After finishing another commentary rehearsal, the three individuals paused for a break, drinking water to soothe their throats.
Encouragingly, although this professional player had no previous commentary experience, his eloquence was quite good. After several hours of practice, his coordination with the two official commentators had become quite impressive.
Seeing the three taking a break, the ICL League director hurried over and handed each of them some materials.
“These are pre-match materials compiled by the backstage data team, including statistics for both teams and each player, as well as predictions for today’s picks and bans. Take a look in advance to familiarize yourselves.”
“When you go on stage, bring these materials with you, and don’t forget a pen. Don’t let the commentary desk be completely empty like before.”
The director emphasized these points repeatedly.
Previously, the official commentators had been mocked by viewers for not having any match materials on their desk.
This criticism was actually quite unreasonable, since the ICL League had been broadcasting for some time, and the commentators’ desks had always been empty without viewers raising any objections.
But once Bunny Tail Livestream’s secondary stream appeared, and viewers saw Bunny Tail’s commentators each with a set of materials and a tablet computer, they immediately began finding fault with the official commentators’ empty desks.
Bunny Tail Livestream’s commentators had such high game understanding and still diligently did their homework, with full pre-match preparation, and carefully taking notes on key moments during matches. Meanwhile, the official commentators had poor game understanding and didn’t prepare or take notes?
This was a case of attitude determining success or failure. No wonder the official commentators had poor game understanding—not only were they lacking in ability, but their attitude was also lacking!
Many viewers held this opinion, so this time the ICL officials didn’t dare to be stubborn, and made sure to address these surface-level issues.
Of course, the data provided was definitely genuine and useful.
Having more data was never a bad thing. The more data the official commentators displayed, the more it demonstrated thorough preparation, since nothing was more convincing than clear numbers.
In addition, the real-time data function that had been prepared earlier was now ready to go live.
Everything was in place, just waiting for the matches to officially begin in the afternoon.
…
Around 5 PM, the ICL League broadcast signals were simultaneously connected to various streaming platforms, and viewers received notifications from these platforms to watch the matches on time.
Today there would again be two matches. At 5 PM was a relatively unimportant match, while FV Team’s match was scheduled for the prime time slot of 7 PM.
This arrangement accommodated most people’s viewing schedules. The 7 PM slot, especially on weekends, attracted the largest audience, so it was essential to schedule star teams like FV for these times whenever possible.
For the ICL League officials, the first match was a good opportunity for the new commentary team to practice and adjust, rather than immediately diving into the headlining FV match with too much pressure, which could be difficult to manage if problems arose.
“Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the ICL League Spring Season Week 3, Day 2 matches…”
The official commentators began with their usual introduction, but viewers in all streaming rooms could notice some changes at the official commentary desk.
First, there was a new person who had previously only been seen in player shots. Second, the commentary desk was no longer empty; like Bunny Tail Livestream’s commentary desk, it was now piled with materials.
After the introduction, the host commentator introduced this new commentator to the audience: he was still a professional player, and was making a temporary guest appearance to better interpret the game content and bring a better gaming experience to the audience.
Of course, “temporary guest appearance” was just an excuse to test the audience’s reaction.
If viewers responded positively, they would naturally keep this professional player as a regular; if the response was negative, they could easily replace him.
Additionally, the host commentator also introduced the “real-time data” function, reminding viewers that they could click on the small bubble in the upper right corner to see the real-time data list, which, combined with professional commentary, would enhance their viewing experience.
Zhao Xuming had also come to the venue today and was watching the match while using his phone to observe viewer reactions in the livestream chat.
“The official platform is copying Bunny Tail Livestream? Hiring professional players as commentators, adding real-time data… could they be any more blatant?”
“There’s no patent protection for this. What’s wrong with learning from others? Besides, it’s all about improving the viewing experience.”
“I think admitting mistakes and making changes is commendable. If the official broadcast stubbornly continued as before without making changes, that would be a real problem!”
“Indeed, this is healthy competition, nothing to criticize.”
“Looks like I don’t need to go to Bunny Tail Livestream to watch matches today. Wolf Fang’s client is more comfortable to use anyway!”
The reactions from viewers in the chat were generally positive, which pleased Zhao Xuming.
As planned earlier, after briefly introducing the two teams in today’s first match, the host commentator passed the conversation to the professional player, letting him handle the pre-match predictions and analysis.
The professional player was well-prepared and provided a multi-faceted introduction, covering both teams’ tactical reserves, star players, and recent game version characteristics. Combined with the various data displayed on screen and provided by the real-time data function, his explanations were compelling and thorough.
Sure enough, the pick and ban phase went very much as this professional player had predicted.
This was because team composition choices were determined by three main factors: first, looking at the version’s strongest heroes and lineups; second, considering players’ hero pools; and third, evaluating the paper strength of the entire lineup across multiple dimensions such as laning, team fights, and split pushing in the early, mid, and late game.
The professional player already had a good understanding of these two mid-to-bottom tier teams. Combined with the extensive data provided by officials, he successfully predicted both teams’ compositions with about 80-90% accuracy, often calling out a hero just before the players locked it in.
Once the match began, the host commentator described the situation on the field, the team fight commentator handled the exciting team battles, and the professional player interjected his understanding of the current situation during pauses in the other two commentators’ coverage, analyzing the next steps from both teams’ perspectives.
For example, he explained how the stronger side should expand their advantage, and how the weaker side should avoid fights and trade resources.
Although the coordination between the three commentators occasionally had minor flaws, with instances of talking over each other, the overall effect was quite good.
After this match, Zhao Xuming once again opened the ICL League livestreams on various platforms and forums to check viewer feedback.
“Today’s official commentators get a thumbs up!”
“The two veterans are quite good, controlling the rhythm perfectly, with exciting team fight coverage. Add in the professional analysis, and today’s commentary gives absolutely no urge to switch channels.”
“People used to complain these old commentators lacked game understanding, but now it’s proven they’re essential for guiding the rhythm.”
“This proves that Bunny Tail Livestream’s so-called ‘professionalism’ isn’t that hard to achieve. The official commentators just needed to bring in a professional player and prepare some data to reach a similar level!”
“Indeed, in terms of eloquence and excitement levels during commentary, the official commentators are even better!”
“Many people were hyping up Bunny Tail Livestream before, even praising them for having notebooks on the commentary desk. What about now? The official commentators are just as good, right?”
Reading the viewers’ comments, Zhao Xuming couldn’t help feeling smug.
Look at that! Look at that!
Immediate results!
Sure enough, professional players’ game understanding wasn’t that different from each other. Bunny Tail Livestream merely gained an early advantage by bringing in two professional players as commentators. How could they possibly keep the official commentators down forever?
Zhao Xuming felt relieved, put away his phone, and continued watching the following matches with confidence.
…
Soon, the first match ended with a 2-0 score.
Although this wasn’t a focal match, there was clearly a significant gap in strength between the two teams, with the weaker side offering little resistance before calling GG.
This was one of Zhao Xuming’s current concerns—the severe stratification of strength in the entire GPL League. At the very top was FV Team in a class of its own, followed by SUG a tier below, and then a substantial gap before reaching the other teams.
This couldn’t be helped. After all, the domestic ioi server environment wasn’t very conducive, with few new talents, making it difficult for trailing teams to catch up. This strength disparity would likely continue for a long time.
However, for Zhao Xuming, this wasn’t a particularly serious problem. It would surely be resolved as the GPL League developed rapidly.
Even if he were anxious, this problem couldn’t be solved quickly. Besides, Zhao Xuming had more important work to focus on.
After a brief transition, today’s main event—the FV Team match—was about to begin.
The director had already provided the data for both teams in the second match to the commentary desk. During the intermission when ads were playing, all three commentators were busy familiarizing themselves with this data.
The professional player, flipping through FV Team’s recent hero selections, confidently said: “In recent matches, FV Team has basically been alternating between two tactical setups.”
“Although they’ve used different heroes in each match, their tactical choices haven’t strayed from the scope of these two setups.”
“Today, unless something unexpected happens, they’ll likely use one of these two tactical setups.”
The host commentator asked: “Isn’t FV Team known for their complex and diverse tactics?”
The professional player nodded: “They are indeed known for complex and diverse tactics, but in the current situation, there’s really no need to reveal too many tactics.”
“Since FV Team has been playing against relatively weaker teams, alternating between two tactical setups allows them to keep winning, so there’s really no need to reveal other tactics.”
“That’s how our club operates—we only use our ‘trump cards’ in truly critical matches.”
The host commentator was pleased: “If that’s the case, that’s great. As long as FV Team continues to use these mature tactics, our commentary will be much easier.”
This was because FV Team’s two currently used tactical setups had already been studied extensively by the official data team. From hero selection to tactical choices during matches, almost every aspect had been thoroughly analyzed.
If FV Team continued to use these tactics, the three official commentators could present all their pre-prepared content, achieving a “spoiler-type commentary” effect.
Combined with exciting team fight explanations, they would definitely outperform Bunny Tail Livestream’s commentators!
The three commentators spent the remaining time sharpening their skills, full of confidence for the upcoming commentary.
…
After a short break, the second match began as scheduled.
FV Team’s players entered the arena to thunderous applause and cheers from the audience.
The number of viewers and chat messages in various livestreams also showed a significant increase.
As a championship team that had recently won a world tournament and maintained an undefeated record in the Spring Season, FV Team commanded about 80% of the entire ICL League’s traffic. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them the lifeblood of the ICL League.
Seeing such enthusiastic support from the audience, the three commentators were eager to put on their best performance.
Soon, the match entered the ban and pick phase.
“Since the official start of the ICL League, FV Team has maintained an undefeated record. Will they continue their unbeaten streak today? Let’s wait and see!”