Rebirth is fine, but I get eight hundred dollars right from the start?

While everyone was busy with their esports stuff, the second solo match between Zhang Hai and SOAZ was also nearing its end.

Clearly, Zhang Hai, having mastered Riven, didn't waste as much time as he did in the first game.

Start with a large red potion, and then combine it with the Summoner Spells Flash and Ignite;

Level 3!

Having just leveled up to level three, Zhang Hai, who had spent the previous few minutes expending some energy, immediately charged forward.

"Riven's in!"

"Ignite and you're dead. This is going to be a three-level game."

"Well, the crocodile's anger is pretty good. Is SOAZ going to fight to the bitter end?"

"Both teams are going out with big red pills; the outcome is uncertain."

"Wow, that's a fast QA! Tale's hand speed seems to have gotten even faster."

"With both of them taking their medicine, the crocodile's rage is high, and SOAZ chooses to go all in."

"flash!"

"flash!"

"..."

"Wow!"

"Three Qs, a Q-flash from the opposite direction, Riven interrupted Renekton's E skill, and the last auto-attack was delivered... Riven had the last laugh."

"First Blood Erupts!"

"The winner of the first match of the 2013 Shanghai All-Star Skills Competition is Tale from the LPL region!"

"..."

【Tale!】

【Tale!】

【Tale!】

【Riven!】

[Awesome!]

【…】

Backstage.

Listening to the deafening cheers from the audience inside the stadium.

After replying to the message from his beautiful assistant who had sent him the good news about the surge in orders, Lin Shu's smile grew even brighter.

What's so surprising? The main characters haven't even appeared yet, and orders have already exploded?

What if the real climax comes later?

"However, we've finally managed to successfully develop HWG's second star!"

During the All-Star Weekend in Shanghai these past few days, the sheer volume of online traffic is so high it's practically undetectable.

After all, the number of independent viewers on the opening day alone exceeded seven million, and the venue, which can accommodate eight thousand people, was packed to capacity.

He certainly wouldn't go against the flow of traffic.

All that effort—training the LPL representatives day and night, working from 8 a.m. to midnight to film promotional videos for the official team, and speaking flawlessly in front of the camera during interviews—was it really all for the sake of "bringing glory to the country"?

He cares about empty fame for outsiders, but he also cares about the cake he can actually eat.

It's true that our own people are playing the game at the competition venue, but that doesn't stop the Taobao store from leveraging its own traffic to sell goods.

Traffic can flow into his own shop through his disguise, and anyone would want to make a good deal like that.

Selling a large number of goods can allow a store to accumulate a huge amount of cash in a very short period of time.

With this money, HWG can change its previous "middleman" identity and directly sign exclusive or large orders with contract manufacturers, reducing the printing cost of a single peripheral product, such as a T-shirt, from 30-40 yuan to 15-20 yuan in the future.

Once a cost advantage is established, the store will have the resources to further engage in price wars and quality competition.

What? You're asking if the club just received a multi-million dollar investment?

Please, clubs are clubs, and esports merchandise is esports merchandise; they are independent and their finances are completely separate.

Although he could indeed pull out more from his wallet to add more e-sports gadgets.

But as the saying goes, endless investment is never as good as being self-sufficient.

The store has been open for so long, and with the support of his personal IP and club traffic, it's a bit disappointing that the company account can't even make a surplus for expansion and he, as the boss, has to bring in the shortfall from other sources.

Of course, during the All-Star period, making money by driving sales for Taobao stores with the massive traffic is secondary.

In 2013, being officially authorized to sell merchandise during major events was itself a highly valuable "certificate of trust".

This allows esports products to stand out from the numerous "fake general stores" on Taobao, establishing the impression of "official authentic products" in the minds of players from the outset.

As the event expands its reach, the store's brand can attract the attention of millions of core players. These users will be its most loyal supporters and purchasing power in the future e-commerce journey.

Furthermore, for him, or rather for HWG in the future, the primary value is not short-term profit, but rather to drive the entire esports peripheral market from zero to one.

For the 2013 All-Star Game, the Shanghai organizers and Tencent went all out, investing heavily in the venue, broadcasting, promotion, and hospitality. The event certainly garnered massive attention – over seven million unique viewers, a phenomenal number for any television program today.

However, this popularity only extended to the "watching" level. Once the audience finished watching the excitement and left, the traffic dried up, leaving no trace that could be converted into money.

Are investors worried about the large investments required for the event?

Don't be afraid!

They were afraid that the money they invested would go down the drain, and that they would burn through a lot of money without ever making a sound.

Do investors crave the attention and traffic of a large number of young people?

The answer is obvious.

In the past, most of the capital that entered the e-sports industry was attracted by the massive global attention that e-sports brings.

Think about it, if you spend millions or tens of millions of dollars on traditional media in China, including newspapers, TV, and magazines, how many people will you actually reach?

How bad is the conversion rate?

But if you sponsor an esports team, as long as they make it to the world championships, the logo on their jerseys will appear on live broadcasts worldwide, watched by tens of millions of people, especially the most valuable young demographic. This is equivalent to gaining international brand recognition at a very low cost.

When you calculate it, the price-performance ratio is simply outrageous.

You'd be surprised if they went crazy.

But Lin Shu felt that the pace was still too slow.

The same considerations apply.

If things continue on the original path, LPL will need at least another year or two to climb out of the quagmire of being an "internet cafe league" and stand on the stage of legitimate commercial sports.

He couldn't wait.

To execute his grand plan before the end of next year, he needs more money, more helpers, and more leverage to influence capital.

He didn't just want HWG to be fed.

He needs to get all the LPL teams up and make the market itself expand into a behemoth, so that HWG, as a top player, can then tear off the biggest piece of meat from this behemoth.

As for where the funding and assistance will come from?

Of course, it's about letting those investors see the potential of esports and the commercial value of the esports market.

The recent surge in sales of merchandise featuring All-Star players demonstrates the more abstract value of player IP beyond mere attention and online traffic.

It directly proves the club's "self-sustaining ability," which is revolutionary for the survival and development of LPL and even the entire esports club industry.

First, merchandise sales have expanded the club's revenue from single sponsorships to the "C-end fan economy".

This means that the club's fate is no longer entirely dependent on the owner's will.

With a stable cash flow, the club can independently pay player salaries and improve the conditions of its training base, evolving from a "makeshift operation that has to beg for money everywhere" into a "sports entity with stable revenue."

Secondly, when, apart from him, "Tale's autographed jersey" can also sell for more money than regular jerseys and sell out faster, the player's personal commercial value changes from abstract fame into concrete, measurable monetary figures.

This provides clubs with significant bargaining power—when signing new contracts, clubs can use this to demand more reasonable commercial revenue sharing terms from players, and at the same time, they can use "helping you monetize your commercial value" as a powerful tool to attract star players to join them.

Of course, the most important thing is to pave the way for the club to introduce "strategic capital".

When investors consider a project to be "worth investing in," what they value most is a clear and sustainable profit model.

Does the market exist?

Three days and 2.4 tickets sold out instantly, with scalpers charging four or five times the original price.

Is the demand strong?

All-Star autographed merchandise sold out instantly, demonstrating fans' strong willingness to spend.

The most crucial question is: can the model be replicated?

Of course, as you can see, HWG has already successfully incubated a second incredibly brilliant esports star.

You should know that everything we're seeing right now is still before the real stars of this All-Star game have even made their appearance.

Once the real traffic bomb is dropped, guess what kind of spectacle will occur next?

(May the three yangs bring good fortune, we're invincible!)

(I originally wanted to add a couple more chapters to include the details of the solo match, but I can't delay any longer. I can only give a brief overview of Xiao Hai's highlights. However, there is still a post-match interview describing his personal growth, which I will write tomorrow along with the main match chapter. My mind is still a bit foggy today, and I'm afraid I won't write enough.)