"Alright! The tournament has begun. Each team has chosen their routes and gathered in the lobby. What do the other commentators think?"
"For now, all the teams have brought out the most standard compositions that allow them to coordinate well. After all, the game tends to revolve around the main dealer."
As soon as the tournament started, the commentators began talking rapidly, kicking off the broadcast. It wasn't fully underway yet, so they were mostly discussing team compositions.
"Margus, what do you think?"
"To be honest, I don't know much about compositions, but there's someone who caught my eye."
"Oh?"
"Yes. That tree Pilgong chose. If I'm not mistaken, isn't that the Pierrot tree?"
At Margus's remark, Seong Jinyu looked surprised, and the production team quickly put Pilgong's selected tree on screen.
"You're right?"
"From what I've heard, he's been practicing the Pierrot tree since scrims."
Seong Jinyu was visibly surprised, while commentator Yoo Jinhyo calmly explained what had happened during scrims. If he had been using the Pierrot route in scrims, it meant he had intended to bring it out for the tournament.
At this point, viewers who hadn't watched scrims would naturally grow curious about Ponia's team's scrim results.
As if answering that curiosity, the scrim record was displayed immediately—and both the commentators and viewers were stunned for a completely different reason.
"Fourth place in every scrim…"
Seong Jinyu, the main host, was so shocked he couldn't close his mouth.
Even if it was a streamer tournament, it was still made up of relatively skilled streamers. How could a team end up losing every single scrim?
While the commentators were still flustered, the game began. And the main broadcast camera focused on Ponia's team, which had just been the center of discussion.
"Huh? Ponia's team is splitting up?"
Quickly regaining composure, Seong Jinyu began commentating in surprise at their movement. Ponia's team had divided into two parts—everyone except Pilgong, and Pilgong alone—and began farming quickly.
"Are they splitting up to farm and then regroup?"
"I don't think so. Even if they split temporarily, if they planned to regroup, the distance wouldn't keep increasing. But Ponia's team is very far apart, and that distance is still growing."
"I agree with Margus. No matter how you look at it, this seems like pure every-man-for-himself…"
There had been several Battle Hill tournaments before, but a strategy like this had never appeared. It was only natural for everyone to be confused.
Even while covering other teams, the camera kept returning to Ponia's team.
Is this for real?
That team is totally split up
Why is no one fighting?
They were right next to each other in the city earlier but moved in opposite directions like they planned it lol
Give me my dopamine!
The viewers grumbled at the lack of combat.
But since they couldn't directly interfere with the tournament, their frustration just kept building. Then, during the drawn-out farming phase, one player and a group of three began moving toward each other.
"It looks like Pilgong from Ponia's team and three members of PILIP's team, including Ramen, are about to meet."
"They should be within visual range any moment."
"Oh? Pilgong has spotted them! He's confirmed enemy presence!"
The commentators shouted in growing excitement, and almost as if responding, Pilgong threw his dagger toward the three. In an instant, he activated Dagger Exchange and swapped positions with it.
After switching places with the dagger, Pilgong immediately used Vidoseul to pull it back into his hand—and the moment it returned, he secured a kill.
Pilgong_ killed Ramen.
Survivors: 19
Ramen, the highest-tier among the three, died instantly. The entire sequence took about five seconds.
A pro might have reacted in time—but these were streamers. They froze in shock, and Pilgong exploited the opening perfectly.
"Pilgong gets first blood!"
"Ramen is the first victim!"
"At this rate, it looks like more kills are coming."
As Margus predicted, Pilgong swiftly cut down the remaining two. After securing three quick kills, he didn't even bother looting and immediately moved toward the next safe zone.
Soon after, fights broke out elsewhere, and the commentators did their best to cover them all. Once the skirmishes subsided, the camera returned to Pilgong.
"Oh? If he continues like this, Pilgong is going to run straight into Yuruba's team of four."
"He'll likely spot them first."
The large brawl had just ended, yet another clash seemed imminent. And that was news the viewers would absolutely love.
Another fight!
If it's 4v1, he's dead
That team is still at full strength
Looking at the map, Yuruba isn't far either—he'll join instantly if it starts
No way he fights that recklessly, right?
"If they've been watching the kill log properly, they should know Yuruba's entire team is still alive."
"In that case, they probably won't engage recklessly."
"That is, unless he's confident."
While the other two commentators suggested Pilgong wouldn't fight, Margus saw it differently.
As a pro, Margus could tell from Pilgong's movement alone. He was going to engage.
"It looks like Pilgong intends to take the fight."
"Really?"
Seong Jinyu's voice rose slightly. Moments later, Pilgong threw his dagger between the opponents—but didn't swap immediately. He waited.
"Oh! The other players have taken their eyes off the dagger! They're scanning their surroundings and have turned away from the most dangerous object!"
"This… this looks exactly like what Pilgong wants!"
As the commentators spoke, Pilgong activated Dagger Exchange. He plunged into the middle of the four and instantly recalled his dagger.
"Is Pilgong focusing one target?"
Seong Jinyu assumed he would single out one to reduce numbers—but instead, Pilgong struck all four at once.
"Why would he do that?"
"He went for their heels. He's taking their mobility. Looks like he plans to finish them later."
Even Yoo Jinhyo's eyes widened slightly as he explained. He hadn't expected that either. Margus also seemed surprised.
How did he make that decision?
If it were me, I would've been obsessed with securing a kill.
He cut their heels there?
Even though Battle Hill uses a damage system, hitting the heels really does cripple movement
They just let that happen
Honestly I'd get hit too
If someone suddenly appears and slashes your ankles, how do you react lol
"Oh? Yuruba immediately notices something's wrong with his teammates and joins the fight!"
Thud!
The broadcast showed Pilgong's dagger colliding with Yuruba's fist.
The impact pushed Pilgong back. That alone probably sent dopamine surging through viewers.
"They've clashed, but Pilgong was the one pushed back."
"Even though Pilgong has four level cores, as a dagger user, he's naturally at a power disadvantage against Yuruba."
As Yoo Jinhyo explained, the broadcast displayed each player's level cores and skill upgrades.
"Margus, who do you think has the advantage?"
"Generally speaking, Pierrot hasn't fully ramped up yet, so Yuruba should have the edge—but I'll put my vote on Pilgong."
"You just said Yuruba has the advantage. Why choose Pilgong?"
"I feel like he's going to show us something."
Margus's reason? Pure intuition. As someone who had personally taught him, he trusted his gut. Pilgong would create a reversal.
In past tournaments, Pilgong had pulled off a few super plays. They were rare, reliant on many overlapping factors.
But Margus believed he'd do it again.
Clang! Thud! Clang! Thud! Thud!
The fight was somewhat one-sided. Yuruba hid his openings meticulously and pressured Pilgong, while Pilgong used irregular movements, desperately searching for a gap.
Objectively, it was one-sided.
But the viewers' reactions told a different story.
What is this?
Why is this so fun?
It feels one-sided but it's not boring at all
The fight itself is just entertaining
Is this really an SSR? What kind of SSR fights like that?
Many viewers were saying the fight was thrilling.
Even if it leaned one way, both players were fighting with everything they had—and that alone made it captivating.
Meanwhile, a kill log appeared. The remaining third team had been wiped.
"Ah. Ponia and Yeonju have eliminated the remaining members of Chilchaek's team."
The official broadcast, unable to switch cameras mid-fight, simply relayed it verbally.
Time continued to pass. The two fighters didn't stop.
The zone shrank. The final circle was close.
"If they keep fighting like this, they'll die to the zone."
"And Yuruba's teammates can't move properly because of the heel cuts."
Right after the fight began, Yuruba's team had tried crawling toward the safe zone using their arms—but they were slow and low on health.
The situation flipped.
Yuruba needed to finish Pilgong quickly and enter the zone. Pilgong, with two free teammates, only needed to stall.
"Yuruba is getting impatient. Mistakes are appearing."
"It can't be helped. Pilgong has time. Yuruba doesn't."
The commentators were calm now. As the fight dragged on, they had begun to realize this possibility.
A prolonged fight meant Yuruba was constrained by his immobilized team.
"Ah. Yuruba makes a gamble."
He left Pilgong alive and turned, sprinting toward the safe zone.
For a Pierrot user like Pilgong, that was perfect.
Chasing him, Pilgong peppered him with chip damage using Vidoseul. By the time Yuruba reached the safe zone, his health had dropped below half.
And waiting inside were Ponia and Yeonju.
Ponia killed Yuruba.
Survivors: 7
In the end, Yuruba was overwhelmed by a coordinated attack from Ponia and Yeonju, with Pilgong joining late.
The remaining immobilized teammates died to the zone one by one.
Only Ponia's team survived.
"And that's the end of the first round! The winners on the countryside map are Ponia's team!"
It was a rebellion from the team that had finished last in every scrim.