Fearless Esports Brings Out Liang to Counter BSE in a Surprising Win in Honor of Kings

ByMichael Cruz

Last Updated on November 6, 2024

In Honor of Kings, certain heroes rarely make it to the competitive stage, and Liang is one of them. Known for his unique skill set, Liang typically serves as a beginner-friendly choice in ranked games, especially for players learning the ropes of the roaming or mid role. With skills that control enemies at a distance, he is often viewed as an alternative to Donghuang, who has a similar skill but requires a closer range. During the Honor of Kings Championship 2024, however, Fearless Esports’ Woodwind surprised everyone by bringing Liang into a match against Black Shrew Esports (BSE). While this pick is niche, Woodwind’s comfort with Liang has earned him some respect, making this pick a calculated decision.

Liang’s skill set offers crowd control that can lock down targets effectively. His ultimate, Power Word – Control, is a “suppress” ability that stuns and damages enemies in a way they cannot cleanse. This unique skill gives Liang a slight edge over Donghuang, whose abilities are easier to counter. Additionally, Liang’s Power Word – Trance, Barrier, and Fate skills enhance his potential as a crowd-controller by adding extra damage and utility to his arsenal.

Despite these strengths, Liang remains a niche hero in competitive play because of his limited durability and burst survivability. However, the choice to play him in this championship match brought fresh attention to his potential uses in the competitive scene.

Woodwind’s Liang Pick as a Counter to BSE’s Strategy

Fearless Esports’ decision to draft Liang was strategic, designed to counter BSE’s powerful player JR, who was using Direnjie. Direnjie has a built-in cleanse that allows him to shake off most crowd-control effects, making him notoriously hard to lock down. To counter this, Fearless Esports needed a hero with a skill set that could outlast Direnjie’s purify. Liang’s Power Word – Control was selected to fulfill this role, as its suppression could penetrate through Direnjie’s cleanses. With JR being a central threat in the game, Fearless Esports wanted to limit his movements and reduce his impact.

The composition around Liang was carefully considered, as Fearless Esports knew they needed more than just one layer of crowd control to contain BSE’s damage dealers. By pairing Liang with Lady Zhen, Fearless Esports aimed to double down on crowd control and secure any openings created by Liang’s suppression. With Direnjie’s escape tactics in mind, this double-control approach gave them the ability to handle JR, while also maintaining enough flexibility to respond to other threats in BSE’s roster. Ultimately, Liang was not picked as a surprise, but as a practical countermeasure to address the strengths of JR and BSE’s lineup.

Early Game Impact of Liang’s Control

Once the game began, Woodwind used Liang’s Power Word – Control in the early game to secure key kills, targeting aggressive opponents who ventured too close to Fearless Esports’ backline. By locking down aggressive players like Siang on Biron and Musangking on Dun, Woodwind helped Fearless Esports maintain control and take out key targets before they could pose a threat. The strategy wasn’t only about JR’s Direnjie; instead, it focused on denying BSE’s aggressive frontliners who dared to push forward. This approach allowed Fearless Esports to establish control in the game’s early stages.

While the Liang pick succeeded in creating early momentum, it wasn’t designed to be the main strategy for the entire match. Woodwind’s Liang acted more as a deterrent, preventing BSE’s key players from dominating skirmishes. Despite some initial success, Liang’s limitations began to show as the game progressed. With his low durability, Liang struggled to withstand the longer team fights where BSE’s frontline heroes proved more resilient. This was where his niche nature in the competitive scene became evident; although effective in short bursts, Liang couldn’t sustain his impact in extended engagements.

Limitations of Liang in Team Fights

Liang’s biggest disadvantage is his inability to survive long team fights, even when built as a tank. Unlike Donghuang or Zhang Fei, who excel in holding the frontline, Liang is vulnerable to burst damage and can be easily taken down after using his ultimate. His design as a mage rather than a tank makes him susceptible in fights that last longer, where other heroes with better defensive capabilities have the edge. This weakness was evident in the match, as Woodwind’s Liang often fell after using Power Word – Control, leaving Fearless Esports without a reliable frontline to defend their backline.

Moreover, Liang’s lack of teamfight presence meant that Fearless Esports relied heavily on their other heroes for sustained pressure. Liang’s ultimate may have helped secure early kills, but as the game wore on, his impact decreased. His skill set is designed to disrupt enemy plans rather than sustain a frontline presence, and when his abilities were on cooldown, he became a target for BSE. In this context, Woodwind’s pick showed why Liang remains a niche option: his effectiveness diminishes quickly in prolonged fights, making it challenging for teams to rely on him as a core element of their strategy.

Was Liang the Key to Victory?

While Woodwind’s Liang performed decently, he wasn’t the main reason for Fearless Esports’ victory in this game. Although he managed to secure a few crucial kills and create opportunities for his teammates, his role was more supportive than dominant. He struggled to maintain presence in team fights, and other players on Fearless Esports, such as KK, took on a more central role in securing victory.

Liang’s performance showcased his limitations and highlighted why he isn’t a popular choice in high-level competitions. Ultimately, the success in this match stemmed more from team coordination and strategic planning than from Liang’s individual impact.

Even though the Liang pick brought some utility, it was largely a one-off decision rather than a statement that Liang has a place in the competitive meta. His skills are useful situationally but limited by his low endurance in team fights and vulnerability after using his ultimate.

It became clear that while Liang has some advantages, he doesn’t offer the same level of reliability as other crowd-control heroes. If Fearless Esports had chosen a hero like Lian Po instead, they may have achieved similar, if not better, results due to Lian Po’s more reliable tankiness and sustained utility.

Conclusion

Woodwind’s Liang pick was an interesting choice, but it wasn’t the game-changing move that fans might have expected. Liang is likely to remain a niche hero in competitive Honor of Kings due to his reliance on early control and vulnerability in extended team fights. His situational effectiveness was clear in this match, but so were his limitations.

The victory was not solely due to Liang’s skills, as other factors, such as Fearless Esports’ teamwork and draft strategy, contributed significantly. This match showed that while Liang can work under specific circumstances, he remains a challenging hero to use effectively in most high-level games.

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