During their first matchup against Saigon Buffalo at the 2022 Mid-Season Invitational, DetonatioN FocusMe were confident enough to lock in an off-meta pocket pick for top laner Shunsuke “Evi” Murase. But despite hoping to go up 2-0 at MSI 2022 off a signature Urgot pick, SGB had other ideas.
Despite Evi’s Urgot looking good, especially in the early game, SGB looked better. Evi started the game with first blood, but the game teetered back and forth until a teamfight led by SGB’s star bot laner Nguyễn “Shogun” Văn Huy broken everything wide open 20 minutes in. Shogun landed a critical kill in the mid lane, which translated into an early Baron.
Shogun and SGB took their lead and ran with it. After a desperate Elder Dragon attempt by DFM, SGB simply backdoored their nexus. The win put them at 1-1 and showed Group A is more open than originally thought. Evi did what he could, ending the game with a 6/3/7 kill/death/assist stat line.
On the international stage, Evi showed off his Urgot back at the 2021 League of Legends World Championship. He used it in two of DFM’s critical wins that gave the region their first-ever group stage berth at Worlds.
Even though Evi is known for his Urgot, the pick has been non-existent in the top lane in 2022. According to Gol.gg, Urgot has only been picked one time across the highest level of play. Kim “Kiin” Gi-in, top laner for Kwangdong Freecs, drafted the champion during the 2022 League of Legends Champions Korea spring playoffs. The game did not go so well for him, as Kiin lost on the pick.
Outside of the major regions, Urgot saw a little more play despite not having widespread meta relevance since Season 9. Evi did pick it twice in the 2022 League of Legends Japan League spring playoffs and was undefeated on the pick.
DFM will get their next shot against SGB on Sunday.
Published: May 11, 2022 11:24 am