With the second split of the ranked season kicking off tomorrow, July 19 at 12pm CT, League of Legends players are starting to look out for the next perfect pick to climb the ranks. At the same time, LEC pros are adapting to the new meta and picking out the best champion with which to reach the Playoffs of the Summer Split.
Two teams qualified already and EXCEL’s AD carry Patrik shared his champions of choice to climb the ranks this Summer.
In their final game against SK Gaming, the bot laner chose Ashe as the champion with whom he would fight for a spot in the LEC Summer Split Playoffs. It was the first appearance of the Frost Archer in the LEC, but she had plenty of other occasions to show off her icy abilities in other regions. However, despite Ashe being a strategic pick in LCK, LPL, and even LCS this Summer, her poor performances melted the expectations on her in the new meta—but that’s not what Patrik believes.
Although EXCEL’s AD carry described his performance as “decent,” he also pointed at Ashe as one of those champions with which players “can’t really shine” but also cannot “fuck up” their games. After being buffed in patch 13.12, Ashe reached the top five spot of most picked ad carries in ranked, according to OP.GG statistics. At certain ranks, her win rate is second only to Kai’Sa’s, who is still considered to be the best pick among pros as well.
The Daughter of the Void is a much harder champion to master compared to Ashe, with which players only have to “basic attack and watch who’s dying and who’s not dying,” according to Patrik. Furthermore, her E ability, Hawkshot, is a great tool for the whole team to have, providing vision on long distances and aiding teammates across the Rift. “You get free info, and junglers hate it,” commented Patrik. “It’s a nice little trick to have.”
To climb the ranks in the first few weeks after the beginning of the second Split of the ranked season, players might want to pick up Ashe on their teams, especially if Kai’Sa has been banned or picked by the other team. But in case both champions are banned, there’s a secret pick that Patrik believes will help players climb the ranks: Aphelios.
Even though Aphelios was nerfed in 13.13, casual and pro players are still picking him to achieve victory. While his early game is weaker than before and his survivability heavily depends on his lane partner, Aphelios is still incredibly strong in the mid-to-late game. “I expect teams to start picking him a bit more often,” said he bot laner, “he still deals a lot of damage and I expect people to notice that you can buy two items and start one-shotting everyone again.”
While players wait for patch 13:14 to start their climb in the second Split of the ranked season, Patrik and EXCEL will continue fighting for their chance to reach the LEC Summer Finals. They were the first team to advance to playoffs, and are one match away to lock in the top two this Split, only G2 Esports stands in their way. The LEC returns this Saturday, July 22nd, at 11am CT.
