[Gaia's Paradox World Tournament]
United Nation's Convention Center Dome. 6th of August, 2215.
It spanned over 600,000 square feet, with an enormous seating capacity of 80,000 people. One of the biggest events in man's gaming history is about to take place in the largest arena in the world. Within this gigantic dome, an annual event unlike any other is about to unfold.
Loud cheering echoed throughout the arena for an event which many fans within the gaming industry were waiting for the entire year. It had been 3 years since the launching of Gaia's Paradox, and it has been the second time that a tournament of this magnitude would happen in its history.
Professionals, veterans, talented players, prodigies, and super rookies coming from different countries and nationalities, all gathered in this momentous time as they try their best for a chance to compete at the main event.
As a very popular VR game, Gaia's Paradox had never been restricted to which type of players would be given an opportunity to be able to join the tournament. Unlike the common tournament formats of team games, where teams with 5 members compete, this tournament has a better format of its own to utilize one's strategic planning and skill fully.
Regional Qualifiers from all over the world would take place to filter the best players within a country. A maximum of 20 people from each area would represent their country during the event where thousands of people would be gathered just to fight in single elimination matches. Although these 20 people represent a single country, this was a battle royale game where one has to show his own prowess. As such, these games were terribly difficult, even for the most progressive of countries, as all they could do is show support for all of their competitors.
Free-for-All Deathmatch (Round Robin)
Within the gaming arena, thousands of players would be randomly divided into 50 different groups.
These teams would only have a single winner each. Around 80 players would be spawned at a uniform distance from the center of the map. Each player would then have the option to capture the center grounds, which would automatically make then win the entire map, or kill the other 79 players to be the last man standing.
Ample preparations were needed by players before engaging in the battle.
One restriction was the limited utilities a user could carry. At most they could carry 10 items, regardless of whether it was healing or tactical. Second is the number of weapons the player could use, which was a maximum of 2 range weapons and a single melee weapon. The entire map was also level restricted, which means that nobody would have any advantage from their high levels, as they would all have the same health value. This was clearly a map designed to push one to use their instincts and skill to outwit and defeat each and every opponent.
August 6, 2215 (Day 1 of the 3-day tournament) The deathmatch elimination games began.
It was 9 A.M. yet the entire arena was already bustling with spectators.
The 50 different maps were spaced out throughout the day. The first 25 games were held in the morning till 2 in the afternoon, the other 25 was concluded by 7 in the evening. It was a tireless day for the enthusiastic fans of the different prominent players within the games.
From all the 25 games in the morning, 3 of these had the highest spectator count of all the streaming platforms within the arena. Luckily, none of these highly anticipated games were played together, so the said maps were highly watched due to the players within it.
(Morning set games, Game #13.)
This game was highly anticipated due to the raw amount of Chinese fans streaming the game. The main reason for the hype was because this map contained 7 people that represented China. Loud cheering was heard within the dome as the game concluded with an obvious winner, a Chinese professional gamer, Ru Shi.
(Morning set games, Game #17.)
A 'son of heaven' was the focus for this game. A 16-year-old gaming prodigy, Kibito Rem. Without breaking a sweat, he ended the map with an astonishing time of 12 minutes. The 80 person map was finished, just like that.
(Morning set games, Game #24.)
Before the end of the morning games, another highly anticipated game took place, but it was all due to the enormous fan base of one specific gaming veteran, Bai Zi Wang. At the age of 37, he had tried multiple VRMMO games and had dominated competitions for some of them. As such, a really large group of people support him every time he tries to transfer and be a godly figure within another game.
Nothing special had happened during the afternoon games, it was only the standard amount of viewers. A few brand new player names were given a rise in fame due to some outstanding maneuvers, amazingly snatching the victory by a hair's breadth. Players like Aaron Sanchez from Mexico, Ace from the Americas, and Clau from Russia were the top favorites within the afternoon games.
50 players are now qualified for the 2nd stage of the event, which would technically be the quarterfinals. The long first day of the competition was then concluded.
1-vs-1 Limited-Time Deathmatch
25 games of 1 versus 1 would be held during the second day of the event. The competition would determine the fights by drawing lots. 50 players were then divided into 2 groups. The game's format was simple and would not take much time.
The two opposing players would spawn in a random location within a 4x4-kilometer virtual map. They would then hunt each other down. To avoid too much 'tactical camping', the players would receive a ping of the enemies location every 2-minutes, which lasts for 5 seconds. A player who has stayed more than 5 minutes (Half of the game's time) in the same location would be automatically disqualified. If both players survive the entirety of the 10-minute game, the winner would be calculated base on remaining percentage of HP and distance traveled on the map.
Players would have the same restriction during the Free-for-All deathmatch elimination round.
The matches were set as prominent players came 1 vs 1 with their determined opponent. Amazingly enough, the very first game of the day seems to be one of the most exciting ones to happen today. The first match was: Ace from America against Bai Zi Wang from China.
Map Type: Abandoned Urban Areas
The first two minutes was a standard 'wait for the opponents to make the first move' tactic as both players were just checking their surroundings and estimating the distance at which the opponents might be. The size of the virtual map was quite big on paper, but in a game that is ruled by guns it might as well be knife range. And death could come at the most uncertain of times.
Soon enough, the ping for the player's location then appeared to their respective radars.
A grin appeared on Ace's face as he noticed that Bai Zi Wang was quite a distance from him, which would give him the advantage. He wasn't nicknamed 'The Modern American Sniper' for nothing. He boasts the furthest confirmed sniper kill within any virtual shooter game.
Gaining the high ground was essential for Ace as he rushed towards the closest tall building, hurriedly going to the highest spot within it. Soon enough, he reached the perfect spot for him to do the sniping as he saw the figure of his opponent on the horizon. It was approximately 1 and a half kilometer away from his position. It was an easy shot to take.
*Bang!
A loud clank followed with a bang permeated this desolate city of a virtual map. Ace felt like it was an easy win as he breathed heavily in and out from all the stress that was taking place. It had been a few seconds since he shot yet there was no confirmation that he won the game!
'I... missed?'
He checked the direction in which he had seen his opponent and realized that Bai was, gone? Ace gnashed his teeth as he hurriedly ran down the stairs of this tall building. That missed shot definitely compromised his position and would put him into a disadvantage for as long as he continues to camp the same place. But, he was still thinking about the fact that he missed a perfectly easy shot...
It took over a minute before Ace reached the first floor as he hurriedly opened the entrance...
*Bang!
...Only to meet his defeat. Bai was standing around 30 meters away from the entrance, just waiting for the right moment to shoot. But how had Bai had easily reached the same spot as Ace within a minute? He didn't... The first ping was a [Remote Decoy] deployed by Bai as he used [Signal Jam] on his true location. He was just a few hundred meters away from Ace when he made the shot. Although the decoy sounded overpowered, it only lasts for 3 seconds. If Ace was attentive enough to notice the signal viewed from his radar disappeared 2 seconds earlier than it should, he would've noticed...
The tactic used by Bai was labeled as 'shameless' by the American spectators as the entire arena was in a chaotic mess as multiple arguments arose. The committee that upholds the rules within the tournament then intervened and clarified the situation.
"It was a strategic play that shows the proper ways of utilizing different attention-distracting tactics, which does not violate any of the rules within our tournament. Bai Zi Wang was the clear victor."
The Chinese community was also in the backing of Bai as the commotion grew louder, although nothing could be done as the winner was already decided. People tend to complain about pointless things longer than they should.
Thus, the first map of these chaotic quarterfinals has ended... The next match did not ring that much excitement as people were still busy discussing and arguing things from the first one. It was only when the nationalities of these 2 players were announced that blood boiled from within the arena.
Ru Shi from China, and... Gama Feihren from the U.S.A
Loud yelling permeated the entirety of the dome as the streaming platforms burst with views. This is not a match of just two players. This was a rematch of two different countries!
