Chapter 17: So It Turns Out I Really Was Taking on Nine at Once! The Unexpected "Biggest Beneficiary"!
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After collecting the rewards from the newly popped-up “Temporary Mission,” Ye Bo was about to head back with his teammates. Suddenly, Chu Jun intercepted him from backstage.
“You all go back first. I have something to discuss with Ye Bo.”
Since today was widely known as Ye Bo’s final match, it wasn’t unusual for Chu Jun to want to talk at this moment. However, it was clear that the other four teammates, as they left, kept nervously glancing back with guilty looks.
“Impressive! You actually managed to clutch a C victory in a situation like this. I was sure it was over when I saw it backstage!” Chu Jun said, breaking into a smile and no longer holding back his amazement once the others had left.
“Heh, just daring to go solo~” Ye Bo replied with a grin.
Though the match seemed to have ended quickly, anyone who understood the game knew the true difficulty was far greater than it appeared. Had it not been for the outrageous plays by the Enchantress that repeatedly turned team fights around, allowing for unstoppable development early on, followed by a rapid, aggressive tempo to push forward and control the offense—culminating in a clean, strategic bait that sealed the deal—this match could have gone either way.
If it had been dragged out just ten more minutes, the outcome would have been anything but certain.
“It wasn’t simple at all...” Chu Jun suddenly shifted tone. “I don’t believe you didn’t notice.”
“Just now, your match suddenly attracted a huge amount of attention. The game wasn’t even over yet, and multiple trending topics were already appearing on Weibo!”
Since players weren’t allowed to carry phones into the match, Chu Jun handed his to Ye Bo. Ye Bo fixed his gaze on the screen.
Among the top ten trending Weibo tags, aside from the first being “Jackson Yee – Acting Skills,” the next most explosive tags were “LDL” and “Match-fixing!”
“Match-fixing?” Ye Bo read aloud the trending term.
Though he had harbored doubts, Ye Bo had never dared to conclude or accuse his teammates so easily—after all, they had won.
But on the Weibo square, countless netizens were fiercely debating the many dramatic moments from the match, their comments filled with disbelief and exaggeration.
“Honestly, I found the early-game plays suspicious, but I could excuse them then. Later on, they obviously got desperate; their acting got worse and worse...”
“If this is true, they must have bet big... this is going to cost them dearly~”
Chu Jun sounded gleefully malicious.
Though this was a scandal involving his own team, as long as he was clean, he had nothing to fear. Moreover, frankly, the stakes in an LDL match-fixing scheme wouldn’t be that high. As a prominent million-follower video blogger, Chu Jun had no reason to risk such petty money. Besides, he was only an assistant coach and rarely returned to the youth training camp except to recommend Ye Bo and seek an entry into the LPL.
“So, is it really match-fixing?” Ye Bo asked cautiously.
“Not confirmed yet, but from what I know, the heat this incident has generated is unprecedented. The official investigation team has already been dispatched. Now that it’s this big, there will definitely be a conclusion.”
“I came to tell you—just don’t go back to the training camp for now. Go home and wait for news.”
Ye Bo pondered and nodded. After all, his purpose at the training camp was achieved; there was no reason to stay.
“But don’t I need to cooperate with the investigation or something?”
Chu Jun chuckled awkwardly and sighed, “Bro, do you even realize how insane your performance just was? Mr. Mike Abu was backstage, and his eyes were practically green with envy!”
“You basically carried the whole match alone—one versus five—and every move you made was a hard, calculated kill. The other side didn’t give you a single chance.”
“If they need you, someone will contact you, but I doubt it.”
Chu Jun’s confidence was why he let Ye Bo go home first—to avoid dragging the player he still depended on into any negative fallout. Anyone with eyes could clearly see who was the only player actually playing the game seriously.
If you said Ye Bo’s key kills were just because the opponents were clumsy and handed them to him, maybe there would be a shred of suspicion.
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But the problem was, Ye Bo’s plays were so extraordinary that even professionals watching were screaming in awe!
Would someone with such talent need to rely on match-fixing to win? Impossible.
As Ye Bo set off for home, unsurprisingly, he received a message from “Coach Abu.” Yet, after seeing the conditions, Ye Bo didn’t respond immediately.
Since everything was ready, he decided to let things play out for a while longer.
..............
One week later.
As the scandal continued to escalate, the league officially launched an unusually swift and thorough investigation and promptly released the results.
[Announcement on the Recent #2022LDL# Anti-Match-Fixing and Gambling Rectification]
“Regarding the June 18 match between TO and 12, the League of Legends professional competition disciplinary team formed a special investigation unit. Based on on-site evidence, verification with relevant parties and individuals, the team has confirmed the following facts and, pursuant to the relevant rules and penalties, has imposed sanctions.”
“TO Club and 12 Club are permanently stripped of their LDL spots, effective immediately. The following individuals are banned for life under the ‘League of Legends Development League Match Rules’: Ying Tianci (ID: Icbrerg), Xiang Chao (ID: XXX), Xu Qingbin (ID: Wynn), Chen Meijiang (ID: V30), and others...”
“Additionally, the disciplinary team conducted surprise inspections on the remaining 22 LDL teams, imposing lifetime bans on players including Lu Qi (ID: Asura), Liu Ziyan (ID: Jingyi), You Chonghui (ID: OP), and others for ‘illegal betting activities.’”
“Furthermore, the LDL authorities will communicate with all streaming platforms to prohibit any of the above IDs from engaging in any League of Legends-related streaming or commercial activities.”
Besides the nine players involved from TO and 12, including the absent former mid-laner, shockingly, eleven other LDL players were also caught for illegal betting.
The announcement exploded across public opinion instantly!
“This is ridiculous, it really was match-fixing! I knew no one could be that bad at the game!”
“Wait, did I see right? Even Asura was involved? Could this be divine punishment?!”
“No wonder Ruozi calls Tong Yang and the others every month. Even from prison, Ruozi still controls everything!”
“Education? Bachelor’s degree!!”
“What?! So it was actually 1v9, not a joke!”
“Unbelievable. Except me, everyone else was just acting...”
Ye Bo was on the treadmill completing his daily tasks, glancing at the small screen ahead as netizens flooded the comment section defending him.
Shortly after, the official released a second document detailing the investigation.
According to recovered phone data, that match... all nine players actually bet on team 12 to win!
Since TO had won four consecutive matches before Ye Bo joined, the odds were high, so these nine bet heavily with their own money.
Apparently, they gambled their entire professional savings, hoping for a big payout before Ye Bo left.
No wonder they got desperate and nearly overtly threw the game when they realized they couldn’t hold on.
But Ye Bo’s final decisive move—using his tank to bait the Japanese player and force a 4v5 push—denied them any chance to stall.
They truly lost hard.
“Damn, that means I was really carrying a 1v9...” Ye Bo slowed the treadmill, sighing.
He thought about how his lifelong dream was to become a pro, to perfect the game he loved and excelled at, and how much effort he had poured into it.
Yet some people got the chance but never cherished it.
Just thinking about it, Ye Bo felt no sympathy for them.
He even deliberately opened the esports forum “Pressure Resistance Bar” to see the fans’ reactions.
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What surprised Ye Bo was that everywhere he looked in the forum, his name appeared!
“How do you rate the LDL match-fixing scandal involving nine players?”
“Damn, heard some big shots have opened cases. No more making a living off this game, they’ll even be caught in game cafes!”
“I think the punishment is too light. Honestly, LCK and Korea also have match-fixing, but their punishment? Straight to prison for 18 months!”
“But what’s crazier is that in a game where nine players tried to lose, one guy still managed to win. Is that even possible?”
“Literally 9v1 and still couldn’t win (laughs)”
“Ridiculous but true. I watched the stream—this guy’s skills are almost superhuman!”
“Pure and untainted—never debuted but already has a title, Lotus Saint!”
“Lol, I can picture the forum now: if he plays well, he’s ‘Saint Ye’; if not, just a ‘wild’ banished forever by the forum trolls.”
“I’m actually looking forward to this guy’s LPL debut. Already has a ‘legendary scene’ before even starting—maybe the LPL mid-lane finally has hope?”
Though the Pressure Resistance Bar was notorious for toxicity, this time many comments about Ye Bo were positive.
Just as Chu Jun expected, there was nothing questionable about Ye Bo’s performance.
During the investigation, officials only questioned him once and never bothered him again.
After all, the first-person gameplay footage and voice channel logs were direct evidence.
Meanwhile, beyond just that forum, discussions flooded HuPu, Weibo, Zhihu, and other forums.
Even overseas communities picked up the story.
Perhaps due to the prevalence of gambling scandals abroad, most foreigners were less shocked by the match-fixing itself.
Instead, they marveled that someone could single-handedly turn around a match where nine others were deliberately throwing.
Though LDL was a secondary league with less prestige—and many who dominated LDL faded away in LPL—this “1v9” match-fixing scandal ironically became the best showcase of Ye Bo’s talent.
In no time, the name “Ye Bo” spread worldwide in the League community in an unprecedented, extraordinary way.
Probably even Ye Bo himself never imagined that an incident seemingly unrelated to him would ultimately make him the biggest beneficiary...
Of course, just finishing his run, Ye Bo didn’t know any of this.
[Daily task completed! Reward: 66 comeback points]
“Another low-tier reward, always the unlucky one.”
After a quick wash-up, Ye Bo sat at his computer, waiting.
Though he was involved, knowing he was clean, some teams still hesitated to act until the official verdict came out.
Hence his waiting until now.
After his “memory” of bitter experiences, he was cautious and didn’t want to miss any option.
As expected, just ten minutes after today’s announcement was released, all his contact channels began buzzing nonstop...