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

Chapter 292 A Huge Earthquake Over a Multi-Million Dollar Contract: A Brand New Version You've Never Seen Before!

Huya's move was incredibly swift, or rather, the meticulously crafted promotional plan had been brewing in the background for a while, just waiting for the contract with Jiang Ming and NXG to dry up before launching a full-scale online blitz.

On the night the contract was signed, it was like a bolt from the blue!
#Huya renews contract with its top streamer for tens of millions of dollars!#
#The highest-paid streamer in esports, marking the official entry of the streaming world into the multi-million dollar era.#
The related terms skyrocketed, instantly igniting the trending topics list and forcefully breaking into the top five!
After a brief period of fermentation, the incident quickly attracted a crowd of onlookers.

[What the heck? A multi-million dollar contract for a game streamer?]

[What is this show? Ten million a year? Are they making heroin or hand-crafting atomic bombs?]

Honestly, even the live-streaming of creating a sex doll on Douyu (a Chinese live-streaming platform) isn't worth this price, right? (doge)

[Pfft, the guy upstairs is spot on. The teachers next door, who've only ever earned a meager living their whole lives, have something to say.]

Wow, JM is that amazing? If I remember correctly, he trended on social media last year because his esports team signed a million-dollar sponsorship deal in a single day.

[Hey, you know what, I checked Huya's announcement, and they've also signed other regular players from the NXG club for streaming, the team's deal is worth nearly ten million.]

[My goodness, this is outrageous! One person is worth an entire club.]

[What a joke! Don't you guys see how popular JM and his NXG have become this year? The viewership of the S3 World Championship even surpassed that of the NBA Finals!]

The internet is flooded with discussions about Huya's record-breaking signing of JM, a mix of shock and disbelief.
Clearly, Huya's first move after its reorganization has been a resounding success!

However, the publicity storm is far from over.

Meanwhile, after witnessing Jiang Ming and his NXG's various marketing tactics that dominated the online trending topics last year, the young operational geniuses under Huya secretly learned a few tricks and continued to fuel their hype.

Almost simultaneously, after the money spent on buying trending topics was poured in, a storm of advertorials swept the internet. A large number of bloggers who had taken advantage of Huya Yuanzi "coincidentally" and "accidentally" started posting articles late at night to discuss the current state of the e-sports industry and the ecosystem of the live streaming market. Then they produced various so-called popular science videos, pushing out their "in-depth analysis" and "industry outlook" on e-sports at precise moments.

The S3 World Championship was a huge success, and esports has become synonymous with Generation Z.
#The Legend of a Game Streamer, Video Blogger, and a Sophomore in College!#
#Professional player, LOL tutorial video creator, the "Confucius of esports" in the eyes of gamers.#
#A young millionaire still in college?#
These bloggers are all shrewd. They never mention "Huya signing JM" in their posts, leaving no trace in their updates and content, yet their promotional effect is precise and effective.

Once you click on one of the push notifications, a barrage of information will follow, guaranteeing that you'll instantly transform from a casual esports player into a curious onlooker marveling at "how Jiang Ming went from an ordinary college student to a multi-millionaire."

Once curiosity is ignited, attention and understanding will naturally follow.

Huya took the lead, and other business partners with no direct competition also tacitly added fuel to the fire.

The LPL official esports organization has quietly opened a forum discussion area, pinning and highlighting relevant topics, providing a "one-stop" service.

Since the salary storm was caused by JM, how can we let the streamers' "contracts" be the only thing to shine in the outside world, while the champion players in the professional circle become the spur of this huge wave?

First, LPL announced that NXG's top and mid laners had officially transferred to North American powerhouse C9 with an astonishing million-dollar annual salary. Before the public could even react, the huge loan contract between support star Pang Ran and Royal Club, which broke historical records and shattered the ceiling for the support position's value, followed immediately, instantly pushing the online discussion, which had shown signs of cooling down, to a new peak.

Just when everyone thought the earthquake was about to subside, Kaka, who is well-versed in traffic and known for his "antics," entered the online battlefield with his signature wild style and signed a super contract with Xiaoshitou, which included a sky-high signing fee and attractive performance incentives, completely igniting the flames of the S4 season e-sports circle!

For a time, the e-sports circle seemed to be in the center of one "nuclear explosion" after another;
The news kept coming in waves, and the shockwaves it generated not only shook the entire industry but also crashed into the cognitive barriers of outsiders with tremendous force, leaving countless onlookers stunned and their worldviews on the verge of collapse.

What the hell? Millions and tens of millions are spent on games all the time? Is this still the same internet-addicted youth circle that everyone hates? Where did I come from?

Among them, Xiaomi's actions have generated the most buzz.

#New Era, Embracing Young Users: Xiaomi Acquires LPL League Slot from NXG Club for 90 Million Yuan, Officially Entering the Esports World.#
It's worth noting that although Xiaomi's previous generations of phones were heavily priced for tech enthusiasts, their incredibly affordable prices still won over countless young users in a short period of time.

The statement is: "It's not that we can't afford an Apple phone that costs seven or eight thousand, but that a Xiaomi phone that costs a few hundred or a thousand is more cost-effective."

This has won him countless opportunities in the low-to-mid-range mobile phone market. With such a large user base, and young people being a group that highly overlaps with esports, the news of Xiaomi entering the professional League of Legends scene has naturally caused another huge uproar.

Good heavens, we were too narrow-minded. Now he's not a multi-millionaire, but a college student in his early twenties who's a billionaire?

They didn't inherit family wealth; they built their own fortune from scratch.

It was precisely because of this online trend that Jiang Ming's account, which had already reached its peak on YY, experienced another surge in followers on the first day after he moved to Huya.

The live stream, scheduled for the weekend, is well-known to countless people.

Whether it was anticipation or curiosity from passersby and peers about a streamer with tens of millions of views, Jiang Ming's live stream room had already received an incredibly high amount of traffic even before it started.

……

As the champion team of the region, Jiang Ming and NXG should have started a live broadcast immediately, led the players in some interactive activities with fans, and continued to consolidate the team's popularity.

On the one hand, there's the bizarre tournament format left over from the early days of the LPL. After the World Championship, players still need to prepare for the playoffs, leaving them exhausted and with little time to focus on live streaming.

Secondly, Jiang Ming decided to postpone the live stream because the entire NXG team, including Pang Ran who was on loan, would be leaving the team in Season 4 after winning the championship. He worried that a sudden live stream might backfire due to fans' difficulty in accepting it.

Of course, the main reason was the negotiations with the Huya platform: the platform was busy with restructuring at the time, and the two sides failed to reach an agreement on the price immediately.

In comparison, factors such as the official plan to use them as lucky charms for the new season are only secondary reasons.

Now, the transfer of all NXG players is a done deal. After the New Year's buffer period, coupled with the recent shocking reports online about the sky-high transfer fees and million-dollar salaries of the players, what was originally seen as a "bad thing" by fans has changed its perspective and has been portrayed as a selfless act in the "great" case of JM.

The potential negative publicity surrounding the live stream was successfully avoided, while the influx of esports capital and the exorbitant contracts offered to streamers continued to drive viewership and buzz. Choosing to start the live stream this weekend was perfectly timed.

Saturday night at 7 PM is prime time for game streaming.

"JM's first live stream of the new season, this is a completely new version that I've never experienced before."

Two days in advance, the most prominent banner on the homepage of the Huya platform had already been displayed announcing Jiang Ming's live stream.

Players can simply click on the banner to jump directly into Jiang Ming's live stream room number 120021.

"Use your brain to play games, and ranking up will be easy!" "Hello everyone, this is JM—Amin's Little Classroom: New Heroes, New Understandings!"

"Long time no see! Did you all miss me?!"

Connect to the live stream and click "Start Streaming".

Facing the flood of viewers pouring into the live stream, Jiang Ming sat in his gaming chair and greeted his fans with his signature opening line.

【Oh no! Oh no!】

[Missing Persons Return Series]

[Knock knock knock, so you still remember you have a streaming account? Count how many days you've been absent since that Riot stream incident.]

[I suggest Huya check if that bastard Hajiming owes any streaming minutes before signing a new contract, and deduct a small amount from his paycheck.]

[Missing you? Denying it probably means they haven't even had that multi-million dollar livestream contract and have forgotten about their old viewers.]

[Sigh, back when she was starting from scratch, they called her "sweetie," but now that she has a club and is making big money, the newcomers have replaced the old ones, so they call her "old hag."]

[Lao Jiang, you've changed. Look, you won't even put a box of pork floss cakes on your gaming desk and then add an advertisement.]

"Today's recommendation is our best-selling item—Youchen Pork Floss Pastry! Made with premium pork floss, the pastry boasts a whopping 128 layers! Click the link below to purchase a three-pack and enjoy a 20% discount!"

[The CEO of Youchen, who was lurking in the live stream, silently gave it a thumbs up.]

"Hey, that's nonsense. How could I forget my family?" Jiang Ming cried out, "I'm busy with player transfers, finding a new base, and various business negotiations for the new season. I've had several meetings just on the LPL's new season format reform. I'm just too busy to be in two places at once."

"Look, I just took some time out of my busy schedule and came here to do a live stream for you all."

"There aren't many streamers as dedicated as me on the entire internet."

The players were not easily fooled by Jiang Ming's explanation.

I won't listen to this bastard's chanting.

[You owe us hundreds of hours of live streaming. You have ten days to finish them. Here's the deal: you'll get a few hours of rest each day, and the rest of the time you'll make up for it by working on your computer.]

[Oh ho, LPL format reform? Let me explain in detail.]

[Putting everything else aside, Laoming, please give us a new hero guide! I've been getting wrecked by Yasuo in ranked games lately, and without your new hero guide, I can't even enjoy my meals.]

"Haha, yes, yes."

Jiang Ming agreed while expressing his gratitude to the generous donors who were sending gifts in the live stream chat.

"Thanks to Lost Royal Knight for the rocket... Thanks to the Great God for the rocket... Thanks to Brother Wei who loves reading for the ninety-nine roses..."

As a pillar of the platform, Jiang Ming's live stream was immediately promoted by Huya with various live stream pushes. Without the need for interaction among the platform's streamers to send gifts, his own die-hard fans had already achieved the feat of dominating the gift screen.

Those small streamers trying to ride the wave of popularity, professional players coming to "pay their respects," and even other club leaders who took the initiative to show goodwill had their gift messages drowned out in the background.

These people showed no dissatisfaction whatsoever that Jiang Ming was slow to read out their IDs.

Their reason for bringing gifts was simple: Jiang Ming's commercial value now extends beyond just himself; he represents the entire League of Legends community and even the domestic esports scene.

If someone surpasses others by one or two steps, they might be envied and targeted by others.

But when you've surged ahead and are dozens or even hundreds of steps ahead of others, those who are openly your competitors will actually come forward to befriend you.

Jiang Ming is in this situation now. The higher his personal commercial value in the e-sports circle, the stronger the positive impact he can have on the entire circle.

"Alright, alright, everyone has given enough gifts! Please forgive any generous donors who I didn't read or missed." After a Versailles-style speech, Jiang Ming officially got to today's topic.

Looking at the questions scrolling across the screen, Jiang Ming answered them one by one.

"LPL format reform? Let me send a message to the official team to ask. If we can chat, I'll share the results later."

"New hero explanation? We'll do it today! Forget about the 'troll' stuff... I guarantee you'll fall in love with this 'happy wind man'—cough cough, I mean the Unforgiven."

"The championship skins? They were already finalized during a Riot livestream before the Lunar New Year: Top lane Nasus, Jungle Aatrox, Mid lane Master Yi and Lissandra, AD Vayne, and Support Thresh. Hehe, there's an extra surprise, but I'll keep you in suspense for now. You'll all know when Riot finishes making the skins in March or April."

Unlike other streamers, Jiang Ming's live streams dedicate far more time to interactive Q&A sessions than to the battles in Summoner's Rift.

Rather than drooling over the world's top player's crazy domination in high-level matches, viewers are more eager to learn real skills that can actually improve their rank—after all, when facing the "Confucius of esports," people come to "seek virtue" and learn the way to climb the ranks, not to imitate his "virtuous conduct."

"As usual, let's talk about the version changes first in the new season."

Jiang Ming set the tone and immediately opened the client and Riot Games' version announcements since Season 4.

"First, there's the assassin nerf that everyone is generally aware of. Apart from LeBlanc and Fizz, other champions like Zed and Talon are no longer suitable for low-skill players to climb the ranks. Note that it's not that they can't be played, but these are the more mechanically demanding champions that require a lot of practice to achieve good results in matches."

"Mid lane recommendations are mostly farming mages now, such as Ziggs, Orianna, and Lulu. If you like to play aggressively and lane well, choose Syndra."

"Of course there are heroes that counter farming champions. For example, Yasuo, whom we're going to talk about today, is one of the best... You have to believe me, he's definitely not some kind of 'baby' champion. Hehehe, haven't you heard the saying that there are no useless champions, only useless summoners?"

(End of this chapter)