The League of Legends community is more than excited for the different tournaments that are about to happen this 2016, and perhaps one exciting thing to look forward to is if professional gamers will be ready to use the current newest champion on the rift - Illaoi.
Illaoi, the Kraken Priestess, has made a scene dunking and slamming her idol, the Eye of God, on champions and the Rift. She gets what she wants and destroys what she hates, but this is not at all what makes her special, according to League of Legends North America.
Illaoi is set to be a juggernaut champion, and as the juggernaut patch came, the league community has been more focused on the plays made by top laners, who often use juggernauts, and their responsive actions to make good teleport plays. Not only are they expected to flank the opposing team, but also to control side lanes properly for a good push mechanic.
How will Illaoi pan out as a top lane champion?
Illaoi's kit is perfect for warding, which is important when figuring out the game strategy of the opposing team, by making them as visible as possible on the map. Her tentacles also greatly help her when farming. Thus, when she has perfectly set up a camp for her tentacles to thrive in or outside of the lane, it would be really hard to get to her, Cinema Blend reported.
The downside to her kit is the delays before it procures, the short range of her skills, and almost all of it being skill shots. However, skill shots should not be a problem for professional gamers. Still, they would need hours of practice to perfect her skill shots. This is probably why during the 2015 All Star Event, which was the last tournament of the LoL eSports scene, Illaoi was not in any draft, pick or ban during any of the games, even when she was already available in the patch used for the tournament.
Can Illaoi be a great top laner juggernaut, and will we be seeing famous top lane players like MaRin and Huni use her? Only time will tell, and waiting won't be for too long, since Spring split is right around the corner, with EU starting off on Jan. 14 and NA on Jan. 16, as HNGN previously reported.
