Chapter 29 Public Execution

The two iCL league matches on Saturday night had finished.

After the interviews, the host introduced the schedule for tomorrow's matches, and then the audience began to leave in an orderly fashion.

The two official commentators breathed a sigh of relief. Their work for the day was finally done, and they could go back and get some rest.

It had to be said, commentating was actually quite physically demanding. It seemed simple, just moving your lips, but in reality, there was a lot to it.

Throughout the commentary, you had to maintain a high level of concentration, not miss too many details, and avoid too many slips of the tongue. Sometimes, after work, you had to go back and brush up on some game knowledge, surf the internet to learn about the latest memes, and if you had to cooperate with the official team to shoot some other programs, your working hours could easily stretch to over ten hours.

However, before the two commentators could even take off their headsets, they heard the director say, "Don't go yet, come to the lounge, Director Zhao has something to say."

The so-called Director Zhao was definitely Zhao Xuming of Longyu Group.

The two commentators were both stunned for a moment.

They knew Zhao Xuming, but they didn't really meet or interact with him much. Because Zhao Xuming was too high up. Even if there was anything, he would tell the director or producer of the iCL league project team, who would then relay it to the commentators.

What did it mean that Zhao Xuming was personally calling them to a meeting this time?

With trepidation, the two went to the lounge backstage.

However, as soon as they entered the lounge, they were stunned.

So many people!

Not only the two of them, but all the other commentators who weren't scheduled to work today were also there.

In addition, all the staff responsible for OB (observer) and backstage data analysis were also present. The entire lounge was full of people.

Clearly, Zhao Xuming had already gathered these people while the matches were still in progress.

Such a large gathering left everyone a little clueless, wondering what Director Zhao was going to do, and they were very worried.

Zhao Xuming's expression was not good. He clicked the remote control, and a recording of a match began to play on the large television in the lounge.

The two commentators were stunned. Wasn't this the match we just finished commentating on today?

But after listening carefully, they realized that this wasn't their commentary!

Clearly, this was the recording of the match commented on by Tuwei Streaming today.

Zhao Xuming didn't speak, and naturally, no one else dared to make a sound. The entire lounge was very quiet, and only the voice of the Tuwei Streaming commentator echoed throughout the room.

"We see that the official screen shows a first-tower win rate of 74%, but in reality, this team has several early-game tactics, so we can't generalize..."

At first, the commentators didn't understand Zhao Xuming's intention, but as they listened, they began to understand the problem.

Clearly, the Tuwei Streaming commentator was far more professional than they were!

For the same data, their analysis was too superficial, while the commentator on Tuwei Streaming could always dig out more information through other data.

Moreover, the gap between the two sides was not limited to this. From early-game tactical predictions to the Bp (ban/pick) phase, to the detailed explanations during the match... the two commentators today could be said to have been completely crushed by the commentator on Tuwei Streaming!

The faces of the two commentators couldn't help but become very unsightly.

Zhao Xuming playing the Tuwei Streaming commentary video in front of so many people was practically a public execution. Who could stand that!

So unlucky!

Even more terrifying was that the Tuwei Streaming commentary video had probably already spread all over the internet. Now all the viewers of the iCL league had seen the comparison between the two sides' commentary!

The other commentators also lowered their heads, feeling both fortunate and worried.

Fortunate that they weren't scheduled to work today and didn't step into the pit first, being whipped in front of everyone; worried that their own level was about the same as the two commentators today, and they would be beaten just as badly when they went up to commentate!

Not only the commentators, but also the OB and the team providing data support in the background, all understood Director Zhao's intentions.

Was all the blame on the commentators? Did they have no problems?

Of course not!

The OB on Tuwei Streaming was done according to the commentator's requests. If the commentator wanted to see both sides' jungle farming, the OB would focus the main camera on both sides' jungle areas.

Therefore, there were also great differences between the OB of Tuwei Streaming and the official OB.

Even when giving out the MVP at the end, the two sides gave different MVPs.

In short, Tuwei Streaming did do much better than the official team, and this improvement was comprehensive, from commentary to OB to data support, basically a state of complete crushing.

It wasn't until an entire match had been played that Zhao Xuming pressed the pause button on the remote control.

"Now do you understand why I called you all to a meeting?"

"You are the official commentators, and you should be the most professional, but you were crushed by a non-official commentator from a live streaming platform!"

"The online public opinion has exploded. A large number of viewers have run away from the official live streaming rooms of various platforms. Aren't you ashamed!"

"You are all professionals with extensive experience in this industry. How did it turn out like this? Is there a problem with your ability, or a problem with your attitude, or both?"

Zhao Xuming's series of rhetorical questions left everyone speechless.

Several commentators silently cried out in their hearts.

Can we be blamed for this?

You're asking us to compare our game understanding with that of an active professional player from FV team's second team. Isn't that a joke? We're only at the Platinum and Diamond level!

Compared to those professional players' understanding of the game, the difference is like several Pacific Oceans.

Moreover, we've always been commentating like this since other games, and there haven't been any problems? We conscientiously go to work and get off work every day, practice our speaking skills, and learn about game knowledge. We're already working very hard, okay?

How did it now seem as if we were a bunch of good-for-nothings just waiting to die?

But even if they thought so in their hearts, they didn't dare to say it.

They had all watched the commentary video from Tuwei Streaming and had to admit that there was indeed a clear gap between the two sides.

Now, they couldn't admit that there was a problem with their ability, nor could they admit that there was a problem with their attitude. Either way, admitting it would lead to big problems.

So what exactly was the problem?

In the end, the director was more quick-witted and stood up to speak: "Director Zhao, please calm down."

"Well, we have to admit that our commentators do have a certain gap in game understanding compared to the two professional players that Tuwei Streaming found. We must admit this."

"Our commentators are, after all, professionally trained and have better professional qualities in commentary. They are not as specialized in game understanding as professional players."

"But this problem is not difficult to solve. We just need to add some professional players to the normal commentary schedule."

"Like Tuwei Streaming, the official commentator controls the rhythm, and professional players or former professional players serve as guest commentators to provide professional analysis. If the two can coordinate, we can achieve a similar effect."

The best approach was definitely to appease Zhao Xuming and then run the iCL league's official commentary team well.

Although these commentators were somewhat lacking in their understanding of the game and couldn't be compared with professional players, it was impossible to fire them all, right?

Because these commentators were all recruited through a unified process, were all professionally trained, and had commentated on other matches before commentating on the iCL league. They could all be considered to have a reputation in the industry, and there might be complex relationships behind them. How could they be fired just like that?

Zhao Xuming obviously didn't intend to fire all these commentators either. What if the new batch of recruits was even worse than them?

Therefore, Zhao Xuming's anger this time was just to knock on the heads of the iCL league's director and commentators, to give them a sense of crisis and be able to find ways to improve their own level.

The official commentators of the iCL league were not as good as the non-official commentators of Tuwei Streaming. This was too outrageous and unacceptable.

Since the director had already expressed his position, there was no need to be too harsh.

Zhao Xuming said, "All commentators, after getting off work every day, watch the Tuwei Streaming commentary from beginning to end and review it. Work hard to improve your understanding of the game!"

"In addition, the official real-time data app will be completed soon and should be launched on various platforms one after another. Hopefully, it can improve the situation of viewers being diverted to various platforms."

"Also, seize the time to go to various clubs to find some professional players with a deeper understanding of the game and decent eloquence, and use them as special guest commentators. This matter must be implemented as soon as possible."

Then, Zhao Xuming turned to his assistant and said, "Keep an eye on this matter and report to me at any time."

The assistant nodded, "Okay, Director Zhao."

...

In the evening.

Ding Gan, the owner of SUG esports club, had just finished a dinner with a few friends and was preparing to go back and get a good night's sleep.

As a result, he had only dozed off for a little while in the car when his phone rang.

He picked it up and saw that it was Manager Yang from his club calling.

"Director Ding, I have something to report to you."

"The director of the iCL league just called and asked if we had any professional players who wanted to transition to commentary, saying that there was a good opportunity now."

Ding Gan was a little confused: "Didn't we already recommend Old Zheng over there before?"

Manager Yang reminded him, "No, Director Ding, the time we recommended Old Zheng was when President Pei asked for someone, and we recommended him to Tuwei Streaming. Now it's the official commentary team of the iCL league."

Ding Gan said, "Then there probably aren't any left! Our main players are playing well, and the substitute and youth training players also have to train seriously. Only Old Zheng is relatively old, so we let him try to be a commentator. No one else is suitable."

Manager Yang said, "Xiao Gao is okay. He has good eloquence and is quite good at creating fun."

Ding Gan was immediately unhappy: "That won't do. Although Xiao Gao is currently a substitute, he's just over eighteen years old and is in his prime. He'll be promoted to the first team soon. Sending him to be a commentator would be a waste."

Manager Yang said, "Yes, Director Ding, I think so too. Then... should we just decline?"

Ding Gan thought for a while: "We can only decline. Who told them not to come earlier? Tuwei Streaming came first, and we've already given them a suitable candidate. Zhao Xuming came only now, and we can't do anything about it."

"...Could it be that he can't find a suitable person?"

Manager Yang said, "That's unlikely. As far as I know, Tuwei Streaming only looked for people at FV team and our team, and didn't ask about other teams."

"After all, our two clubs have a better relationship with President Pei."

"If the official commentary team of the iCL league goes to other clubs to look for people, they should still be able to find some suitable candidates."

"It's just that these people's understanding of the game will be slightly worse. After all, FV team's strength and understanding of the game are the best. Our team is one tier below them, and there are several tiers of difference before you get to the other teams."

Ding Gan said, "That has nothing to do with us."

"Okay, just reply like that, that we can't help."

Manager Yang: "Okay, Director Ding."