Chovy’s Historic Choice
The match between Dplus KIA and Gen.G could already be seen as somewhat predictable, as all that DK managed to do against Gen.G prior was a clean win without losing a single kill. However, DK went on to face defeat against Gen.G again, and many viewers envisioned that this time, Gen.G would not allow DK to pull off any surprises. What fans were most interested in was how the two teams would perform in the match and whether DK could muster enough strength to avoid facing Faker’s T1 or Peanut’s Hanwha Life Esports in the lower bracket.
And on a day of relaxed competition, Chovy was not hesitant to establish another milestone in his career. Accordingly, Chovy became the first player in League of Legends history to use Garen in the Mid Lane during an official match. Additionally, Chovy’s Garen marks the first time Garen has secured a victory in the LCK since 2016. Following that, in the third game, Kiin also won with Garen, but his performance was not as outstanding as Chovy’s. However, looking back at the past, viewers realized that Faker had ‘hinted’ at the Mid Lane Garen choice long ago.
Faker’s Hint
Specifically, earlier in 2024, during a backstage talk show at the LCK featuring several Mid Laners, when asked by the host about a champion he would recommend or consider suitable for the Mid Lane position, Faker did not hesitate to reply: “If I had to suggest a champion for the Mid Lane, I would choose Garen.” In fact, Garen’s tankiness is excellent, and this champion can negate many crowd control abilities thanks to his Q and W skills. Furthermore, Garen’s ultimate is almost guaranteed to ‘shut down’ an opponent immediately.
Moreover, Chovy has also practiced Garen multiple times in ranked games in recent days when selecting Nasus, which is being used by other Mid Laners like Faker or ShowMaker. Therefore, Chovy’s choice of Garen today might just be a result of their prior experiments.