State of the pro meta: Azir disappears, Kog’Maw and Taric rising

Each week, Gamesoflegends.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 full week with competitive games played on Patch 6.14, the patch that brought us Ryze’s rework, a buff to Cloud Drake and a super strong Sona. 6.14 saw some play last week already, but this time the LPL and LCK were able to play a full week on the patch.

In the top lane, Ekko has made a surprising resurgence, going from five games played last week to 20 this week, serving as an effective counter against popular picks Gnar and Trundle. Meanwhile, Irelia dropped from 24 games to eight, while Shen and Gnar remain the top two picks.

In the jungle, Rek’Sai, Gragas, Hecarim and Nidalee are still the highest priorities, and the pool remained the same except for one exception: Phoenix1 played (and won with) Mordekaiser in the jungle.

At mid lane, Azir completely dropped off the face of the meta, going from 18 games played to zero. Lissandra saw the biggest gains, going from just one game played to 11.

At AD Carry, there’s a new flavor of carry champion: Lucian’s pick rate has gone down, but Kog’Maw went from five games played all the way up to 23. Meanwhile at support, tank champions have fully taken over the meta, with five of the top six champions at the position.

Here’s this week’s numbers, over 95 total games:

GamesofLegends.com

Top lane:

Total unique champions: 23 (up three from last week)

S-tier: Shen (35 games, 36 bans), Gnar (38)

And then: Ekko (20), Gangplank (20), Trundle (15)

New: Lissandra (6), Gragas (2), Akali (1), Teemo (1), Sion (1), Jarvan IV (1)

Gone: Ryze, Olaf, Lulu

Jungle:

Total unique champions: 14 (same as last week)

S-tier: Rek’Sai (43), Hecarim (41), Gragas (37), Nidalee (11 games, 42 bans)

And then: Elise (23), Graves (15)

New: Mordekaiser (1)

Gone: Evelynn

Riot Games

Mid lane:

Total unique champions: 20 (down two from last week)

S-tier: Malzahar (21 games, 62 bans), Viktor (28), Vladimir (24, 43 bans), Karma (19), LeBlanc (18)

And then: Cassiopeia (13), Lissandra (11), Twisted Fate (11), Taliyah (11)

New: Vel’Koz (2), Kayle (1), Fizz (1)

Gone: Azir, Anivia, Gangplank, Kog’Maw, Veigar

AD Carry:

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

S-tier: Sivir (45), Ashe (38), Jhin (35)

And then: Kog’Maw (23), Ezreal (19), Lucian (14)

New: Vayne (1)

Gone: Miss Fortune, Corki, Urgot

Riot Games

Support:

Total unique champions: 16 (up three from last week)

S-tier: Taric (31), Braum (30), Alistar (29)

And then: Tahm Kench (21), Karma (21), Trundle (20), Bard (15)

New: Lulu (1), Leona (1), Sion (1)

Gone: None