The frustration that League of Legends players feel in the lower ranks of the game when faced with a particularly powerful champion must also be felt by the pros. Although in competitive play everything is much more controlled and defensive play prevents certain situations from occurring, there are times when you can’t do anything to avoid being humiliated by the most broken champions in the game. Something Rekkles himself had to face in his last match with the Karmine Corp.
A move that even Rekkles couldn’t have foreseen
The move in question took place during a match where Karmine Corp was certainly not playing for the top of the standings, but rather to show that the team still had resources against the leader of the Summer Split. A tough opponent who has among his arsenal a very usual champion in a much less frequent position. Eika, LDLC’s mid laner, picked Zeri. By going for an AP-focused build, the champion can deal massive amounts of damage in a split second, and that’s precisely what happened to the KC’s ADC.
Watching the replay, we can see how Rekkles takes full damage in just 0.24 seconds, without Zeri even needing to use the charged move of his Q – Flurry. He’s definitely not a champion who arrived in Summoner’s Rift with the prospect of being able to do that amount of damage, especially when he only has two items in his inventory. An additional problem for a character who accumulates more changes than the number of past patches since his release and who has become one of the most controversial champions in the history of the game.
Riot Games has once again made timid balances to the ionic spark, but they should not change much in this situation. Although his charged attack damage was reduced in patch 12.14, that doesn’t seem like a big deal considering he doesn’t even use it in this move. The five base damage points lost on the ultimate also wouldn’t have made a difference. Zeri Mid may not be the most popular choice in the competitive ecosystem, but if he can surprise Rekkles, he surely can surprise the best players in the world.