League of Legends Summer Split: Vi Banned in Every Game
The Summer Split of League of Legends began on June 17, with ten teams competing for a spot in the LEC Season Finals. In an interesting turn of events, one champion, Vi, was banned in every single game of the first week.
With two teams having undefeated records in the first week, there were also notable trends in terms of champion picks and drafts. Vi, in particular, was banned in all 15 games played so far.
According to stats site Games of Legends, Vi achieved an average ban turn of 2.2 in champion select, indicating that every team highly prioritized her and removed her from the draft in the first ban phase.
Vi has been one of the most popular jungle champions this season with a 65% presence across all competitive leagues worldwide, second only to Maokai. She is also the second most-picked and third-most banned champion among jungle players.
Vi’s high value in professional play stems from her crowd control abilities, durability, and her point-and-click engage with her ultimate, Cease and Desist. She excels at picking off enemies and locking down threats, which makes her a strong blind pick that fits into various team compositions.
Surprisingly, Vi has also had a near-100% ban rate in the LCS Summer Split, as well as high ban rates in the LCK and LPL. However, she has seen significant play in the LPL, appearing in over 50 games.
Vi’s presence is consistent across all major regions, cementing her status as a pick-or-ban champion. This has prompted Riot Games to plan for nerfs in the upcoming Patch 13.13, making it the second time Vi has been nerfed this season.
League of Legends, Summer Split, Vi, banned champion, drafts, picks, professional play, jungle champion, nerfs, Riot Games