League of Legends players are protesting the release of a new skin by banning and kicking players who use the champion Ahri. As part of the new Hall of Legends event, Riot has released an Ahri skin bundle honoring LoL esports legend Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok – and it costs $434.95 / £399.96. In response, players have started banning Ahri in their matches and are kicking others they see equipping the skin.
A plan was quickly put into motion by League of Legends players to simply ban Ahri in protest, and it’s now going ahead. There’s been a huge uptick in incidents where the mid-laner has been banned from matches in the MOBA. While this may not affect Riot directly, people are less likely to play Ahri, and therefore less likely to buy her skin, if they know they won’t be able to play her for however long this boycott goes on for.
This was planned back when the skin price was first announced, and the community has followed through. What’s interesting is the stance Riot has on the issue. Speaking at a roundtable, PCGamesN asked game director Pu ‘PuPuLasers’ Liu about the backlash, and he responded, “it’s kind of justified.” When asked about potential pushback, Riot says that “these kind of products are designed for a very small percentage of our players to be able to purchase and flex.”
As well as being banned more regularly, Ahri is also being picked fewer times since the launch of the skin. This could be a combination of people actively boycotting the champion and people wanting to avoid getting kicked from matches and deciding to play as someone else. Whatever the reason, it diminishes the already small pool of players who would be willing to fork out so much money on Ahri’s Fake skin.
According to stats from LoLalytics and OP.GG, since Wednesday June 12, there has been a massive increase in Ahri’s ban rate, going from just under 10% to as high as 17%. Her pick rate has also dropped from around 15% to about 10%, meaning she’s losing popularity and gaining notoriety quickly.
League of Legends’ Faker-inspired Hall of Legends event began on Wednesday, June 12 at 11am PST / 2pm EST / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST. If you want to pick up the Immortalized Legend Ahri skin, as well as the new event pass, they’re available now.
If you used to be an Ahri main but now have to pick someone new, check out our LoL tier list to find a suitable replacement. Or, if you’re looking for some new skins but don’t want to shell out hundreds of dollars, we have a rundown of the current League of Legends Mythic shop – we think it’s one of the best months so far.
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