Stratus lost 2-3 to the Leopards. It was a long, tedious battle with many twists and turns.
When analyzing the games, there were lots of important details to cover. As such, Yuel had no choice but to split the match review into multiple sessions. The goal was to leave no stone unturned.
Alas, not everybody shared the same enthusiasm regarding this match review….
"Is Luke skipping again?" Yuel asked.
"Yes, I'm afraid so," Vincent replied. "It appears he doesn't feel the force with this meeting."
"... whatever, let's begin." Yuel had no time to spare on a moody teammate. Every single second was precious when the team was gathered in one place. They had to waste no time moving toward the goal of defeating the region's titans, StormBlitz and the Leopards.
"This is going to be the final review session for that scrim."
"Yo, finally!" Lars cracked a laugh. "It felt like I'm still out there fighting 'em because of how much we've been talking about them, haha."
"Yeah," Kai agreed. "It's been exhausting, not gonna lie. Shouldn't we be spending more time practicing instead? We've been talking about that scrim like 24/7."
"Indeed, indeed." Vincent nodded. "You could say we've been sitting and talking, standing and talking, walking and talking, and so on. It's no wonder the Meme Jedi chose to be absent from such events."
"Even you're going to complain?" Yuel made a face. "You're aware that we prepare the material for these meetings together, right?"
"True, true." Vincent nodded. "However! Even if I'm an accomplice, I'm still allowed to criticize the act! So, yes, even I think some of these meetings were a tad too long, and that perhaps we've had a bit too many of them."
"Fair enough." Honestly, Yuel saw no problem with the long meetings, but maybe that's because he was the organizer. It's like he was the "teacher", he knew all the material in advance. Meanwhile, the others were like students who had to intake all that new information.
"Well, either way, I think today's meeting will be easier to digest," Yuel reassured. "I was planning to focus less on the scrim itself and more on the areas each of you has to improve in."
"Somehow, that sounds even scarier…" Nia mumbled. She was sitting with both legs on top of the chair, with her knees pressed against her chest. And now, in response to Yuel's announcement, she retreated even deeper behind her knees. Basically, she looked like a big ball of black hair.
"Great," Kai said. "I bet you're gonna grill us even harder than in the previous meetings, aren't you? Well, hit me. My body is ready. I'm pretty sure I did alright-ish overall."
"Yes, 'alright-ish' is a good way to put it," Yuel agreed. "And, therein lies the problem. Your performance was just barely passable. You're supposed to be much better than that, captain."
"Well, that's not considered so bad against the Leopards, right?"
"Are you really satisfied with that kind of answer?"
"That's…" Kai opened her mouth and then closed it. "I mean… eh…"
"Let me change the context for a moment," Yuel said. "Imagine you have to play against Merlin in the regionals. What's going to be your mindset heading into that matchup?"
"Oh damn." Kai made a disgusted face. "Man, I just HATE this bastard's guts! I'm SO gonna trash him next time!"
"You see? You DO want to get better."
"Well, duh," Kai said. "Is there anybody who doesn't want to improve?"
"And yet, you gave me a very passive response just a moment ago," Yuel pointed out. "Is it because you were thinking about facing Theorist? Did that scenario fail to motivate you?"
"Eh, I guess?" Kai shrugged. "I just don't find her as annoying as Merlin."
"Oh, there it is!" Vincent made noise. "The Softhearted Amazon strikes again!"
"Oh, shut it already with that 'Softherted' BS," Kai barked. "I'm not soft on anybody. I just consider Merlin more annoying, that's all."
"If you say so." Vincent rolled his eyes with an all-knowing smile.
"I'm sorry but I have to agree with Vincent here," Yuel said. "You DID go easier on Theorist. Or, at least, you didn't try as hard to win the lane against her."
"Well, you know how annoying their defensive shenanigans are, right?" Kai asked. "I mean, we've been talking about it 24/7 ever since the scrim ended. It's just that difficult to break through Theorist's turtling, that's all there is to it."
"I know it's difficult," Yuel agreed. "But, the question is how hard you actually tried to do it."
"Hella hard."
"Well, it sure didn't feel that way to me," Yuel argued. "Definitely not as hard as you tried against Merlin. You've pressured him the whole game, forcing their Jungler to constantly babysit Mid."
"Yeah, true. But, I never broke through his defense either."
"True, you didn't," Yuel agreed on that point. "But, you forced the Leopards as a whole into an awkward position. Your constant pressure tied their Jungler's hands. So, even though you didn't get the lane advantage you wanted, the rest of the team greatly benefited from your aggression."
"Well, good to know that some of it was a success." Kai sighed deeply. "Seriously, playing against all these turtling bastards is such a pain in the ass."
"Yes, that's why it's important to pressure them as much as possible at every step of the way," Yuel said. "This was something you understood well when you were up against Merlin, but somehow forgot completely when Theorist became your opponent. So, given the evidence, I have to agree with Vincent here: this 'Softhearted Amazon' thing is a real issue that exists."
"No, it doesn't!" Kai hissed. That nickname triggered her on a personal level. It made her sound like some softy, which she definitely wasn't!
"You can deny it all you want but the evidence speaks for itself." Yuel presented the replays he specifically prepared to convince Kai, as he predicted the girl would argue on this topic. He gathered the videos that exhibited Kai's passiveness beyond a shadow of a doubt.
On top of that, Vincent went the extra mile by editing commentary that highlighted the point. It almost sounded like a documentary about a wild animal.
"Yet again, we observe Theorist exhibiting an irregularly passive playstyle. She refuses to attack more than absolutely necessary. Her main goal for this game is to maintain the status quo, nothing more. This is the most prominent symptom of the Softhearted Amazon syndrome."
"Vince, you're SO freakin' dead." Kai hissed.
"My sincere apologies, ma'am," Vincent responded. "However! As the one who's linked to the Akashic Records, it's my duty to spread the divine truth!"
"You can shove that 'divine truth' up your ass. That whole 'Softhearted' thing is bullshit."
"You can call it whatever you want," Yuel said. "The bottom line is that your performance against Theorist wasn't satisfactory. Can we agree on that, at least?"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Kai shrugged. "You expected me to pressure her more, right? I told you, it's way easier said than done. But, I'll try to think of something."
"Please do," Yuel said. "Personally, I think you need to train more against other competitive female players. Preferably somebody who'll be a real challenge for you, so you'll have no choice but to take them seriously."
"Huh? Are you telling me to just go out there and challenge random girls? Seriously?"
"It's the best idea I have at the moment," Yuel said. "I believe that's the quickest way to overcome this issue."
"There's no 'issue' and there's nothing to 'overcome'," Kai insisted.
"Well, if you're so confident about that, then find a way to prove it, both to the team and to yourself."
"Tch, fine." Kai crossed her arms. "I'll figure something out. You won't be calling me 'Softhearted' for much longer, mark my words!"
"Besides this particular issue," Yuel continued. "The only other thing I found worth mentioning is your Bomber. You have to polish it up if you want to keep using it in competitive games."
"Yeah, I know," Kai conceded on that point without a fight. "But, my current mastery level aside, you do agree it's a class worth investing in, right?"
"Yes," Yuel said. "It's a difficult class to pilot but you have the necessary mechanical skill for it, and I believe it synergizes well with your playstyle."
"Glad we're on the same page." Kai nodded. "Alright, I'll give it some more attention during practice."
"Other than that, I don't have anything new to add that wasn't already said in previous meetings," Yuel continued. "You played well against Merlin, and you underperformed against Theorist, that's the gist of it. It might not sound like much, but it potentially hints at a larger issue."
"And that 'larger issue' is…?"
"The fact that StormBlitz also have the option to field a female Mid Laner."
"And why does that matter?"
"You know why."
"Pft, implying some bullshit again." Kai shook her head. "I'll trash them both no problem."
"I sure hope so."
Moving on with the meeting, Vincent was next on the chopping block. This was always one of the most difficult analysis segments...