General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Gank Your Heart (陪你到世界之巅)

Gank Your Heart (陪你到世界之巅, Pei Ni Dao Shi Jie Zhi Dian, "Accompany You to the Top of the World") is a 2019 Chinese youth drama about professional electronic sports (esports), broadcast on Mango TV in 35 episodes from June 9 to July 9, 2019.¹ It was also known during development as Dian Jing Lian Ren (电竞恋人, "Esports Lovers"), the title of the novel by Nan Yelin'er (南野琳儿) from which it was adapted.²^•³ The series stars Wang Yibo as the professional player Ji Xiangkong and Wang Zixuan as the aspiring commentator Qiu Ying.²

Key fact	Detail
Original title	陪你到世界之巅 (Pei Ni Dao Shi Jie Zhi Dian); working title 电竞恋人 (Dian Jing Lian Ren)²
Broadcast	Mango TV, June 9 to July 9, 2019, 35 episodes of roughly 40 to 45 minutes¹^•⁴
Main cast	Wang Yibo (Ji Xiangkong), Wang Zixuan (Qiu Ying), Yan Yuhao (Pei Xi), Ding Guansen (Lin Yixuan), Lu Xiaoyu (Lu Yiyi), Yan Xujia (Xia Ling)⁵
Production	Directed by Sha Weiqi; screenwriter Zhang Chanjuan; produced by MGTV and Grand Media⁵
Source	Adapted from Nan Yelin'er's original novel Dian Jing Lian Ren (电竞恋人)³
Reception	Douban score opened above 7 and rose to 7.2, placing it among the top ten domestic dramas of the first half of 2019⁶
Viewership	Total plays reported as 2.19 billion in one July 2019 industry report; Mango TV's own page later listed 2.48 billion⁷^•⁸

Spoilers

Premise

The story follows two young people pursuing careers in the esports industry. Ji Xiangkong is a professional player known as a brilliant tactician; his reputation in the scene is tarnished, and he carries the nicknames "Battle Swindler" and "Hand Remnant", the latter mocking him as clumsy despite his strategic skill.²^•⁹ Qiu Ying is a rising internet broadcaster who aims to become a professional esports commentator but is dismissed as a mere "vase", a pretty face without substance.²^•⁸

The plot opens with Ji Xiangkong's team, Team Legends, losing the championship at a world-level tournament. The team falls apart, he faces pressure and demands to terminate his contract, and he leaves. Refusing to abandon his goal, he forms a new team, Phoenix, and fights his way back through competition to the top of the world stage.⁵^•¹⁰ Along the way he and Qiu Ying move from mutual misunderstanding to mutual support, each helping the other toward their dream.⁹

Cast and characters

Wang Yibo plays Ji Xiangkong, previously leader of Team Legends and Team VNG and leader of Team Phoenix. Wang Zixuan plays Qiu Ying. Yan Yuhao plays Pei Xi, leader of the VNG team; Ding Guansen plays Lin Yixuan, a talented player who admires Ji Xiangkong; Lu Xiaoyu plays Lu Yiyi, Qiu Ying's friend; and Yan Xujia plays Xia Ling, Qiu Ying's younger brother.²^•⁵^•⁹ Supporting characters include Fu Miya, a well-known idol and Ji Xiangkong's first love, and Qiao Xin, the top host of the Youxing platform who is jealous of Qiu Ying.⁹

Wang Yibo also performed the theme song, "Zui Ran de Maoxian" (最燃的冒险, "The Most Burning Adventure").⁹^•³

Production and context

The series was produced by Mango TV with co-producers Kuaile Yangguang, Qingxin Culture, Guanda Film and Television, and Mango Interactive Entertainment, and it streamed exclusively on Mango TV.¹¹ During production the crew released a documentary, Jingji Zhuimengren (竞技追梦人, "Competitive Dream Chasers"), in which the team visited domestic esports clubs, commentary platforms, and esports-focused industry towns, interviewing active and retired players, team managers, and policy implementers.¹¹

It was described in contemporary coverage as an early esports-themed drama broadcast in China, following the premiere of The Strongest Male God.¹²^•¹⁹ The subject was timely: the Ministry of Education had added "esports sports and management" to its list of recognized majors, and the General Administration of Sport had approved esports as the 78th official competitive sport.¹³

Reception

Ratings and viewership. The Douban score opened above 7 and rose to 7.2, placing the series in the top ten domestic dramas of the first half of 2019 and near the top among youth dramas.⁶ A July 2019 industry report ranked it fifth among dramas, with 310 million plays in its fourteenth week on air and an all-network heat score of 59.20.¹⁴ Total plays were reported as 2.19 billion in one industry document,⁷ while Mango TV's own page later listed 2.48 billion.⁸ On Viki the series holds a 9.3 user rating from more than 10,000 votes, and on IMDb a 7.3.¹⁵^•¹⁶ The series won awards at the 2019 China International TV Series Fair and the 2019 Weibo TV Drama Awards, according to its Japanese distributor Rakuten TV.⁴

Critical commentary. A People's Daily commentary credited the series with using a "youth plus esports" formula to let audiences see professional esports in an ordinary light, breaking the old stereotype of gaming as a corrupting pastime, and with showing that esports shares the spirit of traditional sport: surpassing oneself, and teamwork.¹³ A Guangming Online review placed it in the "youth plus" innovation trend of Chinese youth dramas, alongside "youth plus adventure" and "youth plus workplace" formats.¹⁷

Criticism focused on the depiction of gameplay. Reviewers noted that the series contains many common-sense errors in its match scenes, that actual game action occupies little screen time, and that a viewer expecting a technically rigorous esports drama would be disappointed; the same review judged that the show succeeded in explaining how the esports industry operates and what its various jobs require.¹² Commentators also observed that the series received little promotional support and relied partly on Wang Yibo's fan base for word-of-mouth publicity.¹²^•⁹

Related versions and distribution

Mango TV later released Gank Your Heart: Rexue Ban (陪你到世界之巅热血版, "Hot-Blooded Version"), a recut that extracts the professional esports storyline from the original series, following Ji Xiangkong from the championship loss through the rebuilding of his team to the world title.¹⁰ Character-focused special editions, such as the Yan Xujia "Xia Ling" personal cut, were also released for members.¹⁸ Internationally the series streamed with English subtitles on Viki and reached Japanese audiences on Rakuten TV and Amazon's Asian Drama channel under the title Gank Your Heart: Kimi to, Sekai no Hate made.¹⁵^•⁴^•¹⁶

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › East Asian web and streaming serials › Titles Cr to In

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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