Chapter 1365 President Pei Stands Invincible (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets!)

Jin Yong was very perplexed.

How had they gotten into a dead end?

According to Kretian, there were only four possible scenarios for this final: FV crushing CEM, CEM crushing FV, FV winning with difficulty, and CEM winning with difficulty.

Of these, only CEM crushing FV would be an acceptable outcome for Finger Company.

Why?

Even if CEM didn't win so decisively, winning 3-2 was still a win. Wouldn't winning the world championship still steal the heat from FV?

Kretian shook his head and explained, "The key is that the World Championship version changes were too obviously targeted at FV. This has unintentionally given FV a lot of emotional points."

"Even if FV loses 2-3, not many people will acknowledge the value of CEM's championship."

"But conversely, if FV wins 3-2..."

Kretian didn't continue, because that was the scenario he least wanted to see.

Jin Yong finally understood, his eyes widening slightly: "I see!"

If this final had been an absolutely fair match, then whoever won would undoubtedly be the biggest winner.

But the key was that Finger Company's World Championship version heavily nerfed the heroes FV excelled at and significantly buffed the heroes favored by European and American clubs. This was practically writing "I don't want FV to win" on their faces.

When this version change was first announced, players hotly debated it, believing that while Finger Company was completely within the rules, it still seemed a bit shameless.

If a game company adjusts the game balance not to make the competition more exciting, but to favor certain teams, then as the organizer, it is clearly taking an unfair position.

There are similar situations in traditional sports. For example, table tennis constantly changes the rules.

But the changes in traditional sports aren't as obvious as in IOI, where they list which heroes to buff, and everyone understands what they mean.

Although it caused some controversy, the World Championship hadn't started yet, and no one could say how the story would unfold, so it didn't trigger a major backlash.

Many foreign clubs weren't about to bite the hand that feeds them either. Since Finger Company had already made changes that benefited them, they were happy to accept them, prepare diligently, and win the championship. That was the most practical thing to do.

But that didn't mean that this idea had completely disappeared from the audience's minds; it had only been temporarily hidden.

But after the competition actually started, FV's journey, each match they played, reminded the audience of this fact.

From the narrow escapes in the group stage to the stumbling blocks in the knockout stage, to being able to compete with CEM, who excelled at strong heroes, using the meta composition in the finals, the members of FV had worked hard to improve their mastery of these heroes to the point where they could compete on the final stage.

When CEM picked strong meta heroes, the audience wasn't surprised, because everyone knew that they were good at playing them.

But when FV picked strong meta heroes, the audience was very surprised, because FV didn't originally play these heroes. Now that they were picking them, everyone wanted to see how they would perform!

And if it was a hero that they didn't play well originally, but they played effectively, it was enough to show the audience the hardships and efforts that FV had put in behind the scenes.

That's why Kretian said that only one situation was acceptable: CEM crushing FV.

Audiences don't have much sympathy for losers who offer no resistance. If FV really lost miserably, there would definitely be far more people gloating and kicking them when they're down than people who were understanding.

If viewers mentioned the version issue at that time, they would only be mocked by others.

"Who's fault is it that you can't master the meta heroes?"

But now, FV had managed to master these heroes. Although they hadn't reached the level of mastery of a one-trick-pony, they had relied on excellent teamwork and strong tactical execution to fight CEM, the darling of this version, to the fifth game.

So even if they lost the last game, FV would become a tragic hero, an innocent victim in the struggle between IOI and GOG, and an ironclad proof of Finger Company's "version changes to nerf the champion"!

And the value of CEM's championship would naturally be questionable, retaining a great deal of controversy.

If FV won in the end, it would be even worse!

It would be even worse than FV crushing CEM.

Because if FV crushed and easily won the championship again, it would prove that this team was just strong, and the version changes wouldn't affect them. In this way, Finger Company's version changes wouldn't seem so deliberate.

The defeated team would be convinced, and FV's fans wouldn't dwell on it. The matter would be laughed off.

But now that the two sides were tied at 2-2, with such similar strength, global audiences would definitely have many opinions about Finger Company's version changes. No matter the outcome of the match, it would be difficult to avoid a situation where the internet was in an uproar after the match.

Jin Yong went over the matter from beginning to end and found that Finger Company didn't have many good options.

The FV team, which President Pei had invested a lot of resources to build, was like a nail, hammered firmly into Finger Company's heart. There was no way to deal with it!

FV had gathered the best players in the country and trained them with strict discipline, generous conditions, and a professional data analysis team from GOG. Compared to other teams in the country, their level was outstanding.

And this team was so eye-catching in the context of the declining IOI national server.

If FV won, then the overall decline of the IOI national server would further highlight the strength of President Pei and the GOG team in team cultivation.

If FV lost, it could only be regarded as a lone tree unable to support the forest. It was a problem with the decline of the IOI national server. In the final analysis, GOG was awesome and stole IOI's market share.

On the other hand, there wasn't much Finger Company could do in the face of FV winning the championship.

If the version didn't change, continued as it was, or changed very little, would they rely on foreign teams to steadily win against FV through a year of natural development? That was actually unrealistic. At most, they could catch up, but not necessarily surpass them.

And the version couldn't remain unchanged, because players wanted to play new things.

After the version changed, it would inevitably weaken FV to some extent, inevitably hoping that other teams could win the championship.

But in this way, it would leave everyone with the impression that "Finger Company is targeting FV, the only domestic team."

Especially since the finals were so close, it only reinforced this impression...

This seemed to be a dead end, no matter which way they went!

All the decisions Finger Company made could not avoid FV, and FV seemed to be excusable no matter whether they won or lost.

As long as FV maintained its original intention, didn't self-destruct, didn't become arrogant, didn't have a huge negative scandal, and didn't have a cliff-like decline in the strength of its members, then for Finger Company, this would be a nail that could never be pulled out, always stuck in their heart, causing a dull ache!

Although the passionate battle song was already playing in the venue and the atmosphere had reached its peak, Jin Yong's previous excitement had vanished.

Like Kretian, he began to have serious concerns about the post-match public opinion.

...

"Congratulations to FV, who, despite everyone thinking that they would miss out on a three-peat due to the version changes, successfully adapted to the version with their strong perseverance and persistence, and finally defeated CEM in five games to win the IOI Global Finals!"

"Let us once again congratulate FV and give a warm round of applause to CEM for their wonderful performance!"

After all, the commentators on the stage were professional commentators. During the commentary, they didn't completely side with the CEM team like the Finger Company executives, but maintained objectivity and fairness.

Perhaps the commentators were more or less touched by FV's performance. After all, they could understand the game.

Confetti and golden streamers were instantly sprayed out on the stage. Accompanied by the deafening applause and cheers in the venue, the five members of FV excitedly hugged each other again and stepped onto the podium!

As for the Daya Group and the Finger Company executives who presented the awards, they could only force a smile as they presented the awards to them.

Perhaps some of them were still annoyed: Why was CEM so disappointing?

If they had persevered a little longer, made fewer mistakes, and won one more team fight...

Wouldn't they have won?

But what's done is done. There's no point in saying anything now.

Jin Yong looked at the empty seat next to him. Kretian had learned his lesson from last time. Seeing that the situation was not good, he had slipped away early and didn't witness the embarrassing scene of FV winning the championship.

Moreover, Kretian's position was different from last year. Last year, he was the organizer, but this year, he was just a bystander. There was no need to stay and add to his own troubles.

After the awards ceremony, it was time for the interview session.

Although the organizers were reluctant, these necessary procedures still had to be followed.

Unlike the last interview, this time the interviews with the FV players were more touching.

After all, professional players fighting the version with their own bodies was something that sounded difficult and was even more difficult to do in practice.

Compared to last year, when they relied on version advantages and tactical leadership to dominate, this year, they were targeted by the version and fought hard to win the championship, which was obviously more touching.

Finally, the host came to Pan Ying, the captain of FV.

As the team's support and commander, Pan Ying's "interview black hole" persona was quite likable, and he was considered an old acquaintance of the audience and the host.

After asking a few routine questions, such as tactical understanding and teamwork, the host suddenly had a flash of inspiration and decided to improvise.

"During last year's championship interview, you said that the most important thing was to thank your boss, President Pei, because he arranged everything. So who do you think you should thank the most this year?"

After a moment of consideration, Pan Ying said, "This year, I want to thank all the fans and players who support us, especially the players on the national server."

"Please rest assured that FV will fight with you to the last moment to defend the honor of the iCL League!"

For some reason, even though it was supposed to be a happy awards ceremony, Pan Ying's words had an added tragic tone of a fading hero, making people sigh with emotion.