It isn’t always easy to keep track of the meta in League of Legends, with each patch, even the minor changes affect the competitive meta dearly. We have gathered the best picks for this season, as the spring season is approaching the end with MSI 2022 on the horizon.
Talking about MSI 2022, you could consider this as a preview of what’s likely to be played at the tournament in May. Riot Games doesn’t change a lot weeks before a major tournament, so the players will probably use the current patch there. Let’s have a look at our five picks from each lane, and which champions could take their place.
Top lane
Top lane has been a major problem for years in competitive League of Legends. It’s hard to find a balance, if tanks are good, tanks dominate the lane, if fighters are good, they tend to get tankier than Ornn or Malphite. Jayce is currently looking like the best option for especially strong teams like T1 or Victory Five.
In season 12, Jayce was played 629 times and banned 962 times all over the world, with a 45.5% presence. His win rate is 52.1% and one of the best Jayce players in the world is Zeus, and his 77.8% win rate in 18 games really stands out.
Following Jayce, Camille, Gnar, Gragas and Graves look like viable options in the top lane. Looking at their stats, Camille has a 54.1% win rate in 466 games, Gnar has a 50.4% win rate in 704 games, Gragas has a very low win rate of 44.3% in 470 games and Graves sits on 47.7% win rate in 606 games.
You probably noticed Gragas and Graves’ low numbers, but that’s probably on weaker teams using the champions in inappropriate situations, as we saw numerous times that Graves and Gragas work perfectly. Additionally, Gwen has the most presence in the top lane, but her utility dropped significantly after the nerfs introduced by Riot Games.
Jungle
Welcome to the jungle: first of all, the one champion who just doesn’t accept sitting on the bench is on top, Lee Sin. His 51.2% win rate in 1183 games doesn’t look too appealing, but considering the champion also has 65.8% presence with 1046 bans, you can see how widely he is accepted as a great choice in the jungle. On top of that, most junglers know how to play Lee Sin because he is a SoloQ monster.
Xin Zhao is definitely the number two choice before any other champion, although he is below 50% in win rates but 1354 pick and 67.4% presence makes up for that fact. Even after the nerfs, Viego stays as a solid choice, Hecarim’s win rate is quite good with 52.2% in 694 games and Volibear is a unique pick for teams that want to dive the enemies easily, he has a 53.6% win rate although he is behind on most stats like CS or gold difference at 15 minute mark.
Mid lane
As always, mid lane is where you end up if you are looking for diversity. Ahri is currently the queen of meta, even when you counter her with Veigar, she keeps on winning. In 715 games, Ahri has a 53.6% win rate, which is really incredible. Faker utilized her a lot this season, playing her ten times and winning nine of those games.
Ryze found a place for himself in the meta with his new tank build, and he's a popular choice even though despite having a low win rate. Corki’s immense power at the start of the season has been tuned down, but he is still strong, sitting at 53.1% in 512 games. LeBlanc is a unique pick, Faker has a 100% win rate with her in 9 games but she overall has a 46.4% win rate in 444 games, and she was banned 1106 times, making her presence 45.7%.
Twisted Fate is one of the unique picks in the mid lane, but for a very hard champion, he is rewarded a lot. 57.2% win rate in 278 games while being banned 1159 times doesn’t look normal. Viktor is the most picked champion among mid lane picks but he still is very conditional, and a 50.8% win rate on him reflects that fact.
ADC
Let’s get to bot lane. There isn’t always a lot of variety in ADC picks, so it’s not surprising that there are few champions dominating the meta. One of the newest champs, Zeri totally wrecked every single game plan, and is the number one ban for most teams. She was banned 1775 times this season. In 538 games, she has a win rate of 58.2%, so you can see why teams are afraid of her.
Since Arcane’s release, Jinx has been the most popular choice in the bot lane. She was picked 1868 times and won 993 of them. Having a 53.2% win rate for such a popular pick definitely indicates a problem. Aphelios is the best choice against Jinx currently and despite having a win rate lower than 50%, he was able to stop Jinx numerous times. Jhin follows these two with a low win rate but he is a reliable pick, and Xayah joined the meta with her various builds, being picked 373 times.
Support
For some, it is the most important role in the game, for some, it doesn’t matter at all, but one thing is certain, for a long time now, the support role considers no meta. You can play anything in the bot lane and be relevant, it’s all up to the player.
A few champions can alter that fact. Leona is so strong right now that she stands out as a perfect pick for most situations. She is not the most picked support because her engagement tools mostly rely on player skill, but she has a 50% presence, and was picked 1189 times with a win rate of 51.1%.
Not so surprisingly, Thresh found himself a place in the meta as well. He has a 52.9% win rate in 675 games. Players like Keria (8 games, 8 wins) who are extremely capable of using Thresh with his full potential definitely make the champion something else.
The newly joined Renata Glasc had a great presence in the meta. 164 games and 50.6% win rate looks good for now. Nautilus is an obvious choice for most teams because of his easy engaging tools. Although he has a 48.9% win rate, he is picked 1392 times and is the most picked support. Rakan also found himself a place without making much noise. He is picked 590 times and has a win rate of 51.9%, and we might see him more at MSI 2022.
These were our picks for the current competitive meta in League of Legends. If you are interested, you can find the best esports events, find out information about them, watch them live and even place your bets on your favourite teams on Luckbox.
