To the disappointment of many players worldwide, the Korean internet, however, was filled with joy and celebration. This was because, in this way, South Korea finally had a chance to win the world championship of Warcraft.
After all, since the release of Warcraft III, South Korea had not won a single world championship title. They were almost entirely swept by China, with only one championship falling into the hands of Europeans.
According to the Koreans' traditional way of thinking, any sport they couldn't win gold in was a sport they wouldn't play. Because no one played it, it was normal not to win.
"Ah, it's not that we Koreans can't win, it's just that we don't want to," they'd say. At the same time, Koreans criticized China's monopoly on championships through various channels, claiming it was a huge obstacle to the development of esports and dampened the enthusiasm of players from other countries.
For example, South Korea, a country filled with passion for Warcraft but consistently ranked second.
As a result, these words from the Koreans were reposted online and met with mockery. Many people suggested that if Korean netizens believed that championships in events where they had long dominated should be shared, then perhaps the StarCraft championships should also be shared.
After all, South Korea had also consistently dominated StarCraft championships. China, on the other hand, had at least lost one championship to Europeans. But South Korea had practically monopolized all championship titles.
In any case, surrounding this incident, various comments online were diametrically opposed, with differing viewpoints, but with a common theme: everyone believed that the 00 Esports Club would suffer significant losses, if not outright collapse.
Of course, these people were unaware that at this very moment, the person in charge of our 00 Esports Club, Ms. Leng Zhimeng, was making a final effort in public relations.
"Brother-in-law, these Koreans are too arrogant. You must help me vent my anger today, or I'll never speak to you again!" In Huang He's office, Leng Zhimeng sat directly in Boss Huang's chair, speaking indignantly. Meanwhile, our Boss Huang sat in the guest seat.
"How do you want me to help you?" Huang He sighed.
"Go and talk to the people at Greenland, and talk to the fire department, and get the venue seized. Then, I'll see how these Koreans dare to be so arrogant!" Leng Zhimeng said casually.
"That's it?" Huang He rolled his eyes. "With such a small request, you still come to me? You could just go to Liu Xiangjiang. Besides, your 00 Games is now a private enterprise ranked in the top ten for national revenue. You can approach relevant people yourself. Is such a small matter really asking me?"
"I did, but my influence is really not enough. Greenland is a construction company, a real estate developer. They don't have much connection with us at 00, let alone our entire Jiangnan Group. If I ask for small favors, they might agree, but it's too difficult for them to stop the cooperation directly. They directly told me that this event has already gained international attention.
The announcement directly stated that they would stop the free rental of venues. If they stop now for various reasons, wouldn't it confirm their accusations? Greenland's global public opinion and brand influence would be ruined!
I also approached the fire department, but their attitude was very clear: they would conduct a special inspection. However, as long as the fire facilities are found to be in order, they will not do anything illegal. My people checked their fire safety. These Koreans are probably really afraid of us causing trouble in this area. They specifically spent tens of thousands of yuan on fire safety yesterday. My people found no issues!
"So you want me to step in and do this?" Boss Huang rolled his eyes again.
"Yes, brother-in-law, your influence is different. They will definitely give you face. You must help me vent this anger!" Leng Zhimeng said indignantly.
"Yes, they will give me face. But then what? What do we gain? Besides venting our anger, the championship is still not secured, and we still can't participate in the competition. Most importantly, the WCg organizing committee will gain huge attention!"
"As long as we cause trouble for them in terms of venues, believe it or not, a large number of Korean companies will immediately donate to the organizing committee under the slogan of defending the Korean nation. Then the organizing committee will immediately announce that they will move to another country to continue the event and accuse us of being unreasonable worldwide. At that time, how much effort will I have to expend to mitigate the negative impact of this action!" Huang He said impatiently.
"Then, brother-in-law, are you really going to swallow this insult?" Leng Zhimeng said with a tearful voice. "I certainly can't swallow it. I must vent my anger severely. I will use all of 00 Games' profits this year to hold our own global competition. We will organize the competition ourselves, and it must be better and more spectacular than WCg, or I will die with regret!"
"Enough, please consider your words carefully. 'Take all of this year's profits to hold a competition.' 00 Games' global profit exceeded 10 billion US dollars this year. Are you going to spend all 10 billion US dollars on the competition? Even the Olympics doesn't spend as much as you!" Huang He said angrily.
"Then let's take 1%, which is still 0.1%, 10 million US dollars is enough to crush those poor folks!" Leng Zhimeng said with a smile, hugging Huang He's arm. "Okay, brother-in-law, it's settled. Approve my plan for this competition, alright?"
"So you were waiting for me here!" Huang He tapped Leng Zhimeng's head. He finally understood that the previous requests about causing the most trouble for WCg in terms of venues were all false. The core purpose was only to get him to approve her request to independently organize a world-class esports competition.
"Look at this!" After tapping Leng Zhimeng's head, Huang He handed a document to her. Leng Zhimeng opened it and was so surprised that she covered her mouth, because the title of the document was "Preparation Plan and Implementation Report for the Jiangnan Cup Global Esports Tournament."
From the name, one could tell it was a report on how to establish Jiangnan Group's own esports competition. The entire report was very detailed, spanning over 160 pages.
From the competition format, which events to invite, how to determine the venue, and how to compete, there were comprehensive and detailed plans. After reading the plan, Leng Zhimeng had only one feeling: this competition was planned to be held to the same standards as the Olympics.
From setting participant quotas worldwide, to the transmission ceremony of the esports torch, to the dramatic opening ceremony performances, athlete entrances, and lighting ceremonies, all aspects were benchmarked against the Olympics, in addition to global super broadcasts, etc.
Except for having fewer events than the Olympics, everything else was almost the same as the Olympics.
"Brother-in-law, this competition, once completed, will cost at least tens of millions of US dollars!" Leng Zhimeng swallowed.
"More than that, over a hundred million!" Huang He grinned. "Take a look at the final prize money plan."
Leng Zhimeng immediately rushed over to look, and then her mouth couldn't close again, because according to the plan, the gold medal for all events would receive a reward of 1 million US dollars, the silver medal 500,000, and the bronze medal 200,000.
The remaining top 10 would each receive 50,000, those in the playoffs would receive 20,000, and even those who could participate would receive a minimum prize of 5,000 US dollars.
If calculated based on the planned 36 gold medals, the prize money alone would exceed 100 million US dollars annually. Moreover, as long as one could obtain participation qualifications, they would receive rewards. This was infinitely better than WCg, where only the champions, runner-ups, and third place received awards, and other participants had to pay their own travel and accommodation expenses.
In short, seeing these competition rewards, Leng Zhimeng understood that no professional player could afford to miss this competition, because the prize money for this competition would be astronomical for these professional esports players who were still struggling to break even.
Of course, the plan also included the establishment of a Global Esports Committee. All players wishing to participate must join the Global Esports Committee and accept its unified management and registration.
Furthermore, the Global Esports Committee would have immense power, managing and regulating all esports-related matters of clubs and players, except for their private lives. Even advertising endorsements would need to be reported to the committee.
Not to mention the authority to introduce various rules and regulations for player or club competitions, player ID registration, player rankings, and a series of rights.
It could be said that whoever controlled the Global Esports Committee controlled the entire global esports industry.
"Brother-in-law, you spent over a hundred million US dollars, essentially for this Esports Committee, right!" Leng Zhimeng suddenly realized, her mind cleared. Otherwise, she couldn't understand why Huang He would spend so much money to organize a competition.
And to come up with such a prize money system where everyone who participated could receive money, it was almost like giving away money. It turned out it was to attract players to the competition.
"However, brother-in-law, with WCg around, it might be quite difficult for our competition to be held smoothly. At least our popularity is far inferior to WCg's accumulated fame over such a long time!" Leng Zhimeng said seriously.
"That's easy," Huang He said dismissively, shaking his head. "I just need to make WCg have no meaning or value to exist!"