The competition continued.

The second match was between SUG Club and Group A’s first-place team. SUG was inferior in overall strength, but the match was unexpectedly close, going the full five games of the BO5.

Ding Gan sat below the stage, dripping with nervous sweat.

After yesterday’s matches, he had spent a long time working on the players’ mindset, telling them to focus all their energy on preparing for today’s first match, striving to secure a win in that first match.

This arrangement was made with two main considerations:

First, the opponent for the first BO5 was already determined, while the opponent for the second BO5 was uncertain—what if FV lost? It would be easier to prepare against the first BO5 opponent.

Second, “the first attack is the strongest, the second weaker, and the third exhausted.” The first match was when the players’ spirits were highest, with a greater chance of winning. Once they lost, the next BO5 would be even harder.

So yesterday, Ding Gan had fired up the players while having the coach make specific tactical arrangements against the familiar team that was Group A’s first seed. Today, these efforts had indeed paid off well.

However, things didn’t develop as Ding Gan had imagined.

There was still a gap in ability between the two sides. After battling for five games, SUG’s players narrowly lost.

Watching the entire match from below the stage, Ding Gan nearly passed out, but there was nothing he could do. He could only hurry backstage to comfort the players and have them continue preparing for the next BO5.

…

Meanwhile, Pei Qian sat in the audience, idly scrolling through his phone.

Because the schedule was so tight, to allow players to rest briefly and give the audience a chance to recover, the break between matches was longer than usual.

After FV Club won their first BO5, securing a spot at the World Championship, Pei Qian’s hopes had already been dashed.

But as the saying goes, “since I’m already here…”

Having traveled all the way to Shanghai, with matches that were quite exciting, he might as well watch the remaining two BO5s before leaving.

Today’s hellish schedule had already run from morning into afternoon, with two complete BO5s, but more terrifyingly, two more BO5s remained.

Many spectators couldn’t take it anymore, with rumbling stomachs and hoarse voices.

Some clever audience members had brought plenty of snacks and drinks, constantly replenishing themselves; those who hadn’t brought snacks were in an awkward position, having to leave temporarily to buy hamburgers, sandwiches, and similar items to stave off hunger.

Pei Qian certainly wouldn’t go hungry—he had sneaked into FV Club’s rest area and eaten to his heart’s content.

So now, Pei Qian was well-fed, scrolling through his phone while waiting for the match to begin.

There were many unread messages on his phone, all from Zhang Yuan, Lin Chang, and others.

“Mr. Pei, how’s the situation in Shanghai? Do you need any help from us?”

“Mr. Pei, there’s a lot of news about you online, probably released by Dragon Yu Group, riding your popularity while stepping on GPL. Should we counter-attack?”

The news of Pei Qian being “caught” by the director at the IOI qualifier venue was already common knowledge across the internet.

Pei Qian didn’t reply. He scrolled through the popular comments on his phone, showing a surprised expression.

Dragon Au Group was doing well!

Their intelligence gathering was good, and they were skillfully setting the tone!

Currently, two main topics were being hotly discussed online: first, that FV Club was a club built by Tenda at enormous expense, aiming to create the strongest IOI team, with Mr. Pei attaching great importance to it; second, that Mr. Pei personally attended the IOI qualification matches, clearly showing that IOI qualifiers were more noteworthy than GPL’s preseason.

This was a standard “build them up to tear them down” technique.

First, they used paid commenters to hype things up crazily, saying FV Club was built by Tenda, was a dream team, determined to win the championship—excessive praise causing bystanders to feel antipathy while maximizing attention.

This way, as soon as FV Club lost in the competition, the paid commenters could immediately flip the narrative, trampling FV Club into worthlessness.

A classic case of fighting oneself from both sides, setting up and shooting at one’s target, achieving a precision strike. The targets were naturally the FV Club, Mr. Pei, and Tenda Group.

It was easy to imagine that once FV Club lost, similar comments would immediately spread across the internet:

“Isn’t Tenda supposed to be good at esports? Is this all your ‘galactic battleship’ built at enormous expense can do? Getting crushed?”

“This proves IOI is better than GPL. Mr. Pei, who commands the wind and clouds in GOG competitions, can’t handle IOI and only gets thrashed!”

“What good is all GPL’s flashiness? Mr. Pei still had to travel to Shanghai to watch his club get destroyed!”

By muddying the waters, Dragon Yu Group would have plenty of room to exploit the situation.

Of course, no matter how much they exploited it, it wouldn’t affect GOG’s dominance in the domestic market, but the buzz would definitely be stolen by IOI.

Zhao Xuming was using Mr. Pei to harvest traffic abundantly, building momentum for the upcoming IOI World Finals—surely a great achievement in the Fingertip company’s eyes.

Pei Qian silently gave a thumbs up in his heart.

Well done!

With FV Club on a winning streak and qualifying for the IOI World Championship, Pei Qian’s mood had been quite heavy, but seeing that Dragon Yu Group was finally being useful made him feel gratified.

This way, if FV Club lost the match for the first seed, the internet would certainly be flooded with negative articles.

As for whether FV Club would lose? Pei Qian thought it was highly probable.

SUG had gone the full BO5 because they were fully prepared, but FV Club wasn’t so thoroughly prepared, and their opponents had surely studied FV’s playing style.

Moreover, the opponent had just won their BO5, so both their morale and condition were at peak levels. Defeating FV in one swift move was highly likely.

Pei Qian and Zhao Xuming, sitting in the audience and backstage respectively, patiently waited for FV Club’s defeat.

…

Amid the audience’s cheers and shouts, the competition continued.

In the first game, FV Club’s strategy seemed to have been figured out by their opponents. The players hadn’t gotten into their rhythm and were performing somewhat abnormally. After symbolic resistance, they were pushed back straightforwardly.

Zhao Xuming was overjoyed, directing the online paid commenters to intensify their efforts, launching heavy attacks against FV Club and Tenda.

In the second game, FV Club switched to a tactic they had never used before, achieving victory through surprise. Despite some twists in the middle, they still tied the score without major scares.

In the third game, a small mistake by FV Club was seized by their opponents, losing by a narrow margin and giving the opponents two match points.

In the fourth game, FV Club battled for nearly fifty minutes, finally achieving a risky base-race victory.

After four games, the two sides reached the deciding game.

Pei Qian checked the time—it was already past 8 PM. The audience in the venue had already entered a state of despair for life, all slumped powerlessly in their chairs, occasionally shaking their empty drink cups before licking their dry, cracked lips and putting them down again in resignation.

There was no help for it; they had been cheering continuously, and their throats were almost hoarse.

Some audience members couldn’t take it anymore and wanted to leave, but considering it was already the fifth and deciding game, they gritted their teeth and endured.

Pei Qian could hardly resist the urge to leave, but then he thought, “Since I’m here, and I’ve watched four games of the BO5, I should at least finish watching the deciding game, right?”

So he suppressed his restless mood and patiently watched the fifth game.

Though the commentators had been replaced with a new group, even these newcomers were now parched and hoarse.

Even so, they still tried hard to energize the venue.

“Alright, the final deciding game is about to begin. Please give your supported team another round of applause and cheers!”

“I have to say, today’s matches have been worth the ticket price, with all three BO5s going the full distance, giving everyone their fill.”

“By now, many spectators may be struggling to keep going, and for the players, at this stage it’s no longer just a contest of skill and tactics, but more a test of willpower.”

“Indeed, we can see that many players look unwell, seizing every moment to recover their energy.”

“Some information for everyone: players don’t dare eat too much during matches because after eating, blood flows to the stomach, causing reduced blood flow to the brain and slower reactions. For professional players, a single reaction often determines victory or defeat in a match. So we can see that players on both sides haven’t eaten much, just some high-calorie foods like chocolate and candy to replenish their energy.”

“I feel for our players. Today, they’ve been playing from morning until night, each team has already played nine games, and most people’s physical energy and attention are at their limits. Let’s hope they can hold on for this final deciding game, giving us an exciting match and leaving themselves without regrets…”

Hearing the commentator’s speech, Pei Qian suddenly froze.

He realized that something seemed off!

Taking a closer look at the expressions of the players on the big screen…

FV Club’s players were all rubbing their hands together eagerly. Though they looked tired, their spirits were still good, still in a state of high morale.

Looking at their opponents, some were slumped in their gaming chairs with eyes closed, resting, while others had their heads down on the desk. Those still barely managing to look at their computer screens were pale-faced, chewing gum vigorously to stay alert.

The physical disparity between the two sides was unmistakable at this moment!

Electronic sports rely mainly on mental capacity. Under normal circumstances, physical condition doesn’t matter as much. In schedules like GPLs, each team plays at most one BO5, and all players can maintain a relatively good competitive state.

But the circumstances of this invitation were special. Through a quirk of fate, it had turned into a gauntlet, with both sides playing exceptionally close matches, ultimately becoming a BO10. Naturally, the opposing players couldn’t hold up.

Looking at FV Club, on the other hand, the players had been working out daily at their previous GPL clubs, significantly improving their stamina. Now, though also tired, they were in much better shape than their opponents.

And this difference could very well determine the outcome of this match!

Pei Qian instantly felt his hands and feet turn cold.

This is bad!

With Pei Qian’s concerns mounting, the final game officially began!

Both sides now knew each other well, and neither dared to make big moves in the deciding game. Everything was played safe, turning the final battle into a test of willpower.

Both sides began making mistakes, but clearly, FV Club was in better condition, with more focused attention. After seizing several opportunities, the scales of victory gradually tilted toward FV Club, and the economic gap between the two sides grew larger and larger…

“Let’s congratulate FV for winning the first seed qualification for the IOI Global Finals!”

The commentator’s voice echoed throughout the venue. FV’s players all jumped up, excitedly hugging each other.

“Awesome!”

“We didn’t let Mr. Pei down, we did it!”

“World Championship, here we come!”

The audience below the stage was equally generous with applause and cheers, the entire venue bathed in a warm atmosphere.

Although SUG still had one BO5 to play and the final spot hadn’t been decided, at this moment, FV Club’s players were the absolute focus in the venue!

…

Backstage in the studio, Zhao Xuming slumped completely in his chair, somewhat despairing of life.

Is this it?

After battling until the end, FV Club still won?

Then all those preparations, all that build-up, weren’t they all wasted?

Zhao Xuming’s mind went blank.

The director frowned and said, “It’s bad, Boss Zhao, many audience members are leaving!”

Zhao Xuming looked up and indeed, large numbers of spectators were leaving the venue!

Many audience members had finally persevered through watching this BO5, but looking at the time—it was almost 9 PM—although there was still one more BO5 to go, many couldn’t hold out any longer and were departing to go home.

Originally, when Zhao Xuming arranged the schedule, his calculations had been quite good.

If there had been one weak team, they would have played fewer games, and all the matches could have finished around 9 PM.

Leaving the BO5 for the last qualification spot until the end would have kept the suspense until the last moment. After finishing, they could immediately hold a departure ceremony, which would have been perfect.

However, with FV mixing things up, the previous arrangements were completely disrupted!

Now the final BO5 hadn’t even started, it was already very late, and audience members couldn’t hold out anymore and wanted to leave. For the departure ceremony later, would there even be any audience left in the venue?

Zhao Xuming stared blankly at the ceiling, feeling that the IOI qualification tournament had now completely exceeded his control abilities…