Although MSI 2022 just ended less than a month ago, we can clearly feel the shift in the meta. If at MSI 2022, champions with roaming and burst potential like Ahri, Lissandra, and Galio were dominant, they are no longer as popular in the Summer tournaments. Instead, strong names that scale well with items and levels such as Azir and Kayle are making a comeback on the priority list.
This is clearly demonstrated in LCK Summer 2022 where match durations have extended, and teams tend to avoid fights to farm as much as possible. For instance, in the match between NS and T1 that took place yesterday, the Mid Lane was a clash between Corki and Azir (both farming champions). Even according to Faker’s comments after the match, Master Yi, with his strong scaling potential, also has a chance to return to the Mid Lane thanks to the current meta.
Question: It seems you didn’t have much time to prepare for LCK Summer 2022. How did the team overcome this?
T1 Faker: We had about 2 weeks to practice, which was just enough time. The whole team played a lot of solo queue, looking at other teams to assess the meta game as accurately as possible. I think we made reasonable adjustments.
Question: In your opinion, which past meta does the current one resemble?
T1 Faker: From 2019 to the last spring split, team fights were extremely important, but there were also many matches we won through our movement capabilities. The current meta is quite similar to the 2015-2016 period. Even Master Yi can definitely return to the Mid Lane.
Master Yi has long been associated with the Jungle role in lower ranks due to his simple skill set and easy-to-learn playstyle. Master Yi’s basic task is to farm as much as possible and utilize his skills that can reset continuously to “clean up kills”. This is why many players dislike Master Yi, as he doesn’t contribute much to supporting teammates.
In professional tournaments, the chances of Master Yi appearing are even lower because he is too easily countered. Perhaps Faker’s comments imply that champions with good power scaling based on items are very suitable for the current meta, even Master Yi has a chance to return. Fairly evaluating, Master Yi would struggle to compete with champions like Yone, Yasuo, or Tryndamere in this role.
