LEC: Selfmade Can Taste Their Fear as Kha’Zix Returns to Europe

Kha’Zix returned to pro play this week in the hands of the LEC’s Selfmade

During week 5 of the LEC, Fnatic’s Selfmade brought Kha’Zix out of hibernation in matches against Misfits Gaming and Team Vitality, which could be a signal that the Void Reaper is coming back to pro play.

It has been a while since the bug has seen any play on the professional stage. Prior to this weekend, Kha’Zix had a 0% presence across the top 4 competitive leagues in Season 10 and his last LEC appearance came for G2 Esports’ Wunder in a “troll game” against Schalke 04 in Summer 2019.

After over six months of zero presence, it appears that Kha’Zix may be heading back to competitive play and maybe in a way he has not been played before.

On Patch 10.14, Kha’Zix received some major buffs allowing for him to clear faster and take more beneficial jungle fights, causing many players in solo queue to try him out. Kha’Zix has since become one of the best junglers on the current patch and is rarely ever out-dueled in the jungle.

This solo queue success may have prompted LEC teams to take a look at our favorite grasshopper and experiment with him on the big stage and so far the results speak for themselves. In all three games, Kha’Zix has been played so far, the team using him has won. Two of these games were from Fnatic’s Selfmade with the third being from SK Gaming’s Trick.

The LEC is the first major competitive league to pick Kha’Zix in 2020

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Selfmade was the first to pick Kha in an astonishing comeback victory against Misfits Gaming, a win that many say was undeserved as Fnatic did not play well and instead relied on Misfits to blow a massive gold lead due to some poor decision-making and team fights. Kha’Zix provided little early pressure in the game and did not gank at all, but was a threat in team fights, killing some key targets.

Kha’Zix was picked again in Selfmade’s second game of week 5 against Team Vitality where the Void Reaper completely dominated the Rift. Selfmade ended the game with a 7/2/9 KDA and also provided a key pick in the game-winning team fight, assassinating Milica’s Orianna, allowing Fnatic to win an easy 4v5 and close the game out.

The last time Kha’Zix was a meta staple in pro play was during the early stages of Season 7, particularly during the Mid-Season Invitational, and his popularity was rewarded with a Championship skin that year. However, the Kha’Zix we’ve seen recently is very different from the Kha’Zix from back then.

During MSI 2017, Kha’Zix almost never purchased lethality items for his core build, often preferring a tanky Black Cleaver and Dead Man’s Plate route. This allowed the jungler to front line and offer crowd control with his Evolved Spike Racks, but it definitely cut down on his damage.

Now, we are seeing the famous solo queue lethality Kha’Zix make his mark on pro play as he is now capable of one-shotting any squishy carry, giving his team a major advantage in a skirmish.

Kha’Zix’s LEC appearances could prompt a resurgence for the champion in different regions, such as the LCK and LCS, and may even usher in some other aggressive junglers into a potential new jungle meta that involves picks like Rengar and Xin Zhao.

Only time will tell and the League of Legends balance team will certainly have their say on whether carry or tank junglers are the meta heading into the upcoming 2020 World Championship.