LOL: Can’t I play other games professionally?

Chapter 382 Trying to get things done right from the start? Is it really necessary to be so ruthless?
In the final round, there were hardly any professional Go players left in the Go Academy's main hall besides the reporters. Moreover, today's matches were all held in separate game rooms, and each reporter could only choose a single room to take pictures.

The experts at spotting trending topics naturally vied for the opportunity to film inside the room during Lin Ruo and Park Young-hoon's match.

Unfortunately, apart from the CCTV News reporter who was to broadcast the event live, the other three spots were all taken by reporters from Sina Sports, FoxGo, and Migu.

Everyone else can only wait outside for the first-hand news, or go in to snap a few photos before the match, but that depends on whether the players arrive early and cooperate.

Lin Ruo, dressed in a black suit, walked into the lobby and went straight to the restroom on the outside. After taking care of her business and calming herself down, she washed her hands, patted her face, and then headed to the game room on the second floor.

Upon reaching the second floor, apart from reporters and staff walking back and forth in the corridor, there were almost no professional Go players participating in the final round passing by.

Most of them are now seated in the game room, adjusting their mindset and preparing for the final, fierce battle.

Lin Ruo was the only exception; he chose the most stylish way to make his entrance, which was to time it perfectly.

For Lin Ruo, arriving early might not have helped to calm him down; on the contrary, sitting around with nothing to do would have made him more irritable.

Therefore, Lin Ruo chose to scout the location, hoping to start the match within ten minutes of taking his seat, even if it was the most important final round of the day.

He just didn't want to sit idly by; what did he do wrong?

……

Meanwhile, in the CCTV media live broadcast room, which started half an hour before the match, waves of viewers eagerly awaiting the game entered the room.

When he saw that Park Young-hoon 9-dan had already arrived at his seat and was sitting there holding his breath and waiting, Lin Ruo, his opponent, could not see him at all.

Those who knew Lin Ruo quite well spontaneously began to complain.

[Why isn't Lin here yet? The game has already started in 20 minutes. This is so disrespectful. I suggest they just forfeit.]

[Yes, yes, his opponent is much older than him and arrived before him. Lin is so disrespectful. Although there are no rules in the competition, I suggest kicking him out.]

[Please postpone it. I have something to do later and can't watch the game. Please give Jiangnan Eddie Peng some face.]

[Don't give me any face. I'm Lin Ruo's high school classmate. He always arrives at school right on time, so everyone, don't worry, Lin Gou will be at the door promptly at 8:59.]

[As everyone knows, Lin Gengxin likes to show off and be cool, so he'll definitely time it perfectly, because timing it perfectly will get everyone's attention.]

During the period when the popularity gradually increased,
As today's commentator and host, former professional Go player Chen Ying first took the stage to greet everyone, and then spent two minutes explaining all the rules of the Mengbaihe Cup qualifiers to the viewers in front of the screen.

Following closely behind was another commentator, today's special guest, Nie Weiping.

The young viewers in the live stream didn't understand anything, but they were filled with respect when they heard the title of "Chess Saint." He looked very senior and had a lot of experience.

At this point, the live broadcast room also switched to a three-screen split camera setup, with one half showing the Go game progressing in real time on the board, and the other two showing the live commentary and the live game footage.

"Hasn't everyone arrived yet? There are only ten minutes left before the match starts. This young man is a bit arrogant." Nie Weiping, who has a bit of a quirky talent, was also a little surprised as soon as he sat down.

His words carried a lighthearted smile; he was just joking, after all, arriving a little early or late didn't matter.

Just like Lee Chang-ho, the former world number one Go player, timing is his fine tradition, and he always keeps the time in the last minute. He considers it disrespectful to himself if his main player spends even a second more.

Lin Ruo wasn't as professional as the others, and he entered the match room five minutes before the game started. Seeing more than a dozen reporters snapping photos of Park Young-hoon sitting in a chair and waiting patiently before the match, Lin Ruo felt from the bottom of his heart that it was right for him to arrive late.

Otherwise, being stunned by flash photography for over ten minutes would be quite an eyesore.

As the match time approached, the match room was being cleared out. Except for the media reporters who were specifically left behind, most of them were asked to leave, and they naturally had no time to do anything to Lin Ruo.

Once seated across from each other, the atmosphere in the game room instantly became much quieter and more tense.

Lin Ruo calmly opened the bottled water provided by the staff and took a sip, then started fiddling with the chess box to keep herself occupied.

To his and Park Young-hoon's right, a tall camera was positioned and aimed at the scene, transmitting live video to the official live stream.

The left side was where the two referees were positioned. The two referees, dressed in white short-sleeved shirts and black trousers, slowly entered the game room one minute before the match began.

The two exchanged glances and stepped onto the platform. The head referee checked the time on his watch and then solemnly announced, "Please prepare yourselves. This match will be played according to Chinese Go rules. Black will receive a 3 3/4 komi."

"The time limit for the match is 2 hours for each side followed by 5 one-minute overtime periods. If the time limit is exceeded, the player loses. The match is decided by a single-elimination format."

Both sides nodded upon hearing this, and the two referees sat down, indicating that the pre-match process of guessing who would win could begin.

After both sides stood up and exchanged greetings, they took their seats and each picked up a chess box from the table.

As a senior player, Park Young-hoon 9-dan took the lead in picking out black stones to guess the number, while Lin Ruo picked out white stones to determine whether it was odd or even.

The crisp sound of the chess pieces hitting the board rang out, and Park Young-hoon, who had gained the first move, spoke softly: "I'll play black."

After counting the pieces, Lin Ruo tidied up the pieces on the table and put them back in the box. She looked at the person opposite her and nodded in response, "Okay, I am the white piece. Please give me your guidance."

"Please give me more advice."

After returning the gift, as the timer started, Park Young-hoon picked up a black stone and placed it on the empty board, beginning the final round of the Mengbaihe Cup qualifiers.

With a click.

With sixteen columns and four rows, Park Young-hoon chose the standard star point position for his opening move.

When it was White's turn, Lin Ruo looked at the board and pondered for two seconds before picking up a white piece from the box and placing it firmly in the lower left corner.

Four columns and sixteen rows, starting with a diagonal star position.

The bottom left three columns and three rows.

Park Young-hoon adjusted his glasses, his gaze sharp as he placed his piece, employing a striking 3-3 move to press forward in the white territory—a well-prepared strategy.

Faced with her opponent's change of direction at the start, Lin Ruo remained calm and composed, blocking first and then flying away, maintaining stable control of the situation without losing her composure.

Although he didn't understand what Park Young-hoon, who always sought stability, meant by this start.

But thinking about it, it basically means the same thing: they want to strike first and take him down.

(End of this chapter)