Gen.G vs HLE: Insights on the “Overwhelming” Future of League of Legends
In the opening match of the 2025 Regular Season between Gen.G and Hanwha Life Esports, an intriguing new champion made its debut. Specifically, this champion has been the subject of much discussion due to its recent emergence in League of Legends, which has been around for a while but is now gaining attention. That champion is none other than Naafiri. However, this time, the “overwhelming” aspect continues to be a concern as Naafiri had to face a notable defeat while in the hands of the top-tier player Peanut.

In detail, during the match between HLE and Gen.G, Naafiri managed to make its presence known… 4 times in the LCK. Notably, this champion was officially launched in July 2023. It can be said that Naafiri has become the champion with the most appearances in the history of League of Legends in Korea. Specifically, Naafiri currently holds a “overwhelming” record of 3 losses to just 1 win in the 4 instances it was selected.

Riot’s Efforts Still Cannot Help Naafiri Escape the “Overwhelming” Status in Professional League of Legends
It is also important to note that since Riot made adjustments to this champion, Naafiri has started to show up more frequently. The statistics indicate that during the Pre-Season phase, as well as during the Spring Split, Naafiri was banned 99 times and selected 40 times, as of April 4. This is a significant increase compared to the 2024 season (12 bans – 5 picks). However, Naafiri’s win rate has yet to improve.

Specifically, this champion has appeared 38 times in the Jungle role with a win rate of approximately 60%, but in the Mid lane, it remains at 1 win – 1 loss. Among them, Kanavi has successfully used Naafiri 3 times with a perfect win rate of 100%. It can be said that the Jungle role may be more compatible with this champion, but if the opponents are evenly matched, Naafiri still fails to create many surprises. The most notable instances being the recent match between Gen.G and HLE.

It is possible that in the future, this Darkin champion will be selected more often. However, whether Naafiri is a memorable name that Riot can firmly establish or not depends heavily on future high-stakes matches rather than just single-elimination games.