Koreans: the Chinese social media phenomenon
Riot·1/12/2015, 11:19:34 PM·0 votes·11,020 views
When a team spends a certain amount of cash to sign a player, it’s in their best interest to show him off. In the off-season, Chinese League of Legends teams with expensive Korean pickups have taken to social media to get fans up close and personal with their new players and to integrate them into the spotlight. From streaming contracts, to Chinese lessons, to karaoke, fans have started getting to know Korean LPL players one click at a time.
Since then, many Korean players have set up their own streams. Bae "dade" Eojin and Jang "Looper" Hyeongseok can be found streaming on Zhanqi, Vici Gaming’s Choi "DanDy" Inkyu and Cho "Mata" Sehyeong stream alongside LGD Gaming’s imp and Choi "Acorn" Cheonju on HuoMao, and Choi "inSec" Inseok and Yoon "Zero" Kyungsup can be found on Douyu.
With frequent streaming, storylines unfold before fans naturally. Interviews and social media have reported since Clearlove and Deft broadcasted their duo, Korean AD carry Deft and Chinese Jungler Clearlove have become fast friends. In an interview with CGA, Deft told media he believes Clearlove is stronger than ex-Samsung junglers DanDy and Lee "Spirit" Dayoon, both now also in China.
When Deft asked ex-teammate Acorn in stream chat if he missed him, Acorn’s candid response was simply "hhh no. deft like clear love."
Edward Gaming isn't the only team finding new ways to put its players in the spotlight, either. OMG, previously the organization most heavily invested in marketing its players, recently started filming a weekly web show to help fans get more familiar with members of the squad. Each episode features an extended interview with a teammate, going over his interests, OMG products, and current activities.
Click here for the most recent episode featuring Guo "san" Junliang.
All sorts of photos of LGD’s new players have flooded the net recently, from Acorn doing Chinese homework and playing with LGD team captain Chen “Pyl” Bo’s cat, to the boys in suits.
Making Chinese lessons public seems to be a common theme, as Edward Gaming broadcasted some of Deft learning live as audio. It’s easy to see why clubs might want to advertise these lessons, as their Korean players learning Chinese suggests they’re involved in the culture and are interested in representing China at future international competitions. Through all of the media, LGD’s message seems to be that their new players are settling in nicely.
What further sets LGD Gaming apart from every other Chinese club except OMG is that they aren’t sticking to marketing to only Chinese fans. LGD has started posting about their LoL team to Twitter, allowing English-speaking fans a chance to keep up to date and see more pictures and videos with the players.
If you still haven’t had enough LGD, they’ve also started a Snapchat (ID: lgdgaming), recently hosted an AMA on Reddit, and have decided to answer the age old question: who is better at karaoke, Flame or Acorn? Caution: the answer might be neither.
Teams have begun heavily marketing their new pickups to make them feel more integrated with the Chinese LoL scene. The end result might be that they stand out a little too much. Regardless of how well these players learn Chinese or get along with their Chinese teammates, the real payoff will be in the games. Korean superstars were hired to play League of Legends, and their successes and failures will be well documented on the Rift.
Be sure to watch LPL teams and their new Korean additions in action, starting January 15th at 9pm PT on Lolesports.
STREAM INTEGRATION
High dollar streaming contracts are part of the lure that brought Korean players to China, and remain one of the easiest ways for teams to increase player exposure. The first time a big Korean acquisition was thrust into the spotlight on stream to represent his team was when Edward Gaming's Ming "Clearlove" Kai duo queued with new Korean teammate Kim "Deft" Hyukkyu in November. The stream received well over one million views.
Since then, many Korean players have set up their own streams. Bae "dade" Eojin and Jang "Looper" Hyeongseok can be found streaming on Zhanqi, Vici Gaming’s Choi "DanDy" Inkyu and Cho "Mata" Sehyeong stream alongside LGD Gaming’s imp and Choi "Acorn" Cheonju on HuoMao, and Choi "inSec" Inseok and Yoon "Zero" Kyungsup can be found on Douyu.
With frequent streaming, storylines unfold before fans naturally. Interviews and social media have reported since Clearlove and Deft broadcasted their duo, Korean AD carry Deft and Chinese Jungler Clearlove have become fast friends. In an interview with CGA, Deft told media he believes Clearlove is stronger than ex-Samsung junglers DanDy and Lee "Spirit" Dayoon, both now also in China.
When Deft asked ex-teammate Acorn in stream chat if he missed him, Acorn’s candid response was simply "hhh no. deft like clear love."
Edward Gaming isn't the only team finding new ways to put its players in the spotlight, either. OMG, previously the organization most heavily invested in marketing its players, recently started filming a weekly web show to help fans get more familiar with members of the squad. Each episode features an extended interview with a teammate, going over his interests, OMG products, and current activities.
Click here for the most recent episode featuring Guo "san" Junliang.
LGD’S JOURNEY TO THE WEST
LGD has seemed like one of the most excited teams when it comes to showing off their new Korean acquisitions to fans. As soon as their most recent addition, Lee “Flame” Hojong, touched down, the team's QQ Weibo posted several photos and announced that Flame公主 (or “Princess Flame”) had arrived.
All sorts of photos of LGD’s new players have flooded the net recently, from Acorn doing Chinese homework and playing with LGD team captain Chen “Pyl” Bo’s cat, to the boys in suits.
Making Chinese lessons public seems to be a common theme, as Edward Gaming broadcasted some of Deft learning live as audio. It’s easy to see why clubs might want to advertise these lessons, as their Korean players learning Chinese suggests they’re involved in the culture and are interested in representing China at future international competitions. Through all of the media, LGD’s message seems to be that their new players are settling in nicely.
What further sets LGD Gaming apart from every other Chinese club except OMG is that they aren’t sticking to marketing to only Chinese fans. LGD has started posting about their LoL team to Twitter, allowing English-speaking fans a chance to keep up to date and see more pictures and videos with the players.
If you still haven’t had enough LGD, they’ve also started a Snapchat (ID: lgdgaming), recently hosted an AMA on Reddit, and have decided to answer the age old question: who is better at karaoke, Flame or Acorn? Caution: the answer might be neither.
Satire and Strategy
The Korean invasion has become such a phenomenon on social media that some clubs have taken the satire approach. Star Horn Royal Club posted the supposed outline of their new AD carry in a teaser photo on their weibo. Fans quickly discovered that the teaser featured the silhouette of a Kpop idol, and not a known AD carry player, highlighting the extreme volume of international roster swaps this off-season.
Teams have begun heavily marketing their new pickups to make them feel more integrated with the Chinese LoL scene. The end result might be that they stand out a little too much. Regardless of how well these players learn Chinese or get along with their Chinese teammates, the real payoff will be in the games. Korean superstars were hired to play League of Legends, and their successes and failures will be well documented on the Rift.
Be sure to watch LPL teams and their new Korean additions in action, starting January 15th at 9pm PT on Lolesports.
