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As with all competitions, the game’s current patch will have a huge impact on the strong and weak champions during First Stand, and, as a result, can also have an effect on which sides will prove to be the strongest.
The nature of Fearless Draft — which will see champions banned in a best-of series after they’ve been played — will mean that more champions must be used in each series than before and will broaden the number of champions considered meta during the event.
LoL 2025 First Stand Picks and Bans – Patch 25.5
Patch 25.5 has been introduced between the conclusion of the regional leagues and the start of First Stand. Most crucially, and most controversially, Riot has enforced a change to prohibit early laneswaps that will see those attempting to swap receive a warning and eventual debuff that causes increased damage by enemy turrets and reduced XP and gold from killing minions.
Such a change fundamentally changes the meta and could harm sides like Team Liquid in particular, who have been hailed as a stellar lane-swapping squad over the last year.
Getting a read on champion strength within a patch before said patch has been played competitively is very tricky. Here we’ll look at some of the top players at First Stand to see what they’ve been playing in solo queue in preparation for the tournament.
Jayce Top – HLE Zeus
Image credit: Riot Games
A cursory glance at superstar top laner Zeus’ recent solo queue games shows a range of picks tried out, however one is appearing more than any other; Jayce. A high-skill ceiling champion, Jayce thrives when pitted one-on-one in the top lane against inferior opponents and is a great choice for those confident in their dominance over the lane opponent. The eradication of laneswaps has seen top laners rejoice at the thought of 1v1 laning once again, and Zeus looks to be positioning himself to take full advantage. Recently-released Ambessa is also expected to be one of the best top laners this patch
Zyra Jungle – KC Yike
Image Credit: Riot Games
Like Zeus, Karmine Corp jungler Yike has also shown a range of champions during the first few days of the new patch. Having started his solo queue climb after recently arriving in Korea, Yike has shown a slight preference for two champions so far; Zyra and Viego. Both are already considered amongst the best jungler in this patch, though Zyra specifically has been dominating Korean solo queue with a ridiculous 69.7% winrate in KR Challenger games. There have also been some interesting whispers about Darius jungle, said to boast a rapid jungle clear in this patch.
Vladimir Mid – HLE Zeka
Image credit: Riot Games
In the opening days of patch 25.05, Worlds 2022 winner Zeka has shown a preference for Vladimir in the mid lane. The champion currently has a winrate of 56.8% in Korean Challenger solo queue, though is less widely thought of as a clear tier one mid laner. Perhaps Zeka is ahead of the curve.
Currently more popular with the general base is Aurora, boasting a similar winrate of 58.8% but a much more eye-catching 9.4% pickrate, showing the champions’ prevalence amongst top players.
Ezreal Bot – TES JackeyLove
Image credit: Riot Games
Top Esports’ bot laner JackeyLove was seen as a hit-and-miss player after some inconsistent years followed his 2018 Worlds win with Invictus Gaming. But in recent years he’s found the consistency to prove himself as an elite bot lane talent. His solo queue exploits have seen a range of champions played, including tries on Ezreal and Varus.
Both have seen high prevalence so far in Korean solo queue with Ezreal at an 18.7% pickrate and Varus at 11.7%. The two have respective 54.4% and 59.0% winrates.
Nautilus Support – TES Crisp
Image Credits | Riot GamesJackeyLove’s lane partner Crisp is also a former LoL Worlds winner, lifting the Summoner’s Cup in 2019 with FunPlus Phoenix. Currently the player in this guide with the most visible solo queue games on the latest patch, Crisp has shown a clear preference for Nautilus, playing the champion two times more than any other. The champion also has the second-highest pickrate in Korean Challenger solo queue with an 8.9% presence, behind only Rell with 9.1%. Also keep an eye out for LeBlanc support picks at First Stand — the pick currently has a staggering 66.6% solo queue winrate though only a 1.1% pickrate.
You should also check out my First Stand predictions.
