To keep the players’ experience new and fresh, there is a constant stream of newly-released champions, and unfortunately, not all champions have been created equal. While there are some champions that are not popular with the players, we are here to discuss the top ten most picked champions in League of Legends, and the possible reasons why they are played.
These are going to be the most played over a larger period of time (say about 6-12 months), that way new champion releases and random events don’t mess up the list. So while they might not be the most popular champions within the past seven days, these are in general going to be the most popular champion picks in League of Legends.
Go check out our other article to see the least played champions in League of Legends! Maybe you’ll find your main on there haha.
Table of Contents
Most Played Champions at Challenger/Pro Level
If you’ve been curious as to what the most popular champions at the highest ranks are, look no further for an answer. Here are the top 10 most played champions at Challenger:
- Jinx
- Viego
- Jhin
- Graves
- Lee Sin
- Zeri
- Gwen
- Aphelios
- Senna
- Ahri
Now for the most popular for the rest of the player base.
Ezreal
Ezreal is a very popular champion, even being visible in a lot of the Riot cinematics. Ezreal has a reputation for being one of the more flexible marksmen in the game, with a lot of items being viable for him that are not available for any other marksmen. For example, he can opt for a more offensive blade with a Duskblade of Draktharr as his mythic item, or he could go for a more defensive one with the Divine Sunderer and Frozen Heart.
Ezreal can be played in any meta, and can be left in the lane so that the support can roam and make plays elsewhere in the map.
Lee Sin
Lee Sin is one of those staple champions that are very good for expressing your skill at the game— he has good damage numbers, he has dashes, and great outplay potential. In addition, the things that were just mentioned also give Lee Sin players a lot of creativity with their playmaking.
There is also some slight flexibility with the build paths with Lee Sin: he can go for a more tank-oriented build with the Bami’s Cinder items, he can build towards a more bruiser-oriented path with Goredrinker, and he can even go for an Assassin build with any of the Mythic Items that build from Serrated Dirk.
Vayne
Vayne is a champion that is popular across all levels of play— and it is easy to see why. Vayne has access to great mobility with her Tumble, can catch up to enemies with her passive, has conditional crowd control with her Condemn, Final Hour grants triple the bonus from her passive, bonus attack damage, reduces Tumble’s cooldown duration, and casting it grants Vayne invisibility for 1 second. Her W is a passive that grants her true damage every three hits.
While Vayne is not exactly excellent in the lane, she does have stellar 1v1 potential. In a side lane or when well-positioned in a team fight, Vayne can take over the game when given the right tools.
Jhin
Jhin has been called one of the better-designed champions in the history of League of Legends. His kit just seems to work well as a whole, and it helps his case that he is on the stronger side when it comes to lane priority. He also works well with almost any support in the game, and his role as a facilitating marksman means that he can begin a team fight with his root or his ultimate. In addition, he is good enough to be in a lane by himself so the support can roam into other lanes to make plays.
Yasuo
Was there ever any doubt about Yasuo being part of this list?
Yasuo is, of course, a champion that has a lot of skill expression available to him with his Sweeping Blade and his Steel Tempest. He can easily clear minion waves with the tools available to him, and he can poke enemy champions with the third cast of his Steel Tempest. With the right items, Yasuo can be a huge threat and can obliterate enemy carries easily, especially if there is an ally that can set him up with a knock-up.
Now that we’re on the topic of Yasuo— a wind-channeling wandering samurai falsely accused of killing his master and then slaying his own brother in self-defense? A lot of people are hooked on that.
Lucian
Lucian is a good flex between solo lanes and the bottom lane— showing great early-game prowess while still being a decent late-game marksman. As a solo laner, Lucian is oppressive, and picking him allows junglers to go for an AP champion. In addition, the flex gives the team a huge advantage in the draft phase.
Especially when he takes on the Press the Attack keystone rune, Lucian has a very strong burst rotation. In addition, Relentless Pursuit gives him enough mobility to both dodge skill shots and to jump into an enemy. Take full advantage of his burst potential to find good fights and secure advantages, especially in the early game.
Yone
Yone is more or less just the same as Yasuo, but with a more refined identity as an assassin champion. His Mortal Steel has the same mechanic as Yasuo’s Steel Tempest, but most of his combos depend on using his Soul Unbound to deal true damage on enemies. His Fate Sealed is a huge playmaking tool, which can be used to start fights or to turn the tides.
Lore-wise, well, he’s more or less in the same boat as Yasuo: a man who got killed by his brother gets sent into the spirit realm and is now forced to hunt malevolent entities? Sounds very cool.
Yone’s power in the top lane is one of the reasons why he is one of the most picked top laners in league right now.
Irelia
Irelia has been one of the more controversial reworks— with a high degree of mobility with her Bladesurge, high dueling potential with Conqueror and her Passive, a stun with her Flawless Duet, and damage reduction with her Defiant Dance, she is one of the most rewarding champions when played well. Of course, not all attempts to play Irelia work well. Picking her should be rather conditional, and she has a lot of matchups that can easily go sideways.
She has an excellent team fight presence while also being a threat in a side lane makes Irelia a popular pick. Especially since she can be played top or mid-lane, leading her to be popular in two different lanes at once!
Thresh
Thresh is one of the best support champions in the game: playmaking using his Death Sentence and Flay, and peel with his Box enables him to be one of the better tank supports, and his infinite scaling with his passive makes him tankier and do more damage than most supports. His Dark Passage enables him to reposition an ally, whether it is a carry or another playmaker. Thresh can be a strong laner when played right and can be vital towards a team fight win.
Thresh usually doesn’t have poor matchups and is a rather safe blind pick. This has led to Thresh being one of the most popular supports in all of League!
Zed
Zed, as we know him, is one of the flashiest champions in the game. With lots of damage in his kit, with a reliable burst rotation, and decent mobility, he can be one of the most rewarding assassins to play if executed correctly. As a melee champion, of course, he can be taken advantage of in the laning phase, but his all-in can be quite devastating, especially if he is dealing with a control mage.
One of the most iconic outplays in professional League of Legends was done on Zed by the best player to ever play the game, Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, and of course, who doesn’t like to claim that they are Faker when they make a good play on Zed?
Easily one of the most common picks in the mid-lane, regardless of nerfs.
Final Thoughts
These champions are popular for several reasons, but because of their popularity, these champions get banned a lot as well. Be prepared with backups in case your popular champion of choice gets banned.
