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Chapter 174: Playoff Round; Nightfall vs Oblivion Knights [1]

Chapter 174: Playoff Round; Nightfall vs Oblivion Knights [1]

The playoff draw was decided.

And with it, the quarterfinal draws and semifinal seeds were decided.

[Playoff Round:]

[Quarterfinal One: Nightfall vs Oblivion Knights]

...

[Quarterfinal Two: Juggernaut vs Imperium Tyrannus]

...

[Semifinal Seed One: Phoenix Rising]

[Semifinal Seed Two: Scarlet Rose]

The playoff round of the English Pro Alliance was also mostly known as the Warstar RPG Champions League, the esteemed competition where God Noah was King, ruling and winning for 5-straight consecutive seasons.

Cyber Squad was the club with the most playoff wins, with 5 Warstar RPG Champions League trophies attributed to them as a club.

Phoenix Rising was the closest competitor with 3 trophy wins, and if they won this season’s trophy, it would make their 4th trophy win.

And with that, Gabriel- Dain Ironvalor, would be just one win away from equaling God Noah’s legacy in English’s Pro scene.

Then, he would be known as God Gabriel too.

So, Gabriel had a lot at stake in this season’s playoff round. Their main challengers for the trophy were the resurgent Scarlet Rose, but Gabriel was not worried. Due to the seed draw, they would only meet them at the final.

The randomization system of the A.I divided the top 6 teams into 2 quarterfinal games between the 4 bottom-ranked clubs in the top 6, while the semifinal seed was occupied by the top 2 clubs.

Making the top 2 of the regular season league table granted Scarlet Rose and Phoenix Rising automatic qualification to the semifinal of the playoff round.

With both clubs forming the different seeds, it was up to Nightfall or Oblivion Knights to rise up to the occasion and meet Phoenix Rising in the first semifinal seed round, while it was up to Juggernaut or Imperium Tyrannus to rise to the occasion and play Scarlet Rose in the second semifinal seed.

Warstar fans had 3 days to temper their expectations and anticipation, building the hype to the first game of the quarterfinal which took place on Saturday.

Within those 3 days, a lot of things happened in England, in the eSports communities but none of it was significant enough to take the heat from the first game of the playoff round.

2 fanbases were at loggerheads, Nightfall and Oblivion Knight fans. In the build up to the game, they were not shy of going at each other.

Afterall, both clubs had a natural rivalry even before the quarterfinal draw.

Both clubs were renowned for their radically opposite martial cultures in the pro scene. While Oblivion Knights was an upright and straightforward club whose players control Avatars of the Blademaster and Paladin classes, Nightfall was a more nefarious club with players who control Avatars of the Assassin and Thief classes.

Oblivion Knight’s starting V was comprised of a 2 Blademasters, a Paladin, a Cleric, and an Elementalist. It was a unique offensive formation that set them apart in the English Pro Alliance.

As for Nightfall, their starting V comprised of 2 Assassins, a Thief, a Mechanic, and a Gunner or a Cleric. The Gunner and Cleric alternate in the starting V, depending on the type of game and the type of opponent that Nightfall faced.

In the buildup to the quarterfinal game, the starting V players of both teams was part of the bone of contention as both fans clashed on social media.

Not just fans, Warstar analysts and pundits went all out in popular media shows, showcasing their knowledge of the game and the English Pro Alliance as they gave their different views on how both teams would lineup.

While all this happened, the days moved and in no time, D-day was here.

It came in a flash.

The game was scheduled for 8:00pm in the evening and hours before the time, both pro clubs released their official starting V for the game.

[Warstar RPG Champions League:]

[Oblivion Knights Pro Club:]

[Starting V:]

[Blademaster; Blademaster; Paladin; Elementalist; Thief]

...

[Nightfall Pro Club:]

[Starting V:]

[Assassin; Assassin; Thief; Mechanic, Gunner]

To the shock of the Warstar community, Nightfall didn’t take the conservative Cleric approach that almost everyone not a Nightfall fan expected.

Rather, they seemed to have been swayed by the sentiment among their fans, using an ultra-offensive high-risk formation in the Quarterfinal of the Warstar RPG Champions League.

The world of Warstar was left reeling in shock due to the starting V reveal hours before the first quarterfinal game.

Nightfall’s captain must be smoking crack when he made the decision!

None of their opinions mattered though. Because in the end, it was decided and as the game approached, what seemed far no longer seemed far.

To both clubs, it was the moment of truth.

Making it to the playoff was already a legendary achievement for most clubs in the English Pro Alliance, but this game?

It would decide if they would just have a great season or a truly great season.

And so, both clubs approached it with only one desire..., to win.

The game was scheduled to be played in a neutral stadium, the popular Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

An hour before time, the 2 club buses drove into the stadium with just a few minutes separating their arrival.

Nightfall arrived in a midnight black bus. As soon as they arrived at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, they received a crazy welcome from their fans; bursting fireworks and blazing trumpets blasting in their wake.

It left their blood boiling in the final build up to the game.

Oblivion Knights was no different. Their fans were no different, giving their team a passionate welcome and they even went as far as raising banners motivating their team to tear their opponents apart.

In one of the banners that made it to the internet, it depicted a Knight clad in fearsome stainless-steel armor, standing over an opponent, a Thief in tattered robes, bloodied all over. The Knight’s long sword was plunged deep through the heart of the dying Thief.

The significant of the banner was self-evident; the fearsome Knight clad in stainless-steel armor was Oblivion Knights, while the Thief in tattered robes was Nightfall.

These provocations only increased the tension between both clubs.

Before the game started though, the opening show started. Just like the NFL had their Superbowl Halftime Performance, in the Warstar RPG Champions League, there was an opening show before the games started.

For the first Quarterfinal game of the playoff round, Kendrick Lamar was the invited artist and he gave out a captivating performance, giving a live performance of some of his most famous songs, including the iconic ’Not Like Us’.

At the end, both fanbases were left singing at the top of their voices alongside the big rap artist, directing their animosity towards each other.

All of that was still in the buildup to the game.

After all that, the main clash finally started.

The commentator made the announcement, announcing the name of the first team to enter the stage, Oblivion Knights, announcing each player’s name to loud cheers from their fans in the stadium.

Tonight, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was filled to the brim. Tens of thousands of Warstar fans filled this stadium.

After Oblivion Knights occupied the right player booth, Nightfall finally came out. Their fans seemed lesser than the opposition fans in this stadium, but still, it didn’t mean much; their fans were crazy loud nonetheless.

Nightfall’s captain had a smug smirk on his face as he led his players to the playing booth on the left.

As soon as they entered, they locked the door behind them.

They already entered the coliseum of glory.

Tonight, they would fight and only one of them would come out alive, victorious, taking all the glory.

They inserted their game cards into the Warstar consoles.

[LOADING...]

A few seconds later, all 10 players loaded into the unique void of the Warstar RPG Champions League, where the sequence of the battle would be decided.

The screen flashed.

[FIRST ROUND: INDIVIDUAL BATTLE]

[CHOOSE YOUR CHAMPIONS!]

Both captains didn’t hesitate, they made their decision immediately.

Immediately after the screen flashed, both captain Avatars came out. In Nightfall’s side, it was one of the 2 Assassins while in Oblivion Knights’, it was one of the 2 Blademasters; 2 fearsome star players in the English Pro Alliance.

Now, they were to clash in the most important game of their respective seasons. A clash to the death.

The Arena was a small star-shaped island inside a small body of water.

Players could decide to traverse and fight in the small star-shaped space of the island, or decide to fight in the bigger body of water beneath.

As precision-based classes, an Assassin and a Blademaster, neither of the 2 players decided to enter the water. Rather, brandishing their blades, they rushed at each other with no fanfare.

The Blademaster wielded a single long sword, while the Assassin wielded 2 daggers. As soon as they met, they exploded in a hurricane of steel.

The battle was short, but incredibly intense.

It ended in that one, short, crazy outburst of APM and skill.

After just 48 seconds of non-stop attack, casually mixing defense in here and there, one Avatar was left standing...

---<VICTORY>---

The dark blade gleamed dangerously like a rift in the fabric of reality.

...The Blademaster was left standing.