Chapter 239 October 28th, Friday

DGE Club conference room.

Managers from various clubs gathered, chatting while sipping tea.

These clubs had been in Jingzhou for some time. After the GOG Global Invitational Tournament, life for the clubs could be described as leisurely with a hint of boredom.

Although the clubs were still holding practice matches as usual, without official matches, the effectiveness of these practice matches was greatly reduced.

On the other hand, the players' muscles had been steadily growing.

GOG's version updates weren't particularly fast, so teams didn't need to rush to adapt to the new version. Everyone was eagerly waiting for the GOG official to release the next phase of their plans.

Many clubs speculated that the GOG official was likely to launch a league mode.

This wasn't difficult to guess. Although the e-sports industry still had many shortcomings in this regard, there were many rules from popular sports events that could be referenced and copied directly.

Moreover, it would be easy to set up a domestic league. The venue for the World Invitational Tournament could be used directly as the league venue. All the clubs were gathered in Jingzhou, and they could start playing as soon as the schedule was arranged.

It all seemed like President Pei had prepared for this in advance. No other division had such uniquely advantageous conditions.

And Zhang Yuan's invitation to everyone was probably for the league.

This was why the club managers implicitly looked to Zhang Yuan for guidance. They all knew that President Zhang was not only the manager of the DGE Club, but also someone who could speak directly to President Pei. If a GOG league were to be established, President Zhang would definitely be one of the people in charge.

So, when Zhang Yuan notified the clubs, the managers immediately came over.

Only after arriving did they realize that President Pei was also present, sitting quietly on the side without saying a word.

This further convinced everyone that the matter to be discussed today was extraordinary.

Zhang Yuan handed out the new regulations he was holding to each club in turn, and then went straight to the point, reiterating all the requirements put forward by President Pei.

"Next, we will begin planning GOG's domestic league, the GPL. All of you present have contributed to the development of the GOG professional scene. You were important participants in the first Global Invitational Tournament and currently own some of the strongest teams in the country. Therefore, you all have priority to join the GPL."

"However…"

"If you want to join, you must also accept some supervision and terms from the official."

"Tengda is already planning to establish an e-sports division to coordinate the healthy development of the GOG game and the entire e-sports scene. There are a few requirements that we hope everyone can cooperate with."

The club managers all looked at the new regulations distributed by Zhang Yuan.

Manager Su of H4 Club frowned as he looked at the page, his expression worsening as he read on.

The content written on it was relatively general, without detailed clauses, but each one seemed to bode ill:

Tengda establishes an e-sports division to uniformly manage the GOG league and the World Championship system;

The e-sports division provides clubs and players with standardized contracts, stipulating only basic content such as time, liquidated damages, transfer fees, and compensation. Shadow contracts and various other additional clauses are strictly prohibited;

During the transfer period, clubs and players can freely contact each other, but they cannot sign contracts privately. The e-sports division must organize clubs to bid secretly for players, and both parties must abide by their commitments;

In the event of a dispute, Tengda officials, that is, the e-sports division, must be sought for mediation first.

If the above terms are not observed, the Tengda e-sports division can revoke the GPL league's admission qualifications at any time. The club whose qualifications have been revoked can transfer the GOG division to a third party, or transfer it to Tengda, and the e-sports division will find a suitable third party to take over.

Manager Su subconsciously looked at the others, and saw surprise in each other's eyes.

In the eyes of these clubs, this request was a bit excessive!

Before, they had looked to President Zhang for guidance, but that was on the premise that President Zhang didn't infringe on their interests!

Since the emergence of the e-sports industry in China, until now, the relationship between most game companies and clubs has been one of peaceful coexistence.

Most game companies do not have the ability or the inclination to manage and require clubs in this way. Many game companies even rely on major clubs to support their competitions, so they turn a blind eye to the private behavior of these clubs.

And in order to protect their own interests, major clubs will more or less have some shady operations.

This is actually a legacy issue. Most of the current e-sports clubs are established by a group of wealthy people as a hobby. More than half of them are backed by one or two rich second generations. The management in all aspects is very irregular. Of course, in their opinion, there is no need to be too formal.

Anyway, it's just a hobby, so why bother putting in so much effort?

Many clubs are afraid of being poached by other clubs, having their entire team dug up, so they sign harsh clauses with new players that are similar to "indentured servitude."

In other words, whether they have been scammed by players in the past, or by other clubs, they have learned their lesson, and then, in order not to suffer losses, they have shifted this risk to more new players.

The clubs feel that they are protecting their legitimate rights and interests.

And now, President Pei's request obviously "infringes on their legitimate rights and interests" because the set of rules they previously established is completely invalidated.

Manager Su pursed his lips, but after thinking about it, he remained silent.

He knew that more than half of the clubs present would have objections to these clauses, and there was no need for him to be the first to speak.

The conference room fell into a brief silence.

Manager Li of SUG Club couldn't hold back any longer. After clearing his throat, he said, "President Zhang, some of these clauses don't seem very appropriate, do they?"

"It's certainly a good thing for Tengda to establish an e-sports division to uniformly manage e-sports competitions, and we all support it with both hands."

"But… is a standardized contract really necessary? When each club and player negotiate, the conditions offered are different, how can a standardized contract cover all possible situations?"

"I think it's fine to let the clubs and players contact and sign contracts themselves for this transfer matter. Frankly speaking, this is a legal issue. It's a bit of a waste for the official to put its energy into this aspect."

"Moreover, this e-sports industry is maintained by all the clubs together. We should seek common ground while reserving differences. Tengda has Tengda's rules, and our clubs have our own operating habits. Wouldn't it be better for everyone to respect each other?"

"Everyone present has supported Tengda, is it a bit impersonal to kick us out just like that?"

"So, I think this regulation can be reconsidered, weighed carefully. What do you all think?"

After Manager Li finished speaking, he looked at the other club managers.

"That's right, Manager Li is right!"

"Yes, President Zhang, this is a bit of an overreaction, unnecessary. Besides, there will definitely be many other problems with signing standardized contracts, and it will be more troublesome to solve them at that time. What's more, there's no precedent for this in the domestic e-sports scene, is there?"

"President Zhang, everyone is especially supportive of President Pei, so they're buying players and moving their divisions to Jingzhou. To kick us out just because we don't accept these terms, who will dare to cooperate with Tengda in the future?"

"That's right, we were among the first clubs to support GOG e-sports competitions. We may not have made contributions, but we've worked hard, haven't we…"

"It's not easy for clubs now either. Most clubs are purely burning money, and we are also a disadvantaged group. If there are no additional clauses, the rights and interests of the players are guaranteed, but what about our rights and interests?"

Many club managers expressed similar ideas to Manager Li.

Obviously, it was impossible for them to accept the supervision of the Tengda e-sports division without saying a word.

These e-sports club managers are all seasoned veterans, very clear about the intricacies involved.

The key is that even if they accept it, the owners of their clubs probably won't accept it either.

They didn't dare to make things clear, but they could play the sympathy card and exert some pressure in a soft and hard way without breaking things down.

Generally speaking, game companies will give some face and will not escalate things.

Manager Su didn't speak, secretly looking at President Pei, who was sitting aside without saying a word.

He couldn't guess what kind of mentality President Pei would have.

If it were someone else, they might smile at this time and appease the club managers, saying that this matter can be discussed slowly and planned for the long term.

But if it were President Pei, it wouldn't be impossible for him to scold all these managers with a stern face. President Pei had the confidence to do so.

After all, the few regulations issued by Zhang Yuan clearly stated that if they didn't agree, they could transfer the GPL's admission qualifications and even the entire GOG division to a third party.

This shows that President Pei has a strong determination to promote this matter.

But things are not so absolute. After all, having a plan for the worst-case scenario does not mean that it must be used. No matter how firm President Pei's attitude is, there must be a buffer, right?

Manager Su looked at President Pei and found that the corners of President Pei's mouth were slightly raised, seeming to carry some… joy?

That can't be, right?

Was this an appeasing smile, or a sneer?

Manager Su suddenly felt that something seemed wrong, completely unlike what he had expected, and hurriedly swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

Zhang Yuan sighed silently. These old foxes were indeed not so easily subdued.

They didn't dare to slam the table and come on strong, but they could play the emotional card and pretend to be pitiful.

There is a saying that "one should not hit a smiling face." If these club managers dared to turn their faces, it would be easier to handle, but the fear was that they would continue to pretend to be weak. If Tengda's handling was too tough, it would create some negative public opinion and give other clubs the impression that "Tengda is unreasonable," which would not be easy to deal with.

Zhang Yuan subconsciously looked at President Pei, who was sitting aside.

At this critical moment, it was still necessary to see how President Pei would handle it.

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