With the LEC and LCS starting up in a few days, it will be the first time fans from EU and NA will see their teams playing on patch 10.1. Meanwhile, China and Korea both had tournaments during the offseason, and China’s LPL has already begun. With 35 games played in 14 matches, 57 heroes have already been across Summoners Rift, as either picks or bans. And while one can’t say for certain what will or won’t see play when the other regions begin, here are a few picks that were crucial to the LPL’s week one, along with their data.
Akali: To be plain and simple, Akali seems to be too strong in the pro scene. In week one, she has a 100% pick/ban rate with 34 bans and one game. For those who didn’t follow the Demacia Cup or the Kespa Cup, she had a 100% pick/ban rate in those tournaments as well.
Rumble: With a continuous rise in popularity during the preseason, Rumble returns as a mid laner. Also boasting a 100% pick/ban rate, most teams had a high priority on him. With teams drafting for big team fights, Rumble’s Equalizer is as good as it gets. He never fell through to the second set of picks.
Qiyana: A lot like Rumble, the power her ultimate provides in team fights makes her a very attractive pick. That, along with her ability to flex into both the mid lane and the jungle, make her a solid first draft pick. Despite her high pick/ban rate, she only has a 38% win rate as a jungler. This is due to her struggles to impact the game when she falls behind.
Mordekaiser: In a meta where neutral objectives like elemental drakes reign supreme, it should come as no surprise that Mordekaiser finds himself on this list. With his ability to use his ultimate on the enemy jungler to remove them from the rift, the team with a Mordekaiser should, theoretically, always have the upper hand in fights over dragons and baron. His presence on the rift also brings out an Aatrox pick, as most teams favor Aatrox in the matchup.
Aphelios: The weapon of the faithful seems to have made himself at home on Summoner’s Rift. The long-range burst provided by Moonlight Vigil + Infernum is enough to send any squishy target back to base, often accompanied by a respawn timer. Add on good wave clear as well as light crowd control, and this champ has a 97% pick/ban ad carry.
Miss Fortune: The second power pick for the bot lane, Miss Fortune has made her return to the meta. She currently sits with Aphelios as the only two ad carries with a pick/ban rate higher than 90%. A well-used Bullet Time will shred through even the tankiest of comps. With that said, she is the only one of the top eight most contested heroes in week one that has seen more games than bans, sitting with only 4 bans.
Leona and Braum: Tank supports seem to be the way to go in patch 10.1. And while the Kench is benched, these two are running wild. Braum’s Unbreakable counters MF’s ultimate as well as Ornn’s. His passive also continues in Mordekaiser’s realm of death, allowing the banished target to activate the stun. As for Leona, with so many squishy targets moving around the rift, having an engage tank with heavy CC enables most team comps to begin the team fights they are looking for. On a similar note, the third big support, Nautilus, serves a nearly identical purpose.
Elise: With the changes to the jungle exp, Elise once again finds herself as a priority pick. Sitting at an 85% pick/ban rate, she was banned from the vast majority of those games. With 24 bans to only 6 games played, Elise was the second most banned champion of week one.
You can ‘Like’ The Game Haus on Facebook and ‘Follow’ us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers along with JJ!
“From Our Haus to Yours”