For neutral fans, the events of Game 3 of the LPL Summer 2021 opening match between Invictus Gaming and Suning may leave many disappointed. Not because Suning lost, but due to Viego’s performance in SofM’s hands. Of course, this disappointment does not carry a negative connotation; it stems from the fact that this recently “unbanned” champion from Riot is indeed not suitable for the jungle position.
With a master jungler like SofM, Riot Games surely hoped that the Suning captain would help Viego assert his inherent position in the jungle of Summoner’s Rift. However, even SofM found it impossible to unleash the power of the Ruined King in this position (and it must be admitted that SofM did not perform well in the match against IG).
In the main events of the match, SofM early on impacted the bottom lane with a successful gank that took down Varus, but Viego’s champion quality completely put this player at a disadvantage in terms of scaling power. Compared to Udyr – a hot meta pick in League of Legends right now, Viego simply is too weak. He lacks the ability to clear the jungle quickly, and with his hybrid nature between an assassin and a fighter, Viego is not a match for Udyr in blood trades.
With a champion that is already weak, slow in scaling, and lacking effective ganking tools when played in the jungle position, the situation where SofM secured a kill on Wink was also due to the “roaming” of the IG marksman, rather than an effective gank setup from Suning.
In post-match interviews, IG players all admitted that they were more confident of victory when they saw Viego appear in the jungle position. IG.XUN stated: “Viego is a great champion, but he is not suited for the jungle position. Viego clears the jungle too slowly, while his 1v1 solo ability is also very weak.”
And in fact, since Viego was unbanned in professional tournaments (starting to be used in LCS and LPL), the position he appeared most in was mid lane and top lane, not jungle. Choosing Viego for SofM was clearly a self-destructive move by Suning, as they discarded all the strengths of their jungler, leading to a comprehensive defeat for the reigning world runner-up.
