Huni brings Ezreal to the top lane at LoL World Championship

The initial qualification phase of the 2019 League of Legends World Championship concluded with two teams securing their advancement. DAMWON Gaming emerged victorious over Lowkey Esports with a convincing 3-1 series score, demonstrating their regional strength. Meanwhile, Clutch Gaming delivered a dominant performance against Royal Youth, achieving a flawless 3-0 sweep that showcased their strategic versatility and individual skill superiority.

During the decisive third match of their series, Clutch Gaming executed a bold draft strategy by selecting Lucian and Ezreal as their final two champions. This complemented their existing picks of Rek’Sai in the jungle, Thresh as support, and Syndra in the mid lane. Remarkably, this marked their second utilization of a dual marksman setup within the same series, highlighting their commitment to innovative team compositions. In the opening game, Damonte had already demonstrated mid lane Lucian proficiency while Cody Sun controlled the bottom lane with Kai’Sa, establishing a pattern of aggressive, damage-oriented drafting.

Heo Seung-hoon “Huni” Heo, Clutch Gaming’s renowned top laner known for his expressive playstyle, introduced Ezreal to the top lane position. The Kleptomancy rune has demonstrated significant influence during early World Championship matches, creating unexpected advantages for teams willing to experiment. Ezreal’s kit perfectly synergizes with Kleptomancy’s gold-generation mechanics, while Huni has consistently shown preference for carry-oriented champions in the top lane. The champion’s inherent mobility through Arcane Shift provides crucial positioning flexibility, enabling him to effectively manage lane pressure against conventional top lane picks.

This unconventional selection could represent either a situational counterpick or potentially the emergence of a new strategic trend in professional play. For players looking to master unconventional strategies, our BF6 Class Selection Guide offers valuable insights into breaking established metas.

Huni stands among the extremely limited group of top lane professionals currently practicing Ezreal in ranked solo queue matches. Examination of his match history reveals 35 games played this competitive season exclusively on Ezreal, demonstrating dedicated champion specialization. He maintains an exceptional 71% victory rate with the champion while achieving a remarkable 2.7 kill-to-death ratio, indicating both consistency and dominant performance. These practice sessions were conducted using his “Fnatic Huni” account, preserving his strategic preparations from public scrutiny until their competitive debut.

In the crucial match against Royal Youth, Huni delivered a controlled performance with a 2/2/9 scoreline. He accumulated 249 minions eliminated and earned 16,700 gold, demonstrating efficient farming and economic management throughout the game.

The possibility exists that the dynamic top laner simply experimented with an entertaining pick in a match where he felt confident about the outcome. However, the introduction of Ezreal top lane in a high-stakes competitive environment ensures that opposing teams must now account for this variable during draft phases against Clutch Gaming. Understanding such strategic innovations is crucial for competitive success, much like mastering the fundamentals in our Battlefield 6 Complete Guide for comprehensive gameplay mastery.

This strategic boldness aligns perfectly with Huni’s established reputation. He pioneered Lucian’s transition to top lane in professional competitions, consistently demonstrating willingness to test unconventional strategies on the global stage. Historically, these experiments have frequently yielded successful results, establishing him as a genuine meta innovator. The competitive community eagerly anticipates whether he will continue utilizing this pick as the 2019 League of Legends World Championship progresses through its group stages and elimination rounds.

For players interested in optimizing their loadouts around such innovative strategies, our BF6 Weapons Unlock Guide provides essential information for maximizing combat effectiveness with unconventional weapon choices.

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