T1 player praises TheShy

In the key qualifier clash between T1 and IG, T1 won 3-1, a result that aligned with many LPL fans’ predictions. After all, LPL caster Guan Zeyuan openly stated that IG winning a single game against T1 would already be an achievement. However, those who watched the full best-of-five series know that the matches were quite competitive, with IG having a significant early lead in the first two games. Many IG fans even dreamed of making history by becoming the first LPL team to eliminate T1.

But the reality left many IG fans speechless. IG players tended to get anxious and impatient whether they were ahead or behind. Even Guan Zeyuan questioned during the matches why IG players seemed so rushed. IG veteran Ning admitted on his livestream that IG lost to T1 not due to mechanics but because of mindset issues. If IG had stayed calm, they wouldn't have made so many mistakes and could have pushed T1 to a full BO5. Ning also acknowledged that IG’s champion pool was limited, making it difficult for them to win in the later games.

In this BO5, IG’s top laner TheShy showed moments of brilliance and mistakes. Although many LPL viewers criticized TheShy’s mechanics, T1’s AD carry Xiao Lü Bu praised TheShy in a post-match interview. Xiao Lü Bu said TheShy’s playstyle put great pressure on T1 players, especially since TheShy often faced 2v1 situations in lane, which even surprised his own teammates. He further complimented TheShy’s choice of Varus in the decisive game, highlighting TheShy’s deep champion pool that even T1’s coaching staff struggled to counter.

Riot guarantees rule changes next year

IG and T1 are the two most popular teams in LoL history, and their qualifier match made World Championship history. Compared to last year’s S14 opening match, this year’s hype increased by 80%. Many viewers called this the most exciting BO5 of S15. Unfortunately, IG failed to qualify for the rest of S15, which saddened many LoL fans. Some IG supporters criticized Riot for being “inconsiderate,” arguing that if the rules had been adjusted, the excitement of S15 would have been multiplied.

As complaints grew louder, Riot officially apologized, acknowledging flaws in the S15 qualifier rules. They promised to revise the rules next year to prevent situations like T1 vs. IG from happening again. Personally, I feel that if Riot had known T1 would face IG in the S15 qualifiers, they would have changed the rules. (In previous years, the qualifier format was better since LPL and LCK always faced off in elimination matches, making it tough for other regions to reach the quarterfinals.)

BLG draws a favorable match

After IG was eliminated by T1, TES became the most affected team since IG’s results impacted TES’s seeding in the World Championship pools. IG’s loss meant TES dropped to the third seed pool, increasing the chance of drawing LCK’s GEN. Luckily, TES got lucky and avoided GEN, instead drawing G2, a team that hasn’t even reached playoffs recently. Meanwhile, LPL’s second seed AL had bad luck and drew LCK’s second seed HLE. BLG, however, got the best possible draw as the only LPL team to face North America’s 100 Thieves.

Conclusion

Although IG lost to T1 in the end, IG’s shareholder Zhang revealed that IG has already renewed contracts with ROOKIE and TheShy. So next year, it’s very likely we’ll see ROOKIE and TheShy competing together again. ROOKIE’s playoff performance was poor, but he is extremely strong at Worlds and even outplayed FAKER in lane. I’m looking forward to ROOKIE and TheShy advancing to Worlds again next year.