Chapter 590: A Good Draw
When the draw results were finally announced, Group C included Starlight and Frost, the White Eagle Alliance's number two seed, the Hornet Team; the Sakura Alliance's number three seed, the Atago Team; and a wild card team: the Cutie Pie Team.
Yes, that's right, this wild card team was named the Cutie Pie Team, truly letting loose with their naming.
Besides them, the Metro Team was in Group A, the Blaze Team in Group D, the Otter Team in Group H, and the Three Waves Team, the wild card preliminary winner Leo had joined, was in Group G.
After the draw, there were mixed feelings.
Arthur and his teammates were naturally happy overall.
As the number one seed, they had the least pressure during the draw, and the final result was quite satisfactory, avoiding most of the favorites to win in the group stage.
However, their fellow teams weren't so lucky...
Group H, where Luna and Serena were placed, was the veritable Group of Death this year!
Because their number one seed was the Grand Master Team from the Hoenn Alliance!
The back-to-back champions, currently the number one team in the world!
If all other teams were challengers climbing the peak, the Grand Master Team was the gatekeeper sitting on the throne at the summit, waiting for challengers!
The universally recognized Big Demon King!
In addition, Group H also had the Regal Alliance's number two seed, the veteran powerhouse Natural Grace!
Since the Otter Team was only Kubfu's number three seed, they ended up in a group with a number one seed and a number two seed, which was very reasonable.
But also very frustrating...
When this draw was completed, countless viewers and netizens joked: The host, the Regal Alliance, really didn't rig the draw this year!
The fairness of this year's draw received unprecedented recognition—after all, they personally sent their own number two seed into the Group of Death.
Honest people!
Otter Team's chances of advancing instantly became slim the moment the draw ended.
Furthermore, the Metro Team in Group A wasn't faring well either. Their group's number one seed was the favorite to win from the Sakura Alliance: the Nine-Tailed Fox Team, Future Yuzuru's team. Besides them, there was also the Sinnoh Alliance's number two seed, the Platinum Team.
The Blaze Team in Group D was the only other lucky one besides Arthur's team. Their group's number one seed came from the Siren Alliance, which had been mocked in recent years as the gatekeeper of the seven major leagues, with average overall competitive strength.
Two teams were relatively safe, two teams had hellish starts.
As soon as today's draw ceremony ended, Kubfu's major online communities exploded with popularity, discussion threads filling entire pages.
Overly disastrous or overly lucky draws often couldn't generate such astonishing discussion volume. Only this mix of joy and sorrow was the most vexing.
Wanting to pop champagne but feeling a lump in the throat, wanting to cry but feeling like it was passable.
This feeling was just like life...
Of course, outside the mainstream voices, there was a small group of people silently gathering, carefully discussing their sensitive topic—Leo's Three Waves Team.
Kubfu had a strong national sentiment, and viewers generally rejected their own players playing for other alliances.
Wouldn't it be better to strive to represent your own alliance if you have the ability?
So currently, Leo's overall reputation was quite poor.
The few remaining fans mostly dared only to entertain themselves within their circle, muttering quietly: "This year's draw is a good draw!"
At least at this point in time, they didn't dare to jump out and flaunt it.
But soon, the situation changed—
As a top-tier event, the Champions Cup didn't need to cater to prime time. Matches were held all day, with four group stage matches a day.
And the order wasn't sequential.
Instead: Day 1 featured two matches from Group A and two from Group H.
Day 2 featured two matches from Group B and two from Group G.
Day 3 featured two matches from Group C and two from Group F.
On the first day, the Metro Team and the Otter Team from Kubfu played.
And both lost...
The first battles felt like a nightmare return to two years ago...
The Metro Team didn't even face the group's number one seed on the first day, only the Sinnoh Alliance's number two seed, the Platinum Team, yet they still suffered a crushing defeat.
Roman's performance in the single-player Captain's Match was still strong, showing unparalleled resilience, but their disadvantage in the earlier stages was too great.
They entered the Captain's Match with a score of 2 to 8...
Having won only one small set earlier.
In the end, Roman carried the team with his life, chasing a four-point deficit in the Captain's Match, sweeping the Platinum Team's captain 6-2! But he still couldn't hide the decline.
It only earned them a final shred of dignity.
Then came the Otter Team, facing the Grand Master Team on the first day...
A helpless matchup.
A desperate gap.
Apart from Kubfu, viewers from other regions enjoyed this battle immensely—because the Grand Master Team displayed the Mega Evolutions of eight Pokémon in this single match!
Only the Kubfu audience was distressed...
As expected of the Hoenn region, known for Mega Evolution as its characteristic impression.
Among them, Steven, the captain of the Grand Master Team, contributed four Mega Evolutions alone.
"In the last tournament, he only had three ace Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution. In two years, he has improved again."
In the post-match review discussion back at the hotel, everyone sighed while watching Steven's match replays.
The man on the throne was still powerful!
And even stronger than in the last tournament.
Then came the second match day, and an unexpected upset occurred—
In Group G, the Three Waves Team, where Leo was, secured the first victory for a wild card team!
This result itself wasn't particularly upsetting, as the Three Waves Team was the top seed from the wild card preliminaries, ranked alongside the number one seeds from the seven major leagues.
If teams had star ratings, they were also initial SSRs, although people were slightly skeptical about their card strength at first.
But looking at the process, it was truly an upset!
Because they slaughtered the White Eagle Alliance's number three seed, the San Diego Team!
Not won...
But slaughtered!
In this match, the Three Waves Team achieved an astonishing eleven-point difference!
The final score was 2 to 13!
The San Diego Team only won one small set... entering the Captain's Match at 2 to 8, just like the Metro Team on the first day.
But San Diego's captain wasn't Roman.
Not only did he fail to win back the team's last dignity, but he also personally destroyed it.
He didn't want dignity, so Leo gave him dignity.
That's right, Leo fought the Captain's Match for the Three Waves Team.
He slaughtered the San Diego Team's captain with a huge score of 6 to 1!
After two match days, the wind direction in Kubfu's major online communities changed instantly—
Countless Leo fans who previously only dared to hide in corners shivering all stood up and outputted with the wind!
"Good draw! Why do we say it's a good draw? We just hope—"
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