Akali wins Shenyang as Kennen fills the Top 8 and vanishes
The Shenyang Regional Open wrapped up this afternoon with Akali, Rogue Assassin as champion, taking the final 2-1 over Irelia, Blade Dancer. It is Akali’s second title in a row after RQ Singapore on September 6. And it came in the event Kennen looked set to own: three decks out of eight in the quarterfinals, none in the final.
The finalTwo Legends the cut had written off
In yesterday’s Top 64, Akali was the outlier in the worst way: 72 players on day one, only two decks through the cut, a 2.8% conversion rate against a 5.4% field average. No other top Legend did worse. Irelia was barely better, converting four of her seventy-four players — dead on the average.
Twenty-four hours later those two decks were sitting across the table from each other with the trophy on the line. Akali took it in game three. The winning list — carrying the tag 闪电家乐事糖果雨 on the Chinese broadcast — is the most orthodox build imaginable: seven Fury runes and five Calm, the Legend’s two printed domains and nothing else.
The numbers9.91% → 28.12% → 37.5% → 0%
The arc of Kennen, Heart of the Tempest at Shenyang is worth reading in one go, because it is the story of the tournament. He opens at 9.91% of the field on Friday, the lowest share in months. He clears the cut with 18 decks out of 64, or 28.12%. He reaches the quarterfinals with three of the eight remaining decks, 37.5% — better than one seat in three. Then he stops. He is not in the final.
Akali, Rogue Assassin
One deck of eight in the quarters, one of 1,191 at the end. Fury/Calm, no compromises.
Kennen, Heart of the Tempest
Three decks in the elimination rounds, zero titles. The most played Legend of the cut leaves without a final.
The bracketFive Legends for eight seats
The Top 8 shows a field less monochrome than Kennen’s share suggested. Alongside his three decks sit two Irelia, then one Master Yi, one Vex, Gloomist and the Akali that won it all: five different Legends across eight slots.
| Legend | Decks | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kennen, Heart of the Tempest | 3 | 37.5% |
| Irelia, Blade Dancer | 2 | 25.0% |
| Master Yi | 1 | 12.5% |
| Vex, Gloomist | 1 | 12.5% |
| Akali, Rogue Assassin (champion) | 1 | 12.5% |
Akali going the distance is not a one-off, either. A week ago in Singapore the title went to Gorica with the same Legend, in a final against Kennen. Two Regionals back to back, the same ending twice: the most represented deck fills the bracket, and the one that knows how to beat it lifts the trophy.
Why it matters to us. Shenyang is the last Regional before RQ Los Angeles, where the Radiance preview season also begins on September 25. For players in Italy building now for store events and the official dates ahead, the takeaway is that Kennen is still the deck to beat on raw presence, but no longer the deck that closes tournaments out: two Regionals in a row suggest it pays to hold answers aimed at him — in the main deck and in the sideboard — rather than at the whole field.
The short version
- Akali, Rogue Assassin wins the Shenyang Regional Open, beating Irelia, Blade Dancer 2-1 in the final.
- Kennen climbs from 9.91% on day one to 37.5% of the quarterfinals, then misses the final entirely.
- Five different Legends in the Top 8: three Kennen, two Irelia, one Master Yi, one Vex, one Akali.
- It is Akali’s second straight title after RQ Singapore on September 6.
Source: Riftbound Report, from official Chinese broadcast graphics. Images: Riot Games.
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