NoveLight ™
[Author: ㅇㅇ(622.98)]
[Title: What’s up with the IKL guest commentary?]
(Attached Image: Guest commentator ‘Gawol’ during Sigma vs Q Prime)
Is this official?
But she’s neither a pro nor anything like that. Can she even appear as a guest commentator?
[Comments]
It’s been quite some time since my legs were ruined.
Since I met Elderen and Luce, I’ve encountered various situations.
One piece of wisdom I gained from that experience is to avoid people who could recognize me as much as possible.
After all, my legs easily attract sympathy from others.
Telling the same lie about having been recently injured over and over is exhausting, so it’s better to minimize the number of people who know me.
That’s why I had arrived at the studio hours early and just holed up there.
Well, there were some people I had no choice but to reveal myself to.
Those were the commentators I’d be working with during the broadcast.
“It’s the first time meeting in person, right? I’m Inho-eun.”
“Ah, I’m Han Da-eun. I look forward to working with you today.”
“I’m Hwang Yul, the commentator. You look even more beautiful in person than on screen.”
“Oh, you’ve watched my streams? That’s a bit... embarrassing.”
“Honestly, I think most people here today have watched you.”
Their words didn’t provide much comfort.
Anyway, I greeted the other commentators, and when it came to my legs, I just brushed it off with a vague, “It’s nothing, really.”
Maybe because they were all successful professionals, they instinctively chose not to pry further.
Honestly, that was easier for me.
If they started asking thoughtless questions or, on the flip side, if they were overly kind and concerned, it would have been burdensome for me.
It’s much easier to deal with people who act like they don’t care.
“Well, since you arrived early, we can go over some things in advance. Do you watch the pro league often?”
“Luce... I usually just follow Sigma’s games. I catch a few international ones here and there too.”
“That’s more than enough. As a guest commentator, you’ll have a bit of leeway in terms of what you can say, especially when it comes to using memes or making candid remarks. Just avoid being too harsh.”
Inho-eun calmly explained to me.
There’s more freedom in commentary than I expected.
As long as I don’t go too overboard, it’s okay to use internet memes or speak without much restraint.
The only thing I needed to watch out for was not criticizing specific players too harshly.
They requested that I avoid overly blaming one team.
Well, that’s common sense.
Both teams will be watching the match, after all.
Some pro gamers are 'one-club players' who stick to a single team, but most are contracted players who move between multiple teams.
In this industry, there’s always a chance you could end up working with a player you once trashed.
That’s something anyone aspiring to be a pro gamer should keep in mind.
Even the pre-match trash talk is all staged.
I’m not so ignorant as to not understand that much.
“Got it, I’ll be careful.”
But little did I know at the time, I wouldn’t be able to control myself—because of the nightmare of a match that was about to unfold.
《 Thank you for waiting! We’re live for the first match of the IKL semifinals, with your caster, Ho-eun. 》
《 And this is commentator Hwang Yul. And yes, as many of you have guessed, we have a special guest today—Arena champion Gawol! 》
My face briefly appeared on the monitor.
They said the screen on the left shows what will be broadcast five seconds later, and the right displays the current recording.
I bowed slightly in greeting.
《 Hello, this is Gawol... I didn’t expect to be invited, so it’s an honor to be here. 》
《 You seem a bit different from what people imagined. Some probably expected more of a mischievous personality. 》
《 I’m not that much of a troublemaker. 》
《 Haha, well, many viewers are looking forward to your commentary today. We’re expecting great things. 》
What’s with these people?
Their eyes seem like they’re expecting something.
Especially Ho-eun.
Even back in Arena, I had a feeling he was secretly hoping I’d mess up.
Is this really the same person who just taught me how not to cause trouble?
Anyway, as the game started, the match details came up on screen.
[IKL Semi-Final - Match 1]
[Simga eSports vs Q Prime]
[Map: Boiling Lava Zone]
[Rule: 5v5 Deathmatch]
《 And the semifinals between Sigma eSports and Q Prime are now underway! 》
《 This match-up has even been called a preview of the finals. Q Prime tasted defeat in Round 2, but they’ve likely sharpened their skills for this one. 》
《 How do you see this clash unfolding, Gawol? 》
They’re calling me a player, huh?
Maybe because the image of me in the Arena stuck so strongly.
I almost blurted out that Luce would win for sure, but I held back.
《 Hmm, well, it’s hard to say right now. We’ll have to see how the flow of the match develops. 》
In Infinity Black, the typical deathmatch rule is that the first team to reach 30 combined deaths loses.
There aren’t any special rules beyond that.
At best, there are neutral monsters you can defeat to gain stat buffs.
That’s a gimmick that was removed in the individual Arena matches but is still popular in team games.
It’s a strategic choice—whether to focus on early fights or bank on late-game growth.
One important aspect of deathmatches is that the respawn cooldown isn’t particularly short.
If your team crumbles before a dead teammate can respawn, the game can snowball, leading to a domino effect of deaths and an inevitable defeat.
Well, that almost never happens in top-tier pro matches.
《 On Sigma’s side, we see Camellia’s swordsman and on Q Prime, Sparrow’s assassin moving separately. 》
《 They’re both fast and well-suited to handle neutral monsters. These are typical choices for this map, but what do you think, Gawol? 》
《 Hmm... It’s a bit one-sided. If things keep going this way, Sigma will have the upper hand. I wish they had taken a bolder approach. 》
A “safe” strategy only works when both teams are evenly matched.
But from what I saw in Round 2, these two teams weren’t equals.
There was a clear distinction between the stronger team and the weaker one.
In such cases, the weaker team has to show something.
If the match progresses normally, they’ll just lose normally too.
Or maybe they’re confident that their performance has improved since Round 2?
I hope that’s the case.
On screen, Sparrow and Camellia were moving in the same direction.
Of course, they didn’t know about each other’s movements.
They were just heading to hunt some reptiles in the eastern part of the lava zone.
It was pure coincidence.
But turning a lucky coincidence into a decisive advantage is what real skill is about.
《 The assassin. Sparrow spots Camellia first. 》
《 There are two options: initiate a surprise attack or retreat without revealing his presence. 》
《 Sparrow is retreating, moving toward the western side of the map. 》
A cautious approach.
Not an incomprehensible decision.
Previously, Camellia completely dominated Sparrow in a one-on-one match during the winner’s bracket.
There was no reason to believe that skill gap had suddenly disappeared.
Even if Sparrow successfully ambushed her, victory wasn’t guaranteed.
But this is exactly why people criticize Korea’s “weak assassin play.”
In that situation, a skilled assassin would have gone for the ambush.
Spotting the enemy first and deciding how to act—that’s the assassin’s unique advantage.
But the pathing in the “Boiling Lava Zone” isn’t exactly short.
Retreating at this point meant a huge loss.
《 That’s a missed opportunity. It would’ve been better to attempt the ambush and prevent both from taking down the neutral monsters. 》
《 Gawol’s point is valid. Perhaps the pressure from their previous one-on-one is affecting Sparrow’s decisions? 》
《 Five minutes into the match, Sigma is slightly ahead in terms of growth. 》
If I were in that situation, I’d have definitely engaged Camellia.
But Camellia isn’t an idiot.
If I were in Sparrow’s place, I wouldn’t have started fighting the neutral monsters to begin with.
In one-on-one Arena matches, the first ambush from an assassin is already difficult to evade.
It’s even harder when you’re busy fighting neutral monsters.
So, naturally, her priority would’ve been to locate me first.
The fact that the swordsman could comfortably hunt monsters in the first place was the problem.
The bigger issue was that Sparrow wasn’t considered a low-tier assassin by any means.
It was a complete mess on all fronts.
《 And now, the first full-team skirmish breaks out. 》
《 A bind from the mage locks down Luce, giving Traveler the advantage. 》
《 Fast! They’ve improved significantly. Reaching that level of growth at such speed isn’t easy. 》
A lance-wielding knight, boosted by a priest’s buff, was tearing through Sigma’s base.
In Arena, Traveler was eliminated early after facing Cerberus, but his individual skills were top-tier even on a global scale.
His impeccable timing with ranged attacks, combined with clean melee execution—
Fighting off two, no, three opponents single-handedly—Traveler was the embodiment of every knight class player’s dream.
But here’s my honest reaction to that flashy display of combat:
《 Ugh, his combat style has gotten even worse. What the hell is he doing? 》
The pro league isn’t about individual play.
In a team game, why is Traveler fighting alone?