October 24th, Monday.

Last Saturday, the Loss Management meeting was held as usual.

However, there wasn’t any information worth special attention.

Since this cycle had just begun, the development work of each department was still in the initial stages, and everyone was following Mr. Pei’s requirements, so there were no signs of profit.

Even if profits might occur, or if there might be joint promotions between departments, that would be something for the last month of the cycle.

So Pei Qian was feeling rather relaxed.

Of course, even so, the Loss Management meeting still had to be held regularly. He couldn’t afford to let his guard down.

Today, being Monday, Pei Qian planned to visit the DGE Club first.

Previously, Old Ma’s money-giving activities on Weibo had only been moderately effective, but his livestreams had been very successful. The veteran players from DGE Club had driven massive traffic to him, creating a virtuous cycle. Even now, Old Ma’s Weibo was still gaining tens of thousands of followers every day, which was truly ridiculous.

Fortunately, internet popularity comes and goes quickly, and the buzz from Old Ma’s previous livestreams with DGE Club’s veteran players had gradually subsided.

As for Old Ma’s Weibo followers, they were just interested in his money and hadn’t yet made Pei Qian feel any danger.

Therefore, Pei Qian planned to completely sever the connection between Ma Yang and the DGE Club!

If Old Ma saw his follower growth slowing down and decided to join DGE Club’s players for an exhibition match as “Coach Ma,” his popularity would surge again, posing a significant risk.

He had to find a way to dispel the undeserved popularity of Old Ma.

So, Pei Qian headed to the DGE Club first, planning to pull the rug out from under Old Ma.

…

At DGE Club, the ten new players had just finished breakfast and were engaged in custom practice.

This was a staple training item for the DGE Club, and it had been proven effective. So, although it was monotonous, everyone practiced very seriously.

Seeing Mr. Pei arrive, Zhang Yuan quickly stood up: “Mr. Pei!”

Pei Qian nodded and went with Zhang Yuan to the conference room, not wanting to disturb the players’ practice.

“Mr. Pei, do you have any instructions for this visit?” Zhang Yuan was a bit excited.

It had been over a month since the Global Invitational ended, and all clubs had fallen into a relatively confused state.

Previously, in preparation for the Global Invitational, various clubs had been investing money, poaching players, and negotiating with emerging streaming platforms—a bustling scene.

The Global Invitational had indeed brought enormous attention to these clubs, but once the competition was over, the buzz gradually subsided.

The next Global Invitational wouldn’t be until this time next year.

So in the short term, neither players nor clubs had much motivation.

Zhang Yuan was now not only responsible for the DGE Club’s daily training but also served as a communication link between the clubs and Tenda, arranging practice matches for the clubs.

It was evident that everyone wasn’t particularly invested. Practice matches were played casually, and star players focused more energy on streaming.

The various clubs turned a blind eye to this and didn’t manage it too strictly.

Zhang Yuan felt that relaxing after the competition was reasonable, but being so scattered and wasting time was somewhat inappropriate.

However, he didn’t have a good way to change this.

And today, Mr. Pei specifically came… was it because of this issue?

Pei Qian took a sip of tea and said, “I’ve already told Mr. Ma not to find DGE’s players to stream together anymore, to avoid affecting everyone’s daily training.”

Zhang Yuan was stunned: “Huh?”

“Um, Mr. Pei, this isn’t an issue. None of the clubs have particularly urgent training plans right now, and the players are streaming anyway. Having Mr. Ma along can help balance the skill level…”

Pei Qian: “?”

Zhang Yuan, whose side are you on!

Pei Qian’s expression became serious: “How can that be acceptable? Our club is a professional club, and our relationship with the players is equal. Their task is to perform well in competitions, not to play games with the boss.”

“So, we must also hold ourselves to strict standards and know our place. We can be managers, but not masters. There’s an essential difference between the two, understand?”

Zhang Yuan couldn’t help but feel deep respect.

Mr. Pei… is so professional?

Even with Mr. Ma, his right-hand man and close friend, is he this strict?

Strictly speaking, Mr. Ma’s finding DGE Club’s veteran players to play games together and boost his popularity did have a sense of misusing public resources for private gain, which wasn’t entirely appropriate.

But thinking carefully, it wasn’t that serious, and the players hadn’t taken it to heart.

Even so, Mr. Pei had explicitly told Mr. Ma not to disturb everyone’s daily training anymore. Personal friendship was one thing, work was another.

Each matter was dealt with separately, clearly distinguished!

Zhang Yuan suddenly realized that Mr. Pei was setting rules and examples for the DGE Club and the entire GOG professional scene!

The domestic esports industry was just starting, and many clubs were toys for rich kids, with very irregular management. Some players who played games with the boss and had good relationships could remain securely in their positions, which was not a phenomenon a proper club should have.

Mr. Pei was leading by example, not even making an exception for Mr. Ma, which undoubtedly sent a very clear signal.

It showed Mr. Pei’s determination in promoting club standardization!

Zhang Yuan couldn’t help but feel profound respect: “Yes, Mr. Pei. I will supervise the club’s training well, ensure the club’s professionalism, and prevent those irrelevant matters from distracting the players!”

Pei Qian was stunned, momentarily speechless.

I just said not to let the players play games with Old Ma and boost his popularity.

I didn’t say anything else!

What’s with all these inferences you’re drawing?

Anyway, the result is the same.

Pei Qian silently took a sip of tea.

Actually, the main purpose of today’s visit was about Old Ma’s issue, and he didn’t have other plans.

But since he was here, he might as well ask about the situation of these clubs.

With this in mind, Pei Qian casually asked: “How is the DGE Club doing recently? What about the other clubs?”

Pei Qian was just asking casually, since DGE Club and other clubs also had the potential to backstab him.

Zhang Yuan perked up.

Here it comes!

Mr. Pei’s visit was indeed to provide guidance!

He knew that Mr. Pei had a deeper plan for the entire GOG esports industry. The previous month of letting things run their course was just to allow everyone to relax after the Global Invitational.

Now, there are new arrangements, aren’t there?

Zhang Yuan quickly organized his thoughts and began reporting to Mr. Pei.

“Mr. Pei, DGE Club is still following the previous schedule for daily training.”

“The ten new players we recruited all have good talent. Although they haven’t fully adapted to the rhythm of competitions yet, under the guidance of Huang Wang, Jiang Huan, and other veteran players, they’re playing better and better.”

“However, given the limited time, DGE Club is currently at a lower-tier level among all domestic clubs.”

“As for other clubs, they’ve fully adopted DGE Club’s schedule and training methods. Because of the inclusion of fitness training, the physical condition of these team members has shown significant improvement.”

“However, there are still differences in the management teams of various clubs. We can only ensure that DGE Club’s veteran players aren’t mistreated; we can’t interfere in clubs’ internal affairs.”

“Of course, all clubs give us some respect and don’t dare to mistreat our former members.”

“After the Global Invitational, the champion and runner-up teams and core players received the most attention. Now, the various clubs are just playing regular practice matches, and players stream in their other time.”

“However, without recent competitions, the effect of practice matches isn’t very good. Everyone plays rather casually.”

“Streaming platforms have been developing rapidly recently, offering increasingly high prices to unsigned star players.”

“At the same time, streaming platforms and clubs are also establishing collaborations, so although there’s harmony among clubs, the competition for excellent players is becoming increasingly intense.”

Pei Qian was instantly alert.

Streaming platforms offering increasingly high prices?

Is competition for excellent players becoming increasingly intense among clubs?

These were not optimistic signals!

Pei Qian was very clear that the popularity of streaming platforms would definitely increase, and users would grow. With more hot money, streamers’ incomes would certainly rise with the tide.

And the players of esports clubs were a tier above all game streamers.

Apart from a few streamers with distinctive personal styles who were good at creating content, most viewers still preferred watching skilled players.

Because the spirit of esports was all about skill, the incompetent didn’t deserve applause.

Then, clubs would inevitably have extremely high commercial value. Whether it was various sponsorships or streaming platform contract commissions, there would be profit channels.

And DGE Club had somehow inexplicably positioned itself at the top of all clubs, which was the most absurd thing.

So based on this inference, would streaming platforms offer DGE’s players larger contracts? Give the club more money?

Would more sponsors approach them?

When other clubs came to DGE to buy players, would they be more willing to pay high prices?

If transfer fees shot up to several million or even tens of millions, wouldn’t that be disastrous?

DGE Club was already a sacred place in the hearts of many gaming addicts. If one player were bought, someone else would immediately be eager to join. Sell one, make a profit; sell another, make another profit. It would never end.

Moreover, increasing popularity meant the environment would become increasingly chaotic. Capital entry would create a large bubble, and these bubbles would greatly increase the DGE Club’s risk of making money.

For most clubs, popularity was good, but for Pei Qian, it was something to be feared.

Although there didn’t seem to be such danger in the short term, from a long-term perspective, this risk had to be prevented.

Pei Qian couldn’t control how much money other clubs made, but the DGE Club must make as little money as possible.

But… how could he continue to reduce DGE Club’s income?

He couldn’t be too extreme; directly refusing all income wouldn’t be appropriate. It had to be done with reason and evidence.

Or perhaps, think from another angle and come up with other ways to spend money. Increasing expenditure while decreasing income, spending more would be equivalent to earning less.

Pei Qian fell into deep thought.

Zhang Yuan’s heart leaped with joy. There it was, the contemplative Mr. Pei!

He didn’t dare disturb him and patiently waited for Mr. Pei to finish thinking.

After a moment of consideration, Pei Qian said: “Streaming platforms offering increasingly high prices and teams competing more intensely for players is, in a sense, a good thing. It represents the entire GOG esports scene, gaining higher attention.”

“But we must also be vigilant about the risks behind this.”

“The involvement of streaming platforms, offering higher salaries than clubs, might lead many players to focus on making money from streaming and neglect competitions, right?”

“As competition for players intensifies among teams, might there be unfair competition or manipulation of contracts?”

“This is something we must guard against. If we don’t handle this well, the entire GOG esports environment will be affected.”

“I think it’s necessary to establish another department to provide unified management for the operation of the entire GOG esports environment!”