I have been stacking since chapter 2136. Started reading around June last year and loved it!
It has its flaws obviously, but it is so CONSISTENTLY good and the author (G3) does a lot of experiments in the story, which I value a lot since it fills the novel with personality. Not only is Shadow Slave (SS) incredibly stunning with its worldbuilding, lore (YES, LORE), and main cast, it is also quite an easy read due to the author's word choice and sentence structure (some may find it ordinary which I understand, but I do value writing simplicity in fantasy stories - although I do have some exceptions since I am liking Lord of the Mysteries a lot!).
I know I am glazing SS a lot, but I recommend to everyone who has an itch for fantasy and for fights. The powers are so diverse and the scaling is mostly done very well, thus making fights not have predetermined outcome from the get-go.
However, I will say for the Power Fantasy peeps that SS is NOT a power fantasy novel. The protagonist is not the strongest and will never be the strongest in a world so filled with mysterious entities like SS (much like Klein in Lord of the Mysteries). SS values preparation, information gathering, analysis, and quick thinking in fights which was a breath of fresh for me at the time.
In summary, I love SS and I love to introduce people to it! I think it makes for a very fun read :)

PS: For those that do not mind slight spoilers and want to get a feel for the SS universe atmosphere (Dark Fantasy - Dark Souls-esque) I recommend checking out the OSTs published by Griffin Tyler on YouTube)

I am an avid Korean Valorant supporter. Do I count for this poll? :)

I completely agree with the fact that if DRX looks on point they look almost unstopable, the problems relies on the requirements to look on point. The comms have to be flawless in order to make their teamwork at the standard they are known for.
PRX is a more scrappy team, even if the game is not exactly going well for one of their star players, they have some backup firepower on their roster for sure.

Achieving what Astralis did in CS in a game like Valorant is completely insane. I honestly do not even know if it is even possible, the more I think about it, the more I arrive at the conclusion that a thing like that could've only happened at the real beginning of the game, such as, last year. I might be wrong of course, but in a constant meta-changing environment with some heavy comp countering possibilities I really do not know.

I feel like that is part of their DNA. It is like telling PRX to not be agressive. You might say "Well, they might lose cause they do not adapt.", but I still feel like their protocols are getting looser, meaning they are giving a bit more space for individual decision, but any looser than this and I feel like they lose their identity as DRX.
I also feel like many asian teams are far from relying on protocols. I do not know how much asian Valorant you watch, but only Korean and some Japanese teams rely heavily on protocols. In SEA, you might have BLEED and TS (a bit less), but other than that it is pure octane gameplay. Chinese Valorant is also super in your face type.
I do not know how well DRX will do this time when it comes to their placement, but I really enjoyed their Iceland games, honestly, I just enjoy watching them play. Although I want them to win the whole thing, I want them to show how good their Valorant is to the world and, even though they might lose, they always deliver banger games.

Although I understand your point, I am disappointed if no one saw that DRX's midrounds are way better than they were. It might still be one of their weakest points, but it stopped being weak with the addition of Zest. Although a bit vingative in his calls, Zest is a very smart IGL that understands how the rounds play and has an insurmountable confidence in his calls.

I do not think you are seeing it from Meteor's side. He has to be the playmaker and yes, he takes risks, sometimes way too many, but he is not dumb. Even when he takes those risks, he has smart positioning, his on-the-fly decision are stupid fast just like his reaction time.

I question the veracity of your claims due to the lack of inteligence you demonstrate in this post. There is nothing wrong with different opinions, but I also can read stats out loud. If you want to be something more than a stat reader, start to know how to interpret them. Why does Zest have so few kills? Does he usually take early engagements? Does he play as a 2nd entry? Is he more of a lurker? What type of strats did DRX use on that game? How did the other team answer?
These are only a few question you should take into account when making "read out loud stats" claims.

You just cannot be serious. Sometimes I ask myself if you are truly Valorant fans or just plain scoreboard fans. Do you all even watch the games?

Can't we say the same about DRX? :)

Perc30FishFillet

Huge props to all of the YONK squad! Good luck against G2!

close enough

VS should take the win. I believe Fnatic will try to get this first seed at all costs, considering a rematch with C9B or a match against a possibly moralized FS might put them in a tricky spot, however, I think VS is too much for them to handle.

VS 2 - 0 Fnatic

You got a bit overheated, but I understand your points. I would like to say that I also think there's some overhyped teams in Champions, but I don't think the ones you've put there are even that hyped.
In my eyes, Cloud 9 Blue might look poor at Champions, not because they're bad, but because they've yet to prove consistency (same with FS, but nobody is saying FS is beating VS, which in my eyes, is as unlikely as anyone in group D beating VS).
Team Liquid is also in the same bracket, they looked quite good from what I saw in EMEA LCQ, but can they prove that same level of play against better opponents?

Signed by a spanish org, Rebels.

https://clips.twitch.tv/CrowdedSpunkyCormorantHassaanChop-037CEoL1GY90IQ-3

@KoreanOverlord https://twitter.com/VS_k1Ng/status/1437758036320325641 king's asking for you on twitter thread, go ahead :)

Chill out. I'm also a huge fan of KR valorant, but there's no need to callout those people. It's normal to try to feel comfortable when you feel threatened, in this case, downplay other regions.
Either way, hope we get a better game of Valorant. I want to see Acend using their util with more intent! Of course, in the end, I want KR to win :)

Allow is probably going to flex, I'm not expecting allow to leave NU since NU's chemistry is one of their strongest traits.
Although 10X was a strong mechanical player, hyeoni brings even more firepower to the squad. I am looking forward to see what they can do in LCQ (I would presume).

Fizzy would be an incredible pickup

I BELIEVE IN MULTICULTURALISM
#RejectsARMY

TO THE CLOSED QUALIFIER! LET'S GO!

I believe in Northeption to secure a spot in Berlin :)

You do have more teams in other regions (I mean, Korea is a rather small country) and I wouldn't mind a fusion between the Japanese and Korean scene (there's already some korean players in the japanese scene anyway, most notably, munchkin from CR and Seouldam from NTH). But let me tell you that Korean top 5 teams, especially the top 3 are very strong.
With this said, I can understand your judgement, but honestly these 1500s newly formed teams from Korea somehow have better site executions and retakes than many from what I've seen yesterday from EMEA and NA.

Good game, Klaus decided to step up a bit on that start in Ascent attack but weren't able to hold that momentum until longer than round 9. With that said I also think Nuturn came to this game relaxed since they had played against them in the Group Stage and obliterated them in Breeze (which was the final map anyway).
Although Solo did an incredible game kill wise I think he did some awful errors on Ascent defence (dying first as a Sentinel is never a good tell and that happened multiple rounds).
10X doing a solid job isn't surprising, since he did good in all his past teams. Peri and allow having two solid games aswell, peri a bit unlucky in both games to be rather honest. When it comes to Suggest, he's a wild variable, Suggest is the player I hold in the highest regard when it comes to potential. He's a methodical aimer and thinker, but these past 2 months weren't the best for him. Yes, Suggest can do a lot more than this, and no, this isn't me hating on him, but encouraging him to never believe that he's below any top tier player.
Next game, World Game Star, an agressive team looking for a place in the top of Korea. Fighting NUTURN!

The translation in the press conference wasn't correct. He didn't say he was retiring, he said he was pondering it. With that said in late June he announced, he is no longer thinking about retiring for the time being.