"First of all, the Golden Glove award, let’s give a round applause for Ryusuke Higo from Hakodate Nishi High!"

Right after the name was announced, Higo walked calmly to the podium that had just been put there right after the game was over, being unfazed by the cheers and the camera shutters being aimed at him.

After the crazy celebration was over and the atmosphere finally died down, it was time for the closing ceremony. The first thing in business was the announcement of the individual award, which would consist of at least six categories here.

The first one was the Golden Glove, which was awarded to the best goalkeeper in the tournament. There was no question that Higo won this. Not to mention the two penalty saves that he made today, the boy also only conceded one goal for the entire tournament. The number of saves he made in the five games he played also exceeded all the goalkeepers here, almost averaging 8 saves per game.

Even if somehow Hakodate Nishi failed to win, he would still be the undisputed choice for this award. Once the boy accepted the award, which was a small trophy in the shape of gloves, cheers erupted from the crowd.

"Come on, Higo-san! You are awesome!"

"I will support you from now on! Don’t disappoint us, okay?!"

"Fuck it, you are the best!"

Minami also saw this with teary eyes, while Shizue, Hiroshi’s mother, was rubbing her back soothingly. The camcorder in her hand was still on, recording the glorious moment of her son with the best resolution possible. When she saw the boy raising the trophy proudly, the woman felt like any words she wanted to speak were stuck in her throat, feeling like this was not an event that could be described with any word, no matter how sweet it was.

’Good for you, Ryukkun... I am so proud of you, and so would Aya-chan..."

After the boy stepped down from the podium, the announcer spoke again. "For the Young Player of the Tournament... Let’s give a round of applause to Denki Hotaru from Hakodate Nishi High!"

"Eh?! Me?!" Denki, who was just laughing and joking around goofily with his brother, was taken aback when his name was mentioned. "Are you sure it’s me?!" He looked around in bewilderment, thinking that the world had just succumbed to madness.

"What are you thinking, Brat?! Just go there, you deserve this!" Makino pushed the boy forcefully before following the crowd, giving his applause for the right back.

Denki himself was still dumbfounded, never expecting to win an award here. However, this was the one for the best newcomer of the year, and with not a lot of rookies getting playing minutes, his only competitor was his brother, as those two played so consistently from the beginning till the end. The final decision was made in this game when Denji was replaced in the first half. This sealed the award for Denki, who was rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Come on, Denki-kun! Smile more!"

"This is your moment! How could you be that nervous!"

"Don’t embarrass us, Bastard!"

Denji also laughed his ass off, following the cheers from the crowd. There was no jealousy in his eyes as the boy realized that Denki was indeed a better player in this tournament.

Then, after Denki’s announcement was over, the next one came out of nowhere. "The best head coach of the tournament... Let’s give another round of applause for our history maker! The first ever one who did it when she was just a student, and the first ever one in the country to do it as a woman... Kumiko Shishida from Hakodate Nishi High!"

Right after that, all the spotlight was on Kumiko as the girl stepped onto the podium confidently. The moment everyone saw clearly how pretty the girl was, everyone went berserk, shouting and cheering like they were in an auction.

"Fuck it! A pretty girl being this good at coaching a team?! Is she an angel or what?!"

"Hey, this is that goalkeeper’s girlfriend, right?! Don’t you see the hug before?!" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Shit! I am so jealous!"

Higo just watched proudly as the girl of his life received this award, knowing that she deserved everything for all the work she put for the team. He also saw her whispering with the organizer about something, and when the girl’s eyes lit up at whatever the man said, Higo decided to put it on the back of his head.

’After everything is over, I will ask her about this.’ He murmured inwardly.

The next two awards were also obvious. Yuwell Carlson won the Golden Boots award with 12 goals out of 5 games, leaving everyone far behind in the top score competition. Meanwhile, Hiroshi also received one here, becoming the playmaker of the tournament with his 6 assists, averaging more than 1 per game.

Once the first five were over, though, everyone tensed immediately, knowing that the biggest one was coming.

"The final award... The Most Valuable Player of the Tournament..." The announcer’s tone was solemn, creating a tense atmosphere around the stadium.

The three candidates here, Higo, Yuwell, and Hiroshi, gulped nervously, inwardly cursing the announcer for his penchant for drama. Even though they all said that they didn’t care about this award, when the announcement was so close to being made, they couldn’t help but feel eager, wanting another approval for their performance.

"The winner... Is... Ryusuke Higo from Hakodate Nishi High!"

"OH! IT IS HIM!"

"Well, you cannot say that he doesn’t deserve the award."

"I mean, he saved two penalties today, and how many times did he stop the opponent’s attacks?"

Amidst the cheers and chatter from the people around, Higo stepped onto the podium once again, this time with a calmer demeanor. He didn’t bring his golden glove trophy, since the boy would receive one right now. It was a small trophy made of glass, and he could see his name being put there.

Ryusuke Higo

Hakodate Nishi High

The MVP of the Hokkaido Winter Tournament 2018

"Congratulations, young man." The organizer offered a handshake with a big smile on his face. "I am waiting for your amazing performance in the future. Keep it up!"