My capital is quite large.

Chapter 285 Fire Man Refining Iron

In the late autumn of 2015, a chill was already in the air in Europe.

However, the highest stage of global esports—the S5 World Championship—kicked off as scheduled in Sweden and France.

This was a cross-generational clash that was highly anticipated by countless domestic players before the match, but ultimately turned into a famous tragedy in the history of Chinese esports.

After a year of silence, Faker, the "Demon King" who was once dethroned on the other side of the ocean, led the rebuilt SKT team back to the World Championship stage with overwhelming force!

There were no more unnecessary tests, and no more suspense.

That year, SKT displayed an almost alien-like dominance at the World Championship.

With an incredible record of 15 wins and 1 loss, they swept through Europe and America, effortlessly lifting their second Summoner's Cup in Berlin!

Faker, the king has returned, and once again he has been crowned the only true god in global esports!

In stark contrast to the jubilation on the other side of the ocean in South Korea, the entire LPL fan community and public opinion were in mourning that night.

"What the hell is this?!"

"LPL hyped this up for a whole year, and it turns out they just went to Europe to be human backdrops for their teams?!"

"Give me my money back! Give me back all the money I spent on the South Korean aid! What kind of bullshit Samsung Ten is this? They're all overpaid, incompetent mercenaries!"

Domestic online forums and Weibo have been flooded with angry comments, as countless netizens vent their fury at being deceived and fooled.

Because LPL was praised too highly this year, its fall from grace was naturally the most painful.

In the MSI Mid-Season Invitational in May, the number one seed from the Chinese server, EDG, defeated SKT's undefeated LeBlanc with their Morgana and Evelynn combo to win the championship.

That time, the entire internet was boasting that "LPL has surpassed LCK and become the world's number one region".

In addition, as early as the beginning of the season, various hot money poured in, almost completely buying out the "Samsung Ten" who had just won the S4 championship last year, and signing them all to major domestic clubs!

With this stellar lineup, the entire LPL was hyped from the Spring Split to the Summer Split. From commentators to media, everyone felt that this year's S5 World Championship was just a formality to "get a skin in advance."

In the Summer Split finals, EDG, known for their dominance in domestic matches, surprisingly lost to the dark horse LGD team.

This further elevated LGD, the number one seed team, to a pedestal.

LGD's jungler TBQ even acted somewhat strangely when faced with questions from viewers during his live stream.

"Worlds? Just play casually. I'm already debating whether to choose Vi or Lee Sin for the championship skin."

From top to bottom, the entire competition area exuded an arrogant sense of "sure to win".

However, when the curtain rises, reality is often cruel.

With three spots available, the number one seed LGD and the number three seed iG were both eliminated in the group stage, failing to even make it past the round of 16!

EDG, the only team to advance, was also defeated 4-0 by FNC from Europe in the quarterfinals, resulting in a humiliating elimination!

What angered netizens and fans the most was LGD's "research" operations during the group stage.

In that meta dominated by heavy armor champions, everyone knew that Mordekaiser was an absolute brainless Tier 0 hero, someone who was either banned or picked.

However, when facing European and wildcard teams, LGD stubbornly refused to ban Mordekaiser in order to demonstrate their "tactical depth" and "scientific drafting".

Instead, after releasing Iron Man, they confidently chose Flame Vengeance to counter him!

"Fire Man Iron Refining!"

This famous meme, which would later be listed as a disgrace to Dongda esports, was born on this night.

The result was self-evident. Brand not only failed to forge Iron Man, but was also killed by Iron Man's three hammer blows, securing his place in the top 16.

……

Jinling, Haofeng Group Headquarters Building.

Technical Director Lao Chen, who had just returned from Shanghai, and the project manager of the LPL league were standing nervously in front of Li Feng's desk.

The two of them bent over very low, not daring to even breathe.

With esports events turned out this way, public opinion nearly crashed Weibo's servers. As the implementing body, they are naturally to blame.

"Mr. Li... the result of this world championship is due to our dereliction of duty. We failed to provide adequate psychological support to the players..." The person in charge wiped away cold sweat and began to apologize in what he thought was a proper apology, his voice trembling.

Li Feng toyed with the string of purple clay Buddhist beads in his hand, his deep eyes calm as still water.

"Old Chen, you've worked hard at Haofeng these past few years. But a person's energy is limited, and you're getting older. We can't let you manage everything on your own."

Li Feng's casual remark determined the transfer of power:

"Starting tomorrow, you don't need to worry about the mobile game department's 'Honor of Kings' and subsequent new projects. Let Feng Ji take full control."

You'll be back to oversee the operation of the Chinese server for League of Legends, and also serve as the chairman of the LPL esports professional league.

"As for Manager Wang..."

Li Feng glanced at the project manager who was trembling all over.

"Go to the finance department tomorrow to process your resignation."

There was no roaring, no fierce defense.

In a brief exchange, this internet tyrant, wielding absolute power, calmly completed a radical restructuring of the top leadership.

……

"Old Chen, how's the feedback from the closed beta test of Tianya Mingyue Dao?"

After dealing with the mess in the LPL, Li Feng put down his prayer beads and steered the conversation to another key project in PC gaming.

Old Chen, who was left in the office, quickly handed over a report.

"Mr. Li, the feedback from players during the several small-scale closed beta tests of 'Moonlight Blade' in the Yangtze River Delta and Shanghai regions has been excellent, especially regarding the graphics and the light-footwork system, which are absolutely leading the way among current Chinese-style 3D PC games!"

Yang Feng's expectation is that the public beta will be launched no later than next summer!

"Okay, let him focus on grinding. I don't care about the time difference." Li Feng was satisfied with what he heard.

But then, Li Feng's gaze fell on the recent data charts for esports projects.

"We're under a lot of pressure from public opinion this year for S5."