NABC Chapter 101
Chapter 101
[Author: ᄋᄋ(622.98)]
[Title: What’s up with the IKL guest commentary?]
(Attached Image: Guest commentator ‘Gawol’ during Sigma vs Q Prime)
Is this official?
But she’s neither a pro nor anything like that. Can she even appear as a guest commentator?
[Comments]
She won the Arena Championship, though, lol.And has any other guest beaten Cerberus?
└ Captured the notorious "Gawol Hound"IKL guest commentators are always a bit unconventional.
It’s been quite some time since my legs were ruined.
Since I met Elderen and Luce, I’ve encountered various situations.
One piece of wisdom I gained from that experience is to avoid people who could recognize me as much as possible.
After all, my legs easily attract sympathy from others.
Telling the same lie about having been recently injured over and over is exhausting, so it’s better to minimize the number of people who know me.
That’s why I had arrived at the studio hours early and just holed up there.
Well, there were some people I had no choice but to reveal myself to.
Those were the commentators I’d be working with during the broadcast.
“It’s the first time meeting in person, right? I’m Inho-eun.”
“Ah, I’m Han Da-eun. I look forward to working with you today.”
“I’m Hwang Yul, the commentator. You look even more beautiful in person than on screen.”
“Oh, you’ve watched my streams? That’s a bit... embarrassing.”
“Honestly, I think most people here today have watched you.”
Their words didn’t provide much comfort.
Anyway, I greeted the other commentators, and when it came to my legs, I just brushed it off with a vague, “It’s nothing, really.”
Maybe because they were all successful professionals, they instinctively chose not to pry further.
Honestly, that was easier for me.
If they started asking thoughtless questions or, on the flip side, if they were overly kind and concerned, it would have been burdensome for me.
It’s much easier to deal with people who act like they don’t care.
“Well, since you arrived early, we can go over some things in advance. Do you watch the pro league often?”
“Luce... I usually just follow Sigma’s games. I catch a few international ones here and there too.”
“That’s more than enough. As a guest commentator, you’ll have a bit of leeway in terms of what you can say, especially when it comes to using memes or making candid remarks. Just avoid being too harsh.”
Inho-eun calmly explained to me.
There’s more freedom in commentary than I expected.
As long as I don’t go too overboard, it’s okay to use internet memes or speak without much restraint.@@@@
The only thing I needed to watch out for was not criticizing specific players too harshly.
They requested that I avoid overly blaming one team.
Well, that’s common sense.
Both teams will be watching the match, after all.
Some pro gamers are 'one-club players' who stick to a single team, but most are contracted players who move between multiple teams.
In this industry, there’s always a chance you could end up working with a player you once trashed.
That’s something anyone aspiring to be a pro gamer should keep in mind.
Even the pre-match trash talk is all staged.
I’m not so ignorant as to not understand that much.
“Got it, I’ll be careful.”
Or maybe they’re confident that their performance has improved since Round 2?
I hope that’s the case.
On screen, Sparrow and Camellia were moving in the same direction.
Of course, they didn’t know about each other’s movements.
They were just heading to hunt some reptiles in the eastern part of the lava zone.
It was pure coincidence.
But turning a lucky coincidence into a decisive advantage is what real skill is about.
《 The assassin. Sparrow spots Camellia first. 》
《 There are two options: initiate a surprise attack or retreat without revealing his presence. 》
《 Sparrow is retreating, moving toward the western side of the map. 》
A cautious approach.
Not an incomprehensible decision.
Previously, Camellia completely dominated Sparrow in a one-on-one match during the winner’s bracket.
There was no reason to believe that skill gap had suddenly disappeared.
Even if Sparrow successfully ambushed her, victory wasn’t guaranteed.
But this is exactly why people criticize Korea’s “weak assassin play.”
In that situation, a skilled assassin would have gone for the ambush.
Spotting the enemy first and deciding how to act—that’s the assassin’s unique advantage.
But the pathing in the “Boiling Lava Zone” isn’t exactly short.
Retreating at this point meant a huge loss.
《 That’s a missed opportunity. It would’ve been better to attempt the ambush and prevent both from taking down the neutral monsters. 》
《 Gawol’s point is valid. Perhaps the pressure from their previous one-on-one is affecting Sparrow’s decisions? 》
《 Five minutes into the match, Sigma is slightly ahead in terms of growth. 》
If I were in that situation, I’d have definitely engaged Camellia.
But Camellia isn’t an idiot.
If I were in Sparrow’s place, I wouldn’t have started fighting the neutral monsters to begin with.
In one-on-one Arena matches, the first ambush from an assassin is already difficult to evade.
It’s even harder when you’re busy fighting neutral monsters.
So, naturally, her priority would’ve been to locate me first.
The fact that the swordsman could comfortably hunt monsters in the first place was the problem.
The bigger issue was that Sparrow wasn’t considered a low-tier assassin by any means.
It was a complete mess on all fronts.
《 And now, the first full-team skirmish breaks out. 》
《 A bind from the mage locks down Luce, giving Traveler the advantage. 》
《 Fast! They’ve improved significantly. Reaching that level of growth at such speed isn’t easy. 》
A lance-wielding knight, boosted by a priest’s buff, was tearing through Sigma’s base.
In Arena, Traveler was eliminated early after facing Cerberus, but his individual skills were top-tier even on a global scale.
His impeccable timing with ranged attacks, combined with clean melee execution—
Fighting off two, no, three opponents single-handedly—Traveler was the embodiment of every knight class player’s dream.
But here’s my honest reaction to that flashy display of combat:
《 Ugh, his combat style has gotten even worse. What the hell is he doing? 》
The pro league isn’t about individual play.
In a team game, why is Traveler fighting alone?