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The meta has stabilized when it comes to patch 14.22 in League of Legends. However, with the new patch on the horizon, some of you might be hoping to squeeze out a bit more LP before the next patch shakes everything up once again. Lucky for you, we at Cheat CC have analyzed the data and compiled the best picks for your current rank in an effort to give you smooth sailing to the enemy’s nexus.
Mordekaiser (Low ELO)
©Riot Games
- Win Rate: 52%
- Pick Rate: 8%
- Ban Rate: 16%
- Countered By: Singed, Warwick, Heimerdinger, Volibear, Vayne
Mordekaiser has been and will always be a staple for any low ELO player in League of Legends. He’s very easy to play, and his gameplay is simple to understand as well. Funnily enough, that goes for the enemy as well. Since if you’re able to avoid his empowered Q ability, you shouldn’t struggle against him whatsoever. But, low ELO is low ELO for a reason, and if you want to quickly climb through Iron, Bronze, and Gold, pick up Mordekaiser.
Riven (High ELO)
©Riot Games
- Win Rate: 53%
- Pick Rate: 6%
- Ban Rate: 3.8%
- Countered By: Casseiopeia, Teemo, Wukong, Ryze, Tryndamere
When we say High ELO, we mean Diamond 2+, sorry Emerald players. Riven has been the bane of high ELO for as long as she’s been in the game. Known as THE one trick champion, Riven is a champ that gets stronger the more time you put into her. However, as League of Legends continues to change and evolve over time, more and more top laners are playing Riven. With a lot of success, too, since she’s comfortably winning over half of her games. Maybe it’s time to pick up Riven, if you don’t have a strong fighter champion in your games.
Teemo (Low ELO)
©Riot Games
- Win Rate: 52%
- Pick Rate: 6%
- Ban Rate: 21%
- Countered By: Sion, Yorick, Dr. Mundo, Ryze, Ornn
Ah, yes. The man. The myth. The demon. Teemo. Ever since his ASU, it feels like Teemo is being picked much more often. Teemo hasn’t been in the patch notes outside his art update since Patch 14.3 when Riot made his Q’s blind apply immediately. It seems the meta has just shifted in a way that allows for Teemo to be strong. Or it could just be people mentally checking out whenever he’s on the enemy team. I know I do.
Gragas (High ELO)
©Riot Games
- Win Rate: 52%
- Pick Rate: 7%
- Ban Rate: 3%
- Countered By: Zac, Maoikai, Singed, Vayne, Casseiopeia
Gragas is similar to Riven in the sense that back in the day, the best players were usually one tricks. These one tricks also used to completely dominate on this pick and showcased just how strong this champion really is in the right hands. Also similar to Riven, his play rate is going up and more players are finding success with Gragas. He’s a nice magic damage pick for your repertoire if you like a high-skill ceiling and lots of skill expression.
Nasus (Low ELO)
©Riot Games
- Win Rate: 51%
- Pick Rate: 5%
- Ban Rate: 7%
- Countered By: Tahm Kench, Urgot, Illaoi, Shen, Cho Gath
Nasus perfectly capitalizes on one of Low ELO’s biggest weaknesses — the ability to close out a game. No matter what, if you consistently farm on Nasus you will become an important factor of the match. His game plan is simple, farm with Q. In the bottom tiers of the ELO bracket, you can even just ignore your team and push the top all the way to a win. We at Cheat CC do not condone this behavior, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do to win.
Renekton (High ELO)
©Riot Games
- Win Rate: 51%
- Pick Rate: 8%
- Ban Rate: 7%
- Countered By: Teemo, Kled, Casseiopeia, Sion, Akali
Renekton is not only a staple of high ELO top laning, but a staple of professional top laning. Renekton shows up pretty frequently at the highest level of play, mostly because of his great gank setup, lack of hard counters, and decent scaling. On top of those strengths, he can be flexed to mid-lane allowing for you to throw off your potential opponent into picking something suboptimal for the matchup. None of this matters as much in lower ELO, but when you’re playing with teammates who understand the game at a high level, you can’t get much better than Renekton.
Sett (Low ELO)
©Riot Games
- Win Rate: 52%
- Pick Rate: 6%
- Ban Rate: 2%
- Countered By: Warwick, Volibear, Illaoi, Malphite, Mordekaiser
When it comes to low ELO, the simpler the better, and simple is Sett’s middle name. Sett is good at 1v1 duels, has a great gank setup with his E, and even has decent wave clear. Sett is an excellent champion to pick up if you’re new to the top lane and he only gets better as you climb. Some of the best Setts in the world really showcase just how complex and cool the character can be at higher ranks. If you are Iron, Bronze, or Silver looking for a new champ to learn, why not try Sett? They’ll never see the one shot coming from your empowered W ability.
Darius (High ELO)
©Riot Games
- Win Rate: 50%
- Pick Rate: 5%
- Ban Rate: 12%
- Countered By: Swain, Riven, Volibear, Wukong, Singed
Darius is a simple-to-play champion as well when compared to the rest of the top-lane champions. The skill expression comes from being able to stay relevant after larning phase is over. Being good at Darius can almost guarantee that you leave laning phase with a lead but Darius has many weaknesses that a good player can exploit. Similar to Teemo the current meta just kind of aligned in a way for Darius to be good. However, as more players learn and master Ambessa, the noxian general might be on his way out.
Garen (Low ELO)
©Riot Games
- Win Rate: 51%
- Pick Rate: 7%
- Ban Rate: 5%
- Countered By: Kayle, Teemo, Mordekaiser, Tahm Kench, Cho gath
Garen is not only strong in this patch, but one of the best champions to learn the game on. If you’re someone who is playing League for the very first time, Garen is an excellent champion to learn the fundamentals on. His trading patterns are very simple, he’s good at all stages of the game, and he even does well in his losing matchups if your fundamentals are on point. A fantastic champion to learn top lane with, or even just learn League of Legends.
Jax (High ELO)
©Riot Games
- Win Rate: 50%
- Pick Rate: 9%
- Ban Rate: 15%
- Countered By: Maokai, Poppy, Shen, Kled, Aurora
Jax is one of the many kings of top lane. He’s just an all-around solid pick, his kit is good, his damage and survivability his good, and even his items are good. If you’re against an auto-attacking top laner that is also melee, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to counter-pick with Jax. Malphite works too but Jax is just a much more interesting pick. Counterstrike is one of the best basic abilities in the game and as long as it works like it does, Jax will probably always be at least viable.
Ambessa (Cheat CC’s Pocket Pick)
©Riot Games
- Win Rate: 47%
- Pick Rate: 10%
- Ban Rate: 53%
- Countered By: Ryze, Kled, Riven, Shen, Casseiopeia
Ambessa is the absolute queen of this patch, in both the Top and Jungle roles. However, her win rate is very low considering how much she is being played. That being said, her kit is very interesting as it is a cross between someone like Darius with its use of spacing and Kalista with its mobility. A kit like this only gets better the more time you put into it and we anticipate Ambessa’s win rate to continue to climb as more and more players become comfortable with her. But good luck actually playing her, she’s popular and has a very high ban rate. Most likely, she’ll be banned before you can start getting her combos down.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©CheatCC/Jazz Stewart.