Season 4: Chapter 2. I’ll Remember (2)

FINALS MVP.

If taken literally, the title seemed like it only factored in the final match. In reality, the award factored in the entire tournament. Unlike before, where one MVP was chosen per game, only one player would be picked overall now.

"Ah, the MVP voting began the moment they lifted the championship trophy. Right now... the players are taking pictures."

"Yeah. The sight of them actually lifting this trophy! It still feels a little surreal to me."

— Yeah... fr

— Wow, can’t believe we actually won!

— Cookie’s gonna cry!

— Who’ll be the MVP?

— Kyaaaa!

— Amazing, amazing

— Cookie, Best Yi Sun-Shin, Almond, Latte, etc...

"Ah, OrangeKing, can you explain what this Finals MVP award is?"

"Sure. First off, there’s only one FM."

— Woah!

— really??

— Whaat?!

— Huh?

"It’s not about picking someone who did well in the finals. It’s about choosing the true MVP of all MVPs."

OrangeKing’s explanation sent the chat scrolling like crazy.

— No way, only one?

— Then it has to be the nut.

— Oh wow

— Literally the true MVP

— This is insane

Finals MVP was often shortened to FM. Receiving this award in

Civil Empire

was just as valuable as winning the championship.

"While the officials and experts vote, there will be interviews for the lesser-known players as well. After all, there are two hundred players! So we can watch those while we wait."

***

This glorious scene of Joseon’s victory wasn’t only shown on the official broadcast.

"We... we won! WE WOOOON! Kyaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"

— LOL

— Gum bro is gonna do a kpop dance as promised?

— Wow lol

— That was crazy...

[Bubblegum]

[105k viewers]

Various streamers were broadcasting their reactions. Each stream received massive attention, especially the Balloon Stars members who cheered like maniacs due to their relationship with Almond.

"H-Hey! Stop pulling your hair! Your scalp’s heating up!"

"What hair do you even have to pull?!"

"I do have some!"

— lololol

— Takoyaki, just go bald at this point

— Takoyaki, great commentary fr

— Can’t believe they actually won T_T

— I’d sacrifice my hair for a championship too...

[Takoyaki]

[41k viewers]

Takoyaki, who usually hovered around 10k-20k viewers, broke 40k thanks to his insightful game analysis and solid commentary.

"Huuuuhuuu... huuueeuuuhhhh....!"

— Miho, please stop crying T_T

— Never seen Miho cry like this

— So touching T_T

"E-Everyone... I don’t think I can watch Almond’s interview. I really... huuuhuuuu...!"

— ?

— Almond?

— Not Cookie?

— Of course...

— The world’s worst archer, Almond

— Almond, you &#@%$

— Rome should’ve won...

[Miho]

[178k viewers]

Miho, who rarely broke 10k, suddenly gained a massive audience thanks to her viral support videos and reels. Her unique cheerleading content stood out among all the viewing streams. Of course, those numbers would likely drop over time, but she had captured major attention for now. Most of all, her greatest strength was that she truly supported the team (Almond) wholeheartedly.

— Miho is a real Almond stan, gotta respect that lol

— I’m sending my spirit energy to Almond for this

— Her only crime is liking his face...

— A truly transparent human being lol

— Almond’s probably clenching his jaw, ignoring this as usual

— ??? Miho? Who’s that again?

To be fair, dancing wasn’t exclusive to Miho. Surprisingly, StrawberryShooter also joined the dance content wave.

[StrawberryShooter]

[23k viewers]

Although his numbers did grow, his reception wasn’t nearly as well-received.

— Bro... please stop with the girl group dances

— This is insane lol

— Who knew K-pop dances could be this terrifying?

— It’s not K-pop, it’s K-9 self-propelled artillery. Please delete this!

— Someone remixed the music and it’s pure chaos lol

Still, his dance video, mixed with shamanic ritual music, gained cult popularity.

—

Mom! I saw this in a horror movie!

—

Loooool this is nuts

—

Looking at the shaman’s physique, no need to swing wildly...

└ for real lol

└ why even bother slashing? A tap would launch bones too

└ LMAOOO

—

No wonder the shamans are OP

StrawberryShooter felt incredibly grateful to the creator of that video.

"To the person who made that video... I’m looking for you."

However, the video creator never came forward because he pressed his face so close to the camera while speaking.

— What are you gonna do, kill them? Lol

— That was terrifying hahaha

— lololol

— ??? I’ll find you. And...

— Kill them, master?

Apart from them, countless other streamers also livestreamed the viewing content. All of them saw spikes in their viewership. Even if it was temporary, Treevy Korea had to handle more traffic than ever before.

[Civil Empire Korea]

[2.081 million viewers]

Just one official Korean channel had this many viewers. And under the watchful eyes of this massive audience...

[FINALS MVP]

The time had come to select the tournament’s greatest MVP after the trophy presentation. This moment would truly mark the end of the competition.

***

"Alright! The MVP voting has concluded."

"Ah, the seat of honor, isn’t it?"

"The finals! The final of all finals! The greatest honor of this tournament!"

"Yes. Honestly... some people expected it, but no one could tell for sure until the result came out."

"That’s right. The experts really thought long and hard! And the captains of the teams who already lost in the main tournament also participated in the voting."

"Yes, exactly. You could say this was an incredibly credible panel."

— Even the losing teams?

— Lol as if the ones who got chikicha’d would vote for Almond

— You can't win MVP if you teabag them, lol

— Dang

— No spoilers, everyone~

The Finals MVP vote also included votes from the captains of all the teams who advanced to the main tournament. In truth, those votes collectively held more weight than the officials’ votes, meaning the award could only be given if even the defeated opponents acknowledged the recipient.

"They had interviews prepared for this too, didn’t they?"

"Of course. It’s the MVP, after all!"

"No, not that. I mean interviews with the people who cast the votes. For those who couldn’t be there in person, they even sent in video messages."

"What!?"

The teams that played in the main tournament also recorded interviews.

"Let’s take a look!"

Bzzzzt.

Someone appeared on the screen. It looked like a hallway inside the stadium. Subtitles were added for Korean viewers.

“Yes, I voted. I really pushed for it.”

It was Jessie from the Vikings team, Joseon’s first opponent.

— Jessie lol

— Come on, that’s so obvious

— Lmaoo

— This vote was rigged

— Voting is a crime, what happened here lol

Jessie had cast the vote on behalf of the Vikings.

“First of all, I’m really happy that the team that beat us ended up winning the tournament. I voted for the player I genuinely thought was the best.”

“Can you give us a hint?”

“Well... they use a bow... and they’re cute?”

“...”

— That's basically the answer lol

— Lmaoo

— OMG

— Chill

— It could still be Pang!

— Nice~

— Isn’t this against the rules?

— This vote is invalid!

After all the controversy, the video moved on.

Bzzzt.

“Hello. This is Kenin.”

— Kenin?

— Oh wow...

— One vote lost for Almond lol

— This guy again lol

“I was the representative to cast the vote for Persia. It wasn’t just my decision. After discussing it with the team, we chose the player who surprised us the most.”

This version of Kenin felt noticeably different from his past interviews.

— Kenin got taught some manners

— Lol why so polite?

— Isn’t he the guy who used to teabag?

— He met the real deal and became humble, huh lol

“Can you give us a hint?”

“They’re relentless?”

— LOOOOOL

— OMG

— No spoilers, please~

— His face lol

Many other teams that made it to the main tournament also appeared. Finally, Rome also appeared on the screen as the last opponent in the finals.

“This is Anto.”

— Anto T_T

— That presence though

— He aged already lol

— Damn

“Joseon was... incredible. I always believed that Joseon could do something like this one day. I always held one person from Joseon in high regard.”

Anto looked directly into the camera and spoke to someone.

“During our match, I unexpectedly came to learn about some personal circumstances. And what I found out only made me respect him even more. He overcame hardships beyond belief. I truly hope I’ll get to see him again in the next tournament.”

— Wait, if he mentioned personal stuff, is he talking about Almond?

— Must be Cookie T_T

— Did something happen to Cookie?

— If it’s someone he’d always rated highly, it’s not Almond

— Almond’s a rookie this year

— That sounds like a commander... must be Cookie T_T

— Anto... T_T

Anto clearly looked regretful about losing, but he remained surprisingly composed. Above all, his words strangely lingered in people’s minds. Maybe because his tone and expression looked far too serious for what was normally a throwaway line. In any case, the Finals MVP was determined from the votes of numerous experts and all the teams that went up against Joseon.

Dududududu...!

The stage lights danced across the arena. Soon, all the beams converged on a single person.

— It can’t be Best Yi Sun-Shin, right? She was a sub player T_T

— Let’s be real, this one’s already decided lol

— Prepare for riots

— Let’s gooooo

— Don’t overload the server, guys lol

— T_T As a diehard Civil Empire fan, I can now rest in peace

— Drumroll...

Thud!

All the lights flashed, pointing at a single person standing in the stadium. The text on the screen changed as well.

"The World Championship! The FINALS MVP is...!"

[Almond]

Below Almond, his real name appeared as well.

[Yu Sang-Hyeon]

Yu Sang-Hyeon, the rookie who had just joined Korea’s national team. Now, he had become the greatest star of the entire tournament.

"Almond! Almond! It’s Player Yu Sang-Hyeon!"

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!"

A reporter approached him with a microphone. She looked more nervous than ever before.