LOL: Can’t I play other games professionally?

Chapter 450 The Finals: You're the Attacker? (5000 words per update)
He really wants to use a famous Japanese quote to express his feelings at this moment.

No, who gave Lin Ruo the courage? She's better than him in every way.

Who am I, Park Jung-hwan? I'm the number one ranked player in South Korea for two years, a multi-time world champion, and no one in the world dares to say they can beat me.

But now a young man who debuted less than a year ago has emerged and made it to the finals of the Dream Lily Cup for the first time. In his eyes, this eighteen-year-old is still just a child and is better than him in every way.

Park Jung-hwan is simply out of this world; this is really underestimating him.

Although he admitted that he had reason to be proud of making it to the finals in his first world championship, that's no reason for you to call me that in front of me.

"Let's see who's the best on the field. I'm determined to win this championship. These young people these days have never experienced hardship and they're all too arrogant. Do they really think they can reach their peak right from their debut?"

Park Jung-hwan left the scene feeling ashamed and indignant after saying those words through gritted teeth, a hint of disdain secretly creeping into his heart.

Debuting at the peak? Dream on.

Which professional Go player doesn't dream of reaching their peak right from the start? But how many actually achieve that?

Once you enter the arena, it's like falling into a deep sea. Without four or five years of experience, you can't become a challenger. But now, someone has emerged who wants to reach the top in his first appearance in the finals.

It's so unrealistic.

If the Go world were truly filled with people who could make a world-shaking impact in their teens, then there wouldn't be so many 25- or 26-year-old veterans causing trouble everywhere.

In fact, only a small number of teenagers are able to make a name for themselves.

Most young players, when they first enter the competition, are beaten by experienced veterans. They learn from their failures and gradually make a name for themselves after two or three years.

Although Park Jung-hwan believed that Lin Ruo was likely one of the few, the kid was far too arrogant, and he had to take action to punish him in order to save face.

To say something like that in a pre-match interview will either make you an overnight sensation and a legend, or you'll be relentlessly criticized after a defeat, becoming a prime example of someone who loses both face and game in the Go world.

Lin Ruo dared to say that, which naturally showed great confidence. So, while Park Jung-hwan was furious, he was also worried and needed to make more preparations.

If he really loses the game as the interview suggests, while he might not be condemned to a very deep level of shame, it would certainly be something he can't get over.

Unlike Lin Ruo, who didn't care about the consequences at all and just wanted to show off, he went through all the media interviews at the chess academy. When he returned to the hotel, he was arrested by authoritative media such as CCTV and inevitably had to do another half-hour interview.

After going back and forth like this, Lin Ruo almost felt like she had forgotten how to act cool.

No matter how awesome you are, you can't keep pretending forever. You'll get struck by lightning, you know? Besides, even inspiration runs out eventually.

You think I'm showing off and just spouting nonsense?

As this news spread like wildfire across the internet, opinions among most Go enthusiasts were mixed.

It doesn't matter whether it's criticism or praise.

When the audience in West Pakistan found out, they were naturally met with a barrage of criticism. The Chinese audience, however, had both criticisms and praises, though the latter were more prevalent.

On Weibo during the daytime, if a media outlet briefly mentions how to view Lin Ruo's confident remarks in the post-match interview, the comments below will increase at a visible speed.

I think that's a bit much. Regardless of whether someone is stronger than another, being humble is the right thing to do, especially since the opponent is a senior.

[What's with the modesty? Let Lin Ruoai say whatever she wants. As long as he wins, he can act all high and mighty. In any competition, the winner takes all.]

[Just kidding, what's wrong with being a bit arrogant? If I were like Lin Gengxin, learning chess for a year and beating a bunch of top players, reaching the finals that most people can't even get into, then sorry, I'd have to channel the spirit of the senior brother.]

[Just do it! If you lose, just call Lin Gengxin rude; if you win, just shut up.]

[This is ridiculous. Lin himself doesn't care. He's the one who gets criticized when he loses, not you guys. Why are you all so concerned?]

Indeed, as Lin fans, we must always remember our slogan: Lin, fly bravely! If you win, we'll cheer; if you lose, we won't take the blame, hehe.

[I'll join in the online criticism if we lose, but I'll always support Lin Ruo, thank you. As for why I'm criticizing him, it's just that I want the great Lin Ruo to experience the joy of online bullying.]

[Enough with the nonsense. Lin Ruo won, so everything she says is right.]

...

Most viewers still have great confidence in this final, because Lin Ruo has not lost a single match since the qualifiers. If this is not a demonstration of strength, then there is no strength to demonstrate.

Thinking about it this way, the so-called arrogance isn't really a problem, especially since Chinese audiences, who have always valued humility and a low-key style, have already experienced this many times before.

Well, it's not like Ke Jie and the others don't know each other...

Unlike the viewers in West Pakistan who had the same experience, they still had to break down. Having been trampled on in their strongest area of ​​dominance, League of Legends, it seems that they are now also showing signs of being trampled on in Go.

Regardless of whether they can win or not, based on this statement alone, it would be unreasonable not to criticize it with the full force of the nation.

This prompted the Chosun Ilbo, a prominent South Korean media outlet that had previously criticized Lin Ruo's Go experience as fabricated, to publish two more articles criticizing him, directly pointing out his lack of character and Go spirit.

Talented but lacking in virtue; a perfect example of someone who is talented but lacks in virtue.

When the news reached China, many Chinese Go fans remembered that Lin Ruo had been interviewed by CCTV in April this year before his match against Park Young-hoon in the preliminary rounds, discussing his Go experience.

At the time, it seems that the Chosun Ilbo jumped out to express its doubts, saying that they were faking it, that they only studied Go for a year, and that they were just deliberately putting pressure on Park Young-hoon 9-dan, and made a harsh criticism.

Finally, they even said that Park Young-hoon couldn't possibly lose.

As everyone knows, Lin Ruo beat Park Young-hoon into a well-behaved and obedient little Park.

If we add the fact that the South Korean media had previously launched the attack, many Go viewers immediately felt that Lin Ruo's interview was much more reasonable.

Are you allowed to ramble on and on, but we contestants aren't allowed to tell the truth?

Do it, do it hard.

Although there was still a day of rest between the final match and the two sides, the tension was already so high that it felt like a world war had broken out.

This caused Park Jung-hwan to spend the whole day preparing for the match, mainly because his performance as South Korea's top player in world competitions over the past two years has not been ideal, especially in the eyes of South Korean audiences.

Although Park Jung-hwan won the world championship, he often lost to Chinese players in crucial games, especially against Gu Li, which is not worthy of the title of a South Korean national player or even the world's number one.

In other words, he lacked stronger dominance, and this Mengbaihe Cup final was undoubtedly Park Jung-hwan's way of proving to everyone the value of his world number one ranking in Go.

Lin Ruo also had a lot to prepare, in addition to dealing with countless interviews.

There is...

"It's rare to finally have advertisers come knocking on our door."

Back home, Lin Ruo scrolled through his phone. Several brands had invited him to talk on Weibo alone, and advertisers even came to his door in the afternoon.

Making it to the finals definitely had a different effect, attracting many advertisers to show up early.

Perhaps it was Lin Ruo's confident remarks before the competition that made the advertisers feel confident as well, and they didn't want to wait until after the finals to make a decision.

After all, if we remain on the sidelines now, the competition for advertising will undoubtedly increase after we win the finals, and the costs we need to invest will be even greater.

Therefore, there's no reason why it's faster, more convenient, and cheaper to just go to their door to discuss things.

What's even more outrageous is that Lin Ruo was willing to talk to them...

This was an outcome that many advertisers never expected. With only a half-day break after the semi-finals and a full day of preparation for tomorrow, the two days should actually be spent preparing for the finals.

But Lin Ruo didn't.

The advertisers originally planned to just deliver a postcard to create a first impression, and then deal with everything else after the finals…

Li Weiqing, who was still in the hotel preparing to watch the finals, silently lit a cigarette in the corridor. He hadn't left even after Zhang Ruo left, just so he could study with Lin Ruo for a couple more days.

He never expected that, in order not to affect Lin Ruo's preparations, he didn't dare to contact Lin Ruo, but instead ended up chatting with the advertiser.

Dude, that's not how you open champagne.

Fortunately, Lin Ruo didn't chat for long, but it still gave Li Weiqing a fright: "Brother, shouldn't you be actively preparing for the battle at this point? Why are you chatting?"

Sipping tea provided by the advertiser in the hotel's chess training room, Lin Ruo remained remarkably calm: "Do you think I can't beat Old Park if I don't train these past two days?"

Li Weiqing nodded. That was indeed what he thought. After all, both sides were top experts, especially Park Jung-hwan, who, in terms of achievements, was already considered half the world's number one.

However, it seems that Lin Ruo hasn't trained much since the semifinals and quarterfinals. Li Weiqing thought about it and realized it was true. If he hadn't constantly pestered Lin Ruo to practice with him, Lin Ruo would probably have spent even less time playing Go, maybe just a few games of Wild Fox Go in the few hours before bedtime to try and fall asleep.

As for the rest, let alone studying their opponents, that was a completely foreign concept to Lin Ruo.

Li Weiqing had seen many memes about Lin Ruo online, such as playing Overwatch before the Spring Split finals, and before the Mid-Season Invitational finals...

Basically, the more Lin Ruo plays before a crucial match, the more aggressive he becomes...

It's outrageous, but because the facts are right in front of us, its credibility is as high as 100%.

So are they really stacking buffs?
Lin Ruo didn't know what he was thinking. For him, once it was open, it was open. There was no point in trying, right?

So if you really want to prepare actively, then you should probably wash up and go to bed early tonight.

Getting enough sleep is actually the best way to prepare.

...

After a day of rest, the Mengbaihe Cup finals finally opened on June 14th. On that morning, there was a special opening ceremony for the finals organized by the Chess Association.

There was even a press conference attached, where the two players each went up to make their pre-final declarations and stir up some tension.

In the past, there might have been a need to do this, but this time, let alone gunpowder, they were practically carrying an atomic bomb before the game, so the so-called press conference didn't seem that novel.

Lin Ruo felt it wasn't worth the effort of getting up early. He actually liked arriving right on time, not for any other reason than to walk into the classroom the moment the bell rang for school.

With all the classmates watching, tell me, isn't he handsome?

In short, he really likes to pretend.

So even though she had arrived at the chess academy early, Lin Ruo still followed her usual principle: she would first go to the toilet to hold it in for a while, and then slowly walk into the game room in the last fifteen minutes.

He was right.

At this moment, more than five professional cameras had been set up in the final match room, clearly indicating that they didn't want to miss even his profile.

The not-so-large space was crammed with more than a dozen staff members, including the referees.

If we had come earlier, who knows how hot it would have been.

In the highly anticipated Wildfox livestream room, the commentators were, as usual, first analyzing the historical head-to-head data of both sides, as well as their recent performances in world championships. However, Lin Ruo's resume was quite dry.

This resulted in a limited amount of talking, but fortunately Lin Ruo had arrived, and there were less than ten minutes left before the match started.

Park Jung-hwan, who had arrived early after attending the opening ceremony, was sitting on one side of the chess table. When he saw Lin Ruo arrive, he looked up and glanced at her. Their eyes met briefly in mid-air before they looked away without realizing it.

However, this has completely ignited Park Jung-hwan's competitive spirit.

It's even more exciting than Boruto.

He had never been so determined to win a game, and he was determined to teach this young man who didn't know how to respect his elders a small lesson.

Thinking this, Lin Ruo, yawning, was already sitting in the seat opposite her, waiting.

The two remained silent, waiting for the match to begin in an extremely calm atmosphere.

Once the time was up, the media reporters left, and after all the equipment had been checked, the three referees stood up and announced the rules in unison.

This final is a best-of-five series, with each player having a basic time limit of 2 hours and an additional 1 minute of overtime per move.

As soon as they finished speaking and returned to their seats, Lin Ruo and Park Jung-hwan stood up and bowed to each other, showing courtesy before resorting to force.

He then sat down, opened the chess box, and began the first step of the game: guessing who would go first and who would choose black or white.

...

"Oh, the results are in. Lin Ruochu, dan, plays white, and Park Jung-hwan, 9-dan, plays black."

In the live stream, which was keeping up with the latest developments, WildFox commentator watched the live video and then checked the number of viewers in the live stream. To his surprise, it had surpassed 100,000 online viewers for the first time.

This is the first time that Wild Fox Commentary has felt like a top commentator, since in the past he mostly talked to thousands of people when broadcasting matches.

Beyond the live broadcast, there are probably millions of other people watching this match, making its popularity immeasurable.

The result of the prediction had already gone viral on Weibo at this point, which meant that the popularity of this battle had reached its peak.

On the chessboard.

With Black making the first move, the highly anticipated final match of the Mengbaihe Cup officially began.

In the first four moves, both sides formed a black two-star opening against white's small goal, a fierce battle.

The two-star formation is suitable for rapidly expanding one's sphere of influence. The small-eye formation is a variation of the small-eye formation, intended to limit the opponent's large-scale formation.

This was also Park Jung-hwan's third move. With two star points at the start, he directly made a corner attack on the bottom left side, targeting the small eye position.

Lin Ruo, on the other hand, followed the defensive corner and temporarily chose to sit back and wait before making any plans.

Park Jung-hwan, with his aggressive style, played a low-clamp opening, first copying the corner approach in the upper left, and then placing a stone not far below the black stones to restrict the white stones' room to maneuver.

Lin Ruo, who was not in a hurry to do anything, quickly moved to the upper right corner and also made a move in the lower corner to target the weak black stones. This forced Park Jung-hwan, who was extremely eager to fight, to place a stone on the straight line and play a second low clamp, directly attacking the white stones.

The game started with two low-angle attacks; no one could miss such a fierce offensive desire.

"Park Jung-hwan 9-dan started today more aggressively than ever before."

Even the Fox commentators, who know the players quite well, were utterly surprised by these two moves.

Are you sure it wasn't Lin Ruo who caused this? It looks like the tension is about to escalate today.

Of all the onlookers, Lin Ruo was probably the only one who wasn't surprised at this moment; as the opponent, he remained quite calm.

In Go, anything is possible.

All Lin Ruo had to do was tell her opponent that all their ideas were futile in front of her.

Since you want to fight, then I'll fight you!
At this point, he was faced with only two opening moves: one was to play the fixed 3-3 pattern in the upper right corner, break the corner, and that would be the end of it.

However, considering the situation on the left, if White plays at the 3-3 point, White will be able to force the opponent to move in, giving White too much initiative.

So, if you make the next move, a counter-attack, there's nothing to be afraid of; just go for it.

Black defends the corner.

After eliminating the potential threat on the left, Lin Ruo reselected point 3-3, but placed it in the lower right area.

After nearly twenty revisions, it was directly expanded to form the common cross motif.

Both sides gained something, with Black controlling the outer territory and White securing the corner, resulting in a balanced situation.

Having gained the upper hand, Lin Ruo immediately and without hesitation chose to fly downwards in the next move.

Seeing that the white stones did not make a move on the upper side, Park Jung-hwan, with a flash of inspiration, immediately chose to move to the upper side to support the white stones that had previously countered him, in order to expand his position.

White moves to block, Black moves to retreat.

In his thirty-fourth move, Lin Ruoyi resolutely placed a piece to stick to the opponent and began to counterattack.

Seeing this, Park Jung-hwan took a step back to defend the corner instead of jumping down to expand the central formation.

Although attacking was his idea, he didn't want to rush things at the beginning and disrupt his thinking ability in the constant attacks.

At this point, the upper right corner at point 3-3 becomes Lin Ruo's most likely next move.

One of its greatest advantages is that after placing the 3-3 point, he can make his group live in the upper right corner.

However, it's still early, and the planning has only just begun. It would be too presumptuous to discuss whether it will survive.

(End of this chapter)