Tristana’s Struggles at the League of Legends World Championship 2023
Tristana, the popular Yordle marksman, has surprisingly disappeared from the League of Legends 2023 World Championship despite her strong performance in the Summer Splits. While Tristana dominated the Summer Split playoffs in major regions, she has only been picked five times and banned four times at Worlds, resulting in a mere 13.4% presence rate. Let’s explore the reasons behind her diminished priority at the tournament.
Tristana’s Small But Impactful Nerfs
During the Summer Split, Tristana enjoyed high presence rates of 82-91.8% in major regions like LCK, LPL, LCS, and LEC. However, in Patch 13.16, Tristana received some nerfs to her base stats, including reduced health, armor, and magic resistance. Although her armor growth was increased, these nerfs made her weaker overall. Tristana’s popularity stemmed from her ability to flex between mid and bot lanes, providing a drafting advantage for teams. Unfortunately, on Patch 13.19, these nerfs came into effect at Worlds, making Tristana more vulnerable and riskier to play.
Her Advantages Are No Longer Advantages
Tristana’s flexibility and ability to counter mid lane mages made her a popular pick. Her E passive granted her lane priority and allowed her team’s jungler to make plays around the map. Additionally, Tristana excelled at taking down turret plates, earning gold without relying solely on kills. However, the current meta prioritizes strong teamfighting over early skirmishes, and there are counter picks like Syndra and Sylas that can handle Tristana. Consequently, her advantages aren’t as impactful in the current meta.
Tristana’s Lack of Synergy With Meta Champions
The meta at Worlds 2023 emphasizes having magic damage in multiple roles. Unfortunately, there aren’t many magic damage options that synergize well with Tristana. The top lane mostly relies on Rumble as the only AP-heavy pick, while the jungle prefers Maokai and Taliyah, who don’t provide enough damage or synergy with Tristana. In the bot lane, options for AP damage are limited, with Ziggs being the only mage pick. Running Tristana in a team composition would require sacrificing magic damage options or committing to a double marksman comp that can be easily countered.
Her Lack of Influence in Teamfights
Tristana struggles to have a significant impact in teamfights, which is crucial in the current meta. Her vulnerability as an ADC makes her an easy target to pick off. While she has the Rocket Jump ability for repositioning, the long cast time hinders her effectiveness in fast-paced teamfights. Unless played with exceptional positioning and reflexes, Tristana’s impact is minimal. Additionally, her focus on dodging key abilities can prevent her from freely dealing damage, making her risky to pick.
Will Tristana Be Picked Again?
Considering the conditions Tristana needs to satisfy and the availability of stronger picks like Orianna, Neeko, and Azir, it’s unlikely that Tristana will be picked again at Worlds 2023. These champions provide a higher level of impact in teamfights without compromising team compositions. Unless there is an unusual series of mid lane champion bans, Tristana won’t likely make an appearance on Summoner’s Rift this season.
Tristana, League of Legends, World Championship 2023, presence rate, nerfs, flexibility, advantages, meta, synergy, teamfights.