The first LoL esports season of 2024 has commenced, bringing about a multitude of changes described as a major upheaval. This season witnessed diverse alterations, including the introduction of the Voidgrub objective in place of the first Rift Herald and changes to the terrain in each lane.

These transformations have led to distinct playstyle preferences among teams and regions. Those highly valuing the Voidgrub tended to focus on strengthening the top side, while others prioritized the bot lane and team fights.

Understanding regional champion preferences is helpful in grasping the evolving meta. A certain direction has emerged in the LCK and LEC, which played more than 20 games. On the other hand, with fewer matches played, the LPL and LCS serve as reference points. While the sample size is not extensive, let's examine the champion preferences by position across the four major leagues.

LCK 

In the 2024 LCK Spring Split, the most frequently banned champion was Ashe. Out of a total of 22 games, Ashe faced a staggering 19 bans, which prevented her from appearing in most of the matches. Following closely, Orianna received 14 bans, while Vi and Sejuani each faced 11 bans. 

Upon examination, it appears that many teams in the LCK deemed Ashe, known for securing dominance in the bot lane, as a champion not to be left open. Additionally, K’Sante, Kalista, and Poppy each experienced 10 bans in the ban phase.

Top Lane

In the top lane, a total of 15 champions were played, with Udyr being the most frequently picked. Udyr appeared in 10 games, securing a record of 5 wins and 5 losses, achieving a 50% win rate. It seems that Udyr's ease in gaining the initiative since the remake has contributed to his frequent appearance. K’Sante (8 games) and Aatrox (5 games) also maintained their presence.

On the other hand, Rumble and Jax faced defeats whenever they appeared, as they both lost all four games they appeared in. Additionally, Darius and Olaf were selected by Gen.G's Kim "Kiin" Gi-in, leading to victories.

Jungle

In the jungle, a total of 16 champions were played. Maokai, known for its strong teamfight capabilities and the ability to complement AP deficiencies, appeared the most, being picked 8 times. Following closely was Vi, frequently banned but still making 6 appearances, while Rell and Xin Zhao were each picked 5 times.

On a side note, Brand jungle made its debut in the LCK and secured a victory. The appearance of Brand itself marked 1,386 days since it was last seen in the LCK, back in the 2020 spring season, where it was played in the support role. Besides Brand, there were a total of 8 champions that were picked only once.

Mid Lane

In the mid lane, where a total of 12 champions were utilized, Azir was frequently picked. Despite achieving a 6-7 record, falling short of a 50% win rate, Azir recorded a whopping 86.4% pick-ban rate, proving again that the LCK is the league of Azir. Following closely were Orianna (2-3) and Tristana (1-4), both of which, however, failed to surpass a 50% win rate.

On the other hand, Taliyah (4-0), Yone (3-0), and Neeko (2-0) all maintained a perfect 100% win rate. The new champion, Hwei, made an appearance but did not secure a victory.

Bot Lane

In the bot lane, Lucian emerged as the most frequent pick, appearing in a total of 10 games. Lucian secured a decent record of 6 wins and 4 losses. Ashe, despite being the most banned champion in the LCK, was picked once as a bot laner but faced defeat. Following Lucian, Aphelios and Varus were commonly picked, achieving records of 4-3 and 3-4, respectively.

Xayah had the highest win rate among bot lane champions, boasting a perfect 4-0 record. Non-marksman champions, occasionally seen in other regions, did not make an appearance in the LCK.

Support

In the support role, Milio received the most selections, boasting a commendable record of 8 wins and 2 losses. Surpassing this performance, Rakan stood out, achieving a remarkable 100% win rate in 8 appearances. Besides Milio and Rakan, most champions did not fare well. Nami, who appears frequently alongside Lucian, participated in 6 games, ending with a record of 2 wins and 4 losses. Renata Glasc made 5 appearances, winning only once.

Lulu had the least favorable performance, being selected 5 times without achieving a single victory. Notably, Hwei appeared twice in the support role and emerged victorious on both occasions. The only player to utilize Hwei in the support role was Cho “BeryL” Geon-hee, who opted for this champion against Renata Glasc.

LEC

The 2024 LEC Winter Season commenced on Jan. 13, featuring 30 games played over three weeks. Among these matches, the champion who faced the most bans was Rumble, accumulating 22 bans. Following closely were bot lane champions Kalista and Ashe, each receiving 16 bans, while Poppy, who can flex between jungle and top, and Nocturne garnered 14 bans each.

The LEC also had a noticeable trend of using bans against Kalista and Ashe, champions who are adept at securing control over the bot lane. Additionally, many games featured strategies focused on countering champions like Poppy, who can effectively utilize the altered terrain, and Nocturne, who can ignore the terrain with its ult.

Top Lane

K’Sante dominated the top lane of the LEC this season. A total of 17 champions made appearances, and K’Sante stood out as the most frequently picked. Appearing in 16 games, K’Sante boasted an impressive record of 13 wins while losing only three games. The next in line was Aatrox, who appeared in 6 games, 10 games less than K’Sante, with a record of 2 wins and 4 losses.

Gwen (4-1) and Renekton (3-2) were the next most frequently picked champions, each appearing in 5 games, representing popular choices among top laners. On the other hand, Rumble, the champion that received the highest number of bans, made 4 appearances but faced defeat in all of them.

Jungle

In the jungle, similar to the top lane, there were a few trending picks among the 14 champions who made appearances. Xin Zhao took the spotlight with 17 appearances, securing an impressive record of 12 wins and 5 losses. On the other hand, Vi, the next most frequently chosen champion, was picked 11 times and achieved a rather balanced record of 5 wins and 6 losses, resulting in a near-50% win rate.

Rell (3-4) and Maokai (3-3) also made relatively frequent appearances in the jungle, with their records hovering around 50%, achieving roughly an even split of wins and losses. Interestingly, Nocturne, who received the highest number of bans as a jungle champion, made two appearances but unfortunately suffered defeats in both matches.

Mid Lane

14 champions appeared in the mid lanes of the LEC. The champion who was picked the most frequently was Azir, who was picked in 17 games. Azir’s record fell slightly short of 50% as it won 8 games and dropped 9 games. Neeko followed with 10 games, holding a 6-4 record.

Meanwhile, Akali was utilized quite often compared to other leagues. Akali appeared in 8 games and boasted a 7-1 record. On the other hand, the next most picked champion, Tristana, appeared in 6 games and only won 1 game.

Bot Lane

This season, the bot lane featured 13 champions up to now. Varus was the most selected champion, as it was picked up 16 times, securing 10 wins and 6 losses. Despite the frequent bans, Kalista appeared the next often, as it was picked in 10 games. Unfortunately, Kalista’s win rate fell short of 50% with a 4-6 record. Aphelios followed close with 9 games and a 6-3 record.

Lucian, while being the fourth most-picked bot lane champion with 7 games, was not able to win a single game. Behind Lucian was Draven, who was picked in 4 games with a 3-1 record. Seraphine also appeared in 3 games in the LEC as a non-marksman bot laner. It won 2 out of the 3 games it appeared.

Support

Support featured the most diverse champions. In the 30 games played, 19 champions were picked. The most frequently picked champion was Renata Glasc, as it was picked in 11 games and had an impressive 8-3 record. Rakan followed with 8 games, but it didn’t fulfill the expectations as it had only 2 wins while losing 6 games.

Blitzcrank appeared in 7 games, and had a 5-2 record, being the third most picked support champion. As the fourth most-picked champion, Milio appeared in 6 games with a 2-4 record. Rell was the disappointment of the support champions, as it was picked in 5 games and lost all of them.

LPL

Only 10 games were played in the LPL, which started on Jan. 22. However, it was clear that they prioritized Azir, as it appeared in all 10 of those games. Despite the preference, Azir won 4 games while losing 6 games, marking a win rate lower than 50%.

Besides Azir, champions like Jax, Kalista, and Ashe had a 100% Pick/Ban rate. Jax was picked in 6 games, Kalista was picked in 5 games, and Ashe was picked in 1 game while being banned in 9 games. The champions that were banned the most were Ashe, Rumble (7 games), Nocturne (6 games), Milio (6 games), and Senna (6 games). However, Senna wasn’t picked a single time.

LCS

In LCS’s 8 games, there were five champions that were either picked or banned in all of the games: Udyr, Lucian, Ashe, Rumble, and Kalista. Udyr was picked in 5 games, Lucian was picked in 4 games, while Rumble and Ashe were picked in 2 games. Kalista was banned in all 8 games.

A unique champion appeared in the LCS, as Rayan “Sniper” Shoura selected Riven in the opening match, securing a win and also drawing a ban in the next match. Another unique pick was Zac mid, picked by David “Insanity” Challe. Unfortunately, Zac’s mid lane appearance did not fare well as it faced defeat. Besides these picks, most picks were quite ordinary and seemed to follow the other leagues’ trends.