Season 2: Chapter 208: Suspicion (2)
— People who have tried her know that this isn't something skill can cover up lol
└ Seriously lol
└ So are you saying Police actively staged this to deceive users???
└ 2222 That's ridiculous lol
└ No need for Police to lead it, maybe the opposing players just went easy on them and subtly lost on purpose?
└ That explanation doesn’t account for Almond landing all of Sori's arrows in 1 to 2 seconds
Debates raged on LIL Pro while Ju-Hyeok prepared for the stream. Some users felt puzzled by the controversy itself.
[Is this your first time seeing Almond play??]
After all, it wasn't the first time Almond had shown such gameplay.
— Exactly lol
— Yeah, it was even more impressive when he played Raina... Why are people acting like this?
His performance with Raina was far superior to what he showed with Sori. However, those fueling the suspicions weren’t without reason.
└ Is playing a character with speed and accuracy buffs the same as shooting a bow raw??
Of course, Raina and the other champions he played all had system assisted speed and accuracy buffs. His performance with other champions couldn't be directly compared to when he used Sori.
— Disgusting. If you can shoot like that with Sori, it's practically the same as being able to shoot with that accuracy in real life lol Is that even possible? Then why be a streamer?
They argued that if someone could shoot like that as Sori, that meant the individual could also perform similarly in real life. This idea began to gain traction.
└ True... If that's the case, why not pursue archery instead of streaming? Lol
└ Exactly... Could have swept the Olympics. Why play the clown? It makes no sense…
└ As if a gamer could be our country's youngest championship gold medalist…
└ Lmao spinning facts
Indeed, Almond was skilled with a bow in real life. It had been long established that performance in virtual reality and real life could significantly differ.
[The difference between VR performance and real performance has been known for ages, yet here they go again doubting]
In reality, Almond's virtual reality performance wasn’t just due to his archery skills, but more so because he had been doing image training for ten years as revealed by the engineers who measured his VNS (Virtual Nervous System) scores. However...
There was rarely ever a case in the community where naysayers lit a fire with actual evidence. They simply ignited whatever fuel they had.
[Look at the timing of Nutcase's stream]
[The culprit is streaming, let’s go~ lol]
[The title of the stream lol]
For Almond, it was just about using that fire in his favor.
[Almond has started streaming.]
[LIL: There are no bad champions]
— Hi hi
— Aha~!
— Watched yesterday's stream, it was great ??
— The title lol
— What's with the title again? lol
Messages flooded the chat as the stream went live.
Almond's face appeared on one side.
“Ta-da!”
— Hi hi
— Today's a visual feast~
— Got my dose of good looks, now I'm out
— Doing LIL today?
It was his first stream since recording The Avatar of LIL, so many people seemed to be waiting.
[Current Viewers: 9.7K]
Nearly 10,000 viewers arrived immediately.
— What game today?
— Doing LIL today??
— Oh it’s LIL in the title lol
“Yes, I will be playing LIL for the first part of today’s stream.”
Almond had divided his stream into two parts. The second part was always reserved for a private scrim with the national Civil Empire team, making the first part essentially the main event.
— Ah…
— When is Kingdom?
— Not doing Jet Pumped?
Others waiting for different games chimed in. It made sense since he recently continued playing LIL for Swift’s story mode.
“I was originally going to play Jet Pumped today, but…”
Clap.
Almond suddenly clapped as if realizing something.
“Ah. First, let’s visit TSB.”
— ???
— Overacting lol
— What’s he up to? lol
Almond seemed to have a specific buildup in mind.
“Let's take a look at a post. Someone has kindly shared a LIL Pro post for us today.”
He immediately clicked on a post on TSB.
— Why look at that of all things?
— LOL did you plan all this? So cute lol
— It’s obvious, Nutcase…
The post wasn't a top post and didn’t have a clickbaity title either, indicating that he had planned to click on it.
Viewers could tell, but they found it endearing or simply supported the act.
— Wow! What could it be, teacher?!
— The physical ability to click on such a thrilling post! Amazing!
— Do not question Almond’s will.
The post that Almond opened succinctly summarized the current controversy swirling around LIL Pro.
[The fabricated controversies emerging in LIL Pro]
In the community, bait referred to topics designed to lure users like fish.
“There's a controversy about my performance on The Avatar of LIL broadcast being staged.”
— Controversy on LIL Pro is just industry tradition lol
— Everything is staged for these folks lol
— Dumbasses smh
The chat revealed the general perception of viewers toward LIL Pro. Few truly believed in the accusations.
“Their skepticism isn’t unfounded. There’s a saying that overwhelming skill can’t be distinguished from falsehood. Ahem…”
— ??
— Did you just make that up? lol
— Who wrote the script? lol It’s hilarious
— “Overwhelming power cannot be distinguished from magic.”
— Did Walnut say that?
Nearly 30,000 to even 40,000 viewers watched Almond’s stream, so the viewers couldn't all be friendly.
— All talk and no proof lol
— So it’s not staged?? lol
— Honestly, it's a broadcast to sell the avatar. Isn’t some staging expected? Lol
Among the flood of comments, some occasionally expressed skepticism. Honestly, Almond was waiting for those comments.
“The controversy here claims that there might have been something fishy with the super account provided by Police, or that Popcorn's team deliberately lost. These are the two main points.”
— Yeah, seems like it
— No need to engage, just ignore it and play Kingdom
— Are we really discussing this?
Of course, avoiding such controversies was the hallmark of a streamer. However, this was more of an opportunity for Almond than a controversy.
“Therefore, the controversy will be resolved with me playing Sori today...”
That was true. It would all be over if Almond played Sori today and demonstrated a similar performance. He wouldn’t be playing on a super account today and his opponents wouldn’t be pre-arranged.
“I thought about just playing in solo queue, but that felt insufficient. Someone could still claim the opposing team was pre-arranged.”
— ??
— How do you pre-arrange an opposing team in solo queue? lol
— LOL, everything’s staged, huh?
He planned to use a different method to tackle this controversy rather than just playing solo queue.
‘That would be too boring.’
He needed to spice things up for his stream.
“I was also a victim of rigged voting when Kingdom was in a popularity contest, so I understand how you all feel on LIL Pro. That’s why I think a more perfect resolution is necessary.”
— ???
— That was actually true, dude
— LOL
— It wasn't rigged, LOL
After spouting some unrelated things, Almond suddenly pointed out some users.
“Those who commented earlier.”
As he said that, Ju-Hyeok clicked through the chat and displayed the IDs of viewers who claimed The Avatar of LIL broadcast was staged.
Among the dozen individuals, Ju-Hyeok specifically highlighted one.
[SnowWhiteAndSevenDwarfs]
— So it's not staged? Then what?
— You're saying they didn’t stage anything in a commercial broadcast?
— You beat Popcorn with a new avatar? LOL
— Honestly, I could probably win too if I played with the new avatar
The messages that user made today could be seen.
“Ooh…”
Almond wasn’t particularly concerned about the contents of the messages.
‘I knew there’d be someone.’
He was focusing on the last comment.
“You have been chosen!”
Almond highlighted one specific remark.
[Honestly, I could probably win too if I played with the new avatar]
He had been waiting for this exact statement.
“SnowWhiteAndSevenDwarfs, please call out your ID.”
— ??
— For real?
— This is for a resolution… right?
— More like an annihilation lol
— Wow, I’m jealous
— It's an industry award, really
Yes, he wanted to transform this controversy into a viewer participation event.
— The first ever viewer participation event on Almond's channel involves cracking the heads of trolls LOL
— This content is killer~
— The potential for a YouTube highlight reel is insane LOL
Almond's stream had never featured viewer participation before. This quickly spread throughout the community. Beyond being a first, the fact that it stemmed from the controversies they ignited only heightened interest. It became a form of community interaction.
[Almond is now breaking seals (actually viewer's heads) LOL LOL]
[Breaking News: Almond challenges a viewer]
[??? Hey, come to mid!]
[This is going to be hilarious LOL LOL]
[Who is the brave soul being targeted?]
[If you don’t show up, you’re doomed for life]
Posts like these began appearing in the community as interest boiled over. If SnowWhite gave out their ID, the showdown would immediately be set.
As everyone awaited the response…
— My username’s the same. Send the invite.
He accepted the challenge.
— Wow, what a man! LOL
— Oh
— Crazy LOL
— Is he actually good? LOL
— Seems like he pulled the controversy on purpose to play a game with Almond LOL
“Then, let's end the Just Chatting segment here and dive straight into the first part.”
With that, Almond's first ever viewer participation event began.
***
LIL was fundamentally a team-based game where teamwork was as crucial as individual skill. A one-on-one duel didn't hold much significance. However, there was nothing like a one-on-one showdown to uphold a gamer’s pride. LIL originally didn't offer a mode for one-on-one enjoyment, but one was eventually created due to strong user demand.
[Abyss Duel]
Almond had once used this mode to duel with StrawberryShooter for the ADC position.
“I'll send an invite.”
Almond typed in the viewer's nickname and sent the invite.
Shortly afterward…
[SnowWhiteAndSevenDwarfs]
A player with the exact nickname joined him. Although his face was set to private, his tier was openly displayed.
[Diamond - I]
He was a diamond ranked tier one player. Being the highest tier in diamond meant he had to be a highly skilled player by general standards. However…
— Diamond 1?? Are you kidding?
— LOL
— Someone said diamond mouths are the loudest LOL
— A typical diamond LOL
Almond looked at his tier and asked, “You're diamond one. Are you sure about this?”
“I've been Grandmaster at my peak. Don't worry.”
— LOL, a diamond talking big LOL
— It's science, really
— Grandmaster???
— Must be a lie
— About to have his head cracked open LOL
“If you're picking Sori, I just need to pick a counter.”
“Oh, counters have been figured out already?”
“Yeah. Let's do this.”
Bang!
The game started after they chose their champions.
[The Cautious Hunter - Sori]
[Star Maiden - Zen]