Chapter 173 - 172: Evil’s Comeback into the Winner’s Bracket

Chapter 173: Chapter 172: Evil’s Comeback into the Winner’s Bracket

Ash Sinclair shook his head. He had pushed himself to exhaustion solely to break into the top eight. Otherwise, the intense mental strain of these past few matches would all be for nothing.

Forrest remained silent. However, they were still twenty-two points behind the eighth-place team. Even if they managed to take the win and secure a chicken dinner, they would still need twelve kills just to tie the score.

And that was merely to tie. They also had to worry about the ninth-place team nipping at their heels and the ever-present possibility of the eighth-place team pulling off a dark horse moment.

Forrest didn’t think they could pull it off this round. Clawing back this many points had basically been a stroke of incredible luck. Yet, as he watched Evil, who had remained fiercely serious and focused throughout these matches just to close the gap, the words of discouragement on the tip of his tongue were ultimately swallowed back.

"Give it your all, Evil."

Hearing this, Ash smiled and nodded. The break ended quickly, and he returned to the arena.

Sitting in the audience, Rian Sinclair gazed at Ash in the distance. Though his features were etched with exhaustion, his eyes shone brighter than ever. A smile graced her lips. That boy definitely had a fiercely stubborn streak in him.

Inside the soundproof booth, Ash knew the top three teams had already secured their advancement, meaning they would likely play this round much more loosely. They might even just drop hot and gun for immediate firefights.

The chosen map was the sprawling island of Erangel. The flight path was an extreme one, passing exclusively over the Military Base, with Novorepnoye being the only other decently close drop zone. Such a flight path was incredibly rare in professional tournaments. It was highly likely that the top three teams would drop straight into the Military Base to brawl for kill points.

For the teams facing elimination, there was also an unspoken rule: if you could fight, you fought. It was a chaotic free-for-all where high-scoring teams could pad their leads, risk-takers could rack up highlight reels to gain fans, and doomed teams could scrape together a few consolation points. Every single kill was a profit; taking down two was a downright steal.

Ash was one of those risk-takers. So, if they wanted to break into the top eight, dropping at the Military Base was non-negotiable.

Ash quickly voiced his strategy. Seth and Facade understood what Evil was aiming for, and after a brief moment of consideration, they agreed.

Hearing this, Tomorrow spoke up. "What if we get wiped the second we land?"

Ash didn’t reply. Seth, who had been annoyed to death by Tomorrow over the last few games, rolled his eyes and said, "If we want a shot at the top eight, we have to drop at the base. Otherwise, we might as well pack our bags for the losers’ bracket right now."

Ash kept his eyes locked on the flight path. "Drop."

The moment they ejected from the plane and he saw the swarm of parachutes filling the sky, Ash’s lips curled into a faint smirk in front of his monitor.

His gamble had paid off.

From the audience, Rian naturally understood his play. All around her, the crowd erupted into screams.

After all, Ash’s striking looks had drawn in a massive fanbase the moment he entered the esports scene. Coupled with his undeniably formidable skills, he had amassed an overwhelming number of fans who adored both his face and his gameplay. This match, Ash was deliberately diving into the most heavily populated meat grinder, all for the sake of devouring kill points.

Was their fate already sealed? Then he would just have to create a miracle.

Rian sat in the crowd, listening to the commentators announce that five full squads had landed at the Military Base. The firefights were already blazing. Hearing the casters shout about ASG’s Evil going on an absolute killing spree the moment his boots hit the ground, she smiled softly.

Ash was treating the Military Base exactly like his old solo-squad public matches. Silky smooth mechanics, god-tier marksmanship, and peak game sense—at this moment, his brain was completely in the zone, entirely unburdened. Pouring his entire being into the game, he snatched up a gun upon landing and immediately went hunting. It was, without a doubt, the most efficient way to rack up kills.

Right after the drop, everyone was starved for loot. The bold grabbed whatever weapon they could find and rushed their enemies; the timid scurried around searching for helmets and armor before trying to play tactically.

Ash had landed at the C-shaped buildings, dropping right in the face of two other squads. Fortunately, he hadn’t parachuted into the exact same building as them, a crucial detail that would pave the way for his eventual escape from the base.

The broadcast naturally focused its cameras on the Military Base, where the fighting was fiercest. The lens constantly cut to Evil, who had the highest kill count and was still aggressively prowling for more blood.

"A grand total of five squads dropped at the Military Base! Even excluding the players sent away to play safe for placement, that’s twenty players right out of the gate! ASG’s Evil has already secured five kills, and there are only ten players left alive in the base!"

Although some squads had planned an all-out brawl, the top-ranking teams still opted to leave one player on the outskirts to rat for survival points. It was a safety net to maintain their high placement and avoid walking away empty-handed. Likewise, teams doomed to the losers’ bracket also sent players away to preserve points, knowing that a pathetically low score would earn them ruthless mockery online.

Rian kept a close eye on the battlefield. Of the ten players remaining, two were from ASG, leaving eight enemies spread across three other teams. Watching Ash’s flawless mechanics as he single-handedly secured five kills through pure skill, she calculated that they were still seventeen points away from tying the score.

However, the team originally in eighth place had just picked up two points of their own. She was highly anticipating Ash’s performance for the rest of the game.

In-game, Ash was hyper-focused, monitoring every sudden development on the battlefield. He had already deduced exactly which teams were sharing the Military Base with them. The remaining three squads were PHFX, who was first on the leaderboard; PER, who was second; and Team X, who sat in eighth.

The current situation was a tense three-versus-three-versus-two-versus-two standoff. PHFX and PER both had three players remaining, Team X had two, and ASG was also down to two, having lost their entry fragger, Facade.

Seth also grasped the current dynamic. He intended to let Evil escape; after all, this kind of crossfire was nearly impossible to survive.

From the audience, Rian watched the situation unfold closely. After Ash secured another two kills, he decisively made a run for it.

PHFX and PER were now down to just two players each at the base. Ash chose to fall back quickly because he had poached a kill from both squads and didn’t want to risk being focus-fired by their remaining members. However, this match’s safe zone was pulling far to the north, while the Military Base was in the deep south. This meant it was highly likely that both major bridges would be blockaded by bridge campers.

And considering their loot could be generously described as the kings of garbage, forcing their way across the bridge wasn’t going to be easy.

The ultimate goal for this match was to farm as many kills as possible, so Ash set his sights on Novorepnoye.

The match raged on.

As the blue zone steadily shrank, squads inevitably clashed. The audience periodically erupted into thrilled screams or groaned in collective despair. Fans cheered passionately for their favorite teams, only to hang their heads in defeat when they were eliminated.

The caster’s voice boomed over the speakers, practically vibrating with excitement. "We have reached the most thrilling moment of the match! A one-on-one in the final circle! Who will take home the ultimate victory?!"

"Let’s congratulate ASG’s Evil on claiming the championship! Carried by Evil’s miraculous comeback, ASG has successfully fought their way out of the losers’ bracket and advanced to the winners’ bracket! A massive congratulations to Evil for single-handedly securing sixteen kill points!

"After entering today with a measly ten points, ASG has completely dominated these six matches to rack up seventy points! They advance to the winners’ bracket in seventh place!

"ASG’s Evil used these matches to show us all that anything is possible! As long as you have the courage to act, nothing is out of reach! Let’s hear it for ASG!"

ASG advancing to the winners’ bracket was an outcome no one had anticipated. After all, a team that had scraped together a mere ten points the day before and sat in second-to-last place had no business qualifying.

It sounded like an absolute pipe dream! But someone had actually done it.

Relying purely on his own god-like mechanics, Evil really had dragged his three teammates kicking and screaming into the winners’ bracket.

The live audience was shell-shocked. Whether they were fans of Evil or not, everyone in the arena was cheering for him. He had accomplished something the entire world thought was impossible. Respecting absolute power was basic human instinct. In the esports world, it didn’t matter who you were. As long as your skills were top-tier, you would win the adoration of the masses.

When Evil’s magnificent stats flashed on the screen, the crowd gasped. ASG had a total of fifty-six kill points. Evil had accounted for forty-six of those points entirely on his own. It was an unfathomable statistic.

After a match like this, the other three members of ASG were probably going to get roasted alive by the fans online.

Rian watched as Ash took off his headset. Though his face feigned calm composure, the pure joy dancing in his eyes couldn’t be hidden. She smiled faintly.

Ash.

This stage of esports was practically tailor-made for him.