You promised a top lane tutorial, but you're just using Worlds as material for your videos?

Chapter 525: A message that will change the landscape of the LPL!
LGD's bot lane duo has always had high salaries, and their departure frees up a considerable amount of budget for the team in the new season.

However, the budget freed up by the bot lane duo is not enough to build a new home stadium, and the club will have to subsidize a significant portion of it.

After carefully considering the fighting strength of the mid and jungle players, the team decided to make a small move in the new season.

Instead of spending a lot of money to bring in strong reinforcements from outside, we will directly promote a bot lane duo from the second team's youth training program to fill the gaps left by PYL and imp.

LGD's fans are naturally continuing to hurl insults at the team's management.

But the team is clearly determined to play the tortoise.

Let's just use this lineup for now and see how things go this year.

However, LGD's youth training program really doesn't have any good prospects.

To be honest, LGD's new bot lane duo is really bad.

Not only is he bad at it, but he also has no potential; you can't train him to become good.

After playing a few games in the regular season of the new spring split, Zhou Dian's already dwindling enthusiasm was quickly extinguished.

Since the team is planning to put the game on hold for now, why should I, as a player, work so hard?

Of course, given Zhou Dian's professionalism, he certainly wouldn't go so far as to openly display such behavior.

He still played seriously in matches and trained seriously in training.

However, the training time has been reduced somewhat compared to before.

I don't play as hard in matches as I used to. I won't ask to pick a certain hero to carry the game anymore. I'll just pick whatever the coach tells me to pick.

It has become a clock-in/clock-out routine.

Even so, Zhou Dian's performance in the regular season was of a very high standard.

However, once a player's competitive state is not as intense, the influence of the competition will inevitably decline.

Their actual influence on the field is nowhere near what it was in the previous two seasons.

Therefore, last year Zhou Dian was able to almost single-handedly carry LGD into the playoffs, playing one or two BO5 matches.

This spring season, LGD didn't even make it to the playoffs.

When the S9 LPL Spring Split regular season ended, LGD ranked 9th.

To make the playoffs, the top eight teams in the regular season must be selected.

It seems that LGD is only one spot away from making the playoffs, with not much of a gap.

In fact, LGD is two games behind JDG, who are ranked eighth.

In the case where the sixth, seventh, and eighth ranked teams in the regular season all have the same number of wins in major matches.

The difference in wins between these two major games is actually quite large.

JDG went from being a dark horse that almost made it to the World Championship last year to barely making it into the playoffs this year, which is naturally due to the significant changes in the team's personnel.

Clid, the original core jungler, has returned to the LCK.

There was no way Clid could refuse the call from SKT.

The original ADC, LokeN, was acquired by the TES team.

After the LPL region won the S-series championship for two consecutive years, many LPL teams have begun to increase their investment and recruit new players this year, engaging in an "arms race".

The overall strength and competitiveness of the mid-to-upper-tier teams in the LPL are stronger than in previous years.

This is one of the objective reasons why LGD's team strength is not much different from last year, yet they still failed to make it into the playoffs.

The team that finished first in this year's LPL Spring Split regular season was not the newly crowned S-series champion, IG.

Instead, it was FPX, a team that had previously been playing in the mid-tier of the LPL.

Doinb failed to qualify for the World Championship with RW last year, and this year he went to FPX.

FPX, who were not highly regarded before the start of the Spring Split, unexpectedly took first place in the regular season.

This led to another round of enthusiastic praise from Doinb's fans for "having his own system."

However, this time, Doinb's "built-in system" was just like last year with the RW team. The effect of "built-in system" was only brought into play in the regular season.

In the semifinals of the upper bracket of this year's Spring Split playoffs, FPX, who were ranked first in the regular season and automatically entered the playoffs semifinals, were defeated by JDG, who were ranked eighth in the regular season and fought their way up from the first round of the playoffs.

JDG pulled off the "Black Eight Miracle".

Doinb was once again brought to tears on his gaming chair, just like last year when RW was eliminated by EDG in the regional qualifier.

The biggest contributor to JDG's upset victory and advancement to the Spring Split finals this year is undoubtedly their top laner, Zoom.

Zoom has been the carry in every game of this playoffs, leading many viewers to jokingly call him "Little Zhou Shen" (a nickname implying his exceptional talent).

However, it has to be Zhou Shen from S7.

Whether Zhou Shen can still deliver this kind of playoff performance is truly an unknown.

This is also the true feeling of many viewers.

They felt that Zhou Dian might have fallen into decline along with LGD.

However, it won't be long before Zhou Dian proves them wrong.

Of course, these are all for later.

In the current S9 LPL Spring Split, Zoom isn't the only player sometimes jokingly referred to as "Little Zhou Shen" by viewers.

First came Zhou Dian, then TheShy, which has led to a decline in the market for traditional pure blue-collar top laners in the LPL.

Nowadays, LPL teams generally prefer to use carry-type top laners.

Regardless of whether you can carry or not, the top laner's playstyle must be carry-oriented.

In the semifinals of the other half of the playoffs, the two teams facing off are IG, who ranked second in the regular season of this year's Spring Split, and TES, who ranked third in the regular season.

TES has undergone a major overhaul this year. Compared to last year's roster, the starting lineup, except for jungler Xx, has been completely replaced.

They brought in the Korean bot lane duo, LokeN and Ben.

The two South Korean players weren't very expensive, but they were both quite capable players with an exceptionally stable playing style.

After these two arrived, the scenes of TES's bot lane duo, Qiuqiu and Maohuang, getting crushed in lane so often were basically no longer seen.

Meanwhile, TES spent a lot of money to bring Knight out of SNG. This "Golden Left Hand," who had been praised by PDD for several years, finally showed his strength and talent after joining TES, and finally lived up to PDD's past praise.

The player on the other side is 369, who was promoted from their own youth training program.

During this period, 369, who had just debuted, had a playing style very similar to Zhou Dian, who had also just debuted.

Of course, it's only similar in style; the skill level is far inferior.

The problem lies in stability.

369 has very poor stability; he's a top laner who's unpredictable and prone to making rash decisions.

When you roll a 3, you're showered with gifts; when you roll a 6, it's just average; but when you roll a 9, the audience often calls 369 "Little God Zhou".

Both being S-series champion top laners, Zoom and 369 are sometimes jokingly referred to as "Little Zhou Shen" rather than "Little TheShy".

Besides Zhou Dian's higher peak, it's also because both Zoom and 369 are Chinese.

With LGD's continued decline and Zhou Dian seemingly getting worse, LPL viewers are hoping for the emergence of the next top-tier domestic top laner.

The upcoming match between TES and the newly crowned S-series champion IG in the Spring Split playoffs semifinals has led many LPL viewers to jokingly say that it will be a good opportunity for TheShy to test whether 369 deserves the title of "Little Zhou God".

After all, during the S7 Summer Split, TheShy, who had just debuted, was outmatched by Zhou Dian in the playoffs.

However, as it turns out, 369 is still far from enough!
In this Spring Split semifinal, IG easily defeated TES 3-1 to advance to the Spring Split finals.

However, 369 only played in the first two of the four games.

In the first two games of the semifinals, 369 played Jayce in one game and Gangplank in the other, two very typical carry-type top lane champions.

However, TheShy completely dominated him in two consecutive games with top lane Ryze, utterly crushing him.

In these two games, the top lane was completely outmatched, and TES could be said to have lost the first two games entirely because of the top lane.

Especially in the second game, 369's Gangplank was basically unable to get his barrels out during the laning phase. He was completely overwhelmed by TheShy's Ryze's barrel-pushing, and he couldn't steal any barrels at all.

Zhou Dian, who was watching the live broadcast of the game, shook his head as he looked at Captain 369.

The skill level of Captain 369 is completely different from that of Zoom, the top laner of JDG who blew up FPX yesterday and completed the upset.

Zoom is a true veteran captain, while 369's captain skill is clearly not top-tier.

It might be enough to play against a typical top laner, but against TheShy at his peak, 369 playing Gangplank, a champion that requires extremely high proficiency, is a complete waste.

After playing Captain 369 for so long, he completely lost his composure and his resolve crumbled. In the third game, he refused to play against TheShy again.

With no other option, TES had to field their substitute top laner, Moyu.

In the third game, after TES head coach White Crescent finished the draft phase, he returned to the rest room and immediately went to comfort his beloved player 369.
369 was still in a state of self-isolation at this time.

369 was promoted from the youth training program by White Crescent, and White Crescent had high hopes for him.

But what's going on here?

In White Crescent's opinion, it's not shameful to lose to TheShy.

But if you're so badly beaten that you're afraid to play, are you still a professional player?
Do they still have any sense of responsibility?
This is the first time that White Crescent has felt disappointed in her beloved.

Moyu, who came on as a substitute for TES, may not be very strong, but he is much more stable in terms of mentality.

TES showed great courage and determination in their fight against TheShy, and successfully turned the tide.

Although they ultimately lost the fourth game, losing the Spring Split semifinals 1-3.

But at least they weren't swept 3-0.

After finishing the post-match interviews, the entire TES team left the LPL playoffs venue by car.

On the bus, seeing 369 slumped in his seat with a withdrawn expression, White Crescent's thoughts began to wander.

He couldn't help but recall an old incident from more than two years ago.

Speaking of which, Zhou Dian eventually went to LGD, which was introduced to Dgc by White Crescent.

"If my top laner were Zhou Shen today, could I beat IG?" This thought suddenly popped into White Crescent's mind.

Immediately, the white crescent moon smiled and shook its head, banishing the thought from its mind.

Did I lose too badly today? Why am I having such strange thoughts?

How could my top laner possibly be Zhou Shen?

Besides, even if Zhou Shen came today, he probably wouldn't have a good chance against TheShy!

In White Crescent's opinion, TheShy who just won the S championship this year is more powerful than TheShy who won the championship last year.

The experience of winning the S-series championship has allowed the players to evolve further.

Similarly, White Crescent also felt that Zhou Ding in S8 was even more impressive than Zhou Shen, who achieved a grand slam in a single year in S7.

However, apart from the World Championship, IG has not yet won any titles such as the Spring Split, MSI, or Summer Split, so the whole team seems to have goals to pursue and is working hard.

Unlike LGD, who, after achieving a Grand Slam, had no further ambitions and started playing one after another.

"What a pity for Zhou Shen!" White Crescent thought to herself. "But it seems like Zhou Shen has really gotten worse this year. He probably can't beat TheShy right now!"

Three days later, the third-place match of the 19 LPL Spring Playoffs took place.

FPX easily defeated TES 3-1 to secure third place in the Spring Split.

In this BO5 series, 369 played one game and was completely outclassed by FPX's top laner, GimGoon.

Seeing his beloved protégé, whom he had highly regarded and promoted, turn out to be so useless, White Crescent felt extremely frustrated.

This season, TES has undergone a major roster overhaul, and he is very ambitious and wants to achieve great results.

As a result, they only finished fourth in the Spring Split, failing to even secure a third-place finish.

Will TES be able to qualify for this year's World Championship?
Thinking that his old friends were already Grand Slam coaches, while he hadn't even been to the World Championship Finals, White Crescent couldn't help but feel a little depressed.

TES's Spring Split journey has come to an end. On the night the team was given a break, White Crescent invited his old friend Chen Xu, who is also LGD's head coach Dgc, out for drinks.

It happened at this ordinary, unremarkable drinking session between friends.

White Crescent learned some news from Dgc.

This news changed the landscape of the LPL region in the second half of S9.

(End of this chapter)