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The Summer Split starts this weekend when the LCS and LPL kick off on June 1, and competitive play will begin in other regions around the world soon.
Unlike past seasons, there hasn’t been much change between spring and summer this year. Most team rosters, aside from the very worst teams, have stayed the same. Even the meta hasn’t changed that much: Based on data and research from stats site Mobalytics, the best champions in high elo, like Akali, Sylas, and Draven, are still broken.
We dove into Mobalytics’ analysis to figure out how those champions translate to the pro meta. For more insights from their experts, check out the Mobalytics League tier list. The site also provides builds and counters for all League champions.
The competitive tier list by role is as follows:
Top lane
The top lane tier list has seen little change from MSI. The biggest one is that Mobalytics doesn’t consider Jayce an S-tier champion, and we have to agree. He’s not as powerful, especially with higher ranks in his Q, which makes his kill threat much lower. Since he doesn’t have mobility, his value as a splitpusher and lane bully really depends on his ability to kill enemy champions in one-vs-one scenarios.
Akali’s changes make her more complicated, but she’s ultimately still good. It’ll be harder to get that perfect execution, but in the mid game, she should have enough damage to one-shot enemy carries. And since Irelia and Sylas didn’t get nerfed at all, they’re going to be even more dominant as solo lane flex picks.
The most interesting addition to S-tier is Aatrox, and the changes Riot has made to his healing and ultimate will benefit him both in lane and in teamfights. Two support champions have found their way into the A-tier: Pyke and Tahm Kench. We knew about Pyke because of G2 top laner’s Martin “Wunder” Hansen’s exploits on him at MSI. But Tahm Kench is new. The changes Riot recently made to him to increase his damage while sacrificing his utility make him an annoying duelist in lane that also has great gank setups for his jungler.
Jungle
This is where things get really crazy. The jungle meta will be the hardest to figure out over the next few weeks because of nerfs to previously-OP champions like Rek’Sai and Jarvan IV and the delay of the scuttle spawn, which we haven’t seen yet in competitive play.
But Nunu, Kha’Zix, and Rengar? This may be where the competitive meta veers from high elo solo queue. We have a feeling that safe junglers will begin defaulting to Sejuani while more aggressive players could lock in Hecarim. And definitely keep your eyes on Elise and Nidalee with the recent buffs to Runic Echoes. The buffs to that item might impact AP champions, and with Karthus’ ultimate nerf getting reverted, he could still be there for teams that are willing to play around his early power trough.
The last jungle champion to watch is Kindred. Farm-heavy junglers are difficult to execute on, but with the delay of scuttle spawns, they might be able to survive through the early levels better, which could give teams that pick them an easier way to bridge to their incredible late game.
Mid lane
There aren’t any surprises here. Akali and Sylas are still amazing, but Ryze and Syndra dropped with no changes. Pros generally pilot those champions better than even the best solo queue players, so they should still be in the meta after Patch 9.11.
Speaking of champions that get a lot of game time in pro play but are almost useless in solo queue, there’s Azir. According to Mobalytics’ tier list video, Azir is starting to take TP for an early reset for another Doran’s Ring to fix his mana problems in lane. He then builds into Nashor’s Tooth to scale smoothly off on-hit damage.
Bot lane
Bot lane is nearly synonymous between high elo and competitive. Draven is still a problem for teams that have a strong Draven player. Those playing shorter-ranged ADCs will probably just want to ban him if the opponent can lock Draven. And the Kleptomancy build gives him even more safety to stack his passive until he can cash it in.
Kai’Sa has been in meta since her release. She does it all. And crit champions like Sivir and Jinx are coming back in the right situations. Crit champions have probably been overlooked for too long, and both Sivir and Jinx can play against meta teamfight comps really well.
Support
Galio is pretty much dead in competitive with his most recent nerf. He just doesn’t build AP as a support. That leaves other engage supports like Thresh, Rakan, and Nautilus to take his place. They are all great in his role, and we aren’t sure what deleting Galio really accomplished.
Then there’s enchanters like Sona, Janna, and Lux. The common thread among those three is that they do incredible damage for the healing and shielding they provide.
And how could we forget Yuumi. Players who know how to play Yuumi will be able to position her well with their ADC to maximize the range of her Q and presence in lane. Yuumi overcame an incredibly low win rate through some buffs to become a meta solo queue pick. We just might see her on the competitive stage this weekend.
Mobalytics is an official content partner of Dot Esports, providing unique data and insight into League of Legends trends.
