In 2005, at the Warcraft tournament in Singapore, a teenager from China who won the world championship, stood on the podium wearing the national flag and a shy smile on his face: Li Xiaofeng (Sky), the first person in Chinese esports. He has always been decisive in the arena, and he lowered his head in satisfaction. This time, he is finally no longer the despised "Internet addict teenager".
01
In 1985, Li Xiaofeng was born in an ordinary old town in Ruzhou, Henan Province, his mother was a laid-off worker, and his father was a small hospital doctor with a monthly salary of only 800 yuan.
His father was busy with work, his mother took care of the housework, and when he was a child, Li Xiaofeng often sneaked to Internet cafes to play games. One of his favorite games is StarCraft.
Li Xiaofeng can often play in Internet cafes all day. In the eyes of others, he is an incurable "Internet addict teenager". No one thought that the teenager with the online name "Sky" was the predecessor of the world esports champion.
In 2000, Li Xiaofeng fell out of high school and followed his father's arrangement to go to a medical college in Luoyang.
Fathers, like all parents in the world, hope that their sons will have a skill, not rich, but enough to support their family.
However, for Li Xiaofeng, learning is far more difficult than killing two games on a computer. English, chemistry, biology and other subjects are like heavenly books, he wants to remedy them, but because the foundation is too poor to start, he has always been proud of his personality and it is difficult for him to ask his teachers and classmates for advice.
Class, for him, became the most torturous time of the day.
In order to find the sustenance of his heart, he sat back in front of the computer and played the game!
However, this time, his state of mind was completely different. When he thought of his father begging for people everywhere so that he could enter the medical college, he felt very uncomfortable.
He vented all his reluctance in the game. If only he could control his destiny like a hero in the game, he thought secretly.
This spirit of not admitting defeat makes him different from ordinary players, he prefers to challenge masters, and in order to improve his skills, he joined Henan's strongest interstellar team, Home.
In the team, he, the "second-line combat power", always fearlessly challenges the masters.
Ordinary people play games to like the feeling of winning, while Li Xiaofeng is for "losing".
Every time he loses, he will do his homework offline, review the opponent's position, technique, equipment, compare his own, and improve his strength from battle to battle.
Gradually, he rose from the second tier to the first line, becoming a player to be reckoned with in the team, until he became the main force step by step.
All losses are to be the final winner, no one likes to lose, and neither does Li Xiaofeng.
As the winning rate gradually increased, he was eager to see what level of strength was put in the country.
It just so happened that Xi'an was holding an Internet café competition, and the top three had prizes of varying amounts.
When Li Xiaofeng heard this, he couldn't contain the excitement in his heart and borrowed money to buy a ticket to board the train to Xi'an.
This time, for him, it is a competition and an opportunity for insight.
He has seen many strong opponents who have only heard of him and never played against him. After observing their hand speed, operation, and screen cutting frequency on the spot, he finally saw the gap between himself and the Great God.
The first time he fought against a real master, there was no suspense, and he was quickly eliminated.
On the day I returned to Luoyang Railway Station from Xi'an, it was already 1 a.m. At this time, he was penniless, and walked back to school alone step by step with a sense of loss.
It was his first time competing, and the first time he had tried the humiliation and bitterness of losing a race.
02
The purpose of his crazy game is to one day stand on the stage of the champion, win prizes, and reduce the burden on his family, but if he can't win, playing games becomes just a momentary pleasure, he feels that it is a waste of his time and youth, and he is sorry for his father who has always looked forward to him.
After Xi'an's defeat, he withdrew from the game circle.
However, Home's new captain, Xiaoyao, Sky's classmate and friend in medical school, found Sky and offered to work with him to make Home a top starfighter team in China. He told Sky that it was the national champion in StarCraft that had eliminated him in Xi'an not long ago, telling him not to be discouraged.
With the encouragement of his friends, Li Xiaofeng returned to the arena again.
This time, his mood was much calmer.
He knew that the distance between him and those players was not insurmountable.
He set himself a new standard for training: every interface he switches lasts no more than three seconds. It is necessary to see the battle situation clearly, analyze the situation, and complete the operation in three seconds. The loss in Xi'an made Li Xiaofeng understand that there is never room for thinking on the field, and he must develop conditioned reflexes and muscle memory for all operating techniques. There is no other way.
In 2002, he and Xiaoyao rushed to Zhengzhou with the rest of the Home team to participate in the "Starting Line Cup" event.
At that time, the 300 yuan championship prize attracted many masters in Henan Province. Xiaoyao and his teammates were defeated. Sky, on the other hand, killed all his opponents in the starting stage with his fierce and fast attack style and won his first championship trophy.
This victory gave Li Xiaofeng the confidence that he was capable of competing with other esports masters.
In 2002, Li Xiaofeng graduated from a medical college and entered a hospital for internship under his father's arrangement.
He works in the hospital during the day and goes online at night to prepare for the next event. This time, his battlefield is no longer an Internet café event, but WCG, known as the "Esports Olympia", which is the ultimate battlefield for every esports player.
However, WCG does not set up a venue in Henan, and he can only go to Xi'an to compete.
At this time, the problem in front of Li Xiaofeng was not only the cost of going to Xi'an, but also how to explain it to his parents.
With the courage to fight in the game, Li Xiaofeng frankly told his father his dream. He promised his father that if he failed again, he would quit the game and intern in the hospital with peace of mind.
His father stared at him with a nervous and hopeful look, and finally rummaged in silence in his pockets, took out his wallet, and pieced together a small stack of travel expenses. He gritted his teeth, took the money from his father's hand, and embarked on a journey to Xi'an.
On the way, he said to himself, this trip, only success, not failure.
However, Sky encountered a strong opponent Hopeterran in the first game, and was beaten without survival. In the meantime, he is full of ambition, no matter what, he will break into the top three and break through to the national competition.
When he lost the game, his eyes reappeared in front of his father's helpless expression before leaving home and the stack of change that made him sad.
He was annoyed, painful, and had a kind of desolation that a hero had reached the end of his life.
He got up from his seat in panic and walked to the window on the third floor. At that moment, he felt that as long as he jumped down and broke his arm, he would never play a game again. Luckily, his teammates noticed his abnormality and pulled him back from the window.
03
The backwater battle ended dismally.
Li Xiaofeng fulfilled his promise to his father, quit games, and practiced in the hospital with peace of mind.
However, when he couldn't access the Internet, his mind kept recalling the situation of the game, tactics, economy, and his own consciousness, operation and operation. That game was like a movie, and one shot after another kept playing back in his head. He saw his mistakes and his opponent's flaws.
If he had the opportunity to compete again, he would never lose.
With such confidence, he decided to continue exhibiting at WCG in Wuhan.
However, the question arises, he has no money, how to go to Wuhan? On my father's side, I can't ask for money anymore.
Want to keep playing, want to win!
He couldn't suppress the agitation in his heart, and cheekily sent a message to his friends to borrow money.
An hour, two hours, three hours, when Li Xiaofeng's heart was almost about to cool down, news from friends came one after another.
Some gave him 20, some gave 100, and Li Xiaofeng raised money for the journey to Wuhan.
Fate always seems to be used to giving more tribulations to the masters, and the day before the game, Sky caught a cold! However, at this time, there was nothing to stop his determination to fight.
He had a high fever and threw himself into the game.
One, two. In the end, he won the third place in the Wuhan division and won the prize money of 1000.
This match made his father finally understand Li Xiaofeng's determination and pursuit on the road of e-sports, and in the face of the 1,000 yuan prize, his father regretted it. He told Li Xiaofeng that he would not borrow money everywhere in the future, and if there was any difficulty, his family would be his eternal backing.
04
The understanding of his parents and this victory have given Li Xiaofeng firm confidence to take the road of e-sports.
Soon after, the Warcraft game was released, replacing almost all StarCraft players. "StarCraft" gradually declined, Li Xiaofeng was a big deal, and naturally there was no bonus.
His father's work in the hospital at this time also encountered setbacks, and the family's income gradually exceeded his means. And Sky was also branded as "addicted to games, not enterprising" and "social scum".
Until the Spring Festival in 2004, Li Xiaofeng was invited to Beijing Hunter Club for practical training. As long as you pass the trial training, you can have a salary of 1,000 yuan per month.
This money is even higher for his father, and as the eldest son in the family, he has always hoped to have the opportunity to help his parents share the responsibilities of the family.
However, his parents did not agree to his trip to Beijing. After repeated persuasion to no avail, his father walked into his room the night before leaving.
Looking at the game-obsessed son in front of him, the father sighed heavily, folded the money with a smile, and pressed it into the palm of his hand.
Li Xiaofeng lowered his head and avoided his father's eyes, he was afraid that if he looked at each other, he would no longer have the courage to leave.
He endured tears and silently vowed in his heart that this time he would go all out and be worthy of his father's trust and support for him.
After arriving in Beijing, he successfully passed the club's trial, but the requirement was to play "Warcraft 3" instead.
At the time, the game had just been launched, and the tactics among the players were immature. However, Li Xiaofeng, with his awareness of the overall situation and tactical execution he trained in StarCraft, also worked on the battlefield of Warcraft.
Just a few months later, with his indomitable will and excellent tactics, he won the Beijing division championship in a competition.
However, he was happiest that he finally got a stable salary and finally didn't have to let his parents worry about himself.
I thought that I could play the game stably and earn money from now on, but who knows, fate once again gave Li Xiaofeng a battle book.
The SARS epidemic appeared, and he had to leave Beijing and go home, and the team terminated his contract with him on this basis.
However, in previous matches, someone had noticed him earlier.
After the epidemic ended, he accepted the invitation of Pei Le, known as the "godfather of Chinese esports", to join the Yoliny team.
Here, he got the toughest training and the best opportunity.
He wakes up at 12 o'clock every day, starts training at 1 o'clock, and practices until dawn the next day. He competes with players from all over the world and is able to knock all the masters off the line.
Not only that, but he will also call up his game video and write down his mistakes, shortcomings and opponent's characteristics and weaknesses. Either avoid or fight back.
In 2004, he won the "runner-up" in the national competition of the WCG event.
Unfortunately, my visa was denied and I was unable to attend the international finals in Seattle.
Although he failed to play in the final, it was still a witness and milestone of strength for Li Xiaofeng.
Since then, there are almost no opponents in the country who can beat him. He won almost all competitions.
The stronger the ability, the higher the dream!
Li Xiaofeng is no longer satisfied with any friendship match, he wants to enter the world, he wants to be the "king of the world"!
China's e-sports competitions started later than foreign countries, and it is not easy to reach the top of the world in terms of experience and technology.
On November 17, 2005, he finished third in the national pre-selection and reached the WCG World Finals in Singapore.
Sky fought hard in the arena, as if the pent-up passion of all these years was released at that moment, he fought hard, and before he understood what was going on, the audience remembered the warm applause.
Seeing the international students who came to watch the battle waving the five-star red flag, Li Xiaofeng realized that he had won!
The Chinese team won!
On the podium, he draped the national flag over his body and waved his trembling hands to the camera of the world, waving the courage and strength of Chinese esports!
This scene has also become the most classic and glorious moment in the history of Chinese e-sports!
05
After winning the championship, Li Xiaofeng was interviewed by CCTV 5 sets.
In front of the camera, he is still a shy big boy, a little restrained, a little introverted. It seems to be the same as the decisive player in the arena.
He knows that no matter how high the honor he wins, he cannot do without the support of his parents. His father's sigh, the two stacks of money scraped together, has always been his courage to fight and persevere.
The game ends and the hero returns to life, nothing more than wanting to be a child who does not disappoint his parents!
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