Classmancers - A MOBA Esport Story - Part 3

Vol.16 Ch.7: The Burden of the Champions

The Leopards came to terms with the crushing defeat and were ready to move on, but one member of the club was far from satisfied.

"Isn't it best to let me play?" Jin asked in a strong tone. It wasn't so much a question as it was an assertion. "I don't think you want to lose any more face than you already have."

"Hmm." Rodriguez pondered. "Yes, you're right, it's unbecoming of 'regional champions' to lose like that, especially not against a team that was previously regarded as the 'weakest'."

"It's not only this defeat," Jin added. "Even in the first game, there were horrible misplays. That game was dragged out too long and they almost lost during last push. It looked bad."

These words came as a slap to the face, especially when the Leopards were just getting back on their feet. The harsh criticism threatened to knock them down to the ground all over again.

Even though they came to terms with the fact they have been underestimating Stratus, Jin made them realize that this issue didn't start only in the second game. It started all the way back in the first game, where they just barely squeezed out a victory in the end despite dominating the entire game.

Cato wrote that off as "his mistake" at the time, but Rodriguez lectured them about how the entire team was responsible for allowing it. But, in the first place, why did they let Cato get away with such blatantly flawed shot-calling?

Because somewhere, at the back of their heads, they were already underestimating Stratus back then. They didn't bother stopping Cato because they were sure they'll win no matter what happened.

In fact, even after losing so terribly in the second game, deep down they still believed that they were far superior to their opponents. They only lost that game because they "lowered their guard" and the enemy exploited that to launch a devastating surprise attack.

In other words, as long as the Leopards take their opponents seriously, then their victory was guaranteed. That's what they believed.

But, wasn't that a form of underestimating as well? In the end, even after processing everything Rodriguez said, it was impossible for the team to do a 180 on their opinion of Stratus.

As such, Jin had every reason to be concerned about the team further embarrassing itself in the next few games.

Not to mention, these amateurs have already tarnished the reputation of the "regional champions" with so many misplays. This was almost irreversible.

Even if the Leopards win every game from here onward, it won't necessarily be enough to save face. Their lackluster performance has already planted an image of weakness in the audience's heads, so it won't be so easy to remove it now.

"I can't watch this," Jin said. "I need to sub in and ensure we win decisively, or else the team will look like a joke that loses to memes."

"Right, reputation is important," Rodriguez agreed. "But, there's no need to go that far quite yet. I believe everybody has learned a hard lesson from this game, am I right?"

"Yes, sir!" Everybody answered in unison, like a squad of trained soldiers.

All of them came together as one to reject Jin's suggestion. They didn't want this condescending pro-level player to shove his nose into their business.

The next game was their opportunity to prove that they'd learned their lesson, that they were capable of defeating Stratus properly as long as they played 100% seriously. But, having Jin join the team would trivialize all of that.

"Jin, I understand where you're coming from," Rodriguez reassured. "It's bad for the team's image when the 'champion' loses to a 'dark horse'. So don't worry, I've already prepared a handful of lectures for them on this topic and we'll start going through them tomorrow."