The biggest e-sport event is taking place in Busan and Bexco and the group stage is already completed. We did not see any major surprises as the first seed teams such as G2, SKT and RNG did not lose even 1 game against their opponents.
Before we move on to the Rumble stage, we believe it would be beneficial to understand how the teams approached the drafting phase of the games. Therefore, As ProComps, we chose the best pick of the group stage for each lane for you!
TOP | Gwen
Gwen has been a strong pick for the pro arena since her release, but no one expected her value would be that high. She had a presence of 79.5% with 11 bans and 20 picks. Even though these numbers are great for a champion, this is still not the amazing part!
In the group stage, Gwen managed to win 15 of the 20 games she was played. Considering Riot believes 52% is a good and balanced win rate for a champion, 75% is just insane!
Furthermore, for the first time since her jungle power was crippled, she became a flex pick once again! A couple of players, such as caPs, showed us that Mid lane Gwen can be a strong pick in some match-ups which means in the future, she can be picked blindly and rotated to mid lane if needed.
JUNGLE | Wukong
I believe we were all expecting this one!
After the changes and buffs in his kit, the Monkey King was considered a solid jungler instead of a top laner. Mobility, 1v1 strength with his passive, gank potential, engage option, etc. Wukong brings almost everything a team needs from a jungler.
We mentioned his jungler potential but don’t forget that he is still a flex pick. He can be played at the top lane in matchups like Gnar, or even he can be a great partner to Senna at the bottom lane!
Obviously, teams also had a great understanding of his value, and we can see this fact when we check Wukong’s stats. His presence in the group stage was a solid 89.7%. Besides the 20 games he was banned, He was picked in 15 games and won 9 of these games, with a 60% win ratio.
MID | Ahri
After the mini rework of Ahri, her gameplay is slightly changed and she became a perfect fit for the pro arena. Before the rework, she was an average assassin only providing some pick options and high damage to a single target. The changes especially made in her R, made her become a highly mobile battlemage, which is a great improvement.
We clearly observed the improvements in her kit in this tournament, too: She was ever-present! Ahri was either banned or picked every single game in the group stage!
She got the 2nd highest ban ratio of the group stage with 71.8%, which is 29 games! In the games the teams took a risk and let her go without a ban, she was picked in all 11 of the games and also managed to win 7 of the games with a win ratio of 63.6%
BOTTOM | Lucian
Here we are with the most feared champion of the MSI!
In patch 11.17, after monitoring Lucian’s domination in the mid lane, Riot decided to take an action and changed his passive to put Lucian in his original place, the bottom lane. This update met the expectations and made Lucian to be played more frequently in the bottom lane as expected with a slight issue: he became the strongest bottom lane champion when combined with an enchanter, a.k.a Nami.
Because of this, in the MSI, Lucian was the most banned champion on the group stage, with 35 bans! He also had a perfect presence ratio which means he was picked by a team for the remaining 4 games. Guess what? He managed to dominate and win all 4 games!
SUPPORT | Leona
When it comes to the pro arena, Leona has been one of the most popular support picks in League of Legends history. Sometimes she gets nerfed, and sometimes enchanters conquer meta but when you need some CC and tankiness from your support, Leona is the best option without a doubt!
Things did not change in the group stage of the MSI, too. She had a presence of 61.5%, which is the 8th highest ratio of the tournament. She was banned in 9 games and picked in 15 games. She had an average win ratio, winning 7 of the 15 games she was played.
More in depth analysis
Before concluding, here is a chart of the champions with the highest presence in the group stage of MSI. Except for the champions we mentioned, champions like Graves, Ezreal, and Gangplank did a great job in the games they were picked. On the other hand, champions like Nautilus, Viego, and Twisted Fate did not meet the expectations even though their presence was high.
| Rank | Champion | Games Banned | Games Played | Games Won | Presence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucian | 35 | 4 | 4 | 100,00% |
| 2 | Ahri | 28 | 11 | 7 | 100,00% |
| 3 | Wukong | 20 | 15 | 9 | 89,7% |
| 4 | Le Blanc | 23 | 9 | 6 | 82,1% |
| 5 | Gwen | 11 | 20 | 15 | 79,5% |
| 6 | Twisted Fate | 14 | 11 | 4 | 64,1% |
| 7 | Nautilus | 10 | 15 | 5 | 64,1% |
| 8 | Leona | 9 | 15 | 7 | 61,5% |
| 9 | Viego | 5 | 19 | 7 | 61,5% |
| 10 | Gangplank | 17 | 6 | 4 | 59,0% |
| 11 | Graves | 8 | 14 | 8 | 56,4% |
| 12 | Ezreal | 9 | 12 | 8 | 53,8% |
Note: Presence is calculated as Pick+ban/games ratio.
We will keep monitoring the event and provide you more valuable information soon. As we move forward towards the final of the tournament, we believe there will be more exciting action! Stay tuned!