Perhaps many VCS fans still remember the tense image of Kati at the World Championship (Worlds) 2022 and especially at MSI 2023. The images of Kati trembling before GAM Esports’ decisive match at MSI 2023 have become a reason for VCS fans to attack the Mid Laner of GAM, especially whenever the reigning VCS champion performed poorly. Over time, Kati’s mentality has always been considered one of the reasons GAM failed and was compared to Gloryy of Team Whales.
Moving into the ASIAD and then the World Championship (Worlds) 2023, with GAM losing right in their opening match, many malicious comments were still directed at Kati even though at that time, the Bot Lane duo and Levi were the ones underperforming. Moreover, Kati’s role revolves around setting the stage for his teammates to shine. He does not have the ability to “farm minions” like Gloryy or become a standout carry, which makes him even more overshadowed, although in reality, Kati is currently the most consistent player of GAM.
According to a recent statistic about the metrics at Worlds 2023, Kati is the player dealing the most damage per minute for GAM. Notably, including the Play-In matches, Kati occupies 2 positions in the top 10 players dealing damage per minute. Specifically, Kati ranks second with Viktor in the match against LOUD (1187 damage per minute) and ranks tenth (also with Viktor in the match against Team Whales) (1002 damage per minute). The other GAM player to make this list is Slayder in ninth place (Xayah, match against TW, 1031 damage per minute). The only player above Kati before the FNC – C9 match is Elk – the AD Carry of BLG (1209 damage per minute with Tristana in the match against FNC).
It can be seen that Kati is making efforts every day to showcase himself better and gradually become a pillar of GAM. In the upcoming match, he will face one of the top 4 Mid Laners in the LCK today. It’s a tough matchup, but Kati can be confident knowing that the one under more pressure is ShowMaker, while Kati just needs to play his best, and VCS fans will be more than satisfied.