The Play-in stage of the 2021 LoL World Championship finished on Oct. 9, giving us a total of 38 games on the new Patch 11.19 and the first peek into the Worlds 2021 meta. Against expectations, the hottest champion was not Amumu or Tryndamera, but Miss Fortune, boasting 97.4% pick/ban rate — the highest of all champions. In the jungle, assassin champions like Qiyana, Talon, and Zed have been drafted a few times but Lee Sin and Xin Zhao still dominate the meta there because of Goredrinker. 

After taking over solo queue games since 11.19, Goredrinker has become the OP item of this Worlds too. Its active skill, passive skill, and base stats are great, but Goredrinker's power does not end with them.

What makes Goredrinker OP?

First of all, Goredrinker does not depend heavily on the champion, unlike Divine Sunderer and Stridebreaker, and it fits well with any AD champion. While Goredrinker was previously known as a bruisers-only item, it's now seeing play even on assassins, who've crept into the meta as well. Damage is not a problem with Goredrinker, because the current meta champions aren't usually defensive. 

Goredrinker's Recipe items — Ironspike Whip, Phage, and Kindlegem — are too efficient. Kang "GorillA" Beom-hyeon said while casting Worlds that there is nothing wasteful as you build towards the item, making Goredrinker a safe and powerful item.

Goredrinker has been played 83 times in the 38 Play-in games (averaging 2.18 Goredrinkers per game), which is a lot considering the AP/AD balance and that the bot lane does not want the item. When DFM jungler Mun "Steal" Geon-yeong was asked which champions are S-tier picks, he answered, "Champions that can play Goredrinker". 

Goredrinker will likely be played throughout Worlds as the patch version will not change. Countering a specific champion is easier than countering a specific item, who the domination of Goredrinker will very likely continue.