Eefje ‘Sjokz’ Depoortere has long been at the heart of European League of Legends, and one photographer has aptly captured her passion for the game both on and off the stage.
After FunPlus Phoenix’s blowout Grand Final victory saw the Chinese–Korean collective take home yet another World Championship back to the East, many were left wondering when European LoL would gain the credit it deserves.
G2 Esports were flying the LEC banner high at Worlds 2019, as they showcased just how far European LoL has evolved throughout the course of the season.
G2 were dominant throughout Worlds 2019.
Being an integral part of the European League of Legends scene, Sjokz stayed true to her EU roots and backed G2 Esports until the death throughout the course of Worlds 2019.
However, in the immediate face of defeat, the Belgian had to place her feelings to one side and remain calm and collected when talking with G2’s CEO, Carlos ‘Ocelote’ Rodríguez, in a stirring post-match interview.
Captured by lead LPL photographer, Yicun Liu, their tweet captioned “She left the sunshine to us and left the tears to the background,” highlighted how Sjokz expressed her emotions backstage.
As expected, the LoL community responded in droves to appreciate Liu’s ability to encapsulate Sjokz raw reaction to G2’s exit from Worlds 2019.
The journalist turned host is no stranger to the intense environment that Worlds presents, having worked at each event since joining the team back in 2013.
Sjokz’s active involvement in the European scene, alongside her charming persona both on and off the stage, has led to her becoming a fan-favorite and a staple in the global LoL esports community.
Tahm Kench is set to have his ‘acquired taste’ adjusted slightly in early 2021. The River King will be receiving a mini-rework targeting Devour and Abyssal Voyage during the Season 11 preseason, Riot devs have revealed — and it looks like it will soon be time to unbench the Kench again.
Riot unveiled their plans for the notorious support in a dev blog in late June. Their idea to “carefully balance” the River King, game designer Kevin ‘Captain’ Huang said, was to target his two most iconic abilities: his deep-diving ultimate, and his ‘Devour’ mechanic.
“It’s no secret [Tahm Kench] is one of the champions most famous for being weak for a vast majority of players because his kit is strong for pros,” Huang said. “Tahm has a lot of power that specifically requires the highest degree of coordinated play.”
The main issue with these kinds of champions — a category other famous picks like Kalista and Ryze also fall into — is “if they ever rise about 44-45% win rate [in their roles], they simply take over the professional scene,” Huang explained.
Riot’s aim, then, is to tweak his two “high skill cap” moves in the Season 11 mini-rework. TK’s ultimate, Abyssal Voyage, will be switched to his ‘W’ ability, while Devour/Regurgitate will be the River King’s ultimate heading into Season 11.
Riot GamesTahm Kench is set to see his iconic kit shuffled around slightly in a Season 11 rework.
Abyssal Voyage, Devour being reworked
There’s a few smaller tweaks the devs have already tabled for these two abilities too. Kench’s Abyssal Voyage would become the support’s “new engage tool,” would be “faster” and have a “shorter range”. It would also deal damage, and knock up enemies on arrival.
His Devour ability, which would be headed to the premiere “R” slot, would come with damage (for enemies) or a shield (for allies) depending on targets. On top of that, its cooldown would be stretched, and obviously it would be locked behind a level 6 experience barrier.
“We have moved Devour to his ult slot, where it gets to be significantly more powerful as a spell cast, and therefore less dependent on allies,” Huang said.
“With a longer cooldown and no access to the ability before [level] 6, opponents should also be able to capitalize on its downtimes [in better ways.]”
River King gets more self-healing
Finally, Tahm Kench may be getting a bit more self-healing in his reworked kit, with his Q ability Tongue Lash currently giving the River King a little HP top-up on-hit.
The last time Tahm Kench was handed a balance update outside of minor bug fixes was in League Patch 9.19, last season. His Thick Skin passive had its ‘Grey Health’ bonus changed from 30-100% (based on levels) to 75% at all levels.
Riot GamesMost of Tahm Kench’s kit will be changed in Season 11.
When will Tahm Kench be updated?
These new changes have been in Riot’s testing chambers for more than half a year now, but it looks like we may have to wait just a little bit longer before the new Tahm Kench actually arrives.
Originally, Riot said the River King’s ability update would arrive “after the Worlds patch [10.19].” That expected release date has rolled up in the distance, arrived, and now is weeks in the rearview mirror; Season 11’s preseason has begun.
The Tahm Kench rework will land after that, Riot Phlox confirmed on Nov. 25.
He said, “The TK rework is coming once preseason is more settled, and we have time to finish up the work and allocate the resources. Really would prefer to have it out before pro starts again, but I sadly can’t just slap a timeline here.”
G2 were dominant throughout Worlds 2019.
