Although the three major platforms were prepared to pour in massive resources—this being the first-ever League of Legends platform league—people were indeed quite interested at the start. But once they heard that Brother Infinite Borders didn't plan to participate, a lot of the fun instantly disappeared.
To be conservative, though, Brother Infinite Borders is a world top-three mid laner. Showing up to a platform streamer tournament under those circumstances would indeed feel a bit beneath him.
There really wasn't much need for it.
Still, since this was the first time the three major platforms were doing this together, teams that were bored or interested could take a look. At other times, it was better to just stay in Brother Infinite Borders' livestream.
Miss one highlight, and you'd miss something big.
But just half a day later, an uncertain piece of news suddenly started spreading across Weibo trending topics, forums, and Tieba.
The three-platform league's commentator lineup was tentatively set as… Brother Infinite Borders.
"Holy shit, anyone got confirmed info? Is this real?"
"If it's real, that's actually pretty interesting. Brother Infinite Borders playing would be overkill—any pro dropping down would just massacre everyone. But commentating is different. The entertainment value would be maxed out."
"Hahaha, if this is real I'm already laughing. Imagine Brother Infinite Borders saying 'what the hell is this garbage play' during a match, and the chat firing back with 'you do it then.' That'd be hilarious."
"True. And since there's no camera on the caster desk during commentary, some people might not even realize it's Brother Infinite Borders up there."
"Damn, a pro of this caliber commentating instantly raises the level of the caster desk. The whole vibe changes. After that, will it feel weird listening to Wawa and Miller yelling from down there?"
"Definitely. Going from frugal to luxury is easy; going back isn't. Honestly, most LPL casters are just average—really not great. Aside from former pros turned casters, the rest just shout without any real understanding."
"Not sure about others, but I'm really looking forward to this. When does the platform league start officially?"
"Looks like July 15th… holy shit, this schedule is insane. Every time TES doesn't have a match, there's one here. You're telling me there's no story behind this? I don't believe it."
"This is obviously aimed at Brother Infinite Borders. The schedule's absurd. I seriously suspect someone high up went to the TES club to personally invite him."
"Actually yeah, someone spotted Brother Infinite Borders having lunch with Guo Hao at the TES club earlier today. Looks like they were probably talking about this."
"Damn, is Brother Infinite Borders' influence really that big?"
"Are you kidding? Didn't Naraka: Bladepoint already cash in on this? As soon as they held a tournament and Brother Infinite Borders joined, the hype exploded. Plus the game quality was solid and the devs fixed things—boom, straight back to its peak."
"That's exactly it. The three platforms teamed up because of the power of an example. With Brother Infinite Borders involved, the popularity is guaranteed to be even higher."
"Looks like that's really the case…"
"Then I guess we can actually look forward to the matches now. I barely paid attention before—it felt pointless. Streamer matches are weak, and retired pros aren't that exciting."
"July 15th is still so far away though!"
"No worries. Since this is confirmed, we can look forward to the league matches next. Absolute slaughter of RNG!"
"RNG's probably getting taken out 2–0. They still had Bin during spring, and even with the 4–1 split push they couldn't win. Breathe just isn't on that level."
"Yeah, RNG is a thing of the past. The only true all-Chinese roster now is TES—the real Ultimate All-Chinese."
"RNG just keeps marketing nonstop and never delivers results…"
"Still, I've never imagined Brother Infinite Borders on the caster desk. Commentating isn't just about game knowledge—you need a sharp tongue too. Wonder how his is."
"That's nothing to worry about. Just watch his streams—he can talk nonstop."
Online discussions were all over the place. Meanwhile, Manager Xiong, who had just returned to headquarters, was completely shocked that very day.
As expected, pushing this project was crucial. It wasn't a wasted trip at all—look at this heat, it's skyrocketing again.
Haha, thank god this run was worth it.
That evening, President Chen even came by his office, patted him on the shoulder.
"Well done! I didn't expect such flexibility. Commentating is way more entertaining than playing—it's a whole new experience. I knew when President Xiong makes a move, it's different."
"President Xiong?" Manager Xiong froze.
Did that mean the vacant position might go to him next?
He'd been in operations for five or six years already. By seniority alone, a promotion made sense.
All that was left was delivering tangible results.
"Make sure you put extra effort into this project. With all three platforms cooperating, we need to seize as much traffic as possible. Use Brother Infinite Borders—this trump card—properly."
As Manager Xiong was pondering, he instantly understood.
As long as this edition was run well… he'd be moving to a higher floor.
Now filled with fighting spirit, Manager Xiong finally had a direction. Otherwise, he'd really just rot away in operations.
After President Chen left, he opened Lin Fan's livestream.
Looking at the backend data, a satisfied smile appeared.
Viewership: eleven million.
Real-time viewers: 370,000.
"This is Brother Infinite Borders' popularity. This is his traffic—the most absurdly influential pro at this stage."
"If he were a sales streamer, his daily income would be astronomical…" Just thinking about it made his scalp tingle.
There was no doubt fans would spend money.
But Brother Infinite Borders would never do sales streams.
So the real task was figuring out how to amplify this traffic further.
Without question, once Brother Infinite Borders appeared on the caster desk, he'd attract tons of new fans. This edition was basically a free win.
After all, the idea of not playing and instead commentating came from Brother Infinite Borders himself. When he first heard he wouldn't play, Manager Xiong's heart had sunk—he thought the mission was doomed.
Who knew it'd turn into light at the end of the tunnel.
Haha, today really felt damn good.
The other two platforms were just as excited.
Huya finally breathed a sigh of relief. At least all those resources weren't wasted—otherwise Bilibili would've reaped everything.
Soon, many streamers finalized their rosters, riding this momentum. The most eye-catching was Uzi's Lulu team.
Top lane: Letme.
Jungle: XinYi.
Mid: Zzitai.
ADC: Uzi
Support: Baolan.
No matter how you looked at it, the roster strength was maxed out—all former pros.
They might be washed now, but people were still eager to see them perform.
As for MLXG—why wasn't he invited? Because he'd already teamed up with Huya streamers. Xiao Chao Meng was their top laner, and once the team formed, they started scrimming everywhere.
Douyu's lineup wasn't weak either.
After all, they still had Worlds champion Imp—who claimed everyone else was just a bunch of scrubs.
These retired pros only had one goal here: win it all. Getting eliminated by random teams would be humiliating.
Meanwhile, those amateur teams were thinking the same thing—if they crushed former pros, they'd gain massive attention.
Combined with platform resources, that was an instant takeoff.
As a result, over thirty teams signed up for this three-platform league.
Originally, the plan was sixteen teams. The extras would be cut. Matches took too long, so a brutal but realistic filter was used: popularity. No popularity, you're out.
That was the platform's call.
Simply put—traffic comes first.
Sometimes, strength alone can't change the situation.
As days passed under the anticipation of all three platforms—
July 6th.
5:00 PM.
IG versus V5.
Whether Rookie was venting frustration over IG dragging out contract negotiations and trying to lowball him, he went absolutely godlike.
Using Syndra mid, he dealt explosive damage. By 23 minutes, Mole was already 0–4.
The gap was terrifying. At 27 minutes, Syndra deleted Zeri with her ultimate. V5 secured Baron and ended in one push.
Game two, IG first-picked Syndra. Rookie countered with Orianna. Despite heavy early pressure, he still gained a lane advantage.
In teamfights, he played beautifully—one ultimate pulled three people, effortlessly securing the fight.
It was clear: Syndra looks completely different depending on who's playing her.
A strong champion doesn't guarantee strong results.
It's all about the ID.
If this were Brother Infinite Borders' Syndra, Rookie's Orianna would've been bullied into oblivion—no way he'd have such an easy lane.
But… the two of them would clash soon, right?
After being stomped earlier, V5 should've improved by now.
Even LNG figured out ways to study TES—V5, being stronger, should have more answers.
It felt a bit like EDG back in their dominant days.
Every LPL team was thinking about how to beat TES.
Or rather—how to beat Brother Infinite Borders.
It was a headache.
Target his champions? Too many backups—he'd always pull something new, and it'd work.
Gank mid? Camp all day and catch nothing—how could that not be despairing?
Ignore him? He'd just slaughter mid lane outright.
It had always been TES' defining threat.
And if you target mid, what about bot?
JackeyLove is the type who collapses if targeted—but if ignored, he runs wild.
This was the dilemma many teams faced. No solution.
As for IG vs V5 game two, it was effectively over at draft—it just took thirty minutes to bury it.
Without star players, IG had fallen from a powerhouse to a bottom-tier team.
The star on their jersey… had lost all meaning.
Since the match ended within two hours, the interview segment was extended a bit. TES vs RNG was scheduled for 7 PM.
Which gave everyone more time to eat dog food.
After all, today's interviewer was Xiao Yu.
Everyone instantly understood.
No wonder Rookie played so hard—he wanted to feed everyone dog food on stage with his girlfriend. You thick-browed, big-eyed Meat Kun—what evil intentions!
Everyone laughed through the interview, and before they knew it, it ended.
As the clock struck seven—
TES vs RNG officially entered the preparation phase.
The LPL caster desk featured the same trio as before: Guan Zeyuan, Rita, and XiaoSan.
With players not yet on stage, the camera first cut to the casters.
"Today's match is one everyone's been waiting for. TES and RNG clashed in the spring finals, and it still wasn't enough. Let's see what kind of showdown we get today."
"Will RNG reclaim their pride, or will TES continue to hold first place?"
"I think I can share my view," XiaoSan said.
Hearing this, Rita subconsciously glanced downward—then quietly looked back.
"I'm leaning toward TES. Their form is excellent—just a few days ago, they beat UP effortlessly for a six-game winning streak.
RNG's form is also solid, so I'm predicting TES 2–1 RNG," Rita said.
"I'm similar—2–1. Actually, maybe 2–0. I can't see where TES would lose," XiaoSan added.
Guan Zeyuan was shocked. "You're all this confident in TES?"
"Do you have a different take?" XiaoSan glanced at him. "Never mind—you'd better not say it."
"Yeah, better if I don't," Guan Zeyuan laughed, rubbing his nose.
The chat instantly exploded.
"'All'? What does that 'all' mean?"
"It's over—TES doomed!"
"What does Guan mean by 'all this confident'?"
"Holy shit, the curse already landed before the match even started. No wonder V5 won so easily…"
"IG was just outclassed. But TES? That's a different story!"
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup