While setting up the tablet for the 2v2, Yuel shared his observations with Lars.

“Judging by their ranks,” Yuel said. “It might be a good idea to focus on Vincent first.”

“We gonna focus the Support?”

“Maybe,” Yuel narrowed his eyes as he glanced at the enemy camp. Vincent was busy explaining something to Kai with his usual exaggerated hand motions. That clown was always speaking a lot of nonsense, but it also seemed like there was some unexpected sharpness to him.

Maybe Yuel was just imagining it, but it felt like Vincent figured that Yuel will be gunning for him. Something about their exchanges before the match just rubbed Yuel the wrong way.

“We'll have to see how it goes,” Yuel said. “For now, my plan is to ban Support classes with good escapes. Let's focus on Vincent whenever we can and see where we go from there.”

“Okey-dokey,” Lars flashed his teeth and saluted.

The banning phase began. Yuel’s side won the virtual in-game coin toss, so he got to ban first. His first target was Knight. It was a class with a solid combination of tankiness and mobility, so a Support who wanted to keep himself alive while helping his lane partner would opt for Knight.

I think I hit bullseye. Yuel gauged Vincent's reaction from afar: a dry laugh followed by a head shake. Even if Knight wasn't going to be Vincent's first pick, it was most certainly a pick he was considering.

In response, the other team banned Trickshooter.

“Yo!” Lars exclaimed. “For real? How did they know!?”

“It must be Vincent,” Yuel deduced. “He saw the scrimmage, so he knows how strong your Trickshooter is.”

“And here I thought I'll get to go wild on them,” Lars twisted his lips. “C’mon dude, ban their best Carry too!”

“And how would I know their best Carry?”

“I believe in ya! You're smart and stuff.”

Being smart doesn't magically make me know things. Yuel retorted mentally. He got an early read on Vincent, so he could estimate what classes Vincent was considering. However, as for Kai? Yuel didn’t know the first thing about her as a player.

Kai was rather stoic and it was difficult to read her expressions, especially with that black cap that covered her face whenever she was lowering her head. Why was she even wearing that cap inside a basement?

Anyway, there was one Carry which Yuel definitely saw fitting to ban: Elf. Depending on how well Vincent studied Lars during the scrimmage, there was a chance Vincent realized Lars had a bad habit of overextending at times. Yuel has been working hard with that goof on fixing this weakness, but it hasn’t been entirely resolved yet.

Therefore, if the enemy chooses to go with a defensive game plan, it might cause some trouble for Lars. Thus, Elf had to go.

In response, the enemy banned Paladin. Yet again, a class that showed strong performance during the StormBlitz vs. Leopards scrimmage. Yuel's Paladin even impressed the Leopards back then and posed enough of a threat to warrant their ban.

Based on these bans, it was evident Vincent didn't know much about Yuel and Lars beyond what he saw in that one scrimmage. So, all his bans were likely going to be based on that one event. So much for his amazing “Information Blackhole”. He didn’t know squat about Yuel and Lars’s other strong options.

For the third ban, Yuel banned Lumimancer. It wasn't a tanky class but its Flash spell was a blink, so that made the class great at escaping. Now, with both Knight and Lumimancer out of the picture, there weren't that many options for Vincent to go for if he wanted an evasive Support.

For the enemy's last ban, they picked Druid. Yet again, a class which put on a strong showing during the Leopards scrimmage. It was also a great class for stopping escape attempts thanks to the pull from Nature's Grasp, so perhaps that was one of Vincent’s considerations as well.

With the banning phase over, Yuel's side proceeded to select the first class. The other side will then have to pick both classes at once, so Yuel preferred to keep his own pick for last and counter-pick whatever Vincent picks.

“Say,” Yuel started. “You think you can handle a Gunslinger on tablet?”

“Yeah, no problem,” Lars nodded. “I'mma get these headshots.”

“You sure? You only practiced it on PC.”

“Believe it, yo!”

I'd believe it if you didn't always pretend like you can do everything even when you clearly can't.

Gunslinger was Lars's second-best class, provided he could land headshots as he practiced on PC. For landing headshots, in particular, there was a huge difference between playing with a mouse on PC and playing with a controller on tablet. Could Lars really pull it off...?

Then again, it was Lars. His sharpshooting abilities never ceased to amaze. Yuel and Lars absolutely had to dominate this match to show how much better they were than the other duo, so going with Lars's second strongest pick seemed like the best option.

“Okay,” Yuel said. “I'll believe you're not all talk. Let's go with Gunslinger.”

“Heh, this gonna be fun. I'mma style on them!” Lars grinned and his eyes glinted like a knife. He was like a hungry beast that was about to set out to devour his prey. Maybe it was just Yuel's imagination, but there was something a tad unsettling underneath Lars’s usual gung-ho attitude...

“Gunslinger, huh,” Vincent nodded to himself as the turn passed back him and Kai. Now, they had to pick their two classes.

With both Knight and Lumimancer banned, Vincent's escape options were severely limited. He felt like there had to be a better option out there, but the only thing that came to mind was Viking’s blink ability toward his axe. Alas, Viking wasn't a proper Support class. It was a bona fide Top Laner.

“What do you think about me picking Viking?” Vincent asked.

“Well, if that's what you want,” Kai shrugged.

“You don't have any objections?”

“Not really. I mean, it doesn't sound like the best Support out there, but this isn't even a real match anyway. The extra power may be useful for a 2v2.”

“I guess that’s true,” Vincent was taken aback at first by the lack of resistance, but then he remembered this was Kai he was dealing with. This girl always focused more on her own picks and plays. The rest could be whatever.

“I'll go with Pyro,” Kai said and locked in Pyromancer.

“Wha-!?” Vincent jumped. How about discussing it first!? Seriously, she was the Maiden of Zero Fucks given. “That's a pretty risky pick right there.”

“Looks good to me,” Kai shrugged. “Pyro can both carry and clear minions, so I figured it'll be good for a 2v2.”

“That may be true, but it has a short range,” Vincent argued. “I told you how Gunz has Gungnir Sniper, right? He doesn't drop a single shot! If you get close to him, he'll snipe you every single time!”

“Again with that over the top nonsense...”

“Alright, you don’t have to believe everything I say. But, at least trust me that Gunz is scary if you put yourself in his firing range. He's going to aggress on you and he won't be missing any shots.”

“We'll see about that.”

I got a bad feeling about this. Vincent sighed. Despite his best efforts to avoid everything he saw during the StormBlitz vs. Leopards scrimmage, Kai just had to go ahead and pick Pyromancer, the exact class Gunz tore apart in that scrimmage. This was an ominous sign. History was about to repeat itself!

As the Support, it should be my job to protect her. But... Vincent shuddered. He felt it! That murderous intent that traveled across the air from the enemy camp! He definitely had a mark on his back.

At least, with Viking, Vincent will be able to protect himself with long-distance blinking. However, that’ll come at the expense of his ability to properly support Kai. If Chessmaster fails to take Vincent down, he’ll surely go after Kai next. Decisions, decisions.

Normally, the Support’s life was considered of less value than the Carry’s and therefore the Support should be willing to sacrifice himself for the Carry. However, in a 2v2, the death of a single player meant 50% of the team was eliminated. So, Vincent's death would spell imminent doom for Kai.

I should focus on keeping myself alive first. Vincent concluded. After I secure my own safety, I’ll figure out how to keep Kai alive. Oh, I mean Beat! Yeah, she’s Beat now. And, I’m Information Blackhole!

“Beat.” Vincent pointed at Kai. “Information Blackhole.” He pointed at himself.

“What are you doing?”

“Rehearsing the proper names,” Vincent explained. “Gotta call everybody by their competitive names.”

“Is that a new gig you’re running?”

“Yeah, isn’t it cool?”

“Not really.”

“You should also call everybody by their competitive names when we’re in a match.”

“You expect me to call you Information Blackhole?” Kai made a face. “That’s a mouthful for a name.”

“You can just call me Blackhole.”

“How about no?” Kai rolled her eyes.

“Anyway,” Vincent continued before their time runs out. “I'll take Viking to keep myself alive. Just keep in kind that my supporting options are limited, so play a little safer.”

“Sure.”

Vincent locked in the Viking pick and their turn was done. Now, the ball was in Chessmaster’s court again.

An interesting approach. Yuel thought. This confirmed his suspicion: Vincent was definitely aware of the mark on his back. After Yuel sealed the defensive options of Knight and Lumimancer, it forced Vincent to resort to a selfish Support pick like Viking just to keep himself alive.

It was an unexpected move but it was even better than what Yuel hoped for. Without a proper Support, the Carry will become a much easier target during the early parts of the game. So, if focusing on Vincent won’t pay off, Yuel and Lars will simply focus on Kai instead and Vincent won't be able to do too much about it. Vincent played this one too safe for his own good.

On the other hand, Kai's Pyromancer pick was ballsy and disrespecting. She knew she was going up against Challenger V players but she didn't care. That was some confidence right there.

Does this duo even communicate? Yuel wondered.

This mismatch in how each of them approached the match seemed like a small thing at first glance, but it might hint about a disagreement in the enemy camp. On one hand, Vincent saw how good Yuel and Lars were and played cautiously. On the other hand, Kai was going on all in without a single care in the world because she never saw them in action.

Did Vincent forget to warn her? Judging by how energetically he was talking over there, it seemed unlikely he wouldn’t mention such an important detail. So, Kai most likely didn’t take his advice seriously.

Honestly, it was hard to blame her because Vincent was a clown who blew every little thing out of proportion. Still, this was important information from a teammate and Kai disregarded it. This alluded to potential weaknesses in the enemy’s teamwork. Yuel should definitely capitalize on those.

To counter Viking's best escape option, Yuel picked Cryomancer. Between Ice Wall and Ice Coffin, Cryomancer had great tools for stopping Viking’s escape. On top of that, Cryomancer doubled as a counter to Kai because Pyromancer didn’t have any leap abilities for jumping over Ice Wall. So, unless both enemies get Blink at game start, they’ll be easy targets.

“Man,” Vincent shook his head. “I'm telling you, this guy really knows how to spot any weakness. He really got the Mystic Eyes of Weakness Perception, no kidding.”

“Sure.”

“Cryo's Ice Wall is a good counter to both our classes, so we have to buy Blink as soon as possible.”

“I'll think about it.” Kai shrugged.

“Can't you agree with something for once?”

“Not until I’m sure I can trust your judgment on this,” Kai said. “You’re the kind of guy who hears a random loud sound and immediately claims it’s aliens bombarding Earth. You expect me to trust the judgment of somebody like that?”

“Fair enough,” Vincent smiled wryly. He actually had solid information this time around and he was taking this match seriously, but good luck convincing Kai about any of that.

Welp, he already knew this is how Kai always rolled, so there wasn't much more he could say. She’ll just have to witness the savage strength of the Golden Duo first hand. Then, she'll become more cooperative. Probably. Maybe. Hopefully.

With the drafting phase over, the match finally began. They played on the map that was popular for 1v1, so their starting options were practically the same: either go for the Wraith Camp on their side of the map or contest the Ogre Camp in the middle of the map.

“Dude,” Lars said. “Let's invade them!”

“No need to rush things,” Yuel said.

“C'mon, let's beat them before the game starts! C'mon, c'mon, c’mon!”

“No. Gunslinger isn't that strong in the early game. Did you forget that already?”

“But, we're starting at Lv.5. I already got my cool stuff going!”

“That's still too early,” Yuel insisted. “But, we're definitely going for the red buff. If they think they can contest it, they’ll come to us themselves and we’ll get ourselves a fight. Is that good enough for you?”

“Okay, let's goooo!” Lars darted out of the base as soon as he purchased the starter items Yuel advised for this matchup.

Samurai Tabi was an aggressive starting option which will ensure that each of Lars’s shots will be impactful. Lars pouted at first and said he wanted something more aggressive, but Yuel insisted. Seriously, that goof was too bloodthirsty right now. Yuel will have to keep that beast under control.

“Let's go for red buff,” Kai said, already on her way out of the base.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Vincent objected as he followed. “I told you, these two are good. Like, super mega ultra good. You don't want to challenge them to an early fight like that.”

“Why not?”

“‘Why’? You're really something...” Vincent sighed. This was even harder than usual.

Perhaps, despite Kai's stoic expression, she was actually overflowing with emotions right now. It felt like she was dead set beating these two with her own hands. Did she feel threatened by their presence? Because, they were undoubtedly going to take her position as the strongest player in the club, Not to mention, they were boys...

Being motivated for the fight was fine and dandy, but Kai was being way too reckless. At this rate, the enemy will mop the floor with them in under five minutes.

I know we're going to lose, but I want to at least put on a good fight. Vincent knotted his brows. Oh well, let's just see how it goes. As far as raw stats are concerned, I believe our classes got an edge over theirs in an early 2v2. I even got my ‘press Y to win’ ult and all. And, if push comes to shove, we can just blink... or not.

“Wait, why you didn't get Blink?”

“It costs too much,” Kai shrugged. “I couldn't buy Lv.3 Demonic Arm together with Blink.”

“Oh boy,” Vincent sighed deeply. This was going to be a wild ride. He felt that in his bones.

Unfortunately, he couldn't just leave Beat to her own devices, so he followed after her toward the Ogre Camp. Chessmaster and Gunz were probably feeling themselves right now due to their higher rank, so they'll assuredly contest the camp. If so, GGWP.

Yep, just like I thought. Vincent spotted the two enemies heading toward the Ogre Camp from the opposite direction. “They're going for red buff too.”

“Yes, I can see that.”

“Any chance you reconsider contesting the camp?”

“Why would I?”

“Haha, right, why would you...” Vincent produced a dry laugh. There wasn't anything else he could do but brace for impact. Viking's ult might be able to get them a cheesy win in a 2v2, but the Chessmaster probably knew how to safely diffuse this bomb.

The early clash for the Ogre Camp was about to begin! Who'll take the upper hand at the very beginning!?