Chapter 349 – 349. World Championship Qualifiers (1)

“Mad Tiger Gaming was the best until last year.”
“Mad Tiger Gaming? But now I don’t feel as intimidated as before. The best team these days is Tintin Chimera from China.”
“Is there anyone who doesn’t know that Tintin Chimera is strong? But that team only solves the game physically. If you meet a team that uses good strategy, it will eventually collapse.”
“Last year’s World Championship final against Mad Tiger Gaming was exactly that. But they didn’t win in the end as Mad Tiger Gaming collapsed faster. If you have good physicality, you don’t need to use strategies, and if you do, you can use various strategies.”

Central Park of a campus in the United States.

Two men were sitting on a bench and having a heated discussion.

The topic was which club would win the 2055 Arena World Championship, which is less than a month away.

“Are you guys talking about that again?”

Then a blonde-haired girl came up to them.
Entering a university recognized by people all over the world and talking about games during the golden hours of the day.

To her, it was really unproductive.

But the men gestured with serious faces.

“Leave it, Katie. There is a world you do not know.”
“You don’t know that the test is not far away, are you?”
“There are always exams. There will only be one Arena World Championship in 2055.”
“…Are you not doing it next year?”
“Next year, we will do the 2056 Arena Championship.”
“…I don’t understand.”

While they are having a fruitless conversation, another man approaches them.

His sporty cropped hair and light clothing reveal his muscular body.

Her girl instinctively tucked her hair behind her ears and rolled her eyes.

The man opened his mouth.

“Everybody was here. You know in a little while, right?”
“Then, I’ve been waiting for that since morning.”

The girl, not knowing what they were talking about, asked her curiosity.

“What are you talking about?”
“There is a preview for the Arena World Championship. Live streaming at 6:30.”
“We decided to get together and drink beer and watch.”

After all, it’s a game story again.

The girl relaxed her stance and shook her head absurdly.

The boy who had just joined was very popular with the girls because he excelled in sports, academic performance and good looks.
It wouldn’t be enough time just to pick and date girls who liked you, but it didn’t make sense to hang out with keut boys just for something like a game.

“Katy, would you like to come with me?”
“What?”
“Watch a live stream. Where we go, there are large monitors, so the picture quality is amazing.”
“Under… “

I still wasn’t interested in the game, but I was curious as to why people were so interested in it.

“Let’s go for a while. Is it 6:30?”
“Huh. We’ll pick you up then.”

Let’s be fooled for once.
At first, it was simply that way.

###

“Hello, Arena fans from all over the world. Welcome to the Arena World Championship Preview.”

As the virtual reality game, Arena, became popular around the world, various derivative programs were born.
The Arena World Championship preview was also a kind of him.

One month before the World Championships started in earnest.

It was to speculate on news from clubs around the world, the schedule for the World Championship, and the composition of the World Championship.

As a guest, Wizard, a former mid laner of Mad Tiger Gaming and currently a coach of an American club, participated, as well as reporters from esports magazines and senior game commentators holding the microphone.

“The final stage of the 2055 World Championship has been confirmed in China. With this, it can be said that China’s chances of winning this year have increased even slightly.”

Along with the preview host’s words, an image appeared on the huge monitor behind the seat.
It was the stadium where the tournament stage would be held and the stadium where the long-awaited final stage would take place.

“China is a really strong contender. Last year’s winning team, the Chinese league’s ruler, Tintin Chimera, followed closely by Ningning Gaming and BES. No team can take it lightly.”

The first to speak was a guest holding a Chinese flag.

It was Lee, a commentator for the Chinese second division league.

“I am sure. The 55 Arena World Championship will be full of Chinese teams.”
“No, no.”

It was the Americans on one side who rebelled against his determined tone.

“China is currently unable to get out of the way of relying only on strength and playing. In terms of strategy and tactics, even Australia cannot be beaten.”
“Oh… “

The guests laughed with exaggerated reactions to his vicious remarks about the two countries at the same time.

“Among the recent games coming out of China, are there any strategic achievements? It still ranks at the bottom of the list of available characters among leagues around the world. On the other hand, in America, new tactics appear every season and new characters are discovered. In particular, the number of characters used in the Eastern League is among the top in the world.”
“You don’t win by using a lot of characters.”
“Stop, stop.”

When a Chinese guest and an American guest try to fight, the host steps in and relays it.
And his gaze was directed to the wizard who was sitting on one side this time.

“How about the news from Korea?”

Although he is now coaching an American team, he was also from Korea.
Thanks to this, he was entrusted with the role of representing the Korean league.

Wizard replied with an awkward smile.

“Excellent. As always.”
“Korea is not as strong as it used to be.”

However, it was a Mexican commentator representing South America who refuted him.

“Mad Tiger Gaming collapsed.”
“I got Battle Angels instead.”

At the wizard’s words, the eyes of the panelists twinkled.

Battle Angels.

Undoubtedly, it was the team that is causing the biggest sensation in the Arena League right now.
It is also unusual that the former players are female, but conquering the Korean league less than two years after the founding was not an ordinary achievement.

The panelists nodded their heads in unison.
Certainly their actions were admirable.

However, that didn’t mean that they considered the Battle Angels as favorites to win the World Championship.

“Battle Angels is a team with no international experience. If I panic even a little, I might even fail in the qualifying round.”
“A qualifying round? Aren’t you underestimating too much?”
“If so, it could be. In fact, I expect to be able to make it to the quarterfinals or so.”
“The 8th grade is a bit harsh. Analyzing the match against Mad Tiger Gaming, it is clear that Mad Tiger was weakened, but that was not the only factor in Battle Angels’ victory. I think Battle Angels are also one of the clear favorites.”

Panels with increasingly heated discussions.

The next topic to come up is the American League.

“What does our league have? Crystal Snake. Need I say more?”

Beth, an American sports reporter, proudly spreads her arms and shows her confidence.
It was a pretty nasty gesture, but there was no one who could refute it.

In fact, it was because Crystal Snake was showing record-breaking moves every moment.

“But Play the Gaming isn’t what it used to be.”
“They are all veteran players. We become stronger on the big stage.”
“Besides, Prime Warriors is practically a matter of luck.”
“That… I can’t quite deny it.”

Until now, the United States has not been a weak country, but since a company called Crystal took over the club and created the name Crystal Snake, unbelievable things have happened.
Other teams in the U.S. Might not know, but at least Crystal Snake was lined with players called post-human level.

The story of America is over.

Since then, the topic has moved from the major leagues to areas other than that.

“Another supernova team was born in Brazil. Karp Brasilia are threatening Hex, a strong team, by signing a Chinese player, Haoming.”
“It’s not often that Chinese players are hired in the mercenary industry, but Hao Ming was easily accepted thanks to his familiarity with the language and culture, having lived in Brazil as a child.”

“How is the situation in Japan?”
“Cyber ​​Akuma, Hiroshima Heroes and 567 Sakura advanced to the preliminaries. Cyber ​​Akuma and Hiroshima Heroes are the same teams that have been leading Japan for a long time, and 567 Sakura is a new team like Carp Brasilia.”
“In Japan, the proportion of mercenaries is decreasing as more and more good native players are discovered. In the case of Hiroshima Heroes, it is a team made entirely of Japanese people.”
“This is the first pure-blooded Japanese team in history to advance to the World Championship.”

“In England, Royal Blood will be participating. In France, the Marseille Knights sortie. In Germany, clubs like G8 have come up.”
“Europe doesn’t do as well as the expectations they receive every year.”
“There are more and more participating countries and the level is rising, but it still feels like it’s not enough.”
“Could it be different this time?”
“It will be similar.”
Haha.”
“If you pay attention, it’s the British royal blood.”

An hour passed by just looking at the main teams out of over 100 teams in over 48 countries.

“So, what if we select the four candidates for the semifinals?”

As the end of the corner approaches, the host asks the panelists.
The first to respond was the American guest.

“Tintin Chimera, Crystal Snake, and Hexna Royal Blood.”
“You think you’re going to break your expectations more than once.”
“Anything like Hex or Royal Blood is quite possible.”

Next, the Chinese guest answers.

“Tintin Chimera, Ningning Gaming, Best Esports, and the last team is Crystal Snake.”
“It’s quite biased, isn’t it?”

He picks the three Chinese teams first without delay.
Thanks to that, a small smile spread.
Of course, the expression of the Chinese guest was serious.

“Then what about you, Wizard?”

Then, his eyes are fixed on Wizard, who was just laughing.
The Wizard seemed to be thinking for a while, then shrugged his shoulders and said.

“Why didn’t any Korean teams come out?”
“For some reason, I thought Korea might not make it to the semifinals this time.”
“Then I will choose this way.”

Afterwards, the panel members exclaimed at his bold prediction.

“Mad Tiger Gaming, Battle Angels, Tintin Chimera, Crystal Snake.”
“Oh… Did you decide to take a route that way too?”
“I believe it will be possible.”

But others don’t seem to have taken that speculation seriously.
The host gave the floor to someone else without asking further.

And time passed, and the time for a short break came.

The guests naturally gathered and chatted.

“Ah, Wizard. Come to think of it, I have something to ask you.”

It was the Mexican who called the wizard who had been standing still.

“What is it?”
“What do you sincerely expect for the semifinals?”
“…Sincerity?”

The guests still thought of Wizard’s prediction as a joke.
He said with a subtle smile.

“That was my real prediction.”