The three club bosses exchanged glances with each other, and finally, Ding Gan spoke up.
“Mr. Pei, of course, we’ll honor the contract. We’re businesspeople; we all have a sense of contractual spirit and would never default without reason.”
“However… setting aside those little episodes earlier, we are genuinely supporting the GPL league.”
“How about this: we’ll pay the 15 million in full, and beyond that, each of our clubs is willing to add another 5 million. Three clubs for a total of 60 million, to buy back three GPL slots. What do you think?”
These three club bosses had discussed this before coming.
With things having reached this point, the choices before them were very limited.
Breaching the contract was not an option. That would be equivalent to directly breaking ties with Mr. Pei and all the clubs that had just acquired GPL slots. Neither face nor money could be saved.
Of course, these three clubs could also choose to take the money and leave, but in that case, it would be almost impossible to return to the GPL league.
Because judging from this auction, GPL league slots would become more and more expensive. Now they had sold their divisions and slots for 15 million; it would be impossible to buy them back in the future.
So, these three clubs wanted to try to see if Mr. Pei would be willing to provide three additional slots for 20 million.
Directly expanding the GPL league slots to 19.
Since the relevant matters of the GPL league had not been completely finalized, there was still room for negotiation regarding the slots.
This way, the three clubs would be effectively paying their GOG divisions plus 5 million to keep their GPL slots. They would still be at a loss, but at least they could stay in the league.
As for Mr. Pei’s side…
60 million at this stage should make Mr. Pei somewhat tempted, right?
As for how to arrange the schedule for 19 teams and how to appease other clubs… these minor details weren’t as important.
The three club bosses looked at Mr. Pei with hopeful eyes.
Pei Qian’s mouth twitched slightly.
They’re still trying to give me money?
And they casually offer 60 million without a second thought?
Pei Qian was still racking his brain over how to spend that 100 million plus. He had just begun to have some ideas, and now these three clubs wanted to give him another 60 million!
“No!” Pei Qian said decisively.
The three bosses were stunned.
Mr. Pei… so resolute?
60 million, and he wouldn’t even consider it seriously?
Ding Gan hesitated: “Uh… Mr. Pei, regarding the money, we can negotiate further…”
“How about we add some more?”
Pei Qian inwardly sneered.
Add more money?
He took a sip of tea and quickly thought of a reason for refusal:
“This isn’t about money at all.”
“Sixteen slots were determined very early on. Adding more would make the schedule difficult to arrange.”
“If we increased to 19 teams, not only would there have to be matches every day, but the interval between matches for a single team would become too long, which is not conducive to maintaining their level.”
“Tenda is a company that keeps its word. We’ve already told other clubs and audiences that the GPL league only has 16 slots. If we took money to bend the rules, it would be like slapping our face.”
“That’s impossible.”
The three club bosses looked at each other, their expressions somewhat bitter.
Who could they blame?
They could only say they were confused for a moment. The script was supposed to be them securing GPL slots and watching others fight tooth and nail to get in, but now it had reached the point where they had lost their slots.
Getting up early only to catch the late fair—who could bear this!
Ding Gan was still unwilling to give up and proposed a new solution: “Well, Mr. Pei, how about this? The GPL league should have a promotion and relegation system, right? We’ll rebuild our teams and fight our way back to GPL. That should be acceptable, right?”
Pei Qian was silent for a moment: “The GPL league has no promotion and relegation system.”
“There will be an Internet Café League and a professional development league, GDL. The Internet Café League will screen out slots for GDL. But there are no promotion matches, and the GDL champion cannot obtain a GPL slot.”
The three club bosses were dumbfounded, their expressions incredibly pained, feeling as if they had lost 100 million.
Regarding the overall structure of the entire GOG esports league ecosystem, Pei Qian has been considering it these days.
The Internet Café League and GDL would be established, but the key question was whether to have promotion and relegation matches.
Whether there was a promotion and relegation system or not had a minimal impact on Pei Qian personally, because officials would not directly obtain income from it.
So, Pei Qian was considering it from the perspective of the entire competition.
After all, he also had another identity as an ordinary spectator of the GPL league. In order to see more exciting matches and for the GPL league to bring glory in the world finals, Pei Qian had to establish a better system for the GPL league.
Pei Qian’s remembered experience showed that a promotion and relegation system looked good on paper but actually had little significance in practice and even had some counterproductive effects.
Many people believed that promotion and relegation matches would put pressure on the bottom teams in GPL while giving motivation to the top teams in GDL, making competition more intense and improving the overall level.
But the problem was that this theory was too idealistic. In practice, the situation was completely the opposite.
For bottom teams in GPL, the pressure of promotion and relegation matches was indeed great, because relegation meant all their investment would be wasted, resulting in severe losses.
But in this situation, more clubs, in order to successfully avoid relegation, would not cultivate and train new players but would choose to let experienced veterans continue playing.
Because using new players carried risks, if they failed, the losses would be severe. Veterans, though lacking potential and ceiling, were stable enough and could dominate weaker opponents.
Even if veterans were beaten badly in the GPL league, as long as they could dominate the top teams in GDL, that would be enough.
As for GDL teams, to grab GPL slots, directly spending money to buy strong veterans or foreign players would actually be the quickest approach.
So, a system intended to enhance competition objectively made all teams focus only on immediate paper strength while neglecting long-term goals.
Some potential newcomers would find it difficult to get playing time in such a utilitarian environment, completely contrary to the original intention of the system.
On the contrary, by canceling the promotion and relegation system, clubs would promote more newcomers to play, and their style would be more aggressive. There wouldn’t be situations where both teams played it safe, just farming without daring to fight.
So, after careful consideration, Pei Qian felt it was better not to have promotion and relegation matches.
Ding Gan frowned: “Mr. Pei, does that mean our club will never be able to return to GPL in this lifetime?”
“Mr. Pei, our SUG has been deeply cultivating the esports field for many years. If GPL excludes us, it’s also a loss!”
Pei Qian looked at the three club bosses and said: “Well… It’s not completely impossible to come back.”
“Maintaining a GPL slot requires continuous investment. Once a club hits rock bottom, loses consecutively, and cannot bring brand value to its parent company but becomes a burden instead, there will be clubs wanting to exit.”
“At this point, we will act as intermediaries, facilitating the transfer of GPL slots.”
“And clubs that achieve good results in the GDL league will receive a 30% discount when purchasing GPL slots.”
In other words, when a club was burning money and not producing results, they could choose to use newcomers, cultivate talent, and continue to persevere, or they could choose to transfer and cut their losses while still making some money.
This way, it guaranteed the interests of existing GPL league teams, allowing them not to suffer too great a loss whether they stayed or left, so they could invest with peace of mind, while also providing some convenience for GDL league clubs.
Ding Gan and the other two club bosses were silent for a long time and could only nod helplessly.
“Alright, Mr. Pei.”
They had no choice. This was the best solution they could fight for.
At least they still had 15 million in hand.
They would first compete in GDL, build teams, cultivate players, and achieve results. Then, some excellent players could be sold at high prices to GPL teams. At the same time, when there were changes in GPL slots, they would have priority to enter and could spend less money.
The three club bosses had never imagined that they had only intended to put a little pressure on Tenda, to make Tenda make some concessions on the standard player contracts.
But unexpectedly, as they played the game, they lost everything, ending up in this situation.
…
After the three club bosses left, Pei Qian said to Zhang Yuan: “I’ve figured out the rules for the GPL league.”
“Internet Café League, Professional Development League GDL, and Professional League GPL. Among them, as I just said, GPL slots have no promotion and relegation matches, but can be transferred.”
“As for the money these clubs pay for slots, it will be divided into three parts.”
“The first part will be returned to these clubs for specific use in maintaining youth training bases. Each club must have a youth training base to absorb some young, potential players who currently lack the strength to compete in professional leagues. This allows these newcomers to experience the professional atmosphere early on, face the reality of going professional sooner, and be prepared.”
“The second part will be used to support the development of the GDL league and Internet Café League. The Professional Development League receives relatively little attention, so give these clubs more support and exposure opportunities.”
“The third part will be used for GPL’s daily operations, maintenance, and construction.”
Zhang Yuan was stunned: “Huh? Mr. Pei, only using this small amount of money for GPL’s daily operations? I’m afraid the rent for venues and various miscellaneous expenses won’t be covered!”
Pei Qian nodded: “Of course it can’t be covered. It was never intended to be covered by this money.”
“In the future, matches can sell tickets, there can be sponsors and advertisers, and there are many ways to make a profit.”
“Tenda is the organizer; don’t always focus on these immediate small profits. We should have a long-term vision. If there’s not enough money, Tenda will advance it first, and we’ll talk about making money later.”
Zhang Yuan couldn’t help but feel deep respect.
Indeed, Mr. Pei still had long-term goals!
Though investing this money might not show immediate results, in the long run, it would greatly improve the ecosystem of the entire esports industry!
Pei Qian hadn’t thought that much; he had simply chosen the option least likely to make money in the short term.
This money only had three possible destinations: either spent on the league with heavy promotion, or all given to clubs to renovate training bases and environments, or invested in the cultivation system.
Both spending on the league or clubs would quickly enhance competitive level, increase viewership, and attract attention. If the sudden surge in popularity attracted many major sponsors, they might start making profits before this cycle even ended.
Based on experience, this possibility was not low.
So, after careful consideration, Pei Qian still decided to invest in the cultivation system, build youth training bases for clubs, and support the development of GDL and the Internet Café League. This way, the effects would be slower, allowing him to hold out a bit longer.