Recently, a certain League of Legends champion has become the center of attention. It's Ezreal... in the jungle.

In 'patch 7.17', Ezreal's Q skill, Mystic Shot, received a buff. This patch allowed Ezreal to clear jungle camps with ease and increased his potential to burst down squishy targets when ganking. This jungling trend started in Korea, and Ezreal became a hot topic of debate for both casual and professional gamers alike. 'UmTi', the jungler for JAG, said that "Jungle Ezreal is trash. Please don't play it," while Ruler from SSG said, "Ezreal's early game is extremely strong compared to other junglers in the meta right now. If all other viable jungle champions are banned, I think "Ezreal" could be a very powerful pick."

Score, the jungler for 'kt Rolster', also stated, "I tried jungle Ezreal a couple of times in Solo Queue, and from what I've experienced, I think he's pretty good. His clear-speed is fast, and his late-game scaling is decent." 

The question, "Is Jungle Ezreal viable for competitive play?" was left up for debate and has been unanswered... until very recently.

In the 2017 LPL regional qualifiers, Team WE's jungler, Condi, locked in jungle Ezreal. It was definitely a never-before-seen pick, and it added diversity to the meta... but in the end, the pick proved a failure in the match. As a result of the outcome, fans were split into two factions - those who thought the pick was for entertainment purposes only and those who thought the pick was legitimate.   

In the LCK, MVP's jungler, Beyond, is well-known for testing out unorthodox champions in the jungle. So we asked.

What made you start playing jungle Ezreal?

I heard the news that AFs Spirit started playing him in Solo Queue. So I started playing him as well. First of all, he's very fun to play. So I started playing him more and more. Surprisingly, the results were pretty good. 

What makes him a decent jungler?

His early-game clear-speed is actually really fast. His level 3 ganks, after securing both red and blue buff, is also nothing to scoff at. If your midlaner has a form of hard CC, his level 2 gank with just red buff alone is also strong. He's an incredibly threatening pick.


Will he see play on stage? He's already been showcased in the LPL.

I had no idea that jungle Ezreal saw play in China... I think he could be used to cause confusion for the enemy team as he can be flexed into the botlane as well. But overall, if Ezreal falls behind in the early-game, he really falls off.

Ezreal is terrible at clearing Krugs. Back then, the botlane used to clear Krugs before going to their lane... so in order to keep players from doing that, Riot implemented a hotfix that decreased the damage of ranged champions done on the larger Krug. This is very detrimental for Ezreal. Clearing Raptors is also a pain.

Despite all the things that you've said, your winrate on Ezreal is astounding.

Ezreal is a champion that requires a lot of practice. I used to play ADC as my sub-role, and before Xayah was released, Ezreal was all I ever played. I think that's the reason why I have such a high winrate on him. 

Also, I never said he was bad. He's still very strong in Solo Queue. Due to his great early-game, you have a lot of options early on. So in that regard, jungle Ezreal is a very great champion.


If your team asks you if they can play jungle Ezreal  in Solo Queue, will you let them? (Laughs)

I won't stop them. (Laughs) He sort of feels like Master Yi. I don't think anyone will dodge from seeing the Ezreal.


What if the opponent picks it?

I am confident in playing against him. His jungle pathing is very predictable. Oh yeah, that's another downside to him.


So what's the final verdict? Jungle Ezreal is good in Solo Queue but definitely limited for competitive play?

Yes. If I was to give a message to the NA players: have faith in your jungle Ezreal! He just might bring good results!