Chapter 388: Fighting for Dreams
November 5th, Incheon International Airport, VIP lounge.
The members of LESSERAFIM excitedly gathered around two sofas, watching the iPad in Sakura's hand.
It was playing a replay of a T1 match.
"Is this character Zeus?" Hong Eun-chae, sitting next to Kim Chae-won, pointed at the character on the screen with her long arm and asked.
The maknae Hong Eun-chae was only sixteen, but her height was the tallest in the group; she really shot up, which made Kim Chae-won and Sakura extremely envious.
"That's right, our IZONE even went to the T1 club to film a group variety show before," Kim Chae-won said with a laugh.
"Then, Ouni, did you meet Faker?" Hong Eun-chae's eyes lit up, and she asked excitedly.
"Of course I did! I even played games with him," Kim Chae-won said with a proud expression.
Faker's popularity in Korea is second only to Son Heung-min, and this is not an exaggeration. As a representative figure in the Korean esports industry, Lee Sang-hyeok's international influence, while not comparable to Son Heung-min, an athlete in the world's most popular sport, football, does not have an overly exaggerated gap.
Strictly speaking, esports players are also athletes. In the ranks of athletes, Lee Sang-hyeok's influence is absolutely top-tier, comparable to those national-level athletes in Korea.
"It's okay, I'll be able to see him this time too," Hong Eun-chae hummed twice.
Indeed, they were going this time to cheer for T1, and with President nim's connections, they would definitely be able to meet the players.
"Where's President nim?" Kim Minju suddenly looked up, scanned around, and then asked.
Hearing this, several people looked up, and Jiang Shu, who had been sitting not far from them, was nowhere to be seen.
Huh?
"He probably went to the restroom," Sakura said without looking up. "Zeus doesn't seem that strong."
Sakura couldn't help but murmur.
Jiang Shu likes to play League of Legends, which led to game-loving artists like Xue Yun and Sakura also getting into League of Legends. Compared to her teammates, Sakura could understand some basic information about the matches.
Zeus's laning was impressive, but if you were to compare him to Jiang Shu's evaluation of Zeus as the "Top Lane God King," there was still quite a significant gap.
At least, the dominance he currently displayed was far from that of peak TheShy and Nuguri.
"Who are you talking about? Zeus?" Kim Chae-won, who was nearby, heard Sakura's words and immediately asked.
"Mm. I watched videos of TheShy from the LPL in 2018 and 2019, and also videos of Zeus's senior, Nuguri, in 2020. I found that there's a pretty clear gap between him and these two players, who are hailed as super top laners. Whether they can win the championship tomorrow is still an unknown."
Perhaps because she had watched so few matches, Sakura didn't believe, like the current mainstream opinion, that T1 would simply sweep DRX three-zero.
She had been watching Zeus's match replays. She didn't have such professional analysis, but she just felt that he didn't seem that stable.
"The probability of winning the championship is indeed not high," Jiang Shu's voice came from behind them.
Hearing Jiang Shu's voice, several people stood up.
"President nim!"
Jiang Shu waved his hand.
"Everyone, sit down." As he spoke, to prevent them from not sitting, he reached out and pressed down on Heo Yunjin's shoulder, who was closest to him, making her sit.
Heo Yunjin didn't feel much; she had an American style. Although she had reined it in quite a bit in Korea, she was essentially not that sensitive to such physical contact, being very carefree.
Seeing Heo Yunjin "sit" down, the others also sat back down.
Jiang Shu leaned on the sofa with both hands, standing behind Sakura.
"T1's chances of winning the championship this year aren't great, it's a seven-three split, DRX has seven."
"So, President nim, you actually support the DRX team?" Kim Chae-won asked curiously.
"No, I support Zeus, which means T1."
"Then why do you still go to the venue in person when you think their chances of winning are so low?" Kim Chae-won didn't understand, even though the probability of winning was so low.
"You can't only support them at their peak," Jiang Shu said with a smile. "Peaks produce false supporters; twilight reveals devout believers."
"I supported Choi Woo-je when he was still a child." Jiang Shu made a gesture. At that time, Choi Woo-je was just a sprout. "I watched him become a professional player step by step. This year, his first year of debut, he entered the highest competitive arena of League of Legends. He has already done well enough."
"Besides, it's just that the probability of winning the championship is not high, it doesn't mean there's no chance. Examples of underdogs winning in esports are everywhere. Who can guarantee a win until the very last moment?"
But having said that, DRX, who fought their way up from the fourth seed, has completed their final evolution. This T1 final… it's very, very difficult to win.
Even if FMVP's Aatrox is banned every game, the chances of winning are not high. Moreover, the T1 coaching staff would not believe the advice of an amateur like him.
It's like RNG back then, who was carried away by five Galio picks, but without Galio, there would be other champions. The score might look close, but the actual gap was huge.
This year's T1, its sharpest spear is still only a half-finished product. Without the experience of the finals, the God King will ultimately only be a player with future potential.
Even a player like TheShy, who changed the top lane meta, only understood the meaning of being a professional many years after winning the championship.
Esports players and K-pop artists are, to some extent, the same.
They are all striving to pursue the dreams in their hearts.
Choi Woo-je is lucky to debut in the best team environment like T1, with the world's top coaching staff and teammates accompanying him as he grows.
Just like...
Jiang Shu's gaze fell on the chattering girls discussing the upcoming final.
Isn't the meaning of him founding DM Entertainment right here?
Dreams, a word that carries the expectations of countless people.
Thousand-mile horses are common, but true connoisseurs are not.
Isn't the purpose of DM Entertainment's existence to make up for the regrets of those dreams?
It's just a pity that new regrets are still born in the end.
Jiang Shu shook his head slightly.
He dispelled these cluttered thoughts and checked the time.
"Pack your things; we're preparing to board," Jiang Shu reminded them.
The flight from Seoul to San Francisco takes half a day, which is quite long. Don't let it seem like there are only seven of them here; in reality, quite a few team members are accompanying them.
However, compared to Jiang Shu and the seven in first class, the others were in economy class.
There's still a difference between staff and artists. If you feel uncomfortable, you can upgrade your seat at your own expense, but few staff members would choose to do so; ten-odd hours can be endured.
"Yes!"
Hearing Jiang Shu's words, the members of LESSERAFIM stood up and went to pack their things.
Everyone brought a lot of items; it was impossible to throw everything to the team's assistants. They didn't bring many assistants on this trip, after all, it was just a short trip, and they were just there to watch the game and ride the hype, so why bring so many people?
