novelhk Chapter 30: IGVSLNG
Chapter 30: IGVSLNG
Rookie tried to mediate a couple of times, hoping everyone would focus on training, but the team was already divided. They agreed on the surface, but each had their own thoughts.
In the substitutes' rest room, Baolan remained completely silent.
He doesn't participate in training, doesn't communicate with his teammates, and only occasionally opens Weibo to see the comments that speak out for him, while the management never responds. His eyes are cold.
......
By June 5th, the controversy had escalated again.
An event has gone viral across the internet.
Baolan deleted a large number of her past posts on her personal Weibo account, leaving only a few.
The final layer of secrecy has been broken, and the entire internet is now tacitly accepting the actions of IG's management.
Baolan was forcibly sidelined!
Fans were completely devastated, and bystanders expressed that IG had gone too far.
Various posts revealing inside information followed one after another, with bloggers and insiders in the industry using the traffic to release information.
Internally, the team had long been divided over the support role, with Zangma and Su Xiaoluo vying for power. One of them strongly supported the newcomers, while the other favored the veteran players, creating chaos throughout the team.
Some people even dug up accounts suspected to belong to Lucas's family members and went to Weibo to argue with them.
Although the authorities quickly refuted and clarified the rumors, the momentum had already been unstoppable.
The label "The crown prince ascends to the throne, and the old are abandoned" has spread wildly online.
The online outcry, voices of sympathy, and infighting intertwined, plunging IG into a vortex of public opinion.
......
The controversy continued to escalate on June 6, just one day before IG's match against LNG.
As evening fell, a red Rolls-Royce Phantom was parked downstairs at the entrance of the IG base.
Wang Sicong got out of the car with a dark expression.
His face was gloomy as he walked straight into the training room, followed by Zangma and Su Xiaoluo, who stood to the side with their heads down, looking flustered.
He stood in the middle of the training room and coldly swept his gaze over everyone.
First, he turned his gaze to Kurama and Su Xiaoluo, his tone carrying a sense of suppression:
"Let me tell you! Teams are for competing, not for you to engage in power struggles and form cliques. Promoting newcomers is fine, but it's all about skill. How many times have I told you that?"
Look at the mess we've made now! The team is completely divided; what do they care about the results of the games?
Then he looked at the group of contestants:
"I know you all have feelings about the support rotation, the team atmosphere, and the off-field opinions. I've seen it all."
But what's most important right now? First, let's focus on securing a good result in tomorrow's match against LNG.
He looked at JackeyLove, his tone softening slightly:
"I know about your recent performance and your frustration. We can talk about it after the season ends. Don't get emotional or show any attitude now. Just focus on finishing the game."
Then he looked at Ning, his tone turning cold again:
"Ning, you know your own condition lately. You won a championship and then you just coast along, not practicing in ranked matches and slacking off in scrims. If you continue to play with this attitude, go straight to the bench and reflect on your actions."
Finally, let's look at Lucas and the silent coaching staff:
"It's true that newcomers need room to grow, but don't force them into things. The coaching staff shouldn't just go through the motions of reviewing the game. They need to genuinely address the problems on the field and within the team, instead of just going through the motions."
After the lecture, no one in the training room dared to utter a sound.
Before leaving, Wang Sicong left with one last sentence:
"Play well in tomorrow's game, do what you're supposed to do, and stop with the nonsense. If we lose, no one can explain themselves."
After Wang Sicong left, the training room remained completely silent.
Chen Song stood by and witnessed the whole process.
In his view, on the surface, Principal Wang's surprise visit to the training base and his speech seemed to have suppressed public opinion, stabilized the management, and calmed the players' emotions, seemingly forcibly suppressing the situation that was about to get out of control.
However, he, being in the thick of it, understood that this was merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause.
The conflict between Zangma and Su Xiaoluo didn't arise overnight; it can't be resolved with just a few words.
Lucas's mentality hasn't been addressed either, and his bot lane synergy with JackeyLove over the past few days has been practically nonexistent.
JackeyLove's dissatisfaction, Ning's lax attitude, and Baolan's grievances about being sidelined—these misunderstandings and unresolved issues cannot be resolved with just a lecture.
However, Principal Wang has forcibly suppressed everyone's emotions, forcing them to calm down and wait for tomorrow's game.
The calmer the moment, the more violent the storm will be when it arrives.
......
June 7th, today is the day IG heads to the arena to face LNG.
Chen Song got up and went to the training room before eight o'clock.
This is a habit he has developed over the years; he is always the first one to appear in the training room.
Now that he was an analyst, he checked the summarized data again beforehand, then printed it out, bound it, and sent it to Karam.
"고생많으셨습니다."
(Thank you for your help.)
Karam accepted the documents with both hands.
Chen Song noticed that Karam didn't look well, which meant he was under a lot of pressure during today's match.
Due to public opinion, IG's current performance is very unstable, and they are often completely crushed by the opponent in just over ten minutes in scrims.
Considering his performance against DMO in the opening match, it's impossible for Karam not to be worried.
This was the first time Karam had looked through the documents Chen Song had submitted.
At first, when he looked through it, he didn't think there was anything different. It was just the usual information about the heroes that each player was good at and their playing style.
But as he looked down little by little, Karam's pupils widened, and he became completely focused.
He actually really hates looking at the data submitted by tactical analysts.
Not only is it written in a very messy way, but it often takes several hours or even half a day to read it.
But Chen Song's document was completely different; the handwriting was neat and tidy, and it was quite pleasing to the eye when you glanced at it.
In particular, the analysis of each lane's opponents and the opponent's jungler habits are written very clearly.
Karam honestly admitted that he felt there was no better material written than Chen Song's in the LPL or even other regions.
After submitting his documents, Chen Song went to Su Xiaoluo's office and said he was not going to the competition venue with the team because he was feeling unwell.
Although Su Xiaoluo had some doubts, since Chen Song had already said so, and considering that BP was mostly led by Karam, she naturally agreed to his request.
It wasn't that Chen Song didn't want to go, but rather that he didn't want to go.
He had seen the public opinion and IG's performance in training matches over the past few days.
If he had gone to today's match against LNG, it would have been a real shame if they had won.
But just in case.
What if IG loses?
Although LNG and DMO are evenly matched in strength, they are the weaker teams in the LPL.
Based on IG's performance against DMO, Chen Song had a feeling that IG wouldn't have a particularly smooth match against LNG today.
Especially after seeing IG's official Weibo post announcing his joining, the comments section was filled with insults and doubts, so he had to find a way to avoid today's match no matter what.
7 PM.
With both teams seated, the match between IG and LNG officially began.