With Guapi's victory, the scene fell silent. After all, the match was held in China, and the audience was predominantly Chinese. To see their idol, their war god, their undefeated king, lose in the very first game, and to a human player at that, was a blow to their spirits. Hence, the initial quiet.
But soon, a round of enthusiastic applause erupted, dedicated to the player Guapi.
To be honest, Guapi was quite popular in China. He was a bit handsome, had a playful boyish charm, and was very polite and well-spoken. During interviews over the past few days, he had praised China numerous times, earning him the affection of the audience.
So, even though their most supported idol had lost, they still applauded Guapi, unlike some libraries that were detestable.
After the first game in entertainment mode concluded, the subsequent matches returned to the standard format: Human player Sky versus Guapi's Orc.
It was evident that with his victory in the first game, Guapi had reached his peak performance. Sky, on the other hand, remained composed and played steadily. Ultimately, the first six games saw the players tied at 3:3, with the seventh and final game to decide the victor.
The match between the two had successfully attracted a massive audience. When the first game began, the global viewership was over thirty million, and it had since grown to around fifty million.
Such an astonishing number of viewers, worldwide, was likely only surpassed by major sporting events like the "big three balls." Naturally, the sponsors felt they had struck gold and were extremely satisfied.
The ones who were likely dissatisfied were the viewers. Not that they were unhappy with the quality of the games – after all, a 4:3 nail-biter required both players to be at the top of their game; otherwise, it would have been a one-sided affair.
What they were unhappy about was that, apart from the first game, there had been no more matches featuring realistic combat with live-action actors. This left viewers who had anticipated seeing cosplay PK in every match feeling unfulfilled.
However, the host explained during the broadcast that there was only one actual battle map for the live-action simulation. The first six games each used different maps.
With different maps, the cosplayers could not replicate the performances. The host hoped for understanding.
Simultaneously, the host also announced that if the match reached the seventh game, everything would return to the first map, the most classic map in Warcraft. Then, everyone would once again have the chance to witness the live-action combat performances by the cosplayers.
And now, the seventh game had begun.
Unlike the first game, which was an entertainment match that ended in just seven minutes due to an early strategic miscalculation and resulted in a one-sided victory, this game, which determined the championship and the massive $500,000 prize, saw both players pushing their mental focus to the absolute limit. Neither dared to employ early surprise tactics.
After all, if caught by the opponent, it would mean certain defeat.
Therefore, both sides adopted the most cautious and traditional opening, fielding their highest-tier early-game units to attack the divine neutral monsters, leading to an extremely brutal battle around these objectives.
The battle was described as brutal because it began at 1 minute and 22 seconds and didn't conclude until 4 minutes and 12 seconds, lasting a full three minutes.
Both players understood the immense boost that base items provided to their respective standing armies. If the opponent obtained a base item, their chances of winning would become slim.
Thus, the battle was both fierce and cautious. Before engagement, they would boldly charge forward, attempting to intimidate the opponent into retreating. However, once the actual combat commenced, they became extremely careful.
Fearing significant casualties among their troops and a drastic reduction in their population count, both sides unhesitatingly employed strategies to preserve their soldiers. This meant that as soon as a unit was critically damaged, it would be immediately pulled back to recover, ensuring its survival.
Meanwhile, new units were constantly being produced from the bases in the rear, joining their respective forces.
As a result, over the course of three minutes, neither side experienced large-scale attrition of their troops, and their fighting capacity remained intact.
This, in turn, prevented either side from occupying a target area for twenty seconds. Remaining stationary in a particular area would mean enduring the opponent's flexible attacks, inevitably leading to severe casualties among their main forces.
Finally, Guapi, displaying the audacious spirit of a newcomer, unexpectedly lost three Orc warriors in one engagement. He immediately retreated, seemingly abandoning the contest for the base item.
Sky, having fought a hard battle for a long time, was unwilling to let go of this golden opportunity. He immediately pursued with all his main forces, determined to completely crush Guapi's main army and thereby secure victory.
However, to his surprise, Guapi had left two Wolf Riders hidden in the shadows. After both main armies had retreated, Guapi, while retreating and engaging, drew Sky's attention. Simultaneously, he stealthily sent the Wolf Riders into the area of the base item.
By the time Sky's follow-up support units passed by the location and discovered the Wolf Riders standing in the capture circle, it was too late. Guapi successfully utilized this opportunity to obtain the base item.
Leveraging the initial effect of the base item, he managed to defeat Sky's main army with inferior numbers, bringing both armies back to a similar level. However, Guapi now had the enhancement from the base item.
This put Sky at a significant disadvantage.
Although Sky desperately tried to salvage the situation, and through several waves of extreme maneuvers, managed to defeat Guapi's attacks against the odds, the presence of the base item persistently prevented Sky from gaining a decisive advantage.
When Sky's third expansion mine was depleted, and his fourth expansion mine failed to establish a base, being destroyed by Guapi's Wolf Riders, Sky, completely exhausted, typed "gg" to concede the match. He could only watch as Guapi, inside the UFO, shouted excitedly and jumped around like a child.
Indeed, Guapi himself was a child, not yet eighteen years old.
As the match concluded, the cosplayers on the real-world map below collapsed to the ground, exhausted. The battle had lasted for 38 minutes, and they had performed for about 30 minutes, constantly running and fighting on the map under the control of the professional players. They were completely worn out.
Meanwhile, sounds of crying began to fill the venue. Countless spectators, unable to suppress their sorrow, began to weep uncontrollably. Their esports idol, the undisputed king of Warcraft, Sky, who was about to achieve his third consecutive championship with an undefeated record, had fallen. He had fallen to a newcomer, and this defeat left countless fans weeping in despair, unable to bear it.
Yet, after their tears, facing the young eighteen-year-old European boy stepping onto the podium, the audience still generously offered him a thunderous round of applause.
He had achieved victory through his own strength. His skill was only marginally different from Sky's, and in terms of game strategy and planning, he was even superior. Although there was a fair amount of luck in this victory, he had undoubtedly defeated his opponent with his own abilities. He deserved the applause.
After the award ceremony, the media interviewed both players. Guapi frankly admitted that his victory had a significant element of luck and also stated that he had learned a great deal from Sky, speaking very pleasingly, unlike some others.
When Sky was interviewed, a reporter asked him, "You've lost the chance to win three consecutive championships. What are your thoughts now?"
"I have no thoughts!" Sky shook his head. "I think everyone has forgotten that the two championships I won previously were from WCG. But now I am participating in the Jiangnan Cup. Like all the other participants, I am a newcomer. There's no title of reigning champion for me. I stand on the same starting line as everyone else."
"I will achieve my three-consecutive-championship dream again in the Jiangnan Cup!"
Instantly, the entire venue erupted in enthusiastic applause.
Overall, China still held a dominant advantage. Apart from unexpectedly losing the championship in Warcraft 4, a traditional stronghold, all other championships fell to China as expected.
Europe, however, was the luckiest. Not only did they snatch a Warcraft 4 trophy from China, but they also managed to secure a Warhammer 4 trophy, achieving a triumphant outcome.
South Korea, on the other hand, was the most unfortunate. Due to a portion of their players resolutely supporting WCG, many strong Korean players were unable to participate in the Jiangnan Cup. As a result, they not only lost the gold medal in Warhammer 4 but also narrowly missed out on the StarCraft championship.
A Chinese player had fought their way to the StarCraft finals, also in a 4:3 match, and almost secured the StarCraft championship, leaving the Koreans with no medals at all this time.
Compared to the difference in gold medals, many netizens were surprised to discover that in terms of reputation, the Jiangnan Cup seemed to have completed a reversal.
At the beginning of the tournament, the Jiangnan Cup was universally condemned by everyone worldwide.
However, after the competition concluded, the situation was entirely different.
In Europe, with Guapi's championship victory, there was no longer any room for criticism of the Jiangnan Cup across the entire continent. Instead, there was nothing but praise, with the Jiangnan Cup hailed as the world's greatest, most fantastic, most spectacular, fairest, and most prestigious esports competition.
Yes, they had to praise it so highly; otherwise, wouldn't the hard-won Warcraft 4 gold medal lack sufficient prestige?
Audiences from other countries either offered more praise than criticism overall, or they praised the Jiangnan Cup while denouncing 00 and the Jiangnan Group.
Yes, almost all players online reached a consensus.
That is, they could curse the Jiangnan Group and 00 Games; they could be the worst, most shameless companies. But the Jiangnan Cup was a good thing, a great competition, and it absolutely must not be criticized. In fact, it should be constantly praised.
Otherwise, what would happen if they cursed the Jiangnan Cup out of existence and could no longer witness such exciting and grand esports competitions?