As of the match between T1 and Royal Never Give Up, the Rumble Stage of the 2022 Mid-Season Invitational was concluded. From Friday, the final knockout stage will take place. In this tournament, the importance of the draft has been emphasized more than ever. The top-tier champions in MSI 2022 are Ahri, Lucian, and Wukong.
Although Lucian appeared only three times, he proved why he is a must-ban champion in this tournament in those three games. The pick or ban rate of Lucian is 100%. Ahri has been picked or banned in all of the games played at this MSI along with Lucian as well. She hasn’t been banned as much, but she was picked in all of the games that she wasn’t banned. Especially, Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok played Ahri in 4 games and won all four.
The next most appearing champion was Wukong. After recent changes, Wukong has been appearing much more often, and the MSI 2022 was its showcase. Wukong specializes in early game skirmishes and he truly shines in teamfights. Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski played Wukong 5 times and won 4 of them, and Moon “Oner” Hyeon-joon played 3 games on Wukong, winning all of them.
Ahri and Lucian were picked or banned in all games played at the MSI, while Wukong appeared in 95.5% of the drafts. All three of these champions were usually picked first when they weren’t banned in the first ban phase.
Following these champions are Gwen and LeBlanc. Gwen was picked or banned in 84.8% of the games, while LeBlanc appeared in 80.3% of the games. When LeBlanc was picked, she mostly appeared to face Ahri. Faker, Li “Xiaohu” Yuan-hao, and Joseph “jojopyun” Pyun all played LeBlanc twice and won both. In the top lane, Gwen appeared the most. Due to her characteristics, she is convenient to pick first, and she proved her value with a 62.2% winrate.
Other noticeable champions were Jax, Sylas, Pyke, Xayah, and Senna. Jax wasn’t picked nor banned in most of the matches, but whenever he appeared, he won — with a 5-0 record, Jax was undefeated throughout the tournament so far. Sylas was mostly picked to counter Twisted Fate, and did a good job. Sylas won 6 out of 8 games he was played.
Pyke was a memorable pick for Raphaël “Targamas” Crabbé, as he picked Pyke 4 games and won all four of them. Especially, Targamas’ Pyke was a death reaper to Evil Geniuses, as he picked Pyke three times against them. Xayah and Senna were also decent picks in the tournament, as they were picked in 10+ games with a 70+% winrate.
The biggest "trap cards" of the tournament were Viego and Ezreal. Although Viego was picked in 33 games, he only won 10 of them and recorded an underwhelming 30.3% winrate. It was unfortunate for Lee "Juhan" Ju-han, as he picked Viego 6 games while losing 5 of them. In the bot lane, Ezreal didn't meet up to Tim "Nemesis" Lipovšek's expectations, as he went over par with a 10-12 record and a 45.5% winrate.
MSI 2022 will continue on May 27, with the match between Royal Never Give Up and Evil Geniuses, followed by T1 vs. G2 Esports on May 28, leading to the grand finals on May 29.
