"Noel didn't even show up in Round 1 yesterday lol" - Uponxo
Shouldn't Bread Heart be good enough to let her play one round?
Of course, Bread Heart is a pretty solid team
But if you want to test a rookie, shouldn't you first check their performance against weaker teams and then estimate how to use them against stronger teams?
Is Noel really just a bench player?
- ttihwakjjit: WailingHDD's form was on fire yesterday, maybe they wanted to ride that momentum?
ㄴ SilverPanthea: For real, I think it's the first time in like 6 years he's played Kalista... and not something like Aatrox but Raven! My heart was pounding...
ㄴ Shattered: Who's WailingHDD? Hyunseok?
ㄴ TCR0017: CryingSSD, yeah, WailingHDD
ㄴ Shattered: But Raven's form was seriously insane, felt like watching him in his prime
ㄴ Uponxo: I understand not wanting to break momentum, but couldn't they have let her play once they secured the win?
- MoonlightSleeper: They just recruited her for PR because she's female and disabled lol
ㄴ Uponxo: No way... HLG has been in the gaming scene forever, they can't be that tone-deaf?
ㄴ MoonlightSleeper: Wait and see if that girl plays at all during the entire competition lol
"Oh, yesterday's match article is up" - QueenLexia
It congratulates HLG on advancing to Round 2
And Noel got an exclusive interview...
She said not playing was just strategy?
Apparently she was supposed to play if they lost one match, but they didn't lose any so she couldn't play lol
- Dedica: Wait, that makes her a relief player lol
- RollingHead: Right, isn't the normal approach to let rookies play after securing N wins for experience?
ㄴ Sistato: Usually they'd let unproven players play 1-2 games, right?
- MoonlightSleeper: With N-year veterans all over the place, how could a player who's only been Challenger for less than a month be a relief player lol
ㄴ MoonlightSleeper: She's just saying whatever fits the situation
- Shutdown: Then internally, are they rating Noel higher than Hyunseok?
ㄴ GFE2047: That's a bit ambiguous... WailingHDD seems to be reaching his potential now, can Noel compete with that?
ㄴ GFE2047: Of course she's a monster in solo queue, but tournaments and solo queue are different
ㄴ QueenLexia: In WailingHDD's interview, he said they were saving Noel as a joker pick
ㄴ ttihwakjjit: Oh, so they're deliberately keeping her hidden to avoid revealing strategies
"Talking about relief players and pinch hitters for someone who hasn't played a single game yet lol" - MoonlightSleeper
No matter how much you want to hype her up in Noel's fan cafe
It's ridiculous to rate her higher than experienced active players
I'll admit she reached Challenger in a month, okay?
Yes, she's good, I agree
But pros are on another level lol
What joker pick? What strategy concealment? lol
- MoonlightSleeper: It's obvious they recruited her for publicity
ㄴ MoonlightSleeper: She's a pretty girl with a disability, good for both marketing and PC points
ㄴ MoonlightSleeper: Just look at other news outlets making a huge fuss about a female player in esports lol
"Whether it's preventing strategy reveals or viral marketing" - Griefing
From the opponent's perspective, it's frustrating to fight an invisible enemy
Normally you'd just think about WailingHDD and go "Top? Probably a tank lol. That lane won't break, so let's focus on mid-bot game"
But with Noel in the mix, they need to prepare several more strategies lol
And to make matters worse, WailingHDD's potential is rising
The old tank player suddenly pulls out Raven?
He showed incredible presence with an old character
Who's to say he won't pull out Aatrox or Gwen or something?
This gives them one more card to play in the ban-pick battle lol
- ttihwakjjit: For real, I never expected Hyunseok to suddenly level up...
ㄴ Griefing: Yeah, and that synergizes with keeping Noel hidden
ㄴ Griefing: With WailingHDD's expanded champion pool, they can afford to save Noel's pick lol
- CandyCrunch: I was just wondering why Noel wasn't playing, but there's actually strategic value...
ㄴ CandyCrunch: Still, I wish Noel would play soon :(
- Paragon: Sorry for the off-topic question, but why is the person below raging alone?
ㄴ Endrunner: Everyone's either blocked them or ignoring them
ㄴ Paragon: Ah, ok
"If you look closely at WailingHDD's interview, our captain is really trying to take down strong teams with his peak performance" - SilverPanthea
He said that when normal pro teams perform at level 10
Even if they push themselves to perform at 11 or 12
SKY or Genji will show 13 or 14 level performance
So to compete, they need to aim for a level 15 performance even if it means risking lower lows
He said he's not that kind of player, so they needed someone extremely aggressive
- Wrapping: The problem is being too aggressive...
- Logging: Isn't that too much of a gamble? lol
- MoonlightSleeper: WailingHDD admitted it too? That the low point could be extremely low
ㄴ MoonlightSleeper: Just admit it lol. That girl you're all hyping up is actually a trap pick that could cut team performance to 60% or 50%
- Sistato: It's good that Noel is aggressive, but doesn't the team already have someone who throws games? lol
ㄴ SilverPanthea: Solid? Kyunghwan does have a tendency to throw as ADC... but he was pretty stable in Round 1
ㄴ SilverPanthea: Either he got a lot of feedback or Blossom is keeping him on a tight leash. I think he might be feeling insecure after getting flamed for 2 years...
ㄴ Hexdrinker: But if an ADC gets that insecure, they can't grow into a superstar...
ㄴ ETB014: What a pro ADC needs is demonic talent and the courage to be hated...
"This came up in the eliminated team's interview" - HS2000
Bread Heart's top laner said he was disappointed he couldn't face Noel
So he challenged her to a top lane 1v1...
Then he posted something meaningful on his personal SNS
(photo)
"I thought I had a chance during the match... but today I really hit a wall lol"
This is Bread Heart's top laner who approached WailingHDD confidently
Of course he got destroyed in game 2 and was intimidated in game 3
But he still tried to exchange damage and desperately create kill opportunities
He showed the mindset of "It's difficult but I can try"
But suddenly an SNS post about hitting a wall?
Why would he post that?
Did he actually spar with Noel?
Unfortunately, we can't know the truth
Because 1v1 custom games don't show up in match history
But let's check the timing of that SNS post
And look at LoC_Demon Noel's match history
After Round 1 ended today, she probably got home around midnight
After showering and everything, it would be around 1 AM
We can see she played one ranked game right away
The demon girl who plays every day must have been itching to play after not getting to compete
After stomping one game in Challenger queue
There's suddenly no activity for an hour and a half
Then she plays two more games before going to bed
A LoC game? Usually takes about 30 minutes
Could be shorter, or at most an hour
So including pick/ban phase, let's say one hour for a long game
What did she do for those 30 minutes?
She would have already showered and done everything else, so was she taking a break?
Coincidentally, right after that time gap ends
Bread Heart's top laner posts about hitting a wall
The probability they had a sparring match is very high
I won't argue if you disagree
- SilverPanthea: Ah... I didn't think our captain was like that, I'm disappointed...
ㄴ SilverPanthea: Playing games without streaming...
ㄴ PineappleSushi: Wait, that's what disappointed you? lol
ㄴ Dearest: I thought you were disappointed she had a secret 1v1 date with a guy...
ㄴ Rupture: A top lane 1v1 is kind of a date, yeah. Sounds like Noel was a bit violent on this date though
ㄴ Ocehu: Now that you mention it, that's true lol
- TopLanePatientYunNoel: What top laners hate most isn't their jungler, their support, or the enemy jungler, but the enemy top laner
ㄴ TopLanePatientYunNoel: And simultaneously, what they love most is also the enemy top laner
ㄴ TopLanePatientYunNoel: Because from start to finish, you have to analyze everything about your opponent to kill them
ㄴ TopLanePatientYunNoel: And you both know how frustrating it is when other lanes interfere
ㄴ TopLanePatientYunNoel: For a top laner, the enemy top is the person who understands you most and pays the most attention to you in that game
ㄴ TopLanePatientYunNoel: So having a 1v1 in top lane is like having a 30-minute romance... filled with love and hate...
ㄴ VocalEvil: What kind of template is this?
ㄴ ManaIsNephew: It does sound convincing though lol
ㄴ CrawlingLab: So Noel is cheating with a guy???
ㄴ CRCE: Cheating is when you secretly meet someone else while dating someone...
ㄴ Edgewalker: What? Are you saying Noel reached Challenger by dating and violently breaking up with countless boyfriends?
ㄴ Average: I know it's a joke but this is getting confusing lol
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
In reverse, it means you have to keep rolling to prevent moss from growing.
It's about the importance of effort and such.
That applies to gaming too.
So I turned on my computer as soon as I got home.
Of course, I couldn't play right away.
Gabi told me to shower first since I just got home.
Though even without Gabi telling me, I would have showered first anyway.
Going to the tournament venue was quite a journey after all.
And I'll have to do this up to four more times.
With the schedule spanning two weeks.
I thought they'd do one round per day.
But two teams compete in one day, and the next match happens the next day.
It makes sense considering regular people's schedules.
With matches on Saturdays and Sundays.
So naturally, they do two matches per week.
Because of this, I'm feeling a bit lost.
It's not forbidden to stream during the tournament.
But since I haven't played a single match yet, it would naturally attract unwanted attention.
I wouldn't be hurt by people deliberately coming to provoke me.
But there's no need to invite that kind of trouble.
Still, I'm bored.
I'm playing games just to keep my hands warm, but it feels empty without streaming like usual.
So I even had a sparring match with Bread Heart's top laner from the tournament, but there wasn't much to learn.
After the sparring, I played two more games.
Maybe I was disappointed about not getting to play in the match?
Or was I missing chatting with viewers?
Either way, I was definitely feeling disappointed.
I turned off my computer and closed my eyes while being hugged by Gabi.
Despite trying not to care, it was honestly difficult.
I secretly turned on my phone and checked the League of Champions community.
I was curious how others thought of me as a pro gamer.
"So Noel is dating someone now...?" - PolarBear
Is it a man or a woman...?
Should I... die?
But strangely, there was almost no discussion about the tournament.
Instead, an unexpected dating rumor was spreading.
What is this?