The news of official sponsorship for the Jisu Internet Cafe tournament was like a giant rock thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples far beyond the event itself. It sent an incredibly clear signal to millions of League of Legends players across the country: your esports dreams are being seen.
This trend quickly spread from online to offline, from that small East China city to all corners of the nation. Countless internet cafe owners smelled business opportunities and followed suit, with various "internet cafe leagues" and "city championships" springing up like mushrooms after rain. Even more ordinary players, whose esports fire had been ignited by ranked scores and highlight reels, finally had their passion fueled by these tangible tournament opportunities.
Li Hao was one of them.
He was a junior at an ordinary university in a provincial capital city in the south, and also one of the earliest League of Legends players, with the ID "Dawn." With his exceptional reactions and extensive practice, he had reached the "Glorious Platinum" tier in ranked play, gaining some renown among his classmates and friends. He had seen the announcement of Ye Yu reaching Challenger and felt his blood boil; he had also watched the viral tournament video from Jisu Internet Cafe and longed to be there.
But what truly made him determined was the official sponsorship announcement, which carried significant weight.
"The officials are even supporting it! What does this mean? It means esports isn't just a distraction; it's being recognized!" In his dorm room, Li Hao excitedly said to his roommate and frequent duo partner, Wang Ke (ID "Stone," who mainly plays Top Lane), "What's the point of just playing ranked? We need to form a team and compete! Like in the video, on a real stage!"
Wang Ke hesitated, "Haozi, our skill level is decent, but a team needs five people. And playing in tournaments isn't the same as ranked, right? It requires training, coordination..."
"If we don't have enough people, we'll find them!" Li Hao's eyes burned with passion. "There are so many people playing League of Legends at our school, are we afraid we can't find five people? We'll train at night and on weekends! We're not aiming for instant success; we'll start with the internet cafe tournaments in our city! What if... what if we can do it too?"
Excited by the blueprint he had envisioned, he immediately took action. He posted recruitment information in the school's gaming club group and local League of Legends player groups:
"[Team Recruitment] 'Dawn' team is sincerely recruiting teammates! Goal: Compete in the city's internet cafe league and pursue esports dreams! Requirements: Platinum rank or above, team-oriented, able to consistently participate in training and matches. Positions: Jungler, ADC, Support. Contact Person: Li Hao (ID: Dawn)."
After the message was posted, there were more responses than expected. After some screening and online tryouts, they finally confirmed the team members:
The Jungler position went to Zhang Wei (ID "Shadow"), an office worker from a nearby area outside the school. He had a calm demeanor, strong macro-awareness, was skilled at map control and tempo setting, and was a diamond gatekeeper.
The ADC position was held by Zhao Xu (ID "Meteor"), a sophomore from the same school. He had extremely fast reactions, delicate mechanics, aggressive laning, and was Platinum I.
The Support was Chen Jia (ID "Moonlight"), Zhao Xu's classmate and fixed bot lane partner, a rare female player. She had a calm personality, excellent vision control, and protective awareness, and was Platinum II.
Adding Li Hao (Mid Lane) and Wang Ke (Top Lane), the "Dawn" team was officially formed!
Team formation was just the first step. The real challenges soon followed. When five people, who had only occasionally interacted in ranked games, came together for scrims, problems arose one after another.
"Shadow, can your jungle pathing consider the top lane? I've been pushed out of experience range!" Wang Ke was getting impatient while holding his ground in the top lane.
"Why didn't you call out 'Mid MISS'? My bot lane got ganked directly!" Zhao Xu complained from the bot lane.
"My bad, my bad," Li Hao quickly apologized, "I didn't look at the minimap during the trade."
"Vision! Vision is too poor!" Chen Jia marked the dark river, "We're playing in the dark."
"Communication! Communication needs to be clear! 'Coming' where? 'We can fight,' who initiates?" Zhang Wei, as the slightly older Jungler, tried to coordinate.
In their initial scrims, they lost more than they won, even losing to some hastily assembled "internet cafe teams." Frustration enveloped the team. Their initial enthusiasm began to wane in the face of real difficulties. Zhao Xu and Chen Jia even discussed privately whether they should continue.
"Maybe we just overthought it; playing in tournaments isn't that easy," Zhao Xu said, feeling a bit dejected.
At a crucial moment, Li Hao stepped up. He didn't criticize but called everyone together to review the scrim recordings.
"Look here, if Stone, you had pulled back a bit here, Shadow could have counter-ganked."
"Meteor, if you had waited for Moonlight's crowd control abilities to be ready before engaging this wave, you definitely would have gotten the kill."
"What we lack isn't individual skill, it's synergy and discipline!"
He shared professional match recordings and tactical analysis videos he collected online, studying their vision control, lane swaps, and resource trading. They began to devise simple tactics: focus on early game aggression with top, mid, and jungle, or protect the bot lane ADC for late-game team fights. They established a unified command system, with Zhang Wei and Li Hao primarily responsible for macro-level calls, and laners providing timely information.
Training was tedious and arduous. In their spare time, while others were enjoying themselves or dating, the five of them would squeeze into an internet cafe booth, practicing coordination and refining their lineup over and over, often until late at night. Calluses formed on their fingers from the keyboard and mouse, and their eyes were bloodshot from staring at the screen for extended periods. What sustained them was their shared desire for victory and the seemingly distant yet incredibly clear "tournament stage."
The opportunity finally arrived. A large internet cafe in their city, "Starry Sky Internet Cafe," announced it would host the "Starry Sky Cup League of Legends City Challenge," with generous prizes and a promise to emulate Jisu Internet Cafe in seeking official attention.
The "Dawn" team registered without hesitation.
On the day of the competition, Starry Sky Internet Cafe was packed. Thirty-two teams gathered, and the atmosphere was tense and exciting. Li Hao and his teammates, wearing temporarily customized black team uniforms with "Dawn" printed on them, sat in their designated competition area, their palms slightly sweating from nervousness. This was their first time competing in front of so many spectators.
In the first round, their opponent was a team also composed of students. Due to nerves, the "Dawn" team made frequent early-game mistakes and fell into a disadvantage. The murmurs from the audience below made them even more flustered.
"Hold steady! Stick to what we trained for!" Li Hao shouted into the voice chat, "Shadow, control the dragon; we'll drag it out to the late game and protect Meteor's farm!"
Zhang Wei calmly directed vision control, Wang Ke stubbornly held his ground in the top lane, Li Hao diligently looked for opportunities in the mid lane, while Zhao Xu and Chen Jia slowly farmed up in a difficult bot lane matchup.
The turning point came in a mid-game skirmish over a small dragon. The opponents were too eager, and their formation became disjointed. Chen Jia's Support (Leona) seized the opportunity, landing a perfect Ultimate Ability [Solar Flare] to stun the enemy's key carry!
"They're caught! Go!" Li Hao roared.
Wang Ke's Top Lane (Gnar) had full rage, flashed in, and unleashed his Ultimate Ability [GNAR!] to push three enemies against the wall!
Li Hao's Mid Lane (Orianna) followed up with her Ultimate Ability [Command: Shockwave] in time!
Zhao Xu's ADC (Kog'Maw) activated [Bio-Arcane Barrage] and unleashed crazy damage from the back!
"Double Kill!"
"Triple Kill!"
A perfect 0-for-4 team fight! The "Dawn" team instantly turned the tide of the game, then secured the Baron, and finally pushed down the enemy's base.
"We won! We won!" In the competition room, the five young men excitedly took off their headphones, high-fived, and hugged. Zhao Xu even excitedly pounded the table. Enthusiastic applause and cheers erupted from the audience.
At that moment, all the hard work and perseverance seemed to pay off. The sense of accomplishment from winning through teamwork was a hundred times stronger than winning ten ranked games.
They stumbled along, but with their growing synergy and the fearlessness of young calves, they miraculously made it to the semifinals. Although they lost to a strong team called "Myth," composed of high-ranked solo queue players and former professional players from other games, stopping at the top four, their performance, especially that perfect team fight that turned the tide, left a deep impression on the live audience and players watching via online stream.
After the match, Li Hao looked at the word "Defeat" on the screen. Although he felt some regret, his eyes held more determination. He looked at his teammates beside him, who were equally unwilling to give up but whose eyes shone brightly.
"Brothers, we did it." Li Hao's voice was a bit hoarse but full of power. "We stood on the stage, we won, we fought hard. This is just the beginning!"
The name "Dawn" team appeared in local esports reports for the first time. They might not have known it yet, but this hastily formed grassroots team, and countless other teams like them fighting in internet cafe tournaments across the country, were the most primitive and vibrant cells of the future LPL professional league that would sweep across China and shake the world.
The seeds of dreams had quietly broken through the soil amidst the clamor of internet cafes and the faint glow of computer screens.