The Korean League of Legends pro Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok showcased how strong the latest champion is in a livestream. He played Viego in the mid lane.
How strong is the new champ?Viego was released in January and has a unique passive ability. He can briefly possess enemy champions involved in his kills, granting him access to their respective abilities.
According to LeagueOfGraphs, his win rate is modest. Even in ranked matches at Platinum and above, he only wins 49% of his games. Therefore, the new champion is not inherently overpowered and is not a guarantee for victories.
The LoL pro Faker, who has been portrayed as a god by Riot, managed to demonstrate Viego’s potential during a team fight in the middle. In an extended fight, he secured 3 assists.
Faker narrowly survives 4v3, utilizing several dead champions to his advantage
What can be seen in the clip? Faker fights in the middle with the champion Viego against a Cassiopeia. During the battle, he receives support from his bot lane while Cassiopeia gets help from the top lane and the jungle. This develops into a 3v3, and later even a 4v3.
At the end of the prolonged battle, only Faker and his top laner remain. This was also due to his bot lane being somewhat clumsy in the fight under the tower. You can see the clip here:
How does Faker do it? He first jumps onto Cassiopeia with his “W” and uses his “Q” and ultimate to kill her. After that, he takes over Cassiopeia’s abilities with his passive.
With these abilities, he fights against the top laner Aatrox, who after a teleport kills both of Faker’s teammates and brings him down to low health. However, the pro can save himself by using his ultimate again and jumping away while transforming back into Viego.
After Gnar joined Faker as additional help, he decided to re-enter the fight and attack Aatrox and the enemy Graves.
By defeating Aatrox, he once again took over his abilities and stunned Graves. Finally, he transformed back, avoiding potential damage from the tower.
What does Faker show with the video? The champion Viego has a lot of potential, but many decisions must also be made. After each kill, there is a chance to assume the abilities of the killed champion, thereby bypassing cooldowns and dealing surprising damage.
At the same time, however, you do not gain more health points and must handle them carefully.
Currently, Viego is still banned in competitive League of Legends. New champions are not released there until a few weeks after their debut. However, many indications suggest that Viego will always be played or banned in future tournaments.
In tournaments, junglers are currently generally too strong. This was already demonstrated during the 2020 World Championship. Therefore, the developers are planning an adjustment:
Riot says: One position in LoL is currently too important – Therefore, a nerf is coming
