Best coach gnashing teeth

The second stage of the LPL regular season kicked off again after a short two-day hiatus. The second week of LPL had several highlight matches, such as the IG versus WBG showdown on the first day of competition; many spectators anticipated IG beating WBG to claim the number one position in the LPL standings. Since IG crushed TES in the Petroleum Cup(TES had recently shut out JDG and AL), many LPL viewers have been looking forward to IG's future performances, with quite a few even labeling IG as a top-tier "king" team in the LPL. Numerous IG fans believe that if the players' form remains steady, IG has a chance to defeat BLG.

Before the IG vs. WBG match, many spectators thought IG would easily overpower WBG, given that WBG hadn't won a single major match since the start of the second stage, whereas IG had been on a winning streak before and after the second stage commenced, currently tied with BLG for first place on the LPL points table. However, unexpectedly, WBG bounced back from losing the first game, rallying to win the next two and securing their first global victory in the second stage. Who would have thought that IG, with a 3/0 major match record, would lose to WBG, which had a 0/3 points tally.

In this BO3, the most memorable moment for viewers was undoubtedly the second game between IG and WBG. During this match, IG capitalized on WBG players' mistakes, successively eliminating four WBG members; many spectators assumed IG would push through and finish, but WBG players revived at the last possible moment, ultimately wiping out all five IG players and barely defending their home base. After successfully defending, WBG seized several IG missteps and pulled off an incredible comeback.

After IG failed to take the base, IG's head coach Helper showed a "gnashing teeth" expression in the restroom, amusing many LPL viewers with his emotional display. It must be said, that base push was truly thrilling; if IG's top laner Breathe hadn't switched to hammer form as Jayce and charged in to hammer opponents, IG might very well have won 2-0. Even WBG's Xiaohu remarked in the post-match interview that the game was terrifying, with all five WBG players' heart rates soaring during the match.

IG fans miss ROOKIE

Following IG's narrow loss to WBG, many IG fans began longing for ROOKIE, especially since in this match, IG's new mid-laner Renard made serious errors with Orianna and LeBlanc. Many believe if ROOKIE had played Orianna or LeBlanc, IG likely would have secured victory, given that Renard, with a 2/0 start in the third game on a fed LeBlanc, was solo-killed by Xiaohu. Some IG fans think Renard's champion pool has issues, lacking proficiency with certain traditional mages compared to ROOKIE.

When IG mid-laner ROOKIE first announced his "break," former IG jungler Ning revealed that ROOKIE would return to the competitive scene in the future, leading many to speculate ROOKIE would rejoin IG in May. Do you think Renard will still have a chance to secure the starting spot once ROOKIE returns? Many industry insiders consider ROOKIE's competitive potential stronger than Renard's. (Of course, the main reason IG lost to WBG was largely due to top laner Breathe's invisibility during the match.)

Conclusion

IG's current strength is actually quite formidable; despite losing to WBG, their gameplay and macro were impressive, though some mid-game decision-making errors occurred. I feel if IG continues to磨合 (磨合 means磨合), they genuinely have hope of qualifying for Worlds. Personally, I'm also curious about IG fans' current stance on ROOKIE, as I've seen many comments from viewers who don't want ROOKIE to return to the arena. What do you think IG's future approach to ROOKIE will be?