In livestream chats and on forums, fans around the world were watching FV team’s award ceremony.
Although it was already late at night in China, many viewers remained in the livestream channels to witness this moment.
After hearing Pan Ying’s final words, many fans, especially domestic fans and IOI players, couldn’t hold back their emotions.
“Damn, Captain Pan, don’t talk like that! It sounds so depressing. You guys just won the world championship! We want to see you win a third consecutive title next year!”
“What third title? I hope FV team can represent the ICL league and win the championship every year from now on!”
“Exactly, it’s a joyous day of victory. There’s no need to say such depressing things. Why talk about ‘fighting until the last moment’?”
“Sigh, let’s not fool ourselves anymore. Don’t you all understand IOI’s current state? FV team is the last glory of the domestic IOI server. If FV team ever truly falters, there’s no point in watching the world championship anymore. Other ICL teams would probably struggle even to get out of the group stage.”
“The key is that Fingertip Company will definitely continue to target FV team next year. They absolutely don’t want to see the same team win three consecutive championships. That might be good news for other regions, but for ICL… heh.”
“Nothing we can do. There’s nobody left on the IOI domestic server! There’s no fresh blood at all. The ICL league has been established for almost a year, but all the teams still have the same old players. Every club is trying hard to discover new talent, but where can they find any? There’s a severe shortage of high-ranked players.”
“GOG offers better treatment, so any talented newcomers go play GOG. Why would they join a professional league with no future like IOI?”
“The truth is that IOI as a whole is failing, right? Not just domestically—GOG is crushing them internationally too.”
“Ah, these exciting matches are becoming fewer by the day. Let’s cherish them while we can.”
The forum posts all carried a sense of gloom.
Although FV team had won the championship, everyone could see how difficult their victory had been, with many stumbles along the way.
This championship certainly involved elements of hard work and skill, but also some luck.
What if their opponents, CEM team, had handled certain details better? What if their raw skill had been stronger?
Would the result have changed?
After all, looking at the outcome, the match had been extremely close.
If Fingertip Company continued to target and weaken FV team next year, the balance would shift, and they would eventually be defeated by foreign teams. The only question was which team would beat them.
This was hard for domestic fans to accept.
FV team’s players were still working hard and maintained their skill, but in MOBA games, being targeted by version updates was truly unsolvable.
FV team had managed to win this time thanks to their foundation, their players’ efforts, and tactical adjustments, but what about next time?
In other words, at the moment of winning the championship, everyone—including both players and viewers—knew that FV team would almost certainly not be able to win again next year.
Anyone who still believed they could win was either overestimating the players’ human limits or underestimating Fingertip Company’s moral bottom line.
Almost all domestic IOI players were FV team fans, as there weren’t really any other teams worth supporting in the entire region.
So, although FV team’s championship was a great thing, and the IOI domestic server had launched various celebration events, for the players, this joy was always incomplete, constantly mixed with deep concern.
But just then, someone posted a new thread.
“I think we shouldn’t be too sad. This is the best outcome I could have hoped for under the circumstances.”
“It’s common knowledge that Fingertip Company has always disliked FV team. We all remember how last year, right before the finals, Fingertip Company secretly arranged for data analysts to help FRY team, don’t we?”
“But by then the version was already set, and FV team had mastered it. So although Fingertip Company lost face by doing this, it didn’t change FRY team’s fate of being swept in the end.”
“This year was different. Fingertip Company updated to a new version long before the world championship, specifically targeting FV team by nerfing all their best heroes. Honestly, I don’t think any team in the world could have performed like FV team did when facing the game developers’ targeted changes.”
“If FV team had narrowly lost, I think Fingertip Company would deserve to be put on the wall of shame. I’ve never seen any company, as a tournament organizer, be so biased and use so many underhanded tactics.”
“The current situation is actually perfect. FV team proved through their own efforts and raw skill that even when targeted by the organizers, they can still win the championship!”
“This is a perfect ending.”
“I suggest we don’t bother watching IOI matches next year. Since Fingertip Company is so determined to let European and American teams win the championship, let them have it. We won’t play along anymore.”
“Those of us who still play on the IOI domestic server are a bit brain-damaged, to be honest. GOG offers better benefits, more diverse gameplay, and has an overwhelming player count. In IOI, matchmaking takes five minutes to start a game, while in GOG it’s instant. IOI, ask yourself honestly: how can you compete with GOG? How can you retain players?”
“We’ve simply grown accustomed to playing IOI. Even seeing our friends switch to GOG one by one, we still persisted.”
“Last year when FV won the championship, we were all excited. After all, they brought glory to our domestic server players and made us feel less alone, since these five veterans were still persisting with IOI and even won the championship.”
“But now? Their prime is gradually passing, and Fingertip Company is using underhanded means to target them. Just like the IOI domestic server, we’re always the last group to be considered in any events.”
“I truly feel they deserve better, and all IOI domestic server players deserve better.”
“Look at GOG in comparison—they treat domestic server players like royalty, while both players and professionals on the IOI side are treated like dirt!”
“So I’ve come to terms with it. It’s been almost two years, and the joy and excitement IOI initially gave me have basically worn away. I think FV team’s back-to-back championships make for a perfect conclusion.”
“I’ve decided to switch to GOG. Many of my former friends are already waiting for me there. As for IOI, I’ll buy another set of FV’s new champion skins when they come out, but I probably won’t touch this game again.”
“I also hope FV team simply stops playing in the ICL league. Fingertip Company doesn’t deserve them.”
“Since everyone at Fingertip Company hates FV team so much, I hope FV team just transfers out. They’re Mr. Pei’s team anyway, so they might as well join GPL. That would be fine too.”
“Although they’d probably get crushed by those monstrous domestic teams in GPL, it doesn’t matter. At least over there, the competition is absolutely fair. If they lose, they can accept it wholeheartedly, unlike here where losses are frustrating and wins are bitter.”
“If a team’s opponent isn’t other teams but the tournament organizer itself, then the whole thing becomes pointless.”
“I understand FV team’s heroic sentiment about living and dying with the ICL league, but I sincerely suggest—forget it. There’s no need to forcibly bind yourselves to a league with no future, a game with no future.”
“In conclusion, I want to say to FV team’s players: you’ve worked hard and have been amazing. You’re the only memorable highlight of my long IOI gaming career.”
“Whatever you choose to do next, I’ll support you!”
This post was made by an ordinary player, but it resonated widely across the forum.
Especially among IOI domestic server players, this player’s words struck a deep chord!
All the unfair treatment they had experienced while playing IOI came flooding back.
It could be said that FV team carried the hopes of IOI domestic server players, and at the same time, they were a microcosm of those players.
FV team had always been targeted, but when had domestic server players ever been valued?
On the GOG side, domestic server players were always the first consideration. Their player base kept growing, game features became increasingly refined, and online popularity continued to rise.
In contrast, IOI had clearly fallen into a vicious cycle. The more domestic server players left, the less they were valued, and the less they were valued, the more players left.
Wanting to see FV team win back-to-back championships was one reason many viewers had persisted.
Now that the second championship had been achieved, with a third being almost impossible, many viewers asked themselves: why continue to suffer in IOI?
And as this viewer said, FV team had already been targeted so much—why continue to take abuse in IOI?
Rather than having FV team continuously targeted by Fingertip Company, facing their twilight years, getting stepped on by other teams in next year’s world championship, and being mocked by malicious viewers, wouldn’t it be better to simply stop playing?
The entire team should just transfer to GPL!
Over there, they could start from scratch. Win or lose, people wouldn’t blame them, and at least it would be an absolutely fair competitive environment.
Fingertip Company, you still want to target FV team next year? You insist on distributing FV team’s popularity to other foreign teams, letting them rise to fame by stepping on FV’s corpse?
Sorry, we’re not playing your game anymore!
Amid the heated discussions among players, two topics rose to the trending list.
One was #FVTeamBackToBackChampions#, and the other was #SupportFVTeamSwitchToGOG#!