At 1: 15 in the morning, the first match of the semi-finals, Hell Frontline versus Red Sakura, came to an end.
In the end, Hell Frontline won another round with no casualties.
At this point, Hell Frontline, a team formed entirely by non-professional players, became the first team to officially enter the finals.
Moreover, in the process of their advancement, they had never been killed by the enemy. The only time they died … was when they killed each other.
This kind of strength had already made them the hot favorites to win the championship.
…
Next, there was a three-minute break.
This' three minutes' naturally referred to the three minutes in the real world.
In the game world, the next thirty minutes were all rest time.
Even if they were in sleep mode, the audience would feel tired after watching the competition for more than ten hours. Hence, there was no need to rush to the second match.
At such a time … inserting advertisements or something was the right thing to do.
Other than that, the host from Dream Inc. (Since this match was split into different times, there was a commentary, and the viewers could choose whether to accept the commentary or not) also used this time to summarize the results of the first match.
What they said … was mostly content targeted at the grassroots audience. It was nothing more than the strength of the members of the two teams, their improvisation, strategic deployment, and so on.
Of course, it was impossible for them to say anything in-depth. If they were to say anything particularly detailed, it was very likely that they would reveal information about the two teams.
After chatting for about fifteen minutes, the online director felt that it was about time. Then, he sent a signal to the hosts.
Hence, the hosting team stopped talking about the first match and started the pre-match prediction for the second match — Trash Alliance versus World of Martial Arts.
The matches in the semi-finals were all very interesting to watch, and this match was no exception.
First of all, World of Martial Arts was a well-known studio. It could be said to be the leader of the medium-sized studios. Their reputation, reputation, individual strength, and so on were all very outstanding. Many people in the industry believed that if their company was as big as Order or Brahma, the current situation of 'two strong competitors' might become 'three strong competitors'.
In this match, Pugilistic World's performance was commendable. Other than Laughing Blade and Sword, who had been famous for a long time, there was also Not a Scaredy Cat and Bu Tiange. Of these two, Not a Scaredy Cat had recently become a professional player while Bu Tiange was a former member of Stardust. Both of them used their battle results in League S2 to prove that they had the ability to enter the frontline.
Then, he looked at the Trash Alliance.
Although this team didn't have a studio background, their four main players were all professional players who fought in the game under their own names. Moreover, they were all recognized as the top players in S1, or even earlier.
The word "alliance" perfectly reflected the team's form and spirit.
Their path of advancement was very similar to that of the Underworld Frontline … Most of the time, they were completely victorious, and they gave people the feeling that they were at ease.
In summary, it was really hard to say who would win in the confrontation between these two teams …
…
At 1: 19 a.m., the second semi-final officially began.
The scenario that the two teams were randomly sent to was a place called Moving Maze.
This maze had the characteristic of being constantly changing, and … the maze was filled with all kinds of powerful monsters.
Other than that, there were two NPC forces from different factions that were active in the maze. They were obviously important characters who could influence the outcome of the battle.
In terms of members … [Trash Alliance]'s lineup was unshakeable. [Uncle Trash], [Swan], [King of Shadows], and [Sleepy Dream] were in charge of the competition, while [Teacher Chi] was in charge of being a bystander.
However, Pugilistic World's formation was rather surprising. They sent out Bladeless Swordsman, Blade Runner, Not a Scaredy Cat, and Bu Tiange to participate in the competition, but they sent Enigma In The Heavens, who had the highest individual ranking (in terms of the team) and was the team leader, as a substitute.
Outsiders might not understand this situation, but the upper management of Pugilistic World knew that this was Enigma In The Heavens' intention.
As mentioned earlier, Pugilistic World was a studio created by Laughing Blade, Sword, and Blade. They were not only online players but also real-life company managers.
Different from Jin Fugui's Frost King, the three of them did not have rich fathers to 'invest' in them. They started from scratch. Under such circumstances, it was obviously unrealistic to 'hire someone' to manage the company for them.
In the early days of the studio's establishment, the three of them were doing the work of eighteen people. From the CEO to the cleaners, the three of them had done everything. Only then did they slowly make a name for themselves.
Today, Pugilistic World's business was growing. Even though they no longer needed to rely on themselves to clean and buy lunch boxes, they slowly realized that … it was time for the days of managing both the game and the company to come to an end.
Shiva from Brahman might be the boss of a studio and a player, but he was the chairman. Other than some important decisions, most of the daily work could be left to his subordinates.
However, Pugilistic World's situation was different. They were at a turning point. If they wanted to expand the company, they had to make a decision.
Therefore, [Smiling Question Of The Heavens] made his choice.
His plan was to first 'fade out' and then 'retire'. Then, he would put all his focus on the company's operations and strive to make Pugilistic World a first-tier studio within a year. When everything was on track, he would consider whether he should 'make a comeback' as a player.
Of course, he knew very well that in esports, there were very few players who could 'make a comeback' successfully, especially those events that required stamina and reaction time. Usually, once a player was over twenty-five years old, their overall condition would start to decline. If they stopped training for a period of time, there was an eighty percent chance that they would not be able to return to their previous condition.
Enigmatic Smile had thought about it before. Instead of letting the fans lament Lian Po's old age and the player's declining condition, it would be better for him to retire while he was still in good condition.
Enigmatic Smile had originally not wanted to participate in the S2 competition, but to help the new players and ensure that they could go further in the competition, he still took some time out to participate in some of the preliminaries.
Now that the team had reached the semifinals, he felt that the time had come.
Even if they won this match, there was only one match left, so Enigmatic Smile decided not to participate in this match.
Whether they won or lost, this match would allow Not a Scaredy Cat and Little Bu, these two rising stars, to gain more experience. In the future, there might be more situations that required their help.
…
At 2: 40 am, or thirteen and a half hours later, the result of the second match of the semifinals was announced.
This match ended with the victory of the Trash Alliance.
Even though it took longer than the first match, it was not a stalemate.
Ambitionist's plan had given the loser alliance an advantage, and the detection abilities of King of Shadows' summoned creatures could be said to be impenetrable.
Therefore, since the start of the match, they had the advantage in terms of information and strategy.
And the members of Pugilistic World were in a state where they were constantly running for their lives.
Theoretically speaking, in this situation, if they were not careful, they would lose members or even be wiped out, but Pugilistic World relied on their own strength to hold on for more than ten hours.
But in the end, Trash Alliance won without even using their full strength.
Mysterious strength, mysterious limit, just like Underworld Frontline, another team that did not come from a gaming studio had entered the finals.
…
There was still a three-minute break.
The advertisers couldn't wait any longer …
The hosts were also very busy. While the contestants were resting, they couldn't rest. (During the course of the competition, the hosts had many opportunities to take a break. After all, they didn't have content to talk about every minute.) Analysis and commentary during the competition were indispensable.
Although [Pugilistic World] had lost, and it was a terrible loss, the hosts and the audience still had high praises for them. The two rookies in [Pugilistic World] who had stood out were also highly praised.
The result of this match also proved that sometimes … "losing miserably" did not mean "losing miserably". Perhaps there was a gap in strength between him and his opponent, but as long as he did his best within the scope of his abilities, he could win respect even if he lost.
As for [Trash Alliance], the hosts were also full of praises. Under the director's instructions, they began to consciously compare this team with [Hell Frontline] who had just finished the competition …
…
At 2: 44 AM, the third semi-final match began.
[Warring States] VS [Mountain River].
Before the match, the predictions for this match could be said to be one-sided … Even the official hosts, who were supposed to maintain an objective and neutral attitude, revealed a message in their words — Mountain River was probably in danger.
Indeed, [Mountain River] was a very strong studio. With Pikachu … oh no … with [Autumn Wind] as the leader and [Matcha Cookie] as the vice-leader, [Mountain River One] could be said to be "the strongest in history".
But … after watching the last semi-finals, even the analysis team of Mountain River believed that … the chance of defeating [Warring States] was very slim.
Regarding the individual strength of the members of [Sengoku], the conclusion was not very optimistic. Putting aside the prejudice against foreign studios, and objectively analyzing it … [Sengoku] Team 1's strength was at the level of [Gods] and [Order].
Before entering the semi-finals, although their strength had been affirmed by many, due to various reasons … they were still underestimated.
It was not until [Sengoku] stood in front of the threshold of the finals that people seemed to realize … Their captain had defeated the previous champion in a one-on-one battle; their road to promotion was all about cutting the Gordian knot and using strength to break the skill; so far, their team members had never been defeated in a one-on-one battle.
The reason why [Sengoku] Team 1 did not rank in the top ten in the preliminaries was not because they were not strong enough, but simply because they were almost "arrogant" in terms of strategy. Most of the time, they did not consider using "power" at all, so in many games … they won with the power of both the enemy team members and NPCs.
But in the semi-finals, their style changed slightly. Although it was only "slightly," they had indeed become cautious … At least they would not ignore the power of NPCs or rush into obvious traps.
To defeat [Sengoku], [Mountain River] needed a miracle …
…
At 2: 52 am, the miracle did not happen.
The competition that lasted for eighty minutes ended just like that.
Autumn Wind had tried his best. Only half an hour after the scenario started, he had successfully gained the support of the NPC force. Then, he used 100,000 volts … Oh no … I mean, he mobilized 100,000 soldiers (the force of the scenario, armed with cold weapons) to surround the four members of the enemy team.
And he realized that everyone in [Sengoku] Team … had a lot of experience in 'mowing'.
Each of them killed an average of 320 enemies per minute, and they could complete a thousand kills in three minutes, so four of them would be four thousand kills.
Based on this speed, the 100,000 soldiers would only be able to hold on for one and a half hours.
Thankfully, the 100,000 NPCs were not idiots. Seven to eight minutes later, when they realized that they had lost more than 10,000 soldiers, and the enemy did not show any sign of fatigue … they decided to run.
Or else … the audience would have to watch the mowing for one and a half hours …
Therefore, the 'power' that [Mountain River] borrowed was reduced to nothing by the enemy's' power '.
Seeing this, Matcha Cookie used the trump card that she had planned to use in the finals, a trump card that she could only use once — she used her level S workmanship mastery to create a Gundam.
However, the four from [Sengoku] Team used their swords to dismantle the Gundam …
At this point, there was no more suspense in this competition.
…
Just like that, the three matches were over, and the three finalists were decided.
The last match would decide the final spot in the finals.
And the two sides of this match … were enough to carry the heavy responsibility of being the finale.
[Regulation] VS [Brahman].
The words "Tournament for the Best" were the best way to describe the outcome of this battle.
But … just as the people's blood was boiling, the Dream Company suddenly poured a bucket of cold water over them.
[Important Notice: All players, please take note. All players, please take note. In order not to affect the players' daily lives, we have negotiated with the members of both teams and have decided that the fourth semi-final match — "Brahman VS Order" — will be postponed until tomorrow at midnight. Today's match will end here.]
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