Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
"Congrats to Tyranny, I wish them luck!"
In the post-match press conference, Tiny Herb's captain, Wang Jiexi, put a full stop to Tiny Herb's journey this season with a well wish for their opponent. Even though they failed to reach the end this season, everyone had seen Tiny Herb's future. Xu Bin, Liu Xiaobie, Gao Yingjie, all of Tiny Herb's players had talent; they were all young, with much room to grow. Even Yuan Boqing, who had been rather overlooked, had shown everyone something amazing in the match. There was also their captain, Wang Jiexi. Even though he wouldn't be able to stay in his peak state for too much longer, he had valuable experience that he could use to help his team. He would always be Tiny Herb's pilar.
As for Tyranny?
"Next up, the finals!"
Captain Han Wenqing's brief but clear words showed everyone the team's determination. Why these veterans all got together and what this was all for was clear as day. Now, they had come this far. Only two victories stood between them and the championship. Even the opponent they had just beaten had sincerely wished them well.
The announcement regarding the finals quickly spread. This was the annual crème de la crème match in the entire Glory circle. It was just a shame that Samsara and Tyranny didn't have anything between them to really talk about. The players of the two teams didn't have any particularly striking past clashes and relationships that could be discussed either.
This was purely a fight to be the champions. On one side was the veterans who had allied together to achieve their long-awaited dream. On the other side, it was the defending champions who wanted to build a new dynasty.
Tyranny was very focused on performing as a whole, while Samsara was always known as a one-man team. This seemed to also be a clash of two kinds of ideals in Glory. Who would be the champions?
With the finals being promoted everywhere, there would obviously be public polls in regards to who would win. In the end, Team Tyranny held a whooping 72.65 percent, far ahead of Samsara.
However, over at Happy, Ye Xiu couldn't give an answer to Chen Guo's question of "who do you think will win?"
"They both have a chance. It wouldn't be surprising for either of them to win" was how Ye Xiu answered.
This was the most rational answer.
Although Team Tyranny had won an extreme high percentage of votes in the public poll, most of the votes were an emotional decision. Team Tyranny's veterans didn't have many more chances. Their fight, backs to the water, was a moving tale for people. In addition, Tyranny was filled with widely renown names. On paper, their lineup couldn't be more magnificent.
The 72.65 percent vote was more of a hope and support. The gap between Samsara and Tyranny's combative ability wasn't nearly as absurd as the poll made it out to be.
One man team?
This mocking title was a underestimation of Samsara's abilities. However, out of the in the pro scene, how many people would actually agree with this phrase?
In their eyes, the idea of a one man team was no more than a joke.
Samsara definitely wasn't a one man team. It was just because Zhou Zekai was too strong, too striking, too eye-catching, that there would be the illusion of a one man team. Team Samsara was also a very talented team. Their entire team could keep up with Zhou Zekai's pace, and that was already the best proof.
Although they sometimes relied on Zhou Zekai's forceful momentum to take the upper hand, seeming like they had no strategy, in reality, this forcefulness was a unique strategy of Samsara's, a strategy that only they - having the uncounterable Zhou Zekai - could use, a strategy that many teams wished they could use too.
The only people who underestimated Team Samsara because of the saying "one man team" were all clueless outsiders. This sort of mistake would never happen in Team Tyranny. They would carefully gauge Samsara's strength.
The uncounterable Zhou Zekai. That was what everyone would think of when Samsara was mentioned. But apart from that? Had anyone realized that, out of the semifinalists, Samsara's lineup was the most stable?
The other three teams had all gone through massive changes in the summer. Only Samsara kept their original lineup, a lineup that stayed the same for three whole years. This sort of stability was something the other semifinalist didn't have.
Apart from that, Samsara's skill point advantage was extremely apparent in the last playoffs. After this season, it was no longer a secret. But, even if it wasn't a secret, what could they do about it? You could only keep in mind and beware of this sort of solid advantage, but you would never be able to get rid of it.
When people thought of Zhou Zekai the moment Samsara was mentioned, they hadn't noticed that they had covered up a lot of other terrifying aspects about Samsara with the Zhou Zekai Halo. Jiang Botao, ranked five in the All-Stars, seemed to be just a random passerby under the Zhou Halo, never mind the thirteenth ranked Lu Boyuan.
On Samsara's side, they also had three All-Star players, and they were all in their peak years of their career. Tyranny's four All-Stars was a number advantage, but if you considered their age and state, was this four against three any significant advantage?
"How it will end up will be decided by the match." That was the judgement Ye Xiu gave in the end. By then, Tyranny and Samsara's players were already standing on the stage.
The first round of the finals would be held in City S, Samsara's home turf. There wasn't a single empty seat in the stadium. In the group arena that had just finished, Samsara took a lead of 5 to 4. It wasn't a big advantage, but the venue exploded with excitement from it. The fans filled the stadium, raising their self-made flags and signs, eagerly anticipating their team's second championship. The lineups for the team competition were already being broadcasted through the PA system.
Team Samsara: Zhou Zekai's Sharpshooter, Cloud Piercer; Jiang Botao's Spellblade, Empty Waves; Lu Boyuan's Grappler, Chaotic Cloudy Mountain; Wu Qi's Assassin, Cruel Silence; Fang Minghua's Cleric, Laughing Song; Du Ming's Blade Master, Moon Luring Frost.
A lineup that had stayed the same for three years, the lineup that had taken last year's championship. When they came out, the entire venue erupted with thunderous cheers.
Tyranny didn't give everyone any surprises either. The four gods would obviously be fighting. Their fifth player was still the ever lowkey Qin Muyun and his Sharpshooter, Negative Nine Degrees. The sixth player was Bai Yanfei and his Elementalist, Rota. This was also the lineup they had stayed with throughout the playoffs.
The players entered their competition booths and, soon enough, the match that would decide the finals began.
As the home team, Samsara had taken the initiative ever since the group arena, and the team competition was no different. They had only just loaded when the entire team flew towards the center of the map, as if not wanting to waste a single second.
However, the visiting team, Tyranny, also showed a vigor that didn't lose to the home team. As soon as they were loaded, they also sped straight for the center of the map.
"Wow, this… both sides seem very impatient!!"
The commentators for the broadcast were also very surprised at the scene before them. In the finals, the final battleground that a year of hard work had taken them to, even the most fierce and eager teams would gain a hint of caution. This was because the results of this match were too important. Most teams would first consider how to establish a secure advantage and then carefully execute their plans for victory. However, right now, Samsara and Tyranny were both charging forward boldly, seeming like they wanted to end this battle as soon as possible. They were treating the saying "the nameless finals" as a joke**.
Clash!
An intense clash!
The gunners of each team fired the moment they got into shooting range. However, on one side, it was the Great Gunner of Glory, while on the other side, it was a barely known rookie. The disparity between them was large enough that even the commentators didn't have the heart to call it a face off. However, soon after, Dazzling Hundred Blossoms' Hundred Blossom Style covered the area with flashing lights. Tyranny had began their breakthrough into Samsara's formation under the cover of these explosions.
Team Samsara didn't show any form of weakness, Jiang Botao's Empty Waves immediately set down two Wave Formations, creating a hard to penetrate barrier, but the light and shadows of Hundred Blossoms Style immediately came down on them.
They wanted to brute force their way through?
Tyranny's unyielding momentum was rather unexpected for Samsara. Although the Wave Formations of Spellblades didn't have all sorts of status inducing attacks, they had far higher damage output than Ghost Boundaries. Charging through the Wave Formations, they wanted to launch an offense regardless of the damage they had to take.
However, this adhered to Team Tyranny's usual attitude!
Didn't this team always charge forth no matter what obstacles there were? Just two Wave Formations wouldn't scare them.
Then, what about two more?
Jiang Botao wasn't stingy with his skills at all, immediately sending out two more Wave Formations.
Light, darkness, ice and fire.
Wave Formations of the four great elements overlapped and shone, clashing with the Hundred Blossom lights and creating chaos. Lu Boyuan's Chaotic Cloudy Mountains and Wu Qi's Cruel Silence were hidden outside the Wave Formations, waiting to ambush whoever charged out.
Who would have expected that no one jumped out of the flashing lights and, instead, the flashing lights moved forward.
The lights of the Hundred Blossoms Style were all Spitfire skills, and all dealt damage. Lu Boyuan and Wu Qi had to back away. However, after that, the two took a side each simultaneously, going around the Hundred Blossom Style's light cover to get to Dazzling Hundred Blossoms. No one expected that the two would be welcomed with two powerful skills upon going around.
Ferocious Tiger Flurry!
Tyrannical Chain Punch!
The moment those two characters went around the light cover, the two Fighter class characters of Tyranny charged forth. Desert Dust punched and kicked, forcing Cruel Silence into a retreat. As for the Grappler, Chaotic Cloudy Mountain,s who was good at grab skills, he had been pressed into the ground and beaten by Lin Jingyan's Dark Thunder.
The two characters weren't hiding within the lights?
Then what about Dazzling Hundred Blossoms?
The Hundred Blossom Style lights were still advancing, but there was no sign of Dazzling Hundred Blossoms. There was only one possibility; the one advancing under the cover of the lights was Dazzling Hundred Blossoms himself.
"Be careful!!" The two hastily sent the message.
Misjudging Dazzling Hundred Blossom's positioning meant that they had misjudged the area Hundred Blossoms Style could affect. So in the next moment, the lights of Hundred Blossoms seemed to have teleported, suddenly appearing farther away and directly onto Samsara's Cleric, Laughing Song. But this time, Dazzling Hundred Blossoms wasn't providing cover for anyone or hindering visibility. He had launched a fierce offensive on Samsara's Cleric. Team Tyranny's opening was shocking. Dazzling Hundred Blossoms had covered for himself and charged into shooting range before directly unleashing a strong assault on the opponent's Cleric.
"We have to win!!!" Zhang Jiale roared. The light cover left Dazzling Hundred Blossoms right before he darted past Empty Waves, shooting at Laughing Song as he ran.
Translator's Thoughts Nomyummi** TLNote: The original saying is “决赛无名局” which literally translates to “finals - the nameless match”. It seems to be a fairly well-known saying. It's in the titles of a lot of news articles for sports. But at the same time, Jouissance (and I) had no idea what that was, and it took me like 5 minutes of googling instead of the usual 2 seconds before I found out what it meant. According to a blog, it comes from when a Go tournament enters the finals, the two sides become conservative and cautious because of the importance of the match. As a result, the match becomes very dull. If anyone’s got an English equivalent or a better translation for the saying, please do tell.