Yorick has been the strongest top lane champion for the last 5 patches

For at least the last 5 patches, Yorick has maintained his position at the top of Iron’s standings in the top lane. As of this writing, Yorick boasts an astounding 55.23% win rate in Patch 14.13, according to the League stats site U.GG.

Not only does Yorick have an impressive win rate, but he also has a notable pick rate. He has been selected in 6.3% of Iron matches. Additionally, Yorick is frequently banned, appearing in the ban list for 11.2% of games. This indicates that players recognize his power and are wary of facing him.

While Yorick may not be the best champion to pick for high-ranked or competitive players due to his easy counterability, this has not hindered his dominance in the lowest rank.

Yorick’s success in low ranks is likely attributed to his unique abilities, which allow players to overwhelm their opponent in the top lane with his ghouls. When low-ranked top laners are forced to handle not only Yorick but also his ghouls, minions, and potential jungle pressure, they often struggle to survive the laning phase. If Yorick gains an early advantage, he can quickly become an unstoppable bruiser.

For those struggling against Yorick, it is recommended to choose champions like Tryndamere, Urgot, or Trundle. These champions can make trading with Yorick more manageable, and with proper play, you should be able to counter and defeat him in one-on-one situations.

As the game continues to introduce new champions, the original roster occasionally grapples with obsolescence. In response, Riot Games has been proactive in updating and reworking champions, ensuring they remain up-to-date and competitive.

While major reworks have been made, Riot’s approach extends beyond, with ongoing balance changes aimed at breathing new life into older champions. The community’s latest proposition focuses on ADC Corki, advocating for a transformative rework that would pivot him towards the jungle, potentially unlocking a new chapter in his viability.

LoL community suggested Riot rework Corki into a jungler

The present consensus on Corki revolves around his status as an overlooked ADC, sporting a very low win rate and an even lower pick rate that consigns the champion to relative obscurity.

Players argue that his existing skill set aligns more favorably with the demands of the jungle, particularly considering his current lack of CC abilities, rendering him a less frustrating choice for that role.

“While his ganks would be a bit underwhelming, the package aspect of Corki will make him very fun in objective fights and skirmishes.”

“A Corki coming in from out of vision with a package can be frustrating but that’s literally Zac’s gameplay pattern except you can actually kill the Corki and you hear sirens when he picks up the package!”

A distinctive aspect of his abilities lies in his unique passive, allowing him to drop a special package on enemies, creating a trail of fire in its wake.

Drawing inspiration from Riot’s successful buffs to champions like Brand and Zyra, bolstering their jungle viability, players envision a parallel scenario for Corki. They contend that strategic adjustments and buffs could potentially bring him back into the spotlight, reshaping his identity and impact on the game.

This call for change echoes the ongoing narrative within the League of Legends community – a pursuit of diversity, adaptability, and a commitment to ensuring that each champion, old or new, retains its place in the evolving tapestry of the Summoner’s Rift.

As the debate gains momentum, players eagerly await the prospect of Corki’s resurgence, contemplating the potential shifts in the meta and the dynamic strategies that could arise from this proposed reimagining.

Despite her intricacies and a high skill cap, Riven’s win rate hovers around 48%, and her pick rate is approximately 2.5% across all ranks. It’s noteworthy that she is predominantly played by OTP, yet her win rate doesn’t surpass the 50% mark.

The past years have seen substantial transformations in the game, with the complete item rework and Drake changes reshaping the core meta. These alterations, along with subsequent adjustments, have complicated matters for Riven and several other champions.

Riot Games to change Riven in the future

Riven, celebrated for having one of the highest skill floors, adds diversity to League of Legends, as mastering her requires a significant investment of time and effort. This difficulty, appreciated by many players for the sense of accomplishment it brings, poses a challenge when the payoff for scaling her steep learning curve diminishes.

Riot recognizes the need for change and is committed to addressing Riven’s current state. The challenge lies in preserving the complexity of her kit while ensuring her viability for those who invest countless hours mastering her.

Riot aims to avoid rendering the time spent one-tricking her obsolete due to new changes. The crux of the matter lies in restoring her uniqueness amidst the evolving landscape of new champions and item interactions, thereby ensuring satisfaction among her dedicated fan base.

In conclusion, the champion finds herself in an awkward position currently, but Riot reassures players that she is not forgotten. Expect significant changes to be implemented soon, as Riot endeavors to strike the balance of preserving Riven’s complexity while reintroducing her unique identity to the game.

High pick rate, but low win rate champion: Kai’Sa

In the 2023 World Championship, Kai’Sa has emerged as a popular pick, boasting a staggering 70% presence rate, yet she has struggled with a disheartening 32% win rate, according to League statistic gol.gg. The champion even holds the record for most kill so far at Worlds 2023 in one game. She shares this less fortunate standing with champions like Taliyah and K’Sante, but despite these statistics, the pro players aren’t ready to give up on her just yet.

Kai’Sa remains a resilient pick for several reasons. She brings utility to the table, including stealth, high mobility, a shield, poking abilities, and impressive damage output. So, why is she encountering challenges in finding success in the tournament?

One factor contributing to Kai’Sa’s struggle at Worlds this year is the dominance of Xayah, another popular pick. Xayah boasts a stronger laning phase, superior wave-clearing capabilities, similar damage potential, and the ability to evade any unwanted skills with her ultimate.

However, the prevalence of Xayah is not the sole reason behind Kai’Sa’s subpar performance. It’s important to consider that her low win rate may also be the result of weaker teams hoping to secure a win by picking her.

Despite her current win rate, it’s likely that Kai’Sa will continue to be a common sight throughout the entirety of Worlds 2023. Her unique set of abilities makes her one of the few champions capable of standing up to Xayah, and in the hands of a skilled player, she can take over a game.

The Swiss stage, which allows teams more opportunities to adapt and improve, might also see a shift in Kai’Sa’s fortune as the tournament progresses. So, while she may be facing challenges at present, her prospects could very well change for the better as the competition unfolds.

Amidst the intense competition, the professional meta is starting to crystallize, and 2 champions have emerged as paramount, enjoying a 100% draft presence during the play-in stage.

2 champions with 100% presence so far in Worlds 2023

Xayah

Xayah has asserted her dominance, being picked or banned in every game played thus far at Worlds 2023. This marks a significant 100% presence in all matches, accompanied by an impressive 69% win rate, according to statistics by gol.gg.

The ADC prowess of Xayah has been notably showcased in the tournament, with 2 pentakills already notched in the first week, courtesy of Team BDS’ Crownie and GAM Esports’ Slayder. Xayah leads the charts in kills and boasts the highest damage dealt among champions played at least 10 times.

Maokai

On the other side of the spectrum is Maokai, a stalwart presence on the ban list throughout Worlds. Despite only seeing action on Summoner’s Rift 5 times, Maokai, often flexed into the jungle role, has demonstrated his impact in mid-to-late game stages.

A noteworthy exception was DetonatioN FocusMe’s unconventional use of Maokai as a support, albeit in a losing effort against CTBC Flying Oyster. Pro teams consistently ban Maokai due to the challenging mid-to-late game scenarios he creates without easily countered strategies.

Looking ahead, it is anticipated that Xayah and Maokai will maintain their status as top-tier picks as World progresses. Xayah’s popularity among skilled ADCs makes her a staple in drafts, while Maokai’s adaptability as one of the easier junglers to play fits into various team compositions.

These champions are expected to continue dominating drafts throughout the month, especially as the World Championship advances into the Swiss stage on Thursday, Oct. 19. The strategic landscape of the tournament seems poised to revolve around these 2 formidable champions, adding an intriguing layer to the unfolding narrative of this esports event.

AD carry is a regular meta-topping in League of Legends. For Kai’sa, Riot Games is hard at work hiding her strong Nashor’s Tooth build, according to League lead developer Matt Leung-Harrison.

Riot is nerfing AP Kai’sa build

Kai’Sa has been in and out of the League metagame since her release in 2018, both competitively and in normal ranked play. She was a major player in multiple Worlds tournaments in her early years and has since emerged as a strong bot lane champion in season 13.

At the time of writing, the champion holds an insane 43% pick rate, along with an astounding 54.07% win rate and a 24.89% ban rate in Emerald+ rank, according to League statistics site LoLalytics. She is also considered as the highest rank and tier ADC champions on the leaderboard.

Kai’sa success is mostly due to her AP skills. Players that build her with Statikk Shiv, Nashor’s Tooth, Guinsoo’s Rageblade, and Rabadon’s Deathcap can inflict massive damage with her Void Seeker ability.

Riot’s choice to target her couldn’t have come at a better moment for the League community; just recently, players have took the issue to Reddit together to call out the AD carry “unhealthy” and demand that the balancing team look into giving out substantial nerfs as soon as possible.

Angry players noted out that Zeri was savaged by the devs in League Patch 13.12 for having huge AP strengths, whereas Kai’Sa was left out.

While the League devs have yet to decide what changes Kai’Sa will receive in the upcoming update, players have stated that they expect the devs to pull out the big hammer with the ADC’s forthcoming nerfs.

The nerfs are set to be released in Patch 13.15 on August 2.

A League player humorously requested for the release date of Yuumi’s rework on a recent Reddit thread, which was already got added to the game on March 7, and complained about still seeing her being picked too much in pro play.

In a reply, Riot Games’ David “Phreak” Turley backed the developer by sharing statistics proving her fix was efficient. He asserted that her presence in professional play declined by 6 to 14 percent, depending on the league.

According to Reav3, the statistic dropped from a stunning 50% in Patch 12.18 matches (relating to the 2022 World Championship) to 36 to 44% in Patch 13.11 games.

“Maybe some pros should get better at drafting.”

“Did we fail with the Yuumi rework? No, the pro players must be wrong,” 

Players overwhelmingly downvoted Phreak’s comments, with others pointing out her pro win rate. While she only has a 40% win rate in the LEC and LCK Summer Splits, she has a 70% win rate in the LPL after her rework, which is the highest among supports, according to Oracle’s Elixir. On the other hand, she’s merely the sixth most visible support selection.

Yuumi has been a nightmare to balance ever since she was selected for the pro play meta. Mostly because of her one-of-a-kind ability to connect herself to an ally and become untargetable. Her dominance in some tournaments, along with her unpleasant attach ability, has made her one of the game’s most despised champions.

Her midscope change, fortunately, arrived just in time for her to be deactivated during MSI. Nonetheless, the mid-scope update kept the core cause of disagreement in the form of her ability to bond with teammates and become untargetable, which is why players hate Yuumi so much.

The Magical Cat has already undergone 6 nerfs this year as a result of her overhaul, including the one that will be implemented with Patch 13.12 next week. There’s no question she’ll see more changes this season.

There is a lot to look forward to when the MSI 2023 games begin on May 9, 2023. Moving on, the MSI meta has proven itself so far, with more to come in the Bracket Stage. This article will go through all of the top picked and banned champions in MSI 2023.

Most picked, banned champions at MSI 2023 so far

Aphelios

According to League statistic site Games of Legends, MSI has seen 64 distinct League champions thus far. During the first round of the event, one champion stood out above the rest: Aphelios was picked 13 times out of the 25 games played.

The ADC was especially popular with two players: PSG Wako and LOUD Route, who played five and four games, respectively. With just three bans on the board, Aphelios is likely to be selected again in the bracket stage.

Kennen

And, in terms of bans, Kennen and Vi are presently the two most prominent selections in the MSI meta, with 88 and 92 percent presence, respectively.

Kennen, in particular, is the MSI winner with the most win while maintaining a flawless win rate. Kennen has gained popularity at the end of the spring splits, particularly in the Eastern areas.

His ultimate deals massive AoE damage and can be a great teamfight starting tool, allowing him to completely destroy teams. Not to add that his ranged nature grants him a safe laning phase.

Vi

With Vi, despite the nerfs in Patch 13.7, the jungler’s ultimate makes her one of the most successful engagers in the game. She’s still tanky, and her synergy with Radiant Virtue is far too potent for teamfights, which are prevalent in professional play.

As the metagame has transitioned to a more skirmish and early-game-focused game, pro players have noticed Vi more, making her to have the highest presence in drafts.

The intriguing part comes when examining Yuumi’s ban rate, though. All matchmaking categories have seen a sharp rise in it, but the trend only gets steeper as you look at the rank with higher elo.

With Riot’s intention, Yuumi is a champion that was created to help newer players learn how to play support, but in high MMR solo queue, she has been banned more frequently than any other champion.

Yuumi’s ban rate skyrocketed after her rework

Following a significant, comprehensive series of nerfs to the champion, Yuumi’s pick and ban rate was very low for a few patches. Even so, she was occasionally played and banned prior to the release of patch 13.5.

According to League statistics Lolalytics, following her mini-rework in patch 13.5, her ban rate has risen to 48.1% in Diamond+, at around 950% increase since the 5% ban rate she had for most of patch 13.4. What’s more interesting is that the rising statistic only happened within a week.

Her ban rate soared, so it’s easy to see when her rework was implemented on the live servers. But given that Yuumi’s arsenal is primarily designed for less experienced players, it’s unexpected to see her ban rate fall off so precipitously as you move into lower elos.

League of Legends players have turned to Reddit to vent their anger after the most recent update failed to make the champion healthier. Yuumi will “never be fixed,” according to Redditors, and they think that the time would be better spent developing champions and systems that need it more.

With over 8.3% upvotes on Reddit, it appears that a large portion of the players population supported the idea. Many pointed out the recent rework’s failure and ironically remarked on how happy they were to ban the champion once more in every each of their games.

Her update has, however, been most detrimental to high-level competition. When pro players begin playing on patch 13.5, they have been forecasting that Yuumi will return to professional play, and if the high MMR solo queue is any sign, that forecasting future is looking more and more probable.

K’Sante is expected to be an excellent addition to the top lane as a bruiser. His kit focuses on being a bruiser while providing damage in order to compete with the top lane carriers.

His powers concentrate mostly on long fights since he has a lot of CC. All of these skills combine to make K’Sante an ultimate tank bruiser capable of holding his own in the top lane and outplaying his opponents. But is that really the case?

K’Sante is the worst new champion in League

After being released on the live servers, Riot received multiple complaints about K’Sante kit and playstyle. Even before his initial debut, Riot even had to substantially buff the champion following players’ feedback on Reddit.

The feedback was mostly “underwhelming” and “worthless”, making Riot buffing in no time. The following are the changes on PBE:

Dauntless Instinct (P)

• Passive % max HP: 1/1.25/1.5 at levels 1/6/11 -> 1/1.33/1.66/2 at levels 1/6/11/16

Ntofo Strikes (Q)

• Q Damage tank scaling: 50% AD -> 40% AD + 30% AR/MR + 5 base

All Out (R)

• All Out AD conversion: AR/MR to AD 22.5% -> 32.5%

However, even after the buffs, K’Sante still doesn’t feel strong at all. According to League statistics OP.GG, the Pride of Nazumah currently has the lowest win rate in the game with only 41.5%, even though his pick rate is relatively high: 8.02%.

So why is K’Sante so bad? The main problem probably lies around his kit. The champion is not as tanky as other tank champions in the game while also dealing less, or even 0 damage. And, while his kit revolves around CC-abilities, those are never strong/ reliable CCs like Ornn’s knock up or Zac’s stun.

Players have already begun to criticize him on Reddit as a rather bad champion upon release.

“His base form deals absolutely 0 damage, the Q range is kinda bad and the hitbox is so paper thin.” “All of his animations feel extremely clunky and slow and they don’t mesh together at all, it makes all of his actions extremely predictable.”

“He has no Range on spells his gap closers (W / E) dont close “gap”. He has no Damage and he is Not Tanky.”

Hopefully, Riot will look into account and will make some adjustments to the champion as at this state of the game, K’Sante is entirely unplayable.