The second week of the LPL Second Stage group matches has ended. On the last match day, WE battled TT in the Summit Group, with both teams fighting through three games. In the end, WE came out on top, securing their fourth win of the stage. At the same time, Top Esports blanked JDG 2-0. After this BO3, the disparity in the Summit Group became clear: the top four teams all have at least four wins, while those from fifth place onward have only one win at most.

JDG has been completely underperforming this stage. In five matches, they have only beaten TT. Whenever they face BLG or Top Esports, they crumble instantly. If this trend continues, JDG is very likely to fail to directly qualify for the playoffs. If they can't even make the top 6 out of 8, there's nothing more to say—time to disband. On the same day, another match was IG vs. LNG, which drew far more attention than the Summit Group games.

IG needed only two games to easily defeat NIP and secure their second consecutive win. In the first game, IG initially baited the haters: bot laner Assum greedily pushed and got caught in a 1v2, giving first blood, while top laner TheShy overextended and was ganked by NIP, dying. Just as the haters were mocking "Is that all IG has?" TheShy suddenly turned it around. When LNG sent four players to gank him top lane in a seemingly hopeless situation, TheShy used Flash to outplay and killed one enemy.

Most top laners would just give up and save Flash when facing a 4-man dive, but not TheShy. He used Flash to create distance, then landed a point-blank enhanced Q to kill the enemy jungler, turning LNG's entire squad into his highlight reel. In team fights, TheShy dealt massive damage and consistently picked off carries. IG won the first game in just 29 minutes. In the second game, TheShy stopped holding back and went all out.

At three minutes into the game, TheShy solo-killed the opposing top laner "Xiao Haige." Meanwhile, jungler Wei also caught LNG's mid laner. Bot laner Assum dominated his lane opponent as well. With advantages in all three lanes, IG gave LNG no chance to counterattack. They played steadily, securing dragons and towers, and finished the game in just 25 minutes. The total duration of both games was 54 minutes—basically like playing against bots.

Looking at this match alone, IG is absolutely overpowered in the Rebirth Group. Even compared to the bottom four teams in the Summit Group, IG's strength is dominant. Who on earth dropped IG down to this group last stage? After this win, IG's chances of reaching the Knight's Path are very high. With four games remaining, winning just 2-3 more would secure their spot. However, I personally think IG can win all of them.

After the match, all IG members came on stage for fan interactions. A male fan interacting with TheShy did something unexpected: while taking a selfie, he suddenly turned his head to kiss TheShy. Luckily, Shy reacted quickly with a sharp dodge, avoiding the "forced kiss." Wow, that fan was way too wild—kissing him right in front of everyone. Shy should be more careful in the future.

Besides the kiss incident, TheShy was involved in another controversy off the field. Official caster PYL, while co-streaming LEC matches, suddenly said, "Draw a talisman for your brother Jiang too." This remark immediately sparked controversy. TheShy fans reported PYL to LPL officials, who will impose penalties later. LPL relies on TheShy's popularity, yet PYL dared to stir up trouble.

Conclusion:

The context of PYL's remark is that LEC's director likes to mark players' movement paths on the minimap, which PYL and others call "ghost scribbles." While discussing IG, he suddenly made that comment. Frankly, he deserves the punishment. It's one thing for viewers to joke around, but an official caster should not be stirring up drama. If not punished, who else?

So, what do you think about TheShy's current form?

Feel free to leave a comment and discuss!