As we know, one of Riot’s common policies is that whenever a new champion is released, they will hold it back until a new season begins before officially applying it to the professional scene. This means that players will have time to familiarize themselves and practice with the champion in PBE, ranked games, or scrims. However, they won’t be able to use it until Riot gives the green light. Conversely, Riot will immediately ban a champion if it is found to possess bugs that cannot be fixed in a hotfix.
Recently, in the new update for LoL (version 14.4), Riot decided to lock Azir in professional play across all servers. This information immediately garnered significant attention from the LoL community. In version 14.3, Riot had locked Neeko (and there is still no information on whether this champion will return in version 14.4). Now, Azir is facing a similar situation, meaning that two of the most frequently used Mid Lane champions in recent metas have vanished.
According to many assessments and speculations, Riot’s decision may stem from a severe bug that allows Azir to become invisible for a few seconds after using Teleport. For those who cannot grasp how serious this bug is, in professional play, a player’s reaction to a situation is measured in seconds. Azir having time to become invisible could enable players to set up a perfect Shurima Shuffle, turning the tide of the match if the timing and position of the Teleport are calculated correctly.
Additionally, many opinions express concern for Faker and Chovy. It is well-known that Azir was the champion that created the most critical moments in the T1 – JD Gaming match. Not only did it help T1 defeat JDG, but this match is also regarded as the “early final” of the 2023 World Championship. Indeed, the subsequent final between T1 and Weibo Gaming was quite one-sided. Azir is also Chovy’s signature champion over several seasons, possessing the ability to make plays and being very useful both in lane and in team fights.
However, as professional players, Faker and Chovy along with their respective teams will find different ways to adapt to the situation. At the same time, Riot also needs to quickly bring Azir back soon as this champion is considered one of the strong, play-making champions in LoL and is an icon of Mid Laners in the professional scene.