BXBX NOVEL Chapter 75 - APL Season 3 Finals
The humongous yacht barely fit the passage to Coal Harbour Marina due to its size.
Yacht owners enjoying the pleasant climate and weather were astounded watching The Longhorn make its way to an available spot.
"Holy Moley, That\'s the biggest yacht I\'ve ever seen; it\'s unbelievable." a Coal Harbour regular said to his wife.
"Whoa, is that Hailee Steinfeld I see on the upper deck? We loved her in the True Grit movie." the wife asked.
"I knew she made plenty of money off her movies, but her yacht is on another level. Maybe I should have gone into acting instead of finance." the husband commented.
While the couple and other bystanders discussed the new arrival at the harbor, Vince talked to Marco regarding transportation around the city.
"Are AVs allowed here in Canada? It would be very inconvenient if it weren\'t." Vince asked.
"I asked the Marina officials earlier, and they confirmed that AVs are legal in British Columbia but not entirely legal in Canada yet until 2014," Marco explained.
"Perfect. It\'s my first time in Vancouver, and the Stingray will help significantly travel to each landmark and tourist destination. But, guys, we have two days before the APL Finals on Sunday, so let\'s make the most of it." Vince stated.
"Let\'s go to Stanley Park!" Jessica said.
"Science World is a must-see," Sarah added.
"Granville Island is famous for its restaurants and shops. I suggest we go tomorrow morning." Dr. Sera suggested.
"Shopping! I likey!" Leah commented.
Their group spent most of their time appreciating the sights around Vancouver before attending the Finals on Sunday afternoon.
At the B.C Place Stadium, the 55,000 audience members were treated to the same level of fanfare as the Finals in LA and South Korea.
The only thing different is Vince opting to travel separately from the finalists\' limousine convoy.
They instead flew on the Stingray and arrived at the stadium right before the show started.
The group and its security escort arrived at the VIP box and settled down on the lazy boy seats.
[It\'s surprising to see many of the audience wearing Hypervisors. They aren\'t exactly cheap at $1,500 each for the most basic version.] Vince pondered.
"Hailee, what\'s your opinion on the Hypervisor after getting a full tour from the Infi AI?" Vince inquired.
"I was skeptical at first but slowly got used to the controls about an hour into practice. The demo AR and VR experiences were amazing, honestly. Especially the futuristic roller coaster VR thing." Hailee replied.
"I\'m glad you like it. We should talk about a new project Future Studios can work with you on later tonight. A new movie, maybe." Vince stated.
"I can see the potential in this new type of entertainment, so I\'d love to be involved," Hailee replied with excitement.
The lights dimmed in the middle of the arena; then electronic music started playing as Deadmau5 was revealed on stage.
As usual, the APL Finals featured famous local artists to hype up the crowd during the pre-show.
After half an hour of music and dance performances, the APL theme song played as the finalists walked towards their booths.
The crowd of more than fifty thousand passionate fans cheered for Prime Alliance and their rival Clear Sky.
Even after multiple roster shuffles, these two APL behemoths were still the best in the world. Mainly due to their star players in Fortis and Charlatan.
"This crazy rivalry has lasted since the first-ever season of the APL. It\'s interesting to see if the new grand prize of $50 million, half the season\'s entire prize pot, will affect their performance on the big stage." The APL live commentary caster said to his microphone.
The players were setting up their gaming equipment, and most of them still used widescreen monitors except for Fortis, who chose a Hypervisor instead.
"Why do you think Fortis will be playing on the Hypervisor?" The co-commentator asked.
"There isn\'t a competitive advantage using the newly released Future Tech product as a display, but the added gesture controls can make a difference if utilized correctly." The other commentator replied.
As suggested by Vince in South Korea, Fortis focused on mastering all available character archetypes in preparation for the Season 3 final.
He adapted the same mindset in learning the Hypervisor gestures to add more utility to his play style.
During one of the team fights in the second game, Clear Sky caught prime Alliance in a smoke cloud ambush led by Charlatan and picked apart the support players in the backline.
A Clear Sky initiator sought out Fortis in the fog of war and took responsibility for holding him back from helping the rest of Prime Alliance.
Fortis instinctively released his right hand from the mouse and kept controlling the character with his index finger, similar to how mobile War Online players navigate the game map.
"What is Fortis doing?!" the commentator screamed in his microphone.
PC players frowned upon mobile Arena players because the mouse and keyboard were vastly superior.
Even the audience was stupefied watching Fortis\' precision in dodging the enemy initiator\'s incoming [Sweeping Lightning] skill with the use of a gesture.
Fortis required quick, successive actions to dodge and help his supports and realized the only viable way was to gesture with his right-hand fingers to do so.
Fortis looked like he was casting an elaborate magic spell through the game booth window while waving his arm and twitching his fingers.
He turned the fight around on the big screen by ignoring the initiator and utilized [Blink Teleport], a skill not usually used by Tank players like Fortis.
Charlatan was caught by surprise as he expected Fortis to at least take a few more seconds before joining the team fight.
[How is he so quick?!] Charlatan pondered as Fortis\' DPS build shredded him to pieces after receiving a few regular attacks.
Clear Sky lost the chance to close out the game and was now down zero to two.
"What did we tell you, Hailee? Fortis is the best player in the world, hands down." Rick stated passionately.
[That swift turnaround was mesmerizing to watch. I can see why people love watching professional War Online instead of only playing it.] so Hailee pondered.
"What a fantastic play from Fortis to start their comeback in game two. That\'s play-of-the-season type stuff, fellas. APL is the best place to watch plays like that!" the commentator preached to his microphone.
Pure excitement filled the B.C Place Stadium as the audience watched Fortis destroy his enemies one by one with a new and innovative technique.
Clear Sky looked rattled after losing a close game and was worried Fortis wouldn\'t use his mouse anymore.
[Actually, fuck the mouse. I practiced using the Hypervisor the entire week, but I finally understood how to use gestures properly in a pro match.] Fortis pondered while setting up his character for game three.
An hour later, Prime Alliance won the next two games and made history by performing a full sweep 4-0 victory to win the Season 3 Finals.
"Wow! Even though this match was one-sided, Fortis demonstrated the potential of the Hypervisor\'s unique control system. Only the best APL player can pull that off with one week of practice. I assume he and the rest of the pro players will soon master the new techniques." the commentator stated.
"I told you integrating custom control schemes on the Hypervisor was a good idea!" Jessica said proudly.
"Yeah, yeah. You\'re at least right about one thing." Kyle replied.
Vince stopped their immature quarrel before heading to the stage to present the winner with the trophy and prize money.
Before Vince began the ceremony, he briefly spoke to the Prime Alliance members.
"See, what did I tell you? Your greatest asset I observed was adaptability, and Fortis here showed his prowess in learning new things. I, too, strive to get better and learn more, so I have mad respect for y\'all." Vince stated before giving them the trophy and the giant cheque for $50 million.
The crowd chanted Prime Alliance loudly, and two members of the North American team from Canada basked in their hometown glory.
Vince walked up to Charlatan and his teammates and thanked them for their efforts in the APL using the Infi AI translation app on his smartwatch.
He invited Prime Alliance to join their group for dinner at the Gotham Steakhouse downtown as a celebratory treat.
The Stingray had plenty of seats to fit the five players and the two managers. The new guests were awed by the evening city skyline, like usual AV first-timers before arriving at the destination.
They ate dinner and spent time getting to know more about Fortis with Jaden\'s side-commentary as his cousin. Then Vince noticed APL audience members entering the restaurant wearing Hypervisors looking to eat a steak dinner and practiced gestures as they waited for a table.
[It seems Fortis was the best marketing tool for the Hypervisor\'s control system. I was worried people would stick to traditional input devices instead of adapting.] Vince pondered.
Stats last time checked:
Future Tech current valuation - $300 billion
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Personal Vehicles: Klassen Phantom, Agera R, Agera SFV, Boeing Luxury 787 Dreamliner, The Longhorn
Five company collaborators (Epic, Koenegisegg, SpaceX, Tesla, Hyundai C&E)
Dozens of investments under Future Tech Holdings (i..e., Instagram, Twitch)