Return of a rival

When someone had asked Han Wenqing about his honest opinion on the fact that he was voted into the All Star Weekend every year, he would have admitted that he was surprised by his own popularity. However, it wasn't that surprising when thinking about it logically. Han Wenqing was one of the best pro players out there and the oldest active one. With his team he had won multiple championships and there were more ahead. It might be true that he was not the most handsome player and his appearance was more frightening than anything – who had thought that a pro player actually would look like a boxer? Weren't gamers supposed to look like a sack of potatoes? Shouldn't gamers smell like unwashed sport socks, despite not doing any? Weren't gamers those people that never got outside, wore glasses and spoke a different language than the rest of humanity? Weren't gamers supposed to be some losers to laugh at? How dared he betrayal those ridiculous prejudices! And he wasn't the only one, for example there were Zhou Zekai, who looked like a model, Huang Shaotian, who was too hyperactive for his own good or Yu Wenzhou, who could give a very deep analyzes of a person only with a few indications. Even worse, all of them were at the top!
Han Wenqing was tall and muscular. With his constant frown upon his face, he looked more like a member of a street gang or the mafia – people were intimated by him. Still his fans loved him. Such a man was perfect for the position of captain, perfect to be team Tyranny's captain and ace! His appearance represented the style of team Tyranny and it fitted the club's name – rumors had it that Han Wenqing even was the reason, why the club decided for this name in the first place. The same applied for Han Wenqing's avatar that he used in the professional Alliance: Desert Dust. A striker, who used his terrifying strength to destroy his opponents, to crush them into submission, to subdue them! Desert Dust was Han Wenqing in game format! Or was Han Wenqing Desert Dust in real life format? Whatever, the majority of Tyranny fans liked him for what he was! Some even took pride in it.
In the end, no one dared to ask Han Wenqing about his honest opinion on the fact that he was voted into the All Star Weekend every year, so he hadn't had to admit that he was surprised by his own popularity. When he received the invitation from the Alliance he simply showed up at the event, went through with whatever had been planned for him in those two days and afterwards he would just leave and go back to training. This was probably the case for all the pro players and if not, Wenqing did not care.

This year the All Star Weekend was held by team Tyranny, thus in their home stadium. The event may be made up by the Alliance, however it was the responsibility of the clubs to organize them. Every year a different team was responsible for the weekend and of course tried to promote their team – and make as much money out of it as possible. Also, since the event was held in the home stadium of the team, most of the fans visiting were fans of the team, which held the event.
This year the Alliance had thought up something new and stupid – according to Wenqing's opinion and he probably wasn't the only one with that thought. During the event fans had the opportunity to fight alongside their idols or even against them. However, this was only possible when said fan was inside the stadium. Those who were not lucky enough to get a ticket or didn't have time or money to come, would not be able to do so. For the first time all pro player, who were voted into the All Star Weekend, would fight one round in the arena against a random player, who wasn't able to make it to the event. Those who wanted to get this chance had to register beforehand and would receive the name and password for the arena. However, only one of them would be able to fight against their idol, the other ones had to fight their fellow unfortunate souls. The fight itself of course would be broadcasted in the stadium and during the fight – differently than in official matches – it was allowed to talk with each other. When the fans faced their idols in the stadium they had the opportunity to exchange a few words with them, to give this opportunity to the other fans as well, not only was it possible to talk during the fight, but after being defeated one still had the chance of writing in the chat and talking. This was only possible for short amount of time, since no one wanted the conversation to be dragged on forever – but there was no official time limit set, so theoretically the conversation could drag on forever. Whether it would work out the way the Alliance wanted, was up to find out now. The pro players themselves did not care much about it. They would do their job, nothing more, nothing less. And if their job required them to play against fans, they would do so. If they had to chat with them for a few lines, they simply would do so. Keeping a good relationship with their fans was important for the players, since those fans determined their popularity and therewith how interesting they were for sponsors. Sponsors meant money and money was what the club wanted and needed, because in the end even an esports club was a business and such could only operate when having enough money. Furthermore, fans were often part of the club's guilds. The in-game guild was important for the club, since they provided them with items and materials, which were needed for the different silver equipment of the avatars. Also they were responsible for finding new talents and advertise the clubs. No one would dare to endanger their own guild!