Take me to the coverage hub
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Ahri
Sometimes it takes a while for a new champion to break into mainstream play and sometimes their power is clear from the start. Ahri is the latter and she has been played ever since her release with good reason. She rivals Kassadin in terms of mobility and assassination, but her laning is much, much stronger and her team fights are better too. Ahri is a solid all-rounder – a champion that any self-respecting mid player knows how to utilise, which means you will definitely see her played at worlds.
Anivia
Anivia spiked in popularity a couple of months ago when Froggen popularised her. She is still a very strong champion, but has fallen down the food chain a little. The fact that her damage relies so much on combining spells means that you can build almost anything and still turn a teamfight. Her utility is unparalleled; being able to lock a champion off from their team, or disengage an unfavourable fight with her wall makes her the perfect stalling champions. She also clears waves and farms better than almost any other champion.
Cassiopeia
Once upon a time, Cassi was considered one of the top mid laners in the game. She farms well, harasses well and deals a ton of damage in team fights. Her ultimate can be a total game-changer in the right situation, but lately she has seen almost no tournament play. None of that has changed, but compared to more popular mid champions she lacks mobility. Ahri and Kassadin can get in and out of a fight with minimal damage, but Cassiopeia needs to get right in the thick of it to do the most damage. You can build her with tanky/sustain items, but having to be right in the middle of a fight with no escapes makes her very vulnerable.
Galio
Galio is similar to Cassiopeia in the sense that he too has to get right in the middle of the enemy to have the most impact. I can’t remember the last time I saw Galio in tournament play, but the incredible potential of his ultimate should never be counted out. He too is an excellent farmer, but even with his speed boost he isn’t particularly mobile. Even his natural tankyness isn’t always enough to keep this very short range champion safe. He is still a strong counter to double AP teams, but being so out of favour means you probably won’t see him much.
Gragas
The fat alcoholic came out of nowhere in recent months to become one of the most picked champions in tournament play. He was the 6th most picked champion across all the regional qualifiers and with good reason. He farms superbly, he’s reasonably mobile, and outputs some crazy damage. Several pros have complained about him being “too easy,” but his ultimate is what separates the men from the boys… in more ways than one. It does a lot of damage, but it can save an enemy or cut him off from any escape – it really can go either way. Even with such a difficult-to-perfect ultimate, Gragas will show up a lot and he will probably be quite successful.
Karthus
After talking about mobility for so long, it might surprise you to know that the snail-slow Karthus was also in the top ten regionals picks. Then again, if you’ve ever played against him, you probably won’t be so shocked. When you have a global ultimate that damages ever enemy on the map, mobility isn’t so important. Karthus can assist ganks without even leaving his lane to interrupt his farm. Speaking of which, a well-played Karthus can out-farm just about anyone, which allows him to easily afford the items he needs. That’s not all, though: his teamfight presence is immense. His passive means that he will continue to deal damage even after his death. Karthus has few weaknesses and many strengths, which adds up to him being a big part of the world finals.
Kassadin
This is our first real niche champion. Kassadin excels at zipping around the map taking out squishy targets with his burst damage. He offers almost nothing else – he farms badly, has no utility and doesn’t deal much damage to dragon or baron. But he does kill people. Kas is one of the highest gaps between risk and reward in the game, which doesn’t make him highly suited to tournament play where consistency is so important. He was pretty popular in Korea for a while but he is likely to only see fringe play, if any.
Katarina
In a survey of “champions I wish were viable,” pro players almost all seem to answer with Katarina. Then she got remade, and has made a lot of appearances in lower level tournaments. You can’t watch a TSM Invitational without seeing her these days, it seems. The world finals will show whether or not the pros have the courage of their newfound convictions. Few other mid laners can duel a good Kat, but League isn’t really about 1v1 and in team fights her damage can be easily interrupted. Kat is one to keep an eye on… maybe.
Kennen
Here’s one that has me scratching my head a little. Kennen was one of the most contested picks six months ago but now he almost never sees play even though nothing has really changed. His ultimate is still one of the best in the game, his lane phase is solid and Lightning Rush means he fits in with the “mobility meta.” It seems like he just fell out of favour with the top players and never recovered. Could the World Champs be his comeback? It's possible - who knows what secret strategies the teams have up their sleeves?
Morgana
Every soloqueuer’s insta-ban, Morgana has been one of the best champions in the game for as long as I can remember. It almost seems pointless to discuss her strengths because everybody already knows them. She well get picked, she will dominate some games and she will out-farm everyone while being near ungankable.
Orianna
Orianna has been steadily gaining popularity for a while now. The only real surprise is that it took so long for people to realise her strength. She is very similar to Gragas in that her ultimate can totally whiff, but she farms incredibly well too. The only difference is that she trades his durability for team utility. Being able to shield and speed-up her whole team makes her much more of a team-player than the fat man, and her damage is comparable. Orianna has a higher skill cap that many champions, but the rewards are tangible and with so many good players at worlds you can expect to see the scary robot lady a great deal.
Ryze
Again, Ryze is a champion that has always been around high level play but has become less popular recently. Ryze is like a rock when played correctly – and he probably will still show up at worlds – he pumps out damage in seconds while comfortably tanking most of what is thrown back at him. He is a little harder to farm but not hugely and he is very hard to gank, making him a safe lane. He scales better into the late game than almost any other mid champion, getting tankier at the same rate as he gets more damage. Ryze is a bit of a sleeper right now, but he could easily wake up with a start.
Twisted Fate
The flashiest of the mid champions, Twisted Fate always makes you look amazing or stupid – no middle ground here. He is all about ganks, with an ultimate that combines perfectly with his stun card to net kills. He farms well, though his teamfight presence isn’t the greatest due to his reliance on cooldowns and complete lack of durability. Still, he is great at helping a team snowball a game with early ganks and his ultimate is the last word in mobility. On top of all that, a lot of the mid players at worlds love to play him, so expect plenty of cards flying around.
Vladimir
This is what a vampire is supposed to be like: badass. Unlike Dr Mundo, Vladimir actually goes where he pleases – as long as he likes mid and top lanes, which he does… a lot. Vladimir has pretty much everything you need in an AP, though his mobility isn’t quite so great. He more than makes up for it with raw damage and an almost complete immunity to lane bullies. His sustain supplements his natural farming ability and when it gets to the late game, his team fighting skills are among the best. Did I mention how awesome his ultimate is? No? Well it’s awesome. Expect to see Vlad picked or banned an awful lot.
Zilean
I put this guy in here because he has been played in fits and starts recently. He’s far from ever-present, but he does pop up now and again, like in Moscow Five highlight clips. Zilean is a weird champion for mid lane because he largely plays the role of a support – speeding up his friends to chase a kill, poking the enemies to keep them pushed back and keeping his mates alive through a certain death. Whether or not the world finalists decide that’s enough to bring him out at such an important event remains to be seen.
Zyra
Finally, we have another champion who has seen play as a support. Zyra offers more damage than Zilean, but less utility. She can help to set up kills and escape danger, but as a mid champion she excels at harassment and crowd control. A well-placed Zyra ultimate can turn an entire game and her plants make her good at both pushing and defending. She lacks some mobility, but really shines in team fights where her plants allow her to keep putting out damage when her spells are on cool down. She didn’t get much love during the regionals, but Zyra is definitely one to look out for at this event.
More Season 2 World Championship coverage:
Carry on regardless: Who will carry the World Championship?
They came from behind: The top junglers for the WC
The wind beneath their wings: The top supports for the WC
Diamondz: "Koreans seem to be the most dangerous"
Stats corner: The heroes of the Season 2 regionals
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Ahri
Sometimes it takes a while for a new champion to break into mainstream play and sometimes their power is clear from the start. Ahri is the latter and she has been played ever since her release with good reason. She rivals Kassadin in terms of mobility and assassination, but her laning is much, much stronger and her team fights are better too. Ahri is a solid all-rounder – a champion that any self-respecting mid player knows how to utilise, which means you will definitely see her played at worlds.
Anivia
Anivia spiked in popularity a couple of months ago when Froggen popularised her. She is still a very strong champion, but has fallen down the food chain a little. The fact that her damage relies so much on combining spells means that you can build almost anything and still turn a teamfight. Her utility is unparalleled; being able to lock a champion off from their team, or disengage an unfavourable fight with her wall makes her the perfect stalling champions. She also clears waves and farms better than almost any other champion.
Cassiopeia
Once upon a time, Cassi was considered one of the top mid laners in the game. She farms well, harasses well and deals a ton of damage in team fights. Her ultimate can be a total game-changer in the right situation, but lately she has seen almost no tournament play. None of that has changed, but compared to more popular mid champions she lacks mobility. Ahri and Kassadin can get in and out of a fight with minimal damage, but Cassiopeia needs to get right in the thick of it to do the most damage. You can build her with tanky/sustain items, but having to be right in the middle of a fight with no escapes makes her very vulnerable.
Galio
Galio is similar to Cassiopeia in the sense that he too has to get right in the middle of the enemy to have the most impact. I can’t remember the last time I saw Galio in tournament play, but the incredible potential of his ultimate should never be counted out. He too is an excellent farmer, but even with his speed boost he isn’t particularly mobile. Even his natural tankyness isn’t always enough to keep this very short range champion safe. He is still a strong counter to double AP teams, but being so out of favour means you probably won’t see him much.
Gragas
The fat alcoholic came out of nowhere in recent months to become one of the most picked champions in tournament play. He was the 6th most picked champion across all the regional qualifiers and with good reason. He farms superbly, he’s reasonably mobile, and outputs some crazy damage. Several pros have complained about him being “too easy,” but his ultimate is what separates the men from the boys… in more ways than one. It does a lot of damage, but it can save an enemy or cut him off from any escape – it really can go either way. Even with such a difficult-to-perfect ultimate, Gragas will show up a lot and he will probably be quite successful.
Karthus
After talking about mobility for so long, it might surprise you to know that the snail-slow Karthus was also in the top ten regionals picks. Then again, if you’ve ever played against him, you probably won’t be so shocked. When you have a global ultimate that damages ever enemy on the map, mobility isn’t so important. Karthus can assist ganks without even leaving his lane to interrupt his farm. Speaking of which, a well-played Karthus can out-farm just about anyone, which allows him to easily afford the items he needs. That’s not all, though: his teamfight presence is immense. His passive means that he will continue to deal damage even after his death. Karthus has few weaknesses and many strengths, which adds up to him being a big part of the world finals.
Kassadin
This is our first real niche champion. Kassadin excels at zipping around the map taking out squishy targets with his burst damage. He offers almost nothing else – he farms badly, has no utility and doesn’t deal much damage to dragon or baron. But he does kill people. Kas is one of the highest gaps between risk and reward in the game, which doesn’t make him highly suited to tournament play where consistency is so important. He was pretty popular in Korea for a while but he is likely to only see fringe play, if any.
Katarina
In a survey of “champions I wish were viable,” pro players almost all seem to answer with Katarina. Then she got remade, and has made a lot of appearances in lower level tournaments. You can’t watch a TSM Invitational without seeing her these days, it seems. The world finals will show whether or not the pros have the courage of their newfound convictions. Few other mid laners can duel a good Kat, but League isn’t really about 1v1 and in team fights her damage can be easily interrupted. Kat is one to keep an eye on… maybe.
Kennen
Here’s one that has me scratching my head a little. Kennen was one of the most contested picks six months ago but now he almost never sees play even though nothing has really changed. His ultimate is still one of the best in the game, his lane phase is solid and Lightning Rush means he fits in with the “mobility meta.” It seems like he just fell out of favour with the top players and never recovered. Could the World Champs be his comeback? It's possible - who knows what secret strategies the teams have up their sleeves?
Morgana
Every soloqueuer’s insta-ban, Morgana has been one of the best champions in the game for as long as I can remember. It almost seems pointless to discuss her strengths because everybody already knows them. She well get picked, she will dominate some games and she will out-farm everyone while being near ungankable.
Orianna
Orianna has been steadily gaining popularity for a while now. The only real surprise is that it took so long for people to realise her strength. She is very similar to Gragas in that her ultimate can totally whiff, but she farms incredibly well too. The only difference is that she trades his durability for team utility. Being able to shield and speed-up her whole team makes her much more of a team-player than the fat man, and her damage is comparable. Orianna has a higher skill cap that many champions, but the rewards are tangible and with so many good players at worlds you can expect to see the scary robot lady a great deal.
Ryze
Again, Ryze is a champion that has always been around high level play but has become less popular recently. Ryze is like a rock when played correctly – and he probably will still show up at worlds – he pumps out damage in seconds while comfortably tanking most of what is thrown back at him. He is a little harder to farm but not hugely and he is very hard to gank, making him a safe lane. He scales better into the late game than almost any other mid champion, getting tankier at the same rate as he gets more damage. Ryze is a bit of a sleeper right now, but he could easily wake up with a start.
Twisted Fate
The flashiest of the mid champions, Twisted Fate always makes you look amazing or stupid – no middle ground here. He is all about ganks, with an ultimate that combines perfectly with his stun card to net kills. He farms well, though his teamfight presence isn’t the greatest due to his reliance on cooldowns and complete lack of durability. Still, he is great at helping a team snowball a game with early ganks and his ultimate is the last word in mobility. On top of all that, a lot of the mid players at worlds love to play him, so expect plenty of cards flying around.
Vladimir
This is what a vampire is supposed to be like: badass. Unlike Dr Mundo, Vladimir actually goes where he pleases – as long as he likes mid and top lanes, which he does… a lot. Vladimir has pretty much everything you need in an AP, though his mobility isn’t quite so great. He more than makes up for it with raw damage and an almost complete immunity to lane bullies. His sustain supplements his natural farming ability and when it gets to the late game, his team fighting skills are among the best. Did I mention how awesome his ultimate is? No? Well it’s awesome. Expect to see Vlad picked or banned an awful lot.
Zilean
I put this guy in here because he has been played in fits and starts recently. He’s far from ever-present, but he does pop up now and again, like in Moscow Five highlight clips. Zilean is a weird champion for mid lane because he largely plays the role of a support – speeding up his friends to chase a kill, poking the enemies to keep them pushed back and keeping his mates alive through a certain death. Whether or not the world finalists decide that’s enough to bring him out at such an important event remains to be seen.
Zyra
Finally, we have another champion who has seen play as a support. Zyra offers more damage than Zilean, but less utility. She can help to set up kills and escape danger, but as a mid champion she excels at harassment and crowd control. A well-placed Zyra ultimate can turn an entire game and her plants make her good at both pushing and defending. She lacks some mobility, but really shines in team fights where her plants allow her to keep putting out damage when her spells are on cool down. She didn’t get much love during the regionals, but Zyra is definitely one to look out for at this event.
More Season 2 World Championship coverage:
Carry on regardless: Who will carry the World Championship?
They came from behind: The top junglers for the WC
The wind beneath their wings: The top supports for the WC
Diamondz: "Koreans seem to be the most dangerous"
Stats corner: The heroes of the Season 2 regionals
