Ahri is winning more than any other mid lane champion in Platinum and higher-ranked games for how often she is picked, and players have taken to the official League forums to voice their concerns about her—loudly. Here’s the thing, however: Nothing has happened to suddenly make her OP.
Ahri has received no buffs, no updates, and no changes in a long time. In fact, the AP items that she builds haven’t been changed recently either. This is just one of those cases where Ahri was considered a “hidden OP” champion—one that’s really strong, but that not many people play, because their potential isn’t fully discovered yet.
Ahri has always been a solid choice in mid lane. She doesn’t have many counters, she has decent damage, decent crowd-control, and mobility to escape ganks. She’s always had a place in most games, but she’s never seemed that strong in any specific scenario. She’s never been a hyper-carry; she’s a safe bet.
Well, that might have only seemed true because not enough high-elo players had figured her out yet. When Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg, TSM’s star mid laner, began playing her in professional games during the 2017 Spring Split, the community started to realize just how strong she is. With only a couple of items, she could sit back from a safe distance and blow up an Ashe with a few spells.
Needless to say, after seeing that, we wouldn’t blame anyone for wanting to play Ahri. In fact, more people are playing her mid than any other champion in that role, according to Champion.gg, a League statistics website. Her winrate is 53.9 percent. That’s high for any champion that’s played by more than a few people, and she’s certainly played by more than a few. She’s actually picked in over 20 percent of all ranked games in Platinum and higher.
Typically, when a champion’s winrate is too high, they have a very small playrate, because those that win more often are the only people that play the champion. When more people pick a champ up, the winrate tends to drop. When it doesn’t drop, like in Ahri’s case, that’s a big red flag.
So Ahri definitely needs a nerf. Just like when Syndra’s point-and-click ultimate could melt down a tank with two items, Ahri’s kit will probably also be brought down to heel just like Syndra in patch 7.1. Some folks have taken to the forums to defend Ahri, saying that she really isn’t that strong, but the general consensus is that she needs some work.
And it’s hard to argue with the numbers—and Ahri’s numbers point towards her being OP. Nearly a 54 percent winrate coupled with a 20 percent playrate is ridiculous. Based on those numbers alone, it’s safe to assume that we can all expect some changes in Ahri’s near future.
