I absolutely loved the couple. They give butterflies in my stomach! Sizzling chemistry. I loved how Yiyang looks at her. He really has the look of a man in love. Loved how he thinks she's perfect and too much for him when he is Wu Lei. Loved that first awkward-getting-to-know-each-other phase they had. Loved how they felt comfortable with each other almost instantaneously after they start dating. Loved their skinship. Loved how they were super affectionate with each other. All of their scenes together were just pure romance.

Liked the turn the drama had in 15-16~ ep. It was heartbreaking but important for their development. Actually, there is not much of narrative in this drama. It's all basically just the couple, their love for sports and for each other. But that's not bad. It's the highlight of everything. There were no unnecessary dramas and no annoying characters trying to break up the leads. It all went smooth and without big troubles. The side characters are good. Specifically Xiaodong and Jiang Yang. It was so refreshing how Xiaodong, as FL's big brother, was the n°1 fan of the couple. And Jiang Yang too was a really supportive friend. Wished he had more screentime and Xiaodong's story with Linlin had closure. But we can't have everything :(

The production of this drama was superb. Really! Besides shooting in Finland and France, which is huge in itself and they did it beautifully, the games were well portrayed (at least from an outsider's pov) I understood most plays and the direction of them was good. The romance scenes were very well done. It was so delicate and swooning and passionate. Ofc they had good actors doing a good job but they explored them and their chemistry really well with the locations and situations. It could've been cringe and ridiculous some interactions they had, but instead they were cute and lovely together.

If I had to point out smth negative, I would say that the geographical and cultural inaccuracies and vagueness bothered me a little. Not one non-chinese player had a name that made sense with their nationality. Besides, we don't get to know where exactly they are. Where is Hel and Helsin? I assumed it was in Finland bc that's where the drama was shot. But it was confusing how they flew from Finland to France like it was just there. I just think that these details make the overall more real, if explained. But that wasn't big enough to annoy me.

So, anyways, I basically loved it. It was full of what I always like in dramas. The leads go through few difficulties which they work it out together. The drama doesn't feel cliché in how it is written. Good OSTs, good visuals, good acting. It's a treat to audiences who like romance just like me.


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EDIT: ok, so months after watching the drama, and after some reflection, I came to the conclusion that I changed my opinion on some things in the drama. Although I still stand for most of what I said above, I think this drama wasn't as perfect as I made it seem in this review.

I still love the leads' romance. They have amazing chemistry and are great together. However, after they become a couple they have little to no relationship development. They go from flirting as singles to flirting as a couple. But their interactions remain superficial. He doesn't talk with her about his life decisions, his feelings and problems. Even when he talks about his past is because she had to insist on it. And the fact that there's no real plot here makes it worse. Because we don't get to see them evolving as people. There are no hardships. He had to overcome his past with billiards but other than that it's all shallow and not explained. She has no personal story or anything. That would be ok cuz she could be there to support the ML. But he never shares his feelings with her to begin with, so she has no part in his decisions. These are actually some questionable relationship behaviors that he has. He doesn't speak his mind and he wants to provide for her like she needs someone to support her. As a matter of fact, she is portrayed almost like a child or a crystal. She must be taken care of and pampered. She is not that convincing as a fierce and strong billiards player precisely due to that. She seems much too delicate and fragile for the role.

I made it seem in the review above that I didn't really mind that Xiadong's story with Linlin is not closed. Actually I do mind. It's weird to introduce a plot point that won't come back or be given the deserved conclusion. It gets weirder as the drama is 30-eps-long, which means they had a lot of time for developing whatever they want. But wasted it all showing only the couple. The first 15 eps, although personally very enjoyable, could be far shorter as few things really happen. After that, it begins the development of ML's past, which could also be told in fewer episodes. Furthermore, I didn't like the fact that ML has a masters in something AND he owns a billiards place, but he's said to be poor and not being accomplished for his age. In what world do people live in where studying hard and having a business, at the same time, is not something to be proud of?!

At last, that's my opinion. I still like this drama despite all that I said here. I felt great watching it but it's undeniable that it has a lot of flaws that need to be addressed.