<Today's Match Analysis: Xi IMPRESSIVE Hosted Scrim>

• Script playback in progress.

Hello, everyone. This is Unreal.

Although I wasn’t a professional gamer, I once worked in the Dark Zone esports scene. Today, I’m here to respond to your requests through this video.

Fortunately, I still had some old contacts, and after inquiring, I received permission to make this video. So, to all the RealDan viewers watching this, rest assured, everything is above board.

Let’s get started.

Xi IMPRESSIVE. One of the top professional teams in our country. They haven’t had a dramatic rise to the top after a slump, but consistently placing in the rankings at various Dark Zone tournaments is no easy feat.

As you all know, Xi is one of the few teams that meet such tough criteria. They’re often jokingly called the "eternal second place," but standing firm in a bloodthirsty arena every season is no small feat.

Anyway, I’m rambling. Let’s dive into the scrim results.

<Photo of the scrim summary results>

As many of you may already know, scrims don’t reveal much. At best, you might get movement routes, match results, and if you’re lucky, a brief video. All of this is to prevent any tactical leaks.

This is also why today’s video isn’t that long. There’s not much to say. The only thing we can really do is compare this season with the last and see which players have improved, who the rising stars are, and if any players are underperforming. But a deep dive into actual gameplay analysis is difficult.

But, of course, the analysts at each team will do a much more detailed job than us, so it’s not something to worry too much about.

Let’s get into it.

As you can see on the screen, the most interesting part of yesterday’s scrim was gathering only the first-place finishers from each session. The nickname might be a bit unusual, but for those of you who’ve played Dark Zone in any depth, you’ll immediately recognize them.

Yujin.

This is the player who’s been heating up the internet lately. They’re also the reason I decided to make this video.

Of course, Dark Zone is a massive game. So much so that it’s classified as a comprehensive FPS. Those of you who primarily enjoy the game’s main content, like looter-shooting or PvE, might not know much about this player.

But coming back to the point, some people asked me about this during my streams. At the time, I dodged the question because I had forgotten a lot about AP soloing. But when I decided to dig into it seriously, I found that this player—Yujin—is truly beyond imagination.

The most common question I got was:

"How good is Yujin? Could they make it in the pro scene?"

Honestly, when I first heard this, I wasn’t sure.

But after checking the results from this scrim… that question turned out to be completely irrelevant. As you can see on the screen, can you believe it? Winning 15 out of 23 matches—this is a result I’ve never seen in my entire life.

Assuming that 10-15% of the participants in each session were pros, these results suggest that all the teams are watching this person with razor-sharp eyes.

As you may already know, AP (Apex Predator) becomes exponentially harder as you go up. To come in first, you need to merge individual physical ability, map-reading skills, precision shooting, and improvisation into one.

Given that, seeing these results on Xi’s official website seems to indicate some sort of intent behind it. I can’t pinpoint exactly what that intent might be, which is frustrating.

But one thing is for sure: the scrims will continue. They’ll keep going until the qualifying ranks open, and once the top 100 players are selected, they’ll participate in the Asian qualifiers.

I don’t know exactly what’s happening up there, but it’s certainly not a static situation.

Now, let’s dive into the analysis. The first match was….

.

.

.

.

.

"…Yujin."

"Yes?"

"What kind of person are you?"

"Who knows."

Smoke ominously rose from the barrel of the gun.

Years of experience suppressed the heart rate that was trying to spike uncontrollably. At the height of concentration, where I could feel the trigger under my fingertip, countless bodies piled up like a mountain.

I ran here and there, batting away incoming grenades with the tail of my rifle, tossing Dice aside before grenades exploded nearby, stealing shotguns from assault troops, and using their bodies as shields after killing them.

Even the enemies that popped up unexpectedly in previously cleared areas tested my survival instincts in ways I hadn’t felt in a long time.

I slowly suppressed the labored breathing that came too late and pulled myself out of the trance-like focus. Thankfully, Dice had fought fiercely too.

Of course, given the close quarters and the possibility of hand-to-hand combat, his responses were limited. It was like fighting against real people, with them swinging rifle stocks and using close combat techniques.

This situation required a different level of improvisation than AP soloing.

Anyway, the result was that we survived.

I’m not sure what Dice learned from this battle, but the fact that both of us are still alive counts for something.

I took a deep breath and said,

"You need to practice close-quarters combat a lot more."

"…Yeah, I guess I do."

Sigh.

A long exhale sounded beside me.

He seemed to be exhausted.

At the top of the UI, it showed that we had been in the mission for an hour and a half, and because of the difficulty, we were barely halfway through. We hadn’t planned on clearing it, but now that we’d come this far, there was a sunk cost.

After tidying up the area, I resupplied at the ammo box. While I couldn’t restock grenades or other items there, looting corpses was always an option—though Dice seemed surprised by that.

"…You really are hardcore."

"I’ve never lied about that."

"It’s not that. It’s just that you’ve done so much that it’s hard to believe, even when I see it with my own eyes."

"Haha…."

After handing him a few grenades that hadn’t had their pins pulled, we moved to the next area.

Basically, this mission was about wiping out a special ops unit planning to wreak havoc on the power plant. Along the way, we had to stabilize the overloaded facility and take down the bosses.

To be frank, the mission was quite linear and straightforward. Maybe that’s why there was a "hardest difficulty."

We still had plenty of time before the scrim, and this mission was both practice and an opportunity to chat.

Before diving into the enemy-occupied area, we continued our conversation.

"When I watch you, Yujin, I feel like your mindset is different. It’s like… if you don’t take down those guys, you’re really going to die. Does hardcore mode hurt when you die?"

"Of course not. I was curious about that too, but when you die, it’s just like dying normally."

"…Wait, why don’t you know for sure?"

"Because I don’t die often…."

…The way this guy is looking at me is definitely not just my imagination.

Anyway, the battle continued a few more times. The process was nothing short of a chaotic mess that squeezed every last bit of energy out of us, but Dice gradually adapted to it.

Maybe it’s because he’s a pro gamer. Or maybe that’s just how he is. But it seemed like his basic skills made him quick to get used to this.

By the way,

"The next area looks brutal. Setting up a balcony like that and expecting players to break through is harsh."

"…Uh, should we save here and continue another time?"

"Haha."

I could sense the desperate, pleading undertone of "Please, just stop…."

But as always, the world doesn’t work the way anyone wants it to. And just because you want something doesn’t mean the players camping around you in AP soloing will stop attacking.

I chuckled softly and spoke up.

"I think you can guess what I’m going to say next."

Dice’s expression was quite a sight to behold.

-[Notification: Power Plant Output Increasing.]

-[Current Objective: Secure the Area.]

-[Time Remaining // 15:39:05]

"What? How are we supposed to do this in 15 minutes? Are they serious?"

"It’s going to get tough. Max out your concentration and be prepared for anything."

"…You’re telling me to focus more than this?"

"You’ve faced tougher battles than this. You’ll be fine."

No.

I’m really not fine….

Before starting, I thought this would be a typical session where I’d help fill in the gaps in Dice’s skills, and vice versa, and we’d be extracted to the lobby after 30-40 minutes, followed by a debrief.

Maybe this is what madness looks like?

Not the kind where you’re bleeding, making weird faces, and screaming, but the kind where you stubbornly push through something that seems impossible to everyone else… and somehow, you still end up with results.

But contrary to those thoughts, my body moved based on the practice I’d accumulated, searching for ways to survive this hell.

Even during scrims, I’ve never processed this much information, but now I’m scanning for enemies and shooting them, straining my eyes so hard it feels like my corneas are drying up.

Every shot was crucial.

If you didn’t fully neutralize an enemy in one go, suppressive fire would come immediately. In AP soloing, even if you were under suppressive fire, it was rare to be flanked, giving you time to think….

But now, what the heck. Enemies were closing in from all sides like a net, and if I let my guard down for a moment, I’d be down in no time.

"There's a medic behind the lower left tube frame. Take them out as a priority. Reloading. Please cover me."

"Ugh, assault trooper…!"

Thudududu!

My thumb flicked the fire selector to burst mode, and I pumped a dozen rounds into the assault trooper in front of me, just as he was about to throw a concussion grenade.

The small, round grenade fell to the ground and exploded with a deafening roar. Meanwhile, Yujin, who had quickly reloaded, took out the last enemy.

Taking cover again, I shouted,

"Reloading!"

"Watch out for white phosphorus dispersal rounds."

Boom!

At that moment, the deep sound of screams echoed through the air.

As I finished reloading and looked across, it was as if an airstrike had hit. The scattered phosphorus rounds were glowing as they fell to the ground, burning the assault troopers who were rushing in below.

"What the heck is going on!?"

"I shot them down with my gun. It’s like clay shooting. Have you tried it before?"

"…How can you be so calm?"

Even so, he continued to fire without losing focus on the objective. There wasn’t time to question every little thing because the situation wasn’t going in our favor.

The feeling of squeezing every bit of my energy surged through my body. Focusing all my nerves on one engagement was making my head ache, and my fingers were trembling.

Have I ever taken anything this seriously, outside of a tournament?

Then something appeared in front of my eyes.

-[New Objective Notification: Activate the Safety Valves <0/3>]

"I’ll go turn the valves. Cover me."

"…I’ll grit my teeth and do my best."

"That’s the spirit."

Watching Yujin dash through the complex terrain, I bit my lip.

Coming this far in the hardest difficulty with just two people—it’s anything but common. I wiped away all previous thoughts and expectations and focused intently on the unfolding events, to the point that my eyes were bloodshot.

Failure here would mean starting over from the beginning.

As a gamer, not just a pro, I didn’t want to face that.

Ironically, it was as if I was being tested on every skill a professional needed, in the most comprehensive way possible.