At that mont, Coach Jin shook his head and objected, "Since the two players on the third board didn’t determine a winner, shouldn’t it be those two playing another ga—"
Before he could finish, Su Yiming interrupted from beside him, "Alright."
Coach Jin froze in disbelief.
In the next second, Su Yiming stepped out from the crowd. He t Yu Shao’s gaze directly, their eyes locking mid-air, and said, "I’ll play against you!"
Once Coach Jin recovered, he panicked and quickly grabbed Su Yiming’s sleeve, trying to pull him back.
While he didn’t believe Su Yiming was inferior to Yu Shao, he knew that Yu Shao’s Go skills were nothing to scoff at. Frankly, Coach Jin didn’t want to take this risk.
He had just watched Zhong Yufei’s ga, and by skill, Zhong seed comparable to their second player, Yu Yong. But in the last ga, Zhong Yufei had held the advantage yet failed to win, resulting in a Triple Ko. That match had undoubtedly impacted Zhong Yufei’s mindset.
Thus, Coach Jin preferred for Zhong Yufei and Yu Yong to play again to determine the winner.
"Jin Xiao!"
A voice suddenly called out, using Coach Jin’s full na.
Coach Jin turned around in surprise, looking toward the source of the voice. In the crowd stood He Yu.
Everyone else also turned to look at He Yu. So people’s eyes widened, their faces showing shock—they clearly recognized who He Yu was.
"In international team competitions, if the result is a tie, the rules require a tiebreaker," He Yu said, looking directly at Coach Jin. "The rule is simple: each team designates one player for the tiebreaker. His suggestion isn’t unreasonable. In fact, it aligns perfectly with the rules!"
Hearing this, the referee looked embarrassed.
Being an amateur referee, he wasn’t familiar with handling a team competition ending in a tie. Naturally, he had assud that the two players responsible for the draw should play again.
This approach made sense in individual matches, but team competitions are fundantally different. Team competitions are not about individuals but the collective.
He Yu paused and continued, "Jin Xiao, you’ve trained in a dojo for over six months—you should know this rule."
Coach Jin fell silent.
Everyone was taken aback by He Yu’s words, including the three players from Guangzhou Affiliated High. They turned to look at Coach Jin in surprise.
It was clear that they hadn’t known Coach Jin had once trained in a dojo. For so reason, Coach Jin had never ntioned this to anyone.
"We’re friends. And because we’re friends, even at the risk of losing our friendship, I must speak the truth," He Yu said steadily, his gaze unwavering. "Jin Xiao, even if this were an international team competition, I’d say the sa. And this is just a high school Go league."
With that, He Yu turned to Yu Shao and asked, "Your na is Yu Shao, correct?"
Yu Shao nodded.
"Good. Then Jiangling High School has officially designated Yu Shao as their player for the tiebreaker," He Yu declared before turning back to Coach Jin. "According to the rules, you’re free to choose soone other than Su Yiming as your representative."
"This might sound harsh, but to be honest, I don’t think anyone else on your team stands a chance against him."
"Your call, Jin Xiao."
Upon hearing this, Guangzhou’s second player, Yu Yong, and third player, Guo Jingxing, looked visibly humiliated but didn’t argue.
Because the truth was irrefutable.
All eyes turned to Coach Jin, waiting for his response.
Coach Jin remained silent for a long while.
Finally, he exhaled deeply, nodded, and said, "Understood. Su Yiming it is."
With Coach Jin’s decision made, everyone turned their attention to the referee.
"Alright," the referee nodded. "In that case, the tiebreaker will be between Jiangling’s Yu Shao and Guangzhou’s Su Yiming!"
"The match will follow a blitz format with a ti limit of 30 minutes for each player. If a player runs out of ti, they forfeit. You have 10 minutes to prepare, and 10 minutes later—"
The referee’s announcent was interrupted.
"Thirty minutes… No, make it 20 minutes," soone said. "I can go hungry, but my students need to eat sothing. They’re still growing."
"Yeah, 20 minutes! We’ll grab so bread to hold us over!"
"Exactly. The players haven’t eaten either. How can they play on empty stomachs?"
The crowd nodded in agreent. Surprisingly, no one suggested leaving anymore.
Everyone wanted to stay and see the tiebreaker, to witness the crowning of the champion.
The referee checked his watch and nodded. "Very well. Let’s make it a 20-minute break. The match will resu afterward."
Initially, the referee had given only a 10-minute break because he had anticipated a full-length final match with an hour per side plus overti. Such a match could easily last until 9 or 10 p.m.
But with the faster blitz format and fixed ti limit, a longer break was feasible. Allowing players to eat would ensure better performance.
As soon as the referee finished speaking, a large portion of the crowd rushed out to buy food.
"Zhou De, you have your phone?"
Chen Jiaming suddenly asked.
"Yeah, why?" Zhou De replied, pulling his phone from his pocket, confused.
"Open your paynt QR code," Chen Jiaming said without explanation.
Zhou De tapped a few tis on his phone and opened the code, still looking puzzled.
Chen Jiaming quickly scanned the code and transferred so money to him.
Hearing the notification, Zhou De blinked in confusion. Suddenly, it dawned on him, and he blurted, "Teacher, I’m not the referee!"
"I’m telling you to go buy so food!"
Chen Jiaming looked exasperated. "You’re a sports student—this is your mont to shine!"
Realizing what was happening, Zhou De imdiately saluted. "Leave it to ! I promise to bring back the food as fast as possible!"
"What are you waiting for? Go!"
Chen Jiaming glared at him.
"Got it!" Zhou De, as if on a mission, pocketed his phone and sprinted out of the venue like a hundred-ter sprinter.
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