Is Senna best played as an ADC or as a support?

Senna was Riot’s first attempt at a support marksman when she was released in November 2019. But should she only be considered for the bot lane carry position now?

Senna has been a good meta pick since her release, but has mostly been succeeding in the bot lane position. Players created the “fasting Senna” strategy, where she plays alongside a farming support that takes all the lane’s gold while she instead stacks her soul count passive.

In other patches, she has been more viable as a farming marksman, and that is currently also the case. Even though Riot nerfed the drop rate of her souls on minions, she is still picked consistently both in professional games and in solo queue. The nerf was intended to take away some of her marksman power, but it seems that Riot will have to change her in other ways for that to happen.  

Senna is the most-picked ADC at Worlds 2020

By looking at the 2020 World Championship, it is clear that Senna is still very much viable in the bot lane position. She is currently the most-picked ADC at Worlds together with Ashe, being picked in 23 games. She has only been picked once as a support, so it’s clear what position the pros favor her in. 

Her win rate at Worlds is also very solid, considering how many games she has been played. With a win rate of 52%, she is one of the safest picks for any bot laner at the tournament and is one of the strongest scaling options in the current meta. The fact that Senna provides a lot of utility to a team while also scaling well into the late game makes her a dangerous force in the hands of the best bot laners in the world. 

The most notable Senna player at the tournament has been Top Esports bot laner Yu “JackeyLove” Wen-Bo, who has been popping off on Senna while making her look like a hyper carry. JackeyLove has played Senna three times at Worlds so far and has won all three games, making her a champion that might see more bans in the playoffs stage.    

Senna ADC is better than support in solo queue

In solo queue, players are also preferring Senna as an ADC. While Senna is still picked as a support, the chances of winning on her is best on the bot lane position. Getting farm and items on Senna is still crucial for her to be strong as the game goes on, which is why she is most often seen in the carry role. 

Senna as an ADC is considered an S-tier pick on patch 10.20, with a 50.50% win rate. As support, her win rate is a bit worse, sitting at 49.43%. From looking at the stats, she is still viable as a support as well.

The difference between a solo queue support and a professional one is that solo queue supports likes to carry as well. In professional games, the support is all about creating vision and setting up the team in fights. In solo queue, supports play a looser style which Senna fits perfectly into. This might be why Senna support is more popular in solo queue and able to carry games from multiple positions.