Chapter 71 – Abnormal Drop Point Changes?
Xu Shaoqiu, watching the match from backstage, went pale.
Lao Ma stared at the screen for a long moment, mentally cursing. “They’re all PKL teams…”
“Can I file a complaint? Isn’t this considered malicious targeting? Can’t I report it to the tournament organizers right now?”
Xu Shaoqiu shook his head firmly. “It’s only the beginning — not yet. They could just say their route is shorter, so they switched to Port G. We can’t argue with that.”
“Damn it…”
In-game, Ji Wei, controlling his character as he rapidly descended, frowned and asked Da Shu, “How many teams are there?”
“Three! But not full squads — one team only has three players.” Da Shu’s heart was pounding. “They’re wearing the same outfit!”
In professional tournaments, players can identify their opponents by their skin choices and preferred weapons. Experienced players memorize each team’s usual skins for quick recognition and analysis.
Conversely, when multiple teams wear the same skins, it creates confusion — even the officials can’t tell who’s fighting whom.
The PCL commentator’s face darkened upon seeing four teams drop onto G Port in succession.
Mika glanced at the cheering Korean audience behind him and said sharply, “Currently, SOP, DT, and WNL have all changed their drop points and are preparing to land at G Port.”
Yamy held back her anger on camera. “These three teams are using identical skins to target AVG’s drop point, creating significant obstacles for the local players to gather early-game information.”
“This situation is extremely rare in competitive play.” Mika, unable to stay neutral any longer, said pointedly, “There’s no way this is just a coincidence.”
The online commentators were less restrained — the chat erupted with outrage:
[“There’s no way that’s a coincidence!”]
[“What are they doing? Aren’t they afraid of getting wiped out? SOP is second in points — they’re already guaranteed a group stage spot. Are they just trying to mess with AVG? Like a pack of mad dogs!”]
[“If they keep this up, AVG’s group stage will be a nightmare. Why is my team the one getting this treatment? Please, just stop already!”]
Elsewhere, Ji Wei parachuted onto the top of a container, picked up a SCAR, and immediately knocked down the player next to him.
“WNL down one.”
Da Shu ran while reporting, “One team’s dropping on the containers, and another’s landing at the warehouse behind us.”
Mi Li, having just landed, grabbed a UMP45 and quickly warned, “Two chutes are empty — one landed faster than me. I might not be able to hold out.”
Yin Sijue moved to observe the terrain. “We need to break through somehow. If all three sides close in, we’ll be trapped, and it’ll be hard to fight our way out.”
Ji Wei frowned. “I’ve taken out the WNL guys, but I’m out of ammo. There’s more than one heading for the containers.”
“I’ll go over,” Yin Sijue said.
“Don’t come!” Ji Wei gritted his teeth, dodging a hail of bullets. “It’s too late!”
At that moment, the off-site camera cut to the SOP duo advancing. They leapt down from the upper level of the containers, pulled out their S1897 shotguns, and blocked Unique right at the small warehouse entrance.
A few muffled gunshots rang out — Ji Wei, who hadn’t managed to pick up any bullets, was unfortunately knocked down.
Meanwhile, DT slowly advanced down the slope, using grenades to block the retreat path outside the warehouse. SOP’s snipers had already set up their Mini-14s along the south side of the G Port highway, perfectly suppressing AVG’s rear guard.
“You can see two DT players holding the backline while two SOP players push forward — one covering from high ground and dealing damage, leaving AVG almost no chance of survival.”
Offstage, commentator Mika frowned, his voice rising in disbelief. “These three teams usually don’t coordinate at all, but now they’re suddenly showing this level of synergy…”
Yamy took a deep breath, swallowing the curse on the tip of her tongue. “SOP just used a grenade! The tree near the warehouse is in danger!”
On the big screen, the free camera zoomed out. SOP’s grenade exploded near the warehouse, sending a large tree crashing to the ground.
At the same time, Mi Li — fighting alone near the middle warehouse — lost a 1v3 duel against a DT player and was also knocked down.
Solve was left alone, facing nearly ten enemies around the containers.
He managed to shoot down a SOP assaulter with an AKM and tried to slip through a gap between containers, but was immediately hit by a sniper round to the head, ending the match.
Finally, the screen froze on the red text “20th Place.” All AVG members were eliminated.
In tournament rules, players eliminated during a match cannot leave early; they must remain seated, staring at the blank screen until the round ends.
Seizing on the emotional moment — and recalling the pre-match interviews that hinted at a close bond between two AVG players — the broadcast director cut to a close-up of Ji Wei’s face the instant Solve fell.
Under the bright lights, Ji Wei’s already fair skin looked almost translucent. His brows drew together slightly, his gaze on the screen cold and distant.
Realizing the camera was on him, he lifted his head, face expressionless.
The corners of Ji Wei’s eyes drooped slightly, but at this moment, he no longer looked innocent or fragile — only beautiful and cold. That single glance sent a chill through the audience.
…
D3 finished last in the first round of the group stage. In previous years, AVG would have been roasted and sent home in disgrace.
But this time, there were almost no insults in the comments — all the cursing was aimed at SOP’s ancestors instead.
[“@SOP Grass Mud Daddy”]
[“Unique looked furious.”]
[“What’s wrong with SOP? Why are they targeting a team that isn’t even from their region?”]
[“AVG only took first place in the group stage… How fragile is SOP’s ego to play so dirty right from the start?”]
[“Hard not to suspect some personal grudge.”]
[“Heard SOP said some nasty things to Solve and Unique backstage — something about sexual orientation
discrimination. You can fill in the blanks.”]
[“Unbelievable. What era is this? How are these idiots still so backward?”]
[“Also, wasn’t that a foul? Didn’t the ref call anything?”]
At that moment, backstage, Xu Shaoqiu was also ready to ask one last question.
SOP ultimately won the match. As Ji Wei and the others were leaving the arena, they had barely taken a few steps when they heard Xu Shaoqiu’s furious voice echoing from the locker room.
“At the 2019 PGC, the Thai players deliberately targeted the Korean team. The officials ruled it as negative play and disqualified them. So why didn’t you do that this time?”
Speaking fluent Korean, Xu Shaoqiu practically spat the words at the organizers. “This is completely negative play! Malicious targeting! That’s supposed to be a suspension offense, you idiots!”
The staff member on the other end kept giving an eloquent explanation, but Ji Wei — who couldn’t understand — turned helplessly to Yin Sijue.
“The referee said the three Korean teams engaged in hostile behavior after landing, and that SOP even knocked down a DT player,” Yin Sijue translated flatly. “They claim there was no negative play, and that changing the drop point was a rational decision based on the flight path and circle.”
He let out a cold snort. “What a ‘rational decision.’”
“Bullshit!” Da Shu burst out. “He knocked down the DT player, had the chance to finish him off, but turned around and threw a grenade at me instead! He came to finish me off after I was already down, and the DT player he ‘hit’ was revived right after!”
Mi Li tugged at Xu Shaoqiu’s sleeve. “Forget it, it’s just one game. Brother Qiu, stop arguing with them. They’re doing all this precisely so the ref can’t call them out — especially since the ref’s one of their own.”
“What rotten luck!” Xu Shaoqiu rolled his eyes for what felt like the hundredth time, then flopped onto the sofa. “The next match is still on the island. What do we do? Change our drop point?”
Yin Sijue lowered his head in thought. “Actually, with our current score, even if we die early in the next few matches, we’re still guaranteed to advance to Stage Two of the group stage.”
The PGC format stipulates that the top sixteen teams from the group stage advance to the winners’ bracket in the second stage, while the bottom sixteen go to the losers’ bracket. The two brackets then compete separately, with all group stage points reset to zero in Stage Two.
That’s also why SOP was stirring up trouble. Whether they won or lost, their score wouldn’t affect their standing in the next stage.
Xu Shaoqiu narrowed his eyes at Yin Sijue. “Don’t tell me you’re planning to jump to G Port and fight them head-on.”
“Three-team fight, guaranteed win,” Yin Sijue replied coolly. “Can you please stop doubting me for once?”
“Oh, not really.” Yin Sijue fiddled with the keyboard cable. “They went to Port G. SOP’s original jump point — the airport — is empty, so let’s go there instead.”
“But UGC is also in Group C. If we jump to the airport, we might run into them. They’re only ranked eighth right now. If they fall into the losers’ bracket next round, will you still be able to chase Youyou?”
“You—” Xu Shaoqiu nearly jumped out of his seat. “How did you know I was— No! Don’t pry into your manager’s private life! Is now really the time to talk about that?”
He paused to think, then nodded. “Jumping to the airport is doable. It might slow down our entry route, but at least we won’t get surrounded early on.”
“As for UGC, they’re unpredictable at Worlds. Sometimes they drop at the airport, sometimes at Zodiac. If we run into them, we’ll just have to fight.”
…
After the intermission, the players returned to the stage. The commentators replayed the highlights from Game 1, and soon, Game 2 began.
AVG stuck to their plan and switched their drop point to the airport — effectively trading spots with SOP.
However, SOP’s tactic was always the same: send three players to cause trouble, and one to the airport. As soon as Yin Sijue landed, he shot the lone SOP player dead, instantly revealing AVG’s location.
AVG Solve used his UZI to finish off SOP Flanker.
Yin Sijue said, “Kill him! That’s SOP’s flex player. Same as before — they split their squad, sent one to the airfield, and the other three to G Port to block us.”
Ji Wei replied, “We need to get into the circle early this time. They’ll probably chase us soon.”
“Got it. Everyone, loot quickly — stay calm.” Yin Sijue and Mi Li took out another enemy who had dropped at the airfield with just two shots. “As long as we build up early, we can win.”
Da Shu added, “Good thing UGC didn’t drop here this time. We didn’t have to fight anyone when we landed.”
In the second phase, the safe zone spawned in the area around P City. AVG ended up on the weaker side. While crossing the bridge, SOP — having caught wind of their route — seized the opportunity to ambush them. Da Shu and Mi Li were killed in the skirmish.
By the third phase, the remaining three SOP players trapped Ji Wei and Yin Sijue in Hailiu.
From their perspective, AVG — now down to two — tried desperately to hide and reposition, but their locations were soon exposed. In the end, they had nowhere left to run.
In reality, the leak was intentional — a setup by Yin Sijue. The two had looted so much at the airport that they were practically armed to the teeth, just one step away from taking SOP’s heads.
Five minutes later, SOP — rushing recklessly into Hailiu — was wiped out by the combined firepower of Solve and Unique, dropping them to 14th place.
It was SOP’s worst result since the start of the PGC.
After the final circle refreshed, AVG ran into UGC — a team from the same region — on their way in. Following a grueling fight, AVG, once again reduced to only two players, managed to defeat the fully staffed UGC squad and claimed first place in the round.
“Good news — only two AVG players are left,” Mika quipped, glancing at the big screen. “Bad news — those two are Solve and Unique.”
Yamy smiled. “Couples really are incredible. KK and Kelly’s teamwork was great just now, but even they couldn’t beat them.”
Mika laughed. “The well-deserved twin stars of the PCL.”
The live chat was flooded with amused comments about SOP’s downfall:
[“@Bluehole, can you please stop being such a couple? Not when you’re on my team!”]
[“Does anyone else feel the same rush of redemption I did when Solve got battered by KK just now? I thought he was done for — then Unique headshotted KK. That’s basically a DIY clutch kill!”
][“Ahhh, is anyone watching the player cam? Solve smiled when KK went down! He actually smiled!”]
[“UGC fans, spare a thought for poor KK. I almost feel bad for him.”]
[“Unique looked like he was having the time of his life… but his face when Solve died last match was terrifying QAQ”]
[“He’s usually cheerful and sweet, but the moment Solve’s in trouble, he turns deadly serious. Just like at the last All-Star Game.”]
In Game 2, AVG took the chicken dinner and clawed their way back from their earlier loss.
Having learned their lesson, SOP didn’t try to contest AVG’s drop points again — and who could even predict where AVG would go next?
Without the “Mad Dog” interference, AVG breezed through the next four games, ultimately advancing to Stage Two of the group stage with the highest score.
Throughout the group stage, AVG’s countless highlight plays redefined their global image. From last year’s semifinal run to this season’s dominant showing, AVG once again established themselves as championship favorites — a true world-class powerhouse.
Especially for the new player Unique, many foreign viewers had previously known him only as “Solve’s boyfriend.”
Now, however, highlight reels of his gameplay were going viral overseas. With his calm demeanor and meticulous playstyle, he had gained a loyal fanbase and become a true star player.
Yet, just as the crowd was still celebrating AVG’s success, the PGC Global Esports Championship Disciplinary Committee unexpectedly released a penalty announcement.
Notice to All Participating Teams and Viewers:
During the 202X PUBG Global Championship (PGC), the event supervision team, through routine replay reviews and tactical behavior analysis, discovered that two teams from the same region showed abnormal changes in their drop points on Match Day 3 (G Port → Airport; Airport → Zodiac).
This behavior is suspected to be prearranged in order to avoid direct competition.
After review, the organizing committee has confirmed that this conduct violates Article 4, Chapter 6 of the PGC Tournament Management Regulations, which prohibits non-temporary acts of cooperation between teams.
Accordingly, the committee has decided to impose the following penalties:
- Team AVG and Team UGC: Effective immediately, both teams will be deducted two points from their scores in the first match of Stage Two of the group stage.
- Both teams will also receive an official warning. Any further violations will result in more severe consequences.
This announcement is hereby issued.