League of Legends players are calling Azir a “troll pick” after the Emperor of Shurima crashed to one of the worst win rates we’ve ever seen. At 42.67% in Emerald+ ranked games, Azir is now so bad that some players think you should dodge if someone picks him on your team.
This isn’t just a rough patch for the sand soldier summoner. We’re looking at what might be the most broken champion balance in League’s history.
Players Are Fed Up
The League community isn’t holding back their frustration. One Reddit user perfectly captured what many of us are thinking:
“Azir currently sits at 42.67% WR in Emerald+. This is ridiculous, a champ that was 45% WR last patch which is already gutted yuumi territory (yes that yuumi), got a NERF (LMAO) and is now borderline a troll pick, you’re better off dodging if you see someone picking this champ in your team. Even otps with 100+ games barely make this champion function, at what point is having a champ that only works in a pro environment healthy for the game at all?” — u/Plenty-Artichoke9798 on r/leagueoflegends
That comparison to “gutted Yuumi territory” hits hard. When you’re being compared to the most nerfed support in League history, you know things are bad. But here’s the kicker — Riot actually nerfed Azir when he was already sitting at a terrible 45% win rate.
The math just doesn’t add up. How do you nerf a champion who’s already losing more games than he wins? Even one-tricks with over 100 games on Azir can barely make him functional. That’s not normal for any champion in League.
The Pro Play Prison Problem
Here’s what’s really frustrating us as a community — Azir is stuck in what we call “pro play prison.” He looks amazing when professional teams use him. Those flashy Shurima Shuffles and zone control plays make for incredible highlight reels. But that same kit that dominates in coordinated pro matches is nearly impossible to use effectively in solo queue.
We’ve seen this problem before with champions like Ryze and Kalista. Riot balances them around what pro players can do, not what the rest of us can manage in ranked games. The result? Champions that are must-picks in professional play but feel awful for everyone else.
Azir’s case might be the worst example yet. A 42% win rate means he’s losing nearly 6 out of every 10 games. That’s not just weak — that’s borderline unplayable. When even Challenger players struggle to make a champion work in solo queue, something is seriously wrong with the design.
The community is right to be angry. We invest time learning these champions, and then they become essentially useless outside of professional play. It’s not fun to watch your favorite champion become a liability to your team.
Why This Matters for All of Us
Azir’s situation highlights a bigger problem with how League handles champion balance. Should Riot prioritize what makes for exciting professional matches, or what creates a good experience for the millions of us playing ranked?
Right now, it feels like pro play wins every time. But that leaves us with champions that are either completely broken in our games or completely useless. There’s rarely a middle ground.
Other games have found ways to balance around different skill levels. Some MOBAs have separate balance patches for professional and casual play. Others redesign problematic kits entirely.
For Azir, the solution might need to be dramatic. A complete rework could preserve what makes him exciting to watch while making him actually playable for the rest of us. His current kit is just too dependent on perfect coordination and mechanical execution.
What Comes Next
With a win rate this low, Riot will have to do something. They can’t leave a champion in “troll pick” territory forever. The question is whether they’ll try another round of buffs or finally address the fundamental kit problems.
Buffs might help his win rate, but they risk making him overpowered in pro play again. We could end up right back where we started — another cycle of nerfs that leave him terrible in solo queue.
A rework seems more likely at this point. Riot has reworked champions for less extreme balance problems. With the community this frustrated and the numbers this bad, Azir might finally get the kit changes he needs to escape pro play prison.
Until then, we’re stuck with one of League’s most interesting champions being essentially unplayable. For a game that’s supposed to be fun, that’s a pretty big failure.
