The meta and the season is in full swing. Teams have found their own identity and started sticking to the best champions they found themselves comfortable. Nonetheless, there are some picks that are unique to only one or some regions based on playoff performance.
LEC
Karma
The Enlightened One was picked a total of 8 times during LEC Playoffs. Sadly, the win rate doesn’t speak enough for her, sitting at 37.5%.
Usually seen as a support, Karma found herself in the top lane following the buffs and changes to the “Moonstone Renewer”. Paired with “Staff of the Flowing Water”, she was able to shield, heal and grant Ability Power to multiple allies during important teamfights.
Not to mention she had insane priority in the early game with her spammable Q and was basically impossible to punish her during the laning phase.
Now that the “MoonStaff” build is dead (it was nerfed and changed in patch 11.8), we probably won’t see Karma top for a while again.
Darius
Darius was only seen in the S04 vs G2 series, picked by Sergen “Broken Blade” Çelik. The notorious solo queue pick managed to reach competitive as an answer to Sion.
The Hand of Noxus found good success, winning two of the three games it appeared in. The lane agency over Sion was crucial for Schalke 04’s gameplan, and no one other than Darius filled the role.
With that being said, we might see him at the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI): Sion is still a popular pick, so don’t be surprised to see Darius in response.
Wukong
Wukong came out of nowhere during the LEC Playoffs. It was picked a total number of five times, with a 60% win rate. His success in solo queue made people realize that the Monkey King is actually very powerful.
His build consisting of “Divine Sunderer” into “Ravenous Hydra” allowed him to trade blows with the tankiest champions in the top lane. Not only that, but the mythic passive gave him % Armor Pen. which worked perfectly with his kit.
MAD Lions’ top laner İrfan Berk “Armut” Tükek has a 100% win rate on the champion: now that he’s at MSI, I won’t be surprised to see his pocket pick again as he looks to demolish everyone in his path.
LCK
Sion (also for LCS)
Korea is probably one of the most innovative regions in terms of counter matchups in the top lane. Many champions were only played once throughout playoffs, usually to counter a certain team composition or pick.
There’s a champion, however, that was a go-to pick for the LCK: Sion. The juggernaut was the perfect weakside champion. It was a blind pick that had little to no counters lane-wise, as well as having good scaling with the passive on his W.
Moreover, his best strength was the ability to hard engage thanks to his Ultimate. Korea is famous for playing very safely and finding good engages is very hard. Sion fixes this problem: with his R, he can force a fight with the smallest of openings.
Picked a few times in many of the regions, it was more popular in Korea and in NA. Now that champions like Renekton and Gnar got nerfed, Sion might become the most picked champion in the top lane at MSI.
LPL
Irelia and Jayce (Partially in the LCK)
Irelia and Jayce are pretty much exclusive to the Chinese region (and Korea). This is because both require insane mechanics in order to succeed and most players do not have enough time to practice it at a consistent level.
Considered by many solo queue players, both Chinese and Koreans actively train it on the highest rungs of the ranking ladder. They are unforgiving: a death or a mistake during the laning phase will put Irelia and, more importantly, Jayce at an insane disadvantage.
When executed well, however, their power can allow them to take over a match. Their damage in the early-mid game is extremely high, making it impossible for the enemies to even try to contest anything.
With that being said, it is important to note that these two picks will usually appear as counters: some of their matchups are very rough and do not allow them to get the leads
they need. Unless the situation calls for it, we won’t see them blindpicked.
LCS
Camille
Camille won’t see much gameplay at MSI, because NA LCS Playoffs were played in patch 11.5, while others all played in 11.6.
That difference is the main reason why it was not picked in other regions: the top lane meta already shifted between patches and that made Camille a subpar pick.
While that might be true, Camille can still be a viable choice. The Camille-Galio combo is still a textbook strategy that allows you to find good engages onto the enemies. Not to mention Camille’s strong split pushing, ability to shred tanks with her Q and mobility. She might not be a meta pick, but expect her to be present during certain series.
What to expect at MSI
Patch 11.9 will shake up the meta once again just as we head into MSI. Those who can adapt to it the fastest will find themselves at a great advantage. This promises more innovative picks and new interactions across all roles — exactly what makes League of Legends exciting.
