Valorant: I Am Still the World's Best

After the two practice matches were completed, everyone in the EDG training room had a big smile on their face, even the usually serious assistant coach Muggle couldn't suppress his smile.

While FPS games certainly have their ups and downs, and everyone has their off days, one game doesn't prove anything. But talent... it's something you can really spot at a glance.

Even in training matches that are closest to professional games, Su Ming can easily adapt to the rhythm; this is definitely a treasure he's found.

"He played very intelligently and strategically; his game intelligence is very high."

After has been focusing on analyzing Su Ming's actions as a newcomer and has noticed his most valuable qualities:

"Generally, people with high IQs tend to play a more conservative style of play, even when it's a duel game. The most typical example is Aspas."

On the surface, his playing style appears aggressive, with all sorts of daring forward pressure, unconventional peeks, and a tendency to actively seek out fights. But isn't that how duels are played? Only by playing like this can the function of a "duel" be fulfilled. This doesn't mean Aspas is aggressive; it just means he's playing correctly, which is also a manifestation of his high game intelligence.

To truly assess a person's stability, one must observe whether they exhibit a "gambling mentality" in a balanced situation.

Take, for example, the crucial third point in Figure 1.

If it were Aspas, he would definitely wait until the smoke clears before engaging in a fair gunfight with the opponent, playing the "correct" way.

Instead of doing what Su Ming did, risking the negative effects of the "poison curtain" to smoke and betting that the opponent couldn't withstand it, engaging in a gunfight with the opponent in a completely disadvantageous situation is extremely irrational and incorrect.

If EDG loses that point, it won't be as simple as just losing a point.

It's worth noting that Nobody gave Su Ming that Mad Armor; if he loses that point, EDG will be missing a long gun for their fourth point.

I was on edge when I saw it.

In subsequent rounds, there have been many instances where this situation suddenly "opens for betting".

Sometimes it succeeds, sometimes it fails.

"Su Ming has a high gaming IQ and usually plays very steadily, but he always does this unexpected thing once in a while, making it seem like a smart and calm person has suddenly gone mad..."

To be honest, if I had to find a word to describe this kind of behavior, it would be "mental illness".

It is well known that the behavior of people with mental illness is unpredictable.

Su Ming is the same.

In After's view, Su Ming's most valuable quality is this unpredictability.

A contestant with 100% unpredictability!

Su Ming had no idea that by combining the game styles of 'Something' and 't3xture', he had become the e-sports Naruto in After's analysis. He was completely immersed in the cheers and praises of his teammates.

"What's your sensitivity level?" Qiuqiu was very concerned about this.

"800x0.6".

"Holy crap, that's high?"

Qiuqiu was shocked. Among the professional players in Wa, Su Ming's agility was considered extremely high.

High sensitivity has many advantages: it makes aiming, searching for points, flicking, using skills, and backflipping smoother... The only drawback is that fine-tuning is not as stable as low sensitivity.

This single drawback led to its rapid elimination in an environment like Wales that emphasizes headshot accuracy, making it a minority.

High sensitivity combined with fine-tuning accuracy is a rare talent.

"Dude, how did you train your rifle? It's so accurate, even Gao Min is so good!" Zheng Yongkang exclaimed in amazement. His current rifle skills were only considered above average among all the duelists, and it was one of his weaknesses.

He knew this too, and had always wanted to improve.

I also considered lowering the sensitivity and increasing the fine-tuning accuracy, but after trying it, the sniper rifle level didn't seem to suit me, and I didn't feel comfortable playing some duels.

He might be able to adapt to dueling with low sensitivity with some effort, but sniping... he only became famous in the world because of his Dark Steed, how could he possibly give it up now?

"It's a pretty standard training method. I play ten ARAM matches every day after ranked matches."

Thinking about how he had been full of energy lately since acquiring the talent of [Enduring Focus], Su Ming added, "I'm planning to add ten more recently."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhao couldn't help but laugh out loud, "You're just as energetic as Zheng Yongkang."

Nobody patted him on the shoulder and asked curiously, "So, how was your first practice match? Did you feel any pressure?"

"Hmm..." Su Ming pondered for a moment, then frankly said, "There wasn't much pressure. The opposing team seemed to be holding back a bit, playing very conventionally. Also, I felt more comfortable playing professional matches than ranked matches, probably because there's more strategy involved. I had a lot of fun!"

"Indeed." Zheng Yongkang nodded in agreement. "Ranked teammates are completely uncontrollable. They always die a few times for no reason, and if you keep dying, you lose your feel for the game."

Seeing the two mouth-shaped demons resonate with each other here, Nobody and Haodong looked at each other in bewilderment.

"I shouldn't have asked," Wang Senxu said with a sullen expression.

Team strength and individual strength influence each other.

A poor team can negatively impact individual performance.

Conversely, a good team can unleash the individual abilities of its players.

For players with exceptional individual skills, once they adapt to the rhythm of the game, they will immediately feel the joy of playing professionally and be able to unleash even greater explosive power than usual!

"I wonder how he'll behave when facing a team stronger than ours?"

After thinking about this, they immediately regretted not letting Su Ming play in the training match against PRX. They were thinking of taking care of the newcomer, so they chose the weaker T1 as Su Ming's debut.

Strong teams like PRX have very tight training schedules. Even if they have a good relationship, they can't just schedule training sessions casually. Not to mention, in a few days, they will have to fly to Los Angeles in advance to adjust to the time difference and environment and prepare for the championship.

"How was it, Coach?"

Nobody was more familiar with Su Ming and was naturally more concerned about the outcome, so he immediately asked, "Is Su Ming able to stay?"

"Yes! Absolutely!" After said without hesitation. "You guys show Su Ming around first, I'll call the manager."

Afterwards, I walked with a brisk pace, took out my phone, and went out to make a call.

Fifteen minutes later, After walked into the training room with a middle-aged man with a gentle expression.

Having played League of Legends for seven years, Su Ming naturally recognized the middle-aged man.

Abu, whose real name is Ji Xing, was formerly the coach of the EDG League of Legends team and is now the general manager of EDG.

Abu is a very gentle person, and speaks very carefully. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he handed a contract to Su Ming and said, "After came to me and got you the highest level of treatment for a newcomer. I trust his judgment. This is a 2+12 contract that takes your special circumstances into account. Take a look at it carefully."

Su Ming nodded and carefully examined the contract.

EDG has a good reputation for its players, far better than RNG...

Even so, signing a contract is no small matter, and it's never too much to review it carefully.

The so-called 2+12 means that you first sign a two-month contract, and then renegotiate the treatment for the next 12 months based on your performance.

At that time, Su Ming will be publicly announced and bids will be accepted from the outside world.

Given the same offer, or if EDG offers a higher offer, Su Ming must prioritize them.

Of course, if you don't want to play professionally, you can just retire without any punishment.

This also takes into account the possibility that Su Ming might go back to school.

A monthly base salary of 3 RMB is the top-tier treatment for a new VCT player's starting lineup.

The base salary alone brings in nearly 40 yuan a year, not to mention the prize money from competitions, revenue from merchandise sales, endorsements, and extra income from live streaming...

Su Ming had previously inquired about the market rate from Du Yuhang, and this treatment was already quite good.

"Let's stick to this contract, I have no objection."

"Do you need to talk to your family?" Abu asked with concern.

"No need, I'm already 18." Su Ming was prepared and laughed, "I told my parents yesterday that I was going to get a summer job. They trust me a lot and usually let me do whatever I want."

"Summer job?" Abu found the idea amusing and said with a smile, "Other people's summer jobs are part-time jobs in small shops on the street. Don't come with us to Los Angeles and come back with a championship trophy."

"Hahaha."

Everyone burst into laughter, cheering on the joke, and the air was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

-----------------

The next day.

Su Ming's summer job as a professional gamer has begun.

He officially moved into the EDG club dormitory and shared a room with Zhang Zhao.

Among the many esports clubs in China, some good and some bad, EDG is relatively professional.

The training and competition management is quite strict.

You must follow the schedule every day.

At 2 PM, after lunch, training officially began.

There are about 4 to 5 teams training every day. After each training match, there is a review, then map exploration, strategy discussion, and item practice, followed by the next training match.

He would skip meals in between, and when he got hungry he would eat some bananas, chew gum, or drink water, and he would keep working like this until 10 p.m.

The reason for not eating is quite simple.

Domestic competitions are generally held between 4 PM and 10 PM.

It is not recommended to eat during a real competition, as digestion can affect blood circulation and reduce concentration.

After 10 PM, everyone is free, but they can't play other FPS games. Instead, they stream ranked matches or play some mobile games that don't affect their gameplay.

Commanding is more tiring; it involves discussing tactical ideas with the coach, studying videos of other teams' matches, grasping their habits, copying their understanding, and learning their strategies...

Su Ming often saw Haodong holding a phone and watching videos, and then he would start snoring.

It was really tough.

No wonder FPS games are very lenient with the game data of commanders and don't have high requirements.

Su Ming also played quite a few games in training matches.

After would always have Zhang Zhao participate in training matches with any lineup he used in duels.

That's what they say, but Su Ming actually only has two pictures available for use...

It's the same two maps from the training match: Neon Town and the Stronghold of Origin.

Only in these two images is Smoggy in charge of the main duel.

Each version has a total of seven maps. In order to reduce the pressure of training and competition, each team has one map that they do not play and directly ban.

Now, the map that EDG will always ban is Lotus Ancient City.

Of the remaining six maps, Su Ming only played in two, meaning he only spent one-third of the time participating in training matches as others.

While others were training, Su Ming could only play ranked games as usual to accumulate points for the Recollection event.