Vortex Gaming

Last week, the 2023 LCK Summer Split finally kicked off. The previous MSI tournament was played on patch 13.8, and the new champion Milio and the reworked Yuumi were not available. Neeko's rework was also on patch 13.9. As such, the ban/pick trends for this Summer Split are quite interesting.

First up is Neeko, who received a skill rework in patch 13.9. Neeko's disguise ability has been greatly expanded and enhanced to include not only allied champions but also wards, minions, and neutral monsters. While there was some exploration of the jungle position due to the added monster damage, she is now primarily being used in the mid lane again.

In week 1, teams were keeping a close eye on Neeko. Neeko was a must-ban in most games, achieving a 100% ban/pick rate with 25 bans and 1 pick. Neeko only appeared once, in the Gen.G vs. T1 match on the 11th. Gen.G's 'Chovy' using Neeko failed a minion disguise bait, leading to a dangerous moment, but overall, he performed well and contributed to Gen.G's victory in game 1.

In the support position, there was a noticeable preference for enchanter supports. This is due to a combination of the bot lane carry meta, the mid-season update item changes, and the simultaneous release of Yuumi and Milio, who were unavailable at MSI. In fact, Yuumi and Milio have dominated the support position so far, with ban/pick rates of 100% (8 bans, 18 picks) and 96.2% (10 bans, 15 picks) respectively.

With many champions requiring ban cards, such as Neeko, Vi, Lucian, and K'Sante, Yuumi and Milio are being split between the two teams. However, Milio's win rate (60%, 9 wins, 6 losses) currently far exceeds Yuumi's (33.3%, 6 wins, 12 losses).

Meanwhile, as the tier of enchanter supports has risen, Blitzcrank's ban/pick influence, which can counter them, has also increased. In the last Spring regular season, Blitzcrank's ban/pick was only 2 bans and 3 picks, but this season, he recorded 6 bans and 2 picks in week 1 alone. It remains to be seen whether Blitzcrank, who has a record of 1 win and 1 loss, will continue to appear.

What about the support's ADC partner? In the current meta, carry-type ADCs who can carry based on their team's support are preferred. Among them, the most picked ADC in week 1 was Aphelios, who appeared 18 times. However, his performance is underwhelming with a record of 7 wins and 11 losses, a 38.9% win rate.

The high pick rate and low win rate is also happening in the LPL, which started its tournament earlier. Aphelios's damage seems sufficient in certain moments, but the results are not coming out. It is also important to determine whether this is simply a temporary phenomenon or a fundamental performance issue with the Aphelios champion.

리그오브레전드 인벤양동학 기자
2023-06-12