"How could they do this? This is theft, plain and simple!" Li Xianghe was on the verge of losing his mind upon hearing Leng Zhimeng's statement in the conference call. He desperately wanted to grab the mic and question their actions, but there were too many people trying to do the same. Li Xianghe could only watch as another club's account managed to secure the right to ask a question.
As soon as the question was posed, Li Xianghe felt his body go limp.
"Um, esteemed Miss Leng, I am a representative from the European Golden Eagle Club. Our club currently has both Blizzard-related projects and CS projects. I would like to ask, if we wish to participate in CS project competitions, will we receive the same treatment as Blizzard games?" the representative asked excitedly.
In fact, Golden Eagle was a very famous club. They were entirely composed of retired special forces soldiers from a certain country. Their initial focus was on first-person shooter game competitions, and their strength was formidable, especially their team coordination, which was unrivaled. After all, who could compete with a real special forces team in terms of team execution capabilities?
Consequently, this club had almost monopolized the championships in most shooter game competitions, and they were also the defending champions of the WCg CS project gold medal this year.
However, CS was definitely not a Blizzard-owned game. Therefore, this club was not qualified to be in this Blizzard communication and exchange group because this change did not involve the core interests of the Golden Eagle Club.
Of course, Golden Eagle also had a StarCraft project, but only one player, who was the son of their chairman. It was more of a recreational pursuit, and he had not qualified for the WCg competition at all.
But to say that the Golden Eagle Club had a deep relationship with Blizzard was not necessarily true.
Yet, Golden Eagle still appeared and even stepped onto the stage openly, which was very interesting.
"I believe I've already made that very clear!" Leng Zhimeng said with a smile. "The Jiangnan Cup is inviting participants based on the WCg roster. Since the WCg has a CS project, all clubs and players who are qualified to participate will receive our invitation. In fact, even if some clubs or players do not receive an invitation due to various reasons, it doesn't matter. As long as they are genuinely qualified to participate, they will automatically be eligible for the Jiangnan Cup."
"Have I made myself clear?"
"I understand!" The representative from the Golden Eagle Club concluded his question with great joy. Subsequently, several more club representatives asked questions, and each received a satisfactory answer.
At this moment, through continuous clicking, Li Xianghe finally had a stroke of luck and successfully secured an opportunity to speak, gaining the right to talk.
"Miss Leng, don't you find this behavior shameless?" Li Xianghe immediately questioned angrily. "You are directly using the WCg participant list. How can there be such shameless people in the world?"
"Are you a representative from the Busan Club in Korea? Your accent sounds a bit familiar!" Leng Zhimeng asked back with narrowed eyes, without rushing to answer the question.
"Who I am is not important, I..." Before Li Xianghe could finish his second sentence, he discovered that the oo page on his screen had suddenly popped out automatically. Then, a prompt box appeared, informing Li Xianghe that his account had been logged into by someone else. It advised him to change his password immediately if this was not a personal or authorized action.
"What's going on? Did someone from oo kick me off my account?" Li Xianghe became even more enraged. The technician beside him hesitated for a moment before saying, "Chairman, it doesn't look like oo kicked you off. It appears someone logged into the account and logged you out?"
"This account is mine. Who can log me out..." Li Xianghe's words were cut short as he remembered that this account was not his own, but rather one lent to him by the Busan Club in Korea.
In other words, had someone from the Busan Club in Korea just logged him out?
"Quickly re-enter the account password and see if we can get back on!" Li Xianghe urged. The result was evident. The system prompt indicated an incorrect password. After trying several more times and confirming that the account details were correct, he had to admit that the password for this account had been changed.
"What do those bastards from Busan want? We are all citizens of the Republic of Korea. What do they want? They actually logged me out!!" Li Xianghe shouted like a madman.
If oo had kicked him out, he would have felt indifferent, as it was a normal occurrence. However, being kicked out by a club from his own country, denied the opportunity to speak, was something Li Xianghe could no longer tolerate. It meant he had been betrayed by his own people.
Of course, Li Xianghe was unaware of the situation in the group at this moment.
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"Ouch, this representative has gone offline! First, I firmly deny that I kicked him off, because I intended to directly address his question!" Leng Zhimeng said with a slight smile upon seeing Li Xianghe's account disappear, and then continued.
"Firstly, regarding the issue of appropriation. We have not appropriated any actual assets of WCg. We have only used the WCg participant roster, which is directly published on the WCg official website and can be used by all users. In a legal sense, I do not believe such an action constitutes appropriation!"
"Moreover, we are merely inviting players on the roster to participate. And their roster is determined by the results of professional players worldwide. Are these competitions also organized by WCg, giving them the right to use these results?" Leng Zhimeng declared loudly, showing no remorse. Instead, she exuded an air of righteousness that earned everyone's admiration!
"Of course, I know that some people will think I am appropriating. But it doesn't matter. Everyone has their own thoughts. How can I control what goes on in other people's minds? In any case, I have only one attitude: if you believe I am not appropriating and are willing to cooperate with me, then let's jointly build the Jiangnan Cup brand into a bigger and stronger one, and further develop the esports industry!"
"If you consistently believe I am appropriating, then there's no need to force yourself to cooperate. Just continue to participate in WCg. The choice is in your hands. I'm not a devil, and I can't force you to participate in the Jiangnan Cup or shove prize money into your pockets!" Leng Zhimeng said cheerfully, and a round of enthusiastic applause erupted throughout the venue.
WCg is finished.
Everyone who attended this so-called communication and exchange conference understood that WCg was doomed. Over 90% of the clubs would make the correct decision and choose the Jiangnan Cup.
It wasn't a question that required much thought.
Aside from a slight sense of historical honor left by WCg, there was nothing that WCg could surpass the Jiangnan Cup in. And in the eyes of the clubs, historical honor was the least valuable thing.
The facts proved to be just as predicted. That afternoon, Blizzard, oo, and the newly established Jiangnan Cup organizing committee simultaneously announced this statement to the public.
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"Guapi, aren't you supposed to be preparing to go to Huaxia? Why haven't you started packing yet!" Glad, whose player ID was Gun, exclaimed in surprise upon seeing his disheveled friend in a messy rented apartment.
"If Warcraft can't even be played, why should I even participate in any competition?" The professional player, whose game ID was Grubb and was nicknamed Guapi by domestic players, said lazily, his eyes vacant.
Guapi had recently emerged as a professional player in Europe, possessing considerable skill and having already won three major European competitions. He had gained considerable fame in the entire esports circle and was hailed as the player most likely to challenge for the WCg championship in Europe.
However, Guapi was still only moderately famous. He desperately needed a WCg to prove himself, so he had made extensive preparations for WCg. He never expected to suddenly hear the news that the Warcraft III competition had been banned and consequently fell into his current state.
"How long has it been since you've paid any attention to the internet? Fortunately, I came to find you. I almost missed packing. We have to take a flight to Huaxia together tomorrow!" Glad said quickly.
"What do you mean? Could it be that WCg has reinstated the Warcraft III competition?" Guapi asked, overjoyed.
"That's right, but I don't think WCg will ever be able to reinstate the Warcraft III competition!" Glad shook his head.
"Then why are you asking me to go?"
"Isn't there a brand new esports competition in Huaxia called the Jiangnan Cup? I'm taking you to participate in this competition!" Glad said.
"I'm not going!" Guapi flopped back down. "Who the hell cares about a competition they've never even heard of? Compared to WCg, it doesn't even qualify to carry its shoes; it has no credibility whatsoever!"
"Is that so? Then let me tell you, Sky, Egghead, Ruoguo, and the Americans Titan, Tibers, and Carpen have all confirmed their participation. They will all be your opponents. Do you still think this competition lacks credibility?" Glad retorted.
"They will all participate!" Guapi's eyes lit up. He was finally genuinely interested. After all, if he could defeat these players and win the championship, even if the Jiangnan Cup was unheard of, it wouldn't detract from the competition's credibility.
It was like the competition iPL, which most viewers had never seen. However, it didn't prevent WE from becoming the first LPL team to win a world championship with iPL5. This was because the main lineups of all the top teams in the world participated in this competition, and the championship of iPL5 was indeed well-deserved!
"Alas, but this is not WCg after all. And I heard that the mastermind behind WCg's inability to use Warcraft III is the financial group behind the Jiangnan Cup. If I participate in their competition, won't I be assisting them and abetting evil? God will not forgive me!" Guapi said after a moment of hesitation.
"Whether they are the mastermind or not, I don't know. But I do know that if you participate in the Jiangnan Cup, they will reimburse your airfare!" Glad said.
"Then I'll go pack right away!" Guapi immediately jumped up, full of energy.