Cover-Credits:
We have not seen Gragas in the mid-lane for so many years now and the champion fell out of the meta. But of late, players including the Demon King Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok himself have been opting to play Gragas mid in both solo queue and pro play. With so many Gragas picks in League of Legends games, you must have come across the term ‘bomba’ being used in the community and on social media. If you have played against or with a Gragas main in a League of Legends game, it is almost certain that they will say “bomba” in all-chat at least once. The reason why Gragas players say bomba is thanks to a League of Legends streamer who plays Gragas a lot.
Here’s all you need to know about the word ‘bomba’ and why Gragas is back in the meta in Season 13.
What does bomba mean in League of Legends?
There is actually not a big reason behind the word. League of Legends streamer and YouTuber SloppyWalrus uses the word ‘bomba’ when he one-shots enemies with Gragas. One Redditor who also happens to be a Gragas main describes it, “My friend thinks it is the ultimate - I think it is the feeling of playing Gragas.”
While it might seem cliche to say that “bomba is not a word, it is an emotion,” that is exactly what the Gragas mains tell us. Gragas is a really fun champion in League of Legends who is a massive, rowdy brewmaster. The champion carries around a huge cask from which he occasionally drinks. He throws around this cask, as part of his gameplay, to deal damage to enemies.
What started off with SloppyWalrus saying bomba after every kill with Gragas, turned into an actual catchphrase in the Gragas mains community.
Most recently, in the League of Legends EMEA [Europe, Middle East and Africa] Championship 2023 Winter, Yasin "Nisqy" Dinçer got a lot of attention on social media after he said “Bombaaa!” in his team’s voice comms after every kill he got or setup. Notably, he was playing Gragas mid against SK Gaming in the Winter playoffs.
Why is Gragas meta now?
If you are wondering why Gragas is meta all of a sudden when he has not received any buffs yet in Season 13, it is because the champion’s base stats are good and the champion has good sustain and wave clear, apart from the evident damage output.
Faker has been playing quite a lot of Gragas in the Korean solo queue as well as in pro play. Interestingly, Faker played Gragas mid in his first ever Worlds appearance and after so many years, he has picked this champion again.
Currently, in the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) Spring Split 2023, Faker has five Gragas games and has a 100% win rate with an impressive 7.2 KDA [Kill/Death/Assists].
With Gragas getting so much attention in pro play, it is very natural for players to run the same champions with the same builds on solo queue or pubs. This is one of the major reasons why there has been an influx of Gragas in normal League of Legends games.
