【@Resurgence of Eternity Esports: #2024 roeCN All-Star Event#
All-Star voting is now officially open! Cast your vote for your favorite player / host / caster / streamer!
This year’s event adds an invitational tournament. The three streamers with the most votes will get the chance to compete in a 2v2v2 match alongside the three most popular pro players. ……】
On October 18th, a Weibo post about the event voting unexpectedly climbed the trending list.
Trending #5: #AllStarVoting#. Trending #2: #YuX AngelYi#.
Under the rapidly rising keyword, the comment section had already turned into a battlefield.
【Live update: current top player, yux, 35,005 votes, top streamer, AngelYi, 34,020 votes. Both leading by a mile.】
【Wait, seriously? yux and AngelYi on the same team? Are they finally going to actually meet?】
【The most anticipated episode of all time. I can’t even imagine how many screenshots my phone is going to take that day. 【Heart】【Heart】】
【What a god-tier move. The All-Star event is in February, but voting opens in October. Couldn’t you wait until after Worlds? To you, the players fighting for the region are just tools for generating hype, right?】
【yux fans are still being too polite. Just call the leech of an event out for riding yux’s coattails already.】
【I usually just watch matches and don’t follow streamers. Who is this AngelYi? Why is everyone so hyped to see him in the same frame as yux?】
【He’s just an entertainment streamer. Tons of fans, but most of them are here for his face. He doesn’t know yux at all. People want to see them together purely because they’re both good-looking. 【Facepalm】】
【What does a fan-imagined ship have to do with the streamer himself?】
【Here we go with the shipping again. If AngelYi weren’t constantly clinging to yux for attention, nobody would care about him as a streamer. Has yux ever once acknowledged him? Hope your cheap marketing buries you soon.】
【A streamer voting for his favorite player is “clinging for attention” in your eyes? Some of you should really watch your mouths. Careful the karma doesn’t come back around and your team loses to YT tomorrow. After all these years, still a perpetual quarterfinalist.】
Social media was already in an uproar. And one of the people at the center of the storm, Nan Zhiyi, had no idea any of it was happening.
He had just turned his entire wardrobe upside down and sadly discovered that the last wearable pair of pants he owned had also been chewed to shreds by his bird.
At eight o’clock sharp, Nan Zhiyi sat down in front of his computer in the ripped jeans his beloved pet had so meticulously “customized” for him, adjusted his gear, and started the stream right on time.
【ROE / Just messing around】
He had barely finished typing out the stream title when a massive wave of bullet comments flooded the chat:
【Evening, Xiao Yi! Mom’s here!】
【No camera? No camera? No camera?】
【Am I seeing this right? Isn’t it only the 19th? Has our streamer had a change of heart?】
【The image of the streamer rage-streaming sixteen hours straight at the end of last month is still fresh in my mind.】
【Whoa, Xiao Yi, are you going to cast the CG match later?】
“Evening, evening.” Nan Zhiyi didn’t stream much these days, so he had to squint a little to make out the words in the dazzling barrage. “I’ve got some things to deal with at the end of the month, so I’m just banking my stream hours in advance… No, I won’t be watching the match. Just messing around… The camera? It seems a bit broken, so I won’t be turning it on today.”
That last sentence was said with absolute finality.
While he replied to the comments, Nan Zhiyi quickly pinned a little animated chibi avatar over the spot where the camera feed would normally be.
The chibi had messy white hair and big black eyes that blinked innocently, with a pair of fluffy ears perched on its head.
It was a virtual avatar his fans had designed based on his in-game character, and at a glance it really did look a bit like him.
Nan Zhiyi himself had dyed his hair a creamy gray, and his round, bright eyes drooped naturally at the corners.
He had first shown his face at the annual livestream event of the Stars platform. Back then he was still a nobody streamer with barely over 500,000 followers. He didn’t stream often, and mostly used his account “AngelYi” to post short, funny clips of himself researching sneaky off-meta strategies, baiting unsuspecting opponents into utter despair.
The most common comment under those posts used to be: 【You’d better pray I never find out what you look like, or I’ll come hunt you down in real life :)】
But on the day of the annual event, the viewer count on Stars’ official stream exploded.
A lot of people tuned in specifically to catch a glimpse of his real face. And after seeing him, everyone had the exact same thought:
—How can someone who looks this good, with such an innocent face, play so deviously in-game?
That annual stream marked the start of “AngelYi” rocketing to fame. In just a few short years, his Stars following passed 18 million, firmly cementing him as a top-tier streamer.
But despite blowing up, Nan Zhiyi stayed true to his roots, still devoted to his “research.” Otherwise the 45 hours of monthly streaming required by his contract wouldn’t so often be left half-unfinished by month’s end.
The game he mainly played was the hottest title of the era, ROE, full name Resurgence of Eternity, a Western-fantasy 4v4 action competitive game.
Since its launch six years ago, ROE had stayed wildly popular, its pro tournaments drawing hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide.
【No camera again… How can a streamer with a 37°C mouth [1] body-temperature warm, meaning he’s normally so sweet-talking jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2133339_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2133339_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); say such cold-hearted words?】
【Xiao Yi, what’s the big thing at the end of the month? Going on a trip with friends?】
【Genuine question, AngelYi, why did you vote for yux and then delete it?】
Nan Zhiyi was in the middle of opening the game client when, out of the corner of his eye, he caught something troubling in the fast-scrolling barrage.
Sure enough, in less than a minute, a few scattered sparks had set off a full-blown war:
【The streamer can vote for whoever he wants. Since when does voting for yux need your permission?】
【Here we go with yux again. Never misses a chance to ride that wave. Unbeatable.】
【Who’s riding whose wave? If yux’s fans can’t be bothered to watch their own team’s matches, why are they barging into someone else’s stream?】
【yux fans are weirdly fixated on our streamer.】
【What’s the matter? Brave enough to start drama but not to own up to it? Wasn’t it AngelYi who secretly used his main Weibo to vote yux for Player of the Year, then deleted it, just waiting for people to notice?】
Nan Zhiyi: “…………”
So exhausting. He’d known it would come to this.
—To this day, Nan Zhiyi still has no idea how his fans, as an ordinary entertainment streamer’s fanbase, ended up at war with the fans of CG.yux, the league’s Rookie of the Year and its newly crowned top-tier player.
In all these years, he had never exchanged a single word with the man.
In everyone’s eyes, the two of them should have had absolutely no connection.
As things stood now, though, the conflict between the two camps had escalated to the point where any encounter was bound to set off a bloodbath.
He pretended not to see the drama unfolding in the chat and launched the game. But fate had other plans. The instant the game loaded, a huge pop-up took over three-quarters of his screen.
【YT vs CG, Reigning Champions, or the New Kings?】
CG: this year’s roeCN Spring and Summer champions, the only CN team to reach the Worlds semifinals, the region’s last lone hope, now facing last year’s defending champions, YT of the EU region.
Beneath the banner was a live feed of the ongoing match. The second game had just entered the pick phase, and the director had cut to the blue side’s main carry, who was locking in his hero.
CG.yux, with that expressionless face framed by his black-and-white team jersey, instantly filled everyone’s view.
The score up top was just as striking: CG 0–1 YT.
Nan Zhiyi’s heart skipped. He slapped the pop-up shut.
“So…” He touched his nose and casually started chatting with the comments, as if nothing had happened. “What does everyone want to watch today? Solo queue? Brawl? Or…”
His mouse cursor drifted aimlessly across the screen.
Ding ding ding.
The in-game friend-message notification chose that exact moment to chime.
Nan Zhiyi breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at his in-game friend list. It showed two messages from 【WD.Pigeon】.
But by the time he registered what those two lines said and tried to bury them, it was far too late.
【WD.Pigeon: Your yux has a match. Aren’t you going to watch it?】
【WD.Pigeon: Oh right, want a bite of this CG drama? Fresh out of the oven.】
Nan Zhiyi: “…………”
Two short sentences. Like a bolt from the blue.
He took a deep breath, quickly typed four characters plus two punctuation marks, and hit send.
【AngelYi: !! I’m live】
After a long pause, the reply came back as a long string of dots: “………………”
【WD.Pigeon: Hold on, it’s only the 19th. Have you lost your mind? Why are you streaming??】
【WD.Pigeon: And if you’re live, why didn’t you update your status?!】
【AngelYi: Is it not possible that I just came online two seconds ago?】
【WD.Pigeon: …】
【WD.Pigeon: I’m done for.】
Nan Zhiyi replied coolly: 【Yes, you’re done for.】
Pigeon, real name Song Baiyu, was a friend he’d made years ago, who later went on to play professionally for the WD team.
Because he was always accidentally letting slip various scraps of pro-scene insider news mid-stream, people had nicknamed him “the Leaky Ladle” [2] a slotted spoon, slang for someone who can’t keep a secret, so every bit of gossip just “leaks” out of him jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2133339_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2133339_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.
Every year during the transfer window, the viewer count on his stream would multiply, packed with fans and marketing accounts hoping he’d spill where their favorite players were headed.
By now the chat had exploded into a sea of question marks:
【????????】
【? Am I seeing this right? What do you mean “your yux”? YUX??】
【That’s a pro player, right? What does he mean by “CG drama”? Isn’t CG still playing their match?】
【LMAOOO even Pigeon knows the streamer never streams mid-month hahahaha】
【Whoa, “your yux”?? Does the pro player know some inside scoop?】
【Suddenly shipping them, what’s going on?? So, streamer, do you really not know yux? Confess now for a lighter sentence!!】
ROE doesn’t have a message-recall feature. Not that recalling would help at this point. In about ten minutes, this stream clip would probably be flying across the front pages of every major marketing account.
Fortunately, maybe because Pigeon’s reaction was just too funny and tragic, the hostility in the chat wasn’t as thick as before.
【WD.Pigeon: …Sigh. Let’s just pretend I farted just now.】
【WD.Pigeon: Duo queue? Let me carry you up the ladder.】
Nan Zhiyi thought for a moment, then replied: 【So diligent? Still grinding in the off-season?】
That one stung Pigeon a little.
After all, half a month ago, in the Round of 16 group stage, WD had been thoroughly thrashed by every opponent they faced and slunk home in disgrace, becoming the fastest CN team eliminated from the tournament.
【WD.Pigeon: …You call it grinding when I’m playing with you? This is what I call hauling a noob up the ranks!】
【WD.Pigeon: Get in the room!】
Nan Zhiyi chuckled and accepted Pigeon’s duo invite.
Pigeon’s in-game character was a green-haired punk rocker, a stark contrast to the white-haired, fluffy-eared character standing beside him.
“What position do you want to play?” Pigeon asked, opening his in-game mic.
In ROE, by role responsibility, there are four positions: Commander (support), Main Carry, Secondary Carry, and Tank.
Pigeon’s position on WD and the one Nan Zhiyi mainly played were both support roles. Players of different roles tend to befriend each other, but supports especially love teaming up with their own kind.
The two dropped into a Diamond-ranked match. Pigeon got Main Carry, AngelYi got Secondary Carry.
Pigeon immediately locked in the high-risk, high-reward Witch, while Nan Zhiyi hovered the Archer, a class that snowballs hard once ahead.
The two gleaming pro and streamer badges seemed to intimidate their random teammates. The other two quickly locked in a dedicated tank and a frontline bruiser.
Twenty-five minutes later.
Nan Zhiyi stared at the post-match stats, Main Carry sitting at 1/7/1, Secondary Carry at 1/4/2, and let out a melancholy sigh. “Weren’t you going to carry me?”
Pigeon: “…………”
Pigeon: “I’ll play support next game.”
Then he added, “Don’t fight me for it.”
The chat had already erupted in laughter:
【The random teammates must be devastated. They finally queue into a streamer AND a pro, and then THIS happens hahahaha】
【And this is a Diamond match too. The pro’s account lost so much MMR from all those scrims.】
【This is literally me and my friend confidently locking carries LOL】
【If the pro keeps this up he’s going to tank his own market value before the transfer window hahaha】
Nan Zhiyi felt both helpless and amused.
During the queue break, camera still off, he openly picked up his phone to take a look.
His phone had been muted and left running on the 【ROE 2024 World Invitational, CG vs YT】 stream.
On the scoreboard now, it clearly read CG 0–2 YT.
Nan Zhiyi felt as if a hand had clamped tight around his heart.
Just then Pigeon started nagging him. “Hurry up and ready up. What’s wrong? Don’t want to queue with me anymore?”
【CG 3–2 YT】 Nan Zhiyi said, “No, just replying to a message.”
He let out a soft breath, closed the stream on his phone, and queued for the next game.
Over the next three hours, he played five more matches with Pigeon. This time Nan Zhiyi made a point of locking Main Carry first, and cleanly won all five.
The chat filled with laughter and cheers:
【Who still dares to slander our streamer? Speak up now, haters!!】
【First time catching the stream. His carry play is actually this good? I always thought he was just a meme streamer.】
【This entertainment streamer has some serious skills.】
【At 22, he’s right at the prime age to go pro. Any team needing a Main Carry, come shop in this stream!】
【@WD, you hearing this? My boss is telling you to come buy him out!】
After being carried for five straight games, Pigeon said he needed a break and left the duo room. Nan Zhiyi did the math and realized he still had about 10 hours of streaming left for the month.
“I’ll stop here for today,” he told the chat. “I’ll keep streaming this week, tomorrow night at eight. Good night, everyone.”
The chat flooded with 【Night, baby】 and 【See you then】.
Nan Zhiyi ended the stream, took off his headset, grabbed his phone off the desk, and flopped back onto the sofa in his room.
He lay there with his eyes closed for a while, feeling his heart thump.
After a moment, Nan Zhiyi fished his phone out from under himself and reopened the official tournament stream.
【CG 3–2 YT】
On screen, the MVP of the fifth game was being displayed: CG.yux, 8/0/3, DMG 35%.
—A reverse sweep, all the way back from 0–2 down.
The moment he saw the score, Nan Zhiyi felt a strange wave of relief.
The heavy weight that had pressed on his heart all evening was simply gone.
Nan Zhiyi opened WeChat and messaged the contact labeled “Pigeon”: 【What were you saying about CG earlier?】
Within half an hour of the stream ending, a single post rose above all the other match threads on the ROE forums and pinned itself to the very top of the front page.
【Anyone watching streamer AngelYi’s stream? A pro in his chat leaked that something’s going on with CG】
0L (OP)
So is that rumor true? yux has friction with someone on his team, and that’s why CG’s run at Worlds has been so rocky this year?
Also, does anyone have inside info, do yux and AngelYi really not know each other at all? Judging by Pigeon’s very suggestive tone, that doesn’t seem to be the case, does it?
The post went up at 10:29:31 PM.
Just 3 seconds later, the first reply appeared.
1L
I actually have a source. A friend of mine works in operations at CG. According to her, those two aren’t strangers at all, they met a long time ago. They’re just pretending not to know each other.
If you don’t believe me, a leak might come out soon. We’ll see then.
Also, knowing each other ≠ getting along… and judging by what the insider said, it sounds more like there’s a grudge between them = =
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