Former World Champion Criticized for Playing Black Myth: Wukong
Recently, it can be said that almost the entire gaming community worldwide has been buzzing about Black Myth: Wukong. This role-playing game with an open storyline is similar to some previous big names (Dark Souls, Naraka: Bladepoint…) But the allure of Black Myth: Wukong comes from the fact that the game is based on one of the Four Great Classic Novels of China, and the Monkey King is one of the immortal characters in popular culture around the world. In China, the game is even more beloved, with LPL superstars livestreaming this game, especially retired players like Uzi, Baolan… and other famous KOLs.
However, the former World Champion of 2018 – Baolan has found himself in “hot water” with this popular game. Specifically, Baolan managed to defeat a difficult boss in Black Myth: Wukong using only one life, and out of excitement, the former Invictus Gaming star posted about his “achievement.” However, contrary to Baolan’s expectations (and perhaps the common thinking of many fans), the Support who once won the World Championship in 2018 faced criticism from several female fans. There were even blunt comments: “You should understand who your fanbase is, just look at your livestream statistics and see who is supporting you.” The pressure from the community was so great that Baolan had to delete his post about Black Myth: Wukong.
From Baolan Playing Black Myth: Wukong to the Toxicity of a Portion of Fans Idolizing Players
The phenomenon of teams turning players into idols is not new in LPL or LCK. However, from this point, players become “victims” of a portion of overzealous fans. Notably, if Baolan were still playing professional League of Legends for a team, his actions would be quite reprehensible. But he has been retired for a long time and is likely to retire permanently in the future. Moreover, he has not violated any contracts regarding livestreaming competitor games with Riot or Tencent.
Furthermore, donations from fans can provide players with a significant source of income. However, for League of Legends, no professional player views livestreaming as their primary source of livelihood. Thus, a portion of extreme fans seems to be trying to elevate their status beyond reality and exert negative pressure on players.
Idolizing League of Legends players can help teams and players gain a large fanbase, especially female fans. But this is a “double-edged sword” that can anytime lead to negative impacts on teams and players even when they have done nothing wrong.