With the LPL underway, fans of League of Legends pro play have gotten a look at what the post-MSI meta looks like in one of the best regions. And that meta looks like a whole lot of Yuumi/Zeri lanes.
Ever since Yuumi got picked up for the pro play meta, she’s been an absolute scourge to balance. In order to keep her out of pro play this year, she got nerfed to the point of being borderline non-viable and had her midscope rework released just in time for her to be disabled over the course of MSI.
That midscope shifted around some of Yuumi’s abilities, but it kept the main point of controversy in the form of her being able to attach to allies and become untargetable.
What’s more, Yuumi’s E being converted to a shield has only helped Zeri considering her passive is tied to receiving shields. Rather than Yuumi being picked with every late game scaling ADC, the two are now attached at the hip. Literally and figuratively.
How close do you like your teamfights?LNG & TES: Yes. #CrazyIsOurGame pic.twitter.com/qkcDo5Qg3b
— LPL (@lplenglish) May 31, 2023
Even if Zeri gets caught out of position, she’s incredibly hard to kill. Drafting this combo is so advantageous that it rarely makes sense not to instantly lock Zeri/Yuumi if they’re open.
League fans are already bored of seeing this combo, and pros don’t want to see it considering that Zeri has an 100% pick/ban rate with her only being played in 4 of the 25 total LPL matches at the time of writing. These two champions paired together is already a huge issue in pro play.
League of Legends pro play already dominated by Zeri/Yuumi
While the LPL is the only major region that’s gotten started when it comes to pro play, they’re a strong indicator of what other regions will be doing. Especially considering that the MSI 2023 Final was an LPL vs LPL matchup.
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Bot lane has been dominating the meta for a long, long time. Teams prioritizing their ADC and support combo in the first pick rotation is incredibly common, and teams often play around their bot laners as their main win condition.
Just like Lucian/Nami before them, Zeri/Yuumi has emerged as a must/have combo. And, to make matters worse, it’s often answered by Aphelios/Lulu, making the meta even more predictable. The post-MSI drafts are already driving analysts like Caedrel up the wall.
Even in the LPL, a region with a history of picking aggressive, all-in hard engage focused support champions, enchanters have a massive presence right out of the gate. And Zeri/Yuumi paired together just so happens to be one of the strongest combos you can draft.
Dozens of commenters on the reddit post called for nerfs to Zeri, or some sort of altered ban system that allows stale champions like her and Yuumi to be banned more consistently and bring some variety to the meta.
Yuumi’s rework was blasted by League of Legends players when it initially came out, with many labelling it a failure. If her presence in the LPL so far is anything to go by, that failure has extended to pro play now that everyone’s least favorite cat is enabled.