EPTPart One: Top Lane
Shy
Ranking: 1
Team: CJ Entus Frost
Go-to champions: Jax, Singed, Elise
Shy was introduced to his team just after their crushing defeat at the hands of their sister team, Blaze, in the Azubu The Champions Spring season finals. Reapered forced his rival top laner Woong to change his position, with Woong claiming that it felt as though Reapered was going to devour him whole if he kept playing him. Considering Frost was the more veteran of the two teams, things were looking kind of sour.
Shy was an amateur playing with only a couple of months of experience in playing the League of Legends, known in the amateur circuit for his skills on Jax. He managed to get a solo-kill on Reapered during his try-out, which obviously played a hand at him succeeding one of the oldest and most prestigious League of Legends team in Korea. His Jax has always been his go-to champion, and was what got him into the scene. And it provided him with some pretty memorable moments during his career too.
Why Hot Shot? Why? WWHHHHHYYYYYYYYY!
Practicing against the master-mind of the top-lane himself, Reapered, and being coached by Woong, who himself was one of the premier top-laners of Korea, Shy’s potential as a gamer of the highest caliber flourished under their guidance. He learned the subtle intricacies of the lane, by dueling constantly against his teammate Woong in one versus one situations.
![[image loading]](http://www.ilbe.com/files/attach/new/20121105/28622079/1812923/340708484/d4261ba75d37363b5951694978732a0c.jpg)
Woong: The mentor Shy always dreamed of.
It wasn’t always roses for Shy. His debut was anything but well received in Korea. Frost struggled with the roster changes, and it seemed that their sister team, Blaze, would continue to hold their stranglehold as the top dogs in Korea. In his debut appearance for Frost, Shy got manhandled by Expession of Najin e-mFire. His television debut was no better, with Frost having a shaky start at the Azubu The Champions Summer season. Shy was heavily criticized by the Korean fans for his lack of experience and shallow champion-pool.
Who could have known then that what many people regarded to be by far the weakest link in the team would one day carry the team to victory? After upsetting their sister team, Blaze, in one of the most nail-biting set of games, in the semi-finals of Azubu The Champions Summer season, Shy then had to prove himself to the world against the European powerhouses, CLG EU (now under the tag Evil Geniuses). After being pushed to the brink of defeat, Shy’s go-to champion Jax, was pivotal in Frost’s reverse sweep against what seemed to be a hesitant, somewhat overly-tranquil CLG EU side in their last three games.
The clutch performance in what was an unbelievable turn of the tides in one of the most hyped up finals to date in Korea triggered something in Shy. The “coming of age” tournament for him, could not have come at a better moment. It was the Season 2 World Finals, with teams from all over the world competing for the previously unheard of one million dollar cash prize, and the title of the best team in the world.
He single handedly brought Singed into the spotlight by crushing teams left and right with what seems to be now his most potent champion. Shy had it all it spades - lane domination, split pushing, team fighting coordination, and generally being an invincible beast that brought havoc onto unsuspecting enemy teams. Go watch Frost’s games if you missed them.
"Greetings fellow summoners, would you mind stepping aside? I've got some bitch-slapping to do here."
I guess his Jax was good too. Three versus one? No problem.
Fresh off a runners-up place in the Season 2 Finals, and causing post-traumatic stress disorders about rampant Singed running wild in a lot of his opponents, Shy collected yet another trophy in his sky-rocketing career by subbing-in for Blaze in the MLG Fall Championship and getting the best of world renowned Maknoon in two thrilling best of three sets. It was obvious even then how wary Maknoon was of Shy.
Maknoon: Stop being good Shy, you're scaring me.
Shy was now in the eyes of many, the solid rock of his team. The rate at which he was extending his champion-pool was astonishing, regularly featuring the likes of Jayce, Rumble, Olaf, Irelia and Khazix into the mix. He even showcased a pretty decent top Vayne in their match-up against KT Rolster B.
It’s always worth mentioning how consistent Shy’s performance is, especially since his team’s jungler CloudTemplar, was known to be mediocre at playing gank-heavy style and is limited to playing a more passive role. Shy was praised for his consistent performances in an era where lane monsters such as Expession and Flame coupled with some aggressive jungle assistance could make top-lane a living hell for their opponents. He was also praised heavily for his understanding of the game compared to other top-laners, a position where many of the players struggle to rid the image of being too lane-centric.
Shy strutting his stuff against KT Rolster A. Nerf Singed goddamn it!
Shy had his share of disappointments this year, such as the crushing defeat at the hands of Gambit Gaming, or the three-zero shut-out they suffered to Najin Sword. In both defeats, many Korean fans were critical of CloudTemplar’s relative lack of presence in the games, and felt like he was now the weak link of the team. After his victory, Maknoon still acknowledged Shy as a worthy adversary and mentioned how Shy's meteoric rise to the top tore away at him from the inside, I'd imagine more so because Maknoon had been playing professionally for much longer. Look out for this epic rivalry to continue, because this one hasn’t been concluded.
Shy has an extensive pool of champions he can utilize, and is not afraid of broadening his horizons. His laning phase is strong regardless of jungle intervention, and most of all he is a multi-faceted player that knows how to contribute to team victory. He is in my opinion the most complete, reliable top-laner in Korea right now. His cool highlight reels and trophy cabinet is just the icing on the cake.
