It’s already been a week since the new season of LCS kicked off. Draft strategies in these championship matches are beginning to reflect major reworks of Rift Herald, champions, and items. While there are some aspects that share a similar trend across regions, other aspects definitely showcase the different tendencies of each region.

What are some of the highly contested picks this summer season and how are they different from region to region? Here are the main points of draft statistics from Week 1.


▣ Will his first appearance be his last? Zac with the highest ban rate

Regardless of the continent, Zac has earned an insta-ban status.

Although he was largely disregarded right after his rework for his underwhelming win rate, he now counts himself among top tier champions, thanks to constant buffs throughout various patches. In fact, he’s either picked or banned in 100% of cases in LCK, 95.8% in NA LCS, and 76.9% in EU LCS.

There are many explanations for Zac having such high priority, but his mobility options for ganks and synergy with laners are some of the major reasons. Zac’s presence carries much more weight in this season, due to the importance of early dominance used to snowball carries.

▲ Not picking or banning Zac is a sure way to invite disasters.

That said, champions like Kennen and Syndra are also highly contested. However, players are adapting to those two with counter champions or team comps. Thanks to Zac’s unique property of being a jungler, it may take a while before we see Zac in tournaments.


▣ Rise of Galio and Fall of Kennen

There’s another champion who got his life completely turned around. He’s none other than Galio, whom SKT T1 Huni used at the MSI 2017 to great effect.

Galio can hold his own against even Kennen in the top lane, and people often compare Galio to Shen for his split pushing prowess, thanks to the use of Hero’s Entrance to engage and disengage from a fight.

In recent games, Galio has seen many plays in mid and support as well, not just at top. Most players maintain that his ability to tank damage and to crowd control in massive teamfights makes him a viable preemptive pick. Just picking Galio can throw off an enemy draft strategy which is one reason teams gravitate toward him in pro level games.

▲ It's not uncommon to see Galio in mid.

Kennen, on the other hand, surprisingly lags behind, based on pick and ban rates.

Granted, there aren’t many ways to stop a capable Kennen from split pushing, but it’s quite difficult to get to a stage where he can pull it off. Most scaling champions have weak early games, and opponents will look for every opportunity to shut down Kennen.

An extreme case in point is Game 1 of the series between SKT T1 and bbq Olivers. Huni responded to Crazy’s top Kennen with Lucian and dominated the lane, even securing a solo kill.

Since exposed champion picks have a limited competitive merit, it’ll be interesting to see what teams will come up with as their top lane choices in Week 2.


▣ KR and EU favor Syndra while NA stands by LeBlanc

One of the most striking lane differences between regions is mid.

Both Korea and Europe consider Syndra to be a high threat with 90% pick and ban rates, compared to LeBlanc’s 50-60%. However, LeBlanc’s pick and ban rates in NA are over 90%. NA also has a high pick and ban rate for Syndra at 79%, but it seems smaller compared to LeBlanc’s.

These difference in champion preference is well-reflected in win rates. Syndra is a guaranteed win in LCK and a competent choice in Europe as well with 67% win rate. In NA, though, Syndra’s win rate drops to 44%, leaving much to be desired. Since burst champions like Ahri see more plays with greater success, NA LCS seems to prefer capitalizing on early to mid game ganks to transition into a victory.

▲ NA values burst champions with high mobility like LeBlanc and Ahri.

Common mid champions that actually do get to see play are well-rounded ones like Orianna and Taliyah. Orianna can contest any laners at least 50/50, whereas Taliyah can command early laning phase and brings utility by isolating enemies and high mobility in the late game.

It’s worth noting Taliyah’s win rate in LCK. She was a highly favored champion, appearing in 11 games out of 25 total but only managing to win 3 of the 11 games with a disappointing 27% win rate. Taliyah depends on early capitalization to snowball into the late game, but her effectiveness took a hit as players opted for more safe plays.

▣ Will NA’s preference of consistency over variance be its undoing, or its silver lining?

Playstyle difference is also evident in the bottom lane.

Just as Korea and Europe show a similar preference for bans and those champions that make it through the draft, the two regions prioritize Thresh, compared to NA’s high pick and ban rates for Lulu.

This type of support draft priority is also backed by its region’s playstyles, as NA likes to have a safer bottom duo. Lulu is an ideal support for this case because she can contribute to the consistency by clutch saving an ally who is being focused.

On top of everything, NA complements its safe comp with champions like Shen, Ivern, and Karma, all of which are suited for protecting an ally ADC.

▲ Lulu excels in covering for ally tanks engaging and squishy carries.

In contrast, Thresh shines in small skirmishes and aggressive macro plays due to his ability to use a wider map space and to make unexpected plays. In the highest echelon of competitive plays, it’s vital to minimize one’s own mistakes and to limit the enemy’s moves. Thresh’s skill set is specialized to bring about great play potential in this regard.

As it stands, it’s too early to tell which meta has more merit. This is because NA and Europe enjoy slow starter plays, so they build comps that use scaling ADCs looking to close in the late game, whereas late-game comps don’t fare well in LCK as the early to mid snowball pressure becomes too large to handle.

In fact, Lulu, which is a popular pick in NA, doesn’t have a matching win rate to show for in the respective region, and champions like Bard and Tahm Kench have seen better days with their clutch saves and capacity to create variance.

▲ LCK even sees Blitzcrank play for the wild factor.

With everything said, it still doesn’t change the fact that it’s early in the season. Only time will tell if NA’s late gate strategy of mid-heavy, defensive style will reinvent itself as the season goes on.

What will each region have in common or showcase as their unique playstyles? If Week 1 was anything to go by, it’ll be interesting to see what tricks each side has up their sleeves in Week 2.