League of Legends: Reborn in Season 3, Tuning the Entire League

Chapter 101 All-Stars! A Battle of Six Hundred Million!

Following their match against IG, NXG quickly entered two weeks of intense competition.

3 month 31 number.

The purple team faced off against LM. After Jiang Ming returned to the coaching bench, the five players completed the game in twenty minutes without any pressure. The only surprise for many people this time was that the support player Pang Ran's Thresh won the MVP.

Just when everyone thought NXG had revealed most of their strategies and other teams could quickly copy them, a single AD carry in the bot lane, with the support roaming with the jungler in the early game, completely silenced countless LPL teams.

4 month 1 number.

NXG has run into their old rival from the qualifiers, PE!

Because it was Monday, the attendance at the venue was very low. However, Jiang Ming, contrary to his usual behavior, appeared in the middle of the venue again.

The number of viewers watching the live stream skyrocketed, with many people even skipping work to secretly watch the game.

After Sika and his teammates silently gave each other the middle finger countless times, PE was once again completely crushed by NXG in 26 minutes.

4 month 2 number.

NXG ran into OMG, a team jokingly referred to by LPL players as the "dark force," a leader and his henchmen.

Many players have high expectations, believing that JM will return to the player's seat when facing OMG, who has a top-tier mid laner.

Jiang Ming, dressed in a suit, stood calmly behind the players, leisurely acting as his team's head coach.

As for the top mid-lane matchup that some people had been marketing online for a long time, it was quietly deleted from some unknown corner after OMG's main crystal was destroyed by NXG in 30 minutes.

OMG was able to drag the game out for 30 minutes not because their mid laner was particularly strong, but because gogoing was in top lane and made a breakthrough against Song Won. With the jungler frequently ganking them, NXG ended up facing a disastrous situation in the mid-game.

But it is precisely because of this that countless players have witnessed NXG's terrifying ability to handle disadvantageous situations.

Their defensive vision control is tricky, their carry is always looking for opportunities to develop, they will never engage in team fights if they can avoid it, and then OMG will take one resource, and NXG will always find another place to trade with you.

Despite being at a significant disadvantage in the top lane, NXG was not far behind in terms of overall economy. After several back-and-forth skirmishes in the mid-game, OMG's top laner's advantage was gradually caught up. Ultimately, NXG ambushed OMG's jungler, Youzi, with vision around Baron Nashor, securing the kill and completing the comeback.

Since then, NXG has achieved a six-game winning streak, and with a terrifying record of zero losses, they have strongly climbed to the top of the standings.

However, NXG fans at this stage are no longer in a hurry.

Since NXG's opponent on the next weekend is WE, JM will definitely be playing then.

There's no other reason; it's simply that Riot Games issued a special tournament announcement!
Riot:

"Hello, dear Summoners, we are very pleased to announce that the first League of Legends All-star Event will be held from May 24th to May 26th, 2013 at the Shanghai Grand Stage in China."

"This will be a grand event that brings together the world's top League of Legends players, with star teams from North America's LCS.NA, Europe's LCS.EU, China's LPL, Southeast Asia's GPL, and South Korea's OGN competing fiercely."

"Now, please allow me to explain the selection process and competition rules for this All-Star event!"

Shanghai All-Star Game!

In short, it's an international esports event co-organized by Riot Games, Tencent, and the Shanghai municipal government in order to further expand the influence of League of Legends in the Chinese region.

To make this All-Star event even more anticipated, Riot Games even provided the champion region with an extra spot to qualify for the S3 World Championship.

In terms of competition rewards, this is definitely a battle that requires a contest of the region's strength.

However, Riot Games has introduced a rather bizarre selection rule for participating teams from different regions: the players for this All-Star event will be chosen by players from each region through a vote.

You read that right, the players voted for it themselves.

The players with the most votes will form the All-Star teams for their respective regions and represent their regions in the competition.

Riot Games' original statement was: "We believe that this selection method will ensure that the most skilled and popular players from each region come together on the All-Star stage."

strength?

No, it should be popularity.

The incredibly popular WE team dominated the votes for every position with the support of their fans. However, due to Riot Games' rule that each team can only have a maximum of three players, the remaining two positions were moved to the top and support players of IG.

The obsessed LPL viewers believed in the so-called golden card. In order to push Ruofeng to the top, they forcibly separated Weixiao and Juanmao's bottom lane, which eventually led to the very twisted LPL All-Star team in the previous life.

On the other hand, OGN's five positions were arguably the strongest players available at the time.

Therefore, in order to compete for the mid-lane position, LPL viewers believe that JM must play in the match against WE, and he must defeat Ruofeng in a head-on confrontation.

Otherwise, given the obsessive nature of WE's fans, even if JM has popularity to back him up, they might just give him a championship mid-laner to make Ruofeng a forceful contender for All-Star status.

……

Jiang Ming will definitely fight for the All-Star spot, as it concerns a place in the S3 World Championship. Whether from the perspective of regional sentiment or personal development, he cannot allow LPL to repeat the same mistakes.

Many players are complaining that the domestic esports environment is not good, and the LPL has been growing wildly without any official attention.

That's actually wrong. The higher-ups have not only been paying attention to the LPL, but have also provided it with a lot of resources and many opportunities.

The first one was the S3 All-Star event in Shanghai, where Tencent directly secured the Shanghai Grand Stage, which can accommodate tens of thousands of people, as the competition venue. Can you say that the local government did not value it?

Then there's the Bird's Nest stadium where the S7 Korean civil war took place... and the Asian Games in Suzhou and Hangzhou with the theme of "Flowers in Full Bloom and the Moon at its Fullest"...

Imagine that the head of the sports department gives resources, venues, and support with high expectations, only to be met with defeat after defeat. How do you think the people in charge would feel?
It would be considered good-natured not to wipe out those damned LPL players.

It can only be said that the LPL missed one opportunity after another to receive greater support;

Therefore, he not only has to compete for it, but also has to secure the mid-lane position, and even the core position of the team, without any suspense.

Otherwise, why would he hook up with Wang Sicong, that loudmouth, after the match against IG?

"Having a competition alone is not enough; we also need to mobilize votes through other channels."

Jiang Ming was making plans in his mind when, unexpectedly, YY presented him with the opportunity that very day.

……

"Live stream for everyone?" As soon as he asked the question, Song Yuan immediately slapped himself.

Damn it, the contract we just signed seems to have clauses related to live streaming.

"Okay, Mu Xin, who is your team leader, will give you a brief live-streaming training session later. YY is still working on the promotional posters. Our live stream will start tonight."

Chen Muxin's job in the team is not just a simple team leader. After all, a team leader is just a support role, and NXG has not yet developed to the scale of e-sports clubs in later generations, so it is difficult to offer them an annual salary of tens or hundreds of thousands.

However, for a club, a person with excellent management and coordination skills, as well as the ability to handle various complex matters, is a must-have.

Jiang Ming then came up with a plan: to give the other party some temporary training assignments at the club, so that he could increase their salary and benefits.

One of NXG's core principles is: more work, more pay; excellent performance, excellent reward!

He wasn't treating the declaration hanging on the wall as a lie.

Therefore, for a recent college graduate, a first job with room and board included, plus a salary of over 4,000 yuan and five social insurances, is naturally considered a very nice and top-tier job.

As the club develops to the next stage, the team leader's role will also have room for growth, and Jiang Ming is confident that he can retain the talent.

Several players paused their games and queued up. Their club usually had a training session for everything they did, and everyone was used to it.

Xu Jing initially complained privately, but after talking to his older sister, who had just been admitted to university, on the phone and describing how he had been severely scolded for an entire afternoon, he became obedient. "Are you stupid? Or are you missing a screw? This is called self-improvement, don't you understand self-improvement?"

"You know how to look up strategies and practice hard to improve yourself when playing games, so why do you suddenly lose your mind when it comes to other things? Your club is cultivating the various abilities that you lost because you dropped out of school too early. I should be grateful to you. What company in the world hires employees and then provides them with free career development plans?"

Xu Jing has always admired his older sister who was admitted to Renmin University. Although he was often compared to her by relatives and friends when he went home for holidays every year, which made him very unhappy, it did not affect his admiration for her in private.

So from then on, Xu Jing, who was the most unconventional, became the one who took the training the most seriously among everyone.

"The setup for starting the broadcast and some parameter adjustments will be taught to you later." Chen Muxin had done her homework thoroughly, with two full pages of notes in her notebook, and key points were highlighted in red.

"Next, I will briefly talk about the precautions during the live broadcast: First, the content of the live broadcast must be standardized: abide by laws and regulations, respect the intellectual property rights of others, do not spread false information, and avoid harmful remarks."

"The first key point is to be especially careful not to make any inappropriate remarks!" Chen Muxin said seriously.

Jiang Ming emphasized in a short meeting last night that players' inappropriate remarks should be taken very seriously, and NXG does not need to attract fans with vulgar language and dirty jokes.

In the chaotic era of esports in Season 3, being quirky, using foul language, or making a few dirty jokes might get you to the top in a short time, but it's definitely not a long-term strategy.

The advantage of having several team members streaming is that they don't need to worry about popularity. With Jiang Ming and NXG behind them, they naturally have a level of attention that countless streamers envy.

Esports players are not the same as game streamers. For the former, all they need to do is keep winning, and the championships and honors they have are the best source of traffic.

Of course, if the contestants could be more humorous and witty, the audience would be even more willing to accept it.

Chen Muxin continued, "The second rule of e-sports professional player live streaming: fair competition, respect for opponents and teammates, and adherence to the game rules!"

"Under no circumstances should you maliciously exploit game bugs. You must not verbally abuse teammates, play passively, or even go AFK in the game. In serious cases, the club will terminate your employment immediately!"

"understand!"

Gulu!

Pang Ran, Song Yuan, and the others subconsciously replied that they had actually done things like AFKing and flaming others in the game before they became professional players.

Seeing that the team members understood, Chen Muxin continued, adding some details about maintaining the team's image during the live stream and some personal communication techniques.

"Oh, one last thing, remember to cover up your game IDs, and don't log into your personal social media accounts on your computer during the live stream. Use your mobile phone for any communication. Be mindful of your privacy."

The five people sat up straight and studied very seriously. For them, the boss had already made it clear in the contract that their monthly salary consisted of a base salary, bonuses, and live-streaming income. The training was about how much money they would make, and no one would turn down money, so of course they had to listen carefully to the training.

"Come help me out!"

Just as Chen Muxin and her teammates were discussing and asking questions about the live broadcast, Lin Jingyi's voice suddenly rang out at the entrance of the base.

Their manager, Lin, was seen pushing a large box, struggling to move it into the training room.

Upon seeing this, several young people rushed over in a flash.

"One is enough. The rest of you can go to the door and help Uncle Zhou."

Chen Muxin quickly stood up and helped Lin Jingyi up.

She complained to her junior classmate, with whom she had a good relationship, "It's such a big thing. You should have hired a temporary worker or called Xiao Song and the others to help you in advance. Aren't you afraid of hurting your back?"

"It's nothing, it's not a big deal. We should save on temporary workers and such, and there's no need to disturb the young people's normal training." Lin Jingyi wiped the sweat from her forehead.

The club's team leader duties are now handled by Chen Muxin. Apart from making financial and general policy decisions, she spends more time on business operations.

Therefore, she would not consider asking a few young people to do anything that would not disturb the team.

Chen Muxin: "..."

Well, it seems this is the driving force behind the entrepreneurial partnerships of those who started businesses with initial public offering (IPO) shares—I'm both envious and can't truly empathize with them.

Soon, several large boxes were moved into the training room, making the already small space even more cramped.

After the players came in, Lin Jingyi explained, "Inside are all kinds of snacks sent by our sponsors, and the box on the right is the e-sports peripherals that Logitech prepared for you."

"For today's team live stream, you guys need to replace all your e-sports peripherals first. As for snacks, consider them a perk of our team. If you get hungry before mealtime, you can help yourselves, but you can't eat snacks as meals."

"During tonight's live stream, the team will have a product-selling segment. The club's online consultant will create a link for each of you in your live stream. You will receive a percentage of the profits based on how many products you sell today!"

Just then, Jiang Ming walked in and comforted the young man, whose breathing had become noticeably heavier, saying, "Live streaming and product sales are extra work in your career path. They are indispensable if you want to earn a certain amount of money."

"But stay alert. The rewards from live streaming are not everything. Don't let small gains blind you."

"You need to understand why fans watch your streams and why they're willing to spend money on you—it's about results and honors! As a professional player, without these two things, everything else is just a mirage, understand?"

“I understand!”×5!

Jiang Ming smiled slightly, "Don't feel too much pressure. I will also be doing a live stream with you tonight to help drive traffic to your live stream. As for how much money you can make from selling products later, that depends entirely on your individual abilities."

"Oh, right, there's one more thing."

Unconsciously, Jiang Ming perfectly replicated his father's tone and added, "Don't forget to campaign for yourself at the All-Star event. Whether you succeed or not is another matter, but you can't have no popularity at all."

"Hehe, that's for sure."

"Ming-ge, don't worry, I will definitely work hard to garner votes and strive to go to the All-Star event with you to win glory for the country."

"Forget it, Lao Xu, you're the least hopeful one among us."

"Indeed, competing against someone like Smile is just too difficult..."

"Don't worry, brother. You can help us campaign for votes, and we'll work hard together for your share."

Amidst the chatter of his teammates, poor Xu, realizing the cruelty of reality, quietly shattered.

……

Despite being well-prepared, the fighting spirit of WE's fans still shocked the League of Legends esports community after the All-Star voting channel opened.

Top laners: WE Strawberry (10233 votes), IG-PDD (2444 votes), NXG-norsha (1433 votes), Royal Club-Shenchao (1299 votes)
Junglers: WE Nuoyan (10777 votes), NXG-stone (3222 votes), PE-Jinggege (2666 votes)
Mid laners: NXG-JM (17777 votes), WE Ruofeng (9996 votes), OMG-cool (2200 votes)
AD: WE Smile (16666 votes) NXG-sorry (4396 votes) Royal Club-UZI (3920 votes)
Support: WE Curly (11222 votes), NXG-door (5522 votes), IG-XiaoXiao (2322 votes)
(Attached is a screenshot of the voting results from that year; new players might not understand the sheer terror of 60E.)
Looking at the voting page, with four WE players at the top, LPL viewers were in an uproar.

【No way, did I vote with my feet?】

[Here's a joke: NXG, an LPL All-Star team with a 7-0 record, only had their mid-laner make the list.]

[Hey, be careful upstairs, you might get blown up! Riot Games has clearly stated that players will choose the players who have both popularity and skill.]

[I see the popularity, but what about the skill? What makes Strawberry, the top laner, stand ahead of PDD and Norsha?]

This is really absurd. I don't object to you saying that the AD carry position, WeiXiao, is far ahead and deserves first place, but the other positions are just ridiculous.

[For casual players who might not understand, the votes above only required changing one mid-laner to create the current WE team. By the way, WE is currently ranked fourth in the league. (There are only eight teams in the entire LPL.)]

[In fact, WE fans are even trying to bring down JM as well, which is ridiculous.]

I'm not a WE hater, but let's have a rational discussion. This concerns a spot in the S3 World Championship, so we should choose our strongest players for each position.

Brothers, hurry up and vote, let's secure the mid lane position first.

[(Picking nose) I'm not worried about JM making it to the All-Star game. You saw how everyone else is frantically campaigning for votes on Weibo, while JM hasn't even had a chance to vent her frustration.]

Countless eyes turned to Jiang Ming, wondering how he and his NXG planned to garner votes.

(End of this chapter)