CH 55

In this match, JW smoothly secured a 2:0 victory.

Despite multiple attempts by BBG, they were unable to defeat the formidable opponent, JW.

During the match, the referee sister behind JW exhibited a wide range of facial expressions.

She was surprised that JW’s captain treated team members differently.

Relentless criticism towards Qone (Hao Qianyi), educating the twins when necessary, and a gentle tone towards Tang Shen – the referee covered her face.

In the past, supervising JW matches, how did no one notice their captain’s behavior?

Moreover, it seems Tang Shen is highly favored in JW, receiving various resources.

Even though this version favors a strong position for the mid-laner and a weak position for the top-laner, JW managed to establish a dominant four-protect-one strategy.

However, unlike other teams protecting their top-laner, JW’s protection revolves around the mid-laner.

The fifth player occasionally rushes to the mid lane to provide support, the third player always stands around the mid-laner to protect during team fights, and the first player even sacrifices their resources.

As for the fourth player, they practically live in the mid lane, roaming every few minutes and leaving BBG’s mid-laner frustrated.

As a result, Jiang Min faced numerous insurmountable disadvantages, enjoying special treatment in a version where almost all mid-laners have to give up resources.

Regardless, the first battle was won, a cause for celebration.

As the victors, JW needs to send a player for an interview.

Without a doubt, the team leader and manager pointed at Jiang Min.

Jiang Min, bewildered, pointed at himself, “Me?”

Fan Dadi said, “Of course, you are the MVP of these two matches and a newcomer to our team. The interview should be you, Sugar God.”

In the past at CC, everyone was not talkative, so interviews were generally refused.

Later on, they decided to determine the interviewee for each match in the simplest way possible – by rock-paper-scissors.

Jiang Min thought JW would have their unique way of choosing interviewees, similar to rock-paper-scissors.

Unexpectedly, they were directly appointed by the team leader and manager.

However, thinking it over, he was indeed the right person for the interview in various aspects.

So, Jiang Min obediently followed the staff to the interview location.

The host was Shang Ting, a seasoned WPL commentator.

“Now, we have our post-match interview,” Shang Ting said, holding a microphone in a burgundy suit.

Jiang Min held another microphone, one hand behind his back, expressionless.

“Our guest for this post-match interview is JW’s mid-laner, Sugar God,” Shang Ting introduced briefly, “Sugar God, say hello to everyone.”

Whether fans, professional players, or staff, everyone at WPL was accustomed to calling Jiang Min “Sugar God.”

Although Jiang Min had not won a world championship, his skills were widely recognized.

“Hello, everyone. I’m JW’s mid-laner, Lollipop,” Jiang Min said without any fluctuations.

Post-match interviews were a headache for many players after turning professional because most of them got nervous in front of the camera.

Jiang Min pretended to be calm but was still a bit uneasy inside.

Even after four years in the industry and countless interviews, he still couldn’t get used to the feeling under the spotlight.

“Firstly, congratulations to JW for winning the opening match of this season,” Shang Ting smiled formally. “Sugar God, what are your feelings about this match?”

The hand behind Jiang Min’s back moved his fingers a few times, “Well… my teammates played well.”

Shang Ting: “Oh, it seems Sugar God has a good impression of joining JW recently?”

Jiang Min: “Yes.”

Shang Ting sweated.

Being a host at WPL was not easy; some players were interview wizards, creating awkward moments.

Sugar God seemed to be one of them.

“What does ‘yes’ mean? Please say a few more words!”

Shang Ting composed himself, “Let’s talk about this match. From this match, we can infer that Sugar God, your position within the team should be quite high. Teammates provide you with resources and support very timely.”

Jiang Min: “Hmm… it’s okay.”

Shang Ting: “…. Everyone says this version is unfavorable for the mid-laner. Is there any special tactical consideration in your team’s decision to allocate resources to you?”

Jiang Min: “Not really. They just want to give, and I take it.”

Shang Ting almost spat blood, awkwardly smiling, “Well… Sugar God, currently in the team, who is the person you have the best relationship with?”

Jiang Min: “Hmm… everyone is good. If I have to choose the best, it’s probably Yu Dui.”

Yu Hao, in the backstage lounge, watched the live interview and nearly wagged his tail in excitement.

Shang Ting: “Alright, we have seen Yu Dui’s full support in the game many times. It seems like you have a great relationship. Now, the last question…”

Jiang Min sighed in relief, thinking it’s finally the last question.

“I heard that Sugar God, you have a ‘big fish pond,’ and many players are willing to be the fish in your pond. How did you manage to socialize to achieve this effect?” Shang Ting asked with a smile.

This was a fan’s question, slightly modified and asked in person.

Post-match interviews usually include serious questions about the game and some interesting ones to lighten the atmosphere.

Jiang Min: “…”

What kind of question is this?! How is he supposed to answer???

After some thought, Jiang Min could only say, “Actually, I never socialize. They just take the initiative to interact with me.”

Shang Ting: “…”

The audience was silent for a moment, then erupted into cheers and applause.

The live chat was lively as well.

【Hahaha, “I don’t socialize, they just take the initiative to interact with me!” I’ll remember this, hahaha】

【Sugar God is really an interview genius!】

【Can we see Shang Ting’s current mental shadow area?】

【U1S1, being a host at WPL is really not easy, players are conversation killers one after another】

Shang Ting recovered and quickly concluded, “Alright, thank you, Sugar God, for accepting our interview. That concludes the post-match interview segment. Please look forward to the upcoming games.”

As the camera moved away and the lights dimmed, both Shang Ting and Jiang Min breathed a sigh of relief.

Jiang Min was relieved that the interview was finally over and he could go rest.

Shang Ting was relieved because interviewing “genius” players was mentally exhausting, and he needed a break.

With JW’s first victory, Manager Shen was very happy and decided to treat everyone to a meal.

After a satisfying meal, the team returned to the base on the team bus.

Although they won the match, reviewing and analyzing the game was still necessary.

In the training room of JW’s WOC branch, players sat around, with Coach Bai Yin, Assistant Coach Xiao Nan, and Analyst Xiao Wu standing in the middle. A large screen was at the center.

“Look here, Mouse, why did you abandon Yabo and go to support Sugar God?” Bai Yin pressed the pause button. “Chaos Angel has thick health and can evade damage with [Descent]. What’s the point of protecting him?”

The screen showed Qian Yi abandoning the team’s top-laner to support Jiang Min in the late-game team fight of the first match.

“Demon Assassin has high damage but is fragile. As the third player, your job is to coordinate with teammates to provide him with enough output environment. What happened? Yabo died a few seconds after diving in, luckily Sugar God’s output was enough, or you would have lost your heads!” Bai Yin said.

Qian Yi shrugged, “Sorry, Coach. I couldn’t resist going over to Sugar God’s side when I saw him.”

Bai Yin shook his head, pointing to the other three players besides Jiang Min, “And you three, are you playing the ‘four-protect-one’ strategy for the mid-laner? No! We picked Demon Assassin to carry the team; you guys all went to support the mid-laner… I’m not saying it’s bad to focus on the mid-laner. I know Sugar God is trustworthy in the mid-lane. But, we can’t go against the meta!”

The players listened attentively.

“Fortunately, today’s opponent is the relatively weaker BBG. If you face a strong team, you would have been crushed!” Bai Yin sighed.

Yu Hao spoke up, “Understood, Coach. We’ll pay attention in the future.”

Bai Yin sighed, “It’s not enough that you understand. You need to make your players understand. Especially you, Yabo. As the top-laner, you need to be ‘selfish.’ Do you know what ‘selfish’ means? It means you take the resources that belong to you. If you don’t, in this meta, you won’t be able to carry, and we won’t win!”

Wei Yabo obediently nodded, “Okay, Old Bai, got it.”

“Sugar God played well today. Just be careful to control these guys in the future. They are too centered around you, and that’s not a good thing,” Bai Yin reminded.

“Yeah, I understand,” Jiang Min responded.

The coach’s analysis made sense.

The players provided him with too many resources, and such a playstyle would be a disadvantage in the current meta. Jiang Min himself was well aware of this.

After the game analysis, the players still couldn’t rest. They had a livestream to complete.

They decided to do some livestreaming while playing ranked games, considering it as a way to accumulate streaming hours.

Since the next match was several days away, they had enough time to prepare.

As soon as Jiang Min started the livestream, fans who had already subscribed to his channel quickly flooded in.

【Good evening, Sugar God~】

【Congratulations on the first victory!】

【Sugar God’s position in JW is really high, a world of difference compared to CC】

【The one in front, are you intentionally trying to stir things up?】

Even before starting the ranked games, the barrage was already lively.

Jiang Min selectively ignored comments mentioning CC.

When it came to his former team, he didn’t want to make any comments.

After reaching the top spot on the Chinese server with his main account, he decided not to play on it anymore. Therefore, he logged in with a smurf account named “Riding the Waves Together.”

Yu Hao also created another smurf account to duo queue with him.

The duo queue featuring JW’s 24th position seemed to have become a regular occurrence in Sugar God’s livestream.

Viewers in the livestream chat had expressed a desire to see different combinations, mentioning that while the JW 24th position duo was good, watching it too often could become monotonous.

In response, Yu Hao sneered.

So what if he monopolized Sugar? They, as active professional players, didn’t rely on livestreaming for a living. If it weren’t for the club’s requirements, they wouldn’t bother with livestreaming.

He wouldn’t indulge those viewers by letting Sugar God duo with someone else.

Hmph! He was the master of the fish pond. If other fish wanted to join, they could go to the side!

Jiang Min and Yu Hao’s duo queue went smoothly, and the night passed in this manner.

The next day, the JW team members, just waking up, were having lunch in the cafeteria and feeling a bit drowsy when they suddenly received a notification from the manager.

“What? We’re forming a youth training team?” Qian Yi dropped his chopsticks in shock.

—–

Author’s note: Shang (the host): … Too difficult, too difficult.

I always feel like many professional players are awkward during interviews, but it’s also cute hahaha.

There’s something going on today, so the update will be short for now _(:з」∠)_

1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you ️”