After a few matches with quite unstable performance, SBTC Esports (SE) has made fans “anxiously restless”, and one of the biggest concerns for fans right now is the “ego of the Demon King”. It’s no coincidence that Zeros himself had to reassure fans that he is trying to adjust his playstyle to fit the team’s strategy.
In fact, every time Zeros is taken down, the familiar “mantra” in the VETV chat is “lower your ego”. Nevertheless, the top laner of SE still demonstrates himself to be extremely “aggressive” by ranking 4th in the leaderboard of the players with the most solo kills in the Spring 2021 tournament:
According to this leaderboard, Zeros’ solo kill count is only behind 3 players in LCK: GEN Rascal, KT Doran, and HLE Chovy. However, in terms of aggression, Zeros ranks 1st with a “Solo K/G” (solo kills per game) ratio of 1.00 – meaning that on average, Zeros has one solo 1v1 encounter with opponents in each match. On the other hand, fans can breathe a sigh of relief as Zeros’ “ISO DTH” (death without nearby allies, simply put as “dying alone”) stat is quite low compared to other players.
This means that based on the statistics, Zeros’ “jump in for solo” playstyle brings more to SE than it costs them, as he often gains an advantage in these situations. However, in reality, with the current strong snowball meta in League of Legends, a failed solo kill by Zeros could cost him 5 successful solo kills’ worth. That’s why Zeros asserts that he must change, even though his “big hand” ability hasn’t diminished.
Some say that Zeros is playing very “hastily” because he wants to reach his 197th solo kill in his career, claiming the title of the player with the most solo kills in League of Legends history from Faker. However, as analyzed above, Zeros’ solo kill ability is still a double-edged sword; while it carries risks, it is also an extremely effective tool for SE to create pivotal moments in matches.
Finally, since SE has only reached the top 3 in VCS after the first round of the group stage, fans of Tam Kê can only hope that coach Violet will make suitable changes to secure a ticket to MSI 2021 in the near future.