Chapter 37 Double Standards

Wednesday morning, March 7th.

On Rabbit Tail Livestream, the first trial performance match of the iCL League was scheduled to kick off at 5:00 PM today. The two teams were the ones that had previously secured domestic spots to enter the ioi global finals but were ultimately eliminated in the group stage.

Although they were both eliminated in the group stage, which didn't seem very impressive, they were still the best of the bunch. These two teams were currently the strongest in the country besides FV and SUG.

What's more, they had played some scrimmages with FV after returning from the World Finals, and their tactical level and overall strength had improved significantly.

Zhao Xuming believed that these two teams would definitely present a brand-new look to all the viewers!

And tomorrow, which was Thursday, there would be a performance match between FV and SUG, which would definitely attract even more attention.

The reason why the FV and SUG match wasn't scheduled for today was mainly to avoid any unexpected issues on the first day.

Various aspects of the match venue, such as the lighting, equipment, directors, and Rabbit Tail Livestream arrangements, all needed to be tested. If the FV and SUG performance match was scheduled for today, and the whole time was spent pausing to fix the computers, it would be too disappointing and would damage the league's popularity.

Therefore, scheduling two teams with slightly lower but still decent popularity and strength for today was the best choice.

Of course, this would also bring about a problem: how to maintain the popularity of the match.

Currently, it was no exaggeration to say that 90% of the popularity in the domestic ioi scene was concentrated on the FV team. Without FV playing, there wouldn't be many viewers watching the first day of the iCL performance match, which would be quite embarrassing.

However, Zhao Xuming didn't think this was a big problem. After all, data could always be manipulated; those in the know understood.

The livestream platform could easily fake a few million viewers, add more repetitive comments, and arrange for an army of online posters to go wild... which could prop up the popularity of the livestream, at least to achieve a semblance of reality.

Although the contracts didn't specify these details, wasn't that how all livestream platforms operated?

There was no need to explicitly state such things; it was an industry secret, and the staff at Rabbit Tail Livestream would naturally arrange it.

Right now, Eric and Zhao Xuming were inspecting the iCL League match venue, checking the preparation of various tasks.

The iCL League venue was also an indoor arena, located in a large studio in Shanghai.

In fact, Eric had initially considered a large sports stadium but quickly abandoned the idea. Although these large sports stadiums looked impressive, they also had many corresponding problems.

For example, large open-air venues were heavily affected by the weather. Whether it was heavy rain or scorching sun, the live audience would suffer.

The larger the venue, the more money it would cost to decorate and make it look good. It wasn't that he was afraid of spending money, but he was mainly worried that the audience seats wouldn't be filled, which would be very awkward.

Moreover, the transportation to large venues might not be very convenient. If there were concerts or sports games at the same time, it would be difficult to manage the iCL audience leaving with the sports fans or concertgoers in a chaotic scene.

So, after comprehensive consideration, he rented an indoor studio like the gpL, which would at least provide convenient transportation and ensure the overall effect.

Eric went around the backstage of the studio, asking the staff about the debugging of various devices in detail. He also went to the stage and the audience seats, checking for any shortcomings from a viewer's perspective.

Zhao Xuming followed Eric throughout the entire process, occasionally providing some detailed explanations.

Eric had previously studied the gpL match venue and had a lot of experience to draw from. He had also given many instructions for the iCL preparation work.

After going around the entire venue, Eric sat in the audience seats and remained silent for a moment before saying, "Could it be that we've made it too similar to gpL?"

It was only now that he realized this.

Because when preparing for the iCL League, Eric subconsciously adopted all the good aspects of the gpL, such as the team flags used for decoration around the venue and the arrangement of the large screen and player positions on the stage.

These details, when viewed individually, didn't seem to be a problem. But when put together, they created a strange sense of familiarity...

Obviously, when the staff were completing these details, they subconsciously followed the gpL's approach, making it look a bit too similar.

Zhao Xuming opened his mouth, unsure of how to answer for a moment.

Since Eric had asked this question, he obviously already had a definite answer in his mind.

If he said "no," it would definitely make Eric think that he had no vision.

But Zhao Xuming couldn't nod and say "yes" either, because Eric would definitely ask in return, "If that's the case, why didn't you remind me earlier?"

What Eric needed most now was a reliable solution.

But the competition was about to start tonight. How could there be a solution in just a few hours?

He couldn't possibly tear down all the existing decorations and replace them within a few hours, right? That would be ridiculous.

Zhao Xuming had a flash of inspiration and came up with an explanation.

"It does have a bit of a gpL feel, but I don't think it matters."

"Although this will bring us some negative publicity, it also means that gpL viewers will have fewer barriers to watching our iCL League."

"We can only say that there are pros and cons, but the pros outweigh the cons."

"In the future, we can slowly adjust the venue's decoration and try to remove the gpL elements."

Eric seemed relatively satisfied with this answer and nodded, "Well, that's the only way."

The two sat in the audience seats for a while, and Eric asked, "I heard that Tenda Corporation is also preparing an overseas league. What's the current situation? Is there any news?"

Zhao Xuming quickly replied, "There have been some rumors."

"Currently, Tenda Corporation's overseas league should still be in the preparation stage. I heard that they're going to cooperate with overseas companies for promotion, and the specific matters of the overseas league will be decided by the various agent companies. Tenda Corporation will only play a guiding and supervisory role."

"As for the specific companies they're cooperating with, the specific format, schedule, and participating teams of each overseas league... there's still no news about any of that."

Eric nodded and smiled slightly, "Overseas leagues, finally we have the upper hand. The global regional leagues of ioi started earlier than GoG, and the Finger Corporation is establishing branches in various regions to directly manage them. In this respect, we obviously have a comprehensive advantage."

Zhao Xuming asked, "I was also very surprised when I first heard this news. It doesn't seem like President Pei's style of doing things. Cooperating with other companies and letting them lead the preparation of the overseas league, wouldn't it be awkward if they don't coordinate well?"

Eric smiled slightly, "Do you think President Pei isn't aware of this? He is, but he has no choice."

"After all, Tenda Corporation doesn't have much experience in going abroad. Forcibly taking on everything is likely to be difficult."

"And Dayak Corporation is a multinational group with a good influence in many regions around the world, and Finger Corporation is an American company."

"In other words, Tenda has a natural advantage in the domestic league; but in terms of overseas leagues, the situation is completely reversed."

"From what I know, the Finger Corporation headquarters has almost completed the preparation for the league in the North American region. The tentative price for the league spots is..."

"Seven million dollars."

Zhao Xuming was stunned, "That's so expensive!"

That was the price for a single spot.

Before, it was said that President Pei had auctioned off the gpL spots at sky-high prices, but the average price per spot was about 20 million, which translates to about three million dollars.

And the quote for the ioi North American Regional League spot directly doubled the price of the gpL spot!

Eric smiled, "It seems a bit expensive at the moment, but it may not be in the future. Moreover, at a price of seven million dollars, there will be many clubs that will buy it."

"The clubs in North America are much richer. Seven million for a spot will make them feel the pinch, but they will definitely not give up this spot."

The development level of the e-sports industry varies between different regions. The e-sports industry in Europe, America, and Korea can be considered to be developing relatively quickly, but in terms of wealth, the North American clubs are definitely the most generous.

Of course, many large financial groups are also entering the domestic e-sports industry, and the wealth of the clubs is also growing rapidly, but compared with the clubs in the United States, the wealth is still much lower.

The Finger Corporation's pricing in the North American region is not just a random price, but a comprehensive decision based on the wealth of the clubs, the influence and popularity of ioi in North America, and the asking price of other e-sports industries.

Eric didn't ask for high prices from domestic e-sports clubs. The iCL League spots were basically half-sold and half-given away. This wasn't because he was a philanthropist, but simply because he knew that domestic clubs couldn't be squeezed for that much money.

What's the point of setting a sky-high price that no one can afford?

But the situation is different in North America. This is the Finger Corporation's base camp. The league, live broadcasts, and related derivative industries of the club is a huge money-making pool. The Finger Corporation doesn't want to sell all the spots cheaply. They definitely have to make a fortune.

The landlord's family has no surplus food either. Finger Corporation is scattering money madly to promote the domestic market. Where does this money come from? Doesn't it still have to be earned back from other markets?

Eric said very confidently: "It's hard to say about other regions, but in the North American region, the Finger Corporation has an absolute advantage. It will definitely not be easy for Tenda to set up the GoG North American League and compete with ioi!"

Zhao Xuming nodded slightly, expressing his agreement.

Indeed, Tenda's achievements to date have mainly been in China, and Tenda, as a domestic company, certainly has great advantages in this regard.

But when it comes to North America, it is the Finger Corporation's home field. Tenda Corporation cannot directly intervene and can only let other game companies act as agents. The difficulty will definitely increase a lot.

Eric and the Finger Corporation's confidence is obviously very reasonable.

Just then, Eric's phone rang.

He glanced at it, frowned, and his face changed drastically after answering the call.

"What? I'll go take a look right away."

These two sentences were spoken in English, obviously this call should be from the Finger Corporation headquarters in Los Angeles.

Zhao Xuming asked: "What's wrong?"

Eric's face was a bit ugly: "I don't know why, but the forums in North America are buzzing, saying that we are treating the two regions differently!"