Three hours later.
“Let’s congratulate FV Team for another dominant 3-0 victory, crushing their opponents once again and successfully advancing to the final!”
“In a situation where all domestic teams were doubted, FV Team has brought us surprise after surprise through their extraordinary performance and bottomless tactical reserves. We believe that on next week’s final stage, they will deliver the same excellent performance as they did today…”
“Please rest for a moment and don’t leave. Shortly, FV Team members will be here for an interview.”
The two Chinese commentators were extremely excited. After finishing the commentary on FV Team’s final 3-0 score, it seemed like one commentator was about to run out of breath, making viewers want to pass him an oxygen tank.
But this was understandable, because FV Team’s performance was simply too inspiring!
The oppressive feeling when snowballing was truly suffocating!
Previously, many people were still worried whether FV Team’s 3-0 victory in the quarterfinals was because their opponents were too weak?
That quarterfinal team was also from Europe and America. Although they dominated in the group stage, BO3 and BO5 are two different games, and many suspected that perhaps the group stage opponents were just too weak?
But after the semifinals, no one discussed the strength of opponents anymore, because there definitely wouldn’t be weak teams in the semifinals!
This opponent that FV Team 3-0’d had also gone through the quarterfinals. Although they entered the semifinals with a 3-1, no one doubted their strength.
And FV Team once again ended the battle with a clean 3-0, not losing any small games up to the finals. This was enough to prove their dominant power was beginning to emerge!
People were already discussing whether FV Team had the “champion look.”
Mr. Pei watched the barrage of comments flooding the screen like a carnival, looking at the live stream with unprecedented high enthusiasm – at least two to three times higher than the group stage. His mood was very complex.
Logically speaking, when domestic teams beat foreign teams in esports and strongly advance to the finals, this should be something worth celebrating for every esports fan.
As an esports enthusiast who unconditionally supports domestic teams, Mr. Pei should have this mindset too.
But when he thought about owning shares in FV Team, Mr. Pei couldn’t feel happy at all.
Now FV Team was already very dangerous. Mr. Pei could foresee that even if FV Team lost in the finals, as long as they didn’t lose too badly, they could still become ioi’s number one team domestically after returning home!
Although in esports, most people believe runners-up are the biggest losers, this saying has context and prerequisites.
The key is the audience’s expectations: if the audience thinks there’s hope to win the championship but ends up with second place, they’ll definitely criticize; but if the audience thinks even making it out of group stages would be difficult, and they end up as runners-up, that far exceeds expectations!
Mainly because the other two teams played perfect supporting roles, getting eliminated in the group stage, greatly lowering the audience’s psychological expectations and giving FV Team a broader stage.
After showing highlights from the entire match, the screen switched to the interview area. Finger Company’s official host and translator were ready. This time, FV Team’s captain Pan Ying was being interviewed.
There was also an interview after winning the quarterfinals, but at that time, Finger Company’s host and the interviewed players clearly weren’t well prepared, especially the host, who probably never expected FV to win.
So the interview covered only conventional questions, without much show effect or significant impact.
This time, the host was clearly well-prepared.
After simple introductions and greetings to the audience, the interview officially began.
Host: “We saw in the two matches from quarterfinals to now, you’ve cleanly defeated your opponents 3-0 both times. Was this result unexpected for you? After all, your opponents were also strong teams. What score did you predict before the matches started?”
Pan Ying, as before, appeared quiet and reserved, without much excited expression. After carefully listening to the translation, he spoke into the microphone: “Not unexpected. We predicted 3-0.”
The host was somewhat surprised: “So confident? As far as I know, team tactics often have two styles: one is preparation-based, where you study several systems beforehand and consider all possible situations that might arise in matches, keeping the game within your tactical development; the other is improvisation-based, where coaches focus more on players’ conditions, choosing signature heroes for star players, making adjustments on the fly. Which type does FV Team lean toward?”
Pan Ying said: “99% of the time, the first type.”
Host: “So everything that happened in these two matches was actually within your plans?”
Pan Ying nodded: “Yes.”
Host: “So the team coach never adapts based on players’ conditions and opponents’ lineups?”
Pan Ying thought for a moment and said: “It just so happened that the opponents’ performance was all within our coaching staff’s expectations, so adaptation wasn’t necessary.”
Host: “In these six games, FV Team used 22 different heroes. Was this also planned?”
Pan Ying nodded: “Yes.”
Host: “Are these all of FV Team’s tactics? Or are there many more tactics not yet used? Will you consider using new tactics in the finals?”
Pan Ying: “Depends on the situation.”
The host smiled somewhat awkwardly. Pan Ying was truly an interview black hole. Each answer was two words at shortest, never more than a sentence at longest. This interview was really exhausting.
However, as an official host, her professional quality was solid. Finally wrapping up the interview, the host said: “Last question, pick someone who has always supported you and say something to them.”
Pan Ying thought for a moment: “To Mr. Pei.”
“Thank you very much, Mr. Pei, for your tactical guidance. Without Mr. Pei’s guidance, encouragement, and support, without Mr. Pei helping us build confidence, we absolutely wouldn’t have made it this far!”
“We will prepare carefully for the final and strive to get good results to repay Mr. Pei’s support!”
The interview ended. Excited viewers were still not over the joy of victory, sending bullet comments to interact.
“Say more! The host is speechless. Can’t carry this interview black hole!”
“Haha, Pan Ying is truly stingy with words. Maybe he’s tight-lipped to avoid revealing tactics?”
“I lose if he says one more word!”
“Why does it feel like he’s showing off? FV Team’s two 3-0 victories were all within their expectations? They didn’t even need to adapt on the fly?”
“How many new tactics has FV used in these two matches? Team fight compositions different from before, split push, early lane pressure… and this still isn’t all their tactics?”
“Six games using 22 different heroes. If I were the opponent, I’d be sick. How can you play this? How do you ban/pick!”
“Today’s opponent coach was already dizzy. FV first-picked a hero no one ever used, and the opponent was stumped. A whole week of preparation went to waste!”
“The final thanks to Mr. Pei seems a bit too calculated? Mr. Pei is the boss, a financial backer. How could he give them tactical guidance? Is Mr. Pei a hidden gaming expert or something?”
“Mr. Pei is GOG’s designer. What’s wrong with giving FV tactical guidance? Don’t be fooled by Mr. Pei’s identity as an entrepreneur and investor. His main job is game designer!”
“So Mr. Pei was behind this too? Mr. Pei is truly everywhere!”
“Didn’t Mr. Pei support FV at the qualifiers in person? This isn’t surprising!”
Pan Ying’s “black hole interview” quickly spread across the internet, especially FV Team’s tactical reserves, becoming a hot topic of discussion.
Others might not understand Pan Ying’s implications, but Mr. Pei could.
Thanks for support clearly referred to business class tickets and The Ritz-Carlton hotel.
Thanks for tactical guidance clearly referred to the tactical decisions during the qualifiers!
When competing for the top seed spot during domestic qualifiers, FV Team had struggled for ten games in difficult circumstances. Some team members questioned Pan Ying’s playstyle, thinking it was hard to win.
It was Mr. Pei who insisted, making the final decision to keep using this playstyle, unifying the team’s thinking and allowing Pan Ying to continue leading and improving the team.
Moreover, having Ye Zhizhou, Zhou Pengyuan, and others coach the team and analyze tactics was also Mr. Pei’s decision.
That’s why Pan Ying considered Mr. Pei as FV Team’s biggest supporter!
But for Mr. Pei, this was devastating.
That’s not what I meant at all!
He never expected his casual remark would give Pan Ying such confidence. Through a series of coincidences, he had created this monster team FV!
Fortunately, the audience didn’t know these details.
Most people were clearly still immersed in the joy of victory, mainly discussing exciting plays and tactical details from matches. They didn’t pay much attention to Pan Ying’s interview segment or Mr. Pei mentioned in it.
Mr. Pei breathed a slight sigh of relief. This was a silver lining in misfortune.
However, just as he was about to turn off the TV and close the forum to get lunch, he suddenly saw a new post on the forum.
“FV Team’s strategies are clearly variations of GOG tactics!”
“I felt FV Team’s playstyle looked familiar. Now thinking carefully, whether it’s lane pressure, split pushing, or team fight coordination, they all have shadows of GOG teams! All the tactics from several GOG powerhouse teams were borrowed and adapted. It’s just less obvious because they’re executed in ioi matches!”
“Look at FV Team’s head coach and you’ll understand. Old Zhou was a GOG star player, one of the DGE Ten. He’s using GOG tactics to play ioi!”