In the real world, a dozen men and women wearing business attire sat around an oval table inside what looked to be a sort of conference room on the top floor of a skyscraper. Each person was wearing a mask, as those involved with the Magic Metaverse Tournament had their identities hidden. One man in particular, also wearing a mask and a suit, stood in front a massive screen as if he were giving a lecture. "It's only the second day, but it's looking like we may have our most intense year yet!" the man leading the conference spoke with enthusiasm before using the remote to switch the camera to follow South Tsundora's representative.
"This is Jin Ishiwatari, the younger brother to last year's winner, Genji Ishiwatari. He chose to enter this tournament, as it is tradition for the males in his family to participate at least once to prove themselves worthy of carrying on the Ishiwatari name." as the conferences leader spoke, Jin was seen still training in the training facility with his Ice Chronicle, though most others had already cleared out.
"And this..." The camera feed then changed to show Tom practicing in the training facility as well, however, Kamari was nowhere to be seen. "This is Thomas Bale, the younger brother of last year's runner-up, Joshua Bale. As for why he is here, it is to avenge his brother."
Everyone looked at each other with devious smiles upon hearing this, knowing that just this drama alone would make for good marketing. The Ishiwatari family were basically celebrities, so Tom knew the youngest brother would appear at the tournament.
"So of course, when designing the bracket, I believe it would be best for these two to be in separate blocks so as to ensure that they face off in the later brackets." As the leader spoke, many started taking notes via their holo-devices.
For every tournament, the bracket was hand-picked under the guise of being randomly generated in order for the best stories to have a build-up and a grand conclusion. If the tournament was the same thing yearly, viewership would decline, but if there were new stories and drama every year, it made it worth watching. Sometimes, however, things wouldn't go as planned, but they rigged the brackets nonetheless.
"As for the rest of the Super-Nations, their representatives are looking stronger than ever." The Camera then switched to show a tall, muscular young woman with blonde hair and a defined jaw. She too was training, using a Chronicle of Fire Nature. "Viktoriya Vlasova. Great Russia's representative. She's been training since infancy for this competition, being the first female from the nation in almost one hundred years."
The camera feed then switched again to show yet another girl, this one being an Eastern girl with long black hair with a Chronicle of Electric Nature. "And this is Usagi Oyama. She comes from the nation of North Tsundora. She too has been training almost all of her life for this tournament, though her true goal is to end the twenty-year losing streak to South Tsundora. I suggest we have her and Jin start off on opposite ends of the same side of the bracket to face each other in the early late game. Not only are the two nations rivals, but their Nature interactions would generate even more hype from viewers, enhancing Usagi's underdog story!"
Once again, the camera shifted, this time hovering over a young man of Hispanic descent with jet-black hair. He too had a Chronicle of Fire Nature, training by the others in the facility. "This is Jason Hernandez, the representative from the United Empire of the Americas. Unlike the others, he did not expect to be the one chosen for this tournament, as the UEA still holds random drawings. However, this is not to say he wasn't prepared. Just as the other Super-Nations breed warriors, the UEA requires all male citizens to learn the game in their final years of grade school."
The feed shifted again to show an Eastern boy with dyed silver hair, using a Chronicle of Wind Nature. "Zheng Changpu. He is from the Kingdom of Lièrì. Since birth, he was destined to enter this tournament, as all of their representatives are. Being a Magic Duelist is all he's ever known. I believe he and Jason would be a perfect late-game matchup. The American is hot-headed, headstrong, and acts on his impulses based on the data we have on him. Zheng is the polar opposite of Jason, being a strategist based on what little data we have on him."
Every member of the conference continued taking notes as he spoke, though, beneath the man's mask, he had a sinister smile. "But these matchups aren't even the main attraction. Take a look at this."
The screen then shifted to show Kamari and Seon sitting next to each other, watching the virtual sunset. "This is Kamari Yelekal and Hana Seon. Kamari is our very first competitor of Dark Nature, whereas Hana Seon is one of the rare Light Nature competitors. For two nights in a row, the two of them have met here at this very window. Kamari's vitals skyrocket whenever he sees her!" the man flourished his arms as he spoke before continuing.
"If their relationship develops, this might be our greatest marketing campaign yet! Light vs Dark! Lover vs Lover! A tragic romance with a tragic end!" Before he could get too excited, one of the members of the conference raised their hand.
"Yes!" he said, pointing to the woman with her hand raised.
"I have an idea. What if we set up a revenge storyline as a backup plan? Whoever beats her is eventually going to face off against Kamari in the late game." The woman received a few head nodes in approval from her peers, as well as from the leader.
"I love it!" the leader cheered with his arms extended, knowing these storylines were going to make him even richer.
And so, the marketing team meticulously gathered more information about the contestants and created the most marketable bracket possible, one with surprises, grudges, tragedies, and more in order to artificially create the most entertaining tournament possible.