Chapter 627: The Start of the Knockout Stage
After the group stage ended, there was a three-day break.
The audience naturally gathered excitedly to discuss the various highlights and upsets of the tournament so far.
The organizers also prepared a lot of interesting offline activities, striving to empty the wallets of foreign tourists as much as possible within these three days.
However, the professional players were not so leisurely during this period.
Three days was neither long nor short.
The bracket for the knockout stage was out, ranked by point differential, so there was no need for a draw. Everyone had basically calculated it before the announcement, and now everyone was seizing the last bit of time to study their upcoming opponents.
Having come this far, no one wanted to leave the stage early with regrets.
During these three days, teams from the same alliance would often gather to discuss replays, play training matches, communicate with each other, and improve together.
The communication atmosphere among the Kubfu players before the knockout stage was very enthusiastic and positive.
The reason was simple: good results naturally led to high enthusiasm!
This year was one of the rare Champions Cups where all four Kubfu representatives advanced to the knockout stage!
The last time such a grand occasion occurred was decades ago; the current generation of viewers had no memory of it.
In most people's memory, this was the first time they had seen Kubfu teams achieve such an impressive group stage record.
In one sentence: Never had such a wonderful start!
However, during the replay sessions, the coaches of each team were also trying hard to cool down the players.
"Don't be too proud. The group stage is just the first phase. The road ahead in the knockout stage will only be harder. Don't become complacent because of this little achievement. We are far from having the capital to underestimate the heroes of the world!"
Looking at the group of troublesome children in front of her, the head coach had been facepalming noticeably more often recently.
Fortunately, Arthur, the core of the team, always reassured her.
But in the past few days, Arthur had also been acting a bit unusual. The head coach keenly noticed that he had something on his mind.
"What's wrong? You seem distracted during the replays recently. If there's any problem, you can say it and we can discuss it together."
On this day, the head coach finally couldn't help but single out Arthur.
Arthur was silent for a moment, then explained.
"Nothing major. It's just that after the group stage ended, Serena shared a guess with me that made me a little concerned. I've been thinking about it recently, so I'm a bit distracted. Sorry."
"What guess?"
"She said that during the last group stage match, she vaguely felt that Steven didn't use his full strength, and the opponent seemed to be hiding something."
As soon as this news came out, everyone's smugness was significantly dampened.
Although advancing as first in the group was glorious, facing the Grand Master Team in the first match of the winner's bracket was honestly quite stressful!
No one would underestimate this veteran powerhouse because of their poor performance in the group stage. After all, this was a world-class team that had won two consecutive Champions Cup titles!
How could those climbing the mountain underestimate the god descending from it?
Not to mention that this god might not even be descending this year.
Arthur's sharing made everyone even more wary.
"Does that mean they chose to hide a tactic during the group stage? If it's true, that might be really troublesome."
Arthur shrugged, acknowledging this statement.
"So recently I've been carefully reviewing Steven's recent match videos, including his duel videos during the Hoenn Professional League playoffs, trying to see if I can find any clues."
The head coach praised his approach and didn't forget to shout at the others who were still browsing Star Boro and forums.
"His thinking is correct. An opponent like the Grand Master Team can never be taken too seriously.
"So look at you guys!! Look at Arthur, then look at yourselves!! Can you save me some worry?!!"
The group was silenced like chilling cicadas, not daring to make a sound.
Honestly, they didn't dare slack off on replays and training recently. It was their first time at the Champions Cup; who didn't have some ambition?
But as young people, how could they sleep without scrolling through their phones before bed?
Recently, Kubfu's performance was a once-in-a-decade event. Online discussions were hot everywhere, full of joy. Infected by this atmosphere, a slight movement of the finger, and hours would pass...
So it really wasn't their fault they couldn't get up in the morning; the phone started it!
Looking at the group of quibbling brats in front of her, the head coach silently took out her paper fan again.
The next day, everyone's schedule became much more normal, the effect was immediate.
Three days passed in a flash, and the knockout stage was about to begin!
The first day was the loser's bracket matches. Arthur and his team weren't in a hurry to play.
The four matches of the first round of the loser's bracket would be finished in one day, which meant both the Metro and Otter teams would play today.
On this day, everyone in Kubfu was cheering for the two teams.
Fortunately, at the end of the day, the results were gratifying!
The two Kubfu teams, having experienced the bumpy journey of the group stage, seemed to have awakened their will, breaking through shackles and soaring into the sky!
Both teams won the first round of the loser's bracket!
The four Kubfu teams were still marching forward hand in hand!
This result undoubtedly triggered a new round of carnival in Kubfu's major online communities.
However, some were happy and some were sad.
Someone's pride meant someone else's loss.
The loser's bracket was the cruelest place. Teams would leave directly in every round. Four teams bid farewell to this stage on the first day.
Among them, the sole survivor of the Siren Alliance, the number two seed, was also eliminated on this day. Thus, following the White Eagle Alliance, another alliance listed among the seven major leagues was completely out.
For the Siren audience, this result undoubtedly came too early.
Currently, this year's Champions Cup was rarely a hegemony between Kubfu and Hoenn.
After the first round of the loser's bracket, all four Kubfu teams were still present, while Hoenn only lost one team, the Wutong Team, retaining three sparks.
In comparison, the remaining sparks of other alliances seemed scarce. Sinnoh and Sakura each had only one team left.
But what comforted and delighted other alliances was: in the matches tomorrow, the number one seeds of the two hegemons would meet first!
This meant at least one of them would fall to the loser's bracket first.
This was undoubtedly great news for other alliances.
Just as the local commentator couldn't help but complain bluntly during the live broadcast: "There are too many Hoenn and Kubfu teams left in this Champions Cup!"
Thus, amidst everyone's eager anticipation, the winner's bracket matches on the second day of the knockout stage finally arrived!
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