Pei Qian rubbed his eyes and looked carefully at the team logo on the big screen again.

That’s right, it was FV Club, the weak team I invested in, wasn’t it?

Why would the commentators describe them as an “all-star” team?

Just those three unwanted players could be considered all-stars?

That made no sense at all.

As Pei Qian remained puzzled, the match preparations continued.

The cameras began filming the players’ preparation, with close-ups of each player appearing on the big screen, displaying their game IDs, real names, ages, game ranks, and preferred heroes, among other information.

The players noticed the cameras filming close-ups and had various reactions.

Some greeted the audience, some struck poses, while others remained indifferent, concentrating on warming up in practice mode.

Meanwhile, the two commentators introduced these players’ detailed information to the audience, including their professional career length, interesting anecdotes from their careers, and amusing memes.

“What you’re seeing now is FV Club’s top laner, one of the earliest star players in IOI. He made a name for himself on the world server before the national server was even opened. He’s very experienced and is known for his aggressive playstyle and strong lane pressure.”

“Next is FV Club’s mid laner, very young, only 17 years old this year. He reached number one on the IOI world server using more than twenty different mid lane heroes—truly a prodigy. Today, we can look forward to his performance.”

“FV Club’s jungler was previously a relatively unknown rookie. He reportedly met the mid laner in ranked games, and they’ve been duo-queuing together ever since, with great synergy. Today, we can look forward to their coordination.”

“FV Club’s bottom lane duo was originally SUG Club’s star bot lane, also known as the best bot lane combo in the IOI national server. There were rumors recently that they might be transitioning to GOG, but no definitive news emerged. Who would have thought that their first match back would be a confrontation with their former team? I wonder what kind of sparks will fly between them?”

“Looking at SUG Club, although their lineup was originally built around their bottom lane core, the other three veteran players are not to be underestimated. They might have some advantages in terms of tactics and teamwork.”

“Why SUG Club would replace their star bottom lane duo, we don’t know. Perhaps the new bottom lane performs better than the original one, so they let them go to the FV Club?”

“In any case, today’s match is full of highlights, definitely worth watching!”

In the audience, SUG Club’s owner, Ding Gan, was also watching the match, and his teeth itched with anger after hearing the commentator’s words.

Does the new bottom lane perform better than the original one?

Yeah, right!

At the time, there had been no news about any IOI World Championship, and Ding Gan thought keeping the IOI team served no purpose. Plus, SHG had offered a substantial transfer fee, which was why he had sold off this bottom lane duo!

Had he known the IOI World Championship would be announced so soon, he wouldn’t have sold them no matter what!

Ding Gan knew clearly that although the new bottom lane duo was decent, they couldn’t compare with the original pair. There was a significant gap in raw skill.

But there was nothing he could do now. Once the players were released, there was no taking them back.

Ding Gan was anxious and angry, his heart racing with worry.

Not far from him, also sitting in the VIP area, Pei Qian was equally panicked.

Although he didn’t recognize any of these players, the commentators had explained so thoroughly that he now had a clear, objective understanding of the entire team’s strength.

Calling this team “all-star” wasn’t an exaggeration at all!

A veteran top laner, a solo queue king in mid lane, the mid laner’s jungler, and a star bottom lane duo that was once SUG’s tactical core—this lineup looked ridiculous on paper!

Now Pei Qian only wondered one thing: where on earth did Wu Yue, FV Club’s owner, find these players?

He only gave him 3 million yuan, right? With just that much money, he could at most buy one or two good players, and other clubs might not even be willing to sell.

To directly assemble a dream team, gathering all the best IOI players in the country, was simply absurd!

Pei Qian quickly took out his phone and entered the IOI qualifier livestream to see what people were saying in the comments.

“What the hell? Did FV Club turn the tables? Did their boss win the lottery? How did they suddenly put together an all-star team? Where did they get the money?”

“Ten-year FV fan checking in unannounced!”

“Destroying their former team? This is getting interesting!”

“The two sides form a stark contrast. FV Club’s players all have straight postures and good temperament, forming a sharp contrast with SUG’s skinny crew.”

“I remember these two bottom lane players were quite skinny when they were with SUG. How come they look bulkier now with better presence? Did FV hire plastic surgeons? Or did they undergo some secret training?”

“So why did SUG let go of this bottom lane duo? They just gave away the top-bottom lane in the country to another club? Logically, shouldn’t this kind of talent be non-transferable? No matter how much a transfer fee was offered, they shouldn’t have sold them!”

“No idea. There were rumors earlier that these two thought IOI was dying out, so they wanted to transition to GOG. There were even rumors that some GPL teams had bought them, but we don’t know if that’s true.”

“No wonder FV Club was promoting like crazy before the tournament. I was confused about why they were spending money to benefit others, but now I understand—they were building hype for themselves!”

The match hadn’t even started, but the comment section was heating up.

Although the morning matches seemed to have decent viewership, the comments weren’t very dense, possibly because there weren’t many hot topics to discuss.

But as soon as the FV Club appeared in the afternoon and people saw this all-star lineup, many old IOI players and viewers couldn’t contain their excitement and began enthusiastic discussions.

After the promotions by FV Club and Dragon Yu Group, although the IOI qualifiers’ popularity still lagged far behind the GPL League, they had at least captured all the old IOI players and viewers in the country.

Now, all this painstakingly gathered attention was focused on FV Club’s suddenly emerged all-star team.

The match hadn’t even started yet, but it had already garnered plenty of attention.

Both Pei Qian and Ding Gan were in the audience, anxiously following the match’s progress.

…

“Let’s congratulate FV! Despite experiencing some ups and downs during the match, they still managed to secure this victory without major scares!”

With the passionate commentary, the victory screen appeared on the big display, showing FV Club’s five members looking spirited, exuding a kind of domineering aura that seemed to look down on all others.

As the players packed up their equipment and left the stage, FV Club’s players didn’t show much excitement on their faces, but rather appeared very calm.

The schedule for this qualifier was quite tight. Each group had four teams playing a BO1 round-robin, finishing in a single afternoon, so each game was extremely important.

In this group, SUG’s strength was higher than the other two teams, so after FV won this match, they had secured advancement.

As for whether SUG could advance, it depended on whether they would stumble in their upcoming matches.

The two commentators began analyzing this match.

“In this match, we saw that FV Club’s players didn’t seem particularly happy after winning, possibly because they weren’t entirely satisfied with their performance today, or perhaps they had higher expectations for themselves.”

“Indeed, judging solely from the in-game performance, we could see that FV Club’s skills surpassed SUG’s. However, from hero selection to tactical execution, there seemed to be some flaws. Otherwise, this match might have been even more one-sided.”

“Does this indicate that the current FV still hasn’t completed their team coordination?”

“I don’t think it’s just about coordination. Their tactical system and game understanding also seem somewhat problematic. We could see that their priority picks weren’t the commonly acknowledged strongest heroes in the current meta. They preferred team-oriented heroes, and in their playstyle and game understanding, they didn’t overly emphasize individual ability, which seemed somewhat at odds with other teams’ mainstream approaches…”

“Could it be that their team’s tactical staff has a different understanding of the game meta?”

“That’s possible, but this game understanding doesn’t seem fully mature yet. FV’s victory over SUG today was mainly due to superior individual skill. If they faced foreign teams with individual abilities matching FV’s, whether they could still win would be questionable…”

The two commentators were simply speaking the truth because, in their view, FV’s playstyle did seem a bit strange, at odds with the current mainstream approach.

Moreover, this playstyle hadn’t proven particularly effective. Instead, it overemphasized teamwork, creating certain limitations in hero selection and in-game decision-making, preventing the players from utilizing 100% of their abilities.

But these words sounded like complete mockery to Ding Gan.

“What does this mean? They’re practicing their tactics against us?”

“Who do they think they’re looking down on?”

“Winning and still pulling long faces, damn, these people are too arrogant!”

Ding Gan was fuming. Losing a match was nothing, but losing when the opponents were just practicing their tactics? In his view, this was FV deliberately flaunting their raw power.

What’s the message? Not convinced? The all-star team can do whatever they want!

That was the implication.

Ding Gan became even angrier when he remembered that FV’s bottom lane duo was originally released by him. If that duo were still with SUG, how could they possibly lose?

However, angry as he was, Ding Gan also knew that this single win or loss didn’t matter. After all, each group would advance two teams, and SUG would certainly advance no matter what. The real concern was tomorrow’s elimination match.

The elimination matches were BO5, with one of the four teams getting eliminated. It all depended on who would be that unfortunate one.

…

Meanwhile, in Jingzhou, at the GPL match venue.

Zhang Yuan, Ye Zhizhou, Xiao Peng, and several other managers were watching GPL’s opening match.

The competing teams were currently the two strongest in GPL, also the champion and runner-up from the previous World Championship. The match was tense and extremely exciting.

In the BO3 format, both sides had reached 1-1, entering the deciding game. The atmosphere in the venue had reached its peak.

Amid enthusiastic cheers, fans supported both teams, and then the entire venue chanted “DGE fighting!” in unison, forming a unique regional culture.

Tenda Group’s internal staff tickets were neither in the front nor at the back, but rather in a slightly forward position in the center.

This was because the front row tickets were reserved for the core fans and supporters of both teams, and internal gift tickets shouldn’t affect the fans’ viewing experience.

The deciding game was still in the BP (Ban/Pick) phase. Zhang Yuan took out his phone to check player evaluations online and found that only a small portion of people were discussing the opening match itself. Most topics were centered on the comparison between the IOI qualifiers and the GPL opening.

“The venue difference is too huge. Isn’t the IOI match co-organized by Dragon Yu Group and Finger Company? Why is the venue so shabby?”

“Honestly, the IOI match feels like a complete copy of GOG, even the venue setup and the in-game BP and spectator interfaces give a strong sense of déjà vu. Is that okay?”

“I think it’s fine. They’re the same type of game, don’t be so harsh.”

“Well, what can you do when IOI’s matches came later? GOG has been running successful tournaments, with all aspects being very refined. IOI easily gives people the impression that it’s imitating, even though, time-wise, IOI came out before GOG.”

“But the imitation still lacks something, with many differences in the details. Just look at the players’ images. GPL players all have good posture and a completely different mental outlook. In contrast, except for FV Club’s players who look decent, the others still have that internet-addicted youth vibe, lagging far behind in terms of image.”

“Indeed, when these detailed issues accumulate, it makes IOI tournaments feel like knockoff versions of GPL.”

“Tenda is truly impressive. It feels like they’ve single-handedly pushed the entire esports industry forward by a huge step!”

The vast majority of viewers felt that the GPL League completely overshadowed the IOI qualifiers in terms of excitement.

On one hand, this was because GOG had more players, but on the other hand, it was because GPL paid better attention to details.

One repeatedly mentioned point was the issue of player image. Most GPL players had standard physiques, with several muscular men who looked very sunny and handsome, giving people a positive feeling. In contrast, IOI players still had the traditional internet-addicted youth appearance, falling behind in terms of image.

As such, details continuously accumulated, IOI matches involuntarily dropped a tier compared to GPL, naturally giving people the feeling that “IOI tournaments are knockoffs of GPL.”

Zhang Yuan couldn’t help but sigh: “Looking back now, Mr. Pei truly planned everything meticulously.”

“GOG’s success in the esports field is partly due to the game’s success, but also due to attention to detail. Besides Mr. Pei, who else could have anticipated the importance of player image for esports tournament popularity?”

“Mr. Pei established training standards through DGE Club, guiding other clubs to also prioritize physical training for players, ensuring both player health and enhancing the league’s image…”

“This effectively builds a moat for GOG, with the game and esports domains protecting each other, complementing each other.”

Ye Zhizhou, sitting nearby, said, “Speaking of which, we’re already in the deciding game, and Mr. Pei isn’t coming to watch today? This is the opening match after all.”

Logically, this was the first day of GPL’s launch, which was significant. Plus, IOI had organized a qualifier, causing a bit of pressure for GPL. He really should have come to watch.

Xiao Peng, sitting on the other side, said, “Maybe Mr. Pei feels victory is already assured, that the IOI qualifiers can’t pose any threat to GPL, so he didn’t come.”

Zhang Yuan chuckled and said, “You’re both wrong. Mr. Pei isn’t in Jingzhou right now.”

Ye Zhizhou was surprised: “Not in Jingzhou? Did he go on a business trip?”

Zhang Yuan lowered his voice and said, “Mr. Pei went to Shanghai alone to watch the IOI match!”

Both Ye Zhizhou and Xiao Peng looked somewhat surprised.

Mr. Pei had gone to Shanghai alone, venturing into enemy territory to watch the match?

Because Mr. Pei had always given the impression of a strategic mastermind who could command from thousands of miles away, as long as he remained in Jingzhou, nothing happening across the country could escape his eyes.

But now Mr. Pei had personally gone to Shanghai, to the IOI match venue… For some reason, this behavior seemed to carry an inexplicable sense of walking alone into the dragon’s lair.

Amidst the amazement, Xiao Peng felt a bit confused: “But if it’s just to closely scout the enemy, does Mr. Pei need to go personally?”

Zhang Yuan laughed: “Of course, it’s not just to scout the enemy. How could Mr. Pei ever have just a single purpose? He has a complete plan!”

“Mr. Pei has already privately invested in FV Club, planting a seed among the IOI teams.”

“I think Mr. Pei is probably waiting for the right moment. FV Club might just become the decisive factor in the esports battle between IOI and GOG!”

“As for how exactly this will play out… I’m not sure either. Let’s wait and see!”

Ye Zhizhou and Xiao Peng both nodded, deeply convinced.

…

“Let’s congratulate FV Club and SUG Club for securing the final qualification spots!”

Tomorrow morning and afternoon, we will have two BO5 matches to decide the final spots for the World Championship. Please stay tuned!”

Ding Gan, who had been on edge in the audience, finally relaxed a bit.

The afternoon group stage was quite nerve-wracking for SUG. Although they lost the first game to FV Club, they still managed to win the rest with some close calls, securing the group’s second qualification spot.

Tomorrow’s elimination matches were also fully packed. The first and second place from both groups would play a BO5, with the two winners competing for the top seed, and the two losers fighting for the final spot.

For this IOI World Championship, there was regional protection in the schedule.

Because Zhao Xuming knew clearly that the current IOI teams from the national server weren’t strong, they would likely be crushed by foreign powerhouse teams, necessitating some help from the tournament format to save face.

So, Christian and Finger Company’s top management decided that each region’s top seed would start from the quarterfinals, while the second and third seeds would play in the group stage.

This would avoid a scenario where all teams were eliminated in the group stage, at least preserving domestic viewers’ interest until the quarterfinals.

If the strongest domestic team, directly seeded into the quarterfinals, still got brutally crushed… then there was nothing they could do.

After watching SUG demolish the remaining two weaker teams, Ding Gan’s mood stabilized considerably.

“It looks like it’s not an issue with our SUG, but rather that this FV is too strong.”

“Looking on the bright side, encountering FV in the group stage is a good thing. We probably won’t meet them tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow we’ll play two BO5s. As long as we don’t face FV Club, advancing is still secure.”

Ding Gan kept reassuring himself, finally stabilizing his emotions.

The matches had ended quite late. Audience members were filing out, and Ding Gan also stood up, preparing to go backstage to console his players.

However, just as he was about to leave, his peripheral vision caught a familiar figure that he seemed to have seen somewhere before.

Ding Gan was sitting in the front row VIP area. Many people had already left, leaving large sections of seats empty, but there was a lone figure with a black mask still sitting in place, seeming somewhat out of place.

Ding Gan frowned and looked carefully. Although the person was wearing a mask, the eyes and clothing seemed somewhat familiar.

“Mr. Pei?!”

After SUG Club was removed from GPL, Ding Gan had made a special trip to Jingzhou and had met Mr. Pei once, which was why he recognized him.

After confirming Mr. Pei’s identity, many thoughts instantly appeared in Ding Gan’s mind.

All the conspiracies seemed to connect in this moment.

Why did FV Club actively spend money on promotion?

Where did FV Club’s star players come from?

Ding Gan believed that Mr. Pei had many more hidden moves, which he just hadn’t discovered yet.

This was clearly all Mr. Pei’s arrangement, just one chess match between GOG and IOI in the esports arena, with SUG and other clubs just being pawns!

Mr. Pei had even personally come to Shanghai, to the IOI qualifier venue, to appreciate his scheme up close.

Like a deranged killer who returns to the crime scene, only by observing at close range could he obtain a sense of satisfaction.

Ding Gan suddenly felt a chill!