Chapter 59

“What’s most admirable is that Jiang Ming has figured out a way to monetize game traffic, providing excellent reference for the community,” said a female executive with gold-rimmed glasses, pointing to the sponsorship ad on NXG’s right shoulder in the livestream.

Gaming teams are not easy to run; without stable funding, they often collapse midway.

In the original timeline, most teams that appeared in the LPL during S3 lasted only one or two seasons before disappearing.

Many in the room nodded unconsciously.

If teams can secure sponsorships, there’s no reason the league organizers would be short on resources.

“What do you all think of NXG?” the manager, who strongly favored NXG, turned to face the group.

“Old Hu, just spit it out—don’t beat around the bush.”

The perceptive female executive was the first to grasp the manager’s implication: “You mean, our first batch of LPL teams for promotional investment?”

“Yes, I want to pick NXG!”

The manager, known as Old Hu, stared at the livestream footage, “Don’t you think NXG is the perfect candidate for promotion?”

“The team’s owner is himself a top-tier gamer who understands the game, and as a top graduate of Jinling University, he has unique insights into club management—within just a few months, he’s trained a disciplined, professional team…”

“NXG’s image is also very positive—perfect for being the flagship team of the professional league.”

The manager controlling promotional resources agreed: “NXG is backed by Jinling University; guiding public opinion on the social level will be relatively easy.”

“How much should we invest?”

“What about putting them on the client’s homepage? After all, the preseason results will be displayed anyway.”

“Won’t that be too fast? What about WE?”

“Come on, they haven’t even played their matches yet.”

“Besides, that Pei Le—he’s kind of stingy. A world champion team has less buzz than this brand-new squad.”

“And from watching their qualifying matches, NXG’s strength is top-tier.”

“Not to mention hardware—NXG even has a team bus. WE’s players still have to take the subway to matches…”

Our boss Pei would never have imagined that in the new season, his frugality would lead to a betrayal by the LPL organizers.

…

Player bench, BLQG side.

With the massive skill gap before them, several players skipped the bravado and whispered reassurances, slipping straight into silence.

“Cough, cough—guys, we haven’t even played yet. Don’t scare ourselves.”

“Even a scrappy team like ours can pull off an upset against the big names—doesn’t every web novel say that?”

As captain and the highest-ranked player, NovaSlash struggled to rally the team’s morale.

There was nothing to be done—bad luck. He’d drawn the big demon of the qualifiers right at the start.

“Captain, novels say that only when there’s a hidden master on the team playing dumb—do we have one?”

“Come on, we can’t lose our spirit. Spirit, you get it? Even if we die, we die fighting head-on.”

“I’ll tell you what—we’ve cooked up a super lineup these past few days. If we execute well, we still have a shot at taking down NXG. They’re blowing up online right now—if we win today, overnight fame isn’t a dream!”

“Don’t tell me you’re watching Jiang Ming’s S3 analysis tutorials.”

“…”

After the brief equipment calibration ended, the referee’s voice announced the teams were being loaded into the match room.

Entering the LPL preseason, though not yet the official tournament, the match preparation process had improved significantly compared to the qualifiers.

NXG-door: “NXG is ready!”

BLQG-NovaSlash: “BLQG is ready too!”

As both captains confirmed readiness on the chat channel, the head referee launched the game.

The first match of the 2013 LPL Preseason, double-elimination group stage, officially began.

Blue side: NXG. Purple side: BLQG!

“Ban their ADC’s Ezreal first!”

Jiang Ming’s tactical board was never for show—the A4 papers clipped to it were filled with data on NXG’s opponents.

Even a lion uses full strength against a rabbit. BLQG’s strongest player is their ADC; any player who can climb to Master rank with ADC in this era is clearly a gifted mechanic. Ezreal, with his strong survivability and the player’s familiarity with him, was the top ban priority.

Song Yuan nodded at the first pick, found Ezreal’s icon, and sent him to the ban list.

“Ah… my Ezreal!”

A wail echoed from the purple side.

Normally, if NovaSlash’s signature champion was banned, he might feel flattered, thinking the enemy feared his carry power.

But now, facing an opponent far superior, this ban meant they were going all-out—leaving him not a single opening.

Helpless, BLQG had to ban the support, Thresh.

Ever since this new support—combining engage, crowd control, and shield rescue—emerged, he became the top pick for bottom-lane supports across all ranks.

Skilled, powerful mechanics!

NovaSlash, who had studied NXG, knew they couldn’t let the enemy’s support commander get this hero.

The first three picks didn’t take long.

Once the in-game latency settled, the final ban for the purple side—Barrel—was confirmed.

NXG picks Lee Sin first!

As the current jungle meta king, before champions like Mantis and Leopard Girl joined the jungle roster, Lee Sin was unquestionably worth a first pick in every aspect.

Blue side picking jungle first also reduced the chance of being countered by the later pick.

But clearly, the purple side, lacking tactical guidance, had no coherent BP strategy.

Their first two picks were Ashe and Janna.

“Janna plus Ashe!”

A classic S3 push combo—without Thresh, Janna could still handle some counterplay.

In terms of composition, BLQG showed a hint of professional team discipline.

Neither the crowd nor the opponents could have imagined that, mid-match, Jiang Ming—the enemy—would pause to comment on their draft choices.

“Pick Wind Sister and Vel’Koz!”

Since the enemy had revealed their duo, there was no need to hide—meet them head-on.

Wind Sister’s shield effectively countered Janna’s poke, and Vel’Koz wouldn’t be under much pressure against Ashe in lane.

Purple side picked Lee Sin as jungler and Kaisa as top laner.

Seeing Kaisa, Jiang Ming couldn’t help but chuckle.

Seriously? Picking Kaisa against Wind Sister? Even with Lee Sin’s ultimate terrain control, it’s useless.

Seeing such an oddball draft from the opponent, Jiang Ming abandoned any plan to surprise them with novel picks in the fourth and fifth slots.

He locked in Teemo and Twisted Fate—two universally reliable picks.