LoL Worlds Picks and Bans – What will the Meta be like in 2024?

Top – 5 picks reign supreme

The top lane meta has been a lot of diversified this year and despite the big patch, it looks like it will stay the same. Most of the teams are probably looking to have a few weakside champions but there might be teams looking to pick up more damage. This season we started seeing new picks on the rise, and top laners had the chance to showcase their carry potential on specific picks.

While weakside and tank champions dominated the majority of the Swiss stage, we started seeing more and more carry champions on the top lane in the Knockout stage.

Rumble emerged as the highest priority pick to the point he’s one of the most banned champions in the entire tournament (43 bans).

K’Sante, however, is still the most picked top laner with 27 games, followed by Jax (24), and Renekton and Aatrox (23). The latter has gained popularity in the Knockout stage and he might potentially become the second-most-picked champion at the end of the tournament.

These five picks should be 5 priority picks going into the finals. Pay attention to counter picks, though: we saw TheShy pull out champions like Graves and Quinn in the semifinals and he might do that again against T1 in the finals.

Jungle – the most exciting jungle meta in years

Riot tried to shake up the jungle meta prior to the start of Worlds by pushing bruisers and the goal was achieved.

Jarvan IV and Vi have been the preferred picks at Worlds, with the former getting an 84% presence rate. In the final stages of the tournament, the Demacian champion is basically pick-or-ban status, with Vi being a solid pick that fits most team compositions.

We also started seeing Rell in the jungle thanks to her strong hard-engage and setup, followed by Maokai. Sejuani and Lee Sin dropped in priority over the last few matches.

Bel’Veth and Poppy are situational answers but they have had mixed results so both depend on a number of factors that need to happen in the drafts. These should be the picks to watch out for in the final.

Mid Lane – going back to the classics

Last year’s mid lane meta was dominated by four different champions: Azir, Sylas, Akali, and Viktor. Among these four, Azir seems to be the only one who is still relevant.

The champion underwent several changes in the past few months, but his value as a scaling carry makes him the ideal mid lane pick.

Having said that, the undisputed no. 1 pick for the mid lane meta at Worlds 2023 is Orianna. Her presence rate is the highest in the entire tournament (95%), with her win rate at 59%.

Azir follows in second place at 26 games, and Neeko in third place at 17 games. The latter is the most banned mid laner with a total of 42 bans, showing that teams regard her highly.

There is a big gap after these three champions, however, with Syndra, Sylas, Jayce, Akali, and Taliyah as the preferred picks. These champions are chosen only if the top trio is taken away.

ADC – 3 champions at the top 

In 2022, the bot lane meta was full of bully laners that could abuse their range to get lane priority for objective control and snowball through turret plate gold.

This year, things are looking a bit different. Xayah, Kia’Sa, and Aphelios have been the most played champions at the tournament-

That said, Kalista has been the most banned champion at Worlds 2023, with 50 bans in total. She has gained increasing priority throughout the tournament and she will likely maintain her ban status going into the finals.

We started seeing more Varus and Caitlyn as the two main bully bot laners so those two might be relevant as well. In particular, Varus should be the preferred pick due to his flexibility in the build paths.

Support – engage supports dictate

After having enchanters supports dominate the entire bot lane meta last year, 2023 had engage supports for the majority of the tournament.

Champions like Rell, Rakan, and Alistar have been the trio of support picks, with the latter two being preferred.

Having said that, the Knockout stage also saw the resurgence of ranged supports, with Bard and Ashe being the two picks to ensure lane pressure within the laning phase.

Renata Glasc also made major headlines due to her ability to neutralize hard-engage team compositions. These three champions will define the flow of the entire finals, as both Crisp and Keria have shown great proficiency at these picks. Aside from Rakan and Rell, we probably won’t see engage supports in the finals.

LoL Worlds Picks and Bans – Patch 12.18

Worlds 2022 will be played on Patch 12.18 throughout the whole tournament. It won’t be like MSI, where they used two different patches for the different stages. In addition, Udyr will be disabled entirely since his rework was introduced late later than what the rules allowed.

With this in mind, we will go through some of the most important changes in the upcoming patch and predict which champions, for every role, will rise in priority over the course of Worlds 2022. Stats will be primarily based on the latest competitive patch by the major regions, Patch 12.15 (LCK, LEC, LCS and LPL).

Keep note, some of these picks will be important if you plan to bet on LoL Worlds.

Top – Front Liners and Duelists

After many years of restricted champion pools, this year’s top lane meta is probably in the best shape possible. We’ve seen a lot of different picks across the regions, with tanks, bruisers and carries all being played. Having said that, there are always those go-to options for the top lane champions and they don’t seem to leave any time soon.

Ornn  (55% pick or ban rate, aka presence) and Sejuani (36% presence) have been popular picks when needing a front line, with Sion and Gragas being the secondary options. Aatrox (48& presence and the most picked top laner), Gnar (37 picks, 34% presence) are the common answers to these champions, with Gwen also being a viable pick. Renekton was the most present among all top laners (68%), but the 12.17 nerf will probably push him out of priority.

Kennen, Jax and Fiora were mainly played in the East and we’re expecting them to be picked at Worlds as well. Generally speaking, the west is known for playing scaling and bringing utility to the team, while LCK and LPL can also put top laners on carry champions more often. I’m expecting the LoL worlds pick and bans to be more or less the same to previous patches, with the exception of Camille and Maokai: the first got a buff that might push her higher, while Maokai was also received well and I wonder if teams will pick him up.

Jungle – Hecarim and Lee Sin to return for Worlds 2022?

The Jungle meta has had major changes for the Worlds patch. Riot buffed Hecarim again in 12.17, making him from useless to OP territory once again. They’re aiming to nerf him a little in 12.18, but he will surely be back as a pick or ban champion. Together with him, Riot also pushed Lee Sin, making him durable in the later stages. The blind monk is one of the most popular picks in the east, so expect him with a higher presence (currently 7%).

Trundle (72% presence) and Wukong (77% presence) were nerfed after the end of the summer splits, with the first receiving quite a substantial nerf on his W. For me it was the best jungle pick since it countered all the meta champions, but he will probably become a situational pick against teams comps with multiple tanks/frontliners. Wukong’s nerf was smaller, and I expect him to be picked anyway. Despite being the highest champion with the highest pick or ban rate, Poppy got the best treatment, with one nerf only. As long as dash champions will be meta, the yordle will be on Summoners’ Rift. As for the rest, I’m expecting Xin Zhao, Vi, Jarvan IV and Viego to be played: they are the evergreen champions since they can fit into almost any team composition.

There’s one more champion that I’m particularly attracted to and that’s Nocturne: Riot buffed him in the latest patch and he also has the advantage of being flexed in mid lane. It’s highly situational, but with how important roams are in the early-mid game, Nocturne can be the secret pick for upsets.

Mid Lane has the most “stable” meta

Speaking of mid lane, the LoL Worlds picks and bans might be very different from what we’ve seen so far. The most important change for the role is Azir’s nerfs. The sand soldier took quite a beating by Riot and I’m sure he will lose the throne of lol pick ban rate. (85% presence, with 80 bans).

The mid lane pool is quite restricted compared to others, with Ahri (63% presence), Azir, Sylas (76%) and Taliyah (46%) having formed the fantastic quartet. All of them have been nerfed in one way or the other. Taliyah and Ahri will probably remain the best picks, with Leblanc (33%), Lissandra (29%) and Akali (30%) rising in priority as strong counter picks. In particular, Lissandra is a good counter to most mid mages, as well as having great teamfighting tools.

Having said that, I also think there’s a possibility where teams will want to play through mid with big AP carries, caused by the ADC meta shift (which we will talk about later). It will be less about making the pick onto the enemy marksman, and more about dealing AoE damage. Champions like Syndra and Orianna are the ones that come to mind, with Ryze doing a similar job: be on the lookout for them at Worlds.

ADC – Rise of new champions

Riot nerfed both Zeri, Sivir, Kalista, as well as the Lucian-Nami combo in the most recent patches. The four were the most present champions during all playoffs, with Zeri hitting an absurd 89% pick or ban rate. (Kalista 81%, Sivir 69% and Lucian 59%)

While we haven’t seen the impact of those changes in competitive, the general sentiment is that all of them have been hit hard. As a result, we are seeing new picks rising in priority, one of which is Miss Fortune. She received a buff in patch 12.17 and despite the expected adjustment for the Worlds patch, she should be a power pick.

Kalista is set to be nerfed in the upcoming patch and things don’t seem good for her: with how the meta is shifting towards bully lanes and poke lanes, she will suffer more.

Aside from her, Draven and Twitch have been two relevant picks and will continue to be among the top picks. Draven has been popular very popular in the LPL, as well as some specific teams around the world, so teams will likely replicate the pick.

I predict Caitlyn to rule the LoL Worlds odds as the most picked champion in Play-Ins. Caitlyn’s buffs have also pushed her back in contention and she will shine with sieging compositions. We’ve seen her picked twice, both by Rogue in the LEC playoff. It will be a very different meta than what we’ve seen in the bot lane all season long: each team will bring their own ideals at Worlds, adding even more complexity and excitement.

Enchanters gone from Worlds 2022 Supports pool?

Let’s get straight to the point: the answer is no. Lulu (69% presence) will get tagged in 12.18, but most of the enchanters will still be strong.

Janna has risen in play rate following her buffs, as well as Soraka has seen a lot of success. Aside from Janna and Soraka, Seraphine, Yuumi and Bard will likely be picked. Out of the three, Yuumi will be the most preferred option since she was already popular in playoffs (85% pick or ban)

There will be quite a lot of diversity in terms of champion pool, with both engagers and enchanters having multiple viable options. Speaking of engagers, Amumu is good in the right situations and the same thing goes for Rell, which received good buffs in the last patch. Nautilus will always be viable like he’s been the whole season, and Thresh’s buff might put him onto some teams’ radar.

These were all the expected LoL Worlds Picks and Bans. We will update it once the patch will be confirmed and published, so make sure to stay tuned for more updates!