But Yu Nian wasn't one to sit around waiting for disaster. Over the past few days, he had deliberately steered Phantom Ice into saying the wrong things.
Under normal circumstances, those remarks might not have seemed like much. Some of the veiled digs could even have been taken as proof of how close they were, something for everyone to enjoy.
But once it came out that they weren't actually on good terms in private, those remarks would become examples of having no boundaries or emotional intelligence, or even of being passive-aggressive.
And the things he said that usually seemed gentle and accommodating would all become evidence of how he had swallowed his grievances to keep the peace.
What he hadn't expected was that, before he could make his move, Du Zhou's fans would go after Phantom Ice first over his words and actions that evening.
As a genius rookie who had burst onto the scene and later become a star player with three consecutive championships, Du Zhou had attracted attention from his debut. Combined with a face that had earned him the nickname "League Su Daji," his fanbase was staggering: he had over six million followers on Weibo alone.
TCG's recent results had been poor. Although Du Zhou had only made occasional mistakes in matches, his haters were still gleefully running rampant, which only made Zhou Fans feel more protective of him.
It was easy to imagine how fierce those fans, already simmering with anger, would be when they learned that Phantom Ice had insulted Du Zhou using a derogatory nickname.
If Phantom Ice had only been a gaming streamer, it wouldn't have been so bad. At most, the fans would have complained about him a little. The problem was that he was also a commentator for the Tournament Organizers,