The LPL third stage group stage is now in its third week. The LPL officials recently revealed the Best Team for the second week. BLG, on a six-game winning streak, saw their mid laner and bot lane duo all make the list, with Tarzan taking the jungle spot and TheShy retaining the top lane. The lineup only changed slightly from last week: the AD position switched from JKL to Viper, while the others were repeat selections.

With four players from the Summit Group and one from the Nirvana Group, TheShy's repeated selection has sparked considerable controversy. Many people question the fairness of the official selection process for the weekly Best Team, because the Nirvana Group only plays one match per week. TheShy, who has won exactly two matches, has been selected for the Best Team both times. As a result, a large number of viewers suspect the officials of manipulating the results for views, posting various comments to stir up drama.

Many people even expressed sympathy for Wenbo, Zuian, and Breathe, who clearly won more matches yet missed out on the weekly Best Team. If you didn't watch last week's matches, you might easily be misled. But anyone who actually watched knows what level these three performed at. Being brought up for comparison with TheShy at this point is simply a tool for haters to belittle TheShy.

TheShy is actually not the first Nirvana Group player to be selected for the weekly Best Team. In the third stage last year, Parukia, the support player from EDG (then in the Nirvana Group), won the Best Support for weeks 1-2 with his outstanding performance. However, when Parukia was selected, no one cared or discussed it. As soon as TheShy made the list, controversy arose. The meaning behind this is clear to those who understand.

In terms of on-field performance alone, TheShy is well-deserving. In the first week against WBG, he earned the series MVP from the top lane. In the second week against LNG, he again secured the MVP from the top lane. Over two matches, he was MVP in both. Additionally, during the games, TheShy produced a highlight moment of 1v4 with a kill. Compared to other top laners, TheShy's performance was the most outstanding in the LPL—there is no dispute about that.

Of course, it would be impossible to say that officials completely ignore viewership. IG's two matches in this stage have completely overshadowed the Summit Group teams in terms of attention. The BO3 against WBG had 2.6 million views on Bilibili, and the match against LNG has already reached 1.7 million. In comparison, BLG's match against AL only had a little over 700,000 views. Although IG is a Nirvana team, their traffic and popularity are overwhelming in all aspects.

Considering the traffic, it's understandable for officials to give some favor to IG. However, if they only look at traffic and ignore actual performance, that would be pure nonsense. If the officials really did that, it would inevitably provoke public anger. The reason TheShy can retain the weekly Best Top Laner is that he truly played well. In both of the matches they won, the top lane was the best performer on the team, even more impressive than the top laners in the Summit Group.

Some people also question the quality of matches in the Nirvana Group. This angle of attack is quite tricky, but anyone who has watched the games knows that aside from the matchups among the top four in the Summit Group, the remaining matches are also of low quality. EDG started 0-5 and couldn't even beat TT or LGD. Does a strong team beating them mean quality? Simply put, the top two teams in the Nirvana Group are actually stronger than the bottom four in the Summit Group.

Conclusion:

TheShy is the most popular player in the LPL in terms of traffic, but he also has the largest number of haters by a wide margin. If he hadn't been selected, no one would care about the weekly Best Team. But as it happens, he plays well and there are no flaws to criticize on the field, so haters can only stir up trouble off the field. No matter how much they bash him, those who watch the matches know what state TheShy is in right now.

So, do you think Zuian and Wenbo really have the ability to win the weekly Best Team?

Feel free to leave comments and discuss!