League of Legends’ new champion won’t be swinging into the European pro scene just yet.
Riot Games’ European head of esports Maximilian Peter Schmidt announced today that Akshan will be disabled for the LEC playoffs. LEC rules dictate that a new champion released “on the patch utilized during play-offs will be restricted,” making the Rogue Sentinel a no-go for next week’s matches.
LEC teams were asked if they wanted Akshan to be made available during the playoffs since he’ll be enabled for Worlds 2021, according to Schmidt. But the “vast majority of teams declined.”
While Akshan hasn’t seen any competitive play yet, he seems to be underperforming in solo queue. Riot has already issued two micropatches to buff the mid laner, with the first one coming just one day after he was released. The champion’s second buff came yesterday, increasing his attack speed per level and Q damage to minions. The devs hope this will improve his “very low win rate,” potentially giving him more split potential and helping him scale a bit better into the late game.
The LCS has yet to announce whether Akshan will be disabled for the playoffs, which kick off on Aug. 7.
Make sure to follow us on YouTube for more esports news and analysis.
