From the player culture to the derivative IP IG and RNG, the two teams of “Gratitude Game” are upgraded
How is the “E-sports Spring Festival Gala” made?
Those who are familiar with the e-sports circle, especially the League of Legends (LPL) circle, must be familiar with the term “e-sports Spring Festival Gala”. This concept originated from the “grass and grievances” of the IG and RNG leagues in recent years, but now it seems to be upgraded to an “e-sports Spring Festival Gala” by the official LPL event with great fanfare.
On February 7, the last game of the 2021LPL spring regular season before the Spring Festival ended smoothly. The two sides of the competition are the protagonists of the “E-sports Spring Festival Gala” in the past few years-IG and RNG.
In the first game, the IG team defeated the RNG team and got a good start. The mid laner Rookie won the MVP with a perfect record of 7/0/6. In the second game, the RNG team moved back to one game with Ming’s outstanding performance. In the last game, after 32 minutes of fighting, RNG won the “E-sports Spring Festival Gala” and Xiaohu, who played well, won the MVP.
In fact, attention to the “E-sports Spring Festival Gala” began as early as a month ago. When the 2021LPL spring match detailed table was released, many people had discovered this special schedule. This time, in addition to the specific match-up arrangement, LPL also launched a series of online activities around the concept of “e-sports Spring Festival Gala”, seemingly deliberately “righting up” this concept, which was originally just a stalk, and making it a possible future. The official official event of the expansion.
When was the “E-sports Spring Festival Gala” born?
“Dual protagonists” in the Spring Festival Gala that has been in love and killed for three years
The concept of “e-sports Spring Festival Gala” is not complicated to understand-nothing more than a duel between IG and RNG, the “destined enemy” in the LPL regular season.
As early as 2018, the concept of “e-sports Spring Festival Gala” had not yet appeared, but every time the IG and RNG teams faced off, even if it was just a regular season duel that did not affect the overall situation, the attention was quite amazing. There is no him, because of the two teams, one is to win the spring and summer league championships that year, and also won the mid-season championship (MSI) championship, the most popular RNG. The other is IG, who lost 2 to 3 to RNG in the spring and summer league finals, but won the first global finals championship in LPL history in the 2018 League of Legends global finals.
It can be said that the whole year of 2018 is a year when the two teams RNG and IG complement each other, and it is also a year when the two teams “love each other and kill each other”. This year, from the league to the MSI and global finals two world games, It is extremely rare that all the championship titles are divided between the two teams, which also laid the groundwork for the birth of the concept of “e-sports Spring Festival Gala” in the future.
Waiting for the time to come to the 2019 LPL Spring, the regular season confrontation between IG and RNG has attracted a frenzy of online ratings. Among the many “playing terrier” comments, compared with the concepts of “Battle of Tianwang Mountain” and “Champion Derby” that are common in the comments of various e-sports and sports events, they have clear e-sports elements and local characteristics. At the same time, the term “e-sports Spring Festival Gala” with a bit of humor was able to quickly stand out.
Thus, the concept of “e-sports Spring Festival Gala” was officially born.
Of course, the “e-sports Spring Festival Gala” has truly become a “household” concept in the LPL competition circle. It is also due to the official commentary of the tournament, the continuous display of various media during the last two years of the league, and the intentional or unintentional of the LPL League official “Push the flames.” So that when UZI faded out of the game in 2020 and JackeyLove also left TES, the confrontation between IG and RNG was still full of topics. The grievances between the two teams did not seem to be weakened by the departure of individual players, but because of a certain degree of materiality. It’s wrong, but it has more topicality.
How is this year’s duel different?
The last game before the holiday was given a different meaning
To some extent, the “e-sports Spring Festival Gala” where IG and RNG were duel that day was a good time and place.
The so-called “time”, the spring game coincides with the off-season schedule of the Spring Festival each year, and the last game before the festival will naturally be given a different meaning, coupled with the festive atmosphere, it is even more different at this time node today.
“Positive location” and “human harmony” benefit from the good domestic environment, which enables LPL to start on schedule without being affected by the epidemic, and also allows all fans to enjoy the “e-sports Spring Festival Gala” during the Spring Festival holiday. Live online feast.
Of course, the significance of the showdown that night is far more than that.
On the one hand, the league officials upgraded the “E-sports Spring Festival Gala” to an official event and integrated it into the Spring Festival activities of the Year of the Ox, which naturally brought corresponding online activities and benefits, as well as holiday elements that can be seen everywhere. On the day of the event, the host, the clothes for the commentator, the decoration in the studio, and the LPL pairing activities, all perfectly fit the theme of the Spring Festival of the Year of the Ox.
On the other hand, the IG vs RNG matchup itself that night also had a lot to watch.
From the record point of view, although the two teams are ranked in different echelons, there is actually only one difference in victory. Both sides obviously hope to welcome the coming of the Spring Festival of the Year of the Ox with a victory.
From the player’s perspective, Xiaohu, who has regained his form this season and led the team to a gorgeous record, faced TheShy for the first time with his new identity as a single. This kind of topical matchup is obviously the biggest guarantee for the ratings of this game. During the live broadcast of the event, the peak popularity of the official live broadcast rooms totaled over 100 million, which undoubtedly confirmed the popularity of the “e-sports Spring Festival Gala”.
How will League of Legends develop?
To create derivative IP around the “E-sports Spring Festival Gala”
From “stalking” among players to special events officially recognized and packaged, the influence of LPL “E-sports Spring Festival Gala” has become increasingly prominent. Its essence is actually the League of Legends e-sports system, especially the overall maturation of the LPL competition area. And sports trends.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this time, the LPL League’s official approach to the “e-sports Spring Festival Gala” for nearly half a month’s warm-up and presentation, and the integration of this league matchup in the Spring Festival activities, is intentional. Build into a derivative IP of events like the “Super Bowl” in the United States and the “War of the Century” in La Liga.
The LPL “E-sports Spring Festival Gala” revolves around specific festivals, and the atmosphere of watching is naturally self-evident, such as the “Super Bowl” game in the United States. At the same time, the “e-sports Spring Festival Gala”, like the La Liga Barcelona vs Real Madrid “War of the Century”, was derived from the grievances and feuds of two specific teams, and evolved from an ordinary league duel into a highly anticipated ” “Focus battle”, even if the team changes, the topic of confrontation between the two clubs continues-just like the “War of the Century” without Ronaldo in the future, there will be no shortage of ratings.
Compared with the “War of the Century”, the “E-Sports Spring Festival Gala” still has a long way to go, no matter in terms of historical accumulation, event cultural atmosphere, or in terms of commercial operation and packaging, but someone must take the first step in everything. ——At least in the e-sports circle, LPL has already taken the step of creating event-derived IP around a regular league matchup. For Chinese e-sports, which is at a critical juncture of industrialization and sports, LPL has taken this step. This step is also an important step for the entire gaming circle.
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