Orianna will be disabled at Worlds 2022 after a game-altering bug occurred in the matchup between Rogue and GAM Esports on October 9.
A mere day after making her Worlds group stage debut, Riot Games announced that they would be disabling Orianna at the tournament until further notice. The decision came after a bug with her Command: Shockwave (R) was spotted in Rogue’s matchup versus GAM Esports.
The bug occurred at a fight around Baron Nashor. In the clip, Emil ‘Larssen’ Larssen casts Orianna ultimate, but the indicator for the ability is incorrect.
It indicated that the ability would be cast directly on top of the character’s model in a small area of effect. In reality, Orianna’s ball was a decent distance away from her character model and hit Đặng ‘Kati’ Thanh Phê’s Viktor.
The faulty indicator made the ability practically undodgeable, as the spell’s total area of effect was invisible. Although GAM did not call for a pause and therefore were not awarded a chronobreak when the bug was first spotted, the champion has now been disabled “until further notice.”
Not an unknown bug
Although Riot’s announcement stated that the bug was “newly discovered”, this is not the first instance of this specific Orianna bug occurring. It has apparently been present on the Worlds patch (Patch 12.18) since its release.
Popular League YouTuber Vandiril made a video on the bug on October 3, in which he displays the same issue with the ultimate indicator seen in the GAM vs RGE matchup.
Orianna is the second champion to be disabled for LoL Worlds 2022 after Udyr, who is not eligible due to Riot Games’ policy that “new Champions and VGUs must be enabled for playoffs in all four of the top regions in order to be playable at the next international tournament”.
It’s unclear if and when Orianna will return, but as a popular safe pick in the mid-lane, this ban will significantly change the draft phase for multiple Worlds teams.