Only one champion was played in all 4 games of 2023 LCS Summer Finals

The LCS held its Summer Split finals yesterday, with NRG Esports winning its first title after a seven-year hiatus from the league. And while the meta was mostly part and parcel throughout the series, one champion stood out in particular. 

Rell, the recently-reworked Iron Maiden, was a prominent force across all four of the series’ drafts. She was the only champion to be picked in every game of the best-of-five series. 

Although other champions were picked and banned in all four drafts (including Xayah, Rakan, Sejuani, and Kai’Sa), Rell was the only one to slide her way onto Summoner’s Rift in each game. 

Of the four times that Rell was picked, she went over to NRG three times and was piloted by Cloud9 once. C9 had a 0-1 record with the champion in the series, while NRG used her to win two games and lose one. In total, Rell went even across her four appearances in the series with two wins and two losses. 

NRG might have found more specific usage for Rell during the series, though, as they won with the champion in two different roles: jungle and support. In game three of the series, NRG support IgNar used Rell to claim a victory, while jungler Contractz followed suit in game four. 

Related: LoL’s newest champion owns top win rate in 2 different roles on Patch 13.16

In Patch 13.11, Rell was reworked significantly to increase her capabilities as a jungler. Many of her abilities had their damage ratios against minions and monsters increased, while also receiving some new spells that gave her the freedom to leave the support role if players wanted her to. Across League’s four major regions this Summer Split, Rell had a 28 percent presence rate as a jungler and a 47 percent presence rate as a support, according to LoL stats site Games of Legends. 

Perhaps what’s more impressive than Rell being picked four times is the fact that she was the only champion to be picked in each game. Rell slipped through the ban phase in each of the games, but it’s arguable that other picks like Renekton, Kai’Sa, and Alistar could have done so just as easily. 

Rell is expected to maintain a strong presence in the pro play meta throughout the end of the 2023 season, barring any significant nerfs.