One undeniable fact is that before Worlds 2021 kicked off, many analysts and experts predicted Amumu would be a highly sought-after support champion in this tournament. The reasoning is clear as Amumu had the highest win rate among support champions in solo queue during patch 11.19, which was the version used for Worlds 2021. Hence, many support players practiced this champion leading up to the event.
However, when Worlds 2021 officially took place, Amumu’s performance was utterly “disastrous”. Despite having a solid ban/pick rate of 72.7%, his win rate in the Play-In Stage has plummeted to a mere 12.5%. Out of 8 times picked, Amumu secured only 1 victory when played by Vsta from Hanwha Life Esports. So what has led to these poor statistics for Amumu?
Looking at Amumu’s matches at Worlds 2021, it’s easy to see that he is often paired with Miss Fortune. In fact, 6 out of 8 of Amumu’s appearances in the Play-In Stage were alongside the Bounty Hunter. While this duo has two incredibly powerful area-of-effect ultimates, it inadvertently hinders Amumu’s greatest strengths as a support.
What makes Amumu a hot pick in recent times is his ability to stun and deal considerable damage right from level 1. Effectively utilizing Amumu’s strong crowd control can help the bot lane secure early kills and create a great snowball effect. However, when playing the Miss Fortune – Amumu combo, teams often tend to play passively and wait until level 6. As a result, Amumu often becomes quite “useless” during the laning phase.
This often results in Amumu’s teams falling into a passive position and losing control of the map. Consequently, the potential for impactful plays with Amumu’s ultimate, Curse of the Sad Mummy, is significantly diminished, preventing him from reaching his full power and threat during team fights.
Additionally, player skill has also contributed to Amumu’s dismal win rate at Worlds 2021. There have been several matches where Amumu was picked by RED Canids, Infinity Esports, or PEACE against Hanwha Life Esports or LNG Esports. Clearly, when it comes to player skill levels, teams from Brazil, Latin America, or Oceania are at a disadvantage compared to representatives from LCK or LPL.
If not facing a skill disparity, Amumu was used by players who were performing poorly in certain matches. Vulcan from Cloud9 is a prime example, as there were several instances where he initiated fights too early or executed his skill shots irresponsibly during the tiebreak match against DetonatioN FocusMe.
Essentially, Amumu is still a strong choice for the support position at Worlds 2021, but forcing this champion to pair with Miss Fortune is not a good idea. Perhaps we will need to wait until the Group Stage of Worlds 2021, when Amumu is played by higher-skilled players who can capitalize on his strengths at level 1 for him to shine.