Chapter 542 - Strong But Gentle, Mischievous But Steady!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Accompanied by vibrant lights and loud music, the three commentators began speaking on the platform.
“Hello everyone, I’m Su Changming.”
“I’m 117.”
“Hello everyone, I’m delighted to be a caster for this tournament. I’m your Messiah, Ruo Feng!”
After a round of introductions, although many foreigners could not really understand them, the international students and Chinese spectators who were present applauded.
“The organizers were extremely thoughtful about the tournament venue. The stage is very similar to ours in Jianghai which provides a great spectate value even before the tournament starts,” Su Changming said with a smile.
“That’s right. Eh? An airdrop crate has fallen.”
Lord Rong looked at the red and blue airdrop crate that was descending from the arena’s roof with the assistance of hanging wires. He then said, “Let’s guess, what’s inside?”
“An 8x scope? A Ghillie suit? A Level Three Spetsnaz Helmet?” Ruo Feng who was beside him rubbed his nose as he made a few guesses.
Then, he joked. “It can’t be an AWM or an M24, can it? Hahaha.”
Right after Ruo Feng said so, he laughed out loud.
Nonetheless, he failed to stir up the crowd.
This was not only because the western spectators could not comprehend what he was saying but the Chinese spectators felt that his joke was quite lame as well…
After laughing out loud for a while, Ruo Feng eventually noticed the awkwardness in the atmosphere. Thus, he turned to ask, “Isn’t it funny?”
“Hahaha!”
“Hahahaha!”
Su Changming and Lord Rong showed due respect for his feelings.
Despite that, Ruo Feng was speechless.
‘Why does it feel like your laughs are making this more awkward than it already is?’
“Boom!”
Right then, the airdrop crate that had been hanging in the air landed.
“Tss, tss, tss-!”
As red smoke spread out from the bottom of it, a flopping sound was heard. Then a door suddenly opened from one side of the crate.
Afterward, a plump middle-aged man with a rather high hairline walked out of the crate with a blonde lady who had a voluptuous body.
“Wow!”
It was worth noting that this was a new and unique way of appearing in a PUBG tournament, thus it instantly caused a sensation among the crowd.
Clearly, the two figures were the hosts of the tournament.
Once they were on stage, they greeted the spectators in a humorous manner that caused the people to dissolve in laughter.
Then, by looking at their scripts, they began introducing the participating teams of the tournament.
Whenever a team was introduced, the caster would shift the camera of the big screen on stage to present the players of that team. The players would then rise to wave at the audience.
Among the teams, naturally, popular winning teams like Liquid and Faze from Europe, and C9, T**, SKK from South America had more people cheering for them.
On the contrary, the teams from Oceania, CIS1, and Asia had fewer cheers.
There was nothing they could do since the popular teams were in their home ground.
Of course, there were also exceptions like Se7en and 4AM from Asia.
The former was not a stranger at all to the FPS spectators in the western countries because they were so close to building their dynasty in the past. They would have restructured the FPS scene.
Nevertheless, when the camera was on Se7en, seeing as the players in the team had changed, quite a number of fans sighed and let out sounds of pity.
Evidently, even in western countries, apart from the die-hard fans of SKK, many people wanted to witness the rise of a new dynasty.
This was because SKK had been dominating the FPS scene for too long.
On the other hand, the cheers for 4AM were obviously for Liu Zilang.
It was no exaggeration that Liu Zilang was the most popular player in the FPS eSports scene.
Be it his playstyle or his boastful character, even when he was still in Se7en, the western spectators were very fond of him.
…
After the introductions were done, the crowd thronged the arena.
Without warning, red flickering lights were seen, followed by the rumbling sound of a plane.
Subsequently, the lights in the arena dimmed and an airplane was seen on the big screen.
It signified that the first squad match of the first day of the world tournament in California had begun!
The flight route of the match extended from the fishing villages below Stalber to Mansion, Prison, Shelter. It then ended at the empty area on the left of Sosnovka Military Base.
Specifically saying, the flight route stretched out from 2 o’clock 7 o’clock and cut a small part of the island on the bottom right section of the map.
“This flight route… Mmm, it’s quite an awkward one.” On the commentary platform, Lord Rong furrowed his brows a little. “This is because most teams won’t be able to loot the resources on the top left section of the map.”
Su Changming nodded. “Exactly. Given the flight route, the bigger resource points on the map are Yasnaya Polyana, Mylta, and Sosnovka Military Base. Furthermore, players will need to glide in the air for some time if they are to get to Pochinki or the dormitory.”
“Oh! The most-watched SKK has jumped! Look at their imposing appearance… it’s no doubt that they’re the legendary masters!”
Clearly, being a guest commentator, Ruo Feng did a lot of research before the tournament.
With fervour and confidence, he continued, “I’ve seen the past tournament records of this team. As long as the flight route passes by Stabler, they’ll definitely jump. It’s as if Stabler is their home.”
Lord Rong nodded. “Yes, but the western teams know SKK’s playstyle very well so none of them will fight for the same spot. This has somewhat become an agreed practice.”
“Hmm… it seems like SKK is indeed the only team that has jumped to Stabler.” Su Changming pondered as he looked at the screen. He then added, “Earlier on, Savage jumped at the same time as them but they headed toward the fishing villages near Stabler. Furthermore, Vega looked for vehicles as soon as they landed.
At this point, Su Changming shook his head as he chuckled. “Those two teams aren’t from the western countries’ division but it looks like they’ve also done their homework before the tournament.”
Upon hearing Su Changming’s comment, Lord Rong continued, “Those teams have fought their way past a great number of teams through the qualifiers to be at the world tournament. I believe they’re very driven and it only makes sense that they have done sufficient research on a strong team like SKK.”
While the commentators analyzed the situation of the match, the airplane eventually arrived above Sosnovka Military Base.
By then, there were only three squads left in the cabin.
When Su Changming looked, he suddenly frowned. “Hmm? 4AM is still on the plane… Are they going to jump to Sosnovka Military Base?”
Lord Rong shook his head. “I’d have no comments if they did that in a local tournament but jumping to Sosnovka Military Base in the first match of a world tournament… the players of 4AM are taking a huge risk, aren’t they?”
“Mmm, the two other teams on the plane are Avanger from CIS, and Windfall from Oceania.” Ruo Feng recollected the data of the teams and then continued, “I’ve seen their statistics. Although they’re not from the western countries, they’re both fairly strong teams. If they jump to Sosnovka Military Base, I’m afraid that it’ll be a tough fight for 4AM.”
When the Chinese spectators in the arena heard the commentators, they instantly felt nervous.
After all, it would be the first battle for 4AM!
Should they be so unfortunate as to turn into crates as soon as they land, it would surely crush their morale.
In the blink of an eye, the airplane journeyed past Sosnovka Military Base.
With that being said, 4AM did not jump to Sosnovka Military Base unlike what everyone had expected…