Lets just go through some basics and ratings:
Acting from ML. 10/10 FL 8/10(maybe 6/10 she wasn't consistent).
The rest of the crew were on point most of the time so Id give it 9/10.

Before the showering of compliments of the story, lets talk about the some things that made it not get a full score:
1. The BFF of the FL was really off the chart wtf? Most of the characters had some, even small, kind of background story connected well with the story, except the BFF which also had A LOT of screen time.
2. When in Rome... There are plenty of Korean-Chinese speaking actors, yet, they failed horribly with this. Nuff said.
3. Ep 27 was a really tough filler episode I wish I didn't even watched.
4. TBH, apart from the topic about female gamers (pro gamers even) the FL was really bland in general. Everyone else outshone her in both character and acting.
5. The overall pacing was decent but the last 8 or so episodes felt rushed and all over the place
6. Brand cars... I get it, it was to empathize the characters being rich and all, but cmon! Where is the common sense?
Or was it a product placement thing? Even if you are rich and all that, you would still NOT, especially under those situations drive an Aston Martin car.
7. Speaking of money; Unless you are Elon Musk, even in the esport industry, you cant just buy-out a team over a night.
I get it, fiction and all that but it was really out of place.


Now to all the goodies:

It was a lovely lovestory; it had sugar, it had sweet n sour, it had salty and to my surprise, the spice was chef's kiss.
Most of the things within the topic of the drama was realistic; the issues (money, family, the tourments, the fan-issues, the papparazzis, housing, even the injuries, sponsors etc), the pace, the background and cultures and even the game is not a nonsense gimmick but actually a real game. The same with most of the teams, they are irl teams, so I was really stoked about it (sure, the on screen team players were actors but not all).

I loved the parents here, all of them; from the good and the bad ones.

I loved the directors and everyone on the crew paid such attention to the even tiniest details; the commitment was amazing.

The flirting was solid. Im weak for such type of stories but even weaker for good acting on top of that.
Xu Kai aint ugly, but among many other Chinese actors, he aint the prettiest and most handsome; what he however lacks in looks (as per hunk-standards) he makes up with everything else. I kept telling myself how I was practically falling in love with him as the episodes went on. It was a slowburn til I couldnt even get enough and wanted more.
Then the intimate scenes came and it even made my **cough** maiden heart flutter and my face to blush.
I even felt some jealousy towards the FL, that bad.

But it wasn't just ML and FL's hot scenes that was aced, the second couple, to my surprise was as spicy and juicy.

In the end, what I loved most with the drama was that it was mature.
Young adults but not the kind of gullible nonsense post-teen newly popped from Uni kinda inmature grown-ups often seen in Asian dramas and movies, no, it was like..real?
The friendship and their teasing of each other, contract talking and a lot of things just felt adulty and relatable even for a non-gamer.

I think the story was good enough that it could perhaps even have a sequel and if done the same way, it would still be as good.
This is also one of the few dramas I even recommend for a re-watch.
It has enough elements that it doesnt make it naggy or too tiresome.

If not for the few aspects I mentioned first, Id give this a hard rock10.