Chapter 319: Esports Web Drama? The Finals Begin! Trash Talk Explosion!

As September approached, the scorching "Autumn Tiger" heat was still raging.

The entrance to the Wukesong Arena in Beijing was already packed to capacity.

Because JDG unexpectedly failed to reach the finals, and V5's home stadium was too small to be convenient, the final venue was moved here.

The entire arena looked nearly full, the atmosphere on-site was feverish and high-spirited, and the grand summer finals opening ceremony was underway.

The players from both sides were waiting in the tunnel, watching the scene through the backstage big screen.

"What is this cosplaying?"

Xun pointed at the hero being cosplayed on stage—brought to life via photoelectric effects as if walking out of a television—and turned to ask Ye Bo with some confusion.

"Master Ye, can you tell? I feel like I've never seen this one before!"

The main issue was that the hero's design looked very unfamiliar, as if it had come on stage wearing "shackles" and "leg irons"; even though it had been aesthetically processed, it still looked slightly abstract.

"This, ah, should be a new hero coming out soon~" Ye Bo said casually.

"I remember it being called something like Rose, seems to be a jungler."

Come to think of it, this was indeed the next new hero slated for release.

Ye Bo had happened to see the semi-finished version of this hero when he was at the Riot headquarters, so he had some impression of it.

"Oh, nice! It feels like it's been forever since we had a new jungler. Is this thing hard?" Xun asked excitedly.

Ye Bo recalled for a moment, then said meaningfully: "If what I saw back then was the final version, then this hero is probably the 'most mechanical' hero in history."

"Holy cow!? Even you, Master Ye, say it has mechanics! Then it must be really hard!"

"Could it be that they made an Aphelios for the jungle position?"

Ye Bo hadn't had the chance to explain that he was actually being sarcastic.

Suddenly, everyone was drawn by an exclamation from Flandre nearby: "My god, is that Zhang Yimou!? He's here to watch the match?"

The stage performance ended, and the broadcast had switched to the analyst desk for the pre-match warm-up.

A camera shot of the audience selected by the broadcast director instantly caught everyone's attention.

Xun joked: "Don't tell me they're going to film a live-action League of Legends movie~~~ You can't deny it, I watched that live-action CrossFire drama before, and it was actually pretty good!"

The bot lane duo next to him looked confused, but the sharp-eyed Ye Bo had already recognized the person next to the figure in the frame; it was Jin Yibo, the CEO of TJ Sports who was responsible for the awards ceremonies every time, but this time he was merely acting as an escort.

The protagonist of the shot was an elderly man in a hat, the world-renowned film director nicknamed "National Master," Zhang Yimou.

The live chat immediately erupted into heated discussion.

【Emo is at this age, and he's actually watching a LoL match?】

【I think I heard before that he was planning to film a web drama about League of Legends esports. It's for real? He's actually running to the scene to gather material!】

【I'll be skeptical first. I feel like I can already see the "Three, two, one, engage!" scenes. I predict this has the potential to inherit the status of Letme's toilet paper!】

【To be fair, people were saying the CrossFire movie would be trash before it even aired, and Arcane was also being talked down at the start. We'll have to see how it's filmed. Even if it turns out to be a piece of crap, I'll still have to taste it!】

【If you ask me, isn't this easy to film? The script is already there; just film it based on the two stories of Master Ye and Da Fei, and that's it!】

【Hey! Don't say that! Actually, don't! Filming a story where Master Ye goes back to S3, or S3 Fei-Fei travels to S13 and the two of them fight—that would definitely be worth watching!】

【It's a pity neither of them can act in it. If they did, they'd be banned immediately. After all, everyone knows that becoming an actor means getting your account banned ()】

The players from both sides received notice to prepare to go on stage.

Jin Yibo was smiling as he introduced them to the other party: "Director Zhang, these two teams today are the faces of our league; both sides have star players."

"The mid laner of the team on the left in a moment is the reference case we mentioned earlier. He is quite legendary in our circle."

"I see the 'genius youth' type of character for the second protagonist in your script where the two leads swap lives; his resume actually feels a bit like that."

Zhang Yimou nodded and commented: "The image looks quite good."

As he was preparing for a shoot recently, he could barely understand some of it, but given he was 70+ years old, one could only say he was just scratching the surface of all aspects; it was impossible to actually have him play the game.

As for the game and the competition, he just needed to find professionals to be in charge.

Coming today was mainly to experience the atmosphere of the scene and the match—the open and secret struggles and various gambits on and off the field—these were the things easier to showcase in a film or television drama.

The big screen at the venue went dark again.

The arena's spotlights poured onto the center of the stage, making the Silver Dragon Cup shine brilliantly.

"Welcome everyone to the Wukesong Arena!" Liu Hang's powerful, penetrating voice rang out as he strode onto the stage: "After the brutal slaughter of the regular season and playoffs, only the final two teams remain to stand on today's finals stage!"

"First, let us welcome the team that was reborn in the summer season, composed of multiple legendary veterans who fought their way back from the valley to the peak—WEIBOGAMING!"

The lift platform slowly activated, sending the team's players one by one onto the high stage for their entrance.

"Top laner TheShy! Jungler Karsa, mid laner Xiaohu, ADC Gala, support Crisp, head coach Deany!"

Clearly, WBG was worthy of being a presence that could rival V5 in terms of traffic.

Having assembled core players from multiple top historical teams like IG, RNG, and FPX, even with their volatile performance this year, their appearance still instantly ignited the venue, drawing waves of screams and shouts from the audience.

"Next, let us welcome the Spring Champions! MSI Champions! The army of kings loaded with glory for the 2023 season, currently marching on a golden journey, VICTORY5!"

"Top laner Flandre, jungler Xun, mid laner Ye—"

As soon as Liu Hang read the mid laner's ID, the venue erupted in thunderous cheers that drowned out the speakers, leaving him no choice but to smile helplessly and pause to leave enough time for the audience.

The monstrous waves of sound battered the arena, the echoes and restless noise colliding to create layer upon layer of reverberation; the momentum was nothing short of terrifying!

Old Director Zhang in the audience was clearly a bit surprised, revealing an "Old Actor Shocked. pg" expression.

Although he was well-traveled and knowledgeable, he truly hadn't expected such passion at an esports event, especially directed at one of the players—it almost didn't lose to some of the large-scale sports events and traditional sports stars he had attended!

And equally shocked was the VIP front row on the other side.

Ye Bo's parents, who had been accompanied all the way by He Youjun.

Thinking back to the last time the two of them came to the scene to watch Ye Bo's match, it was the finals last summer.

Although Ye Bo, who was just starting to show his talent, already had many supporters then, it was clearly incomparable to the present!

"Uncle, Auntie, Ye Bo is so successful now. Many esports giants abroad want to spend huge sums of money to get him," He Youjun said with a smile, praising Ye Bo without reservation.

"Oh my, my son is just amazing!" Ye Ying showed a very proud expression.

And Ye Xiong next to her didn't speak, but deep in his eyes was full satisfaction.

The two of them had originally just wanted him to do what he liked.

But they had never imagined that he would actually be able to forge ahead step by step, until now he had become a red-hot superstar.

Even a benchmark figure within this industry!

As they listened to every cheer and shout of support offered to him on the scene, besides being moved, they felt even more pride and self-satisfaction.

Host Liu Hang waited for the commotion from the audience to subside before continuing: "And ADC Deft, support BeryL!"

"The first opening match of the 2023 LPL season was WBG versus V5."

"And today, the final closing match of 2023 is still WBG versus V5!"

"Today, will V5 be able to ascend to the throne as the new kings of the league and continue their unprecedented golden road, or will WBG be able to return to the peak as a whole and open a brand new chapter for their next decade..."

"Let us wait and see!"