IG suffers a heavy defeat to TES but receives good news.

Following TES's 3-1 victory over IG, many IG fans expressed disappointment in the team's performance. Some even speculated that this could be the final year in the careers of top laner TheShy and mid laner ROOKIE, as IG is likely to dissolve next year if they fail to reach Worlds this year. However, an unexpected revelation came when LOL champion mid laner DOINB disclosed during a livestream that he had spoken with the IG owner, who confirmed that both TheShy and ROOKIE will not retire and will continue playing for IG for another year.

After this announcement, many IG fans celebrated with champagne, relieved that there will still be IG matches to watch next year. Yet some fans were disheartened because, judging from the playoff and play-in performances, ROOKIE struggled to adapt to high-intensity competition. Against mid laners like Left, Shanks, and Xiaonaiyou, ROOKIE was dominated from the laning phase. Many fans criticized ROOKIE's champion pool, noting he couldn't play the meta-strong champions and resorted to playing Lulu as a last resort in crucial matches.

Is IG being held back by their coach?

In IG fan discussions, many began advising the management to quickly find a substitute mid laner to replace ROOKIE; otherwise, IG risks not even qualifying as the fourth seed in the LPL. Personally, I believe IG would benefit more from hiring a strong coach. For example, during the regular season, they won by picking Kai'Sa for GALA, but in the playoffs, they didn't pick Kai'Sa once. I really don't understand IG's coaching decisions on drafts. Choosing Lulu in a do-or-die match also seems like a coach's call since ROOKIE hasn't played mid Lulu for a long time.

Beyond mid Lulu, it seems IG's coach didn't thoroughly study TES's gameplay. TES's jungle Pantheon and mid Akali were so feared that in the finals against BLG, BLG avoided giving TES their first three picks. Yet IG's coach allowed TES to pick Akali in the fourth and fifth pick phases and, in the deciding game, banned Kennen and Jayce from top laner 369 but left Akali from mid laner Xiaonaiyou unbanned. According to Ning’s livestream, if IG had a more competent coach, they could easily qualify for Worlds.

Touching moment after TES's victory

After TES secured their spot at Worlds, TES manager Guo Hao was seen crying post-match. Many viewers wondered why Guo Hao was so emotional, especially since the match against IG was a one-sided domination. The TES super topic host later revealed that Guo Hao kept praising TES mid laner Xiaonaiyou after the win and eventually couldn't hold back tears, while Xiaonaiyou comforted him continuously after the game.

Upon learning about Guo Hao's situation, many viewers joked that he must be under a lot of pressure lately. Since TES returned to the VCS, the entire community has been scrutinizing mid laner Xiaonaiyou, but Guo Hao never gave up on him and continuously provided room for his growth. Xiaonaiyou lived up to that trust, being widely recognized as the second-best mid laner in the LPL during the playoffs, even completely outplaying ROOKIE in all four matches. Many viewers are looking forward to Xiaonaiyou’s future performances.

Conclusion

Honestly, if ROOKIE fails to qualify for Worlds this year, he really needs to reflect on his personal form and performance. In previous years, not qualifying could be blamed on teammates, but IG’s current roster should make qualifying for Worlds relatively easy. So I personally look forward to IG’s final showdown in the play-ins. By the way, do you think if IG makes it to Worlds, can they beat T1?