LOL: Reborn in Season 3, Taming Lee Sang-hyeok

Chapter 81: It's over!

The next day.

Conference room of the investment department on the 28th floor of the Samsung headquarters building in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea.

Under the watchful eyes of Samsung's investment department members, Lee Ji-hyeong and Lee Kee-myung swiftly signed their names on the contract, signifying that the agreement was finalized and the two parties had officially established a cooperative relationship.

After defeating KT, RISE finally stood at the top of the OGN rankings, proving their worth.

Samsung Group, with a brand new contract, extended a third round of invitations to Lee Ji-hyeong.

The contract format this time is quite unique.

It's called a bet.

It's still a two-year naming rights contract, but the initial contract was only 60 million Korean won.

Only if RISE successfully avoids relegation in the upcoming Spring Split will their contract amount increase to 120 million.

Once they win the Spring Split championship, this amount will double again, reaching 240 million.

This number is significantly higher than the initial target of 200 million for RISE.

However, the requirements are even higher; you must win the championship.

If they don't get it, the figure of 120 million will be far less than the conditions Samsung previously offered.

However, Li Zhixing had nothing to fear and quickly signed the contract.

Minister Kim of the Investment Department picked up the contract, neatly unfolded it, and a hint of melancholy flickered in his eyes.

From the moment the investment plan was initiated, he never imagined that it would eventually develop into what it is today.

For a maximum of 240 million Korean won, he secured two years of naming rights for RISE and a two-year prime chest badge position, which can be described as a 0GN deal.

This is the largest investment since the company was founded.

It's hard to imagine that this kind of investment would go to an amateur team like RISE, instead of those who have already joined OGN.

A wealthy and powerful family.

This deal is destined to shock the entire esports industry.

Of course, now that RISE Club has developed to this point, it would be inappropriate to still call them an amateur team.

With the largest and most luxurious base, the strongest competitive strength, and now with investment from Samsung, who says they aren't a powerhouse!

Meanwhile, on the INVEN forum...

Today is Monday, a workday, and there are no OGN matches, so the forum is much quieter than it was yesterday.

Even when there are occasional discussions, they mostly revolve around yesterday's epic battle between RISE and KT.

Countless people watched the commentary videos released by Li Zhixing's channel and discussed yesterday's match.

It's worth mentioning that Lee Sang-hyeok's play of defeating Ryu yesterday was recognized by Riot Games, and the related GIF appeared on Riot's official Twitter account, which can be considered as using the official hand to spread the names of Faker and R1SE all over the world.

Meanwhile, several rumors also emerged.

[Shocking! Samsung Group invests 240 million won in sponsorship! Officially entering OGN, and the team they chose is...]

[Samsung's endorsement! RISE officially renamed SSR, joining the ranks of top-tier companies!]

[A record-breaking sponsorship fee! What secrets does the RISE team hold?]

It just goes to show that nothing stays hidden forever.

The appearance of these messages caused a ripple in the otherwise calm INVEN forum.

But this time, the reactions of countless white and black pieces were surprisingly unified: This guy has gone mad.

【? ? ? 】

Could it be any more fake?

[Are you kidding me? RISE has no background or accolades, how could they possibly get sponsorship from Samsung? And for a staggering 200 million?]

But there's no smoke without fire, right? R1SE is so popular, yet they haven't had many sponsors. Isn't that strange?

Why do I see so many "GG" characters on R1SE's jerseys?

That's Captain Neo's online store...

I simply don't believe that a newly formed team can be more valuable than those established powerhouses.

At first, everyone just treated the news as a joke and didn't take it seriously.

People believe that Samsung Group is going to enter OGN, after all, it is the most powerful conglomerate, and its target audience covers all levels of South Korea, so it can get a share of the traffic from any place.

The fact that RISE team will receive sponsorship is widely believed, given that they are currently ranked number one in OGN and are a natural magnet for attention.

But no one believed that Samsung Group would invest in RISE, especially at a price of over 200 million!

That same evening, a tweet from the RISE club's official Twitter account completely ignited the entire esports community.

[RISE x Samsung Group Title Sponsorship Partnership Officially Announced]

RISE Esports Club is pleased to announce that it has officially entered into a global exclusive title sponsorship partnership with Samsung Group, effective immediately.

Since its inception, the players of RISE Club have always upheld their passion for esports, striving hard and aiming for the top on the field...

Starting today, the club will compete in major tournaments under the new identity of SAMSUNGRISE (abbreviation: SSR), ushering in a new era!

All the previous doubts have disappeared, replaced by endless amazement!

【ah???】

No, you guys are serious!

[Is 2.4 million really just for the title sponsorship fee for GG? That's an incredible profit!]

[Is Neo the boss of RISE? I heard he's still a high school student? How does he earn so much money at such a young age?]

To use a Chinese saying, "Heroes emerge from among the young."

Isn't this what we Koreans say?

[The performance-based contract is a mess. Winning the championship only gets you 240 million! Are you really going to reserve the championship for R1SE?]

[Note the wording: It's now SSR!]

Even if they don't win the championship, 1.2 million is a lot of money, and judging from their momentum, their chances of winning seem quite high!

The news that RISE received investment from Samsung may only be shocking to those outside the industry.

However, the reaction within the industry was somewhat strange.

Upon hearing this news, countless wealthy families all shared the same thought: envy.

The person who is MVP must feel the most uncomfortable.

After all, Samsung Group has already engaged in multiple rounds of negotiations with MVP regarding the investment.

The two sides even discussed the final step, but then Samsung inexplicably went silent.

Now it seems she was seduced by Rise?

Damn it!

But what's most disheartening is that, as someone in the industry who understands RISE's dominance, they even feel... Samsung's investment wasn't a loss.

The moment RISE wins the OGN championship, Samsung will quickly recoup its investment costs from the massive influx of viewers.

As the first team to face RISE, MVP clearly felt the strength of this team.

Is it really possible for this team to fail to win the championship?

In addition, news of RISE receiving sponsorship also spread among the group.

Those are the various financial backers who intend to invest in OGN.

Most of them had contacted RISE before, but were all turned down by RISE's high asking price and chose to wait and see, looking for the right time to enter the market.

But now that Samsung has signed a contract with RISE, what else can they say?

Samsung's investment department is definitely more professional than ours; how could their judgment be wrong?

Rinse it!

That very night, Li Zhixing's phone was bombarded with calls...