Valorant: I Am Still the World's Best

Exhilarating electronic music began to play.

The murmur of the audience fell silent for a moment, and then a unified roar erupted!

"10, 9, 8...!!"

They all started counting down simultaneously, just like the countdown on the big screen!

The moment the countdown reached zero, the host's enthusiastic voice resounded throughout the venue.

"Welcome to the Los Angeles Champions, the winners' bracket semifinals! Without further ado, let's welcome—"

"E! D! G!"

The lights suddenly focused on the aisle on the left side of the stage.

The five members in black made an orderly appearance, their calm demeanor perfectly complementing their impressive record as dark horses.

Zheng Yongkang was the first to run out and enthusiastically high-five the audience members along the passageway.

Su Ming and Wang Senxu walked side by side, following behind, watching the running figure ahead with amusement.

"Duel players are really fast at closing in!" Wang Senxu chuckled. "You also rushed in, why didn't you run?"

"Yitsu? I'm really not familiar with that, I play Yoru."

Su Ming waved to the audience as he responded.

"Don't make things difficult for him. Most people can't be like Zheng Yongkang..." Zhang Zhao leaned closer, carefully considered his words, and laughed, "Full of heroic spirit."

The group chatted and laughed, their mindset and atmosphere completely different from when they were in the quarterfinals.

They were relaxed and energetic.

"D!R!X!"

The lights shone on the right side of the stage.

The five members of DRX, dressed in white team uniforms, were led by Stax, who is known as the "Korean Captain," and they calmly interacted with the audience.

Korean students and fans from the Pacific region waved support items and shouted in unison.

The two teams met in the center of the stage.

As is customary, participants exchange fist bumps before the match.

The two captains, Stax and Nobody, bumped fists; they seemed to know each other well and exchanged a few words.

When it was Su Ming's turn, he faced MaKo.

The man, who was known as "Asia's One-Smoker," gave a polite smile and said in English, "Let's go!"

Su Ming replied in kind and bumped fists with him.

We're too familiar with the Pacific Division, so there's not much tension between us. We just hope to deliver a great match.

Both teams went to their respective player seats and began setting up their equipment, while the coaches and assistant coaches stepped forward to begin the map selection and drafting phase.

By the time they reached the semifinals, the strength of each team's map pool had become clear, and neither coach hesitated when selecting maps.

DRX removed Deep Sea, and EDG banned Lotus; these are both permanent ban maps for both sides.

Then, to everyone's as-is-true expression, DRX secured the victory at Asia Ocean City!

EDG locks down Neon Town.

Up to this point, everything was within After's and EDG's expectations.

But the next move...

"Is the opposing team using a ban/split strategy?"

Su Ming and Wang Senxu exchanged a glance, both somewhat surprised.

Brother, aren't you going to test us a bit?

They originally wanted to ban fission themselves, but they didn't expect DRX to be so considerate.

"DRX is playing it safe." Su Ming thought about it and could understand. "They're also afraid that we'll hide our tricks and use a split strategy, so they might as well just stick to what they already know... Besides, they don't want to be the testing ground for the teams behind us for nothing."

DRX: You're not going to try fission, are you? Hehe, we're not going to try either.

Steady and slick, that's definitely the style of the South Korean team.

After trying hard to suppress my laughter, I quickly removed the Hermitage.

The final decisive battleground is the crucial town of Yuangong.

"Map 1 is indeed Sky Island!" Su Di analyzed, "DRX's lineup on this map is the most mainstream 'ancestral method,' let's see if EDG has changed their strategy... wait, they did change their strategy!"

EDG has selected a brand new lineup consisting of Raven, Nobody, Smoggy, CHICHOO, and Zmjjkk.

"This map is all about spending money..." Danking frowned. "Even I, someone who's only been playing Warcraft for a short time, know that this map is incredibly fun. Is spending money really okay on this map? And why did Zhang Zhao switch back to playing Vanguard?"

Su Di concluded:

"I can only say that in the afternoon, we prefer to let the two older brothers have more fun, and Smoggy will have to make some sacrifices."

The opponent chose the map, and EDG opted for a defensive start.

Asia Ocean is a defensive map, and DRX is known for its defense. They certainly won't let the opponent play defense right from the start, because it would be bad if the opponent got into a good rhythm.

EDG took the pistol round right from the start, with Raven continuing his "pistol round god" performance, securing a triple kill.

In the following rounds, EDG indeed demonstrated the results of their extra practice over the past two days, showcasing impressive teamwork and tactical combinations.

They once extended the score to 5-0.

But the situation immediately turned sour after DRX called a timeout.

DRX immediately clung to them, always managing to find gaps in EDG's defenses, constantly outnumbering them, using their numerical advantage to coordinate, finish off opponents, and clear out weaker ones.

Su Ming's initially hot streak began to cool down after he was caught out several times, and he started splashing water instead of hitting people.

DRX scored seven consecutive points to close the gap, ending the first half with a score of 7-5.

In the second half, EDG won the pistol round and the Eco round, but in the subsequent rounds, they failed to score a single point against DRX's impenetrable defense.

Ultimately, the score for Map 1 was 13:7, with DRX winning Map 1.

The audience and fans were extremely anxious.

[The commander's performance was completely ruined by the DIFF system, can you feel it?]

[Always being attacked from the weak side, always being outmaneuvered, I really can't bear to watch anymore.]

[Su Shen's timing was terrible this game. He was either getting his rhythm disrupted and getting caught out by the enemy's precise timing of the attack, or he was constantly targeted and shot by three people every time he entered the bomb site, while his teammates were held back by utility items and couldn't provide cover fire. I really don't know how to play this game.]

Sigh, in the end, I still can't do it?

[Hahaha, this is the strongest dark horse team that Wapi hyped up? Go home!]

[EDG is trash!]

Seeing the angry crowd and the flood of trolls in the live stream, Su Di weakly offered a few words of explanation: "It's not Nobody's fault for being a bad commander, it's just that his foundation is too weak and he didn't prepare enough. There's nothing he can do about it."

It's like playing cards. If you have fewer cards than the other player, can you blame the player who's playing cards for not being good enough?

Two days of extra training were ultimately not enough to match the depth of others' foundation.

Watching Su Di try to appease the viewers with his "clumsy tongue," Dankning said impatiently, "Hey, what are you talking to these guys who start yelling before the game is even over? It's just one point lost, it's not like we lost!"

"Also, I'm warning some GO trolls not to take this opportunity to stir up trouble. EDG has already made it to the semifinals, bringing glory to CNFPS. What are you all doing here, jumping around like this? If you're not going to watch, then get lost!!"

After venting his anger, Danking's expression changed abruptly, and he said softly:

"When I say 'go bastards,' I'm referring to those computers that can't even fit two games. Regular players, please don't take this personally; you're all my good kids! Let's pass on our strength to EDG, okay?!"

On the EDG players' bench.

Although they had expected it, the fact that Tu Yi actually lost still made them feel a little bad.

They've been having such a smooth run in matches lately. After practicing some extra Hermit mode, they were able to defeat Loud's strong maps, which made them think that these strong teams weren't all that great.

What world's number one hermit? It all comes down to performance!

They're all CJB!

Little did they know that their victory was truly due to an explosion of individual skill, with Su Ming delivering a 'life game' level performance, rather than EDG playing exceptionally well on that particular map.

Winning cannot mask the problems.

"Don't blame yourself. I can tell how upset you were." Nobody patted Su Ming on the shoulder and comforted him.

This game marked Su Ming's first loss in the entire competition.

Although it wasn't at the bottom, it died far too many times.

"It's okay, just treat it as shooting practice."

Su Ming shook his head and quickly composed himself.

He thought for a moment and said:

"DRX's defensive intensity is indeed high. It feels like if you play against them in a regular way, you'll always get read and end up in the police station."

"I have an idea for Nihon-cho, Shimoba..."