Chapter 299: 299
Unknowingly, the LOL culture had slowly crept into society .
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Upon seeing a gorgeous musical instrument was displayed inside a glass cabinet, a random passerby said, “Look, it’s a Sax!”
The person beside him was baffled . “I thought Sax is a car brand?”
“Idiot, that’s Lexus!”
“Lexus? Isn’t that one of the regions in LOL?”
“For God’s sake, that’s Noxus!”
A game needs to foster its own culture and an established culture needs its followers . Take the NBA for example . The NBA system has successfully promoted the game to every corner of the world and spawned many basketball enthusiasts who were crazy about the sport .
The number of people who play E-games is definitely comparable to that of basketball . Yet, why is E-sports unable to replicate the success of other world-class sports?
It could be attributed to multiple reasons—the improper organization of E-sports, common pre-judgment of elders against video games, convoluted match-making, and lack of interest to turn pro .
The founding of the LPL, the World S Competition, and the International WCG E-Sports Competition aimed to boost the allure of E-sports . These rewarding competitions provide a golden platform for those who are passionate about and excel in video games to freely express themselves .
Domestically, the LPL is a multi-million dollar event sponsored by Tencent . Its prize alone had reached three million this term, which was music to any professional player’s ears .
Over the past several years, none of the previous E-sports tournaments (such as CS, WAR3, or StarCraft) had ever offered such a lucrative reward . Players that had been involved with E-sports since the early days like Yu Luocheng were baffled by the scale in which the games and tournaments had evolved under Tencent’s watch .
Putting aside the honor of winning the championship, the RMB50,000 subsidy alone was enough to motivate teams from all over the country to fight for a spot in the final eight . This created healthy competition among the domestic teams and encouraged them to always strive to be better .
The eight strongest teams would gather at Shanghai Technological Center on 15th March and officially kickstart the LPL Spring Tournament .
The tournament’s promotional campaign began right after the Chinese New Year . One could easily see the impact LOL had on the popularity of E-sports . Various types of media, including online platforms, TV channels, traditional press, and even podcasts had been utilized by Tencent to publicize the LPL as widely as possible .
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To garner more attention, Tencent had even invited FAN, a well-known LPL team from Europe, to play an exhibition match with Team Daemons at the opening ceremony .
FAN was a quarter-finalist at last year’s International S Tournament . Their game play and lineup were highly unpredictable, making them a difficult team to beat .
Team Daemons had not met with Team FAN at last year’s international games . Tencent’s intention of making LPL the biggest E-sports event in the country was clear . They hoped that the arrival of a popular foreign team would further hype up the highly-anticipated tournament .
The members of Team Skycrown were pumped when the day finally arrived .
Most of them had experience at professional tournaments, but none of those were comparable to a LOL event . They had never seen any E-sports event with an audience of five thousand people . Ten thousand attendees was considered huge for a concert . So five thousand bodies inside a conference hall was nothing short of magnificent .
Their heartbeats raced wildly when they arrived at the hall’s entrance . They were dazed by the humongous concrete building in front of them .
‘Have we been mistakenly sent to a concert venue instead?’
Even when they reached the finals of the international DOTA competition, it was held at a small venue occupied by a maximum of two to three thousand people!
How generous of Tencent to book a stadium-esque venue just to announce to the world that the LPL had now officially begun! While admiring Tencent’s wealth, they also figured that the prejudice against E-sports was a thing of the past . People’s attitude towards E-sports had completely changed after the release of LOL .
“So? Are you excited now?” asked Lin Dong, playfully shoving Da Luo who was standing beside him .
“Of course I am! If I only knew earlier that LOL competitions have reached such a large scale, I would already be a veteran player by now . I often envy those celebrities . To see them on the big stage waving to their fans . F*cking show-offs!” exclaimed Da Luo .
“Haha! You can do the same when we win the tournament . Say hi to those on your left and right!” Lin Dong shook Da Luo’s shoulder and laughed .
Da Luo couldn’t hold back his smile and put his arm around Zhou Yan . “Zhou Yan, isn’t that going to be fun?”
Xiao Bei was equally thrilled . He smiled along as if they were really going to be celebrities soon .
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“Three nut-heads,” deadpanned Zhou Yan .
“Let’s go in . There are lots of people around . It’ll be bad if anyone recognizes us,” said Xiao Bei, blushing .
Wu Sen forcefully patted his back and scowled . “Who the hell would know us?”
“Wu Sen, stop being so serious . Just pretend that we are famous . I wonder whether we need to wear a cap and sunglasses when going out in the future,” said Da Luo, laughing .
While Da Luo was immersed in his own daydream, three ladies in winter coats and boots walked straight towards them .
“Excuse me,” said one of them .
Stunned, Da Luo stopped his boasting and suddenly turned shy .
“You guys are in a team uniform and I noticed the word Skycrown on your back . Let me guess, you guys are the newly promoted dark horse, Team Skycrown?” asked the fair girl with center parting, smiling .
The two girls beside her were also curiously eyeing the boys . Someone actually recognized them! No matter how hard Da Luo tried to keep a straight face, he could hardly conceal the bursting joy within .
They had their own fans now! Moreover, they were all pretty girls!
The girl with the center parting was gorgeous, with a smooth forehead, prominent nose, small and sexy lips, seductive eyes, and long eyelashes .
Da Luo suppressed his inner ecstasy and introduced himself . “Yes, yes! We are Team Skycrown! I am Lone Gull . You can call me Da Luo!”
Yu Luocheng stood by and looked at Da Luo in disgust .
‘What kind of celebrity gets more excited than the fans when he’s recognized? Please pull yourself together . Pathetic!’
Then again, in the past, only the big names in the E-sports community would have their own fans . The possibility of an E-sports player being recognized on the street is close to nil . The feeling of being approached and picked up by girls is not bad after all . It would be perfect if they were willing to exchange numbers!
‘It seems that working as a professional player nowadays is pretty enjoyable!’
“I know you! You are the team’s Solo Top player . Beer from Fudan University was no match for you at all,” said the small girl with short hair who was standing at the back of the group .
“That’s me!” Da Luo’s face was distorted by his wide smile .
Their chatting slowly drew more people in until they were eventually surrounded by a small crowd .
Team Skycrown was a newly promoted team . Many people would definitely be curious about how this unknown team had managed to stand out from so many LOL teams across the country .
“There they are!”
“Woah, it’s really them! Let’s go and get their signatures . I even brought my mouse pad along!”
“Idiot, I will get him to sign my hand . I’m going to get ten straight wins with his blessing!”
“I’m curious . How does it feel to masturbate with a hand that has a man’s signature on it?”
“F*ck off!”
The crowd on the other side suddenly turned hysterical . Numerous people suddenly flocked toward them .
The members of Team Skycrown raised their heads and were astonished to see close to two hundred people hurrying in their direction . It felt like a famous celebrity had just arrived and the supporters were rushing in to get his/her signature .
There were several entrances leading into the conference hall . One of those was reserved specifically for players and staff . Security guards and fences were seen around it . The audience was supposed to enter through the main entrance with their ticket . But suddenly, they were all squeezing against each other to reach the players’ entrance .
Da Luo, Lin Dong, and Xiao Bei’s eyes widened .
‘This can’t be real! We’re this popular?’
They never thought that winning the pre-season tournament would gain them such fame!
Just a while ago, Wu Sen was complaining that nobody would recognize them . But look at the crowd now! Being a professional player really is as admirable as being a superstar!
Da Luo walked up to meet with the large group of fans . “Stop squeezing . We don’t have a pen with us so we are not going to sign…”
A group of three men swiftly went past Da Luo, giving him strange looks along the way . Then, several girls quickly walked past him too . They seemed to have heard Da Luo’s words and tried to stifle their laughter .
The two hundred people reached Team Skycrown and did not halt their footsteps, running quickly past them instead . Da Luo finally realized that they were not the target and turned around .
A brand new car with a ‘Club Revelation’ logo on it had just arrived and parked behind them . The first one to emerge from the car was none other than Team Revelation’s captain, Bai Feng . His handsome face had a smirk plastered across it as he greeted the crowd graciously . He took out a pen and gave signatures to the fans closest to him .
Da Luo, Zhou Yan, Wu Sen, Lin Dong, Xiao Bei, and Yu Luocheng were standing right in front of the players’ entrance . They were also wearing team uniforms but no one was paying attention to them anymore .
“Gosh, it’s Bai Feng!”
“Excuse me . ” A part-time photographer pushed Xiao Bei away . He then ran quickly towards the car and began to rapidly click on the shutter button . Having lost his footing, Xiao Bei tripped on a ladder lying against the wall and fell to the ground .
Yu Luocheng quickly helped him up and realized that he had scratches on his palm . Dust and soil were seen embedded in the wound .
“Terrible!” The normally quiet Zhou Yan was angry . He marched over to the photographer and pulled on his sleeve .
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