Esports
We asked some of the west’s top players which champions they think are strong in solo queue – so you can climb the ladder with them.
Every League of Legends pro started out like any other casual: trying to climb the ranked ladder. The professionals practise more and better than the average player, of course, but regardless of individual skill, with some champions it’s easier to gather LP than with others.
Pros have always said that solo queue and professional games are completely different. The biggest difference is that they play in a structured environment where players synchronise when they make plays around the map. They can communicate with each other through headsets when there is a champion missing from their lane, or if they know where the enemy jungler is. In solo queue all players have are pings and game chat. Most of the time individuals aren’t complementing their teammates’ skills, because they probably have never played with them before. The biggest impact one player can have is with a good champion – so naturally, we asked some of the stars for their top tips.
Check out the video below for their recommendations.
Most midlane players in solo queue try to create an advantage over their lane opponent and then extend this lead to other lanes by roaming. Champions that do this effectively are for example Aurelion Sol and Twisted Fate. They can push out the lane extremely fast and then roam around the map to provide extra pressure to the other lanes. A successful roam always starts with pushing out your own lane as fast as possible. This is important because the enemy midlaner won’t be able to pressure your turret without minions to help him. Aurelion Sol can do this as early as level two: the champion can clear the first two waves and then fly to bot or top lane for a quick gank. With Twisted Fate it’s better to wait until level six when you’re attempting to make plays because that’s when his ultimate comes online. Top lane basically works the same. Make sure to create an advantage on your lane and teleport around the map to make plays.
Junglers are often very important in solo queue games since they can turn the tide of battle in an instant. This is why the pros like junglers that can duel well like Kha’Zix and Graves and champions that provide vision and pressure in different ways like Rengar and Rek’Sai. Jungle is a more creative role where the player can create their own gank and clear pathing in the way they see fit. It’s important that you try to keep track of your enemy jungler as much as possible and alert your team-mates for potential ganks. This is where champions like Rengar en Rek’Sai shine. With the extra vision the champions provide it’s easier to gather that information and relay it to your teammates. If you’re able to use it well it can mean that you get more kills and your team might die less.
In the bottom lane, champions like Corki an Varus are great if you don’t have god-like mechanics like Doublelift. They both offer tremendous waveclear and can poke down their enemies before a teamfight even happens. Having waveclear in a team is really important since it can speed up rotations around the map. Corki even has his package which gives him a lot more maneuverability than other ADCs. Varus offers better waveclear and he has crowd control in his ultimate. This means that he can create teamfight opportunities whenever he sees an enemy. It also helps to lockdown the enemy bot lane during a gank which gives the Varus lane a ton of kill pressure.
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