Chapter 103: New proposal

Inside the dimly lit conference room of the eSports Game Association, someone was giving a briefing in front of a projector.

“This is the projected attendance for this year’s opening match.”

A presentation appeared at the man’s gesture.

The middle sections of the seats, which curved in a semicircle from A to G, were glowing red.

“What’s with all the red?”

“Those are the seats that were reserved and then canceled.”

“So many people canceled their in-person attendance? Did they not like the seats?”

“Judging from the fact that not only the corner seats in sections A and G were canceled, but also seats evenly distributed throughout-.”

“…The prestige of the league has plummeted.”

A middle-aged man sighed.

His name was Park Jin-Chul, and he had seized power within the association due to the recent large-scale purge.

The employees within the association were praising Park Jin-Chul as the new sun and trying to get on his good side.

But what good was it all? The house itself was collapsing.

‘It’s not even my sh*t, but I’m the one who has to clean it all up…’

The AoW Spring League opening match was just a week away.

Normally, he would be getting calls from acquaintances asking if he could reserve a few seats in advance, and there should be many fans lamenting that the seats were full.

The current situation was the exact opposite.

In a way, it could be seen as a boycott. Or perhaps it was simply a temporary rejection by people who were disappointed in the AoW League.

“I guess it’s fair to call it a 3rd-tier league…”

Park Jin-Chul muttered self-deprecatingly.

When AoW was first released, the United States led the international league.

But that was only for a short time. After some time had passed since its release, the Korean league took the throne.

As befitting the name of the nation that is good at games, the Korean league was called the Hwangbu League and prevented any other league from setting foot on the throne.

The golden age of the Korean league, the promised 5 years.

As the entire league became standardized, the Korean league had no choice but to give up its absolute throne.

‘All the players were sold off overseas…’

If you can’t beat them, join them.

China and the United States leagues acted in accordance with this saying.

They began to employ talented Korean players as mercenaries for their teams.

The Korean League, which was leading the league, produced talented prospects every year.

However, only some of them saw the light. The rest were players who could not rank in their domestic leagues or were not even used as starters.

Overseas countries promised those players generous treatment and took them to their teams.

IE Dragons, the Chinese team that won the championship last year, also had three Korean players on the team.

The reason why Korean players leave for overseas was simple.

The conditions in foreign countries are much better than in their own country.

Typically, high contract fees and annual salaries.

This is an unavoidable part because it is pushed back from national competitiveness.

Although the Internet is relatively fast worldwide and PC rooms are lined up on the streets, the shutdown system is also in operation at the same time, and the country itself does not encourage eSports.

It’s a little better now, but the first-generation pro gamers continued to receive the gaze of being abnormal people addicted to games.

The Korean league, which lost its throne in that way, was pushed back by China and the United States, and now it was in a situation where it was coldly called a 3rd-tier league.

It’s more frustrating to have something and then lose it than to not have it from the beginning.

Korean League fans wanted their domestic league to be called the Hwangbu League again.

They also wanted their domestic league to do well, but they desperately hoped that the players would show something on the international stage while cheering each other on.

‘In that situation, this kind of thing happened…’

They lost a promising prospect who was supposed to strengthen their power.

When they investigated, there were similar cases before. It’s just that they weren’t known.

It’s only natural that fans who are disappointed in corruption turn their backs.

‘What should I do?’

Park Jin-Chul wanted the fans to love the league again.

As a first-generation pro gamer who loves games and the eSports Association after retirement, he knew well how unhappy the players of a sport that is shunned by people become.

Of course, it won’t go that far because he has built a solid foundation, but he just doesn’t like the current situation.

‘The kids are practicing so hard.’

He, who periodically watches the games in person, knew very well how much his juniors loved the game and how much they worked for it.

Hopefully, people will recognize that effort even a little more and the only way to repay the players will be to like the league.

‘Is there anything I can do?’

It was when Park Jin-Chul was thinking so hard.

“I have a good idea.”

“What is it?”

The PR manager who gave the presentation opened his mouth.

Park Jin-Chul asked back, subtly expecting something.

Two heads are better than one, wouldn’t a better idea come out if two people were thinking about it than if one person was worrying alone?

“It’s to bring streamer Mollru into the league.”

“Hey, will she come after what happened to her? Will she be a player?”

It wasn’t.

Park Jin-Chul looked at the PR manager with cold eyes.

The PR manager waved his hand with a flustered face.

“Not that, I’m saying let’s call her as a guest commentator.”

“Guest commentator?”

“Yes, streamer Mollru is a victim and key figure in the eSports corruption gate. If she steps forward, the perception of the league is expected to improve.”

It was a reasonable thing to say.

Park Jin-Chul nodded, telling him to keep talking.

“Guest commentary is not a burdensome position because it is not a caster or a professional commentator. In the past, former pro and streamer Vita shined in the position.”

“If she’s going to challenge being a pro, she must have a good eye for the game. What was her tier again?”

“As of yesterday, she is 16th in Challenger.”

“More than enough…”

Park Jin-Chul clicked his tongue.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that a female user with legendary talent had appeared.

Challenger tier with only 300 people. Those who are positioned in the upper ranks are people who are evaluated to have reached the extreme of the game.

Since her tier is her tier, she must have met pros often, and she would be able to tell stories like ‘This player was like this when I met them in ranked’.

As a guest commentator, she would be able to play the role of a sweet treat sufficiently.

It was when Park Jin-Chul’s brain was spinning and running simulations.

“And… most importantly, the promotional effect will be very good.”

“Did you say she was a streamer? Does she have a lot of viewers?”

“Take a look at this.”

Park Jin-Chul’s eyes widened as he looked at the screen in the cell phone that the PR manager held out.

“This is the broadcast from yesterday. It hasn’t even been a week since she revealed her real self.”

“Huh, Park Kyung-Tae wasn’t greedy for nothing.”

Anyone would want to see a gamer with such an appearance in person.

Even if he promises to appear for only a few times, the atmosphere of the league will come alive.

“Yeah… I don’t think there’s a better plan than this, but is there a way to bring her in?”

“Isn’t that what the sales department should be working on? They have to do this much to earn their salary.”

“Hahaha! That’s right. The experts there will take care of it.”

The only thing the PR manager had to do was to convey the interpretation of what would happen if streamer Mollru participated as a guest commentator to the top management of the association.

“I hope it goes well.”

Park Jin-Chul stared at Mollru’s picture on his cell phone.

He desperately hoped that the beautiful gamer would save the league.

Broadcasters have content that they focus on.

Some streamers only play one type of game, while others specialize in outdoor broadcasts, and some have been named nogari (chatting) specialists because they are so good at telling stories.

If you were to ask me, I’m a variety game streamer, but the proportion is a bit skewed.

My broadcast viewers say that the foundation of my broadcast is AoW.

I agreed to some extent.

Because it was the game that made me start broadcasting and the game that I spent the most time on.

Not long after the new season of AoW started.

I spent most of my broadcast time ranking up.

“I hit 15th place.”

Challenger 15th place. That was the rank I had reached.

Even considering that the pros were busy with scrims ahead of the opening match, it was still a high enough tier.

But I’m still hungry.

The number 15 was still not enough for me, who was obsessed with the desire to reach that high place.

I was about to start matching again.

-AgentofWar_kr donated 100000 won!

-Can I have a whisper for a moment?

As far as I know, that ID is the official broadcast that broadcasts the league, so what’s going on?

It was the first time I’d seen an official broadcast donate to someone’s broadcast, so I was flustered without realizing it.

[What is this official broadcast?]

[ㄹㅇ Is it the official broadcast? Is it real?]

[Ah ㅋㅋ Are you getting tricked again? It’s obviously fake]

[Have you ever seen the official broadcast donate?]

[The ID is the official broadcast, but]

“Ah… it’s fake. Don’t joke around.”

My surprised heart calmed down quickly.

There was a similar incident a while ago, so I’m not easily fooled anymore.

There’s no way it could be the official broadcast. If it was real, they wouldn’t approach me like this, but would send me an official email.

-AgentofWar_kr donated 100000 won!

-It’s not fake ㅠㅠ It’s an urgent matter, but I’m sending a donation because you’re not checking your email. Can I contact you separately after the broadcast ends?

…It seems like it’s real this time.

In the contact that followed after finishing about an hour of ranking up broadcast, I received an unexpected offer.

“Guest commentary?”

It was an offer for me to take on the pro league commentary.