Preface: The S15 season has officially started. It’s believed that the vast majority of players have been paying attention to the recent offseason, during which the excitement around IG and T1 teams has been at an all-time high. The competition is imminent, and IG also revealed a brand-new sponsor. The addition of the food delivery giant has raised IG’s profile significantly. It’s unclear if the new sponsor aimed for maximum exposure, but they surprisingly announced an exclusive support event for IG before the match, inviting cross-dressing Faker Shahe'er. This instantly ignited outrage, with both IG and T1 fans expressing strong dissatisfaction. Eventually, under heavy pressure, the guest had to be replaced urgently.

IG’s offline viewing event invited cross-dressing Faker Shahe'er.

Most players are quite familiar with the IG team. As longtime rivals of LCK and one of the top teams in the LPL region, their popularity and hype have fluctuated greatly over the years. To retain fans and protect their IP, the organization stepped in to assemble a star-studded lineup. The team’s strength is evident, and after three splits of effort, IG secured the 4th seed in the LPL. Unfortunately, their opponent is the formidable T1 team, and judging by recent performances, IG’s chances of advancing to the main event are slim.

This time, T1 is also having a tough run. Their overall strength is solid, and logically they should be among the top three teams in LCK. However, due to Canyon’s play that disrupted three key players, T1 was pushed down to the 4th seed, while DK lost their spot. In a recent interview, T1’s jungler Oner openly admitted that after seeing Gen lose to KT, they felt troubled and even vented some frustration. Indeed, there is a significant gap between the two teams’ overall strength. From the second encounter onwards, it was clear that Gen could easily sweep KT, almost as if intentionally holding back.

As the competition approaches, IG officially announced their new sponsor. The entry of the food delivery giant thrilled many fans. To maximize hype, IG launched a new support campaign featuring two well-known guests: Umbrella Emperor and Shu Nana. Additionally, the organizers released a hidden photo, which sparked heated discussions across the community. Since this was an offline support event, the official invitation of cross-dressing Faker Shahe'er caused a strong reaction. Shahe'er himself responded in the fan group, which quickly led to widespread online criticism.

Not only T1 fans protested, but even IG supporters were very unhappy. After all, this was a sponsor-driven event, so why should IG’s players and fans bear the brunt of the backlash? Possibly due to the overwhelming pressure online, just hours after the announcement, Shahe'er stated in the fan group that he would not participate in this offline support event due to other commitments. Essentially, the sponsor couldn’t withstand the backlash and had to replace the guest urgently. Given IG’s massive fanbase, allowing Shahe'er to attend might have backfired badly, resulting in huge investment but receiving widespread negative feedback instead.

Farewell thoughts

It’s unclear what the sponsor was thinking. T1 fans have always strongly opposed cross-dressing Faker, and she previously publicly stated she wouldn’t attend offline matches during ticket sales. Perhaps the sponsor really wanted to stir up hype. It’s likely IG received a large investment this time and wants to quickly recoup it by boosting IG’s match excitement. After all, if they lose this game, IG won’t have anything to do with the upcoming World Championship. This first match is a decisive battle that will determine everything.

What are your thoughts on this matter, dear viewers?