelming victories against the Ohapjijon team, led by Curry, in their scrims.

Most importantly, if the Whistle team was talented, it would surely have become known sooner.

But since nobody had ever heard of a team called Whistle, it was only natural to think Curry Breaker would win.

As everyone confirmed the result, the ban/pick phase began for both sides.

The Curry Breaker team easily banned three good first-pick cards.

Meanwhile, the Whistle team banned Yasuo, Yone, and Talon in succession.

“The bans from the Curry Breaker team are ordinary. On the other hand, the bans from the Whistle team clearly show an intention to focus on restricting Barcode. They are clearly wary of him,”

[That seems too focused on just one person.]
[To be honest, I’d also be scared of Barcode and would want to ban him.]
[If they had watched the scrim even a little, they’d understand the bans.]
[Yasuo, Talon, and Yone, that’s insane, for real.]
[Essentially, aren’t those the fixed bans?]
[Yasuo and Talon may be debatable, but Yone is definitely a fixed ban.]
[That Barcode woman is that skilled?]
[You’d see it and be absolutely blown away by how good she is.]
[I wish you’d seen her assassinate four people with Talon, lol.]

Given that this was the official channel, the chat was divided into two reactions.

One side thought the Whistle team was wasting too many bans on one player, while the other believed it was a justified ban.

The difference between those viewpoints was whether they frequently watched the scrims that included Barcode.

“The bans from the Curry Breaker team have ended, and we’re moving on to the ban phase again!”

“We still haven’t seen the mid pick from the Curry Breaker team…?”

As soon as the commentator finished speaking, the Whistle team banned Silas.

The last ban was Azhar.

“By bringing in Akili, one of Barcode’s main champions, they’ve banned all of their most-played champions. It’s clear that the Whistle team is very conscious of Barcode.”

[They’re really taking out everything.]
[At this point, it’s clear the Whistle leader has a personal grudge against Barcode.]
[They banned all five of the most-played and only picked one.]
[How ruthless, really.]
[How terrifying must Barcode be for them to react like this…?]
[At this point, doesn’t Barcode seem screwed?]
[I’m a Barcode fan, and it feels like she’s absolutely screwed, lol.]

It was so extreme that the phrase “this is too much” was warranted for the ace restriction from the Whistle team.

With almost all of Barcode’s previously most-played champions banned, including Yone, many were speculating that she would resort to Twisted Fate during the match.

After all, Twisted Fate was the only champion left that she had used in scrims.

“That…”

But Barcode broke everyone’s expectations by not picking Twisted Fate and instead opting for a different champion.

“LeBlanc. That’s a champion Barcode has not used in scrims before, right?”

“As commentator Kim Jonghyun has pointed out, Barcode has never played LeBlanc in the scrims before!”

“It seems that Barcode anticipated that a situation like this would occur, and prepared LeBlanc as a secret weapon!”

“With all her most-played banned, we are looking forward to seeing what kind of performance Barcode will show with LeBlanc! Let’s start the match!”

With the cheerful proceedings of the host, the game began.

[Is LeBlanc good right now?]
[No, if used well, she can be good.]
[If well done, Udyr is also tier 1, lol.]
[When will our Udyr ever rise to tier 1?]
[Probably not until the League of Legends shutdown.]
[LeBlanc is exciting, because she’s a physical champion.]
[Barcode has incredible physical abilities, that’s for sure.]
[Even so, she’s going to face Akili, a champion whose performance isn’t great to begin with?]
[Barcode is just a bubble, lol.]
[I think the bubble will burst soon.]

Even though Barcode had gained popularity, she had only been streaming for less than a month.

While she was a top-tier streamer, this fame was only within the Platform known as Twitch.

In terms of absolute recognition, she was still less known than the existing streamers like Curry or Barcode.

And rumors tend to get distorted and exaggerated as they spread.

Those who had not watched Barcode’s stream believed that her skills were overrated.

Since they had never seen her gameplay with their own eyes, they had no choice but to think it was just hype.

For that reason, most of the viewers on the official channel speculated that she would not perform well in this match.

[Lolololol]
[Those who don’t know Barcode are adorable.]
[Enjoying the mode of “The one who enjoys wins.” activated!]
[Let me express my condolences to the opposing team in advance.]

Some fans of Barcode simply enjoyed the funny reactions on the official channel.

“Alright! The long-awaited first match of the Selection Match has begun! The Whistle Team is in blue, and the Curry Breaker Team is in purple.”

“The key point of this match is, of course, Barcode’s LeBlanc. From the Whistle Team’s perspective, they must capitalize on LeBlanc after spending their ban cards on her.”

As the host and commentator spoke, the game kicked off.

Not long after it started, all spectators watching couldn’t help but stay silent.

The commentators, host, and all the viewers watching the first match.

Especially those who had dismissed Barcode virtually stopped watching the match.

Barcode’s LeBlanc was shredding Akili to the soul, to that extent.

[A massacre is taking place!]

Just moments ago, the announcement of LeBlanc achieving a third solo kill in mid vibrated through the Rift.

This occurred merely 12 minutes after the game had begun.

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