Looking at the final numbers on the projection screen, Pei Qian quietly sighed and said to Zhang Yuan, “After the bidding ends, take these bosses who secured slots to the Nameless Restaurant for dinner.”
Zhang Yuan was stunned for a moment. “What about you, Mr. Pei?”
Pei Qian shook his head, “I won’t be going. I’m tired.”
Zhang Yuan quickly nodded in understanding, “Alright, Mr. Pei. Leave it to me!”
Although these people had driven the GPL slot prices very high, making Pei Qian very angry, the Nameless Restaurant had already prepared everything, and if they didn’t go, the ingredients would be wasted.
Wasting food was not good behavior.
So, Pei Qian still decided to let them go eat, but he would not participate.
It was easy to imagine what the scene at the dinner table would be like.
If Pei Qian were present, he would suffer the second, third, and fourth waves of pain.
So, he left this matter to Zhang Yuan.
As for Pei Qian himself, it was best to return home and think carefully about how to spend this hundred-plus million.
Following the principle that whoever earns the money spends it, since the money came from the GPL league, using it on the GPL league seemed to be the best choice.
But specifically, should he spend it on GPL venues? Enhance GPL event promotion? Cultivate the entire lower-level league’s ability to generate income? Or should he get better training bases for these clubs?
There were many ways to spend money, and Pei Qian felt he needed to calm down and think carefully, to come up with a plan with the lowest returns.
After instructing Zhang Yuan on a few matters, Pei Qian quietly sighed and got up to leave.
All the bidding had been completed, and now they just needed to formally sign contracts and transfer the money later.
Lin Chang immediately stood up, came over to shake hands with Li Shi, and they exchanged business cards.
Other bosses who had secured GPL slots were also exchanging business cards and getting to know each other.
After all, these were all prominent figures who had gathered here out of trust in Mr. Pei. They more or less had mutual friends, so getting to know each other and expanding their social circles was a natural thing to do.
Moreover, they would need to work closely together for the future GPL league, as their interests were aligned.
Lin Chang was naturally the most dazzling figure among this group, surrounded by everyone like a star.
After the small talk ended, Lin Chang looked around and was stunned. “Hey, where’s Mr. Pei?”
He had thought Mr. Pei would stay at the scene, but in a moment of inattention, he had disappeared.
Zhang Yuan hurriedly explained, “Everyone, Mr. Pei is busy with work, so he left first. However, Mr. Pei has decided to host a banquet for everyone at the Nameless Restaurant. Please follow me.”
Hearing that Mr. Pei had left, everyone was a bit disappointed.
But upon hearing the latter part, smiles appeared on everyone’s faces again.
They could go eat at the Nameless Restaurant again!
It must be said that while the Nameless Restaurant was delicious, it was also truly difficult to book.
Mr. Pei had reserved seats in advance to treat everyone to a meal, which showed great sincerity. Being too busy to accompany them was something everyone understood!
Under Zhang Yuan’s guidance, the bosses who had secured GPL slots chatted happily as they prepared to leave the DGE Club for the Nameless Restaurant.
Those company representatives who had failed to secure slots also left separately.
The managers of the other two clubs looked ashen, exchanging glances, their faces filled with anger as they looked at Manager Li.
The current situation was ninety-nine percent Manager Li’s fault!
They had also been trying to think of countermeasures during the bidding, but couldn’t come up with anything.
Having already reached this point, what else could they do?
They could only resign themselves to fate and be at the mercy of others.
However, before these two managers could confront Manager Li, they saw him rush ahead and follow the boss who had bid for the SUG club’s GOG branch.
Manager Li’s face was full of smiles, “Mr. Fu, I’m the manager of the SUG club, my surname is Li. I see you’ve bid for our club’s GOG branch and GPL slot, which is a kind of destiny.”
“Would you like to exchange business cards? I hope we can have opportunities to cooperate in the future…”
But before Manager Li could finish, Mr. Fu had already very politely interrupted him.
“Manager Li, to be honest, I didn’t understand the inside story and accidentally bid on it. I was hoping others would raise the price, but everyone avoided it, so it fell into my hands.”
“I spent over ten million and still made Mr. Pei unhappy, and now I need to find ways to make amends! Don’t you think I got the raw end of the deal?”
“Manager Li, don’t try to take advantage and still act smug. Mr. Pei didn’t go all the way only because you were among the earliest to support him, though he’s unhappy, he still gave you a chance to sell high after buying low.”
“As for cooperation, I don’t think there’s any need. I’m sorry, but I still need to join everyone at Mr. Pei’s dinner. Goodbye.”
After speaking, Mr. Fu immediately turned around and quickened his pace to catch up with Zhang Yuan, Lin Chang, and the others, who were already walking away.
Manager Li opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but in the end, he was left speechless.
……
……
November 7th, Monday.
News about the GPL league slot bidding had already spread online and quickly became a hot topic, climbing to the top of various websites’ trending lists.
“GOG Domestic League GPL Slots Auction Creates Record-Breaking Prices!”
“Total Price 180 Million, Will E-sports Be the Next Hot Field?”
“Shenhua Real Estate Secures GPL Slot for 26 Million, Announcing Strong Entry into E-sports Industry!”
“Online Leak Reveals GPL League’s 16-Team List, Featuring Shenhua Real Estate, Jinding Group, Fuhui Capital, and Others!”
“SUG and Two Other Clubs Tragically Removed from GPL League!”
Similar messages came one after another.
There was no official confirmation here; all were “rumors” and “insider leaks,” but the information was very comprehensive, with many sources that could verify each other, making it seem highly credible.
This news quickly sparked heated discussions among netizens!
Most netizens are naturally sensitive to numbers, and the figures 180 million and 26 million instantly sparked people’s curiosity.
Previously, in the domestic and even the global e-sports circle, such large numbers had never been heard of!
The domestic e-sports circle originally had no leagues, let alone “league slots.” There were only a few clubs in the entire country, and when hosting competitions, organizers would try to include all registered teams rather than limiting slots.
As for paying to buy slots, that was even more absurd.
But now, before the GPL league had even started, just the mere participation slots had been auctioned for 26 million, which was unprecedented for the domestic e-sports circle.
These companies participating in the GPL slot bidding were all well-known companies in China, which further made the spectators realize the financial power of the GPL league.
In addition, the news of SUG and two other clubs being removed also attracted close attention from spectators.
“It’s terrifying. Other game organizers have to beg these clubs to participate in their competitions, but Mr. Pei is different. The GPL league hasn’t even started yet, and he’s already selling slots!”
The slots sold for 180 million. Is this going to rival football in the future?”
“Rival football? Dream on, it’s still far from it. Even if slots are auctioned for 26 million, it’s still nothing compared to football.”
“But think about it: how long has football been developing? And how long has e-sports been developing? GOG has only been around for less than a year and has already reached this level. If it can truly run for three, five, or even ten years, it might be able to compete with football!”
“Have you ever seen a game that can remain popular for ten years? GOG definitely won’t. I think this is just another bubble inflated by capital, maybe lively for a year or two, but it will quickly become neglected.”
“What’s the deal with SUG and those three clubs being removed? Did they do something wrong?”
“I heard it seems like these three clubs actively sold their GOG branches, and they only got less than 15 million! No one can say exactly what happened, but they seem to have offended Mr. Pei…”
“What does that mean? Is this rumor true? Pure GPL slots sold for 26 million, but the slot and the entire team package sold for only 15 million? So the team’s value is negative ten million or more?”
“I got some new gossip today, saying it’s related to the standardized contract Mr. Pei wanted to implement recently. These clubs didn’t want to accept the standardized contract, so they united to pressure Mr. Pei… As a result, reality proved they were overthinking. Mr. Pei was glad they left, wanting to replace them with other, wealthier companies to run GPL!”
“Serves them right! Using contracts to trap professional players was wrong in the first place. Mr. Pei gave them a way out, and they didn’t appreciate it. Anyway, SUG’s players are still there, just changing the team name, and they can get a better boss. I fully support this!”
“To be honest, the domestic e-sports environment has always been chaotic, precisely because of these amateur clubs messing around! Now that Mr. Pei has stepped up to standardize the entire industry environment and protect player interests, I have even more confidence in GPL!”
“Haha, the remaining clubs probably won’t dare to pull any tricks under Mr. Pei’s nose now…”
The spectators were thoroughly enjoying this drama.
Some praised Mr. Pei for efficiently organizing an e-sports league, something so difficult to set up, with such decisiveness.
Others discussed these new major financial backers entering the e-sports industry, with unlimited optimism for GPL’s future.
And others, combining with previous events, harshly criticized these three clubs.
Even SUG’s fans were furious, frantically expressing their anger in the comments section of the club’s Weibo page.
On one side, others were buying GPL slots for 26 million;
On the other side, these three clubs had sold their GPL slots and entire GOG branches for 15 million.
How brain-dead did you have to be to do something like that?
The key was that when the SUG club was criticized by fans and mocked by spectators, they couldn’t refute or even explain!
How could they explain?
Who could have anticipated it would end up like this?
For uninformed spectators, they didn’t know the twists and turns involved. They only saw that the SUG club had sold a GPL slot worth 26 million for 15 million, and threw in the entire branch as well.
But these twists and turns couldn’t be explained.
Because even if they explained, no one would think the clubs had been tricked; they would instead think the clubs’ operations were even more brain-dead.
So, they could only lie flat and accept the ridicule, unable even to come out and explain.
As for what kind of storm these three club managers would face when they returned, that remained unknown.
The only consoling thought was that they were all still relatively young, so changing careers now shouldn’t be too late.
……
Inside a certain office building.
Someone was scrolling through recent GPL bidding gossip on their phone while their computer screen displayed the investment page of Tenda’s Dream Realization Investment.
Stroking the two small mustaches on his upper lip, he muttered to himself, “Tenda’s reputation is so effective? Is its influence so strong?”
“It’s practically a call that receives a hundred responses!”
“The GPL league hasn’t even started yet, and there’s still no visible hope for profit. It’s just an empty promise, yet it has attracted over a hundred million in funding.”
“What’s more terrifying is that everyone spontaneously boycotted those three clubs, preferring to buy pure slots for over 20 million rather than touch those teams bundled for sale at 15 million, just wanting to send money to Tenda!”
“This is truly unheard of.”
“It’s perfect timing that Tenda’s Dream Realization Investment is now open for investment from social enterprises. I applied with a mindset of trying my luck, and unexpectedly, I was selected.”
“With my ability to paint a rosy picture, if I can also get Tenda’s investment, triggering other companies to follow with investments…”
“Wouldn’t I be able to relocate abroad and enjoy my later years in just two or three years?”