Beijing, May 5 (Zhongxin Net) -- Wink never imagined that he would one day become the "head" of iG. In the offseason after the spring season, he traveled to the beach with friends. When he was joked that he hadn't been tanned, Wink laughed and said that it would be because he was already black. Such a Wink and the word "head" seem to be far away.

This spring, he wore a shirt with stars and set off with his younger teammates. The seniors had climbed that mountain, and Wink wondered if we could do the same.

iG in charge

"Over this mountain, they will hear your story, no matter how it ends!" The 2018 League of Legends World Finals is a stage for iG. The players with the word "Pole" written on the back of the jersey lifted the first global finals trophy in the LPL division, and iG was forever written into the LPL's honor book.

But now, there are no champions in the iG team, only the star that represents the champion on the uniform.

The word "chief" has a bit of a quack meaning. If in a martial arts novel, Wink's plot should be that he is in danger, and then his skills are greatly increased due to adventures, and finally he leads the sect back to the top. But esports is not a novel, and Wink's head is completely less free.

Wink's real name is Zhang Rui, because of the game ID, it is now also called "Wink" by the audience. When he first heard this nickname, he was actually not very comfortable. "It feels awkward and strange, and suddenly I am in charge."

Wink。 Photo courtesy of iG Esports Club

The original champions all left the team, and Wink, born in 1999, became the big brother of the team. On and off the court, he helps his young teammates stabilize their mentality and make progress. The team needed to support the players, and after thinking about it, he decided to switch to the top.

"At that time, I should have struggled for two or three days, I have been playing AD for several years, and suddenly I had to give up this position, which was really difficult at first. I figured it out later, and felt that since there was no way, the team really needed it at present, and it was okay to change positions. ”

He recalled his mood when he first changed positions, still smiling, just like he did most of the time, looking like a character accustomed to emotional exposure.

Moving to the auxiliary position, a lot of basic things have to be relearned, and Wink has struggled. But when such times come, he will choose to "digest it himself", in his words, "take pleasure in suffering and slowly overcome it".

Wink。 Photo courtesy of iG Esports Club

Half and half

"Half is willing to accept, half is unwilling to accept. Now everyone's situation, I really need to be in charge, but if I can not be in charge, I don't really want to be in charge. Bearing the title of 'iG Master' is not a simple matter. For the "head" status, the current Wink can only accept half of it.

He gave his spring performance a 5.5 point, "If 6 points are passed, the spring season result is not very satisfactory, and I feel that it is not very passable." ”

Objectively speaking, in the past spring competition, iG brought a big surprise to the audience, once occupying the top of the LPL standings. This made the players who initially set themselves the goal of making the playoffs a little excited. Wink began to wonder: Can we play one more playoff round?

At that stage, iG gave people a vague glimpse of what this team looked like at its peak - passionate, passionate, full of imagination. But behind this storm of youth are flaws that young players can't avoid — impulsive, inexperienced, and ultimately, they fail to make the playoffs in good circumstances.

"Although everyone says 'it's a holiday', they should feel very uncomfortable." "Boss" recalled the story with a bit of bitterness, and he used "regret" to describe iG's spring race.

iG Spring Tournament lineup. Photo courtesy of iG Esports Club

'The four team-mates are younger, they may be inexperienced on the pitch, they may be more confused, and I need to correct them and get them on the right path.

Although he is only half accepted as the head of the house, Wink is used to taking on the responsibilities of the boss. He said that the stars on the uniform are the rivers and mountains played by the predecessors, "We need to defend the rivers and mountains, but also expand the territory, play the same results as the predecessors, or play better than the predecessors." ”

Pointed out that this goal is not simple, Wink paused, and then said with a smile: "Professional players are all for this goal. At this time, he seemed to be no different from those "masters" portrayed in martial arts novels.

Wink status

This year's LPL Spring Tournament added a segment where players made their appearances, and in this section, iG was probably the team that contributed the most famous scenes. Before the regular season iG vs. LGD match, Wink appeared half-off his jacket, revealing a short-sleeved jersey with his ID printed on it, and two "#" symbols on either side of the "Wink" to represent the topic.

Wink。 Photo courtesy of iG Esports Club

Since first joining iG in late 2020, Wink's playing field has been the focus of discussion. In a way, playing for such a team with a large number of fans is equivalent to being observed with a magnifying glass. "#Wink status#" frequently appeared on Weibo hot searches, and even became a circle-breaking Internet hot meme.

Wink said that he is not too influenced by public opinion, "It's almost like no influence, because I personally prefer to read some negative public opinion about me, but I don't like to watch the kind of praise of me." He said with a smile: "I prefer to watch others scold me, and I don't like to watch it when it comes to a relatively high level of comment." ”

Of course, "many fans" brings not only pressure, but also motivation. "Every time I go out of the stadium after a game, there will be fans at the door, and at that time, I will feel that everyone is waiting for us to be very such a cold day, and I want to win the game as much as possible." Wink said.

At this time, Wink rarely seemed less grinning, and his feelings were somewhat delicate. The matter of "becoming the head of iG" is not completely compatible with his own personality experience, so the title given to him by the outside world occasionally has a subtle sense of dislocation with him as a person.

Wink。 Photo courtesy of iG Esports Club

Wink is willing to take on the burden of "boss" in reality, and he is not used to wrapping his feelings in too many advanced words, only attributing them to "team needs".

At the end of a martial arts novel, most of the leaders raise their eyebrows, and if supplemented by the appreciation of them from the perspective of others, it is often twice as refreshing for readers.

But Wink is not the head of the novel, he said: "What other people's evaluations seem to be not very important, this journey, I remember it myself." (End)