If one had to find a player with one of the most disappointing performances at the World Championship (Worlds) 2023, many would likely think of Chovy. The Mid Laner of Gen.G truly underperformed. The rare match where he somewhat made his name known was against T1. Because, aside from an easy win against GAM Esports, the victory over T1 was perhaps the brightest highlight for Chovy and Gen.G this Worlds season.
But if Worlds is still a top-tier battleground, then Chovy’s recent defeat is what truly deserves attention. Specifically, during the time when teams and players are resting in preparation for the new 2024 season, Gen.G was invited to participate in the Shanghai Master 2023. This is a friendly tournament featuring various Esports disciplines. In League of Legends, besides Gen.G, there are two LPL teams, Edward Gaming and Bilibili Gaming, along with a representative from PCS, CBTC Flying Oyster.
This is an off-season tournament, so typically teams will incorporate many players from the Challengers or Academy teams to learn, guided by veteran players. For Gen.G, two players, Chovy and Peyz, will participate, with Chovy moving to the Top Lane – a position he is quite familiar with.
However, Chovy once again faced defeat as they lost to EDG – a team whose main and substitute rosters haven’t had good results in the past year. In fact, Chovy did not perform better than the young stars on the opposing side, even though he faced off against a relatively unknown player – Solokill. Witnessing Chovy’s defeat, many fans expressed confusion over why he chose to participate in a “meaningless” tournament when he could have taken a break, only to be affected psychologically again.
Nevertheless, there are many opinions stating that this is just a friendly tournament and perhaps Chovy and his teammates are not too concerned about the results. However, no one knows what Chovy’s current mood and mental state are like. Especially after an unsuccessful Worlds, he still hasn’t had a break while there are many reports that the opening match of the LCK Spring 2024 will be against the reigning world champion T1.