From Pokémon to The International, Dota 2

The Oriental Sports Center sits on the banks of the Huangpu River. From above, it resembles layers of waves and white sails being thrown upwards, or a laurel wreath exuding a regal aura. The sidewalks surrounding the venue are already lined with the Immortal Cup event flags—deep red backgrounds with silver lettering, the logos on the flags fluttering in the wind.

After passing through the ticket gates and climbing the steps, the interior of the venue suddenly unfolds before your eyes. The main stage is set up in the center of the venue, surrounded by huge LED screens on three sides. The screens are currently playing a promotional video for the event, with hero skill effects and background drum beats flashing in sync. Each change of scene is accompanied by the vibration of a subwoofer, which travels up the floor and reverberates from your feet all the way to your chest.

The audience seating was arranged in a fan shape, stacked three tiers around the main stage, and was more than half full. The venue lights were not yet fully on; only the stage lights and screens illuminated the audience in varying shades of gray-blue. Faces were indistinct in the dim light, but one could see a dense mass of figures moving about—some getting up to find seats, some stepping aside to make room, some stuffing snacks into their mouths, and some taking photos of the stage with their phones. The screens appeared as sparse dots in the darkness.

In the very center of the second-floor stands was the VIP box area. Through the glass curtain wall, several figures could be vaguely seen: some holding coffee and standing by the window overlooking the entire venue, while others were rapidly typing on their laptops.

The middle private room was lit by a warm-colored lamp, under which sat an elderly man with white hair. In front of him was a pot of tea. The old man looked at the sea of ​​people downstairs, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and a slight smile unconsciously appeared on his lips.

Behind the glass wall of the second VIP box from the left sat a few young people. Unlike the quiet room next door, this VIP box had been noisy ever since the warm-up music started. Three people were sitting crookedly on the sofa, with a pile of snacks and half-finished drinks spread out on the coffee table in the middle. The sports broadcast screen on the wall was muted, and a laptop was placed on the windowsill in its place.

Lin Yiming sat in front of his laptop, a Pocky stick dangling from his mouth, rapidly manipulating the mouse. His eyes were glued to the screen, frame by frame—Gu Ran and Puck's illusionary orb entering the Roshan pit to steal the Aegis. He repeatedly dragged the timeline, cutting, adding slow-motion effects, and then dragging it back to watch it again. He had done this countless times; he could find the shortcut keys with his eyes closed.

"Yiming," a boy wearing a baseball cap on the sofa mumbled, stuffing a potato chip into his mouth, "where do you think our Soul Stone will get?"

Lin Yiming didn't look up, nor did he stop working. He zoomed in on Gu Ran's shield-grabbing scene, adding motion blur to the keyframes to make the whole movement look smoother. Only after finishing this step did he take the Pocky out of his mouth.

"They have to be champions! Just believe it."

Upon hearing this, the boy sitting on the left raised one hand, making a determined expression:

"Believe in the power of belief!"

The boy next to me, who lived in Bengbu, chimed in:

"I have a feeling that Team Vibranium is destined to win either TI or the Petroleum Cup!"

This explosive remark immediately filled the private room with a joyful atmosphere:

"Good heavens, they're still skewering!"

"Damn, they can't even handle the Oil Cup. They might as well just send the shield to the Soul Stone base!"

"Brother, keep going!"

It was exactly two o'clock in the afternoon. The lights in the stadium's dome dimmed silently, leaving only a spotlight shining directly on the center of the main stage. The countdown on the circular screen jumped from ten to zero, and the background music abruptly stopped at the climax of a drumbeat. The noise of thousands of people seemed to be gently pressed down by an invisible hand, quieting down layer by layer from the back to the front.

In the spotlight, a figure emerged from the left side of the stage. Her high heels clicked crisply and evenly on the glass floor, each step perfectly timed with the faint, audible heartbeat of the background sound effects. She walked to the center of the stage, next to the championship trophy.

She wore a neatly tailored, modified short cheongsam in a deep, somber black, with delicate cloud patterns embroidered in dark gold thread at the collar and cuffs. The stand-up collar of the cheongsam hugged her slender neck, and a small, timeless shield-shaped brooch adorned the side placket, reflecting shimmering light under the lamplight.

"Good afternoon to all viewers here and watching on screen. Welcome to the DOTA2 Immortal Cup offline winners' bracket finals, co-hosted by Douyu and Douya. Welcome to Shanghai!"

The audience cheered enthusiastically.

"We have finally gathered in the bustling city of Shanghai. From the online qualifiers that started a month ago to the fierce battles in our online round-robin and knockout rounds, we have witnessed the hard work and fighting spirit of each team and their desire for victory over the past month."

"The four teams that successfully fought their way through today have made it to our offline event. There's no turning back now; their only goal is the Immortal Cup championship trophy right here beside me. So, without further ado, I hope all the viewers will give our four teams the warmest applause and cheers! Where's the cheering?"

"Oh~~~~~"

The audience responded enthusiastically with loud cheers.

"Let's first welcome the Soul Stone Team!"

The group of six, led by Captain Su Xiaoman, lined up in rows from number one to number five. Each person wore a team uniform—white with a Soul-Spirit Stone composed of a Vitality Ball, an Energy Ball, and a Essence Ball in the center. Below the stone was a line of small characters:

"Summon the courage you've lost"

The audience roared with passion, with the majority of them being fans of Wang Chunyu in position number one. They held up various cheering cards and cheered loudly.

This was Gu Ran's first time participating in a competition in such a large venue. Hearing the roars of the audience made him feel excited. He walked through the wall of enthusiastic fans, high-fived them one by one, and heard many words of blessing, feeling his heart filled with strength.

The host continued to introduce to the audience:

"The captain of the Soul Stone team is sora, and the members are XS, firefly, Huaqiang, Shikamaru, and OldFang. In the online round-robin stage, they achieved a record of four wins and three losses, which was not particularly impressive. However, after entering the online knockout stage, they were in high spirits and cleanly defeated their opponents with two consecutive 2-0 victories, advancing to our winners' bracket finals."

The combination of two veterans and three newcomers has injected youthful energy into this year's Immortal Cup. Now, the entire Zhenhunshi team is assembled, ready to make their final push for the Immortal Cup championship trophy. Let's give a round of applause to Zhenhunshi!

Gu Ran stood with his back to the big screen, facing the crowd, listening to the thunderous applause from the audience.

He used to sit in the audience, watching others compete and cheering for their victories. But today, he stands on this stage, and it's time for others to cheer for him.