The Rookie curse strikes again! Turned into a bubble match jinx, missing Worlds for five years, now on the brink of retirement.

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Yesterday, the LPL conducted the winners' bracket match of the bubble tournament, with the victorious team becoming the region’s third seed to qualify for the S15 World Championship. TES comfortably beat IG 3-1 to advance.

IG’s Guardian Angel has been used up, leaving them with just one remaining opportunity.

The Rookie curse returns, becoming the bubble tournament’s poison pill.

Before the match started, official data was shared showing that IG’s mid laner Rookie holds the record for the most bubble tournament appearances among LPL professionals. Including this year’s bubble, Rookie has played in eight bubble matches throughout his career. However, this record is not something to celebrate because Rookie’s win rate in these bubble matches is extremely low.

On one hand, if a player has participated in many bubble tournaments, it indicates their regular season results were not top-tier, as bubble matches are usually fought between the third and fourth seeds, meaning this player’s team never reached the top two.

Looking at bubble match qualification rates, Rookie is known as the bubble tournament’s jinx in the LPL due to his very low win percentage. Except for 2019 when he qualified through the bubble, he has failed to reach Worlds via this route in other years. Of course, in 2025, IG still has a chance to become the fourth seed.

But even if IG wins the battle for the fourth seed, the World Championship prospects look grim. According to Riot’s new format, the fourth seeds from the LPL and LCK must play a best-of-five match; the loser will be eliminated from Worlds, finishing 17th. The worst part is that the fourth seed cannot participate in the ASI Asian Invitational tournament.

Rookie’s form is poor, becoming the team’s weak link.

Rookie’s low bubble match win rate is partly due to team strength, but more importantly, Rookie’s own performance has been lackluster. This explains why he is considered the bubble tournament’s jinx — his form drops significantly during these crucial matches.

In yesterday’s match against TES, Rookie became the team’s weak point, being thoroughly outplayed by Xiaonaiyou in lane. His individual performance and stats were quite poor, finishing with a total KDA of 6-12-19 over four games. He either disappeared from fights or made critical mistakes leading to deaths. When a mid laner performs like this, it becomes extremely difficult for the team to win.

The most discussed game was the last one, where Rookie picked mid Lulu but performed terribly, barely contributing. Many viewers openly said Rookie’s pick backfired, as he chose Doinb’s counter pick and was immediately eliminated.

If you recall past bubble matches, Rookie’s performances were also underwhelming during his stints with NIP, TES, and V5. There was even a match against WBG’s Xiaohu that was worse than this one, where Rookie was completely dominated by Xiaohu.

The all-star roster’s survival battle: Rookie must bounce back.

I believe the upcoming fourth seed matches, potentially against T1, will decide the fate of IG’s all-star lineup. This top-tier popular team formed this year has brought huge attention to the LPL. The league truly needs such a team to keep discussions lively.

However, if IG loses the upcoming matches, maintaining this all-star roster by year-end will be very difficult. Many veteran players may consider retirement. The biggest concern is that players like The Shy and Rookie might lose their motivation and no longer wish to compete.

Under these circumstances, Rookie must regain his form and aim for a breakout performance in the upcoming do-or-die matches. It’s worth noting that Rookie’s individual form has generally been decent this year, but repeatedly faltering in critical matches can break the mindset of even a champion player.

Everyone can look forward to seeing if Rookie can turn his form around in the next games and help IG achieve an improbable miracle.