LOL: Can’t I play other games professionally?

Chapter 459 Retiring After Winning the Championship: A Playful and Unconventional Approach

However, Lin Ruo's appearance shattered this illusion. The swift and ruthless 3-0 victory shattered his dream of the Lily Cup final. Now, all Park Jung-hwan can do is accept this cruel fate.

Thank you to the leaders of the Chess Association and the organizers of the Mengbaihe Cup.

Oh right, and there's also Abu's request, so let me also thank EDG.

After a series of acceptance speeches, the final awards ceremony began.

"Next, let's invite Hua Xueming, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Weiqi Association, and Ni Zhanggen, Chairman of Mengbaihe Home Furnishings Technology Co., Ltd., to the stage to present awards to the champion and runner-up."

As the host spoke, all the high-ranking leaders and sponsor platform managers associated with the Mengbaihe Cup took the stage.

Under the dazzling flashes of the cameras, Lin Ruo smiled and shook hands with each of the leaders and sponsors, before taking a simple group photo with the camera.

"Congratulations! This young man is terrifyingly talented, winning the championship right after his debut."

"low profile."

After a brief greeting, rows of hostesses presented all the prizes, a bouquet of flowers to celebrate the victory, and a plaque with a value of 1.8 million RMB.

There was also an unexpected trophy for Lin Ruo, which was placed on the exhibition stand in the hall and personally handed over by Ni Zhanggen, chairman of Mengbaihe Home Furnishings.

Well, it's not like the League of Legends award, since it's a solo championship, so it's an MVP trophy like a golden statuette.

The inlay features a female figure with hair that blooms like a flower.

Although the exact meaning is unknown, it is most likely related to the founder or operational philosophy of the private enterprise brand Mengbaihe.

Park Jung-hwan's runner-up trophy is basically similar in appearance, except that it is relatively smaller.

Under the group photo lens, holding the trophy in one hand and flowers and a sign in the other, Lin Ruo was a little overwhelmed. Fortunately, the chairman next to him helped him hold the sign.

Of course, this support isn't for nothing. Now that Lin Ruo has won the championship, she'll have to make an appearance at the Mengbaihe Cup Home Furnishings event tomorrow, and if there's a need for deeper cooperation, she might even have to shoot an advertisement.

After all, they are the sponsors. Not to mention the flowers and trophies, the prize money of 1.8 million yuan was definitely paid in full by Mengbaihe Home Furnishings Company.

As for the chess association, its main focus is on providing companionship; it has no money, but it has plenty of official status to add prestige.

After Lin Ruo finished taking photos, it was Park Jung-hwan's turn to go on stage as the runner-up.

Yes, he also needs to take photos with leaders and sponsors while holding the plaques and trophies.

Since the runner-up also gets paid.

However, this was clearly not a good thing for him. Helpless, Park Jung-hwan could only force a smile and go through this fixed procedure that had been in place since ancient times.

He felt that being the runner-up was a failure. Although it was different from many other competitions, there were trophies and flowers, it felt more like an unwarranted humiliation to a competitive chess player.

After all, he is the nominal stronger player, and a player with the potential to win the championship.

Logically speaking, Lin Ruo, a complete novice, should be happy to receive this honor as the runner-up, not someone like him who has both experience and strength and is the best in most parts of the world.

However, reality is cruel. The champion was Lin Ruo, who was new to the game, while he was a runner-up whom he could never respect.

One million eight hundred thousand, not bad, not bad.

Holding the trophy, Lin Ruo was already imagining how happy he would be to have so much money in his account, and what he was most looking forward to next was how much bonus Abu would give him.

Being able to receive double the bonus is really great!

I'll see if I can find some time to look at property prices in Shanghai. Lin Ruo feels that she still needs a cozy little home.

Wow, that's how you spend your money.

After the awards ceremony, Lin Ruo was to give a closing speech that would last for nearly 20 minutes, which was still a segment where leaders would speak.

It's similar to a company's year-end summary, reviewing past achievements and looking forward to the future.

What's more, this time the champion of the Mengbaihe Cup was still a Chinese player, and it was a resounding 3-0 victory, so the chess association leaders had even more reason to make a big fuss about it.

After being photographed and documented by a group of media in the lobby, Lin Ruo was finally given the opportunity to leave the competition venue.

Unfortunately, he had to come back that evening because the chess association leaders and sponsors wanted to have dinner with him.

Lin Ruo could roughly guess what the Chess Association was planning to do, just like the question the media had asked him earlier.

"Lin Ruo, have you considered pursuing a career in professional Go competitions?"

Lin Ruo answered the question directly: "Go is just a hobby. I only participate in competitions occasionally. If I treat it as a job, I will lose my most basic hobby."

In short, forget about becoming a professional player. To be honest, playing League of Legends professionally is already exhausting enough for him.

Well, although Lin Ruo never plays ranked games as a professional League of Legends player, does that mean he isn't tired?
My body, if I say I'm tired, then I'm tired, okay?

Actually, the later matches are fine. I definitely won't be playing in the long-term world championships, but I can still participate in the New Year's Cup, which only has a few matches.

The rest are counted.

Once this news got out, viewers both online and offline, still immersed in the excitement of winning the championship, had different feelings.

Many viewers were only then puzzled, oh, so Lin Ruo isn't even a professional Go player?
True Go enthusiasts and fans are already wiping away tears; such a terrifying genius doesn't seem to participate in Go competitions very often anymore.

What a waste of resources.

Oh no, what will they do when facing Korean players in the future? After Ke Jie, another absolute king of the post-2000 generation finally emerged, but he himself put on a show of being a fleeting phenomenon.

Sigh, I'll only participate in the World Championship once, and I won't participate in the rest.

I'm asking you, aren't you amazing?

Many Go fans were already looking forward to seeing Lin Ruo display his prowess in the upcoming Samsung Cup, dominating Korean players on home turf, and they couldn't believe how exciting that would be.

The dream shattered faster than ever before. He won the championship in the morning, and in the afternoon he held a press conference to announce his retirement on the spot.

Alright then, all we can do is frantically urge Ke Jie to maintain his form. He can't afford to slack off any longer; his form has already declined somewhat this year.

At this point, Ke Jie was no longer swayed. For him, losing to Park Jung-hwan was not scary; what was scary was that such a figure suddenly emerged in the Go world, sweeping through the Go scene and lifting the trophy.

It seems that the era that should have belonged to him has suddenly begun to pass.

No, I'm in my prime too, and somehow I've started to look like an older generation, haven't I?

Ke Jie, who suddenly felt immense pressure, has been keeping busy these past few days, paying attention to the competition while constantly training to hone his skills. At least he has brought up his serious character.

Lin Ruo is clearly putting a lot of pressure on Ke Jie. It's just a matter of how long Ke Jie can maintain this level of pressure. It's not impossible that his peak period might be extended because of this experience.

However, rather than looking at himself, Lin Ruo still suggests that Riot Games should extend the release time of Teamfight Tactics next year, as that would be more practical.

The news spread back to China. Meanwhile, the South Korean audience erupted in unison in jubilation. Losing the game was devastating enough, but the sudden emergence of a future evergreen in China made it even more heartbreaking.

Before despair could even begin, media outlets reported that Lin Ruo would likely find it very difficult to participate in other major international Go tournaments.

Haha, what's the use of having the ability if you don't participate in the competition? It's the best thing ever!

This is like a huge windfall; Korean Go has been saved in no time.

Well, despite this, Korean fans of League of Legends are not happy.

[Damn, why is he back? Is League of Legends that appealing to him? Wouldn't it be better for him to continue playing Go? Isn't winning the world championship enough of a sense of accomplishment? If not, he should win more!]

[Hey Lin, don't come any closer! I don't want to see you at the Intercontinental Cup or the World Championship again.]

[EDG, hurry up and fire him! Why keep a player who's not even participating in the Summer Split? Just fire him already!]

[If I were an EDG manager, I would have started this immediately, but unfortunately I'm not.]

Hmph, tell us something we don't know...

Okay, let me say something I don't know. I heard from Chinese viewers that Lin Ruo is very money-loving, so I think he must be dissatisfied with his low income from Go. How about this, let's crowdfund to help Lin Ruo increase his Go income, as long as he can continue playing Go and doesn't come back.

[Should I donate money? Cough cough, forget it. I'd rather watch Lin Ruo continue to crush our Korean team than give him a single penny.]

[If Lin Ruo likes money, then why don't we donate some money and let the home team buy him?]

That makes sense. SKT is in a terrible situation right now and desperately needs a strong new signing.

"If you can't beat them, you buy them, right? Considering I'm an SKT fan, well, I agree."

In just one afternoon, all sorts of whimsical ideas emerged on Korean online forums.

While the online discussions were raging, Lin Ruo didn't rest at all after returning home. She took advantage of her free time in the afternoon to accept two more interviews.

When someone wins a championship, a constant stream of media outlets will come knocking on their door, essentially taking advantage of their time.

Compared to that, Lin Ruo still preferred the sponsors who came up to him to discuss collaborations and endorsements.

He never gets tired of talking about money, but when it comes to large sums, it's best to leave it to the professionals, like Abu, to handle.

Anyway, Lin Ruo's phone was ringing off the hook that afternoon. There were congratulatory calls from team leader Tian Bin, Zhang Ruo and others, as well as all sorts of brand endorsement offers.

Even some professional teams from the Chinese Weiqi League, refusing to believe him, called him, offering him an exorbitant signing fee if he would play for them.

Lin Ruo thought the exorbitant price was a lot of money, but it turned out to be less than his annual salary at EDG.

Never mind then, it's not that Lin Ruo doesn't like playing Go, it's just that he loves EDG too much.

EDG also really likes him. Abu probably guessed that someone would try to poach him, so he couldn't wait to call and urge him to hurry up with his schedule.

"The competition is over, why aren't you back yet? Any interviews can be done here in Shanghai. Please don't go out drinking with any team executives."

The world is never short of rich people. Sometimes Abu is really afraid that Lin Ruo will be poached for no reason, not to play League of Legends, but to play Go.

Although they are under contract, who can guarantee that there won't be any possibility of negotiating breach of contract penalties?

...

After attending the closing ceremony banquet that evening, Lin Ruo left early the next morning after finishing her work on stage and boarded a flight back to Shanghai.

He didn't immediately return to the EDG club after getting off the plane. Instead, he went to the chess academy with Li Weiqing to share some experience with the young players aiming for professional ranks.

After all, it was team leader Tian Bin who helped him register on the last day, so he should do his part to help and express his gratitude.

Otherwise, with his own connections, would the ghost really be able to register so quickly?

After having lunch at the chess academy, Lin Ruo returned to the EDG club, which he hadn't visited in a long time, to report for duty.

The scene at the club entrance was grand, much like an emperor returning victorious from a campaign in an ancient drama, with all his subjects personally welcoming him.

The difference is that the ministers dare not say anything sarcastic or unsavory.

Mingkai, who was waiting at the door, saw him and jokingly said, "Hey, isn't this our Go world champion? What brings you to visit our EDG eSports Club?"

"Of course, I brought it back especially for you because I was worried you hadn't seen what the world Go championship trophy looked like," Lin Ruo retorted.

When it comes to gossiping, he's never lost.

However, he did not expect to return with such a grand reception after winning the championship. Most of the club's staff and teammates were waiting for him, and there was even the sound of cannons behind him.

Lin Ruo understood everything just by looking at the camera.

it has started.

Don't miss any opportunity for publicity.

But that's not the point. The point is... the 500,000 yuan bonus? Well, Lin Ruo reluctantly accepted the club's praise.

Five hundred thousand is enough to buy several dozen square meters.

In the afternoon, EDG's official Weibo account posted two videos consecutively.

The first is a live video congratulating the world Go champion on his return to the club, which is a full five minutes long and has the highest production value.

If you didn't know better, you'd think we helped EDG win the championship.

However, only those with discerning eyes know that, given the still-lingering impact of this massive surge in traffic, CCTV is going to great lengths to report on it.

Then their EDG club should take advantage of this huge wave of popularity and make the most of it.

The second Weibo post was a video of EDG's owner, Edward Zhu, presenting Lin Ruo with a 500,000 yuan bonus to recognize the club's players for defeating a South Korean Go player and winning the world championship, bringing glory to the country.

Regardless of anything else, let's just talk about how professional this publicity campaign is.

Anyway, if they buy some trending topics to expand their influence, EDG will also go viral and, like Lin Ruo, will no longer be a simple League of Legends club.

On the contrary, just like the neighboring Three Kingdoms Kill game, it has received rave reviews in the industry.

Who wouldn't love a club like this that allows players to participate in other competitions during the summer season and then strives to create a good environment for them upon their return, especially when they also receive financial rewards?

Is this EDG club? Do you need security guards?

That's not a problem. Ai Luoli has broken up with OMG after the Summer Split, and will soon be back to work.

(End of this chapter)