With League of Legends pro play kicking off soon, let’s see which will be the most intriguing champions that we might see on the Rift.
Image Credits | Riot Games
5 League Champions to watch out in pro play at the start of 2023
Kindred mains in alert
Kindred has always been a champion that not many junglers are proficient at, but the recent nerfs of the other meta champions have allowed her to rise the ranks of popularity. In solo queue she has been one of the best-performing junglers and in the first patch of season 13, her win rate is almost 52% at master elo and above (according to lolalytics).
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It will be interesting to see whether some jungle Kindred mains can bring her into pro play. It won’t be an easy task as her playstyle is very atypical and it requires a lot of coordination with her own teammates.
K’Sante should remain a priority top lane pick
Despite the nerfs to K’Sante at the start of the season, players will likely still play him. His numbers have gone down but the champion is still strong and now that pros have spent enough time mastering him, we will be able to witness what a true K’Sante player can do.
Looking at this ban rate during the first weeks of the splits will tell us whether K’Sante is still too strong or he has fallen in line with the other top laners.
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Will Jax be flexed between mid and top?
Jax received a mid-scope update and he can now go both with AP and AD builds, making him a great way to flex pick and hybridize the damage output.
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While he’s not expected to be a high-priority pick, it’s going to be exciting to see how teams will play or counter him in case he jumps on the Rift.
Is Kassadin the back as the king of mid lane?
Ever since Kassadin received the buffs in the last patch of 2022, the champion has become a relevant solo queue pick in the mid-lane.
With that in mind, there might be the chance that the champion gets picked in certain situations, especially when the pick is allowed to scale relatively safely into the late game. Now that the Rod of Ages has also been buffed again, we might witness Kassadin return as one of the mid-lane kings.
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Maokai is now a top jungle pick
Maokai was a very popular pick at Worlds 2022 when he was flexed among multiple roles. He was performing a little too well, to the point where the balance team nerfed him in Patch 12.20.
Image Credits | Riot Games
Three patches later, though, Riot decided to increase his numbers again, and it seems like he’s one of the strongest junglers in the game, with a 54% win rate in diamond and above (according to lolalytics). Considering his utility and tankiness, there are strong chances he become a high-priority champion in League pro play again.
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