I Became a Malicious Streamer

The Ed Cup has come to an end. After a month-long journey, the owner of the throne has once again been revealed.

There were no surprises. It’s China. Li Chao’s BEG has claimed victory in the Ed Cup once again this year.

The winning team hasn’t changed from last year.

What has changed is the runner-up team.

There were many opinions suggesting that this year BEG and VIX7 would share the spots of champion and runner-up, but against those predictions, the runner-up was Korea’s XBD.

Amidst the unexpected achievements, there were Korean fans rejoicing, and American fans groaning over the unexpected struggles.

In a sudden turn of events, Yan Sunny has indeed decided to retire after this Ed Cup.

Had the results been good, he might have reconsidered. Finishing third isn’t a low ranking, but his goal was to win from the start.

So if he couldn’t even manage to be second place, then it would be all the more dissatisfying.

He could have retracted his statements and tried again next year, but perhaps he thought that was too disgraceful, or maybe he was just too exhausted and wanted to rest.

Despite fans urging him not to, Yan Sunny chose retirement.

What had turned into mere words of a “last dance” ended up being a true final struggle.

China was very pleased to once again defend the throne. Their shoulders lifted to the skies without a care.

It has now been four years that the Chinese league has consecutively won the Ed Cup.

The fact that there were previous winning Chinese teams or that there were Korean mercenaries in BEG didn’t provide much comfort to Korean fans.

They desperately wanted to see the Korean league making an impact in international competitions, and they wished to witness a Korean team winning the Ed Cup.

Thus, under normal circumstances, the community’s flames wouldn’t have been extinguished for 24 hours. They did not win, after all.

Day and night – disputes crossing over LAN cables were inevitable.

In simplistic terms, it was a “gold cup” and “finding the culprits.” It started with an analysis of why they didn’t win: Who performed poorly, who underperformed, who was a total clown, all the reasons why XBD couldn’t do it. Words are unacceptable. VIX7 can’t do it. Fans and their level… Don’t manipulate us, etc.

It was a tail-chasing string of criticisms based not on cold analysis but pure malice.

However, this year, contrary to expectations, the community was silent. No, it was so quiet that it felt surprisingly harmonious.

It was an exceptionally strange sight for a place that usually often engaged in character assassination. A long-time user even thought about hitting the back button, wondering if he had entered the wrong room.

[XBD, if these guys are adorable, upvote ㅋㅋ]

Let’s start with me ㅋㅋ

ㅇㅇ: Where’s the shame in becoming a runner-up? I’m dying for a kiss.

ㅇㅇ: I never expected to beat VIX7, haha.

ㅇㅇ: Since we didn’t even reach the quarter-finals last time, this is good enough. I can go around proudly saying I’m a fan of XBD.

ㅇㅇ: Last year was so humiliating, almost made me die.

The reasons varied. This year, our players seemed to be really fired up, their play was sharp, second place was impressive, at least we beat North America, etc.

Nevertheless, the biggest reason they felt this leeway was due to the solid results.

The thrill of experiencing second place in an international competition, a result not seen in a long time, made the fans unable to hide their excitement.

Fans who had faced the disappointments of the past knew that if they didn’t have expectations, they wouldn’t experience the disappointment. They were thirsty for international competition results but did not show it.

They tried hard not to expect too much. And yet, it turned out to be a huge success. There was no way they could be unsatisfied.

Defeating the North American giant Yan Sunny also boosted their joy further.

And there was another huge reason for this. This was a significant factor that made fans feel that EOW still had some power in Korea.

[Mollru<<< A wall even professionals can't surpass]

None other than the only master of the Korean server, certified by none other than Li Chao ㅇㅇ

ㅇㅇ: Is the teacher a friend of yours?

ㅇㅇ: I never expected to hear that I play better than true professionals.

ㅇㅇ: Li Chao was a total noob, ha, the guy probably only praised her after seeing her face.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ: Info) Li Chao thought Mollru was a guy until the interview.

ㅇㅇ: When he lost in a personal stream, it was just ranked solo, and he was just downplaying it. Now he’s finally acknowledging it.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ: If Li Chao admits it, that changes the story.

Another reason was the presence of Mollru.

As the reigning queen of the Chinese league and currently considered the best in EOW, Mollru was recognized by Li Chao.

She is Korean, in Challenger rank on the Korean server, and recently defeated Li Chao in ranks.

This fact gave Korean fans a sense of “national pride.”

No matter how much they insulted Li Chao, calling him piglet or saying he looked like Bingbing, they had to admit the truth.

Li Chao is at the pinnacle among professionals, and all Korean teams have lost to him. He was indeed a master.

How remarkable must Mollru be to want to challenge such a master? Korean fans felt considerable pride in her nationality.

These two factors allowed the community to maintain its heat without burning out unusually. Others could see it for a long time too.

*

“So, what’s going on?”

“Well, here’s the thing.”

The Ed Cup has successfully concluded till the finals. It was about a month-long journey.

Ignoring the stinging gazes of people after Li Chao’s comments, I had been acting as a commentator for a few days. After completing the set number of commentary sessions, I was resting comfortably when…

The league called me again.

The sales department guy who I had seen earlier was gathering his words in front of me. Was it now the sales department head?

Whenever there’s something to say to me, this guy comes to the front, and I’ve gotten used to it now.

“Uh, there’s a proposal for an event match. Do you happen to have any thoughts on it?”

“An event match?”

An event match. It’s an occasional side game held after such a massive event.

However, that usually involves professionals participating. It’s common for them to enjoy a light game to signal the end of the event.

As someone who isn’t even a pro, I had no reason to participate.

Then suddenly, something flashed through my mind.

“Is it Li Chao, by any chance?”

“Yes, the proposal came from the Chinese side first…”

So that pig was indeed behind it. I could feel his urge to want to play a match against me.

He could have just requested a 1v1 match, but then again, I probably wouldn’t have accepted that either.

As I was pondering this, the department head began to speak.

“They said they want to gather pros who want to face Mollru for a kind of friendly match. Something like ‘beat Mollru’—”

“Beat Mollru? What is this, a family game show?”

I replied in disbelief, and the head coughed lightly.

“But really, there’s only one pro who wants to play against me, right? Shouldn’t it just be a 1v1, I doubt we’ll have enough players for a 6v6 match.”

“Uh… I checked with the team in advance about interested players. There are many who want to join. In fact, there might even be a shortage of spots.”

“Huh?”

Michael from VIX7, Yang Jun Hyuk, Li Chao, Bingbing from BEG, and many others wanted to play together with me.

“It’s all about the interest. Many are curious about how well Mollru, who was so highly praised by Li Chao, plays. Many players who haven’t faced Mollru in ranked matches are eager to see her.”

“Oh man, they’re really drawn to this…”

I clicked my tongue lightly and thought. It wasn’t that I had any aversion to it. Playing a game with them wouldn’t be a big deal.

When would I get a chance to team with such top-tier players and face off against them? It was a rare opportunity that some would pay a fortune just to experience.

“Even though it’s a friendly match, it’s an event match after the Ed Cup. If someone like me goes out, will people be happy? The spectators must be spending a lot to come.”

“They’ll probably like it.”

The department head said that local and even overseas fans are curious about the famous Korean Samurai’s gameplay.

“Especially from China, it seems they’ve been wanting to see it even without Li Chao. So I think they suggested an event match during the idle time. Plus, last year, a famous overseas streamer participated in the event match too, so isn’t that fine?”

China money! The status China has in the international league is substantial. There are even claims that the eSports business doesn’t run into deficits because of the overwhelming investments.

A proposal coming from China like this wasn’t bad at all; if anything, it was quite intriguing, so there was no reason to refuse.

Of course, whether the event actually happens depends entirely on me. If I want to do it, I will; if I don’t, then I won’t.

The department head knows this well, so he doesn’t press or coerce me. He just explains everything and waits.

By the time he reached the middle of the explanation, I’d already made up my mind.

“Sure, let’s do the event match.”

There was no reason to say no.

This was a chance to legally stomp on that lovable Li Chao. Every day, I hear “Korean Samurai” thanks to that guy.

Bring it on, pal. It’s probably going to be more painful than you expect. Bam!

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