Dialogue丨E-sports "famous mouth" Guan Zeyuan: commentators can't just care about golden sentences

　　"What kind of ending is worthy of this journey of displacement? From almost missing the playoffs to finally reaching the finals. Deft's last dance continues, and he even stands in the center of the stage!"

　　In the fourth round of the League of Legends S12 semi-finals, after DRX pushed down GEN's crystal, it entered the S12 final as a dark horse.

Guan Zeyuan's voice is full of passion as always, even though the eliminated GEN is the team he likes.

Eight years into the business, Guan Zeyuan has grown up with China E-sports.

Today, he has become one of the signatures of Chinese e-sports commentators, and his "cross-border" tour has been well received.

These experiences have given Guan Zeyuan a deeper understanding of commentary and e-sports.

bird's nest

"When I was a child, I could see the Bird's Nest as soon as I came out of my home, witnessing that it was built from nothing, little by little. The Bird's Nest is called the National Stadium, and it is the sports symbol of our Chinese nation."

　　In 2017, mainland China hosted the S competition for the first time, and the championship and runner-up finals of the League of Legends global finals were held in the Bird's Nest.

For Guan Zeyuan, it was an unforgettable game in his commentary career so far, and it was also an important part of his career.

　　The opening session of the final was spectacular and enthusiastic. Jay Chou sang for the audience on the spot. The grand scene was not inferior to any competition.

　　But for many Chinese eSports viewers, it was an emotional memory.

S7 final poster.

Image source: League of Legends official blog.

At that time, China's e-sports was on the road of rapid development. Taking the League of Legends project as an example, more capital entered professional teams, and the audience market continued to increase.

In the S8 competition held the following year, iG won the first S championship in history for the LPL division in South Korea.

　　To this day, League of Legends remains one of the most popular esports events in China.

In addition, the events of the King of Glory, Peace Elite and other projects are also becoming more and more prosperous.

In the past ten years, China's e-sports industry has ushered in rapid development.

　　Guan Zeyuan, who started his commentary career in 2014, was in it and really felt the changes.

"The first is the influence of the audience, and everyone's acceptance of e-sports is higher. Second, there are many associated industries.

explain

　　During S12, Guan Zeyuan's predictions frequently appeared on Weibo's hot search.

Of course, few people can predict the performance of the LPL team in S12 correctly in advance.

Guan Zeyuan was one of the commentators for the S12 finals.

Image source: League of Legends official blog.

　　"Poisoned milk" is a famous label on Guan Zeyuan, which originated from several unsuccessful but impressive predictions.

In fact, he also predicted correctly many times, and was often overlooked due to "survivor bias".

"Everyone treats this as a meme, and I gladly accept it. But seriously, any prediction is uncertain until there is no result. Now, in order to avoid similar situations, I try to avoid participating in predictions."

　　The label of "poisoned milk" is just the icing on the cake. Guan Zeyuan has gone all the way to this day and has become a frequent visitor on the commentary stage of the S finals, more because of his professionalism, hard work and love.

　　Just like what Guan Zeyuan's commentary showed after GEN was eliminated by DRX in the S12 semi-finals - he has a team he supports, and he maintains a pure love beyond the limitations of the team and the competition area in his work. What many practitioners in the competitive industry lack.

Image source: League of Legends official blog.

　　Although golden sentences appeared frequently during the commentary, Guan Zeyuan did not deliberately pursue it.

"Commentary work, in a game or even a week, 90% of the time needs to be stably explained, no problem. Maybe 10% is the climax, but it's impossible to think about this 10%."

　　As e-sports events become more and more prosperous, practitioners standing in front of the stage gradually become public figures, and praise and controversy inevitably follow.

Guan Zeyuan takes this very seriously. In his eyes, since he is an expressor, he must accept being misunderstood.

break the circle

　　Whether it is the commentary of the Champions League, the NBA, or the sports variety shows attended by teenage idols, Guan Zeyuan can be seen in many places now.

"When I was young, I was also a person who picked stars in the sky. At this time, I would rather roll in the mud and save the ball."

When Guan Zeyuan described Griffin's remarks as a guest commentator in the NBA, he was deeply touched. Lots of old fans.

Photo courtesy of the interviewee.

　　When China's e-sports industry pursued popularization and "breaking the circle", Guan Zeyuan became one of the frontrunners.

His cross-border success is more due to his excellent professionalism.

　　Getting involved in new fields such as basketball and football has given Guan Zeyuan the opportunity to compare horizontally.

"In China, the strength of e-sports and the degree of influence on a global scale are the best ones. When I go to explain the competitions of other sports, it is more of other people's competitions. The difference in localization is very big. "

　　In his view, the current live broadcast production of e-sports events in China has reached a high level.

　　Nevertheless, compared with the traditional sports industry with a long history, e-sports has a natural disadvantage in terms of cultural heritage.

Guan Zeyuan believes that with the operation mode and duration of e-sports, it is difficult for a culture like traditional sports to emerge, and it is difficult to generate cultural aspects through a single event.

Beijing, the National Stadium "Bird's Nest" lights up brilliantly in the night.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Yi Haifei

　　"As a general term, e-sports includes too many different contents and different projects. It is difficult for a single project of e-sports to last for a long time."

Interview summary

Q: Your commentary career is accompanied by the development of China's e-sports industry. What do you think has changed the most?

　　A: The first is the influence of the audience. Everyone has a higher degree of acceptance of e-sports. The lineup of e-sports event sponsors is getting stronger and stronger, the coverage of live broadcasts is getting wider and wider, and various platforms, channels and media are following e-sports. related things.

　　The second is the emergence of many associated industries.

The third is that on a global scale, China's influence in the e-sports project will be different from when I first entered the industry.

Q: Do you think LPL's "Weekend Dining Night" is a useful attempt on e-sports culture?

　　A: I personally think that with the way and age of e-sports, it is difficult to have a culture like traditional sports, and it is difficult to produce cultural aspects through a single event.

　　As a general term, e-sports includes too many different contents and different projects. It is difficult for a single project of e-sports to last for a long time.

Our programs are working hard, but the real meaning at present is to serve the audience and events.

Q: You have commented on the NBA, Champions League and other games, and you are the representative of the "breaking circle" of e-sports.

What do you think is the biggest difference between traditional sports and esports?

　　A: Personally, the difference in commentary work is not that big.

　　In China, the strength of e-sports and the degree of influence on a global scale are the best ones. When I go to explain the competitions of other sports, it is more of other people's competitions. The difference in localization is very big.

　　In terms of the scale and quality of production and live broadcast, I think e-sports is the best.

Taking League of Legends e-sports broadcast scale and production level as an example, it is much better than many traditional projects.

Q: Are there any unknown difficulties behind the e-sports project commentary?

　　A: Anything you want to do well, you must pay the corresponding effort and price behind it.

　　You have to accept that you are the expressor, and being misunderstood is the expressor's mission. There are so many people in this world, it is impossible for everyone to understand you, and it is even more impossible for everyone to agree with you.

Q: What kind of relationship do you think should be between e-sports commentators and e-sports players?

　　A:

　　After all, commentary is a profession that is separated from the arena and does not participate in the competition itself.

There can be a slight relationship, such as some professional questions, ask the players privately, or establish a good communication with some players through the official program, but in the job of commenting, you should treat them equally. of.

Q: Of the games you have commented on, which one is the most impressive?

　　A: It should be in the Bird's Nest commentary competition in 2017.

I am from Beijing, and my home is on the edge of the Fourth Ring Road.

When I was a child, I could see the bird's nest as soon as I came out of the house, and I could see that it grew out of nothing and was built little by little.

　　After the successful bid for the Olympics, as a Beijinger, there is a sense of pride—Beijing is going to host the Olympics.

The Bird's Nest is called the National Stadium, and it is the sports symbol of our Chinese nation.

One day, you have the opportunity to work in it because you did a good job.

That's something you've always admired since you were a kid.

Q: You have a lot of commentary, which one is the most satisfying to you?

　　A: The commentary work itself is difficult to replicate.

I try to avoid saying the same thing, even if I think it's really good, but I say it twice at most.

If, as a commentator, what you care about is the so-called golden sentence, it will be difficult for you to do the job well.

　　Commentary work, maybe in a game or even a week of games, 90% of the time you need to do is to talk about it steadily, no problem, maybe 10% is the climax, but it is impossible to think about this 10%. , and more attention should be paid to how to make the audience comfortable.

Q: What do you think of your so-called "poisonous milk" constitution?

　　A: Everyone treats this as a meme, and I gladly accept it,

　　When this happened in the first place, I did make a lot of wrong predictions. In fact, I also predicted right many times later, but no one noticed.

Now in order to avoid similar situations, I try to avoid participating in predictions.

Q: You are also a senior football fan. The World Cup in Qatar is about to start. Are there any teams you support?

　　A: Not really.

The World Cup must support our own country the most, but we don't have a national team in the World Cup.

I might just look at them all, but I didn't say any special support teams.

It is related to the favorite club, so Real Madrid players will definitely pay more attention. To be honest, I think Brazil may pay more attention this year because it has more players from the younger generation of Real Madrid.

In addition, when I was in football enlightenment, Brazil was strong, and I liked the Brazilian national team more.

Q: Many young people want to be professional e-sports commentators. What advice do you have for them?

　　A: Today, entering the e-sports industry is relatively simple.

Now e-sports projects and brokerage companies have very fixed and open recruitment for the society and campuses, and they are unlikely to find a job.

What you have to do is to strengthen yourself, whether it is academic or professional.

Q: Some teenagers dream of becoming professional players. As a professional commentator and player, what advice do you want to give them?

　　A: With the development of the times, it is less likely that you want to play a career and have enough strength, but you have no way out.

　　Any competitive game now has its own leaderboard, as long as you are good enough, you can even get a job by playing the game yourself, because as long as the ranking is high enough, someone will ask you if you want to play professionally.

If you want to fight now, work hard for a while, but no one has contacted you yet, and you haven’t found the so-called way, maybe you are really not suitable for this matter.

　　(Reporter Wang Hao)