The king of LPL viewership has returned! TheShy officially announced, becoming IG's savior - fans are in for a treat.

Greetings to all LPL viewers and League of Legends summoners, this is the World of Esports.

The second stage of the LPL just concluded yesterday, and immediately various transfer rumors surfaced outside the arena. The most anticipated player among them is TheShy.

Editor's note:

This evening, IG officially announced that TheShy will be returning to the stage.

Both IG top laners depart, TheShy returns

Background: The earliest news of TheShy's possible return came from an interview show hosted by Guan Zeyuan. During the program, TheShy said "See you in the game," sparking attention. International forums were also discussing it. Later, various related leaks emerged, and the agency representing Zeyuan and Mile posted on Weibo that there was good news.

IG then quickly announced player departures: both top laners, Breathe and Soboro, officially left the team, along with newly acquired mid laner Nia from the second stage.

At that point, IG's top lane became vacant, while the mid lane still had Renard. Fans speculated that TheShy and Rookie, that brotherly duo, were likely to return.

Previously, the reason many doubted TheShy's return was that IG had fallen into the Nirvana group after the Knight's Road. From a performance perspective, TheShy and Rookie returning would have little impact. From a viewership standpoint, they would start from the Nirvana group and couldn't maximize audience engagement.

Some fans also thought TheShy might join another team instead. Perhaps they underestimated the bond between TheShy and IG. Even after dropping to the Nirvana group, TheShy is willing to come back and save IG.

The viewership king returns, IG's savior has arrived

TheShy is undeniably the current viewership king of the LPL. His return won't just save IG; it will boost the entire league's popularity. Even playing in the Nirvana group, people want to watch TheShy. This comeback actually increases interest in Nirvana group matches.

Previously, almost nobody watched Nirvana group games. With TheShy back, fans will eagerly buy tickets again—a huge win for the league.

IG recently opened their home stadium only to drop into the Nirvana group. After TheShy's return, the stadium will have no worries—every match in the next stage is expected to be sold out.

Another advantage of starting from the Nirvana group is that TheShy hasn't played League of Legends in a long, long time. His ranked account last played in late 2025, and he's barely touched the game this year. Starting from the Summit group would bring too much pressure.

Unfortunately, the LPL's Nirvana group has fewer matches and uses a single round-robin format. It remains to be seen if the league will adjust. Switching to a double round-robin would be fantastic.

IG team outlook analysis—it all depends on Rookie

Finally, let's analyze IG's prospects for the third stage. Personally, I believe Rookie will likely return. Both players need time to regain form. The Nirvana group includes teams like WBG and NIP that dropped down, plus LNG which often finishes first in the Nirvana group. IG's main opponents are these—there's still difficulty and pressure.

Under these circumstances, IG needs to arrange more scrims and intensify individual training. If TheShy and Rookie can return close to their form from last year, with IG's roster, they still have a chance to fight back into the Summit group.

In short, with TheShy's return, IG is basically guaranteed to profit in the third stage—even if results aren't great, it's acceptable.

One has to admire TheShy. Like Uzi, he's one of the two LPL players with extremely polarized reputations—toxic public opinion and harsh environment. If he performs poorly, he faces attacks from the entire internet. Yet he still chooses to return—that takes courage.

Of course, IG has also taken strong action regarding public opinion. They won a lawsuit against Xuan Shen, who later apologized. At least among streamers, no one dares to stir things up anymore.