Okay, while i dont really understand the reason to make YET ANOTHER TKA adaptation... here we go.
Is this good or is it bad? TLDR: not bad, but not very good either, still somewhere in the upper part of the spectrum, mostly because the source material was really good while adaptation itself is quite lacking.
Longread:
The important point to understand here is that the original stuff (TKA novel) is not very good material for thorough animation/manga adaptation - simply because the sheer size and depth of it. There are over 12 000 pages packed with both ingame and in-real-life action with every single character, event or even small detail thoroughly described and given a certain role. I'm not talking just about intricate mmorpg mechanics or basic cybersport'ish knowledge - the author goes great length to explain literally everything he ever mentions. If there is an event ingame, we got chapter after chapter explaining who went where done what and why and how, what was dropped what was looted etc. If there is a fight (hundreds of them), pvp or pvm, there pages and pages of which character X pressed skill Y with Z timing and why and how and what all others did and thought and spoke. For instance, If there is certain commentator in official match, we get a backstory at how he landed this job from being ex-pro player, who he employed his networking skills to make a living, how he interacts with players and other host, how he explains some things to audience and fails to explain other things and why, etc etc. And of course, most of the players from ingame guilds/teams mentioned gain as much coverage, and any pro player from any team twice or triple that amount. Author basically sacrifices basic "code optimization" of text to give us the most complex and realistic (yet completely fictional) world, in and out, which counts both as Pro and Con for the original novel, depending on reader's tastes.
So, unless you are planning for adaptation to run for 10+ years or completely miss most of the stuff thus making it a mess, some serious job is required to adapt it well and fitting the new format.
One may simply throw away all extra layers of depth and go with bare minimum to keep the people entertained without missing anything vital. Its been a while since i read first "manga" adaptation, but iirc thats the way it went, and quite finely too.
One may completely rework the source, throw away most of extra stuff, remove some characters and plots, combine some others, add completely new stuff to make a new thing "based on" the novel. That's the way TKA live series (TV) went, and gotta admit it was done beatifully, even adding some extra humour and emotion (not to mention i tend to have extremely low expectations for live series since they mostly make your eyes bleed from nonstop cringe, so getting to see a decent TV show itself was a bliss).
One may convert the depth into typical anime drama for kids.. ugh... well, i've read the original novel twice and consider myself a fan, but i never managed to get past the very 1st episode of TKA anime, it was just to cringe and anime'ish.
But now, we have another remake, this time in webtoon factor. Surprisingly enough, it actually tried to keep close to the original, bringing as much information is possible and be close to the source. Non-so-surprisingly, it failed in doing so because of aforementioned reasons, and a lot of information was lost or forcibly conveyed through awkward means. Like, some characters start blurting out some obvious mmorpg stuff for no reason (because originally they thought about it for themselves or it was laid out for the reader in a more fitting form) or go "as you know Bob" mode or just behave weirdly. The very beginning, which made complete mess of the way cybersport clubs really were supposed to operate and ruined about everything there was to ruin for excellent era's characters and Su Mucheng in particular is a fine example. In the novel, we read through a complex situation worked around about social and economical aspects of running a club and get a bunch of characters who behave according to their roles and back stories (which, including their motivation and further details is expanded later in the series). In this webtoon, we got some school drama of evil kids bullying good hero. Mmokay, totally believable and only lacks a school council, some upskirt fanservice and a beach episode to boot. And this goes on and on, with a lot of senseless errors on top of it (like their lifetime captain MC becomes somehow two-years captain, three great guilds become five great guilds only to become three again after a couple of chapters, etc), which pile up with time and ruin the setting instead of making it rich.
While i understand that people who arent familiar with the novel will most likely never notice all these things, and might just like the webtoon, i cant help but have this overall impression that such half-assed and random approach to world-building has really hurt the result. Readers miss some information that could have helped to understand whats going on while getting some extra information that is sometimes confusing on awkward.
The style doesnt help it either. While overall drawing level is decent, it looks like some very generic webtoon with many characters just not feeling right. Tbh it is not TKA exclusive problem, such webtoons rarely manage to catch or find their out unique style, for example just look at the new Breaker season.
Personally i will follow it conclusion, but given the way it unfolds i hardly anticipate it to last long enough to cover any sufficient part of the original novel, set aside ever get to the finish line.
Generally, what has been unique and extremely realistic cybersport and gaming' themed story became another generic webtoon about OP MC playing some mmorpg and kicking ass. Might aswell be happy that no VR, hunters, gates, isekai elfmaids or gacha systems are involved.
