Yun Yun stood on the podium, surrounded by the passionate music and the excited voice of the host. He stood in the line blankly, looking at Kang Ming in the audience and smiling at him.
It was his long-awaited title, and one the crowd cheered as victors.
But he is no hero.
The raucous IOP awards ceremony was simple and relaxed. After asking the AM members if they were excited and happy in the routine interviews, the host let this group of young people who are not good at speaking go.
After the game, Yun Yun saw McGrath.
He stood beside the exit stage passage, as if he was specially waiting for Yun Yun.
"Congratulations to Are Men for becoming the champion. In fact, I like your team's name very much, although it looks a little weird." The conference room McGrath found randomly was quiet and deserted, and only Yun Yun was left as his faithful Listeners, "When it's time for my promise to be fulfilled, maybe you don't like what I said very much."
What Yun Yun's confused mind wanted to know most was not the reason for McGrath to quit ST, but he still nodded and said, "I want to know."
McGrath smiled when he heard the words, glanced across Yun Yun's face, pulled out the chair and sat down, and said: "When I was a child, I especially liked playing games, because this is a very novel world. Make people forget a lot of troubles. Then, I entered the e-sports industry. You know, it takes a lot of manpower and financial resources for a game to form a competition scale and conduct national or even global competitions. My family just happened to be in business. , they want to help, and expanding the reach of the industry is a no-brainer."
Yun Yun likes to hear McGrath speak very much, because his idol uses the most simple vocabulary, speaks at a moderate speed, and deliberately maintains a state that can be understood by him. He sat down next to him and listened intently to the answer he had been waiting for for a long time.
"From the family capital injection to the live broadcast platform, I probably am not a pure professional player anymore, because many things always make me receive insider information that cannot be announced, such as the ST cheating incident. "
McGrath smiled and said: "No matter how the outside world denounces their cover-up, at least I know that ST's game developers really want to eliminate cheaters."
"Then why..." Yun Yun searched for a suitable word, "Why did they give up?"
"Because it was blocked." McGrath's tone was full of regret, "You are in a huge market, and when the interests of game companies are held hostage by businessmen, decisions cannot be made by any one party. ST has long been a stable player. The economic circle. The price paid for digging out all the cheaters is greater than the price paid for concealing it.”
"So when they gave up, I also gave up." McGrath's tone was relaxed, as if quitting ST was a simple decision, "I did lose interest in ST, but what they said was also very correct. ST, the experience is not good. It’s a purge. It’s not like Overwatch, a brand new game, any setbacks in the early stages of development can make it grow better, so when I saw the IOP and Overwatch announcement, I was very happy.”
The life cycle of e-sports games is very short. Five or ten years, they have passed their most glorious stage and are slowly declining. There will be newer and better games to replace them. Games are not like the real economy, where scars can be healed and slowly recovered, and they can always grow better and better in the future.
Businessmen can't wait for such a long recovery period. For a game, once the popularity drops, it is likely to face the exit from the stage of history.
"At least, the game I'm optimistic about has established a good positive image at the beginning, so I won't be disappointed again."
McGrath's explanation is very clear. He knows the whole story of the deal and cheating incident behind ST. He is also very relieved about Yun Yun's persistent concern, saying: "This is the first time I feel that fortunately, the official It proved that my warning to you was wrong. Your bravery and upholding of justice have not been let down by Overwatch."
Those who failed to fight against cheaters, those who were forced to suffer with cheaters, and those who were unable to struggle to see the hopeful world cup ruined by cheating, seem to be able to regain their faith in justice because of Overwatch's attitude .
And these were all brought by Yun Yun.
McGrath was able to obtain all the judgments of the IOP from the outside world. People who watched Overwatch changed from simply praising the strength of the team to following and discussing justice. Daylight's name was refreshed on social networking sites time and time again. It has aroused the interest of most e-sports fans.
Young, righteous, and self-improving for victory, he conquered the critical eyes of most people with his strength, perfectly interpreting the meaning of a strong e-sports player. He is as beautiful as a newborn hero, and will lead the entire e-sports world to the next glory.
Their eyes chased Daylight, just like chasing McGrath. They were sincere and sincere, and did not have any objections because of their nationality and skin color. Together with his past performances in ST, they were dug out and once again amazed.
"After all, the world needs more heroes." In these words, McGrath imitated the tone in the promotional video, and echoed in the quiet conference room with that pure joy.
Yun Yun finally felt relieved and said, "The reason why I am so persistent in wanting to know the reason for your withdrawal is because I thought you were threatened."
"Threat?" McGrath was not surprised, "For example, if you continue to participate in cheating incidents, your account will be blocked?"
Yun Yun was shocked when he heard such words, "McGrath, have you really been threatened like this?!"
McGrath, taken aback by the genuine concern he displayed, said, "No. If that were the case, I'd be suing the publisher instead of opting out."
This is just a rumor circulating in the public opinion after BME chose to withdraw from ST. Some said that all BME members were threatened by evil forces, some said that McGrath was coerced by cheating opponents, and some said that the accounts of BME players were controlled by game companies. Hands were forced to make a deal, and those speculations almost turned BME's withdrawal into a conspiracy behind the scenes. Even if McGrath repeatedly stated the subjectivity of their withdrawal, they could not stop these public opinions from overwhelming.
If BME hadn't used the equipment provided by the organizer to win the offline championship and then quit, perhaps the most mainstream statement here would have become - BME was afraid of the exposure of cheating facts and voluntarily quit in order to protect itself.
"I once said that quitting ST is not a simple loss of interest, not because I have been threatened, but because I am no longer suitable for such a fierce competition like ST."
ST is the most popular e-sports game in the world, even if it has a small audience in China due to the lack of an agent, it can't stop the domestic audience from climbing over the wall to support the winning team in their minds. It has been able to maintain its status as the king for many years because this game requires professional players to be highly concentrated and cannot make any mistakes, otherwise they will face a failure.
The brutality, intensity, and unpredictability of FPS games are perfectly reflected in this game.
McGrath said: "I know my peak form very well. I have reached the limit of e-sports probably in the final stage of ST professional competition. It was very difficult to win the offline game. It seemed that I let the team win. But my teammates made a lot of sacrifices and efforts, whether it was a comeback from behind or a one-to-three one-on-one, every time I recall it, I feel scared."
"It was also after that game that I seriously thought about whether I should quit this game..." McGrath glanced at his blue eyes, and his tone was low and confused, "Should I retire?"
Yun Yun looked at him and suddenly laughed, "McGrath, you can play games for at least ten more years."
His words seemed to be responding to McGrath's "retirement joke". However, his idol did not laugh.
McGrath's tone was extremely serious, and he said, "Daylight, don't you realize that my McRae is far inferior to you?"
"It's impossible." Yun Yun said firmly, "So, what I want to know more is, why did you let me in the finals just now?"
"Daylight, you seem to have misunderstood." McGrath was still smiling, but the smile was stunned for a moment, "E-sports itself is a field that can only be progressed by strength, I can't be humble to anyone, and I can't make a move. An act of weakness."
"I'm sorry." Yun Yun felt that McGrath seemed to be angry. He couldn't help but feel that he was being unreasonable, but he insisted on asking: "But I don't think BME should use a three-tank lineup all the time."
"We changed to Hanamura with dual output, but unfortunately the effect is not good." McGrath knew what he wanted to say, "If you know BME, you will know that the three-tank McCree strategy is our best hero configuration. , is also the hero configuration with the highest winning rate, we are not stubborn, but seeking stability. If you must ask me if I have made any concessions, then yes."
"I wouldn't use McCree all the time if it was anyone else."
And BME, under the configuration of three tanks, the most exciting and stable output position will always be McCree. His marksmanship is accurate and his headshot rate is very high. Whether it is the highly mobile Tracer or Ana who is not easy to be caught , could not escape McGrath's muzzle.
That's the McRae that McGrath is best at, and the audience loves the most.
"Because I don't like losing to others," he said.
Yun Yun was taken aback by this answer. In his heart, McGrath's McRae will never lose. Whether it is hero skills or marksmanship accuracy, there is no one in the whole world. The key to victory or defeat.
Now, McGrath said, he doesn't like losing to others, so he won't use McRae all the time.
"I don't understand..." Yun Yun felt that when facing McGrath, he didn't understand too much.
The conference room was quiet, McGrath didn't smile, but lost in thought. He seemed to be thinking about how to solve the inner confusion of the young champion.
Then, he asked, "Daylight, did we play before IOP?"
The answer is no.
Yun Yun has been standing on the far side of the ocean, looking up to his idol, following from ST to Overwatch. If he is the same as those fanatical gun lovers, he is unwilling to miss every wonderful performance of McGrath.
And the IOP game was the first time in his life that he personally experienced the marksmanship of the legendary gunslinger.
Of course McGrath knew the correct answer. He raised his eyebrows and continued to speak easily, "That is to say, you have never seen my gun anywhere except live broadcasts and game videos. I play in the field of e-sports games. I have played the game for a full ten years. According to the time, I am already a qualified veteran. In my career, I have seen countless professional players emerge until they retire. In the end, only me is left. Since the establishment of BME, a total of replacement I joined the team six times, my first partner, I have already thrown myself into a brand new world to start a new life, and in the end, I am still the only one left.”
McGrath smiled lightly and said: "Daylight, an old machine that has been in continuous operation for ten years, how can it be possible to live in the highlights forever? Mistakes like most people, deified me in my mind."
"Daylight, the winner never needs to be modest, and you have indeed defeated me with your strength. Your future will be very long, and the only thing I regret is that you missed two years, otherwise the world of e-sports should have appeared you name. However, it’s not too late for you to make a name for yourself in Overwatch. Like me, in two years’ time, you should consider retiring.”
This is the second time McGrath has mentioned "retirement," and even the dullest person in the world can tell that this is not a joke, but his heart.
Yun Yun became a little flustered. In his heart, McGrath is a god who will always stand on the field. He became nervous, and said in a confused tone and grammar: "No, McGrath, I don't want..."
"Shh—" McGrath put his index finger in front of his lips, "Don't say something like that, I'll be upset."
Then, he smiled calmly, as if retirement had been his plan all along.
"Perhaps, it is precisely because too many young people like you look up to me and place too much expectation and yearning on me, which makes me feel that the world still needs an unshakable myth for people to chase."
"Unfortunately, it's no longer me."