Riot recently reworked Yuumi, adjusting her kit to try and keep her out of the professional League of Legends scene... but that was a total fail, especially when looking at recent numbers in the LPL and LCK.
A new League of Legends split has begun and while most fans have completely forgotten about Yuumi, thanks to her being disabled throughout the 2023 Mid-Season Invitation, she is making a comeback once more during the summer split.
Yuumi has become the nightmare of any LoL esports watcher. She's been perma-present throughout the last two years and even after a rework she is going about as though Riot never even touched her. This just goes to show that her rework earlier this year was a complete failure.
League of Legends: Yuumi's Presence Skyrockets In Professional Play
The 2023 LCK Summer Split has just kicked off and with 26 games played, there is a worrying trend happening in regard to Yuumi. She, along with two other champions, holds a 100% presence throughout the first week of play, with 8 bans and 18 picks.
- If you do pick Yuumi have some tea while you're playing and drink out of this League of Legends Heat Changing Mug !
While in the LPL the numbers aren't as high with a 43% presence rate, she does hold a very high 75% win rate with 9 wins and 3 losses, making her a very popular pick as well if any of the other OP supports are banned like Milio or Lulu.
After the big Mid-Scope Update she received earlier this year, this shouldn't be the case. The League of Legends balance team tried to reassure everyone that Yuumi wouldn't be a problem in pro play anymore after the changes, but the one thing that makes her such a key pick was not adjusted or touched.
Yuumi's an enchanter. The main feature of the class is that they're extremely squishy, immobile, but have insane healing and shielding output for their team, keeping them alive from the backline. Soraka, Sona, Janna are all part of this class, along with Yuumi.
- If you play Yuumi you can also puzzle at the same time since you don't need to pay too much attnetion or both hands!
But what sets Yuumi apart from the other enchanters? Her untargetability. The moment she hops onto her allie's back she cannot be targeted anymore and she can continue to heal and shield to her heart's content, while also dealing decent poke with her Q.
Basically, it's extremely hard to punish a Yuumi, which makes her such a prominent pick in pro play.
Meanwhile, solo queue players have felt the brunt of the changes, with even less skill expression now part of her kit. Her passive was reworked, removing the one interactive part of her kit completely, by forcing Yuumi to continue to sit atop her 'best friend' at all times.
Players are frustrated with her new kit and viewers of professional League of Legends are calling on Yuumi to be deleted or perma banned from the pro-scene, especially after everyone was told Yuumi would not be a pro-skewed champion anymore after the changes.