In the first game of Day 1 at the League of Legends World Championship, Hanwha Life Esports’ Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon played one of the most talked about picks ahead of the tournament: Tryndamere.
The unkillable rogue synergizes well with Goredrinker and has sprung up as a top and mid lane flex in Patch 11.19. While Chovy did not secure a win on the champion, he showcased what players can do with the hyper-aggressive pick, as it has even drawn some bans.
Many of the top mages coming into the tournament have been either slightly nerfed or take a little too long to ramp up in the current meta. In steps Tryndamere, a hyper scaling duelist that can scale well when put ahead early and live in a sidelane or dive enemy carries in a teamfight.
“Ok, that was entertaining the first two times, but I’ve watched enough Tryndamere now,” former League of Legends analyst and coach Renato “Shakarez” Perdigão said on Twitter. “Can we global ban him for the rest of the tournament?”
Ok that was entertaining the first two times but I've watched enough tryndamere now, can we global ban him for the rest of the tournament
— Renato Perdigão (@Shakarez) October 5, 2021
Tryndamere counter
Since the pick was hyped up so much before the tournament, teams seem to have already found a counter to the champion. In a post-game interview on the Riot Games broadcast, LNG Esports’ Xie “icon” Tian-Yu said that his Gragas pick was a simple counter to the melee champion, as he has multiple options that can hold Tryndamere back in a fight.
“Because Gragas E has the same cooldown in later stages as Tryndamere E, in teamfights all I have to do is stand next to my carry and protect them,” icon said.
That said, Tryndamere may not have been at full strength in his first showing at Worlds 2021. While one of the best laners in the world piloted the champion, former coach and caster Nick “LS” De Cesare said Chovy’s build was a tad suboptimal.
Super horrible tryndamere build in and it's so sad to see Chovy being the one behind it 🙁 #Worlds2021 pic.twitter.com/q98kFnbRqZ
— LS (@LSXYZ9) October 5, 2021
“Super horrible Tryndamere build in and it’s so sad to see Chovy being the one behind it :(,” LS said on Twitter.
