Among the top laners participating in the upcoming 2021 World Championship in Europe, Xiaohu from Royal Never Give Up is regarded as one of the most formidable names. Not only does he have a diverse champion pool, but Xiaohu’s playstyle is also very adaptable, and notably, he receives enthusiastic support from his RNG teammates, with jungler Wei and occasionally Cryin and Ming often camping top lane. All of this is to ensure Xiaohu has the best possible laning phase, and in the mid to late game, he can either be the best initiator for team fights or a very strong split pusher.
Regarding TheShy, although the Invictus Gaming player had an unsuccessful 2021, he is still highly regarded in top lane matchups, especially when playing champions that suit his style, such as Jayce or Kalista. However, unlike Xiaohu, TheShy does not require as much assistance from his teammates. TheShy is the type of top laner who can manage on his own and gain advantages for himself while still being flexible and contributing positively in team fights when necessary. Notably, TheShy prioritizes the effectiveness and victory of the entire team and adheres closely to the proposed strategies. He is even willing to “only play marksmen in the top lane” when the team requests it, even though he himself would love to try tank matchups like other top laners.
Despite their differences, Xiaohu did not hesitate to criticize TheShy’s choice of Fiora when the two players met in ranked: “Shy ca blindly chose Fiora. Did his teammates force him to pick like that? Perhaps so, and Shy ca didn’t have the courage to refuse them, did he? This is a truly terrible choice; maybe everyone wants to see how it goes, but I still think it’s very bad.”
However, the actual outcome was truly unexpected when Kennen – a hot meta champion in professional matches and one that Xiaohu had used multiple times last season – could not defeat a Fiora that had fallen out of the meta, piloted by TheShy. After the match, Xiaohu’s KDA with Kennen was 4/10/7. As for TheShy, he also had a KDA that wasn’t particularly impressive (5/6/8), but at least the IG player did not feed as much as his counterpart on the other side.
Nonetheless, this was just a ranked match, and Xiaohu likely just wanted to express his confusion over TheShy’s choice of a champion that has long been out of the meta. But it should be remembered that the Lady Blade Master is also one of TheShy’s former signature champions, and she was even the name he chose for his honorary skin after the 2018 World Championship, so she certainly cannot be underestimated.
