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

Chapter 271 Selling Spots and Exploiting Bugs!

"Jiang, my dear Jiang, I love you to death!"

"Dude, I guarantee you're the best marketer in the world."

"Oh God, why aren't you a girl? And even if you're not a girl, why did you have a girlfriend so early?"

On the other end of the phone, listening to the increasingly dangerous conversation between the G2 manager, Jiang Ming quickly interrupted his spellcasting.

"First of all, I just did what I was supposed to do. Choosing G2 was Stone's own choice and had absolutely nothing to do with TSM."

"Haha, I like what you said. Choosing G2 is the player's own choice."

"Welcome to Europe next time. I will definitely treat you well."

"I'll have to trouble you to take care of Stone for a while longer. I'll send someone to pick him up after the New Year—and also our new coach from G2."

Because TSM's captain, Gorilla, interfered midway through the transfer, causing everyone's focus to shift, Xu Jing, who was confirmed to be transferring to LGD after Xiao Shitou's transfer, did not generate much discussion since this was a transfer within the LPL's home region, except for some fans sending their blessings.

From the moment Jiang Ming expressed his pessimism about Xu Jing's prospects after transferring to LGD, it seemed as if fate was constantly foreshadowing something.

The original patriarch of the Optimistic Family, "Gadewei," has been recruited by Jiang Ming and trained in the youth training camp. Who knows, Xu Jing might accidentally become the first patriarch of the Optimistic Family in this timeline...

Just as Jiang Ming thought when he decided to send away most of the NXG team members, when NXG was first established, he was the biggest star in the team. The players who stayed in the team could only be his supporting roles and could hardly share many resources.

Of course, the departure of the players will not cause much loss to the club's fan base.

However, Xu Jing's limelight was stolen by Xiao Shitou for some unknown reason, while Pang Pang's attention remained just as high.

Fans waited and waited, until they read through NXG's fifth post, only to find that it was just a way to announce the list of players the club had brought in for the season.

Former PE support player Xika, former Royal Club support player Tabe, former Royal Club top laner Shenchao...

Wait a minute, where's my huge mascot?

No, it's about whether you stay or leave, JM, please let us know.

[What are you trying to do by bringing in two support players? What are you trying to do? You don't actually think that Royal Club's aging support player and PE's fat old silver coin can replace PangPang, do you?]

[Sika: ??? No, what did the fat guy do to deserve this?]

You can call me Fatty, or you can call me Old Silver Coin, but please don't add the word "dead" before it.

If you don't love someone, please don't hurt them!

One hour, two hours, three hours... NXG's official Weibo account seemed to have forgotten about Pang Ran, with no news whatsoever.

Some more rational fans said that no news is good news, which means Pang Pang is staying with the team.

Some fans who were deeply upset today directly demanded an explanation in their fan groups;

It's not right for the other four to have bright futures while one person is left to fend for themselves in a corner.

It's one thing to be a silent hero in the shadows of a game, but you can't be like that in real life.

JM, you've done so many bad things!

[Jiang dog, get out here!]

[Wow, is this what NXG's die-hard fan group is like? Each one is more unrecognizable than the last. I glanced at them, and they all have numbered "Super VIP" fan badges.]

【Hey, newbie, you'll get used to it.】

Wow, a handsome young man? He's my type, you're all not allowed to take him!

[Did you mistype, bro, or am I seeing things? I'm a guy, shouldn't you be saying "sister"?]

[Hehehe, you read that right! The first thing you'll learn when you join our NXG fan group is fencing!]

【Yameru!!!】

During my month here, I've witnessed firsthand how people address JM, from "Brother Ming" to "God Ming," and then to "Jiang Dog."

[We also encountered all sorts of bizarre species (serious face)]

[There's no way around it; the clubs and players I like are always pulling off these kinds of stunts, so it's probably normal for the fans to act a little abnormal.]

The commotion in the fan group did not affect Jiang Ming.

After all, this was a consensus he and Royal Club had reached from the very beginning.

Let the transfer saga build up for a while, then announce the loan deal closer to the end of the transfer window. This would give both clubs another chance to make headlines in the esports world.

He has more pressing matters to attend to – such as negotiating with Xiaomi representatives about the sale of his NXG club's LPL league slot.

Unfortunately, due to the circumstances, NXG inadvertently became too dominant in the professional esports field. When the LPL league only had eight slots available, their own club managed to secure three of them, forcing the event organizer, Riot Games, to revise the rules overnight, explicitly requiring that the same club cannot have more than two teams in the same top-tier league.

In plain terms, they've gone too far with their showing off! They've limited it to two now, but I bet they'll reduce it to one next year.

Therefore, the extra league spot should naturally be sold when the opportunity arises.

Fortunately, Jiang Ming, who was very familiar with the e-sports industry in his previous life, was no stranger to the core process of selling team slots.

After completing the transfer of his own player, he proactively submitted a written transfer application to the LPL officials, stating the reason for the transfer in the application as: "Violation of the club's ownership regulations for teams in the same top-tier league."

Yes, you heard right—in the LPL, the seller must first report to the league officials and submit an application before selling a slot.

However, the LPL officials did not deliberately make things difficult for Jiang Ming.

Putting aside his personal relationship with the person in charge, Lao Hu, the fact that the NXG team is currently extremely popular in China means that the league organizers need to use NXG to attract sponsors, so the review process is unexpectedly efficient.

After the team quota transfer application is approved, the second step is to find a buyer and negotiate specific contract terms.

This is actually the easiest for NXG.

It's not that they're looking for buyers, but rather that buyers are looking for them.

The reason is simple: after the S3 World Championship, the staggering number of viewers made investors vying for LPL entry into the league countless.

As far as Jiang Ming knows, the three clubs in the LPL league, PE, OMG, and Royal Club, have all introduced strong capital behind them, and the cooperation model may be joint investment or direct acquisition.

While it's the same as buying a spot, taking it from NXG also allows you to leverage the attention of the [S3 Champion Club], making this a sure-fire deal.

Who would refuse something that offers multiple benefits?

As for why they ultimately chose to make a deal with Xiaomi, the reason is quite obvious—

As the "cash king of Beijing," Xiaomi's offer is attractive enough!
With a clear goal in mind, we understand each other's reserve and each other's ill intentions.

The cooperation negotiations between the two parties are progressing at an incredibly rapid pace, and now only the signing process remains to be completed.

Of course, team transfer negotiations usually need to cover core terms such as transfer price, player ownership, and brand rights.

However, the buyer in this transaction is Xiaomi, which has its own brand and obviously does not need to continue using the "NXG" brand, so there is almost no need to negotiate the brand rights.

As for the players' destinations, Jiang Ming had already completed the transfer of all the players, selling them off cleanly. The only player who wasn't sold was signed and loaned to Royal Never Give Up. Now, all that's left is to finalize the transfer price. This simple negotiation framework naturally greatly improves the efficiency of the transaction.

Then there's Xiaomi, because the LPL officials ensured that the buyer met the league's requirements, and their assessment of the buyer's financial capabilities, management team, brand operation, and other qualifications was smooth sailing.

Before S5, the LPL had relatively lenient requirements for team qualifications. In addition, the investor was Lei Jun, a cash tycoon. If Xiaomi did not meet the requirements, then there were not many other clubs in the LPL that met the criteria.

……

When Jiang Ming signed his name on the team quota transfer document, the number of teams under NXG Esports Club was officially reduced from three to two.

The Xiaomi representative extended his hand first, his tone serious: "Happy to cooperate!"
Although the middle-aged man was already a senior executive in the company, while Jiang Ming was just a college student who had not yet graduated, he rationally showed him full respect in the face of this young man who was able to successfully pave a path in a brand new field and become a leader.

"It's a pleasure to cooperate with you!" Jiang Ming smiled brightly and reached out to shake hands with the other party.

Of course he was happy.

Ultimately, he transferred NXG's league slot to Xiaomi for a high price of 1200 million.

Some might think this number isn't impressive; compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars worth of seats 17 years from now, it's indeed insignificant.

However, the current esports market is still in its infancy.

It's worth noting that just a year ago, the number of LPL team slots was only a few hundred thousand. It wasn't until 2015 in the original timeline, with the gradual entry of capital, that the number of league slots soared to tens of millions.

"Selling league slots is really lucrative!"

After seeing off the Xiaomi team, Jiang Ming looked at the transfer documents in his hand and sighed softly.

He then laughed self-deprecatingly: "But while this money looks easy to make, it's incredibly difficult for others to replicate."

Based on the slots he just sold to Xiaomi, the total value of the team slots he holds has reached over 20 million yuan, not to mention the exceptionally talented players under his wing.

However, the reality is that most LPL clubs are "losing money to gain publicity," with very few actually making a profit, let alone earning slot fees by developing second teams to compete in promotion matches—this requires precise strategic vision, top-notch operational capabilities, and industry resources that are difficult for ordinary people to access.

Without a superior understanding of the game and a reserve of tactics, it is virtually impossible to continuously cultivate teams that rank among the top leagues.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up slightly—since he possessed this ability, why waste it?

Currently, Riot Games only restricts a club to having no more than two teams in the same top-tier league, but there are no restrictions on cross-regional expansion. This rule "loophole" is like a half-open door, waiting for them to be opened before the new rules are introduced.

"We need to hurry." Jiang Ming rubbed his chin, a confident smile playing on his lips. "Before Riot Games fixes this bug, we might still be able to make a big splash."

"Please call Shenchao and Xika to my office. I need to talk to them."

(End of this chapter)