Riot Phreak hits Master in LoL and players are shocked for some reason

League of Legends game designer David “Phreak” Turley has hit Masters ranked in the MOBA, his highest rank since hitting Challenger way back in season three—and players are surprisingly shocked that he could do it.

Ranked League games take consistent effort not only to win, gain LP, and rank up but also to endure due to toxicity and the ever-changing state of League because it never stays the same after a patch update. Phreak, who has been playing the game for over a decade, a former shoutcaster and current game designer at Riot Games, has finally cracked the Masters rank according to his post on Twitter on Jan. 7.

This is an incredible feat for anyone to achieve, as only 0.47 percent of League players are Masters ranked in solo queue. Reaching this rank shows that you understand League, your champion pool, macros, and your role well. As a game designer for League, this is crucial in ensuring they can help create the best player experience.

Although this is a fantastic achievement, many players are finding fault with the game designer, stating that he was only able to achieve this because he switched from ADC to Support, which is often seen as the “easiest role in LoL” and that “he turbo-buffed Janna just in time to abuse her for free LP.“

While he does have more knowledge on which champions, roles, and items might be the best to play to climb the ranks, being able to translate that onto the Rift to win games is a different thing entirely. Yes, Janna did get a mini-rework, and a good portion of this rework was reverted. He did switch to the support role to climb and mainly played Janna, as you can see on his OP.GG profile, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t grind to hit Masters rank which he did while taking a social media break. 

Even though a good portion of the community sees Riot Phreak’s Master’s rank as something to scoff at, it’s a pretty significant achievement, considering how many people actually hit Masters every season. 

And with season 14 going live on Jan. 10, Janna might be one champion we should all consider piloting to climb the ranked ladder—assuming she’s still viable once patch 14.1 rolls out.