Deconstructing Beat & Chess

Next in line, Beat's profile appeared on the screen.

『Roles: Mid/Carry』『Class Variety: Average』

『Mechanical Skill: 9/10』『Decision-making: 6/10』『Game Knowledge: 7/10』

『Playstyle: An inconsistent player. Quite strong at her highest, but very weak at her lowest.』

After a couple of seconds, Sonya started the usual summary. "Overall, Beat is an inconsistent player. She has very high mechanical skill as shown on a few occasions, but she can't output it consistently. Sometimes she looks very strong, other times very weak."

Sonya presented clips that showed both sides of Beat's performance.

Sometimes the girl took obvious baits, got into unnecessary fights, or played too defensively in lane. But, other times, she overwhelmed opponents in combat, dodged shots by a hair's breadth, and even executed a complicated Resonance Ignition setup on the brink of death.

"Dang, that explosion was sick!" Ronald exclaimed. "This girl is wild!"

"Yes, she sure is," Sonya agreed. "Honestly, it's difficult to get a proper read on her. Sometimes she comes across as a brainless hot-headed, but other times she methodically executes high-level plays."

"A woman of many moods, it seems," Cato said.

With how inconsistent Beat was, she didn't pose a clear threat to the Leopards. But, that vagueness was a curse in its own right. It was harder to convince the team to be on guard against an opponent who wasn't consistently strong.

[That's where I come into the picture.] Cato thought. As the captain, it was his job to make sure the team stayed on its toes. Babysitting his teammates like this was one of the more interesting, albeit tiresome, aspects of team sports.

[As the overlord, it's my duty to keep my minions in line.] Cato giggled to himself. [Without order, world domination will remain naught but a dream!]

"About Beat," Cato started. "Her inconsistency probably stems from her emotional state. In other words, she's a player whose performance will greatly depend on how she's feeling on a particular day, or even in a particular game."

"Which makes it difficult to properly evaluate her," Sonya added.

"Right. So, when Beat is going to play against us, she might be one of the best players in the region on that day. Or, she might be a Bronze player. OR, anything in-between. There's no saying for sure."

"Man, that's sure a wide spectrum of skill levels," Ronald said. "Them emotions this girl got sound hella wack."

"Hmph. Women." William scoffed.

"Well [excuse me]." Sony made a face. "But yes, I overall agree with that assessment. Beat is probably an emotional player, or at least mentally unstable in general."

"As such," Cato added. "Make sure you never let down your guard around her. If you do, you might end up like this guy."

Cato replayed the clip of a critical moment from Game 5. There, Beat was fleeing from StormMonster, a savage predator who always caught up to any prey.

Realizing she had no chance of escaping, Beat turned around and mounted a counterattack. It was a desperate last stand that should have failed by all accounts. At best, Beat was only going to injure StormMonster a little with her feeble resistance.

StromMonster must've assumed as much since he relentlessly assaulted Beat without paying any heed to his surroundings. And, that was his downfall. At that critical moment, he underestimated Beat.

The girl was never planning on dying there. In a last-ditch effort, she surrounded StormMonster with Magia Orbs and snapped her fingers. And so, the predator vanished from existence.

"I'm sure you don't want to end up like this guy," Cato repeated. "So, don't underestimate her, no matter how poorly she performs."

Everybody nodded in agreement, even Matthew who was half distracted by his phone. The message got across, which was a good start.

Of course, theory and practice were two entirely different things. In the actual match, some of them might be tempted to lower their guard. But, that was alright. If any of them strays off the path, Cato will be sure to kick them back on track.

"One last thing Beat's playstyle," Sonya said. "She seems to have a lot of 1v1 experience. In particular, her juking skills are noteworthy. Though, I find it difficult to explain what exactly she excels at. Sometimes she dodges very difficult shots, but other times she fails to dodge attacks that look far easier."

"I think she reads patterns," Matthew spoke up, as rare as it was. His eyes were still partially glued to his phone, but he was paying attention to the discussion all along. "If you mix up the timing of your attacks, she'll have a hard time adapting."

Matthew rarely voiced his opinion unless he believed it was at least 99% correct, so his words had weight. Especially, because he was also a master of dodging attacks.

"Wait, so," Ronald started. "What does that mean, exactly?"

"She gets used to people's patterns, I think. For example, if you slow down your attacks, you might catch her off-guard."

"Slow down?" Ronald raised an eyebrow. "But, my guy. If I slow down, I give her a bigger window for dodging."

"That's true. You have to balance it out somehow."

"Balance it? Hmm." Ronald crossed his arms and gave it a long thought.

"It's like going for a drop shot to throw your opponent off," William said.

"Ooooh! I see!" Ronald exclaimed. "So, it's like dealing with somebody who hugs the baseline all day and returns all your shots, no matter how hard you strike?"

"Yes, pretty much."

"Okay, gotcha."

[Huh.] Cato raised an eyebrow. [So, THAT'S the kind of example this kid understands? Seriously, I feel like I should start learning Tennis terms to better communicate things to this goof.]

The discussion about Beat came to an end. As a whole, the team regarded her as a potentially formidable player who was bogged down by her inconsistency.

[If she performs well against us, we'll have to rile her up.] Cato concluded. [She looks like a typical emotional player, so we'll just have to push her buttons.]

It might have sounded cheap, but riling the enemy up to make them commit mistakes was a valid tactic in any competitive game. Everybody knew that, but some liked to pretend it was "unsportsmanlike" or any other such nonsense.

[Worst case, I'll do it myself.] Cato snickered. He already imagined himself poking at Beat's sides until she lashes at him with all the anger she could muster. That would be her downfall. [It would make for such a nice scene~]

The discussion moved on. It was time to address the two biggest elephants in the room, the ex-StormBlitz members: Chess & Gunz. Cato saved the best for last on purpose.

"Let's start with Chessmaster," Sonya said.

"Man, you're really drawing this out, aren't you?" Ronald pouted. "Who cares about that guy? Let's talk about the real star of their team!"

"My, how impatient." Cato smiled meaningfully. "Trust me, you should care [a lot] about Chessmaster. Your puny brain might not be able to comprehend it yet, but Stratus owns much of its success to Chessmaster."

"Huh? Really? You aren't pulling my leg, are you? I mean, the guy plays a pretty nice Top and his Support is solid, but that's all I saw."

"He's also the team's shot-caller."

"Oh, so he's the bossy dude who tells everybody what boring plays to make?"

"My, are you implying something here?" Cato smiled, but his eyes pierced through Ronald like spears. "As the captain, I have major influence over whether you're going to stay on the team or not. I hope you're aware of that~?"

"H-Haha, yeah! Thanks for having me!" Ronald responded with a fake smile.

The two locked into a glaring contest for half a minute until somebody finally interjected.

"Are we running a kindergarten here?" William asked.

"No no, of course not." Cato waved his hand with a smile. "The only child we got over here is that youngling over there."

"Say what!?" Ronald exclaimed. "You wanna throw hands, dude!? First-to-ten me, let's go!"

"Pipe down already." William placed his hand on Ronald's head and rubbed it wildly.

"Okay, okay." Ronald pouted as he looked away. Then, he shot one last thing at William. "Just you watch. By the time we get to the regionals, I'll become this team's captain!"

"Big dreams, kid." Cato scoffed. "For starters, if you really want to become a captain in the future, you better start by actually listening during meetings. I saw you sneaking peeks at your phone here and there."

"Geh." Ronald's expression made it obvious he was guilty as charged. "Man, that's not fair. Why are you chewing me out when Matt has been on his phone the entire meeting? Look at him! Bruh is literally glued to it! You only give him a free pass because he's your best homie. I call discrimination!"

"My, what a wild accusation," Cato said. "I just trust him to listen to the important parts. Unlike you, he can focus on two things at once. If anything, I learned his concentration improves when he distracts his hands with something."

"Whoa, for real?" Ronald blinked. "Hey Matt, what were we talking about just now?"

"About your pipe dreams of becoming the team's captain this year," Matthew gave it straight.

"Daaamn, the burn!" Ronald laughed. "Okay, fine. Here." He pulled out his phone and placed it on the table near his brother. "Bro, if I grab the phone again this meeting, you're legally allowed to punch me!"

"Gladly." William cracked his knuckles.

"H-Haha, spare my nose though!"

"Tch, that's the first target I had in mind." William smirked uncannily. Knowing the guy, it might have been the truth.

After the short distraction, the discussion returned on track. It was time to discuss Chessmaster. As the nickname implied, he was Stratus' strategist.

『Roles: Support/Top』『Class Variety: High』

『Mechanical Skill: 7/10』『Decision-making: 10/10』『Game Knowledge: 10/10』

『Playstyle: The team's shot-caller. His mechanical skill is only decent, but everything else is top-notch.』

This was the segment Cato and Sonya worked the hardest on. Out of all roles, shot-caller was the hardest one to profile.

Oftentimes, it wasn't clear which plays the shot-caller orchestrated. Any decision made throughout the game could be either the shot-caller's work or a player's individual idea.

Fortunately, the team had extra footage to work with as far as the Chess & Gunz were concerned. That gave them a better perspective on how the duo played, including more details about the style of shot-calling Chessmaster had.

"I've summarized everything we know about Chessmaster from both scrimmages," Sonya explained. Even though her expression seemed as even as ever, there was a faint hint of contempt mixed into her tone.

[This is personal for her.] Cato smiled meaningfully. [I'm sure she wants revenge for how things turned out last year.]

The second-string led by Jennifer suffered a rather brutal defeat last year. For Sonya, it must've felt like a personal attack. She wasn't directly involved in the match itself, but she was invested in it for other reasons. And, Cato was the same as well.

[It was a beautiful match.] Cato smiled impishly. [I feel a little guilty toward Jenny, but I'm actually glad StormBlitz won that one.]

Under Chessmaster's lead, StormBlitz's second-string successfully toppled the Leopards' powerful second-string. It was a delight to watch because it showcased Chessmaster's shot-calling talent.

[It's funny running into Yuel again like this.] Cato smiled meaningfully. [I thought I'll never get to play him again, but here he is, coming at me with the most unlikely team ever.]

It was such an odd script. On one hand, Cato had a chance to compete against Yuel, who proved himself as a worthy adversary the same way he was in chess. On the other hand, Yuel was playing on the weakest team in the region.

[I'll admit, Stratus is looking better than ever this year. But, I wouldn't even put them in the region's Top 4 just yet. It's really a shame. I would've liked to see what Yuel can do with a decent team.]

Alas, beggars couldn't be choosers. If Yuel stayed in StormBlitz, then Cato probably wouldn't have gotten the chance to play him pretty much ever. After all, this was Cato's last year of middle school.

[It makes me feel like an old man, even though I'm not even that much older.] Cato pouted.

His birthday just barely satisfied the requirements for being a senior. If he was born just a couple of weeks earlier, then he would've been a junior right now. In that parallel universe, he could've faced Yuel next year, as a senior vs. a senior. Alas, the current timeline had different plans for them.

[Well, at least I'll get my re-run.] Cato had to compromise on whatever he was given.

For the longest time, he wanted to challenge Yuel again. Their one and only chess match ended in a way that was far from satisfactory. Ever since, Cato was hoping for a serious rematch.

What kind of player was Yuel? How did his brain work? How strong was he, really? The match didn't really satisfy any of that curiosity.

[I wonder what our dear 'Princess' will think of this development.] Cato snickered as he imagined the young lady's stoic expression contorting with a mixture of shock and disgust. [Ah~ It'll be a pleasure to see for sure. I better tell her today, hehe~]

While Cato was having fun with all these complicated thoughts, Sonya finished going over Chessmaster's strengths and weaknesses as an individual player.

"Overall," Sonya summarized. "He seems to be a strong theoretical player. He can play a variety of classes and all of them are well optimized in terms of decision-making. His only 'weakness' so to speak is his relatively weaker mechanical skill, which is still above average anyway. But, at the very least, he isn't much of a threat to any of us in a 1v1."

"In other words," Ronald said. "I gonna mop that guy easy!"

"Yes, that's a fair assessment." Sonya touched her glasses. "The best way to eliminate Chessmaster is by catching him alone and applying brute force. I believe William and Ronald are best suited for this task."

"Leave it to me!" Ronald thumped on his chest.

"Sure," William replied indifferently. There was nothing rewarding about crushing weak opponents, so he didn't particularly care either way. He'll just get the kills he can get, that's all there was to it.

"Well, you see?" Ronald asked. "It's like I said. Nobody really cares about Chess. Dude sure can play, but that's about it. No need to worry about him. Let's move on to the juicy one!"

"Oh, how green you are." Cato shook his head. "You're right that Chessmaster doesn't stand out too much as an individual player. But, once we get to discussing Stratus' tactics, you'll understand what makes him deserve our attention."

"Yeah, yeah." Ronald waved his hand. "Can we move on to the big fish already? I'm literally going to fall asleep at this rate."

"My, should I prepare a bucket of cold water?"

"VERY funny." Ronald shuddered.

"Don't worry, we're done with Chess for now." Sonya flipped through her notes. "The last member we have to discuss is Gunz."

"Yeah boy!" Ronald rubbed his hands. "Here it comes!"

Everybody perked their ears, even Matthew who was absorbed in mobile games until now. The entire room understood the importance of this one topic.

Gunz was the biggest elephant in the room, which was why Cato left this topic for last. Lazy bums like Ronald needed that kind of hook to stay awake throughout the rest of the meeting. They had to know that something interesting will happen further down the road, or else they'll lose their motivation.

[You're but a puppet dancing to my tune!] Cato snickered. [Your motivation is entirely under my command! Bow before the overlord!]

Jokes aside, it was time for one of the most critical parts of today's meeting.