Play-In stage shows first glimpse into World Championship meta

Day one of the 2019 League of Legends World Championship is over and it showed a glimpse into the meta for the main event.

League of Legends received three different updates since the end of the regular season in the various regions. Patch 9.19 was chosen as the World Championship patch. The changes in previous patches were not big enough to completely modify the meta, but certainly had an impact on team compositions. On top of the updates, teams have been bootcamping either in Europe or in Korea, so each team is bringing its own take on the meta.

So far, the meta seems to be balanced. In previous years, one role often stood out over the others.

Ekko, Xayah, Rakan in the LoL World Championship Play-In

Ekko made his transition from the mid lane to the jungle after the changes in Patch 9.16. This champion was picked in four out of the six games on day one and ended with a 0% win rate. Ekko works like Graves and Kindred in the sense that it depends on the crowd control from other champions to be effective.

The teams countered Ekko by targeting him with strong CC, and as a result, Ekko was unable to use his ultimate and survive. That same scenario repeated itself in the four Ekko games. It makes sense that teams were willing to try it in the jungle, as Ekko is the type of champion that can carry in the late game. On paper, the pick looks good, but in reality, it’s proving to be a flop.

Picks like Orianna, Lissandra and Ryze made a comeback on day one of the World Championship. Orianna in particular received buffs in Patch 9.19 that made her Shock Wave stronger. Corki and Azir also saw game time but were not priority picks like in previous patches.

After Ekko’s fail in the jungle, the teams opted for safer picks like Lee Sin, Jarvan IV, Gragas, and Elise. These four champions plus Nocturne are likely to be the go-to pick for the junglers at Worlds. Xayah and Rakan finished day one with a 100% appearance on the stage. The lovers’ duo continues to be a reliable and strong combination in the bottom lane.

Akali proved that she still is a reliable pick despite many recent nerfs and adjustments, and the champion is still a threat. Sylas and Qiyana were the most banned champions of the day, followed by Yuumi.

The meta is not completely defined yet, and on day two six new teams will jump to the stage with their own ideas and compositions.