Because his rank was too high, the Challenger-ranked player was basically taken into custody.
You are one of the top League of Legends players, amongst the top 0.011%. As such, you decide to spend one day in an internet cafe and hone your skills in your favorite video game. It’s as normal as an athlete going to the gym. Alas, as reported by Chinese site Biajiahao, you have picked the worst possible day to do this, for three reasons:
1 . You’re a Challenger and you’re a huge deal. So this joint in Chongqing has just announced your presence by name to all.
2 . Zhang Yihao is a LoL fanatic who happens to also be an off-duty cop, who’s attentive and good with faces.
3 You are a wanted criminal. You are wanted for criminal offenses.
According to the story, Yihao walked over to the cafe to take a look at the player. It’s not often that you see a player this skilled in action. But when he got there, he thought they looked familiar, so he quietly snapped a photo, confirmed that it was in fact the suspect in question, and then–kapow! –he called in some backup and made the bust.
Yihao says in the video, via machine translation, “I made an appointment for a game and then at noon, when I went to go to the toilet, it was there.” “The strong king arrived online and then I saw a man wearing a dirty ponytail that looked similar to ours.”
(For the record, “strong king” I believe is an incredibly good name for a top-tier player and should be used in every day conversation.
This is not something you would see in the West. Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear someone shout “Andy Chalk!” as I walk into a shop. But win.gg reports that it’s quite common for high-ranking players in China to have the red carpet laid out for them upon their log in. Apart from some ego-fluffing and a bit of self-promotion, the purpose is to encourage others on the scene to continue grinding (and I presume paying for access) so they can also enjoy the fame, fortune, and honor that comes with being the best. Let’s face it, if Michael Phelps was to come into my local pool, I would probably make a big deal about the whole thing.
It’s possible that some people may decide that the celebrity hunt isn’t all it seems to be. It’s not clear what exactly this League-loving criminal was arrested for, but the Google-translated Baijiahao report concludes with a spot of trenchant wisdom that we could all stand to keep in mind: “You never know why your teammate suddenly hangs up.”