At Worlds 2023, the version in use is 13.19 with some champions that have long been absent receiving buffs again, such as Caitlyn, Lee Sin, and Syndra. Additionally, some playstyles have been severely nerfed, like LeBlanc and Zeri, as well as items like the Electric Knife… Prior to this, with the “favorite” champions receiving buffs, many viewers predicted that T1 could have many advantages leading to the final match, even possibly winning Worlds 2023. Of course, that’s a story for the future. But currently, there is a champion causing headaches for both players and Riot, which is Kai’Sa.
This Marksman champion is not a new choice. In fact, along with Zeri and Xayah, Kai’Sa was highly favored in Summer 2023 and even before that, at MSI 2023 and the Spring Split earlier this year. With strong burst damage, effective poke from a distance, quick wave clear, and high mobility, Kai’Sa in the hands of talented Marksmen like Ruler, Elk, or Gumayusi, Aiming is truly a perfect assassin in the AD position.
At Worlds 2023, Kai’Sa also boasts the most varied playstyles among Marksmen. Accordingly, there are 4 build styles for Kai’Sa that have been applied. These include: Kai’Sa‘s quick attack build (Galeforce, Stormrazor); crit Kai’Sa (Death’s Dance, Duskblade); control Kai’Sa (Shadowblade, Nightblade); and finally AP Kai’Sa (Riftmaker, Luden’s Tempest). Of course, each build brings different effects but all are suitable for Kai’Sa’s skill set.
However, these have not been accompanied by effectiveness. According to statistics from the expert site Gol.gg, Kai’Sa has a 70% pick rate, but only a 32% win rate – an extremely low number. Even champions that seem to be “pick to lose” like Lee Sin have a significantly better win rate than Kai’Sa (43%).
The reason for this is believed to be, first and foremost, that not all build paths are optimal. For example, it wasn’t until Ruler used it that Kai’Sa with Stormrazor and Galeforce achieved its first victory. Not to mention, Xayah proves to be a significantly more effective champion as she is strong from the laning phase, early skirmishes, to late game. Meanwhile, Kai’Sa often lacks many escape skills apart from Killer Instinct, and her early game damage is not really strong.
Besides the reasons above, we cannot overlook the skill level of players using Kai’Sa. Nevertheless, she remains a good choice and is expected to increase her appearance rate further in the remaining time of Worlds 2023.