Classmancers - A MOBA Esport Story - Part 3

Vol.16 Ch.5: The Leopards' Mistakes

Rodrigeuz suggested there was a culprit among them. Somebody who committed a grave mistake that played a big role in the team's defeat.

Yet, the criminal chose to keep their silence for now.

My, don't tell me you want us to spill it for you? Cato motioned his head, urging the culprit to speak up. C'mon, admit it and let's move on.

I know, but... Sonya chewed her lips.

There was no escape, she knew that much. If she doesn't speak up, then somebody else will. Or, if nobody does, then the entire team will be criticized. There was no clean way out of this predicament.

Nonetheless, admitting that she committed that unintelligent mistake was just too painful. She was not supposed to be the kind of player who was swayed by a sense of pride, yet the mistake she committed was indirectly a result of it.

Data was supposed to be everything. Data and data alone revealed all the objective facts about everything. It's what allowed Sonya to make the most reliable and optimal analysis.

All of Sonya's decisions had to be backed up by hard, cold data. There was no place for her to insert her emotions or opinions into the matter. At least, there shouldn't have been...

I knew that Stratus is strong, the data said as much. But even so, in this game, I...

She underestimated Stratus, no two ways about it. Despite having all the data at hand and analyzing it countless times, Sonya nonetheless went ahead and underestimated these competent players. She allowed her emotions to triumph over her reason.

Because seriously, these memes are just... Sonya grimaced. She had trouble admitting her mistake even now because of how dumb the whole ordeal was.

No matter how much the data suggested that Stratus could play well with unconventional tactics, Sonya could not bring herself to believe that these deplorable "memes" could do any real harm to the Leopards.

Of course, it's not like she willingly chose to lower her guard against these memes. Sonya had no intention of going easy on her foes no matter how much she pitied their terrible picks.

But, this was the competitive scene. Even the tiniest sign of mental weakness could lead to a disaster, and that's exactly what happened to Sonya.

I don't think I was condescending, at least not on purpose. I just...

She just... what, exactly? Why didn't she play safer back then? Especially, after Cato had already warned everybody that a gank was coming.

Sonya had all the data in hand, yet she deemed it alright to remain in the middle of the lane back then. It's as if she couldn't even fathom the idea of any serious harm coming her way.

But, why? Why did she assume such a nonsensical thing? Did she have any data to support a terrible hypothesis like that? No, she definitely didn't.

Back then, same as Cato, Sonya had no idea which lane the enemy will target with their gank. There were some good arguments against Stratus targeting Top, but those were just that - arguments. They couldn't be used for formal proof. Sonya couldn't write "QED" at the end there.

And yet, in the heat of the moment, she found herself trusting that baseless proof. In the back of her head, she allowed herself to underestimate her foes. "They probably won't target Top. And even if they do, they won't accomplish much. Their lineup is a joke."

That small lapse in logic led Sonya to her death and subsequently resulted in the downfall of the entire team. Her death granted Stratus unstoppable momentum which they rode all the way to victory.