The “Harsh” Statement from TheShy About League of Legends
With his great reputation, TheShy has always been one of the most beloved players, as well as having many antifan in the LPL region. Especially after returning to IG and failing at the 2024 Demacia Cup, TheShy has faced quite a bit of criticism from these negative viewers. This seemingly reached its peak on January 6 when TheShy received numerous negative comments just for playing casual ARAM during a live stream. Perhaps unable to endure it any longer, the superstar from IG made some extremely harsh rebuttals afterward.
“Playing ranked is playing ranked; it has nothing to do with whether I practice hard or not. Do you think playing ranked a lot is really good? It just wastes time. In some cases, I can use ranked mode to try out new play styles like tank Jayce. When playing ARAM, at least I can practice my skills in keeping distance from opponents, while solo ranked has little effect. Ranked depends too much on luck, and now is also the end of the old patch, so it makes even less sense.” – TheShy expressed his frustration on air.
Indeed, when looking back at the ranked mode of League of Legends, TheShy’s frank comments do have a certain logic. Current ranked matches have a strong snowball effect, and winning or losing (especially at high ranks) depends heavily on the jungle position. Combined with the fact that we are currently at the end of patch 14.24 and the upcoming patch will have many changes, TheShy chose not to play ranked on live stream. Perhaps because TheShy’s comments were so reasonable, the criticism directed at him afterward completely disappeared.
The Tremendous Pressure Awaiting TheShy in the Upcoming Season
The story above shows that even just a late-season livestream, TheShy has to endure considerable pressure from the audience. Clearly, this will only increase when the new season launches and the LPL kicks off soon. It should be noted that in the 2025 season, TheShy is a piece of the “superstar” lineup of IG, so the performance pressure he has to face will be extremely great.
One advantage for IG in LPL Split 1 2025 is that they are in a relatively easy group with lower-rated opponents. This could also be a “double-edged sword” for IG if they face a lot of criticism for not performing well. Therefore, TheShy and the IG team need to exert themselves in the upcoming season to regain the trust of the audience, especially in the context of the LPL region’s performance having seriously declined in recent years.