“Wooooo——!!!”
The chimes of London faded into the distance; Paris was now right before them. Past glory meant nothing anymore—today, they would climb an even higher summit!
The instant the clock hand struck twelve, every hero in the scene broke into a sprint toward the Eiffel Tower, racing through the steel jungle, their agile figures like phantoms sweeping across the city!
Virtual game characters running through a real-world city—the clash between illusion and reality set the audience’s blood boiling. Excited screams burst from the crowd—
“OHHHH——!!”
“TIME TO GOOOOO——!!”
More and more heroes surged in from every corner of the city. Suddenly, the screen began to shake violently as blocks of color shattered apart and rapidly reassembled, as though something was struggling to break free from within!
The heroes kept running at full speed, and the audience unconsciously held their breath, watching closely. Soon, someone realized those color fragments were constantly recombining!
The closer they got to the Eiffel Tower, the more decisively the grotesque canyon heroes shed their monstrous shells, straightening their bodies and growing human limbs.
Heroes clad in mage robes and armor also cast off their dazzling garments and gleaming plate as they approached, replacing them with long-sleeved jackets—
“GO, GO, GO——!!”
The audience below was beside itself with excitement. Their roaring cheers crashed like a tidal wave, completely drowning out the background music! By now, everyone had noticed that those figures frozen halfway through their transformation—half hero, half human—were wearing the jerseys of the playoff teams!
But suddenly, white thread-like strands began drifting down from the sky in the animation, layer upon layer like spiderwebs, wrapping around the heroes and making it impossible for them to move forward.
More and more heroes stopped in place, bound into cocoons, unable to move!
Some of them had human forms, yet still bore horns on their heads, tails behind them, and monster scales lingering on their skin. Others carried raging storms of magic within their bodies, clutching weapons that could never exist in reality.
In the end, only ten heroes successfully arrived.
The blocks of color on the screen continued trembling and reforming as the heroes gathered in Eiffel Plaza, splitting into two groups of five—one black, one white—staring at each other from afar.
Only then did the audience notice that the heroes from the fantasy world had already changed into black-and-white athletic jackets. Their figures looked more and more like the actual competitors, yet the ever-thickening webbing continued to entangle them. The oxygen they relied on grew thinner and thinner. Someone desperately stretched out a hand through the cocoon shell—
In that struggle, the audience could no longer tell whether those silhouettes were heroes… or players.
They fought with all their strength against the webbing wrapped around them, little by little, gradually breaking free—
“Bang!”
As the music reached its climax, two thunderous explosions rang out, and the blazing white lights of the arena’s main stage finally ignited!
At the exact same moment, the AR camera zoomed sharply inward. Fantasy and reality switched places in an instant. Jets of dry-ice smoke erupted from both sides of the main stage, while brilliant spotlights below flared to life one after another!
The animated Eiffel Tower vanished completely. In its place stood a towering trophy platform.
Its structure mirrored the design of the Eiffel Tower itself, entwined with gilded laurel patterns. The tower’s peak had been flattened, and beneath the descending spotlight rested the silver-white World Championship trophy!
Four or five meters before the trophy on either side stood PNG in black uniforms and UG in white uniforms. They had already broken free from their cocoons and had been waiting there all along. As the lights came on, all ten players bowed to the audience in unison!
“WooooAaaa——!!”
Every protagonist of today’s story appeared onstage at once, instantly igniting the atmosphere! The eruption of screams and cheers from the audience was beyond imagination, nearly enough to blow the double-domed roof off the stadium—
“PNG! PNG! PNG!!”
“Ultimate! Ultimate——!!”
The pounding drums grew even fiercer. Gripping the microphone, the host shouted himself hoarse as he roared: “Summoners from all around the world——!”
“Wel-come… to Paris!!”
……
[PARIS!!!]
[HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT, AHHHHHHH——!!]
[THIS IS INSANE AHHHHHH!!]
[The match hasn’t even started yet and the crowd’s already gone crazy—my throat’s gone hoarse too!]
“To all the summoners watching the Chinese bromarksmanast!”
Chao Mi tried desperately to calm his violently pounding heart. Suppressing his excitement, his voice rang out like thunder: “—Welcome to the sixth season of the War of Glory Professional League Global Finals!”
“Twenty-four teams fought fiercely for nearly four weeks, and in the end—there are only two teams left standing on this final stage!”
He took a deep breath, cheeks flushed red with excitement. “On one side, we have the HPL’s first seed and Group A leader, PNG! On the other, the Group B leader and two-time champions from Korea, UG! This is the final BO5 of the Glory professional season, and also the first time in nearly four years that the HPL and Korean regions have met again at the peak of the finals!”
Quarterfinals, semifinals, round of sixteen—it had been enough already! Before the tournament began, Chao Mi had still been calm, but now the more he spoke, the more his hands trembled. As someone who loved Glory and loved the HPL, he had waited far, far too long for this day.
PNG’s advance hadn’t been heavily promoted back home precisely because… everyone had been waiting for today for far too long.
So long that no one even dared imagine what domestic public opinion would look like if the Phoenix fell. So long that now, with the World Championship trophy only one step away, everyone’s nerves had been stretched to the breaking point. Everyone was waiting for the same—and only—ending!
This match had to be won!
“We’ve all waited far too long for this BO5,” Qing Ci said. For some reason, his nose suddenly stung with emotion.
He forced a smile. “Maybe it’s the same for the players. This match… might become the most important BO5 of their entire lives.”
If they missed this chance, how many years would it be before another came? Qing Ci had no idea.
The only reality he knew was that over the past four years, countless people had already left the stage.
And as they grew older, the possibility of returning to professional play became vanishingly small. In other words, some of them might never again have the chance to compete in front of the World Championship trophy for the rest of their lives.
“On one side, the tournament’s biggest favorite to win it all. On the other, an underestimated dark-horse rookie squad. Which team will write a new chapter for their region—it all comes down to this BO5! Two first seeds meeting at the summit; the value of this match speaks for itself!” Qing Ci declared firmly.
If UG won, a dynasty would be born.
If PNG won, a new king would ascend the throne.
Qing Ci’s expression remained solemn. He looked calm, but beneath the desk his fists were clenched tight. He didn’t have to wait long. The arena lights dimmed, and the live bromarksmanast camera suddenly zoomed in on the player booths!
The giant screen split left and right, one side black and the other white. All ten players and coaches from both teams appeared on screen simultaneously, while the familiar Ban/Pick overview unfolded along the sides and bottom of the display!
Worlds Season 6
PNG 0-0 UG
Game 1
The commentators’ hearts skipped a beat. The fans in the audience lost control first—
“AHHHHHH——!!”
“Holy shit, the draft’s actually starting?? I’m so fucking nervous!!”
“Crap, crap, crap—I suddenly don’t even dare watch anymore?? I paid thousands for these floor seats——”
“Waaah, Mom, ahhh—I don’t wanna watch anymore!!”
——
The grand finals.
Game 1 draft officially began.
Before the match, a coin toss had determined side selection priority. UG won and chose the red side, giving them second ban and second pick.
“I hereby announce that we’ve found the biggest culprit already.” Lin Zhaoxu grinned and pointed behind him. “Certain people have literally never won a coin toss in their life!”
“Hehehehehe…”
“We’ve already found the scapegoat—everyone head over to Weibo @PNG_MoonfireV!” (It’s their coach Yue Huo a.k.a Chen Chen a.k.a Moonfire)
Chen Chen’s face darkened. “Get lost. I used to win every time!”
Who knew what was wrong today? His luck had completely failed him! He’d lost three guesses in a row!
…That’s right. Even the coaches’ coin toss was basically a BO5.
No one knew where Coach Yoonsoo from the other side had come from, but the man looked like some kind of hidden master. Every time the coin was tossed, he didn’t even look at it. Instead, he pressed his index and middle fingers to his temples, furrowed his brow, and acted like he was using psychic powers to sense the result—
And somehow, he actually guessed correctly!
It landed on the patterned side!
Yoonsoo: “Nice!”
Chen Chen, who had spent the whole time staring wide-eyed trying to see which side the coin landed on, was dumbfounded. You— Referee!!! Look at him!!
“…Ahem.” Sui Ning suppressed a laugh and coughed lightly. “Who are we banning first this game? Same as in scrims?”
“Yeah.” Chen Chen instantly turned serious again, voice stern. “That game against SST’s Bombardier was really rough for us. UG definitely saw it, and they’ll probably use the same comp Navic used against us. Most likely in Game 1.”
“Ban out the Holy Light Warrior first!” the coach ordered decisively.
Hearing that, Wei Ye quickly found the warrior champion—who had transitioned from mid lane to top lane—in the champion list and clicked.
PNG Ban — [Holy Light Warrior]
“That first ban is really interesting,” Coach Da Ju began analyzing. “If PNG is wary of the Bombardier + Warrior combo, then banning Holy Light Warrior gives more value than banning Bombardier directly!”
“First, top lane loses a freely scaling fighter. Teamfights also lose the Reflection Wall, which reduces pressure on Myerii and the backline overall. Second, UG loses a counterpick against Wind’s champion pool, meaning they’ll need to spend additional bans elsewhere. Third, it breaks apart their entire team composition synergy. One champion ban, and PNG profits from both angles!”
After a pause, Da Ju emphasized: “But most importantly—the fourth point. PNG’s move forces UG to reveal their tactical intentions during the first ban phase!”
“Especially regarding the hero Stellar Sprite. Whether UG bans it or not, PNG will immediately know the direction of UG’s upcoming composition! Because who you ban reveals who you want to pick! That means PNG gains much more initiative to adjust the draft!”
“That’s why we often say Stellar Sprite gives PNG enormous drafting advantages—not just because she permanently occupies one of the opponent’s ban slots, but because drafting around her reveals a huge amount of information about the opponent!”
[??? Holy shit, I thought bans were just ‘ban whoever’s strongest’ (stunned)]
[I could understand the first three points, but the fourth one???]
[…??? Coach, slow down, my brain can’t keep up!!]
Just from analyzing a single ban, they had already unpacked this much information. And the draft had only just begun—the viewers’ CPUs were practically overheating! The livestream audience stared blankly in shock, and suddenly the fried chicken and fries they’d just picked up didn’t taste nearly as good anymore—
“Mm…”
On the other side, Coach Yoonsoo pursed his lips. “It’s fine. We’re not afraid of revealing things. Just remember—the new strategy we practiced absolutely cannot go wrong.” Still, he wasn’t stupid enough to expose their entire draft plan right away. He still wanted to keep something hidden.
Support player Kim Seokchan nodded confidently. “Don’t worry, Coach. I remember everything!”
“OK, Se-woo.” Coach Yoonsoo called top laner Park Se-woo’s name and made his decision. “Shadow of Vengeance.”
“—Coming right up.”
UG Ban — [Shadow of Vengeance]
“Huh? Why that one?” Chao Mi and Qing Ci asked at the same time, both looking puzzled.
Because it was a jungler that could fit into virtually every composition PNG excelled at.
Because at this moment, every mage was still open. Sui Ning and Choi Hyun-woo both had champion pools deep enough to withstand any targeting. Banning all the mages was equivalent to banning none at all. UG was also waiting—waiting for PNG to ban a mage first and reveal information.
Naturally, Chen Chen could understand Coach Yoonsoo’s thought process.
But there was one thing he was worried about. Shadow of Vengeance had looked… off in UG’s previous game against Navic. That proved it wasn’t actually the optimal jungler for their composition.
Chen Chen was worried UG had already evolved their composition again.
PNG Ban — [Shadow Hawk]
UG Ban — [Explorer]
PNG removed Shadow Hawk, the support who served as the pivot point of teamfights. Not to be outdone, UG locked away Explorer, the most perfect marksman for the Soulreaper composition. Their intentions were obvious:
The composition itself couldn’t be allowed through, because 1 + 1 > 2. But since their mid lane was strong, they could dismantle PNG’s synergy and still leave Soulreaper King open as a standalone pick!
With so many mages available, if PNG took one, UG would take another. They had plenty of answers.
And UG’s advantage on red side meant that after tossing PNG one so-called “power pick,” they themselves could immediately secure two preferred champions in return!
“T-This is actually really annoying!” Chao Mi hissed after listening to Da Ju’s analysis. “UG’s red side is hard to deal with——”
PNG hesitated for a moment before finally banning [Rune Arcanist] in the very last second.
Seeing that, Yoonsoo’s lips curled slightly upward, confidence evident on his face. “Aeria.”
UG Ban — [Stellar Sprite]
“This is getting awkward,” Da Ju said, brows tightly furrowed. “Both Soulreaper King and Phantom Trickster—the two absolute meta monsters of this patch—are still open. Which one does PNG take? Honestly, neither option feels great! No matter which one they pick, False gets the other! Should they maybe prioritize another role first? …But that’s not ideal either.”
Phantom Trickster’s individual combat strength was beyond question, while Soulreaper King offered more stable sustained damage and superior teamfight presence.
One was an assassin mage; the other, a scaling magic carry. One controlled tempo; the other guaranteed midgame stability. And both were signature champions for Wind! Da Ju pondered for a long time and still couldn’t decide which was stronger. In the end, it would all depend on how the final compositions shaped up.
He couldn’t help rubbing his forehead and laughing bitterly. “Man, this finals draft is way too stressful. Considering the sheer individual skill level on both sides, this is really difficult! I’m sitting up here sweating for Chen Chen!”
[This is so full of mind games!! At first glance it just looked like normal bans, but after the coach explained it, there are already like ten layers of psychological warfare in there]
[The bans are just setup—what matters is how the picks play out… Ugh, I’m getting nervous watching this]
However, after the initial clash during bans, the two teams seemed to reach some sort of silent understanding. During picks, neither side hesitated much at all—
PNG Pick — [Soulreaper King], [Verdant Treant], [Void Ranger]
UG Pick — [Bombardier], [Phantom Trickster], [Radiant Goddess]
Without Shadow Hawk available, UG settled for Radiant Goddess as their support—a hard-engage support with similarly powerful initiation tools. Meanwhile, PNG’s marksman choice completely broke from convention, pulling out the far more mobile and execution-heavy Void Ranger—
Coach Yoonsoo clicked his tongue in regret on the spot.
“Mior had this prepared too??”
Chao Mi was shocked and hurriedly flipped through statistics. “He barely played Void Ranger during the regular season!”
“I think they specifically practiced it!” Da Ju exclaimed excitedly. “With Explorer banned, Ranger is the best possible replacement! Burst damage, sustained damage, AOE, mobility—it’s got everything. Honestly, it might even be better than Explorer. As long as his teammates engage first and the mid laner lands the initial burst, the marksman can clean up!”
“Mior already had solid fundamentals to begin with. Training together with the other teams that came to Worlds definitely helped him pick up a few tricks!”
Among the teams traveling together, both Nv_Liome and HTG_Style specialized in Void Ranger.
Or rather, at this point, it would’ve been strange if Lin Zhaoxu couldn’t play such a popular meta champion!
Da Ju said seriously: “I’m sure everyone’s noticed this already, but Worlds has always been played on a new patch, so there’s always been one consistent rule: whoever learns the fastest wins! PNG, you’d better show everyone the results of your practice in this BO5!”
[Damn it, PNG! Don’t betray the love we’ve given you!!]
[Don’t betray our faith!!]
But by the second round of picks, Da Ju’s previously relaxed expression underwent a complete reversal—
PNG Pick — [Void Devourer], [Goblin Engineer]
UG Pick — [Shadowmoon Gun], [Blade of Dawn]
Da Ju: ????
PNG’s composition looked excellent, and that final Goblin Engineer support was clearly a surprise counterpick aimed specifically at shutting down UG’s Bombardier bot lane!
“In Navic’s earlier series, their bot lane suffered horribly against Bombardier because of one major issue—lane priority! Without lane priority, they couldn’t contest the lane, got endlessly poked down, and then got four-man tower-dived. Their bot lane completely exploded!”
“But once you swap in Goblin Engineer, the little turrets clear waves extremely fast and provide strong poke. In lane, they absolutely don’t lose to Bombardier! And in teamfights, the turrets can function as vision control. You can even build slowing items to give the turrets on-hit slow effects, maximizing their utility!”
“You could say every weakness Goblin Engineer had in mid lane becomes an advantage when played as support, while all the original strengths get amplified even further—PNG has picked the perfect killing move for Erllit.”
After praising the pick for quite a while, Da Ju suddenly changed tone, his voice turning heavy. “But UG’s composition… all I can say is, they truly—really truly—came prepared. In just three days, they’ve elevated their draft to an entirely new level.”
On stage, Chen Chen’s expression also looked grim.
To be precise, the moment jungle [Blade of Dawn] was locked in, his heart had started pounding nonstop. But by then, PNG’s support and top lane were already decided, fully exposing blue side’s natural drafting disadvantage!
Shadowmoon Gun was obviously picked to deal with Verdant Treant. From bot lane, to mid lane, and finally to top lane, the one thing that had never changed about that champion was its overwhelming lane pressure.
Previously, SDB had picked it and completely inted with it. But now it was in the hands of UG_Leave—the strongest top laner in the world this season…
The veins on Chen Chen’s forehead throbbed violently. He glanced toward Wei Ye, and sure enough, Wei Ye had already taken a deep breath and gone completely silent.
He was nervous.
Chen Chen then looked toward another champion portrait.
Jungler [Blade of Dawn]. E-skill: Dash Thrust. Ultimate — [R: Dawn Guardian]: sweeps the area around the user, dealing damage and knocking back all targets hit, then becomes immune to damage originating from outside the sweep radius for six seconds!
The instant they saw that hero, both Sui Ning and Lin Zhaoxu’s expressions became much more serious. They were already extremely familiar with champion skills, and as carries themselves, they instantly understood the danger of Blade of Dawn without needing their coach to explain it.
A walking, upgraded Reflective Wall. The ultimate could be used offensively or defensively, and could forcibly split PNG’s formation apart, isolating the frontline from the backline!
Lin Zhaoxu immediately felt a chill of fear and patted his chest. Good thing he’d already picked the highly mobile Void Ranger. If he’d chosen some immobile marksman instead, and Blade of Dawn suddenly dashed in and ulted— The consequences would’ve been unimaginable!
Like when they previously ran the Soulreaper composition: without Explorer available, Lin Zhaoxu would usually just default to Soul-Piercing Spear.
But if he’d picked that marksman this game… would the carry even get to play? Absolutely not!
Good lord. So this was the trap Yoonsoo had dug for them all along!
Once he understood the logic behind it, Lin Zhaoxu ground his teeth hard.
But even if they avoided this trap, countless more remained ahead.
UG’s traps were interconnected. PNG’s original advantage in draft information had been completely overturned by UG’s final two picks, instantly reversing the positions of both teams!
Back in Summer Split, PNG had been invincible on blue side. But now, in the grand finals, blue side’s first-pick advantage had instead pushed them into a drafting nightmare.
“UG’s evolution has been way too fast.”
“Right—it’s not improvement, it’s evolution. They intentionally picked heroes that looked similar to their previous drafts to create a smokescreen, then transformed the entire composition instantly just by changing two positions!”
Da Ju emphasized the point again, his heart heavy. “PNG already prepared two surprise weapons—Void Ranger and Goblin Engineer. Clearly, they didn’t waste a single second of these seventy-two hours, but…”
But while we were improving, the opponent was also sprinting relentlessly forward.
Da Ju suddenly shivered.
He realized, all at once, that the two teams before him were completely unlike any team he had ever coached in his life.
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