G2 Jankos explains why he “never wants to see” Akali in League again
Riot GamesG2 Esports’ star jungler Marcin ‘Jankos’ Jankowski has been vocal about some of League of Legends’ most overpowered champions, but this time, he’s taking it one step further, saying he wants Akali removed from the game.
It’s no secret that Akali has been one of the strongest champions in League of Legends, especially in pro play. Ever since her rework in Season 8, she’s been a staple pick in the meta — when she isn’t banned, at least.
She still maintains the highest pick-ban rates in pro play at an astounding 98% even after multiple nerfs. So, pros have urged Riot to take one step further and just flat out remove her from the game, including G2’s Jankos.
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Speaking to the LEC in their latest “Buff-Nerf-Remove” video, the jungler urged Riot to remove the assassin from the game purely because of how hard it is to balance her.
“Remove Akali because I hate the champion,” he said. “I think that she’s [been] too imbalanced for two years in a row that I would like to not see her ever again in my life.”
Many of the other 29 LEC pros seemed to agree with Jankos too. Of the 30 answers given, five of them said to remove Akali, more than any other champion. She was also mentioned by four other pros to receive more nerfs.
For mobile readers, the related segment starts at 2:03.
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The Rogue Assassin has been targeted in recent patches to hopefully make the nerf wishes a reality. In Patch 10.3, Riot made the first cast of her ultimate targetable on champions only, instead of free targeted, removing some of her engage and escape potential.
They also reduced the movement speed from her W shadow, and increased the energy cost on her Q to make her more vulnerable in lane.
Akali isn’t the only champion LEC players want Riot to deal with though. Lee Sin, another mechanically-intensive champion that has dominated pro play for years, was labeled by the pros as the one character most in need of nerfs.
Since a lot of people are asking, here's a list of what each player answered. https://t.co/9v9zM8UTA4 pic.twitter.com/JSqGB9fG6I
— Shakarez (@Shakarez) February 11, 2020
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As for buffs, it was a more mixed bag, with Zed being the flavor of the bunch with four votes. The Shadow Assassin is receiving some interesting changes in Patch 10.4 to make him work better in the jungle, jacking up his passive’s damage to monsters by 50%.
While it’s unlikely the jungler’s pleas for Akali’s removal will be heard by Riot, hopefully the nerfs will suffice enough to remove her from most of his pro games.
