Following TES’s 2-1 win against WE, TES earned the playoff "resurrection" and a spot in the LPL play-ins. As TES maintains a top-two position in the LPL, many IG supporters are happy because TES’s strength raises the value of IG’s victories over them. During IG versus TES games, IG has often pulled off 3v5 fights while at an economic disadvantage, and their ability to reverse losing situations has earned praise from many LPL viewers, who regard IG as one of the toughest teams to defeat in the league.

Recently, the LPL officially released some peculiar statistics about IG, revealing that IG is the only team in LPL history to have a high win rate despite being at a lane disadvantage. Since the start of the third phase, IG’s lane advantage rate is only 30%, ranking 13th in the LPL, yet their win rate when laning at a disadvantage is an impressive 63%, topping the league’s win rate charts. (When facing BLG and WBG, IG has pulled off massive comebacks with a 10,000 gold deficit, leading many LPL fans to say a team’s strength is measured by its ability to win from behind.)

However, many viewers believe IG’s early laning disadvantages are entirely due to their coach Dan Shen’s questionable decisions. IG’s drafting process is like a scientific experiment; for example, in the key match against WBG, the coach picked a bizarre late-game trio of Gwen top, Orianna mid, and Senna bot, resulting in no early damage output for IG and allowing WBG to dominate early. If it weren’t for TheShy’s exceptional individual skill in game one, IG might have been swept by WBG.

Although IG’s frequent comebacks bring joy to many fans, there are still concerns about potential failures caused by laning issues. Some IG supporters think IG’s winning streak is due to the LPL’s low overall level. If IG advances to the World Championship and faces teams like T1 or GEN, they must fix their laning disadvantages since those teams have strong macro play and rarely make mistakes. (If IG falls behind by 10,000 gold against GEN or T1, can TheShy’s individual skill turn the game around?)

TheShy’s interview contradicts Bin!

After IG’s victory, their star top laner TheShy gave an official media interview. The host asked why IG manages to come back from large deficits every match. TheShy admitted that their win in the first game was tough and due to his own laning mistakes. He expressed gratitude to his teammates for helping him scale and concluded with a sharp insight that winning in LOL isn’t just about individual mechanical skill but also requires strategic thinking. (Honestly, if another LPL top laner played Gwen in game one, IG probably would have lost.)

Many LPL viewers compared TheShy’s remarks with interviews from BLG’s top laner BIN and AD carry ELK. BIN and ELK believe LOL is a game decided by player mechanics; BIN has repeatedly claimed in interviews that his mechanical skill is world-class, while ELK often blames losses on poor player execution. Which opinion do you think is correct, TheShy’s or BIN’s? (Personally, I find TheShy’s view convincing, since BLG has suffered multiple reverse sweeps this season, showing that relying solely on mechanics isn’t enough to win in LOL.)