Chapter 63: Weekend Showdown of the Sweet Sixteen
On Saturday morning, less than forty minutes after driving out of Pasadena, the gymnasium of Cal Poly Pomona appeared before them.
The drive was easy for Leonard and Penny—they were responsible for getting David and the others here, and also served as the live cheering section.
After parking and entering the venue, the air was already thick with the electric smell of monitors and the buzz of excited college students.
The tournament hadn't started yet, and players were making final equipment checks at their stations.
Penny looked around the massive gymnasium and said to Leonard, "Honestly, every time I leave our little Pasadena bubble, I feel like I'm on some major expedition. This place reminds me of the gym back in Omaha... well, about the same size."
"At least the drive time is way shorter than going to Nebraska," Leonard replied.
Howard scanned the incoming crowd—mostly guys with backpacks wearing various school jerseys, with only a handful of girls, most of whom appeared to be girlfriends or teammates. His shoulders slumped immediately, and his tone filled with exaggerated disappointment:
"Wait! This doesn't make sense! A university with tens of thousands of students, an esports tournament on a weekend, and the gender diversity in the audience is practically nonexistent?"
He turned to Leonard and Penny, continuing his lament, "What happened to the promised epic collegiate esports spectacle? What about the packed house and gorgeous fangirls holding 'We ♥ Wolowitz' signs? This audience gender ratio is a grave injustice to my morning grooming ritual!" (he tugged at his tight Star Wars themed t-shirt)
Leonard rubbed his temples and said to Penny, "See, this is exactly why I insisted on just being the driver and spectator. My brain needs protection from this inevitable disappointment stemming from wildly unrealistic expectations."
Penny just rolled her eyes at Howard: "Howard, wake up. Did you forget to set your alarm last night and you're still dreaming? This is a college esports tournament, not your personal dating show."
Sheldon interjected in a puzzled tone: "I simply cannot comprehend your logic of irrationally connecting reproductive mating strategies with competitive gaming performance!
Based on basic cost-benefit analysis, your expected return on attracting potential mates by streaking three laps around the Pomona campus right now would be exponentially higher than winning twenty rounds of Mystic Warlords here—
Unless you can demonstrate that the dopamine released by gaming victories can somehow function as airborne pheromones affecting females from thirty feet away."
Howard's face immediately showed disdain, as if to say, "You clearly don't understand the science of attraction," and he was about to rebut Sheldon from the angle of "social demonstration theory and achievement halo effects"—
"Attention all team captains!" The staff member's voice boomed through the speakers, perfectly timing the interruption of the impending debate. "Please immediately report to the center stage for first-round matchup drawings! All other team members, please take your stations and perform final equipment checks!"
David immediately turned and patted Howard's shoulder: "Let's go. If you want to debate, do it after we win. Sheldon, go draw!"
David and the other two headed to their competition station to set up, while Sheldon walked toward the drawing box at center stage.
Sheldon quickly returned to the team, unfolding the slip of paper in his hand—their opponent was the "Coastline Rangers" from Santa Barbara City College.
By the side entrance of the venue, a student carrying a shoulder-mounted camera and another student holding a microphone with the campus TV station logo were setting up their shot.
They were from the UC Davis student television station. This amateur tournament, bringing together teams from numerous California colleges, was considered worthy weekend coverage.
At this moment, the cameraman's lens panned across the arena: all sixteen teams were positioned at their respective competition stations.
The lineup represented a cross-section of California higher education: there was last year's champion, Stanford's Quantum Ghosts, along with teams from top public universities like Berkeley and UCLA, teams from Cal State schools like San Jose State and Humboldt State, and representatives from well-known community colleges like Santa Monica College and De Anza College.
Young student faces filled with intense focus painted a picture of amateur competition driven by pure passion.
Sixteen teams would complete three brutal single-elimination rounds here today to determine the Final Four;
Tomorrow, the remaining four teams would battle through two more rounds to crown this season's champion.
No divisions, no qualification rounds; each round's opponent was determined by random draw, and one loss meant immediate elimination.
This was classic one-weekend amateur tournament format: one weekend, one venue, all scores settled here.
"Everyone, quiet please!" The announcer's voice rang out from the stage.
Let's push the story forward!
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