LOL: Can’t I play other games professionally?

Chapter 370 Go Newcomer King Tournament? I want to go to the world championship!

With the thought of a 20-day holiday ahead, Lin Ruoli, after calculating his income, began to think about the future. He needed to go out and broaden his horizons.

However, after thinking about it, Lin Ruo realized that in some ways he was actually more of a homebody; running around everywhere was never as comfortable as staying quietly at home.

Alright, let's get started.

Lin Ruo sat down and started the live stream as usual, first sharing the sales figures with his lovely viewers and amusing his loyal fans.

I then turned on my phone screen protector and switched to PUBG Mobile. However, PUBG Mobile: Army Attack, another battle royale mobile game, hasn't been doing so well lately, and its activity level is nowhere near as high as that of PUBG Mobile.

In short, they were completely crushed.

Clearly, after nearly a month of competition, the two battle royale mobile games have determined a clear winner.

At least for now, regardless of its reputation, PUBG Mobile, produced by Lightspeed & Quantum Studios, is indeed a leader in the battle royale mobile game market.

This is clearly the kind of healthy competition that Fujii wanted to see, allowing them to focus on increasing support for better projects.

Lin Ruo's switch to PUBG Mobile wasn't because TiMi Studio's "PUBG Mobile: All-Out Attack" was doomed. In fact, from his perspective, the difference between the two games was obvious.

The game "PUBG Mobile: Army Attack" was indeed lacking in quality, with poor character animations, graphics, and optimization. Its poor initial reputation led to its rapid decline, as it was completely unable to compete with the game "PUBG Mobile: Stimulating Battlefield" developed by Lightspeed & Quantum Studios.

So what's the point of TiMi regaining its reputation and quality later?
This is what Lin Ruo finds most hilarious: the initial quality was so poor that it was practically oozing pus, which attracted most of the traffic to PUBG Mobile. Later, the game's quality was improved, and it even surpassed PUBG Mobile in terms of quality.

However, at this point, the number of players in PUBG Mobile was already four times that of PUBG Mobile: Army Attack, and relying solely on quality was clearly not enough to recover the lost traffic.

Most people are already used to PUBG Mobile, and the chances of suddenly getting a full-scale attack due to a quality upgrade are extremely slim.

This is the same principle as mending the fence after the sheep are lost. No matter how much milk you give after the child is gone, it's useless. The only fate of facing a full-scale attack is defeat.

Lin Ruo's reason for switching sides was simple: he had already completed the full-scale attack and had no more enemies, so naturally he wanted to go to the PUBG Mobile game for some fun.

But actually, it doesn't matter which game he plays, he can't do without crushing newbies, otherwise he'd be letting down his reputation as a master of deep blue skill points.

As usual, I started with a gun and before I knew it, I had wiped out the entire map.

Just as I was getting into the game, a phone call accidentally cut off the signal. Sure enough, playing a game with a screen protector is easily affected by external interference.

Lin Ruo originally intended to hang up, but upon seeing that the caller was neither Wei Shen nor Lu Benwei, but Tian Bin, the team leader who had taken him to the National Games, he politely answered the phone.

"Would you like to come to the chess academy tomorrow? Sure."

Lin Ruo hung up the phone after a few words and immediately plunged into the fierce battle. It has to be said that the opposing gunman was rather bad; he had been hiding behind cover for almost half a minute without being able to kill him.

Could it be that Da Sima logged in from another location? It's hard to say, but I feel like he's a bit more skilled than Da Sima.

At least they know to find a battlefield and won't wander aimlessly in the wilderness and end up dying inexplicably in the poison circle.

Continuing her PUBG journey, Lin Ruo, who was streaming intensely during the day, ended her broadcast before midnight as usual. After such a fierce day, she definitely needed to get more sleep at night.

...

The next morning at eight o'clock, Lin Ruo, who goes to bed early and gets up early, got up, washed her face and brushed her teeth, went to the office and found that Abu had not gotten up yet. She made a series of harassing phone calls, and after telling him that she had something to do and was going out, she left the club and prepared to take a taxi to the Shanghai Chess Academy.

Before that, Lin Ruo ate some breakfast near the club to fill her stomach, and then took a taxi to catch up on some sleep.

Although he went to bed early, there was no way around it; human laziness is always top-notch, and sleepiness was always a constant companion.

And how does this predicament arise? Naturally, it comes from playing on your phone.

While scrolling through Weibo to catch up on current events, Lin Ruo inexplicably stumbled upon her own gossip, leaving her completely bewildered and confused.

No, he trended on social media the moment he ate breakfast?

Curious, Lin Ruo clicked to browse and found news about this year's Go Rookie King Tournament.

The Rookie King Tournament, hosted by the Chinese Chess Academy, the Shanghai Chess Academy, and Shanghai Jianqiao University, is, as the name suggests, a test for newcomers who have distinguished themselves in the professional ranking and professional tournaments.

The eligibility criteria are very lenient; as long as you are young and capable, you can participate. Any male professional Go player aged 18 or under and female professional Go player under 20 years old who is registered with the Chinese Go Association and whose ranking is among the top 32 is eligible to register.

Lin Ruo is very young, but unfortunately he lacks ability.

It's not about skill level, but rather rating level. Lin Ruo, who has already achieved professional ranking, hasn't participated in any professional tournaments in the past six months. Even if he has a rating, it's very low, and he can't even get into the top 32 to qualify for the tournament.

In other words, Lin Ruo is not qualified to participate.

The news trending on social media praises this year's rookie tournament for its gathering of top players, including talented individuals like Wu Yiming and Zhou Hongyu who successfully advanced to the professional ranks last year and the year before and have performed exceptionally well in professional competitions.

After a long and detailed explanation, the main topic is finally brought up at the very end: Will Lin Ruo, who won all his matches in last year's ranking competition, participate in this year's Rookie King competition?
In the view of these media outlets, the rating is actually irrelevant, since they can all receive a special invitation from the Shanghai Chess Association to participate in the National Games. As one of the organizers, it is not unreasonable for them to open a back door for them to participate in the Rookie King Tournament.

In terms of strength, no one would dare to look down on Lin Ruo. At the same time, it can also increase attention and the competitive level of the competition, which seems like a win-win situation.

That's what they said, but the media concluded that Lin Ruo would still be playing in the LPL Spring Split, thus ruling out the possibility of him participating in the rookie tournament.

In conclusion, this is purely riding the wave of popularity!
...

Lin Ruo, taking it as a joke, didn't think much of it. He got off the bus at the entrance of the chess academy, paid the fare, walked into the lobby, greeted the receptionist, and, having been there before and knowing the way, declined to lead the way. He walked alone through the bamboo forest corridor into the interior.

Inside the chess academy, besides the offices, the most numerous rooms are the game rooms. It's not even 9 a.m., and many young aspiring professional players are already there, vying to place their pieces and hone their skills.

Yes, just like how he gets up at 8 a.m. every day to do his live stream, we are all hardworking and good kids.

As Lin Ruo walked past the entrance of the game room, she instantly attracted the eager gazes of many aspiring young players.

The quiet interior space inevitably became noisy the moment Lin Ruo left her sight.

"Is he Lin Ruo? The one who qualified for the next rank with a perfect record last year?"

"A perfect record in professional rankings is nothing compared to beating a professional player at the National Games. That player is a professional player now."

"He is indeed a professional League of Legends player, but as for Go, he has not participated in the top or second-tier professional leagues, so don't make unfounded accusations."

"So what's he doing here today? Is he really going to participate in the Rookie King competition? Is he no longer playing in the LPL league?"

"Whether they play or not, it's all the same. The other team has already secured first place. It's normal for them to take some time to relax and find a Go competition."

"What a pervert! This kind of person plays Go tournaments just for fun?"

From the office directly opposite, hearing the sparse whispers outside, Tian Bin knew that the person in question had arrived, and he took the initiative to open the door to greet Lin Ruo.

Feeling somewhat flattered, Lin Ruo greeted the team leader after a long time apart, and the two sat in the office, sipping tea and exchanging pleasantries.

After exchanging only a few words, Tian Bin cut to the chase: "Zhang Ruo told me you have a 20-day vacation coming up. That's perfect. Shall I recommend you to participate in the competition?"

Lin Ruo nodded, then unconsciously shook her head.

Lin Ruo nodded because Zhang Ruo was right. She knew Zhang Ruo was a blabbermouth; they had only chatted briefly and said she wouldn't play in the regular season, but that very night she spread the word to the chess academy.

The reason he shook his head was that he didn't want to participate in the Rookie King Competition, and he didn't want to at all.

Lin Ruo was already tired of bullying all the contestants who were under the age of eighteen.

The ranking tournaments bully children, the professional ranking tournaments bully teenagers, and the National Games also bully young people. Lin Ruo now gets a headache whenever he sees minors; beating them is not only meaningless, but also incredibly easy.

“Participating in the Rookie King Tournament is a rare opportunity to shine. Although you are not a professional Go player, if you really want to continue playing Go, you should still go to the Rookie King Tournament.”

Tian Bin stared at Lin Ruo, guessing what Lin Ruo was thinking, and wrinkled his nose as he spoke.

Lin Ruo nodded and said calmly, "Team leader, I want to directly advance to professional rank nine."

Upon hearing this, Tian Bin's expression was quite varied, and he asked incredulously, "You really have this idea?"

To reach the ninth dan, one needs to compete and earn points. Could it be that Lin Ruo has decided to change careers? Wait…

Tian Bin carefully considered what he had just said, then asked, "What do you mean by 'directly'?"

"You mean instant success? Didn't you guys say before that winning the world championship would get you promoted to 9th dan?" Lin Ruo said with a smile.

He really enjoys the feeling of instant success, so he'd rather skip this kind of rookie competition.

He's a man destined to win the world championship; what's the point of playing chess with kids and winning the rookie championship?

Besides, Lin Ruo doesn't think he needs any opportunity to stand out now; there's really no Go player in the world who doesn't know him.

There's no way around it; the internet's influence is just that enormous.

"Young man, don't be so hot-blooded," Tian Bin patiently advised.

He said it as a joke at the time, and he never expected that people would take it seriously. Although he admitted that Lin Ruo's talent was indeed unique, it was too arrogant for him to want to participate in the world competition and challenge professional players of the eighth or ninth dan.

Lin Ruo then countered, "Team leader, can you call yourself a young person if you're not impetuous?"

Having nothing to say, Tian Bin quickly changed his tune and continued to persuade him kindly: "Listen to me, the Rookie King Tournament is only five days long, and there are quite a few professional players of the sixth dan level in it. Going there will definitely be a challenge."

Professional 6-dan?

Lin Ruo thought he was being joked about. If a professional 6-dan player could be considered the big boss of the rookie tournament, then sorry, when he went to participate in the World Championship, every game in the qualifiers was a life-or-death battle.

Seeing through Lin Ruo's thoughts, Tian Bin couldn't help but cough, and the office suddenly became very quiet.

"Team leader, are there any world championships that I can participate in without needing points? Or do you have any connections you can use to recommend me to participate?" Lin Ruo asked bluntly.

It would be even better if it ended in 20 days, but the fact is that it's obviously useless.

World Go tournaments have very long cycles, ranging from three to five months to a year and a half.

It's common for teams to finish the semifinals this year and then play the finals next year, or for them to finish the first set today and then play the second set next month.

Lin Ruo didn't know if this was a good thing for him; maybe it was.

Unlike league matches that last for months at a time, during which multitasking is impossible, unless you've already qualified from the group stage...

In addition, world Go tournaments have their own selection systems; you can't just participate if you're a so-called professional player.

Without rating points and corresponding rankings, there's no chance of even seeing the world championships in person.

Lin Ruo is undoubtedly this type of person. He will not play in the professional league, so he is destined to never have a ranking or rating.

World Championships are out of the question, and the only way to change the situation is to get an invitation from the organizers or a recommendation from a top-level chess association.

After listening, Tian Bin sighed and said with a worried look, "Why are you so stubborn? You're going to participate in a world competition that you're not qualified for. What if you end up breaking your Dao Heart?"

Lin Ruo has never encountered an opponent since he started playing chess, which he thinks makes it too easy for him to lose his composure.

"Don't worry, I won't let my opponent's Dao heart be shattered." Lin Ruo chose to answer a different question.

Looking at that amiable face, Tian Bin was filled with unprecedented confusion. He was clearly putting on an act, so why was he acting so calmly...?

I don't know.

...

"Hey, what's up?" Lin Ruo had just stepped out of the chess academy when he received a call from the big boss's daughter.

Yes, without a doubt it belongs to Zhang Ruo. If it weren't for her family's wealth, Lin Ruo would definitely have come to question her, even though he still doesn't know which big shot's daughter Zhang Ruo is.

"Are you coming to the BJ Chess Academy? There are many top players in the Rookie King Tournament. After the 20-day holiday, we can travel around and have fun."

Lin Ruo nodded but didn't respond, waiting for the other person on the phone to finish speaking in one breath.

The one who spoke next was Wu Yiming, still that proud and stubborn girl who didn't like to admit defeat.

"Lin Ruo, are you coming or not? I've been studying hard for three months, and I'm sure I'll beat you this time. I even won my debut match in the second division of the Chinese Weiqi League the day before yesterday."

"Sorry, I don't play Go with kids. I'm going to participate in the Mengbaihe Cup in a few days. Good luck to you rookie players."

Lin Ruo ended the conversation with a single sentence, leaving the person on the other end of the phone speechless with shock.

They're going to participate in the rookie competition, while he's going to participate in the world championship. The difference in their levels is obvious.

A complete victory!

As expected, Wu Yiming on the other end of the phone lost his confidence, even though he was still very arrogant: "Lin Ruo, you'll lose badly if you're too ambitious. Why don't you just come and participate in the rookie competition?"

"Oh no, I don't have time to go pro, so I can only try to win the world championship and advance to the ninth dan as soon as possible." Lin Ruo hung up the phone after saying that.

Zhang Ruo on the other end of the phone didn't detect any helplessness, only a strong sense of arrogance. What did he mean by not having time to play professionally and only being able to achieve it through world championships...?

While she was wondering, Lin Ruo had already found a coffee shop and filled out the registration information for the Mengbaihe Cup preliminary round based on the electronic form given to her by Tian Bin.

The MLILY Cup World Go Open Tournament is a world Go tournament hosted by the Chinese Go Association and organized by MLILY Home Furnishings Technology Co., Ltd.

Compared to other world championships, the Mlily Cup has one major feature: it has a very open qualifying round.

The so-called preliminary stage not only set up 4 qualifying spots for the women's group and the amateur group, but also promoted the development of women's and amateur Go.

It also allows lower-ranked professional players who are not ranked enough to participate, starting from the qualifiers.

The term "lower dan" here usually refers to 6th dan and below, but it can also include some 7th dan players.

In other words, Lin Ruo has a free opportunity to participate in the Mengbaihe Cup without having to pull strings. He can not only compete with his peers and elders in China, but it is also normal for him to play against foreign players.

There have always been many young players from South Korea participating, making this a world-class competition without a doubt.

As for the 8th and 9th dan players both domestically and internationally, they generally advance to the next round ahead of time, which is the advantage brought by a high ranking.

After filling out the registration information, Lin Ruo sent it to team leader Tian Bin via WeChat for help in making arrangements. There were nine days until the start of the Mengbaihe Cup preliminary rounds, and less than eight days until the event itself.

During this period, most of the contestants will be eliminated, and only a small number of those who advance will be selected to enter the next round, which is the main competition (official competition) in early June.

Finally finding something to do in the next 20 days, Lin Ruo sat for a while and then rushed back to the club. He didn't know what to do outside, so he decided to go back and do his live streams properly, and also cram a little Go to prepare for the competition.

(End of this chapter)