How to evaluate TheShys performance in the S13 Finals?

Library Distribution

There are no libraries in Seoul.

Libraries are distributed across the vast land of China.

No conflict between upper and lower limits

The upper limit is high and the lower limit is low without any conflict.

TS Team’s Condition Improved

It can only be said to be normal.

To put it simply, has TS reduced their investment in the I-Series since S10?

As a result, when you see them perform like this, everyone is used to it and no one mentions the worn-out cliché of loyalty and patriotism.

Isn’t it just because of the reputation of this ID that fans had certain illusions before the match?

They say that during the match against BLG, there was an explosive performance,

Without wearing a filter, you are just an old veteran who has been in a slump in recent years and frequently performs poorly, but suddenly you explode and defeat the new top laner king of LPL.

With a filter on, you are actually a top lane war god who has always had the strength, but have been delayed due to various reasons, and has finally found yourself again, everything has come back.

It’s just that many people believe it’s the latter, but in reality, it’s the former.

Zeus dominates LPL, FMVP deservedly

Well, their skills just don’t measure up. The four top laners in LPL are basically being crushed by Zeus.

In this season’s S tournament, the four LPL teams and T1 had a record of 11:1.

Zeus not only dominates in the laning phase, but also has a deep champion pool. He can play alligators, weapons, swordsmen, Jayce, Rumble, Yone, Gwen, and more.

FMVP is well-deserved!

Remorse for Wasting Talents

How great it would be if that opportunity had not been wasted

Or rather, how great it would be if one had not squandered their own talents

BP Restrictions and The Shy’s Performance

Being completely targeted in the BP, finally fell into a state of frustration in the third game.

In one of the pre-match questions, I believed that BP accounts for thirty to fifty percent of the outcome. But now it seems to be accounted for seventy percent or more. T1’s champion pool is extremely deep, all the popular champions of the current meta are played. Facing Deany’s combination of Kalista in the bot lane, they can either split an Alistar with Renekton and pick Draven, or directly counter all the counters with Xayah and Rakan. They can use Yasuo to counter Sett, or Akali to counter Vladimir.

And most importantly: always limit The Shy.

Always ban Rumble, Nidalee, and Thresh in the BP. Rumble was banned because The Shy performed exceptionally well with him in the semifinals. Nidalee was banned so that JackeyLove couldn’t play her as an engaging tool anymore, the responsibility of initiating team fights had to be given to Weiwei or The Shy. In the second and third games, Kwangsan was banned in the second round. He is the only tanky champion that can make a significant impact in team fights. WBG had reached a point of no return, either the jungle will take charge of initiations while the top laner engages in team fights: Weiwei’s Maokai and The Shy’s Jax, or the jungle initiates team fights while the top laner engages: Weiwei’s Lulu and The Shy’s Kennen.

In this way, everything falls onto Zeus, the last line of defense against The Shy for T1. And Zeus lived up to expectations, countering The Shy significantly in all three games, truly deserving the title of FMVP. T1 also made great efforts to gank the top lane during the game, especially in the second game, where multiple ganks from both sides led to The Shy’s complete mental breakdown. This resulted in the bewildering scene of the third game, where the jungler’s movement abilities were fully exploited and Canyon’s Olaf was covered by Bardo.

Throughout the game, Deany’s BP was like practicing martial arts inside a snail’s shell. It wouldn’t be accurate to say that he made mistakes in BP, but rather that he was desperately trying to break free from a limited champion pool. And T1 responded with counter-picks, exploiting their advantageous positioning. It reminded me of IG in 2018, the ultimate swinging between mid and top lane. G2 and FNC faced IG at that time, just like WBG facing T1 now, it was despairing.

To understand The Shy’s performance in the finals, one must first understand the pre-game BP. There were highlights, such as surviving a gank with barely any health left against Gwen in the top lane, almost turning it around and getting a kill under the turret. But against T1’s perfectly controlled minion waves, he had to try to immediately counter-kill Gwen, otherwise, he would fall far behind in farming and his development would completely collapse. When your skills are insufficient, all you can do is go all-in, but unfortunately, the gamble was lost. When pushed to the brink, Kennen’s plays started to falter, both in lane and in team fights.

Throughout this month of games, The Shy showcased astonishing laning skills, impressive team fight performances, and also made mistakes such as raining down abilities, random interactions, and comical blunders (The lightning and destiny fiasco will probably accompany The Shy and Liu Qingsong’s career highlights).

And considering that this year they almost fell from being a team of aging internet stars to staging a comeback, from being bottom tier in the regular season to making it to the World Championships. Then making it through the playoffs based on sheer luck, taking down a strong team like BLG who hadn’t lost in a year (excluding the Weibo Cup). It has already been a very satisfying year. Top lane is a position where players have a relatively short lifespan, but being able to witness The Shy’s Rumble still igniting fires, Senna causing havoc on the map, Jax massacring everyone in the river, it’s similar to Faker, who is 27 years old, still being able to carry the game with Akali, hitting every single Shuriken, and winning his fourth championship with his own hands. Before the semifinals, I said that the scariest situation would be winning against BLG and then losing to T1. The public opinion would be extremely negative, but if you can win, you should win. Although being the runner-up is the biggest failure, before that biggest failure, there was a continuous string of victories.

I’d rather die charging forward than to live in a corner. This is The Shy’s most appealing characteristic. It was true in 2018, and it’s true in 2023. WBG, can you come back again next year?

Pressure and Expectations of the Competition

I feel like theshy’s performance is a bit unreasonable. He was stable and skilled before and even impressed me.

However, in the three games, he was too aggressive. In the third game, he knew that the enemy blind monk would come, but he still gave up first blood. Was this suppressive play really necessary?

Weiwei has already performed well. As a player who made it to the finals for the first time in the S tournament, under such pressure, only he can show us the light of victory. However, no matter how we support him, we don’t get any feedback.

I believe everyone has their own discussion group.

Anyway, when we were discussing in our group, we were just hoping to see a breakthrough in the top lane.

Just focus on the top lane. In any case, the probability of losing is high no matter how we play, so why not give the top lane the power to make plays?

After watching the three games, the first two were dominated by Conti, and even though we switched the strategy in the third game, our mentality was already in chaos. We were angry and still played a snake.

The bot lane is the same; we can’t see much hope.

Most people know we will lose, but some still hold a glimmer of hope.

However, broadcasting it at such lightning speed is indeed a big problem.

No point in saying more; the boomerang is being thrown fiercely.

Luckily, my favorite team has lost enough times, and I have learned to accept defeat.

The Decline of theshy: Disappointment and Regret

Of course, there will be disappointment. After all, he made it to the top four by killing gods one after another. He can truly be considered as carrying WBG to the fifth game, only to witness the awakening of the double C.

But more importantly, there is a feeling of regret.

Uchiha Madara has a classic quote that has been used in countless situations: “Have you witnessed my prime?”

I have indeed witnessed theshy’s undefeated glory, and I have basically followed him all the way.

So I wondered if he could once again dominate the game at the age of 24?

He is the god of top lane, not just a rain god only seen in the finals.

theshy’s presence in the LPL region has been controversial, and he is considered a top-tier figure who sparks crazy interactions on various platforms.

In fact, theshy doesn’t have many flaws. In an era where private lives gradually explode, theshy has managed to maintain a relatively clean image up until now.

It’s just that due to the existence of extreme fans and his extreme dichotomy of being half angel and half devil, his controversies have only increased.

But since he started using Ornn in the play-ins, we could feel the changes in theshy, and we noticed the changes in his reputation.

From saying, “369’s playstyle is clumsy, but I realized that this sacrifice is a way to win.”

To “Winning the championship back then was too easy. I didn’t realize how difficult it was.”

In the promotional video for the top four and the finals, how did theshy present himself?

By looking at it this way, it seems like his arrogant and proud aura is still there?

At the top four, theshy exhibited a completely different play style compared to the top eight and even earlier stages. He actually managed to bring Bin back to reality. It wasn’t just some rotten fish or shrimp; it was Bin.

At this moment, his reputation reached its peak in recent years.

From returning to the realm of the land gods to looking back on his performance over the past five years, praises poured in endlessly.

It is precisely because of such high praises that our expectations for him skyrocketed. But unfortunately, in the finals, he stumbled and fell.

Whether it was dying in the top lane as Jayce or consistently arriving late for team fights, it indicated that he was far from being the FMVP in his position.

To be honest, without theshy’s performance, WBG wouldn’t have made it to where they are today. But it is also because of the lack of theshy’s performance that WBG’s collapse happened much faster than we imagined.

It’s not to say that WBG’s loss was solely due to theshy, but if even theshy couldn’t hold it together, how could there be other solutions for the victories WBG achieved along the way?

In the finals, theshy couldn’t savor every moment of joy. Instead, he was brutally beaten by Zeus. Whether it was his champion pool or mechanics, everything was exposed. What did he say after the match?

I think it’s a pity that I lost here. What’s even more regrettable is that I think I’m too old. When I encountered our team’s coach, I wondered if I could have had a more brilliant life if I were younger.

The keywords I captured were “too old.”

The mindset transformation of theshy this year is significant. He is no longer the young man in white who only wanted to show off and focus on mechanics without considering their meaning and value. He has taken on more responsibilities now.

But he is still the “mechanics prodigy.” He still called himself “too old.”

For theshy, who was once capable of earth-shattering destruction, what kind of pain is this?

We are not theshy; only he can truly sense how vast the gap is between him and his peak.

Will we still see those 27 consecutive bans on his signature Vans shoes?

The laws of biology are irreversible. Even someone as strong as Faker has to transition in the twilight of his career.

Faker is indeed still mechanically skilled, but in the finals, we clearly saw that mechanics is no longer his greatest value. Commanding, training, draft strategies, and uniting teammates are the invisible elements that explain why Faker has surpassed the test of time and remains at the top.

Considering the character and playstyle of theshy, I don’t believe he can transition in his later years like Faker.

Could this be the last theshy we see at the Worlds?

Did the legend that never underperformed at Worlds end in the finals?

(Note: Although the angelic theshy was instantly eliminated in Worlds 2019, there were still many amazing moments)

I don’t know. It’s disheartening that we couldn’t see him prove himself once again. The young man in white may very well become a legend, but it will be difficult for us to see him again.

For the audience, it may not be satisfying enough.

But for theshy himself, is it the same feeling?