After several weeks of high-stakes competition, MSI 2024 recently concluded with Gen.G’s well-deserved championship victory. Not only did Gen.G showcase superior skill over their opponent BLG, but they also remained extremely composed during critical moments to secure the win. A prime example was in the decisive fourth game, where Gen.G continuously thwarted the opponent’s “backdoor” strategies.
One of the notable points in the recent Grand Finals was the incredibly unique picks from Gen.G. Notably, Canyon’s use of Karthus in the jungle and Lehends’ performance with Blitzcrank proved to be highly effective. Even during the post-match interview, Gen.G’s coach Kim revealed that Canyon had prepared an “incredible” pick in case the Grand Finals went to a fifth game.
When asked what Gen.G had prepared if the Grand Finals went to a fifth game, Coach Kim responded: “We observed that other teams were using many unique picks, so our team also trained special strategies to counter them. Choices like Maokai, Nidalee, Blitzcrank, or Karthus… are all results of our practice. Canyon even practiced Shaco in the jungle, which surprised me quite a bit. We’ve learned to diversify our strategies and bring out as many champions as possible.”
It’s important to note that Shaco is a champion that has nearly disappeared from the meta of professional tournaments in recent years. Even in solo queue, this champion has only a pick rate of 5.25% (according to Op.gg statistics). Therefore, Shaco would have a surprisingly large advantage (if picked) and could cause opponents a lot of trouble in finding ways to counter it.
Not stopping there, Canyon once astonished many when he used Nidalee in the decisive fifth game against TES. In fact, it was the first time Nidalee was used at MSI 2024, and Canyon delivered a perfect “carry” performance with this champion. If the recent Grand Finals had indeed gone to a fifth game, it would have been entirely possible for Canyon to do something similar by picking Shaco.
Fairly speaking, Gen.G’s championship at MSI 2024 is completely deserved as all players showed great form. Moreover, the diverse champion pool of Gen.G players also gave them a significant advantage during the ban/pick phase. It’s a pity that the audience no longer had the chance to see Canyon use Shaco at MSI 2024. Who knows, in the future, Canyon may indeed choose this character and amaze the audience with its power.