A shoey? What’s a shoey? And why did it happen on Riot Games’ Mid-Season Invitational 2021 live broadcast?
This story starts in April during the 2021 League of Legends Circuit Oceania Split 1 Playoffs when Pentanet.GG defeated PEACE 3-1 to win their very first championship in Oceania.
Representing Australia and the region at MSI 2021, they were drawn into Group A, where they defeated Unicorns of Love in a clutch tiebreaker to advance to the Rumble Stage alongside Royal Never Give Up, making history as the first oceanic team to get out of Groups at an international League of Legends esports event.
Pentanet.GG in the MSI Rumble Stage
The underdogs at MSI from Down Under, Pentanet.GG had to go up against the best teams in the world, including the reigning 2020 World Champion, DWG KIA.
Losing game after game, it wasn’t until Day 4 when Pentanet.GG finally found their very first win of the Rumble Stage — against none other than North American LCS representatives, Cloud9.
When a minor region team upsets a major region team, it makes a good story that both viewers and broadcast talent enjoy.
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Skojz and Caedrel do a shoey on the MSI broadcast
And so, right alter Pentanet.GG’s celebrated win, LEC hosts Eefje “sjokz” Depoortere and Marc Robert “Caedrel” Lamont held a Red Bull can in one hand, and a black leather shoe in the other on the MSI live broadcast.
Giving context to just how historic Pentanet.GG’s run was, sjokz begun by reminding viewers that the Oceanic Pro League was gutted in the middle of Worlds 2020. Fortunately, it got replaced by ESL’s LCO this year.
“There’s not a lot of things you can do to celebrate the LCO… except for a shoey,” said sjokz. “Pentanet, this one’s for you!”
Pouring Red Bull into a black leather oxford each, sjokz and Caedrel proceeded to drink from their shoe.
“It’s really just to celebrate the fact that this is a huge achievement that Pentanet did,” concluded sjokz.
The next day, fellow LEC shoutcaster Daniel “Drakos” Drakos posted a video of himself doing a shoey to further honor Pentanet.GG’s victory over Cloud9.
So when do Australians do a shoey? Pentanet.GG Pabu explains
Seeing Riot’s broadcast talent do a shoey, Pentanet.GG jungler Jackson “Pabu” Pavone told ONE Esports that he found it to be “so cool” that everyone was getting behind this age-old Australian tradition.
“It’s an absurd tradition, and by no means normal, but it is quite funny so it stays around,” Pabu explained.
“You don’t go down to the pub or the bar see someone do a shoey. That’s not how it’s like. It’s more of that 19 year old guy that’s too drunk, whipping around his t-shirt doing a shoey.”
Having had his fair share of shoeys, Pabu enjoys the silly fun that comes along with it, “It’s always kind of ironic and it’s a rite of passage, almost.”
READ MORE: Pentanet.GG Pabu: ‘I will do to Oceanic teams what RNG does to us’
