Chapter 135 - 133: An Olive Branch from a Professional Team
Jasmine Sterling quickly took out her phone to record a video. "Cecilia, Lily, look! Ethan’s on stage!"
Then she panned the camera, capturing the scene of the massive, roaring crowd before sending it directly to the family group chat.
At that moment, Lily Sterling was having her makeup done, watching the competition’s livestream on a tablet propped up in front of the vanity mirror.
She didn’t know how to play the game, but Finn was a veteran player, sitting beside her and staring at the screen with great interest. "Lily, which one is your brother?"
"The one in the middle of the amateur team. I think he’s what you call... a ’juggler’?" Lily said, trying to recall the term.
Finn laughed. "Not a ’juggler,’ a ’jungler.’"
Lily nodded in understanding. As she watched her brother on the screen, a gentle smile unconsciously touched her lips. She hadn’t seen him in a long time. He’d lost some weight, but he was even more handsome.
Meanwhile, Cecilia Sterling saw the video her mother sent and also opened the livestream. The camera cut to a close-up of Ethan Sterling’s face. He looked subtly thrilled, his eyes shining with the excitement of his first time on a major tournament stage.
Just like last time, he really did love this feeling.
With his mother at the venue and his two older sisters watching his every move on the livestream, Ethan Sterling fought as if divinely inspired. The team he and his four friends had hastily formed less than six months ago was now going toe-to-toe with a professional team in today’s match.
Ethan Sterling, in particular, executed several brilliant plays. His control of the early game’s tempo was excellent, and at one point, his team was even ahead of the pros in gold, helping them build a solid early-game advantage.
But the biggest difference between an amateur team and a professional one lies in their grasp of macro-level game strategy. The pros were steady and patient; even when behind in gold, they had a well-established system for dealing with it. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, they closed the gold gap and eventually pulled ahead.
Even so, the late-game fight was incredibly intense. Just as their team’s glaring weaknesses began to show, the Ethan Sinclair Team nearly managed to turn the tables on the pros.
But in the end, the professional team’s synergy was simply too high. Even after Ethan Sterling used his assassin’s mobility to dive in and instantly eliminate a key enemy damage-dealer, they still couldn’t win the final team fight.
Ultimately, they lost the match, but it had been an exhilarating fight.
The crowd erupted in thunderous cheers and applause. Some people even started chanting "SYBF!" for Ethan Sterling’s spectacular performance.
Jasmine Sterling and Yvonne Sterling shouted along. Even though they knew Ethan had lost, they could tell it had been an incredible match.
A few girls nearby were talking excitedly, "Aww, what a shame!"
"That SYBF amateur team is really good, they almost won!"
"The jungler is so handsome! So many of his plays were amazing."
"He’s good-looking, too. The camera could zoom right in on his face on the big screen, and he still looked flawless, not a single blemish!"
Jasmine Sterling heard all of this, unable to hide the pride in her heart. She hadn’t understood why her son had suddenly taken a liking to gaming, and perhaps she still didn’t completely understand now. But seeing her son shining on the stage, she felt a heartfelt sense of pride.
In the inner seating area, the managers and coaches of almost every major esports club were present. This was the country’s top and most important tournament, and everyone took it very seriously.
The head coach of the Solara MT Team let out a huge sigh of relief, as they were the ones who had just played against SYBF.
If they had been knocked out in the first round of such an important tournament by an amateur team, their club would have become the laughingstock of the entire industry.
Just then, the team owner, who had been sitting beside him with a furrowed brow the entire game, suddenly relaxed his expression. He leaned in and asked in a low voice, "This amateur team has a lot of potential. Do we have any info on them?"
The head coach shook his head. They hadn’t paid any attention to the amateur teams; they only had files on the professional players.
"Get a copy from the organizers in a bit. I saw a couple of good prospects on that team, especially their jungler. His reflexes and mechanics are incredible."
The head coach nodded with a blank expression, but inwardly he was very unhappy about this.
He had personally scouted and trained all the official members of the club’s team, so naturally, he didn’t want some newcomer stealing their thunder. But the owner had spoken, so he had no choice but to comply.
That wasn’t the only owner who had their eye on Ethan Sterling; several other clubs were eager to make a move as well.
The head coach of the Lorcain B-Star Team was already looking over Ethan Sterling’s profile.
’Seventeen years old. The perfect age for a pro gamer!’
Meanwhile, Ethan Sterling and his teammates came off the stage. The group of young men were laughing and joking around, not the least bit dejected about losing, because they all knew they had played very well.
Losing to a professional team that had been together for years wasn’t embarrassing in the slightest. In fact, when the crowd chanted their team name, all they felt was "This is awesome!" It was truly the highlight of their lives.
It was the best possible affirmation of their great performance!
"Ethan Sterling!"
Just as the group was hugging and celebrating, someone suddenly called Ethan Sterling’s name.
Ethan Sterling thought he had misheard, but he still turned his head instinctively and saw a man in a suit and glasses walking toward him with a smile.
One of his teammates next to him recognized the man at once, grabbing Ethan Sterling’s shoulder excitedly. "It’s Chad Hector, the coach of the Lorcain B-Star Team!"
Anyone who followed the domestic teams and watched the matches knew who the various team coaches were, and Ethan Sterling was no exception.
He immediately grew nervous. "Coach Chad Hector, were you calling me?"
Chad Hector smiled amiably and gave Ethan Sterling a slight nod. "Yes. I got the name right, didn’t I? Ethan Sterling?"
"Yes, yes, that’s me. I’m Ethan Sterling," Ethan Sterling replied hastily.
Chad Hector got straight to the point. "That was a spectacular game. You lost, but it was an honorable defeat. I’m very interested in you. Have you ever considered going pro in the future?"
The question was too sudden. Ethan Sterling had never considered it.
His participation in this tournament had been a spur-of-the-moment idea. The five of them had thought that youth was a time for impulsive decisions, so they had agreed to sign up on the spot.
But as for the future, he hadn’t made any plans.
Besides, he had promised his sister that after the Autumn Tournament, he would focus on studying for next year’s college entrance exams.
So he answered honestly, "I’m sorry, Coach Chad Hector. I’m a senior in high school and the college entrance exams are coming up. I don’t want to get distracted."
It was an extremely convincing reason. No one would try to persuade him to just quit school and go pro; that would be completely irresponsible.
His friends all showed expressions of regret, because they all knew Ethan Sterling was a top student. Academics were his strongest field.
Chad Hector nodded in understanding. "No problem. The college entrance exams are definitely the most important thing. But we can exchange WhatsApp info. If you’re interested later on, feel free to contact me anytime. You’re still young. I can wait two years for you!"