LPL History

Chapter 246 The Veil Falls Off, Busan Starship Changes Flags, Black Duck Cries, Global Capital Returns Home

"Oh, Hyun-kyung, are you alright?"

Backstage.

The director was startled when he saw Lee Hyun-kyung's appearance.

The beautiful host was blushing, her eyes even looking somewhat dazed.

"Do you have a fever?"

Upon hearing the director's question, Lee Hyun-kyung snapped out of her daze, quickly shook her head, and covered her burning cheeks with both hands in an attempt to cool them down.

She couldn't help but look at the man who was already seated on the stage, and their eyes met.

This made her heart skip a beat, and she instinctively turned her head away, unable to meet the other person's gaze.

In this world, she is probably the only one who knows that the man sitting on the stage of the StarCraft finals is Zhou Li, the most popular star player in the world right now in another game, League of Legends.

Lee Hyun-kyung's work is frequently changing; sometimes he hosts StarCraft, and sometimes he hosts League of Legends. A couple of years ago, his focus was more on League of Legends, but this year he has returned to StarCraft.

Therefore, she has always been paying attention to the game League of Legends.

You should know that Zhou Li is now known as a man with "three superlatives".

"Most controversial."

"Most popular".

"The strongest."

Not to mention that Lee Hyun-kyung has been following League of Legends closely, Zhou Li's popularity is so widespread that even people outside the esports circle have heard of him.

After all, he is still being criticized by EXO fans.

What puzzled Lee Hyun-kyung was that, as far as she knew, the League of Legends World Championship semi-finals were about to begin tomorrow!

Furthermore, Zhou Li's team, WE., will be playing against Samsung Blue on the first day.

Instead of preparing properly, he actually came to participate in a StarCraft competition!
What Lee Hyun-kyung found even more incomprehensible was that this man's talent for gaming was simply too terrifying. On one hand, he was one of the world's top League of Legends professional players, and on the other hand, he was one of the world's top StarCraft 2 professional players.

If he can defeat INnoVation today, he will lift the championship trophy of this StarCraft 2 China-Korea Showdown!

What Lee Hyun-kyung found most incomprehensible was why Zhou Li, who had been hiding his identity, would suddenly find him before the match and reveal it.

And he left a message saying, "Long time no see."

She couldn't help but think back, but she still couldn't recall whether she had ever interacted with Zhou Li before.

Compared to men, women are always more emotional, so Zhou Li's behavior naturally made Li Xianjing start to have wild thoughts.

In addition, the various buffs stacked on Zhou Li made Li Xianjing constantly feel ashamed of the absurd ideas that popped into his head, while at the same time he couldn't help but come up with even more strange ideas.

She stood backstage, watching Zhou Li under the spotlight.

Hyun-kyung remained silent, only continuing to stretch the silk.

At this moment, Zhou Li was adjusting his equipment.

In fact, he had already become a professional StarCraft 2 player several months ago and had participated in professional competitions many times.

He also reclaimed his ID, Lion.

This ID doesn't have any particular meaning; I just happened to have used it before and was too lazy to think about it.

After all, the ID itself doesn't have much meaning.

People remember an ID not because it's easy to remember, but because of the user behind it!
As for why they did this, it was naturally for Lee Hyun-kyung.

It wasn't that Zhou Li was particularly pure in love, but after all, she was his former woman, his virtuous consort, and there was no reason for him to give her away to someone else.

Aside from Abu, he doesn't have a penchant for giving women away.

StarCraft is a different game from League of Legends.

One is an RTS game, and the other is a MOBA game.

What is an RTS game?

That is, real-time strategy games.

For Zhou Li, who possesses unparalleled intelligence, real-time strategy games are arguably the easiest to pick up.

Even compared to League of Legends, it's much easier for Zhou Li to win in StarCraft 2.

After all, League of Legends is a five-player game, and the abilities of teammates and teamwork must be taken into account.

StarCraft, however, is different.

The exceptional intelligence that Zhou Li possesses is bestowed upon him, and this ability is even more vividly demonstrated in StarCraft II.

Multi-threaded operation, ultimate micro-management, precise calculation and prediction, optimal resource allocation solutions, tactical deception and countermeasures at the psychological game level, and optimal strategy adjustments in real-time, etc...

The abilities required for StarCraft 2 are a perfect match for Zhou Li!

Even Zhou Li couldn't help but sigh, thinking that if he hadn't played League of Legends professionally, but instead played StarCraft 2 professionally, he didn't know how much easier it would have been.

The finals of the China-Korea showdown will also be a best-of-five (BO5) series.

Not long after, the first game between the two sides began.

The first map was the Lost Temple, a classic symmetrical map from StarCraft 2.

The map's varying elevations make it the most challenging for tactical maneuvering.

When facing the Korean emperor INnoVation, Zhou Li also used the human race.

In the Gamefy livestream, BBC began by saying:

"It's worth mentioning that Lion doesn't have a specific race he specializes in. I've watched a few of his matches, and he's a player who can use Terran, Protoss, and Zerg."

Huang Xudong, who was standing to the side, nodded and said:

"But to be honest, INnoVation plays Terran really well. Today, Lion also chose to play Terran against INnoVation, and it seems unlikely that he will gain any advantage."

It's worth mentioning that Huang Xudong's role as a StarCraft 2 commentator is similar to Joker's role in League of Legends.

Thirty minutes later.

INnoVation looked ashen-faced, staring at his computer screen in despair.

Three to zero.

Zhou Li has completely crushed INnoVation!
The match consisted of three games, with the shortest game lasting only five minutes!

The BBC couldn't help but sigh as they watched Zhou Li win the championship.

"Lion is such an outrageous player!"

These three games were an absolute treat for BBC and Huang Xudong.

Zhou Li used extreme offensive tactics and psychological warfare, treating INnoVation like a monkey to be played, to turn this peak showdown into a human-machine game!

However, while feeling sentimental, Huang Xudong couldn't help but sigh.

StarCraft 2 is currently experiencing very low popularity.

If this had happened a few years earlier, the emergence of such a formidable newcomer among Chinese professional players would have caused a huge sensation.

but now……

He even felt a pang of sympathy for Lion, lamenting that the latter was born at the wrong time.

Unlike in China, StarCraft II enjoys relatively high popularity in South Korea, where esports is a pillar industry.

It's worth noting that StarCraft sold 4.5 million copies in South Korea, accounting for 50% of global sales.

Seeing INnoVation's crushing defeat, South Korean netizens were so angry they were practically going berserk.

It's worth noting that in the professional competition of another e-sports game, League of Legends, although the Korean teams achieved good results this year, with two Korean teams in the semifinals and both advancing as group winners, Samsung Blue's series of outrageous plays were truly embarrassing.

What Korean netizens find most unacceptable is that the player named Zhou Li from the neighboring LPL region is just too arrogant!
The key is that when someone jumps around, you can't do anything about it. You're constantly being bullied and abused by Zhou Li.

Although the match between WE.A and Samsung Blue will start tomorrow, and the opportunity to vent their anger may be just around the corner, considering the form and strength of the two teams, even the narrow-minded and confident Koreans dare not say that Samsung Blue can absolutely defeat WE.A.

Unlike League of Legends, South Korean esports has consistently maintained a dominant position in StarCraft II.

It's worth noting that in the WCS finals, the highest-level StarCraft II tournament in 2014, all eight finalists were Korean!

They monopolize over 90% of the top-level tournament championships worldwide, possessing an undisputed absolute hegemony.

However, no one expected that this time, they would be defeated by an unknown young Chinese player!
Moreover, it was an extremely humiliating and crushing defeat!
Losing a StarCraft match is even more unacceptable to Koreans than losing a League of Legends match!

After all, although SKT won the World Championship last year and Korean teams have been very strong this year, they have not yet established an absolute dominant position.

But StarCraft is different; South Korea has dominated it for so long! South Korea losing a StarCraft match is like China losing a table tennis match.

Can you bear this?

So as soon as the match ended, the Koreans went completely berserk.

Unlike others, this peculiar race, while vehemently criticizing INnoVation, also offered heartfelt condolences to Zhou Li, who had won the championship.

League of Legends has Li, and now StarCraft has Lion.

How could South Korean netizens not be shocked?

Extreme inferiority complex and sensitivity make it impossible for Koreans to accept such a defeat.

But so what?

No matter how harsh the Koreans' insults were, at this moment, in the center of the stage under the spotlight, Zhou Li had already raised the championship trophy that he had won by crushing the Koreans' self-esteem!
Lee Hyun-kyung, backstage, stared intently at the man on stage.

Who would have thought that this absolute champion of League of Legends would still be able to lift the championship trophy after leaving Summoner's Rift?

Although both are games, League of Legends and StarCraft II are two completely different games.

As someone working in the esports industry, Lee Hyun-kyung understands just how hard professional players train every day to maintain their form and continuously improve.

"Where does he get so much energy and time?"

It wasn't until the director's prompt came through her earpiece that Lee Hyun-kyung realized she couldn't stand there and keep stretching her hair.

She took her fastest steps since she started wearing high heels and quickly arrived at Zhou Li's side.

"Lion, congratulations on becoming the champion of this China-Korea competition. How are you feeling now?"

Upon hearing Li Xianjing's words, Zhou Li replied in a relaxed tone:
"It's alright, I don't have any particular feelings, it's just like when I play three games against bots to practice."

"boom!"

As soon as Zhou Li finished speaking, the scene erupted into chaos!

As mentioned before, StarCraft 2 is no longer very popular in China, but it is still very popular in South Korea.

Therefore, it is different from League of Legends.

Although the League of Legends World Championship is held in South Korea, many Chinese fans still travel to South Korea to watch the games. In addition, there are also some Chinese people living in South Korea, so there are quite a few Chinese people at the games.

But StarCraft 2 is different.

Zhou Liyong, using the ID Lion, didn't have many fans to begin with, so almost everyone present was Korean.

In this situation, Zhou Li, playing away from home, defecating right in front of the host naturally enraged the audience.

Some extreme Koreans even rushed out of the audience and tried to rush onto the stage.

But perhaps they couldn't see clearly from the audience seats. It wasn't until they got to the front of the stage and observed Zhou Li's physique up close that, even though there were no security guards on either side, the Koreans acted as if they couldn't see him and just stood below the stage, waving their hands and cursing.

Meanwhile, South Korean netizens in the live stream were equally indignant!
[What the hell is he saying?!]

Does this kid even know where he is?!

[They only won a cup competition, why are they so arrogant!]

[Those losers in the audience, what are they doing just standing there yelling? If I were there, I would have already rushed up and punched them!]

[Ugh, this person's tone of voice reminds me of someone utterly disgusting.]

[It's Li, right? I also watch League of Legends matches. After all, this guy's name is also Lion, we're birds of a feather.]

Lee Hyun-kyung was clearly taken aback by Joo-rye's explosive remarks and could only awkwardly smile and try to smooth things over.

"Lion's personality is indeed quite arrogant, no wonder he chose such an ID."

"Well, actually it's like this," Zhou Li said with a smile, "the reason I chose this ID has nothing to do with this."

His hand slowly reached towards his ear, a gesture that instantly made Lee Hyun-kyung tense.

"I know there's a player in another game who's become very popular lately, his ID is Li..."

At this point, the previously bustling scene instantly fell silent.

After all, the ID "Li" has left countless wonderful memories for these esports fans.

"Actually, I also have some connection with that Li."

At this point, Zhou Li's hand had already reached to his ear.

"To be honest, I am Zhou Li's older brother, and my name is Zhou Heiya."

As soon as Zhou Li finished speaking, he took off his mask.

The scene was completely silent.

Even the live stream chat was briefly silent.

Until the first question mark appeared.

【? ? ? ? 】

[No? He just said he was Zhou Li's older brother?]

[Oh, you know what, they really do look alike.]

They look so alike, they must be twins, right?

[Damn it! League of Legends has Zhou Li, and now StarCraft has Zhou Heiya! Are these two trying to ruin Korean esports?!]

Doesn't anyone else think Zhou Hei Ya and Zhou Li look exactly alike?

[Damn it, this kid is Zhou Li! He has a mole on his left chest! Exactly the same as Zhou Li!]

[I'm curious... how did you know he had a mole on the left side of his chest...?]

Are you guys stupid? Who would be called Zhou Hei Ya (Zhou's Black Duck)?

[How is this possible! How could he possibly be here!]

[No, I don't want to believe it! Hasn't this guy ruined our League of Legends already? Does he really want to destroy Korean esports?!]

[Western Zhou Rituals! Western Zhou Rituals! Western Zhou Rituals!!!]

Meanwhile, in the domestic live broadcast room, the BBC stared wide-eyed, exclaiming in disbelief:

"This...this person, he must be Zhou Li?!"

Huang Xudong murmured:

"No way... No way... How could Zhou Li still play StarCraft... And isn't he supposed to play in the semifinals tomorrow?!"

"But their voices are exactly the same! And he even calls himself Zhou Hei Ya!"

At this point, the chat room was in an uproar.

Netizens felt that this was the Zhou Dynasty's ritual system, but at the same time, they also felt it was too incredible to believe in a short period of time.

After all, this is a bit too outrageous.

Good grief, it's one thing to be so good at League of Legends, but you also secretly created an alternate account to participate in a StarCraft 2 China-Korea competition while playing in the World Championship, and even won the championship?!

Is this something a human being could do?

If someone is this outstanding, are they not planning to leave any way for the general public to survive?
It wasn't until a comment was posted that the matter was finally put to rest.

[There's no need for anyone to argue anymore. Zhou Li is just going to collect his endorsement fee. Zhou Hei Ya has officially announced Zhou Li as their brand ambassador.]

【No? You mean Zhou Li participated in the League of Legends World Championship, won a StarCraft II championship, and also raked in an endorsement deal?!】

Hmm. It seems like all the things you mentioned were done incidentally.

In the live broadcast, Zhou Li is answering Li Xianjing's questions.

"Zhou Li, tomorrow is the semifinals of the League of Legends World Championship. What made you decide to participate in the StarCraft competition?"

"Because I heard you weren't commentating on League of Legends matches this year, and since you weren't coming, I had to come to you."

【? ? ? ? 】

So you're saying that Zhou Ge won a StarCraft championship and snagged an endorsement deal while pursuing a woman?!

A South Korean live stream.

The Koreans' cursing has stopped.

Because the live broadcast signal was cut off.

(End of this chapter)