Chapter Text
Nakakain na 'ko. Naka-toothbrush na din para di na maabala mamaya kapag nagstart na 'yong game.
A chat notification popped up.
Sir Jared: Ma'am manonood ka?
Me: Syempre hahahahaha naghihintay na ko ng countdown sa yt ng LoL Esports~
Sir Jared: aba ready hahahahha 1hr pa mam
Me: sorry atat lng
Nag-haha react lang si Sir Jared sa chat ko.
One hour pa bago mag-start ang game ng League of Legends World Championship Finals 2023 at for sure na may mahabang commentaries pa at intermissions before the game, pero ang totoo kanina pa akong nag-aabang sa stream ng LoL Esports sa youtube. It was a Sunday evening and I was alone sa nire-rent kong room na malapit sa school na pinagtatrabahuhan ko. I was wearing my headphones listening to LoL playlist in spotify while reading a BL manga. Ang tagal ng countdown, kailangan ko ng mapaglilibangan.
I work in a school as an administrative assistant. Okay ang sahod at di masyadong mabigat ang trabaho kahit na malayo. Nakadestino kasi ako in a different municipality kaya mag-isa lang ako ngayon. I don't really mind kasi sanay na naman akong malayo sa bahay since do'n pa sa previous job ko na sa ibang municipality din.
I'm not exactly a gamer gamer. Sakto lang na naglalaro. And most of the games that I play are mobile games or at least may mobile versions like Genshin Impact, COD-M and of course, LOL Wild Rift. Di din ako masyadong naghahabol ng mga gaming techs although balak kong bumili ng bagong labas ng lenovo na legion go. Matagal na kasi akong nagbabalak palitan yong gamit kong laptop. And damn, ang ganda ng legion go. Naghihintay pa lang din ako ng more reviews and also na mag-release sila dito sa Pilipinas kasi sobrang mahal pa ngayon since galing pa lahat sa US ang stock.
The League of Legends World Championship 2023 (also known as LoL Worlds 2023 or just Worlds 2023) is the crowning event of League of Legends esports every year. This year, may 22 teams from different parts of the world locked horns for the title of world champion and the Summoner’s Cup, isa sa pinaka-recognizable and prestigious trophies sa industry ng esports. And today was the final match between T1 (korean team) and Weibo Gaming (chinese team).
T1 is a korean professional esports team. They were crowned champions three times at World Championship Tournament and hopefully, ngayon ang pang-apat. Ang current roster nila ay sina Zeus (top), Oner (jungler), Gumayusi (ADC), Keria (support), and my one and only bebe Faker (mid). Faker is widely regarded as the greatest League of Legends player in history. Sa buong career nya, meron syang 10 League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) titles, dalawang Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) titles, and tatlong World Championship titles. He is referred to as "The Unkillable Demon King" by fans. And he's currently a part owner and executive of T1 Entertainment & Sports.
I've been a Faker fan since 2017. Unang game kong napanood nila was the World Championship 2017. May pinoy kasing member ang Immortals (another esports team that was in the competition that time) no'n, si Xmithie. Pero hanggang play-in: round 1 lang sila. And then nung nasa playoffs na, do'n ko unang napanood ang T1 which was SK Telecom T1 pa that time. Kasama pa sa roster nila that time si Wolf (who is still in T1 Entertainment & Sports until now as a streamer). 'Yong laban ng T1 both sa quarterfinals and semifinals, dikit ang laban with scores 3-2. Pero pagdating ng Finals, landslide ang laban. 3-0 ang score in favor of Samsung Galaxy (which was kalaban ng T1 sa finals).
I searched them after ko sila mapanood sa quarterfinals and found out na sila 'yong reigning champion the previous year. Actually 3-time world champion na sila (2013, 2015, 2016) with Faker as their focal player. Ever since then, whenever they have official match, pinapanood ko sila. Minsan nanonood din ako ng stream nila kahit di ko naiintindihan kasi korean ang language.
Faker is very popular sa esports scene. He was one of the leading figure na nagdala ng bandera ng South Korea sa esports that made them globally-known as the trailblazer of the sport. He is also one of the faces of League of Legends. So yeah, madami syang appearance sa TV and commercials compare sa teammates nya. May ilang appearances din sya sa mga variety shows sa Korea so it was easy na mag-fan girl sa kanya.
After more than an hour of countdown, nagstart na din 'yong program. Ang tagal ng commentaries. Halos one hour din ata bago pinakilala yong players and stats nila. Ang daming performance from different artists. I suddenly missed EXO after watching Baekhyun performed alone. NewJeans' new song called GODS was also a bomb.
Then, ayon na nga. Pinakilala na isa isa 'yong players from T1 and Weibo Gaming. T1 looked confident lalo na si Faker. I internally cheered them. Di pwedeng bonggahan kasi kahit mag-isa ako sa room, may tao sa kabilang room ang nakakahiyang mapakinggan nila.
I was getting jittery when they first-killed Faker. It's Faker bitches! Yeah, he wasn't able to get away kasi wala na syang pang-dash but damn. Ang ilap ni WeiWei from WBG pero nanalo ang T1 sa first game. Pigil ulit na irit no'ng masira na nila yong huling tore. The kill score was 14-5.
Brief recap ng game 'yong mga commentator and then, nag start na din 'yong second game. By the way, the winner will be decided through best of five games. So dalawa na lang ang kailangang panalo ng T1.
The second game was a landslide. Despite all attempts from WBG to strike back and regain footing, T1 simply dominated them at every turn. The kill score was 14-1.
The third game in the series has been looking quite equal at first, but the small advantages T1 was able to collect allowed for Faker to pop off in a very important skirmish around mid, as the Unkillable Demon God got a triple kill on his Akali (the champion he used that game). T1 managed to wipe out WBG three times after this. And the kill score was 19-5.
It was an overkill. It was World Finals and yet they completely dominated their opponent.
Congratulations to T1!!!!!!
12:53 AM 11/20/2023
Around 1AM na natapos yong game. Way past my bedtime pero masaya kasi after 6 years, sa wakas nanalo ulit ng T1 and si Faker kasi sya na lang 'yong natitirang member from the original roster back in 2013 when they first won the World Championship and bagged the Summoner's Cup.
Legends do never die.