State of the pro meta: Rek’Sai, Braum still dominate, but Taliyah, Hecarim rising

Each week, Gameoflegends.com tallies which champions were picked the previous week in competitive League of Legends, spanning domestic leagues in South Korea, China, North America and Europe. It’s a fantastic resource that helps give a clearer picture of where the pro meta stands as a whole.

This was the first week with competitive games on Patch 6.13, and while we did see some new champions pop up, a lot of the popular champions from previous weeks remained the same.

The two biggest risers this week in the competitive meta were Hecarim and Taliyah. After recent nerfs to teleport, champions that are able to quickly roam and make cross-map plays are becoming more important at the pro level. It’s why we’ve also seen a lot of Shen and Rek’Sai lately (as well as some Twisted Fate). Taliyah even saw some play in the top lane (going 2-0 with Splyce), but was mostly picked as a mid laner after her strong debut in Korea.

Another roaming champion also returned to the meta: Tahm Kench, who received buffs in 6.13 and was played in both the top lane and at support. The Kench has truly been unbenched.

In terms of champions falling a bit out of favor, Ryze saw slightly less priority this week but still picked up plenty of bans. The jungle meta also continues to shift towards tanks and playmakers like Rek’Sai, Gragas and Elise rather than hard carries like Graves, Kindred and Nidalee, while utility AD carries remain the most popular at the position.

Here’s this week’s, over 87 total games.

GamesOfLegends.com

Let’s break it down, position-by-position.

Top lane:

Total unique champions: 20 (up one from last week)

S-tier: Trundle (32 games), Gnar (29), Shen (28), Irelia (26)

And then: Rumble (14), Jax (7), Lissandra (7), Gangplank (6), Maokai (5)

New: Gangplank, Renekton (3), Taliyah (2), Ekko (2), Tahm Kench (1), Fizz (1)

Gone: Malzahar, Kennen, Gragas, Jarvan IV, Jayce

Jungle:

Total unique champions: 11 (up two from last week)

S-tier: Rek’Sai (50 games), Gragas (34), Elise (22), Nidalee (11, 36 bans)

And then: Hecarim (18), Graves (15), Kindred (12)

New: Lee Sin (4), Kha’Zix (3), Nunu (1)

Gone: Amumu

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Mid lane:

Total unique champions: 22 (up six from last week)

S-tier: Viktor (28 games), Azir (26), Vladimir (22), Ryze (13, 41 bans)

And then: Cassiopeia (12), Karma (11), Taliyah (11)

New: Taliyah, Kassadin (9), Zed (3), Malzahar (2), Lulu (1), Fizz (1), Ahri (1), Yasuo (1)

Gone: Syndra, Karthus

AD Carry:

Total unique champions: 11 (up two from last week)

S-tier: Sivir (51 games), Ashe (37), Jhin (33)

And then: Lucian (21), Ezreal (18)

New: Kog’Maw (1), Jinx (1)

Gone: None

Riot Games

Support:

Total unique champions: 13 (up one from last week)

S-tier: Braum (62), Karma (26), Bard (23)

And then: Thresh (17), Alistar (15), Nami (11)

New: Tahm Kench (2)

Gone: None