As we know, Riot Games recently announced detailed changes for patch 12.8 (you can find the details HERE). In simple terms, Riot is looking to refresh the meta for the upcoming MSI 2022 as a series of champions that haven’t been seen for a long time, such as Aatrox, Sejuani, Zoe, Tristana… have all received buffs. This is a reasonable move because no one wants to watch Aphelios face off against Jinx in most matches of MSI 2022.
After this information was announced, experts began to dissect and provide their insights as it would directly impact the meta of MSI 2022. Among them, LEC analyst Ceadrel discovered an interesting detail: many champions buffed in patch 12.8 are favorites of the G2 Esports members. Could it be that Riot is intentionally doing this to ensure that the championship of MSI goes to the “circus” once again?
Caedrel: “Alright, let’s see what’s in patch 12.8. Wow, they buffed Jankos’s Sejuani. Oh, they also buffed Aatrox and Mordekaiser for Broken Blade. Look at this list of Mid Lane champions that got buffed: Zoe, Xerath, Sylas, all favorites of Caps. Tristana, a favorite of Flakked, and Bard in Targamas’s hands also got buffs. This patch seems like it’s named ‘We want G2 to win MSI’ from Riot.”
Indeed, when looking at the changes in patch 12.8, we can see many champions and specific strategies receiving buffs. For example, a series of “carries” in Top Lane like Aatrox, Mordekaiser, or Vladimir got buffs, and the roaming Support playstyle also benefited with Bard receiving a power boost. Additionally, with such significant changes, the meta of MSI 2022 will differ quite a bit from the Spring tournaments.
History has clearly shown that a somewhat “chaotic” meta is a good condition for EU teams, specifically G2 Esports, to shine. Didn’t G2 once take advantage of that “chaos” in the meta to win MSI 2019? Even as Caedrel shared above, Caps (the most important player of G2) has gained too many advantages with the buffed champions. We surely remember how Caps “tormented” Gen.G with Sylas at Worlds 2020.
That being said, the aforementioned champions are not solely favorites of G2 members. Other top teams also have players who excel at Zoe, Sylas, Aatrox, etc. Therefore, the advantage that patch 12.8 provides to G2 Esports may not be as overwhelming as Caedrel mentioned above. To win a major tournament like MSI, besides champion selection, competitive spirit is also an extremely crucial factor, something that T1 and RNG certainly do not lack.
