100 Thieves are back in the LCS Finals after a hard-fought series against Team Liquid, but one pick might have been the key to getting them there: Ornn. The Forge God has been a central choice in the top lane for the defending LCS champions, and has been a talking point in the competitive League of Legends community.
Veteran top lane star Ssumday has picked Ornn seven times over the course of the postseason, and he has found success in all but one of his matches. He might not have the most kills in his role, but he does have the highest KDA of any player in the playoffs, according to League stats aggregate site Oracle’s Elixir.
With a 8.6 KDA and only seven deaths, Ssumday has utilized Ornn’s diverse kit to set up well-timed ganks, survive early pressure, and help 100T dominate the later skirmishes. He was a menace on the champion against Cloud9’s superstar top laner Summit. He also helped take down Liquid’s own superteam in yet another reverse sweep.
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No team has banned the champion either, giving the Thieves an easy top lane pick into almost any compositional matchup. He brings a ton of crowd control, a good way to engage, and can even give some players a power spike with his Masterwork items. In fact, Ssumday has only played one other champion this whole playoffs: Tryndamere.
The Barbarian King was, however, an ill-advised pick from the Thieves’ side, which led to their second loss of the series against Liquid. Coach Reapered realized their mistake quickly, though, and went back to a more traditional front-to-back team comp with Ornn as a trusty frontline. The strategy gave the team a chance to pull off an improbable comeback.
As the Thieves aim to pull off back-to-back heists of the LCS championship, teams must consider banning Ornn away from Ssumday so he is forced to choose another champion from his pool of picks. Catch Ssumday and the rest of 100T in action when they try to defend their throne at the LCS Finals on Sunday, April 24.
