Foreword: The S16 season has officially kicked off, and the majority of players have been keeping an eye on the recent offseason. Following the conclusion of the second stage, many LPL teams restructured their rosters. IG, a team drawing significant attention, has reassembled a nearly full-legendary roster. Recently, IG's official account released some archived photos, clearly indicating the starting five for the third stage—only differing from last season's all-star lineup by swapping Gala for the AD position. Many netizens joked that they can already envision the trending topics for the third stage, with "Jiaqi's performance" likely staying on the hot search list, while the other players remain untouched by criticism.

IG pre-orders "Jiaqi's performance" trending topic

Most players are familiar with IG, a top-tier team in the LPL. Over the past few years, they have undergone many roster changes, with key players rotating in and out, causing significant fluctuations in the team's popularity and hype. Last season, IG acquired several top-tier professional players to form a dream team, but results were disappointing. Although they secured a World Championship spot, they made history by being the first team in League of Legends to finish 17th. This season, during the second stage, the departure of multiple players caused IG's performance to plummet dramatically, landing them in the Phoenix Group.

A few days ago, IG officially announced news that thrilled all fans: top laner TheShy had returned to the team. Barring any surprises, he will start continuously in the third stage. Meanwhile, the official account recently posted new photos, digging up some archived content, essentially revealing the starting five for the third stage: top laner TheShy, jungler Wei, mid laner Rookie, AD Jiaqi, and support Meiko. Compared to last season's full-legendary lineup, this one differs only by swapping Gala for the AD slot. Many netizens commented that the pressure on this rookie AD is immense, and they can already predict the trending topics for the third stage—"Jiaqi's performance."

Checking the Korean server training stats of IG players, it seems that only jungler Wei is maintaining high-intensity practice, currently sitting at 2205 LP and ranked 69th on the Korean server. The other players have entered their break period. After the official announcement of his return, top laner TheShy played a few ranked games but hasn't joined team training yet; he's currently only at Diamond IV. Support Meiko took a complete rest after being eliminated, with his last Korean server session on May 23. As for Rookie, he hasn't logged into his account since April, essentially resting throughout.

The LPL has seen considerable roster changes recently. WB Team signed top-tier player Clearlove as coach, and their support position will likely be Hang. LGD Team acquired champion support Crisp during the transfer period. Honestly, I feel that Crisp's best option would have been WB Team, but perhaps the price wasn't right. Joining LGD seems purely driven by a hefty signing fee—this team has virtually no competitive achievements and is almost purely coasting. The team in the most unfortunate position is probably LNG. As an LPL sponsor, most of their players have terminated contracts and left, leaving them without a formed roster for the next stage.

Zai Jian thinks

IG's current lineup is practically the most attention-grabbing configuration, almost identical to last season's all-star team. The one who'll suffer most is likely AD Jiaqi—among the starting five, he's the only newcomer with no established fan base. Once problems arise in matches, the narrative will be: "Rookie burned out, TheShy played flawlessly, but Jiaqi missed one last-hit in lane, causing the whole game to collapse. Jiaqi's performance! What is Jiaqi doing?" will instantly trend.

What do you, dear viewers, think about this?