Inside the dark conference room of the esports game association, someone was giving a briefing with a projector up front.
“This is the expected viewership for the opening match this year.”
With a gesture from the man, the presentation lit up.
Seats in a semicircular shape from A to G were glowing red at intervals.
“What’s that red stuff?”
“Those are the seats that were booked and then canceled.”
“Really? That many people canceled their tickets? Did they not like the seats?”
“Given that it’s not just the corner seats like A or G but cancellations are spread out… ”
“…Looks like the league’s status has hit rock bottom.”
A middle-aged man sighed heavily.
His name was Park Jin Cheol, now holding power in the association after a recent purge.
The employees were treating him like a new sun, lining up for his favor.
But what good is that? The foundation itself is crumbling.
‘It’s not like I made this mess, but I’m the one who has to clean it up…’
One week to go until the EOW Spring League opening.
Usually, at this time, friends would ask if they could reserve a few seats, and fans would be lamenting about the sold-out situation.
But now, it was the exact opposite.
You could call it a boycott. Or perhaps it was just a temporary rejection by those disappointed with the EOW League.
“It deserves to be called a third league…”
Park Jin Cheol muttered to himself.
When EOW launched, the American league was leading the international scene.
But that didn’t last long; the Korean league soon claimed the throne.
Proving the name “the race that’s good at games,” the Korean league dominated, preventing any other league from stepping onto its throne.
The golden age of the Korean league, a promised five years.
As the entire league leveled up, the Korean league had no choice but to relinquish its absolute throne.
‘All the players have been sold off overseas…’
If you can’t win, join them.
Notably, the Chinese and American leagues acted accordingly.
They started to hire skilled Korean players as mercenaries for their teams.
The leading Korean league saw promising talents flood in each year.
However, among them, only a few shined. The rest couldn’t even make it to the rankings in their home leagues or were not played as starters.
Overseas teams offered those players decent treatment and brought them in.
Last year’s champions, the Chinese team IE Dragons, had three Korean players on their roster.
The reason Korean players left for overseas was simple.
The conditions abroad were far better than at home.
Notably, the high signing bonuses and salaries.
This is something unavoidable due to lacking national competitiveness.
Even though the internet is relatively fast internationally and PC bangs are everywhere, the shutdown law is in effect, and the country doesn’t promote esports.
Although it’s improved a bit, first-generation pro gamers were still seen as abnormal, addicted to gaming.
Thus, the Korean league, which lost its throne, was overshadowed by China and the U.S., now harshly labeled a third league.
It’s always more bitter to have lost something you once had than to have never had it.
Fans of the Korean league wished for it to be called the dominant league again.
While domestic league performance mattered, they desperately hoped the players would show something on the international stage.
‘With this situation, such things happening…’
Even with growing strength, they lost a talented prospect.
Upon investigation, there were similar past incidents, just not known to the public.
It’s only natural for fans disillusioned with corruption to turn their backs.
‘What do I do about this?’
Park Jin Cheol wanted the fans to love the league again.
As a first-generation pro gamer who loved the game, he knew well how unhappy athletes ignored by audiences could get.
Of course, he had laid a solid foundation, so it wouldn’t go that far, but he just couldn’t stand the current situation.
‘How hard are the kids practicing?’
He regularly watched games and knew how much his juniors loved gaming and struggled for it.
He hoped that people would acknowledge that effort even a little and come to love the league as a way to repay the players.
‘Is there an ingenious way out of this?’
It was as he was deep in thought.
“I have a good idea.”
“What is it?”
The head of promotions, who was giving the presentation, spoke up.
Park Jin Cheol leaned in expectantly.
Maybe two heads together would come up with a better idea than thinking alone?
“We should bring in streamer Mollru to the league.”
“Are you kidding? After that incident, do you think she’ll come? To play?”
No, it wasn’t that.
Park Jin Cheol looked at him with icy eyes.
The promotions head waved his hands in dismay.
“Not that, we’re suggesting she be a guest commentator.”
“Guest commentator?”
“Yes, streamer Mollru is both a victim and a key figure of the esports corruption scandals. If she steps up, it could improve the league’s public perception.”
That made some sense.
Park Jin Cheol nodded, urging him to continue.
“Being a guest commentator doesn’t carry the burden of being a caster or a professional analyst. Previously, the former pro streamer Vita took the role.”
“If she’s at a pro level, she must have a good eye for the game. What’s her tier?”
“As of yesterday, she was ranked 16th in Challenger.”
“That’s more than enough…”
Park Jin Cheol was taken aback.
It wasn’t a mere rumor that a woman with extraordinary talent had emerged.
With only 300 in the Challenger tier, those at the top were recognized as supreme in gaming.
Given her rank, she must frequently meet professionals and share stories like “This player did this when I met them in ranked.”
As a guest commentator, she could serve as a delightful spice to the show.
While Park Jin Cheol’s mind sparked with scenarios, the promotions head continued.
“And… the promotional effect would be tremendous.”
“Did you say she’s a streamer? I guess a lot of people watch her broadcast?”
“Look at this.”
As Park Jin Cheol glanced at the screen on the promotions head’s phone, his eyes widened tremendously.
“This was from her broadcast yesterday. She revealed her real appearance just under a week ago.”
“Wow, so Park Kyung-tan wasn’t being greedy for nothing.”
With a gamer like that, anyone would want to catch a glimpse in real life.
Even if they could just guarantee a few appearances, the atmosphere of the league would surely revive.
“Yeah… I think there’s no better plan than this, but do we have a way to bring her in?”
“Well, that’s up to the sales department to work on, isn’t it? They need to put in some effort if they want to keep getting paid.”
“Hahaha! That’s true. They’re the experts; they’ll handle it.”
The promotions head’s task was merely to convey to the higher-ups the potential outcomes of having streamer Mollru as a guest commentator.
“I hope it works out.”
Park Jin Cheol gazed at Mollru’s picture on his phone.
He prayed that this beautiful gamer would save the league.
*
Streamers have specific content they push heavily.
Some streamers focus solely on one type of game, while others specialize in outdoor broadcasts, and there are those known for their storytelling skills with a flair for chatting.
As for me, I’m primarily a general gaming streamer, but perhaps I’m skewed a little towards one side.
My viewers often say the core of my stream is EOW.
I somewhat agree with that.
It was the game that got me into streaming and the one I spent the most time on.
Not long after the new season of EOW had started.
I used most of my streaming time to climb the ranked ladder.
“Ranked 15th now.”
Challenger 15th. That was where I had reached.
Considering the pros were all engrossed in scrims before the opening match, it was a high tier nonetheless.
However, I’m still hungry.
For someone like me, the number 15 still felt insufficient in the pursuit of reaching those lofty heights.
And just like that, I was about to queue up for another match.
[AgentofWar_kr donated 100,000 won!]
– Can we whisper for a moment?
I recognized that ID as the official broadcast of the league, but what could this be about?
Seeing someone from the official broadcast donate to another stream was a sight I had never encountered before, leaving me somewhat flabbergasted.
[Is this an official match or something?]
[Is it legit? For real?]
[Ah, lol, are they messing with me? It’s obviously fake.]
[If it’s official, I should stop donating, right?]
“Ah… it’s fake. Please don’t joke with me.”
My initial surprise quickly settled down.
Just recently, something similar happened, and now I wasn’t easily tricked.
Honestly, it couldn’t be official. If it were, they’d have approached in a formal manner via email.
[AgentofWar_kr donated 100,000 won!]
– It’s not fake T_T I have an urgent matter, and you didn’t see my email, so I’m trying this. Can we talk after your stream?
…This time, it seems it might actually be real.
After about an hour of ranked climbing, I received an unexpected proposal during the follow-up contact.
“Guest commentator, you say?”
They were asking me to take on the role of a commentator for the pro league.
