Page 15 of Don't Hate the Player
Vulcan was one of the teams I had to study going into the first round, so it might not be terrible if I drop some knowledge on our pregame chat.
“They’re good on cooldowns,” I say with all the courage I can muster. It strikes me that I don’t have to feel brave. I’m right, and that’s better than being brave. “But their cooperation is garbage. Everyone on Vulcan plays like the spotlight is only on them. I’ve never seen them pull off a sophisticated combo, so we should pick out a few of our best to scare them straight out the gate. If they see us doing something they can’t do, they’ll get insecure. You know, because they’re streamers.”
Han-Jun and Erik turn to look at me like I’m a toy they forgot made noise. Ivan, however, is smirking.
“She’s right,” Ivan says. He reaches into my lap to pull out the plastic beanbag he gave me and smacks it between his palms with a loud popping noise. “It’s a hand warmer. You have to break it first. Keeps the fingers limber? You’re doing great.”
“Speaking as a streamer,” Byunki begins. My eyes go wide. Did I just totally insult him? He has to know I wasn’t calling him insecure. He’s the most secure person I think I’ve ever encountered. He’s a shield of a person, a tank in every sense of the word. “KNOX is right. Let’s do that parachute move to give her a look at the map to see if she can spot the payload first. We’d need Pharaoh, which we have, and one of the healers would have to play Jenkins. Erik, you wanna play Jenkins?”
Erik looks as surprised as I do that Byunki agreed with me. He stammers when he lets Byunki know that he’s good to play as Jenkins this round.
“Dope. I’m playing Klio, obviously, fire tank has the best loadout. Ivan, you’re on Morrigan. Han-Jun, you’re Glace. I need that ice protection.”
“On it,” Han-Jun replies. Now that Ivan’s popped my hand warmer, it does feel pretty good on my fingers. I sneak a peek over at how he’s using it to do some hand stretches and start copying his movements. An arena staff member knocks on our green room door to let us know we’re playing next. Byunki starts talking faster.
“We’re aiming for a checkmate, so taking down their tank is the name of the game. I have a feeling they’re going to play Lucafont in the tank position. His health is high, but we can whittle it down. He’s a ghost and Pharaoh is magic, so he’ll be weak to KNOX.” He turns to address me directly, which feels very cool now that I’m sure he’s not mad. “You’re on debuffs. If one of their healers tries to boost team health, focus on Lucafont and strip his armor. Charge up your Special Attack, but only use Pharaoh’s Shatter on my signal, got it? Don’t aim early, don’t aim late.”
“Got it.” That’s me! I’m on debuffs! I’m here and I’m helping!
“VANE: damage, Bend Time, damage,” he continues. “JOON stays with me, and I need RIKK moving fast around the map to heal the rest of you. Use Shadow Step and poof if you see a red dot.”
“Fury, you’re up!” The people running the tournament are really on top of the timing here. Wizzard’s reputation rides on this competition going well. No mistakes allowed.
Byunki was only kind of whining about our green room being far from the stage. We’re down a long, awkward ramp that leads up to the backstage holding area, which my field hockey–trained calves can handle but sets Erik and Han-Jun complaining.
“One more thing,” Byunki notes when we’re lined up. “We’re changing our order walking out. Wizzard already knows. Usually the DPS would follow the healers, but I’m going out after Ivan.”
That doesn’t make any sense. This is the first time I’m competing as Ivan’s new partner; why wouldn’t we walk out together? Byunki sees the confusion on my face and pats my shoulder.
“Trust me,” he says. I guess I do?
The announcers call Vulcan out first—all five of their players get a decent amount of applause from people who know them from Twitch. After that, it’s our turn, starting with Han-Jun and Erik. The crowd recognizes them and cheers, but they get louder when Ivan follows them out onto the stage. Ivan was the better DPS of the two who played for Fury before they recruited me, and I had hoped that walking out alongside him would lend me a little goodwill. Without Ivan by my side, I’m walking out a total stranger.
When Byunki appears, the cheers stop for a half second before resuming—they’re exactly as surprised as he wanted them to be.
I’m either going to ride the wave of enthusiasm the audience has for Byunki or be a crushing disappointment, so I give him a few more seconds to soak up his welcome before walking out from the side of the stage. The walk from the wings to my PC setup can’t be more than a few yards, but my vision tunnels and makes it seem like I have to make my way across the entire arena in a matter of seconds.
Byunki and I briefly bounced around the idea that I would play in a mask as a gimmicky way to hide my identity, but I’m glad we didn’t go with that. Stepping out onstage and being about to see everyone in the audience wouldn’t be nearly as exciting if my peripherals were shielded. Even though no one knows who I am, the feeling that I’m about to be cheered by a crowd of strangers who want to see me playGLOis a huge rush—finally, I can show people that I belong here, that I’m good at this game and can keep up with Fury on my own merit. I take a deep breath. This is it. No going back now.
The stage lights hit me, and I think for a moment that I’ve gone deaf. There’s no sound, just light and the rest of my team waiting for me to move. Why can’t I hear? Penny told me about all the ways she’s had stage fright over the years, and she never mentioned not being able to hear.
Wait, no, my ears are fine. It’s the arena that’s silent. I can’t stop myself from shading my eyes and staring out at them, a crowd of thousands all holding their cell phones in front of their faces to record my entrance. I look away from them and toward the back of the stage, where my just-revealed Fury portrait is lit up in massive LED perfection and my new, four-letter competition name written right below it.
#4. KNOX. DPS.
CHAPTER SIX
Team Unity, Saturday
MUDD: where’d you guys go? fury is about to play
JHoops: i lost everyone i’m in the players box
BobTheeQ: I’m backstage, S and P were hungry and we have another hour so I told them to fuel up.
MUDD: didn’t pack enough pocky eh
BobTheeQ: I got a screen back here, Fury’s rolling out.
