In the professional League of Legends scene, where players are closely matched in skill and strategy, the deciding factor for who leads the meta is creativity.
A prime example is the match against DRX, where DWG KIA secured a 2-0 victory using a mid lane Trundle – the first appearance of this pick in LCK history. Not only that, ShowMaker also brought out a Conqueror LeBlanc with Doran’s Blade to mid lane, making fans even more “heartbroken.”
Speaking about this “mage with a sword” style, DK Canyon stated, “ShowMaker really enjoys experimenting with all sorts of things in scrims. I think he tried that build because he thought it was strong. Even I can’t really understand it.”
As for Trundle, DWG KIA’s top jungler shared, “Top lane Trundle has been quite hot in the meta in recent weeks. ShowMaker said it seems strong when paired with short-range champions, so he brought it to mid lane.
When playing Trundle, the opponents probably don’t even know how to counter him, so ShowMaker solo-killed at levels 1-2. It looked strong, so we decided to bring it to the tournament today.”
Looking back at the past, even the Immortal Demon King Faker once caused a stir in the community with his unconventional picks during scrims. According to GorillA, Faker once brought Ezreal to mid lane in a scrim, and everyone thought he was just trolling with a “Hide on bush” strategy, but to their surprise, Faker actually “clutched” the opponent with that mid lane Ezreal.
This just goes to show, when the top players in the world are being chased by their juniors in both skill and strategy, the thing that helps them continue to lead the meta and set trends is their relentless creativity.