LOL: What is a concept player?

Chapter 337 Forbes List!
Chu Ran wasn't joking. With IG winning the Spring Split championship, numerous companies, all of which are world-renowned brands, have come knocking on their door.

Speaking of Chu Ran's personal endorsements, many luxury brands have approached her, such as Givenchy and Gucci.

These brands originally intended to find entertainment stars to endorse their products, but after carefully investigating the Chinese market, they discovered that so far no young person has a larger online presence or greater popularity than Chu Ran.

In addition, Chu Ran is tall and handsome, so he naturally became the best candidate.

Chu Ran did not refuse these endorsements. He was short of money. Since he used the money he earned from the last World Cup to invest in Panda TV and IG, he has also invested in other industries, including the upcoming electric vehicle market, as well as holding a lot of shares in ByteDance, Xiaomi, BYD, and CATL.

They're just waiting for the day they can make a fortune.

Besides his personal endorsement, various equipment manufacturers with a high degree of integration with esports have also sponsored their club, wanting IG to endorse them.

Chu Ran accepted as many of these gifts as he could.

What team uniform has no sponsors? What is the cleanest team uniform?
It's all nonsense!

To put it simply, talking about dreams without mentioning money is utter nonsense.

If you think the club makes money, won't the players and staff make even more money? Won't that allow for better youth training, etc.? It's just that Principal Wang, relying on being a rich second-generation, previously prevented IG from accepting endorsements.

As a result, they ended up having to sell IG and Panda, although there were other reasons as well.

However, Chu Ran's actions displeased Principal Wang. Chu Ran had originally brought up these club endorsement deals for discussion with the management, since he didn't want to make decisions unilaterally. But Principal Wang's words implied opposition to Chu Ran's approach.

"There's no need for that. IG already has a lot of endorsements. If we take on more, our jerseys will just be covered in sponsor ads. It would be one thing if we didn't have money, but the club is definitely not short of cash right now!"

"What? Just because you don't lack money doesn't mean you don't need to make money? Is it because you can use this money to raise the salaries of our club staff? You think running a club doesn't make money? You're really doing this out of love!"

In his office, Chu Ran angrily confronted Principal Wang via video call, "Aren't you going to pay the players' bonuses? Don't you need money for youth training? It's all about money, so why don't you accept the endorsements that are offered to you?"

"I think esports should be more about dreams and less about money."

The video conference fell silent for a moment, but Chu Ran's cold laughter soon followed. "In that case, I think I'll quit IG. You can take my shares and continue to control IG. You can take the endorsements or not, and go talk about your dreams."

At that moment, Principal Wang remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking, "That's not what I meant."

"You don't have the money to buy shares, right? Well then, I'll buy your shares. From now on, the club and Panda will have nothing to do with you. You can use the money to get another club."

When Chu Ran said this, Principal Wang really started to think about it. In fact, his family had been against him starting a club for a long time, and most importantly, he had recently encountered financial difficulties.

In another bet, he lost everything again.

As the saying goes, it's not that we're afraid of the rich kids enjoying themselves, it's that we're afraid of them starting their own businesses.

It's obvious that Principal Wang belongs to this category.

After a long pause, he finally thought it over and nodded heavily, saying, "Okay!"

In an instant, the other management members in the video conference were shocked, unable to believe what they were seeing. Chu Ran, seeing that Principal Wang agreed, did not hesitate.

"can!"

"You get a lawyer to draft the share transfer agreement, I'll sign it and transfer the money! Right now! I'll be waiting for you at the club!"

Chu Ran had long wanted the shares held by Principal Wang. After all, it's better for some things to belong entirely to oneself. Although he didn't have enough spare cash, he didn't necessarily have to pay off such a large sum of money all at once.

Installment payments are possible, as long as the full amount is paid within the specified time.

Soon, Chu Ran paid Wang Xiaozhang all the money he had, nearly one billion RMB, as an initial payment, and acquired 70% of IG's shares from him for 2 billion RMB.

And the 70% of pandas, based on current valuations, are worth 7 billion RMB.

After the agreement was completed, Chu Ran owned nearly 100% of the shares of Panda and IG. From the current market perspective, he is already a billionaire since he invested in IG and Panda live streaming platforms.

Both companies have seen their valuations in the financial market rise continuously. Panda TV has become the leading player in the domestic live streaming industry, attracting numerous investors seeking financing every day.

Needless to say, the addition of legendary player Chu Ran to IG Club was destined to boost the club's value. Having just won the Spring Split championship, its valuation has increased even further.

If Chu Ran can lead IG to a Grand Slam this year, surpassing EDG, currently the most valuable team, will be no problem, and there may even be a chance to surpass SKT in the future.

After Principal Wang stepped out of the IG club, he posted a Weibo message.

Thank you all for your continued support and love. From today onwards, I will be leaving IG and Panda, which I founded. From now on, Chu Shen will be in full charge of these companies. I hope he can lead IG and Panda to even greater heights!

After this Weibo post was published, it was like an earthquake for netizens who were still immersed in IG's victory and settling scores with various fans, as well as casual observers discussing the upcoming MSI competition, including other clubs, players, and even the capital world outside LPL!
【? ? ? ? ? 】

[Holy crap!! What does this mean? Principal Wang was kicked out of Panda TV and IG by that bastard?]

[You bastard, you beast! Are you even human? You ungrateful wretch!]

[Wow, does this mean Chu Shen now owns all the shares in Panda and IG? Can anyone help me calculate how much that is?]

How much money? It's countless!! But this bastard is disgusting; he kicked out the founder just to make money.

Just when many people thought that Chu Ran had kicked Principal Wang out, Principal Wang immediately clarified that he had voluntarily been acquired by Chu Ran with money, and they parted ways amicably.

This caused even greater shock among all parties involved, and a massive uproar immediately swept across the entire internet!
[Wait, what do you mean? Why sell all the shares to that beast?!]

[Hey, stop talking nonsense!!! Don't you even know how much money our God Chu has?]

[Tsk tsk tsk, voluntary? Forced to do so, but that's disgusting.]

[There are still trolls barking like dogs. The parties involved have admitted it was an amicable breakup, yet you're still fantasizing, just like a dog that only believes what it wants to believe.]

[This is so classic! They don't believe anything others say, only their own. So what are you all barking about here? A bunch of losers who can't even win a match are bastards!]

[Hahaha, all you filial sons and grandsons, get lost! I'm asking you, what kind of champions are you? You only have the right to call yourselves champions after you've beaten Chu Shen, understand?]

The entire internet was in an uproar, with many people discussing the matter, while Chu Ran's teammates, Rooike and the others, were also dumbfounded.

"Wow, Ran is so rich! He bought back all the shares from Principal Wang. How much did he earn from playing professionally?" Jackeylove stared wide-eyed at the trending topics on the internet.

"I wonder if I can ask Ran-ge for a raise?" Meiko was also a bit dumbfounded. He felt that all his years of professional gaming had been for nothing. To be honest, he was the number one player in LPL honors. He had several more championships than Chu Ran. But seeing these trending topics online, he felt that the money he earned was not even a drop in the ocean compared to Chu Ran's.

"Tianye, why don't you go and ask Ran-ge and tell him you want a raise?"

"I'm not going, Yu Wenbo, you go if you want to." Meiko quickly refused. His contract hadn't expired yet, and asking for a raise now would be idiotic.

But just then, he heard an angry roar coming from Chu Ran's office.

"Get out, get out! Your contract hasn't expired yet. What are you talking about with me for a raise? Take it or leave it."

Immediately afterwards, they saw a youth training player being kicked out of Chu Ran's office, which stunned TheShy. "Oh! Who is this? Is he that brave?"

“It seems to be Leyan,” Rooike replied.

He admired Le Yan's courage; she actually dared to bring up a raise with Chu Ran before the contract expired. This was something no ordinary person would do.

At this moment, Le Yan was quite unhappy and secretly vowed to make Chu Hou regret it sooner or later.

Since Chu Ran took over IG, he has attached great importance to youth training. Relying on his advantage of being reborn, he has discovered and cultivated several players who will become well-known in the LPL in the future.

For example, Leyan.

Actually, he thinks Leyan is a pretty good person, especially since he plays jungle carry games quite well. However, he is lacking in mentality, attention to detail, and character. He is thinking that with some practice, Leyan might become a top jungler.

But now he has given up.

Leyan actually threatened to leave IG if he didn't get a raise, which is even worse than Tong Yang back then.

"No wonder he's the man who dared to date Miss Zhou who has eaten venom. He probably had to eat Fish Leong raw to have that kind of courage."

Chu Ran was a little drunk. Actually, he had originally planned to give everyone a 10% raise. After all, with so many endorsements about to be signed, the club would be making a lot of money. As the boss, how could he treat his employees unfairly when the company was making money?

Unexpectedly, after Principal Wang's incident, Chu Ran's savings were instantly depleted, and he was left with a mountain of debt, forcing him to tighten his belt and make ends meet.

"It looks like we have to win MSI, and win it spectacularly."

There was no other way. In order to pay off the remaining debts, he could only work even harder in his professional gaming career and also started streaming. The moment he started streaming, countless fans flooded in, all asking how rich Chu Ran was now.

In an instant, the live stream's popularity soared to the top of the platform, and the gifts and such continued non-stop.

Seeing this, everyone in the RNG club and FPX club, including Uzi, was extremely jealous, and their eyes turned red.

"You son of a bitch, where did he get so much money? How can he possibly earn so much money?!"

Uzi angrily slammed his fist on the table. He had been a professional gamer for so many years, and compared to Chu Ran, he felt it was extremely unfair.

Jian Zihao was the one who first brought honor to the LPL, but Chu Ran ended up making all the money from the LPL.

"Indeed, it's unfair that such a beast makes so much money!" Ning Mazi quickly chimed in. He was also insanely jealous as he watched netizens discussing the salaries of Jackeylove and others.

Compared to last year, Jackeylove and his teammates have received higher salaries this year, with an overall increase of 50%. If Ran Chu hadn't targeted him, Gao Zhenning would probably still be playing jungle for IG, and his salary would have increased as well.

Instead of being stuck in RNG now, earning less than last year, and suffering a lot of resentment, he hasn't even been paid for three months.

If he were still with IG, he would be celebrating the championship with Jackeylove and the others right now.

It's all Chu Ran's fault!
He wasn't the only one; Doinb and Gao Tianliang were also cursing Chu Ran to die soon, since he had so much money but nowhere to spend it.

"My god, that guy really knows how to harvest fans and make a fortune. He even accused me of playing the card game in the live stream. People like that are really disgusting." Doinb said this in his own live stream.

Unsurprisingly, this immediately garnered widespread agreement.

[What do you mean by "harvesting fans"? Do you think he could possibly earn that much money streaming his professional gaming career? I suspect it's a joint publicity stunt with WSC to boost IG's popularity and make more money off fans!]

Indeed, I think so too; this is being discussed in all major competitions around the world.

Yes, not only the LPL was in an uproar, but other regions hadn't even recovered from Chu Ran's jungler championship victory when they received news that Chu Ran had acquired shares for a hefty sum, leaving them completely stunned!
Even Faker, who is currently recognized as the highest earner and has the highest net worth, cannot earn as much as Chu Ran.

Suddenly, many Koreans in the LCK region thought it was fake.

[Damn it, those LPL guys will stop at nothing to hurt us and help us win at MSI, even spreading rumors like this!]

Yes! The idea that making Easy a wealthy individual will put pressure on us and cause us to throw the game at MSI is wishful thinking on the part of that weak LPL region!

[How is that possible? Lee Sang-hyeok didn't even earn that much. Even if it was just a temporary payment, it would still be hundreds of millions of won. Absolutely impossible! Before, Easy's net worth could never have exceeded Lee Sang-hyeok's!]

Lee Sang-hyeok is a League of Legends god, worth 100 billion Korean won!! Before Easy invested in IG, how did he earn so much money? Is the salary cap set for him by the LPL really that high?

Regardless, these Koreans could not accept that Chu Ran, whom they considered their biggest rival, was so rich, even far surpassing Faker.

In terms of performance over the past two years, they have not been as good as LPL, but Faker has always been their pride. If Faker went to LPL, his annual salary would be at least 100 million, which is something that all Koreans are proud of.

that's it.

Why isn't Faker going yet!
Because LPL doesn't deserve a man like that!
But at this moment, what they were so proud of was ruthlessly shattered by Chu Ran, because the facts before them told them that Chu Ran was no longer on the same level as Faker.

While they were still discussing Faker's market value, Chu Ran was already being discussed for a different kind of value.

Although both are valuable, they are worlds apart.

One factor is how much salary each club can offer, and the other is his current net worth!
Upon hearing that Chu Ran had completely taken control of Panda and IG, the European and American regions were also in an uproar. They immediately sent a joint message to Forbes, asking them to estimate Chu Ran's current net worth.

But what I found out was shocking!
Suddenly, as night fell in China, a post appeared on Weibo, published by the official Forbes China account.

Each release sparks the curiosity of countless people.

This time, many people who hadn't fallen asleep immediately clicked on it, and after just one glance, countless people gasped in shock!
This Weibo post wasn't about anything else; it was about Chu Ran's current net worth. Omitting the specific industries he owns, the Forbes figure is—

Chu Ran, with a net worth of 145 billion RMB, ranks 1354th globally!
At this moment, the world was shaken!

(End of this chapter)