League of Legends: Best Champions to Play for Ranked 2020

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League of Legends: Best Champions to Play for Ranked 2020

Today is the day that League of Legends players have been waiting for since the end of Worlds 2019. Ranked play is finally live and all the preseason changes are in full swing! Whether you’re looking to get some extra insight this season or lack experience on the new elemental rift, you’ll definitely find some information to help you climb!

*Please note that the lists are in alphabetical order and champions are selected based on meta as well as overall win rate across divisions.*

Top Lane:

  • Darius
  • Fiora
  • Fiora
  • Garen
  • Mordekaiser
  • Nasus
  • Ornn
  • Shen
  • Vladimir
  • Yorick

LoL Mordekaiser

Mordekaiser is debatably the strongest top laner in solo queue right now, dominating his lane in most matchups and transferring that into a victory screen after scaling.

“Iron Stands Eternal”

The current top lane meta favors bruisers who can fill the shoes of an annoying split pusher as well as the role of an effective team fighter. Juggernauts like Mordekaiser and Darius fill both of those necessities to a tee, boasting extreme lane dominance and heavy damage dealing and soaking in fights.

Should you not want to sit in a side lane for eternity, team fighters like Shen, Vlad and Ornn rate very highly on many players’ tier lists with win rates to back it up. What all of these champions have in common is a devastating ultimate ability that can turn the tide in a fight.

If team fighting isn’t your thing, split pushers will always be the bane of disorganized teams. Nasus and Yorick are favorites that typically go unbanned and scale to become late-game monsters. They do offer some team fighting utility, but their efforts are best focused on knocking down the enemy turrets all the way to the nexus.

Jungle:

  • Ekko
  • Elise
  • Jarvan IV
  • Kha’Zix
  • Master Yi
  • Nocturne
  • Olaf
  • Rek’Sai
  • Vi
  • Warwick

LoL Olaf

The Berserker has been cleaving unwary players across ranked divisions. With incredible clear speed and sustain, Olaf is able to get on the map early and start snowballing his team to victory.

“Leave Nothing Behind”

The jungle changes to the preseason has shifted the meta quite hard. Junglers are left to decide whether they want to focus on farming for their benefit or spamming ganks for their teams benefit. Luckily, three champions stand out regardless of which playstyle you’d prefer. Although lacking in clear early Ekko and Elise are on par with Olaf in overall map impact. All of these champions are able to get a fair first clear and translate that into gank attempts. Each of them also features some sort of utility, increasing chances of securing kills when ganking.

Solo queue demons like Master Yi and Nocturne are also having a great amount of success right now. Sloppy play and disrespectful top laners are usually the first blood these champions thrive for but they’re also fairly decent at contesting rift scuttlers. These champions are more on the farming side of the jungle sphere, but after hitting level 6, they are able to effectively impact the map. In either scenario, both Master Yi and Nocturne are able to swiftly slice through opponents and jungle camps alike.

Middle Lane:

  • Ahri
  • Cassiopeia
  • Diana
  • Ekko
  • Fizz
  • Kassadin
  • Katarina
  • Malzahar
  • Talon
  • Vladimir

LoL Diana

Fresh from being reworked, Diana has been a terror on the rift, nuking entire teams with her new ultimate ability – Moonfall.

“A New Moon Rises”

In typical Riot Games fashion, the newest champion rework also brings a new meta revolving around them. Diana is in a state that she hasn’t seen in years, becoming a must pick or ban. With a new set of tools, Diana is able to effortlessly scale to late, obliterating anyone caught in her new Moonfall ability. In case you don’t believe it, Diana has the highest win rate of any middle lane champion and it’s no coincidence.

Speaking of effortless scaling, Fizz and Malzahar players are finding great success lately. In lower divisions, both of these champions are 1v9 ready assuming your lane goes mildly well. With a well-timed ultimate, both Fizz and Malzahar are able to remove an enemy carry from a fight altogether, giving their team a huge advantage in the subsequent fight.

As always, the flashy solo carry mid lane champions are still in fashion. Effective Katarina, Talon and Kassadin play can single-handedly put the game in your hands. But unleashing their full potential takes a long, grueling process of mastering the champion and understanding what your win condition is. Whether it’s pushing and spamming bottom ganks or just repeatedly solo killing your lane opponent, you’ll need some experience before you soar through the ranks.

Bottom Lane (ADC):

  • Aphelios
  • Ashe
  • Caitlyn
  • Ezreal
  • Jhin
  • Jinx
  • Kai’Sa
  • Miss Fortune
  • Senna
  • Vayne

League of Legends Aphelios

Aphelios – The Weapon of the Faithful is the newest champion to be released offers the most over-tuned kit in the ADC role, making Aphelios the go to for competitive play.

“So Many Weapons”

With Riot Games releasing two new champions in the attack damage carry (ADC) role, the meta has unsurprisingly shifted in their favor. Senna boasts a kit that offers both damage and utility, giving her the perfect blend of ADC and support. On the other hand, Aphelios is a jack of all trades… literally.

To the uproar of many, Aphelios offers every tool available in the game. Calibrum (sniper rifle) for poke, Severum (scythe pistol) for sustain, Gravitum (gravity cannon) for crowd control, Infernum (flamethrower) for area of effect damage and Crescendum (chakram) for single target burst. To top it all off, his ultimate ability – Moonlight Vigil – is capable of hitting an entire enemy team and applying the weapon’s passive on all targets. This enables Aphelios to shred a team fight should he have the right weapons at the right time, specifically Infernum.

Just behind the new kids on the block are Miss Fortune and Caitlyn, two classic picks with rising popularity and win rates as of late. Both offer a ton of lane phase pressure that can turn into immense amounts of damage in the later state of the game.

Support:

  • Blitzcrank
  • Brand
  • Janna
  • Leona
  • Morgana
  • Nami
  • Nautilus
  • Soraka
  • Swain
  • Taric

LoL Leona

Supports are leaning on champion picks like Leona to brute force their way through lane phase. Offering a lot of engage and pick potential, Leona is able to get the job done, all while taking zero damage.

“Rally to Me”

Being able to engage early can make or break any bottom lane composition. Where engage supports are dominating right now, Blitzcrank, Leona and Nautilus are shining in the meta. Level 2 all-ins are very important and these champions all have incredible kill potential early with the use of a skill shot. Definitely consider adding these champions to your pool if you haven’t already and watch joyously as your labor feeds your starving AD carry.

You may be surprised to find Taric on the list but he currently has the highest win rate in the game for one key reason – Master Yi. This infamous combo is notoriously powerful for rapid ranked climbing, giving Yi free reign as he Alpha Strikes his way through an entire team unharmed. It’s a very cheesy strategy and no one will respect you for it, but you’re playing ranked to win and its as easy as pressing R in a team fight.

If you prefer a more passive playstyle, a few enchanters are also putting up some good win rates as well. Janna typically counters all inning supports with her disengage tools and Nami is quick to follow with the second-highest win rate overall. Throwing in Soraka gives you a trifecta of babysitting supports who can help coddle their carry through a dangerous lane phase and keeping a team alive through fights.

Yuri Custodio
Yuri is a student at St. Clair College in Windsor ON, studying Esports Administration and Entrepreneurship. Yuri is passionate about all aspects of esports and specializes in League of Legends and Overwatch. He has competed in the Collegiate Overwatch League for his school team - Saints Gaming.