Viper is skilled, but he is no longer a player for the big matches
In 2021, Viper and his teammates at Edward Gaming completed their collection of titles when they crowned champions at the Worlds that year, defeating the team considered to be the strongest in League of Legends at that time – Damwon Gaming. This victory not only helped players like JieJie, Flandre… truly rise to the top of the world but also brought them a huge fanbase. With his bright appearance, undeniable talent, and regular interaction with fans, Viper was of course the most noticed player among the five in EDG that year. Upon returning to LCK, he naturally became the visual face of HLE alongside Peanut.
However, since returning to LCK, Viper has gradually lost the qualities that once helped him achieve glory in LPL and at the Worlds 2021. Since joining HLE, there are two versions of Viper: One, he carries the entire team. In this case, Viper’s performance shines the most, but HLE does not always win. When HLE wins, Viper’s performance is just average within a team where everyone plays well.
And of course, when HLE loses, it’s not always Viper’s fault, but he himself also did not perform well in those matches. Since Zeus joined, the second version has become more prominent.
The matches against Gen.G and T1 showcased a very forgettable side of Viper. In both matches with a total of 8 games, Viper’s performance was quite bland. Perhaps, only in the 2 winning games against Gen.G did people see Viper show a bit of his capabilities. The remaining 3 games where HLE lost to T1 were a domino effect, with Viper being crushed in the lane by Gumayusi being a crucial link that caused HLE to fall apart right from the start of the game.
The fact that Viper and Delight could not win their lane against Gumayusi (or previously lost to Ruler – Duro) meant that Peanut could not exert control as usual. Consequently, HLE’s strategies were continuously broken, and their failure became inevitable. In fact, it felt like T1 didn’t even break a sweat in their victory over HLE as all 3 games demonstrated overwhelming dominance from start to finish. And in game 3, it was the “harmlessness” of Viper – Delight that set the stage for T1 to obliterate HLE from the early minutes.
But Viper may never face criticism
However, Viper has never faced any overly negative criticism like Gumayusi, Ruler, or Peyz have endured. In fact, when HLE lost, the player most complained about would be Peanut. If Doran were still around, it would be Doran – Peanut, and then Delight, Zeka, and even Zeus. Viper, for some reason, is always considered “safe”. Even LCK fans have to admit this truth.
– Imagine if Gumayusi had the terrible performance yesterday instead of Viper, then today Gumayusi would have to retire
– If Ruler were in his place, he would be torn apart while Gumayusi would have 10 trucks waiting
– He is currently the highest-paid AD carry
– Viper is good, but he is not number 1 right now
Viper will still be very skilled and is among the top 3 AD carries in any tournament he participates in. But if HLE wants to win major tournaments like MSI or Worlds, they cannot solely rely on an AD carry who is just top 3, especially when names like Gumayusi, Ruler, or even Elk, Aiming have caused Viper to “suffer” in the past.