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

Chapter 75 Young Master Wang: Not a buddy? (Seeking monthly votes)
The interaction with fans didn't actually take much time; it mainly consisted of taking photos together, answering fans' questions, and giving each other farewell gifts.

However, including today's preparation phase, the preseason games lasted from afternoon until evening, leaving the players somewhat fatigued.

Therefore, after arranging dinner, Jiang Mingzhi refused the five kids' request to go to a nearby internet cafe for training and herded them all back to their room like ducks.

Play hard during big exams, play a little during small exams, and don't play if there are no exams!
Jiang Ming has always believed in the principle that it is better to accumulate knowledge and experience in ordinary times than to burn incense at the last minute. He believes that the key to success lies in balancing work and rest.

Even if the game is over now, or if there's another game tomorrow, people should be resting now instead of pushing their bodies further and doing extra training. Results can't be achieved in a short time.

Even next season, when the team has more scrimmages to schedule, Jiang Ming will consider making some changes to the team's schedule.

Spending a lot of time training is fine, but it doesn't mean you have to reverse the day and night schedule. The current arrangement is just because it's hard to find a match in the daytime rank of the game these past two years.

For professional players, scrimmages are the best way to improve their skills.

Just as the NXG team, having secured their spot in the main tournament, returned to their hotel to rest, online discussions about the first day of the LPL preseason and NXG's perfect performance, dominating the competition and advancing with two wins, had only just begun.

"LOL forum!"

The pinned and featured post contains discussions about the LPL professional league.

#On the first day of the LPL professional season, what score would you give these new teams?#
#JM's self-funded esports team made its debut, crushing its opponents with large margins in two consecutive matches. What does this mean?#
#NXG, a super team that emerged alongside the LPL region during Season 3!#
#From team bases to player image management, from off-field regulations to rigorous training schedules, to seamless teamwork on the field, this is what esports looks like, as JM described it!#
[How would you rate it? I just want to say that of the four teams on the first day, apart from NXG, the others should probably head to the training camp as soon as possible.]

[Professional gaming isn't something you can just play with a high ranking. I used to think JM, a streamer, was just being sensationalist, but now it seems he was absolutely right.]

[We're all professional players, but NXG beats other teams as easily as top-tier players beat us.]

Be confident; what if we can get a couple more kills by mindlessly camping?

[Games end in an average of 20 minutes, with an economic lead of tens of thousands every game—forget NXG, call him Awesome Bro!]

[(Dog head) Shouldn't it be a cerebral blood vessel?]

No, no, no, I think a younger man/older woman relationship is better!

Wait, can you even drive on this awful road?

It felt like they were playing completely different games. Even though NXG wasn't at a significant disadvantage online, it inexplicably started to take the lead.

[They're not at a disadvantage in the laning phase at all. In the second game, Graves didn't get a single kill in the early game, but he was already ahead of half a major item in CS.]

[LOL is a team game. I used to envy others who could carry the whole team to victory with their individual skills, but JM's NXG team showed me what a true team is.]

[Yes, yes, NXG's five players played as a cohesive unit... completely different from the opposing team where everyone played individually.]

[Just watch the replays and you'll see. LGD and BLQG are at best teams with slightly better amateur players; they're always getting outnumbered by NXG. There's no comparison between the two.]

Thanks to Tencent's powerful marketing resources.

The LPL preseason is already generating a lot of buzz, with major esports forums filled with discussions about the first professional League of Legends league in China.

In Group A, NXG's performance, resembling an adult beating a child, undoubtedly became the focus of discussion.

Despite Jiang Ming's promotional efforts through live streams before the tournament and NXG's terrifying undefeated record in the qualifiers, NXG's reputation was still confined to a relatively small circle, and many players who didn't follow the tournament were unaware of it.

Even today, the match schedule is officially posted on the LOL game client and the TGA game platform. The conclusion of the first day of the LPL preseason match, along with the massive number of players who watched the match, has caused NXG's popularity in the LOL community to explode.

The reactions of most casual gamers upon seeing the push notification were similar: "Oh, the LPL match has started?"

"Two seasons have passed, and we've finally built up our own professional league."

"What? Where did this team of hunks come from?"

"NXG?"

"A streamer team..."

Whether they were paying attention intentionally or clicking on the match video link out of boredom in ranked games, without exception, after seeing the exaggerated score difference in the video recording, their impression of the NXG team was definitely much deeper than that of other teams at the same time.

The audience's psychology is also easy to understand.

When Jiang Ming first started recruiting professional esports team members in his live stream, many people just took it as a joke. They thought that Jiang Ming was making good money selling pancakes on his live stream, and starting a professional team was just a passing fancy, since playing professionally these days doesn't really make money.

As a result, the news that followed was more and more shocking than the last. The team not only rallied, but also achieved impressive results.

First, in a casual game, the jungler made a brief appearance alongside his teammate, and then advanced to the next round with a perfect record in the qualifiers.

YY platform live stream fans were completely stunned. Dude, are you serious?
Just as some people were still trying to convince themselves that the level of the qualifiers was uneven, a training schedule that appeared to be for the NXG team was cleverly leaked online.

The terrifying schedule coupled with the terrifying undefeated record seemed to corroborate itself, once again capturing the attention of LOL players. Of course, this was gradually raising the audience's expectations. If NXG performed poorly after the official start of the LPL, it would be like a pebble thrown into a pond; once the waves and ripples subsided, no one would pay attention anymore.

The result was that Jiang Ming successfully captured the attention by using team promotional photos, a coach in a suit, and his crushing victories in professional matches.

The LPL organizers, who had previously decided to invest in promotional resources, acted swiftly. After NXG's first game, they tested the waters and saw positive results, especially since NXG had advanced to the LPL main tournament with a perfect record. They immediately increased their promotional efforts.

We've finally found an esports club with a great image, outstanding skills, and official backing, so we have to treat it as a model and honor it.

Suddenly, a flood of articles praising the team appeared online, giving the impression that WE was the second best team in the Chinese server.

……

"Shouldn't we do something?"

Having followed Jiang Ming around for two or three months and gained considerable knowledge about esports, Lin Jingyi asked curiously.

"No need, the current level of popularity is high enough."

"Going any higher could easily lead to trouble."

"I don't understand why everyone is discussing... well, shouldn't our team be as famous as possible right now?"

"no!"

"Some traffic can be consumed, some cannot."

"Let's just quietly be handsome men."

Scrolling through the online forums filled with praise for NXG and himself, if Jiang Ming didn't know the era he lived in and the size of his base, he might have suspected that someone was trying to kill him with flattery.

Of course, the current situation is not much different.

The fact that his senior could ask such a question meant that she had already grasped the essence of e-sports. Jiang Ming, who wasn't very sleepy yet, simply sat down on the sofa in the hotel lobby.

"The fans in the esports circle are very interesting; they are a group of people who only care about results."

"How to say?"

"Don't be fooled by their current effusive praise. If we falter or underperform in subsequent LPL matches, those who were praising us the most will turn around and criticize us the harshest."

"By joining the LPL, we've already gained a lot of traffic. Now we just need to focus on improving ourselves and achieving the results and honors a competitive club needs." "Similar to the brand-building phase?"

"Yes, that's probably what it means."

"Blacksmith need its own hardware!"

Jiang Ming was very clear-headed.

It's definitely not time to pop the champagne yet.

Even when it's almost time, never start the game at halftime.

He didn't have any extra advantages to assist him, and even the first batch of members he recruited from the NXG club weren't particularly outstanding in terms of talent. The only thing he could rely on was his foresight and vision ahead of the times, so that he could take the lead in the marathon race that was destined to be leveled out over time.

Ultimately, NXG has only secured a spot in the LPL main tournament, becoming one of the eight teams that stood on the stage of the first LPL season.

It's not like we won the S3 World Championship and it's time to start thinking about turning applause and flowers into real money.

Operational tactics are not invincible. Even if there are no rivals within the region for the time being, what about outside the region?
If a group of talented monsters really get the chance, it's not impossible for them to get brutally beaten.

Fortunately, the S3 era was full of geniuses!
So let the outside winds blow as they may, and just focus on leading the team in intensified training to prepare for the upcoming main competition.

In esports, results are king!
No matter how high the traffic, without performance to back it up, you still have to reserve a spot at the Shockwave booth. WE's experience after this year is the best lesson to learn.

In reality, for Jiang Ming himself...

With various instructional videos uploaded to the entire league since last year, as long as the club's management and its future staff don't do anything reckless, countless league players will be willing to pay for the nostalgia of themselves and the teams under the NXG club.

Like a get-out-of-jail-free card, as long as the fundamentals remain sound, NXG's future prospects will definitely be bright.

Where is our team's merchandise store?

After a long silence, having roughly digested what Jiang Ming had said, Lin Jingyi thought of another matter that urgently needed Jiang Ming, her boss, to consider.

"It's foreseeable that our club's investment will increase significantly in the near future. Although the sales of various products in the online store are currently good, they are ultimately too limited..."

"So here we are, working on it." Jiang Ming waved the keychain in his hand.

Lin Jingyi could hardly believe her eyes: "Ah... this is all they sell?"

"Of course, it's not just small things like keychains."

"In the future, we can sell all kinds of computer accessories, mice and keyboards, digital peripherals, gaming desks and chairs, and even related toys and accessories."

“We can broaden our thinking a bit more, from middlemen to OEM sales, or even NXG’s own factories.”

"Don't underestimate the spending power of esports fans."

"Let's change our mindset. Now we're like live streamers who specialize in selling products online, and NXG is like a lucky cat that can continuously provide me with exposure and traffic."

"As long as this cat is around, it won't be difficult for you to sell things yourself or help others advertise."

"The only thing we need to consider is why this segment of the audience absolutely needs you!"

It was as if a special door had been opened for Lin Jingyi.

"I think I understand now..."

No wonder Jiang Ming deliberately created a "chance encounter" with fans in the staff passage after the competition ended!
Compared to the passive attention that comes to the internet right now, the fans who actively seek out fans tonight are the real treasures.

The logic is actually not complicated. The monetization of esports traffic is essentially just a well-known intermediary that connects directly to manufacturers, nothing more.

Players and clubs constantly compete and generate various media buzz, all in an effort to gain fame.

However, compared to other industries, the reputation and performance of athletes are always the foundation!

……

However, sometimes plans don't keep up with changes.

Jiang Ming, who believed that the hype had reached a certain level and no further fuel was needed, chose to keep everyone silent and avoid getting caught up in the online praise. Little did he know that the LPL preseason matches between Group B and Group C would deliver a deep blow to his back.

January 30th, at the same Huanwei Multimedia Valley Arena.

The first match of LPL preseason Group B.

IG vs PE!

As the famous "national husband" Wang Gongzi founded the team, IG was actually established very early.

Contrary to the traditional impression that IG has always been a runner-up for WE, iG had already defeated WE to win the championship in the WCG 2011 China Finals.

Last year, they also represented the Chinese region in S2, but they encountered an even more formidable M5 in the finals, which is why they were eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Therefore, from this perspective, IG, like WE, is undoubtedly a powerhouse among professional esports teams in the Chinese server.

When a veteran powerhouse faces off against a team that came up through the qualifiers, the outcome is predictable.

However, the first match in Group B surprised countless viewers, both at the venue and in the live broadcast room.

It wasn't a comeback, it wasn't an upset.

In the 34-minute match, PE, who picked out heroes specifically for the top and mid lanes, not only withstood the laning pressure from PDD and Zz1tai in the top lane, but also had Nami and Sika in the bottom lane, who outperformed Kid, one of IG's twin stars, and even forced XiaoXiao's Sona to miss his ultimate at level 6 once again.

In the subsequent team fights, PE was clearly superior to IG in terms of overall coordination and vision control.

"Ah, Baron Nashor was taken by PE, and now IG only has their bot lane duo left. I feel like they can't hold on."

"Pushing the base, PE knows very well that if they push the base, they will win."

"Congratulations to PE..."

PE outperformed IG in the preseason, sending them to the waiting area.

IG lost!

Countless veteran players who have watched IG and WE compete since Season 2 are dumbfounded.

Not IG, are you guys playing with fire? You can lose to a weak team in the preseason?

While some viewers who watched the live stream initially found it hard to accept IG's unexpected drop into the waiting area, a post by IG's owner on Weibo completely ignited the discussion.

Wang Gongzi @NXG Esports-JM: "Dude, how did you guys win against such a strong PE team?"

(End of this chapter)