Chapter 67: The Gap Is Just Too Huge!

In modern professional team management, many clubs enforce rules prohibiting players from visiting Tieba or posting comments during competitions.

Jiang Ming thought: different people see things differently; perspective often determines the outcome.

Indeed, banning players from browsing Tieba or reading online opinions during matches can somewhat prevent their mindset from being influenced by external noise.

But do the players really not know?

The audience’s real-time reactions at the venue, their personal browsing habits off-hours—players are fully aware of all online evaluations about them.

So-called "not looking" is just burying one's head in the sand like an ostrich.

So Jiang Ming chose to open it up from the start, treating this as part of the team’s mental training, even its core!

From daily matches onward, get them used to the cheers and boos from outside.

Due to the unique nature of electronic competition, players typically wear headphones during matches to block out real-time external interference.

In contrast, traditional sports like football and basketball—two of humanity’s greatest sports—countless champion players climbed to the top through the boos of hostile crowds.

In traditional sports, strong mental resilience and willpower often become the driving force behind legendary self-transcendence.

Their growth environments were never on the same level from the start.

From this perspective, it becomes clear why so many e-sports players are so easily affected mentally.

And if you have weaknesses in mindset, on what grounds do you claim you want to reach the summit of Summoner’s Rift?

“But no rush—NXG is still in its early stages; there’s a long way to go in perfecting mental training.” Jiang Ming’s gaze softened; he had ample patience to help the five who had endured his inhuman training schedule grow.

“Ten-minute halftime break—use the restroom now if you need to. After the second match, we’ll go over tactics.”

“Understood!”

…

Called a break, but everyone merely leaned back on their chairs for a moment of rest.

The environment for the inaugural LPL wasn’t terrible, but it was far from good.

In the team’s locker room, there were no sofas, no water dispensers, not even a computer for the coach to watch the live broadcast.

Only a few plastic stools, and they had to bring their own drinking water.

Of course, compared to the S2 era, when players had no place to rest at all, things were already much better.

As for supplies, NXG didn’t rely on the organizers—Jiang Ming, with his ample experience, had already thought ahead.

The back of the base van was stocked with bottled water, chocolate snacks for sustenance, and even common medical supplies for handling players’ physical conditions.

Meanwhile, the second match of Group A in the arena had begun after a brief transition.

Jiang Ming pulled out his portable laptop, opened the official livestream, and began observing the other two teams in his group.

LGD vs DD (Duo Duo Club)

As the famous “Happy Family” of the LPL, the “Old Godfather” team was certainly familiar to any domestic player in later years.

Founded in 2009, strictly speaking, their LOL division was far weaker than their DOTA division—back in June 2011, LGD’s DOTA team had defeated EHOME 2:0 at the GIGABYTE Stars War 6Killer Global Finals to claim the championship, and last year’s GIGABYTE Masters title was also theirs.

Calling them a domestic e-sports powerhouse isn’t wrong, but for some reason, their LPL division always wavered between cellar-dwellers and absurdity.

Their LPL division was formed last year, but in the original timeline, they didn’t secure an LPL slot until winter 2013, after bringing in mid laner Wei Shen and support Ping Ye Ling.

As for what came later, it could be summed up as a Vayne long-range arrow circling the globe, piercing the face of the 2020 top laner Lang Xing.

In the qualifiers, LGD’s record was four wins and two losses, losing only to WOA Dawn Wings and L-H.

As for DD, the team LGD was facing, Jiang Ming had almost no impression—they hadn’t even made it to the LPL main event, and none of their players had left a mark on the original pro scene.

Yet, as Jiang Ming watched, he expected a one-sided match between a newly organized club team and a cybercafé squad—but the “Old Godfather” lived up to their tradition and delivered a spectacular mess.

On the blue side, the “Old Godfather” picked a seemingly ideal teamfight composition in the draft phase.

Mid: Annie, Jungle: Xin Zhao, Top: Stone Skin—violent offensive trio!

But DD on the purple side pierced through it flawlessly, with their jungler Chu Yuqian locking onto the mid lane relentlessly.

Annie, short-legged and without mobility, faced off against the Shadow Assassin and endured relentless pressure from the purple side’s jungler—within thirteen minutes, she died four times.

Mid-game, they were heavily behind; DD even secured Baron and pushed to the inhibitor base.

Just as Jiang Ming prepared to use DD as a model for his own BP strategy, the purple side DD began playing “Fengchui finds Wolong.”

Since S3’s Baron lacked the buff that strengthened minions, DD’s choice of Vayne—short-ranged and vulnerable to Stone Skin’s ultimate—slowed their push, giving LGD’s Ashe time to farm.

At the 33-minute Baron fight, DD’s entire game carried by their jungler Vi made a fatal mistake: they engaged Baron without clearing vision, and Xin Zhao flashed in, landed three auto-attacks, and stunned her—Baron was stolen.

With everyone’s attention fixed on Baron, it created the perfect opening for Annie and Stone Skin to initiate.

Boom! Boom!

In the end, under two consecutive face-checks from the Bear and Stone Skin, the blue side pulled off a stunning Baron fight comeback.

【GG!】

【Laughed to death—this is noobs fighting noobs.】

【After watching NXG’s matches, I literally can’t watch this—how dare you fight Baron without clearing vision?】

【Classic Baron ruins your life.】

【Is DD’s mid laner even human? A Zed ulting in to eat a Weakness is one thing—but getting caught and killed by Ashe’s trap?】

【Difference between Shadow and Hunting Dog!】

【The rest aren’t much better—AD only has 200+ last hits at 27 minutes, and they won’t even buy a true sight ward. Look at the support’s treatment on NXG.】

【Feels like their teamfights are chaotic—some want to fight, some want to run, no unified strategy at all.】

【Hurry up with the next match—I want to watch NXG.】

As the live broadcast of LGD and DD’s match went out,

some casual players finally understood why NXG, emerging out of nowhere, was so highly praised online.

Mother of god—the gap is just too enormous.