CC’s recent incident inevitably led to an investigation by the league involving personnel associated with CC.
Jiang Min cooperated well with the investigation.
Naturally, he had no problems and wasn’t afraid of being investigated.
However, rumors and gossip online still spread widely.
JW is a very protective club. Once the league’s investigation into Jiang Min concluded with confirmation of no issues, they immediately posted a Weibo, issuing a stern statement to affirm Jiang Min’s innocence.
The league’s official account also retweeted the Weibo.
They do not tolerate rule-breaking players and will not let any player suffer unjustly.
The doubts online gradually subsided.
As for CC, after Lin Hong’s incident, he was inevitably removed from his position as the boss.
Having instructed his players to fix matches using improper methods, he became infamous in the circle, and there has been no news of him since.
After causing a stir online, the match-fixing storm at CC gradually calmed down.
However, CC has no hope for any matches this year. Having barely made it through the regular season with a makeshift team, they can’t even think about the playoffs.
For CC, this season is basically over.
The WPL’s Spring Season regular matches are nearing their end, with a few key matches approaching.
These include JW vs. OVO and the match against AFK.
Currently, AFK leads the standings, followed closely by JW, with OVO in third place.
AFK and JW both have undefeated records, but AFK has a slightly higher point difference, putting them in first place.
OVO lost to AFK earlier and to the strong GEM team this year, placing them third.
However, without completing all regular matches, no one can guarantee the final rankings.
The regular season rankings determine the teams entering the playoffs and how many BO5 matches they’ll play in the playoffs.
For example, if the fifth-ranked team enters the playoffs, they will need to win a string of four matches to win the championship.
On the other hand, the team ranked first in the regular season only needs to win one BO5 match in the playoffs to determine the champion and runner-up.
In other words, the team ranked first in the regular season at least has a runner-up guarantee.
For JW, it’s clear they are currently competing for second place.
Their next opponent will be OVO, famous for their “brawling enthusiasts” reputation.
JW is also known for their rough playstyle, so the showdown between these two “rough” teams is highly anticipated by the audience.
However, as the regular season of the Spring Season is nearing its end, Symphony, the production company and global esports league’s chief planner under WOC, suddenly announced a change in the tournament format starting from this season.
The announcement caused a global uproar.
Originally, WOC’s professional league was mainly based on the professional leagues of various countries.
Within these professional leagues, there are separate Spring and Summer Seasons.
The teams ranked first to third in the Spring and Summer Seasons respectively would earn corresponding season points.
In addition to this, during the breaks between the Spring and Summer Seasons, various countries would also host various large and small tournaments. These tournaments were separate from the professional leagues’ Spring and Summer Seasons, but the top three teams in these tournaments would also earn points. However, the points earned were not significant, and many teams would not bother participating in them.
These tournaments, when accumulated enough points, allow teams to qualify for the global international invitational tournament held at the end of each season, known as the Global Finals.
However, Symphony’s latest announcement stated that they would cancel the Summer Season of the first-tier leagues in each region and increase the number of tournaments and points in each country’s independent events.
These tournaments organized by various countries are collectively referred to as “Global Points Tournaments.”
The Global Points Tournaments will start around the end of the Spring Season, usually in May, and will continue until the end of the traditional Summer Season, around September.
Teams that rank in the top three in each stage of the Global Points Tournaments, as before, can earn points, with the amount of points being increased compared to before.
Teams that accumulate enough points from the Spring Season and the Global Points Tournaments will qualify for the Global International Invitational Tournament.
This move can be said to have completely disrupted the plans and rhythm of teams in various stages.
Originally, teams that achieved good results in the Spring Season and expected good results in the Summer Season did not need to participate in various tournaments before the Global Finals.
However, with this reform in the tournament format, teams must now actively prepare for the Global Points Tournaments immediately after the end of the Spring Season to accumulate enough points during this stage.
Moreover, the changes in the tournament format provide more opportunities for teams that performed poorly in the Spring Season.
In theory, as long as they participate in enough matches during the Global Points Tournaments and achieve good results, they still have the chance to qualify for the Global International Invitational Tournament.
Furthermore, during the Global Points Tournaments, teams can register voluntarily.
This means that each tournament will feature teams from multiple regions, intensifying the competition throughout the entire season.
After the announcement of the tournament format reform, WOC players and professional esports fans worldwide were stirred up.
Just as Z-country’s netizens had barely calmed down from the CC fake match controversy, they were once again thrown into a frenzy by Symphony’s announcement.
【Wow! Exciting! So from May onwards, we can expect various international showdowns?】
【Oh my god! Does that mean players will be flying around to participate in tournaments from May to September? Won’t it be very exhausting?】
【I love this reform! Spring Season for regional clashes is enough; international tournaments are much more thrilling!】
【This reform should to some extent boost the development of esports industries in various countries. For example, for countries with weaker esports capabilities, organizing tournaments to develop the esports industry is a good choice.】
【Enough chatter! Let’s go, WPL! Crush the underdogs in the Global Points Tournaments!】
【Stop boasting! Do you even know what WPL looks like abroad? Once we go international, we might get hammered so badly that even our moms won’t recognize us. If it weren’t for each region having fixed slots for the Global Finals, based on points alone, not even one Z-country team would make it to the finals.】
Each year, the champion’s region of the Global Finals can have 4 slots for participating teams in the next season, the runner-up has three, the third place and other regions have two each, totaling 16 slots.
The reform in the tournament format not only caused a stir online but also forced each team to hold emergency discussions.
“My god, are they trying to turn us into ‘sky runners’?” Upon seeing the announcement, Hao Qianyi, sitting in the club’s meeting room, couldn’t remain calm. “With all these big and small tournaments, after playing them all, we’ll be drained. How can we still have the energy to compete in the Global Finals?”
JW’s manager, Shen Qi, gathered the players, coaches, and all relevant personnel in the meeting room.
On the projector in the meeting room, the tournament announcement and the first batch of locations and times for the Global Points Tournaments were displayed.
Before Symphony publicly announced the tournament format reform globally, they had sent specific reform proposals to affiliated teams through various regional leagues a few days in advance.
Shen Qi had also conducted early research with JW’s staff.
According to Symphony, adjustments to the matches in the Global Points Tournaments phase would be made based on the enthusiasm and applications for hosting tournaments in each country.
This season is a trial run, and only six stages of the points tournaments have been announced for now.
“The attempt is too sudden. In the past, our experience of competing abroad was limited to global ranking matches. We didn’t participate in the small competitions held by various countries between the spring and summer seasons last year. Would such a reform be disadvantageous to us?” Analyst Xiao Wu expressed some concerns.
Coach Bai Yin, however, was unfazed: “Whether it’s a mule or a horse, it should be taken out for a walk. Instead of waiting to embarrass ourselves at the global ranking matches, it’s better to make more attempts during those matches and seize the opportunity to adjust and improve.”
Yu Hao agreed with Bai Yin’s statement: “Hmm, I also think this reform is not bad. Although our team has not been established for long, we have spent almost the past two years researching domestic opponents. This reform of the competition format and participating in the global ranking matches is a good opportunity for us.”
The twin brothers nodded in agreement with the captain’s words.
Hao Qian lay on the table and said, “So after we finish the spring season, do we have to travel around the world to participate in competitions? Although it’s hard, it seems like it’s not a bad idea to travel to other countries on public expense…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Yu Hao’s glare shut the rest of his words back into his stomach.
Jiang Min rested his chin on his hand, glanced at the reform proposal copy given to him, contemplated for a moment, and said, “If we can achieve a top three ranking in the spring season according to Symphony’s plan, theoretically, as long as we participate in two more ranking matches and achieve top three rankings, we should be able to qualify for the global finals, right?”
Shen Qi praised Jiang Min’s quick analytical skills and gave him a thumbs up, saying, “Tang Shen is right, that’s what I was going to say. Currently, our points in the spring season are decent, as long as you guys perform well in the upcoming matches, getting a top three shouldn’t be a problem. The key is, in the second half of the season, we can’t participate in all six matches. It’s not just about your physical and mental energy, but more importantly, there are some conflicts in timing with these ranking matches.”
Shen Qi scrolled the content on the projection to the locations and times of the six station matches.
“I think both domestic and foreign teams are struggling with this issue,” Shen Qi continued, “I feel like choosing the stations is also a bit of a mystery. It’s possible that there aren’t many strong teams in the station we sign up for, making it easy to secure a ranking, but it’s also possible to encounter strong opponents, making it very challenging.”
Bai Yin said, “So, the focus of today’s discussion should be whether we should be confident and only sign up for two stations to ensure a top three placement, or should we sign up for all available stations to increase our chances in case we don’t perform well in a few stations?”
Shen Qi said, “This issue is manageable. Look at the timeline here; the timing of the six station matches is arranged so that they are grouped closely in pairs. This means we can temporarily divide the time into three segments. Yesterday, I discussed with everyone in the operations department, and the result is that we’ll first sign up for two of the first two segments of the matches. Then, based on the results, if they are good, we won’t need to participate in the third segment. However, if the results are not ideal, we still have time to sign up for the last segment of matches.”
Bai Yin nodded, “I agree, let’s go with that.”
Since the coach and players agreed, there was nothing more to say.
“So, Qi Ge, why did you call us here today?” Hao Qian tilted his head.
Clearly, the manager and the operations department had already made a decision, right?
“Of course, I called everyone here to discuss together which two station matches of the first two segments of the global ranking matches we should specifically choose!” Shen Qi said.
In the first year of implementing the global ranking match system, with no prior knowledge of the registration status for each station, the principle for choosing the stations was simple.
Choose the country where you want to compete!
The station match in Country Z was held in City S, but it was the last one among the six station matches, so there was no rush to sign up.
After intense discussion, the two station matches that JW would participate in were decided through a show of hands vote.
One was the “Celestial League” in City P, Country F, and the other was the “Pan-Asia-Pacific Professional Invitational” in City T, Country R.
The “Pan-Asia-Pacific Professional Invitational” would be held in the first segment of the global ranking matches.
Country R was not far from Country Z, and its strength in MOBA esports wasn’t particularly strong. Hosting a station match might be a move to boost the country’s enthusiasm for esports. Since there were no strong teams from Country R, it was still unknown what kind of opponents they would face in this station match.
On the other hand, Country F was located in Europe, and the “Celestial League” would be held in the second segment of the global ranking matches. Europe was the homeland of many traditional strong teams, so it was expected that they would encounter numerous strong opponents in the “Celestial League.”
Regardless, everything about this season’s reform was still uncertain.
All the players could do was give their all to face every upcoming match.
——————————
In the blink of an eye, the day of the match against OVO arrived.
As the focus match, the Storm Esports Arena was filled early with no empty seats.
The players took their positions in their respective battle rooms.
OVO, the opposing team, was a mix of boldness and subtlety, with a style quite similar to JW’s.
Yu Hao and Cen Yu, both playing as number four, also served as captains for their respective teams and took command positions.
Jiang Min, JW’s newly introduced mid-laner for this season, held the number two position. In terms of individual skill, he was much stronger than Xiao He from OVO.
Jiang Min had shown remarkable performances this season, and regardless of the decline in the mid-lane’s status in this version, its importance remained significant.
Therefore, it was expected that Jiang Min would also face targeting strategies from OVO in this match.
In fact, every renowned mid-laner must get accustomed to one thing on the professional stage, and that is being targeted by the opponents.
Because once the mid-laner gains momentum, it sets the rhythm for the rest of the team.
Hence, suppressing the opposing mid-laner was a commonly used strategy for all teams.
Hao Qianyi and Pang Huoguo shared a similar style as number three, both being aggressive initiators in team fights.
The difference between the two teams’ number five positions was not significant.
The issue lay with the number one position, the AD Carry.
Although Wei Yabai was also an excellent AD Carry, he fell slightly short compared to OVO’s Ren Yaobing, Ice, and Frost.
However, WOC was ultimately a game of five people, and the difference in individual skill levels only indicated issues during the laning phase, but it couldn’t determine the outcome of the entire match.
The key factors were still teamwork and decision-making.
The commentators for this match were still Uncle Yuan, Ruby, and Lack.
These three were often paired together for commentary and were also known as the “golden trio.”
“Hello everyone, welcome to the arena of the WPL Spring Season regular matches. I am Uncle Yuan, the official commentator for this match,” Uncle Yuan said while looking sharp in his attire.
Ruby, dressed in a modified mint green qipao, spoke next, “Hello everyone, I am the official commentator Ruby.”
“I am the official commentator Lack,” Lack, dressed similarly to Uncle Yuan but with more vibrant colors, added.
“Alright, let’s continue with the familiar ‘you know’ segment,” Uncle Yuan said, pulling out a stack of cue cards and reading through them.
Sponsor mentions were always necessary at the start.
“As we approach the end of the regular matches of the Spring Season, we have the focus match between JW and OVO,” Ruby said after Uncle Yuan finished.
Lack added, “That’s right. The styles of JW and OVO are quite similar, and their performances in the Spring Season have been impressive. I wonder, Uncle Yuan, which team do you think has the upper hand?”
“It’s hard to say, it depends on the lineup. However, OVO’s Jade God has always been known as the ‘Old Sly B.’ I wonder if JW’s young captain, Honor, can lead the team to face him,” Uncle Yuan responded.
Cen Yu often directs the team to use group stealth skills to “ambush” the opponents on the battlefield, and over time, he has earned the title of “Old Sly B.”
Ruby: “Alright, we can see both sides have entered the Ban-Pick phase.”
JW takes the first pick and selects the AD Carry, Hua Shen (Flower God), for the number five position.
OVO responded with the selection of the Holy Priestess for the number five position.
JW chose the Armored Black Dragon for the third position, while OVO picked the Centaur.
For the third pick, JW selected the Abyssal Dragon King.
The commentators paused for a moment.
Ruby: “Huh? JW picked the mid-laner with their third pick? Aren’t they afraid of being targeted by OVO?”
Uncle Yuan, with his experienced insight, said: “This Abyssal Dragon King may not necessarily be for the mid-lane; it could be a flex pick.”
Lack added, “But besides Tang Shen, it seems like none of the other JW players have used the Abyssal Dragon King on the battlefield.”
As the commentators had predicted, OVO had clearly studied JW and believed that, apart from Jiang Min, the other players were unlikely to pick the Abyssal Dragon King. Therefore, they assumed the Abyssal Dragon King would go mid and selected the Shadow Dancer, a hero that counters the Abyssal Dragon King early in the game.
For the fourth pick, JW chose the Elf Archer.
Everyone assumed it was for the number four position since this hero is either picked for the fourth or second position, but since JW had already chosen the Abyssal Dragon King, the Elf Archer should be for the fourth position.
OVO selected the Star Gatherer and, for the final pick, locked in the AD Carry, the Alpha Werewolf, for the number one position.
For their last pick, JW locked in the Warden.
The audience erupted.
The barrage of comments flooded in.
[“Wow? Flower God, Armored Black Dragon, Abyssal Dragon King, Elf Archer, Warden? Can’t understand, can’t understand.”]
[“Flower God must be number five, Armored Black Dragon must be number three, but isn’t the Elf Archer and Warden usually for the fourth position? What does two number four picks mean?”]
[“I always felt JW’s Ban-Pick had a bit of spirituality; today I finally got to see it.”]
[“So who’s going mid? What about the number one position?”]
The commentators were also puzzled by JW’s intentions.
Uncle Yuan: “The Warden and Elf Archer are both common picks for the number four position in matches. One of them must be for the number four position.”
Lack: “But we’ve never seen any team pick a hero from JW’s lineup to play the number one position in a professional match. JW’s new attempt is something to look forward to.”
Ruby: “But JW has really showcased the charm of WOC; it’s because of this uncertainty that makes the match more exciting.”
In the OVO battle room, JW had not yet finalized the heroes for their players, and Cen Yu frowned as he looked at the screen.
The Ban-Pick phase was indeed a crucial part of the match, as the lineup choices were closely linked to the outcome of the game.
Cen Yu had a vague sense of unease.
They initially assumed that the Abyssal Dragon King would be played in the mid-lane, but could they have been wrong?
JW’s players began exchanging heroes.
The Flower God for the number five position was expected.
The Armored Black Dragon for the third position was also within expectations.
…But what’s going on with the Elf Archer for the number one position?
And the Abyssal Dragon King is in the number four position?
What the heck! Who came up with the idea of putting the Warden in the mid-lane???
The audience was once again in uproar.
[“Am I seeing things? Warden in the mid-lane???”]
[“What kind of sneaky strategy is JW playing? Warden in the mid-lane will get destroyed, historically it’s either in the number four or five position.”]
[“What is Tang Shen up to?”]
Having the Warden in the mid-lane was a new tactic developed by JW.
Centered around Jiang Min’s ideas, they developed and perfected this strategy.
The Warden’s signature skill is to lockdown enemies, capable of imprisoning both enemies and allies, making them immune to all attacks during captivity.
Apart from this, his skills are predominantly focused on crowd control.
One of the main reasons he is often used as a support is his passive, “Vampiric Aura.”
With him on the battlefield, he can provide teammates with lifesteal bonuses, enhancing their sustainability.
Wei Yabai’s laning abilities aren’t particularly strong, so picking the Longbow Elf Archer is to make his last-hitting more comfortable, and with the Warden’s “Vampiric Aura,” he can sustain himself in the lane.
Moreover, the Warden’s armor is high enough, and his control is sufficient, so he isn’t very afraid of assassin-type heroes like the Shadow Dancer.
The reason Jiang Min chose the Warden for the mid-lane is twofold: he provides ample control, and with proper equipment, his damage output is actually not low.
Having both control and output, this hero has the potential to be a mid-lane contender.
Meanwhile, placing the Abyssal Dragon King in the number four position further enhances the team’s control.
The Armored Black Dragon and Flower God’s ultimates also provide strong crowd control.
JW’s lineup is full of control; as long as Wei Yabai’s Elf Archer can keep up with the damage output, team fights should be manageable.
On the other hand, OVO’s lineup is relatively uncomfortable. Based on the assumption that “JW’s Abyssal Dragon King is mid-lane,” their lineup choices lost their effectiveness after JW came up with this unusual lineup, and the counterplay between the lineups was disrupted, leaving the mid-lane situation particularly unclear.
If it were any other mid-laner picking the Warden for the mid-lane in WPL, OVO might not have been as skeptical.
But facing Jiang Min, a top-tier mid-laner with strong personal skills and multiple strategies, picking the Warden for the number two position might indeed be an ingenious move.
After friendly handshakes at the center stage, the coaches of both teams left the battle room and exited the stage.
The first match between JW and OVO officially began.
Both the commentators and the audience were highly interested in JW’s Elf Archer for the number one position, the Warden for the number two position, and the Abyssal Dragon King for the number four position.
Through live streaming, not only the audience from Z country but also viewers from other countries were paying attention to this match.
JW had selected three unconventional heroes, and everyone was eager to see what kind of effect they would produce.
Author’s note: No need to say much, even though I used abbreviations in the text, you should be able to figure out which two stations JW chose, right?
It’s Paris and Tokyo, hhhhh
I’m quite looking forward to the Global Points Tournament~ But let’s have the kids focus on finishing the Spring Season first~~
By the way, I haven’t really shortened my chapters! I just combined two 3000-word chapters into one big 6000-word chapter, hhhh.
1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you ️”
