ROOKIE's interview sparks heated discussions.

Since IG lost to TES in the opening match, many JIEJIE fans hoped that the IG management would give JIEJIE a chance to start and showcase IG's performance. Unfortunately, many JIEJIE fans were let down as the management had completely decided to keep WEI as the starter, leading to WEI starting in the key match against WE. Many IG fans viewed this match as a test for WEI, especially since IG had previously dominated WE when JIEJIE was the starting jungler.

WEI did not disappoint the audience's expectations, as he successfully helped IG's mid and top laners establish an advantage with his clever early game counter-jungle plays during this BO3. In the mid-game, he transformed into ROOKIE's close bodyguard, ensuring ROOKIE's safety during team fights. Many viewers were curious why BLG chose to let WEI go for Beichuan, considering that WEI's awareness for counter-ganks and jungle strategies was far superior to BLG's jungler Beichuan.

ROOKIE, who was well protected by WEI, admitted in the post-match interview that half of his two consecutive MVP awards were due to WEI's contributions. ROOKIE further praised WEI's strong commanding abilities, noting that the team’s calls were chaotic before WEI joined IG. After WEI's arrival, the team’s coordination issues and decision-making in fights improved significantly. This statement from ROOKIE left many JIEJIE fans feeling disheartened, as it implied that JIEJIE's return to the starting lineup would be quite difficult.

With WEI joining IG, MEIKO's performance has improved.

Personally, I feel that it is really tough for JIEJIE to compete for the starting position against WEI. Industry insiders have revealed that WEI joined IG with almost no salary demands, which means his cost-effectiveness is extremely high. Moreover, ROOKIE has mentioned that WEI is currently leading the team, and WEI's commanding skills surpass those of JIEJIE. This indicates that IG's support MEIKO does not need to take on the role of shot-caller and can focus solely on performing well.

The reason MEIKO was able to win the Best Support award last year with TES was that the team's shot-calling was handled by jungler tian and JKL, allowing MEIKO to just provide input and execute plays. However, upon joining IG, MEIKO had to take on the role of shot-caller, and it became challenging for him to manage both calling and executing plays simultaneously. This led to many suboptimal plays during matches. Now that WEI has taken over the shot-calling role, MEIKO's gameplay has noticeably improved.

IG faces its biggest fan conflict!

After ROOKIE's high praise for WEI, many JIEJIE fans spontaneously protested in the comments section of IG's official blog, believing that ROOKIE was being ungrateful. After all, many of IG's past victories were thanks to JIEJIE securing Baron steals. However, ROOKIE's comments about IG's previous issues clearly indicated that the losses were attributed to JIEJIE. Thus, many JIEJIE fans hope that the IG management will take responsibility and directly terminate JIEJIE's contract, allowing him to leave IG instead of holding onto his contract and wasting his youth.

Conclusion

WEI's arrival at IG has indeed helped resolve the shot-calling issues left by MEIKO. However, it cannot be said that JIEJIE's shot-calling was ineffective; rather, it simply did not suit TheShy and ROOKIE. Previously, when THESHY called for fights, JIEJIE and MEIKO often insisted on playing it safe, leading to situations where ROOKIE followed TheShy, but the jungler and support were out of sync, leaving GALA stranded. Now, under WEI's leadership, at least everyone has a unified voice during team fights. Do you think jungler JIEJIE has a chance to return to the starting lineup in the future?