Sports Big Business No. 2861, welcome to pay attention to the leading sports industry information platform
Wen | Kouyong
Sports big business reporter
Nearly half a year has passed since last year's "League of Legends" S11 Global Finals EDG won the championship, as one of the most powerful clubs in the history of Chinese e-sports, EDG's every move inside and outside the industry today is still widely watched.
Although EDG was unfortunately out of the spring playoffs of the 2022 LPL, EDG, as a club with deep roots, has a unique understanding of club management, operation, training and other aspects, whether it is success or failure is a catalyst for the continuous growth of the club.
As one of the most disciplined teams, the success of EDG Club today is inseparable from the training system, in view of the operation and development of EDG, the sports big business reporter interviewed Abu, chief e-sports officer of Chaojing Group. Coach Abu said: "In the previous esports competition field, it was more of a simple blood and courage, which is the commonality of all players, but we gradually stepped out of the way of ourselves ahead of others by emphasizing rigor and discipline, which also laid a soul foundation for our good results and the development of other branches of the club later." ”
Abu, Chief Esports Officer of Super Racing Group
Lead the team to win the IPL5, MSI championships, and establish the EDG dynasty
With the continuous expansion of the e-sports market, the profession of e-sports coaching has also been born in response to demand. Although e-sports players and traditional sports players are quite different, e-sports coaches and traditional sports coaches still have similarities, and the focus of work is to explore the potential and strengths of players, train for weaknesses, and help players reach new heights.
On the face of it, the role of esports coaches in the team seems insignificant. They don't play in person, and almost always the veil of mystery is everything they do behind the scenes. But looking back, it is not difficult to find that behind the victories of those great teams, it is always indispensable to the support and efforts of the coaching team.
Abu, a former coach, led the WE team to win the first IPL5 world championship in the first year of the Chinese mainland team in 2012. Since 2014, Abu has led the EDG Dynasty to cut through the LPL and build EDG into one of the greatest teams in LPL history. In 2015, Abu led EDG to defeat SKT in the first MSI final to win the second world championship of the Chinese mainland team.
In 2018, Abu, who had already retreated to the second line, came out again as the head coach of the Chinese team and other members of the training team to help the Chinese team win the championship in the League of Legends performance project at the Asian Games in Jakarta.
Looking back on Abu's coaching career, he has contributed to every achievement of the team. The appearance of Abu made the LPL, which was still exploring, really understand the importance of coaching to a team. Abu was also inducted into the 2020 LPL Hall of Fame, where he is the gold coach of the player's mouth, the founder and trailblazer of the post.
Abu has served as a team coach and club manager, and has also directed the Chinese team of the League of Legends project at the Jakarta Asian Games, and it is no exaggeration to say that no matter which position Abu is in, it will exert a strong "positive energy" on the team. Abu said: "When I was a team coach, my work will be more focused on the players and game projects I bring, and help the players and the whole team achieve better results through my own observations and summaries. ”
Off the field, Abu also established a complete training system at EDG Club, which includes a reward and punishment system for club players in their daily lives and training. It is understood that when players complete corresponding training tasks or achieve good results, they will be rewarded based on different degrees of cash and other rewards of players, and vice versa.
Abu said: "We have designated the corresponding reward and punishment system not out of pure reward and punishment, but hope that through such a system to help our players maintain their own good form in the professional field they need." We will also optimize our relevant systems according to the differences of each season to better achieve the purpose of maintaining the status. ”
In addition, the club will specify the corresponding training plan and adjust the existing training system according to the different states of each player in the near future on the experience and style that has been summarized. If the corresponding game project has a relatively large adjustment in the near future, the club will also specify the corresponding training system according to the content of the adjustment combined with the part that the players should strengthen, and strengthen the training intensity for the project.
From managing players to generating tactics on the playing field, esports coaches often play the role of the strongest pillar outside the arena. They laid the groundwork, which is necessary for the team to stay organized. But until now, the efforts of esports coaches have often been overlooked.
Every year, more and more e-sports coaches enter the workplace, from the beginning of the configuration of only one coach, to the current well-equipped, orderly division of labor coaching team. If a team wants to get ahead in the increasingly brutal competition, it must choose the most suitable coach for the team.
As more and more people notice the increase in the strength that coaches provide to individual players and teams, not only LCK, but also the industry in the global field is beginning to recognize the value of professional coaching in esports. It is also worth noting that some star coaches can already receive salaries similar to those of the players.
E-sports coaches actually play a variety of roles, they are not only military teachers, teachers, but also friends, and sometimes even play the role of nannies, the most poignant thing is that they often bear the pressure of outside public opinion, but when the team achieves results, as behind-the-scenes people, they are difficult to be remembered.
Plan the operating model and devote yourself to the development of multiple departments such as youth training
"The work done in the position of general manager of the club is not so different from that of the team coach. Personally, I want to build a model of the club's academic management system by summarizing the successful experience of the previous individual divisions, extracting the parts that are common to other projects, and using this to ensure that the entire club projects can continue to develop no matter what stage they are in," Abu said.
Doing e-sports clubs in China requires a lot of funds, and due to the difficulty of realizing in a short period of time, it will be difficult for a club to get a long-term operation without a clear and perfect commercialization system. EDG is one of the few e-sports clubs that is recognized as a normal profit.
From the perspective of commercial revenue, the current income of the club mainly comes from four aspects: live broadcast platform, sponsors and commercial performances, e-commerce platforms and some of its own content output monetization. In the future, it will also expand the operating income of the main venue and the in-game prop sharing and distribution income.
At present, EDG's main divisions include League of Legends, Glory of Kings, Crossfire Double-EndEd Division, etc., and also lay out several branches with more promising prospects in the future, such as League of Legends mobile games, Valorant, and Crossfire HD. As the club's general manager, Abu not only needs to be familiar with the new game field quickly, but also keenly captures esports projects with good development prospects for the club.
When Abu retreated to the second line, he was in charge of the EDG club's King of Glory division and focused on youth training. During the 2021 League of Legends World Championship, due to various reasons, Abu did not go with the team, but supervised the EDG King Glory Branch, and the EDG .M on the match day was also a smooth clean sheet against the opponent Xiamen VG. Although the two games have similarities, they still span a wide range, and Abu can still cope with it when coaching.
Abu said: "For now, the overall operating model of the club is relatively healthy. Before opening a new project division, we will conduct more rigorous research and judgment on the project development and project scale, and after determining that the project is suitable for EDG's own development, we will invest according to the actual situation. ”
In addition, Abu also has a lot of experience in youth training development, and has won talented players such as Xiaoxiang and iBoy in the contestant draft, and cultivated them into first-class League of Legends players, which shows that Abu also has a unique understanding of employment.
Abu told the sports big business reporter: "The criteria for selecting players in different periods are not the same. In the past, everyone would pay more attention to the player's personal technology and reaction ability, but now in addition to personal technology, there are many other measurement dimensions, such as game response ability, teamwork ability, teaching ability and psychological endurance, etc. There are new standards. In addition to his basic personal skills and strengths, I will also pay more attention to his personal unique characteristics or personal style, which will have a profound impact on the player's entire career. ”
Abu is not only able to tailor the training system for the players, but also to explore future talents for the club, and most importantly, Abu has planned a model and concept for the club.
He led the team to win the League of Legends championship at the Asian Games in Jakarta
Abu and meiko, a member of the EDG team, once appeared on CCTV and were interviewed by the host of CCTV news. Among them, the host also asked Abu about his feelings about winning the Asian Games that year, and what was the difference between the Asian Games and other competitions.
Abu replied: When I was a child, I felt that it was a particularly glorious thing to participate in the Olympic Games and the Asian Games to win glory for the country, and when I could also lead the team to achieve such victories, I would be particularly impressed. The Asian Games are different from any other competition, our usual leagues, S games and other competitions are held every year, but the Asian Games have only been once in a long time, and it is wearing a national flag to represent the country, although it is more stressful, but the national pride will be stronger.
With the world-renowned Beijing Winter Olympics coming to an end, the Hangzhou Asian Games have officially entered the countdown, and the time for e-sports to debut as an official medal event is getting closer and closer.
The 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games e-sports events include India, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, China (host), Malaysia, Pakistan and other up to 45 countries and regions. Many countries and regions have begun to select players in preparation for the Asian Games.
As a strong opponent, South Korea has recently announced the head coaches of the five participating events of the Hangzhou Asian Games, of which the coach of the League of Legends project is Abu's old rival KKoma. Abu has led EDG to defeat the SKT led by KKoma, and netizens also said: "The coach of this Asian Games must be Abu. ”
Although the specific selection method of Asian Games players has not yet been announced in China, as many countries/regions carry out "Asian Games Journey" events to select Asian Games players, it is believed that the selection criteria for Asian Games e-sports projects in the mainland will soon be released.
Looking forward to this year's Hangzhou Asian Games Abu can lead the national team as the head coach to continue the glory of Jakarta in 2018 and win the gold medal in the Asian Games e-sports project!
Note: The images used in this article are from the Internet