169: Chapter 169: The contestants enter, and there's commentary too?

"It's just a game tournament, but it actually looks quite decent."

"What's up with this stage? Why aren't the lights on yet?"

"It doesn't matter. We've already registered, and as long as we stay until the end, we'll get the skin. The organizers can't control whether we play on our phones or watch the match during the event."

At that moment, right in the center of the stadium, Zhao Erming had just taken his seat when he heard the discussions erupting behind him.

Listening to these remarks, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

The people who came to the venue were almost all there to avoid answering questions, hoping to enjoy a few hours on their phones, but he was different.

Back then, he had also participated in the league of legends tournament and even made it to the second round, only to fall just before the threshold of the third round.

In fact, his team had even faced off against A-Shui and Uzi Team during this Opening Match, though they had lost.

But because he had participated in the tournament, he knew very well that the passion and adrenaline they felt during the matches were real. At least for the players, this tournament wasn't as meaningless as the outside world claimed.

And if the audience could also feel that passion and adrenaline, then perhaps this esports scene might actually succeed.

Afterward, Zhao Erming picked up his phone, took a photo of the venue, and sent it to his dorm group chat.

Seeing that he had actually gone to the venue, a few of his roommates immediately popped up.

"You really went to the venue? Well, I guess that makes sense; you can play on your phone at the venue without having to watch the match."

"Are you stupid, Third? Didn't Zhao Erming say he went to the venue because he genuinely wants to watch the match and show his support? He seems to really believe this tournament will take off."

"Back when Old Zhao formed a team to play, we told him it was a waste of time. Now, not only did he play, but he even went to the venue. What a waste of effort."

Looking at these messages, Zhao Erming felt a bit helpless.

His school wasn't very far from the venue. He had wanted his roommates to come with him, but they were all lazier than the next, preferring to stay in the dorm to watch the match and answer questions rather than come to the venue.

"Are you guys really not coming? You should be able to enter directly if you come now."

He received a reply shortly after sending his message.

"It takes half an hour to get there. Too lazy to move, and it's pointless anyway."

"This esports thing won't take off. How could anyone possibly watch a game tournament? Games are only fun when you play them yourself. Those game streamers who get popular mostly rely on entertainment value."

"We're one person monitoring all the computers to answer questions, rotating once per match. Isn't that better than you going to the venue?"

Seeing this, Zhao Erming shook his head with a long sigh and put his phone down.

Afterward, he glanced around the venue casually, but his gaze quickly caught something, lingering for a moment on the front row of seats.

The figures in that position looked somewhat familiar from behind; he felt like he had seen them on TV before. But it didn't matter; the match was about to officially start.

Meanwhile, as all the spectators took their seats, there was almost no time left before the match officially began.

Although this viewing was free, the venue was still only one-third full, appearing somewhat sparse.

Although there weren't many people on-site, at this moment, countless viewers had already gathered on the league of legends client and in the livestream rooms of major league of legends streamers on Douyin.

The total number of viewers across all platforms had already exceeded twenty million.

This number was already higher than the viewership of many conventional tournaments. Although ninety-nine percent of them came for the skins, this level of attention could not be underestimated.

Finally, as the countdown in the major livestream rooms hit zero, two figures suddenly appeared on the screens of viewers nationwide.

"Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the livestream of the league of legends third stage Opening Match. I am today's commentator, Colonel Guan."

"And I am Wang Duo."

"Today, the two of us will be commentating on this match."

As the commentators' voices rang out, the Opening Match was officially declared underway.

However, looking at the two commentators sitting upright and properly in the frame, the bullet comments on the major streaming platforms exploded instantly.

"Holy crap, there are commentators? Are they serious?"

"Is this necessary? Just start already. Finish early so we can wrap up. How does a game tournament have commentators? Do they really think of this esports as a traditional sporting event?"

"I'm dying of laughter. There are actually commentators. Will coaches show up later too?"

"It doesn't matter if there are commentators or not, but can they make the two teams play the full series? Let us claim one more skin."

"Same here."

Amidst the scrolling of countless bullet comments, the two commentators had already introduced themselves and provided the audience with the specific information about today's match.

Such as the win rates of the two teams in the previous two rounds, player styles, and so on.

But the bullet comments didn't care about this information at all; they just kept urging them to start quickly.

Finally, after a few sentences of introduction, Colonel Guan's commentary got back on track.

"Alright, it's about time. Let's cut to the venue. We specially designed a stage for this Opening Match."

"Please have the players from both sides prepare to enter."

As the voice fell, the originally pitch-black stage lights suddenly ignited, lighting up ring by ring, surrounding the stage.

The view of the stage immediately appeared in the major livestream rooms.

Two giant LED screens hung high, with ten player computers set up in opposition below.

However, all the viewers' gazes were instantly drawn to the two giant statues on the stage. Galio and Yasuo stood facing each other, their massive forms looming, their gazes meeting.

One held a long blade pointed toward the sky, while the other had massive wings unfurled.

And below the two statues was a scaled-down version of Summoners Rift, surrounding the ten player computers.

In the venue, regardless of the purpose for which they had come, almost all the audience members put down their phones at this moment, staring at the magnificent stage in the distance, their jaws dropping in shock.

Outside of the venue, when this scene appeared on the livestream screens, although many viewers weren't interested in this esports and were only there for the skins, the stage design truly made many of them gasp in amazement.

The bullet comments kept scrolling by.

"Holy crap, it's this cool?"

"It must be even more stunning in person, right? These two statues are so cool, I wonder how much they cost."

"These two statues must be three or four meters tall, right? Most people wouldn't have a place to put them."

"It's just a game tournament, is it worth such a big fuss?"

"Interesting, interesting. Although this tournament probably doesn't have much watchability, if one could play an intense and exciting ARAM on this stage, it would be a lot of fun."

Meanwhile, after the commentators introduced the stage design in a few words, the time for the match to officially begin had arrived.

"Next, let us welcome the players from both sides to enter."

At this moment, behind the stage, A-Shui and the others waited for the commentators' signal. Their bodies were trembling slightly; they were too nervous, even forgetting to take a step for a moment.

The Uzi Team and the others in the other tunnel were the same.

Their captain, Uzi, was even red-faced, clearly "overheating" from excitement.

You have to understand, before this, most of them were just students, and the biggest scene they had ever seen was just a school talent show.

But this time, not only were there three thousand spectators on-site, but the number of viewers in the various livestream rooms had exceeded twenty million and was still increasing.

Many famous Singers haven't even appeared before twenty million people at the same time.

It was A-Shui who took a deep breath first and started moving.

"They're calling us. Let's go."

Although his voice was still trembling a bit, as the captain, he still took the first step, and the others behind him slowly followed.

As the tunnel grew shorter, the noise in the venue actually grew louder.

Finally, the moment he stepped out of the player tunnel, A-Shui felt the whole world fall silent. Only the sound of ringing in his ears remained, and everything before his eyes seemed to turn into slow motion.

He couldn't even hear the commentators' voices clearly; he could only see rays of light.

Meanwhile, a beam of light descended from the ceiling, illuminating the figures.

The next moment, the world became clear again, and the noise returned to his ears.

Feeling the cameras, feeling the many gazes cast from below, and feeling the sensation of being the center of attention, A-Shui took a deep breath, a spark of passion rising in his eyes.

Is this... what it means to be an esports player?