One support boasts highest KDA, perfect win rate at MSI 2023 after Play-Ins stage

The first week of the League of Legends 2023 Mid-Season Invitational has finished, with Golden Guardian, Bilibili Gaming, and G2 Esports all qualifying for the Bracket Stage. And while we’ve seen some unconventional picks and unique builds, one fiery champion that has taken over the support role is Annie.

Since the buffs to Molten Shield (E), Pyromania (Passive), and Summon: Tibbers (R) in League Patch 13.3, Annie has been a fiery ball of chaos across the Rift.

And, on top of that, despite several recent nerf attempts the Dark Child is still very much a firebrand and major menace in the mid lane, with a 51.96 percent win rate across all ranks, and as a support, she has a 50.98 percent win rate.

While there isn’t much of a difference in Annie’s win rates for League enthusiasts, for the professionals at MSI, the difference between Annie mid and Annie support is astounding. So far in London, Annie has a zero percent win rate in the mid lane but a 100 percent win rate as a support pick.

And that’s not all; she also has the highest KDA out of all supports, sitting at 8.2 after the first stage. Her perfect standings are all thanks to Choi “Huhi Jae-Hyun” from the Golden Guardians. Huhi began his pro League career in 2014 in the mid-lane, so Annie is a champion he knows, and his performance in the Play-Ins is a testament to that.

What’s interesting about his Annie support build is his runes didn’t change regardless of the champions he faced. He had two core items in every game—Ionian Boots of Lucidity and Shurelya’s Battlesong—and he always had Flash, all of which is pretty standard.

But for two-thirds of his high-stakes MSI matches, he got Mikael’s Blessing, and this is not an item recommended in any of the Annie support builds. But it should be. Mikael’s Blessing increases Ability Haste, Mana Regeneration, and MR, provides healing and shielding, and removes all crowd control debuffs. 

So, when an enemy champion with excellent crowd control can stun, charm, or slow you, it’s the perfect counter, especially if you decide against taking the Cleanse summoner spell.

Although it may not be an item often recommended to regular support players, seeing how League pros build specific champions in certain roles, like Annie, can provide great insights into runes or items we may have overlooked, like Mikael’s Blessing. And it gives you another avenue to explore and try in your games.

If you decide to take Annie into bot lane, take a page from Huhi’s books and consider Mikael’s Blessing next time you’re against a stun-heavy enemy.

And if you want to see what other pros are playing, Gen.G and G2 Esports are battling it out on the Rift first-up in MSI’s Bracket Stage at 7am CT on Tuesday, May 9.