Most popular LoL champions in Challenger solo queue across the world

The first split of the 2023 League of Legends ranked season is about to end on July 17, and with just a little more than a month left, players have been grinding solo queue to make it to Challenger. Paired with the introduction of the mid-season changes, it will be a refreshing challenge for those who are aiming for the top.

League enthusiasts know the meta plays a crucial role in solo queue and that high Elo players are usually the fastest at finding the right champions and playstyles that best fit any given meta.

That being said, there are discrepancies across different regions and there might be different champions that are more popular in one compared to another. 

Today, we will be breaking down the most popular champions across North America, Europe West, and Korea to see which picks are common and which are unique to a particular region. Here are the most-played champions in the Challenger solo queue in Patch 13.11. 

Most popular League of Legends champions in Challenger solo queue in every region

North America

A lot has happened in the two latest patches, following Riot’s intention to shake up the meta. Not only did the devs tweak most items in the game, but they also fundamentally changed the pace of the early game, trying to put less emphasis on ganks and roams. By lowering the Homeguard effect, as well as increasing resistances after capturing tower plates, players have been able to play more scaling champions. 

And that’s exactly what is happening more or less across all regions. Scaling champions are the ones dominating the meta, with both scaling junglers and ADCs topping the pick rates. 

Zeri, despite having a negative win rate, according to U.GG, is the No. 1 pick in NA, showing that players love to play the champion. Thanks to her great kiting potential, she’s one of the best champions to climb the solo queue ladder. 

Behind her, surprisingly, we have Milio, the best support of the patch. The Ixtal champion provides the best-peeling potential for his allies and synergizes with almost all of the popular ADCs played. Players are aware of that and Milio is currently averaging a near 50 percent ban rate, the fourth-highest of the patch. The top three are locked out by all junglers: Kha’Zix at 56.7 percent, Kindred at 54.4 percent, and Rengar at 51.9 percent, according to U.GG.

Speaking of the junglers, Graves is the most picked champion in the role with 21.6 percent. Given the high ban rates for the other meta champions, it’s logical to see him being played often. His win rate, however, is even more impressive: 52.93 percent, the highest of the top five, according to U.GG.

Behind Graves, we have three ADC: Aphelios, Ezreal, and Lucian. Out of the three, however, Lucian is the only champion with a positive win rate of over 51 percent. Ezreal has been the lowest performer with a sub-47 percent win rate, according to U.GG.

For the top lane and mid lane, instead, the most popular champions have been K’Sante and Ahri respectively. Both are boasting high win rates with relatively high pick rates, so it’s likely they will continue to be the preferred choices going forward. 

1. Zeri  — 22.4 percent pick rate / 48.99 percent win rate
2. Milio — 21.7 percent pick rate / 51.18 percent win rate
3. Graves — 21.6 percent pick rate / 52.93 percent win rate
4. Aphelios  — 20.4 percent pick rate / 49.56 percent win rate
5. Ezreal — 20.2 percent pick rate / 46.57 percent win rate
6. Lucian — 17.8 percent pick rate / 51.27 percent win rate

EU West

The meta-read in Europe has been fairly similar to North America in terms of champions played, although the numbers on the individual picks are quite different. 

Milio is the most-played champion of the patch, with nearly 2,000 matches, according to U.GG. He has an impressive 75 percent presence rate, with its ban rate close to 49 percent. The developers are aware of his power, and Milio will be taking some nerfs in the upcoming Patch 13.12. For now, though, he will continue to be the S-tier support. Yuumi is the only one that comes close, having a 16.1 percent pick rate.

Behind him in the top five, we have the same four marksmen seen in North America: Lucian, Aphelios, Zeri, and Ezreal. That said, Zeri and Ezreal have been finding strong success in Europe, making Aphelios the only pick with a negative win rate. In terms of priority, Zeri and Lucian are a tier above the other two. 

When it comes to the jungle, Kha’Zix is the most picked champion with an 18.6 percent pick rate, followed by Graves at 16.7 percent. Contrary to North America, however, Graves is sitting on a negative, sub-49 percent win rate, according to U.GG. Rengar is also a top-tier champion, but he’s also the one with the highest ban rate of the patch, at over 70 percent. 

Ahri and K’Sante are also the most picked champions in the two roles and both are performing relatively well: they are great blind picks and synergize well with most of the meta champions.

1. Milio  — 27.7 percent pick rate / 50.79 percent win rate
2. Lucian — 25.0 percent pick rate / 51.98 percent win rate
3. Ezreal  — 24.5 percent pick rate / 47.39 percent win rate
4. Zeri — 22.8 percent pick rate / 50.40 percent win rate
5. Ezreal  — 19.5 percent pick rate / 51.08 percent win rate
6. Kha’Zix  — 18.6 percent pick rate / 52.38 percent win rate
7. Graves — 16.7 percent pick rate / 48.78 percent win rate

Korea 

Korea is often known to be the outlier when it comes to the meta reads. This time around, however, there are lots of similarities, with the same ADCs topping the charts. Aphelios and Zeri are the most-played champions, followed by their two best supports, Milio and Yuumi. Lucian is following closely in fifth place, although he has the highest ban rate among marksmen, proving he’s up there with the other two in terms of importance.

Interestingly, though, there are other two other support champions with more than 1,000 matches played, according to U.GG: Nautilus and Rakan. Given Milio and Yuumi’s high ban rates, they are rising up as the alternative and counter picks to the enchanter supports. In particular, Rakan is boasting a 52 percent win rate, according to U.GG, proving he’s still a relevant champion despite the meta shift. 

In the jungle, Kindred, Graves, Rengar, and Kha’Zix are still the four top-tier picks, but Lee Sin and Nidalee are still maintaining a decent pick rate as usual, sitting at 16.4 and 15,1 percent respectively, according to U.GG. The evergreen champions are always going to be picked by Korean players, regardless of the state they might be in. 

Just like the two Western regions, Ahri and K’Sante are the most picked champions for the two solo lanes. That said, the best mid lane pick in Korea is Neeko, having an outstanding 56.54 percent win rate, according to U.GG. Paired with her 59 percent ban rate, it goes to show how strong the mid lane mage is. 

Behind K’Sante, Korean players are defaulting to Jax and Gragas. Jax has been a staple carry pick this season while Gragas brings incredible utility as a weakside champion. Renekton has been on the rise again, following the buffs he got this patch: 51.9 percent win rate in over 600 games, according to U.GG. He might increase in popularity even more over the next week. 

1. Aphelios — 36.0 percent pick rate / 49.14 percent win rate
2. Zeri — 33.4 percent pick rate / 50.56 percent win rate
3. Milio — 24.7 percent pick rate / 51.10 percent win rate
4. Yuumi  — 24.5 percent pick rate / 49.50 percent win rate
5. Lucian — 24.1 percent pick rate / 49.22 percent win rate
6. K’Sante — 21.3 percent pick rate / 49.74 percent win rate

Takeaways

In conclusion, the solo queue meta is basically identical across the different regions. Zeri and Lucian, as well as Milio, are the undisputed best champions to play in the bottom lane. Yuumi and Aphelios are also popular but performing slightly worse. 

The jungle has been rotating among Kindred, Graves, Rengar, and Kha’Zix. Korea has been the only one also having Lee Sin and Nidalee among the popular picks. For the solo lanes, instead, Ahri and K’Sante are the preferred champions, but Neeko has been on the rise in Korea primarily: it’s likely to see the Western regions following that trend soon.