The largest League of Legends (LoL) tournament of the year, the World Championship (Worlds) 2022, has passed its halfway point. With the group stage behind us, teams have started to recognize the strong champions in the current meta. Among them, a few names have risen to prominence, dominating the tournament and making them priority picks in the draft phase for teams participating in Worlds 2022.
At Worlds 2022, the champions with the highest ban/pick rates include: Aatrox at 98%, Maokai at 85.7%, Sejuani at 82.7%, Sylas at 76.5%, and Yuumi at 71.4%. Among the aforementioned champions, most have very high win rates, especially Yuumi, who has achieved a remarkable 100%. However, Maokai stands in stark contrast to the other names, as this champion is having a dismal performance in this year’s tournament.
In the group stage of Worlds 2022, Maokai appeared in the ban/pick phase 49 times. He was banned in 33 matches by both teams and was used only 16 times. Out of those 16 appearances, Maokai won only 5 matches while losing 11, resulting in a win rate of 31.3% – a very low figure for a champion. So, could Maokai be a “trap” set by Riot Games in this year’s tournament?
Looking back, Maokai was buffed by Riot Games to enhance his damage mitigation alongside improved jungle clearing capabilities. As a result, the Tree can now be played in both top and jungle positions, though he must be built defensively. However, teams have been playing Maokai primarily as a support, contrary to his intended role as a team carry.
Maokai belongs to a very special category of champions in the League of Legends arena. Typically, tank champions have stable laning phases, peak strength in the mid-game, and diminish in influence during the late game. By the time they accumulate 5-6 major items, tank players tend to shield their allies and act as supports within the team. However, Maokai is completely different; he becomes stronger as the game progresses, turning into a team carry once he is adequately equipped. Therefore, players must accept that the Tree is quite weak in the early game and needs to farm minions as much as possible.
However, Maokai in the jungle often has limited gold income as players need to support their teammates and control the map. As a result, the itemization for players may not be sufficient to withstand team fights, leading to many teams failing to execute Maokai’s capabilities properly. By the mid-game, Maokai is not durable enough to create space for his allies.
According to statistics, the best Maokai user is Odoamne from Team Rogue. This player has mastered Maokai, understanding how to develop the champion’s strengths. Therefore, Odoamne always optimizes resources when using the Tree and becomes an indestructible tank in team fights.
In conclusion, Maokai is considered quite stable regarding power at the Worlds 2022 tournament. The problem lies in the implementation of his capabilities, as even the top-ranked Korean Challenger jungler Canyon has failed when using this champion. Therefore, Maokai remains a point of interest for teams in the knockout stage, and they will carefully research how to effectively utilize this Tree.