Shifting sands: Azir immediately reclaims LoL pro play throne after ban lifts

Azir's skyrocketting as the dominant pick again in the LoL Meta.

Azir skin for TFT Set 11
Image via Riot Games

The Shuriman Emperor, Azir, has reclaimed his popularity in the mid lane after after being disabled from League of Legends pro play. Now, he’s back at his prime after Patch 14.7 with 79% presence across all matches.

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According to GOL.GG, the champion has played 1,047 matches with around a 51.8% win rate. Professional LoL esports player Lee “Aria” Ga-eul, a midlaner for Japanese team DetonatioN FM, has over a 78% win rate with Azir and a KDA of 7.0.

Azir splash art league of legends
Azir has been a potent midrange pick for years. Image via Riot Games

Among the main four League of Legends regions, LCK midlaners have been known to pivot to the Shuriman Emperor for his all-around capabilities, and the league is seeing the highest presence of the champion at 57% across all matches.

Azir was disabled for competitive play in patch 14.4 due to a bug. The tower creation effect for the champion’s passive ability, Disc of the Sun, wasn’t working as intended, and caused SFX and VFX to play repeatedly. The ability would sometimes crash the game, but it’s working properly now.

Players on Reddit aren’t particularly thrilled about Azir’s comeback in the meta, though. Redditor u/Jozoz explains: “We have a champion here that has a presence in lane, has great gamewinning engage potential AND can serve as a backline hard-carry,” lamenting about the wide-reaching impact the champion brings to the table.

Many players agree the champion is too safe an option. His ultimate is a great tool to engage or disengage from team fights, making him a reliable choice to dictate the pace of the matches. But his prowess in the late game, where his AP ability scales very well with items like Rabidon’s Deathcap, makes him a formidable foe.

LoL players rushed to play Azir after Faker’s performance with the champion in the 2023 League of Legends World Championship semifinals. But for many, things didn’t go their way, as Azir’s low win-rate proves he has a high skill ceiling.

Author
Image of Rijit Banerjee
Rijit Banerjee
Staff Writer at Dot Esports. You'll find him grinding platinum trophies and breaking the meta with his "fun" picks in the ranked queue when he's not reading his favourite Fantasy books. Previously wrote for GG Recon, ESTNN, and many more. Contact: rijit@dotesports.com