Welcome to our competitive/ranked tier list for 2XKO. This tier list aims to reflect the current state of 2XKO's meta on the ranked ladder and in high-level tournament play. We also have separate rankings that focus on each champ's learning curve and skill floor.
As with all of our tier lists, we recommend starting with whichever champions and teams you personally gravitate towards and feel best suit your individual playstyle and preferences, then use these rankings when you want help optimizing your team.
Especially for a game early in its life cycle, 2XKO is balanced to the point that you can make every single character work. If you're also interested in finding out which champs the top players have been finding success with, and what makes them so strong, we explain the strengths of every champ below.
With that said, let's jump into the rankings and breakdowns!
The Best Characters in 2XKO
S (Top Tier)
S- (High Tier)
A (Mid Tier)
B (Low Tier)
S Tier Commentary (Top Tier)
Ahri
When it comes to versatility and mobility, Ahri is unmatched. She has strong synergy with virtually every champ in the game and gains high value from all three main Fuses. Many of the best players in the world run Ahri paired with another top- or high-tier champion.
At mid-range, Ahri controls space with her projectiles and air movement. With an assist, she can convert even the smallest random hit into a massive damage combo.
Even if you know the vulnerable gaps in her blockstrings, they are still difficult to punish. Parried projectiles do not generate blowback, so punish windows are tight and often unreliable.
She recieved a few notable this this patch witht the hurtbox increase on her AirDownH Attack, so it trades in situations it used to be safe or just win. Her S1 Special Super now disappears after a single Parry instead of staying on screen and boomeranging back to the opponent.
These are pretty minor nerfs compared to the other two previously top-tier heroes Ekko and Yasuo, which has helped solidify her as the new #1 champion.
Ekko
Even though he got hit with some heavy nerfs, Ekko's kit is too robust and versatile to drop him out of the top tier.
The nerfs were clearly not enough, as Ekko continues to shatter opponents like he shatters time. His mobility is incredible, his mixups are nearly impossible to read, and he has a strong projectile to round out his kit. Whether he’s on point or assist, he is equally deadly.
Thankfully, there are more counterplay options when facing Ekko now, but his mixups still make it difficult to exploit his nerfs in a real match.
Ekko is truly the definition of a character who can do it all. Check any tournament Top 8 or scroll through Challenger-rank profiles, and you still see Ekko everywhere after the March patch.
S- Tier Commentary (High Tier)
Illaoi
Illaoi is a champion who has been plagued with bugs since the launch of the game. Each patch seems to fix a few existing bugs and introduce new ones.
Overall, she's in a very strong place right now and pairs really well with all of the other strong champions. With other champ's high/low mix being taken away this patch, Illaoi's mixup game has gone from underwhelming, to one of the better mixup champs with a high/low and strike/throw game.
Once she secures the corner and places Tentacle Super on top of the opponent, her pressure becomes extremely oppressive. Some teams run Illaoi as an assist alongside a strong point character like Ekko, who can mix effectively, carry to the corner, and then tag Illaoi in to start her ideal scenario.
For teams that want to run 2X Assist, Illaoi is an excellent pick. Her back assist covers half the screen, and layering double assists with Tentacle Super creates pressure that is nearly impossible to escape.
Vi
For players who never want to take their foot off the gas, Vi's ground movement and pressure have proven overwhelming for many opponents. She is seeing strong tournament results, particularly in EU.
She received strong buffs to her footwork moves in the Season 1 patch. When landed as an interrupt, Footwork > L Attack now has the same hitstun as a fully charged Electric Hook. Charged Footwork > H Attack can now be canceled into her S1 Specials.
Speaking of S1 Specials, charged Vault Breaker (S1 Special) > HandshakeTag was always strong, but it is now even more valuable since projectiles can no longer be charged after tagging. Previously, this was a core element of neutral pressure for characters like Teemo. While those characters lost that utility, Vi retains the full power of her charged S1 Special to safely cover tags. The hurtbox range nerf is noticeable, but doesn't really affect its use case, or dominance in her game plan.
Vi’s primary weaknesses are her lack of a projectile and her relatively short melee range. However, her sway mechanic allows her to deal with projectile-based opponents effectively. Preventing Vi from getting in is nearly impossible, and once she’s on top of you, her strike/throw mixups (combined with baits, fakes, and punishes) often force literal guess-for-game situations.
Her back assist is also one of the best combo tools in the game. It features a massive hitbox and launches OTG opponents. Since many champs struggle to extend combos against OTG targets mid-string, adding Vi to a team often results in free extra damage.
Braum
Braum truly shines once he secures the corner with Unbreakable. His corner pressure is one of the strongest win conditions in the game. With armor on his door attacks, a threatening command grab, and high-damage combos, Braum is terrifying when he has you trapped.
Braum also received numerous buffs in the previous patch (such as BackTag duration and movement), and in the most recent patch, he had zero changes outside of the frame data fixes.
Yasuo's nerfs are a viability buff to Braum in ranked and competitive play. Also, with so many nerfs across the roster to high/low mixups, Braum's strike/throw game is better than ever!
One notable weakness is that Braum relies on his teammate more than most champs to do some of the heavy lifting. If he's the last one alive and doesn't have unbreakable, it can be a struggle to make a comeback.
However, his “Get Behind Me” ice shield remains one of the best moves in the game. His height and slow speed also mean he gets clipped frequently and is not suited for rushdown play.
Yasuo
Out of the previous top three champions, Yasuo was hit with the heaviest nerfs. The backdash followed by Windwall nerfs heavily hurt his zoning and playstyle. Then multiple elements of his mixup game were also nerfed such as AirDownH Attack no longer hitting overhead.
Don't think he's these nerfs were enough to completely take him out of the meta. Yasuo still appears on in top 8s, and is performing well. While this may be due in part to player familiarity, it's clear he still a strong champion.
Teemo
In the most recent patch, Teemo didn't recieve any buffs or nerfs, but he did get some bug fixes that are soft nerfs.
More than any other champion, he was affected by theprevious system-wide changes to projectile rules. Any projectiles on screen (such as mushrooms and slingshot) are instantly destroyed when Teemo is hit, as well as when his point champ is hit while he is assisting.
Additionally, his M Attack and H Attack > H Attack Rekka received recovery nerfs. His M Attack is still one of his better neutral poke tools, but it is now -10 on block. This makes it punishable and means Teemo can't longer safely end blockstrings with his frying pan.
His Dart Super with Double Down HandshakeTag is still a great neutral skip tool that is almost guaranteed to earn his team a free mix-up. Losing one dart on his S1 Special Super did little to reduce its effectiveness.
With many overheads nerfed this patch, Teemo has some of the best high/low mixups of any character. Combined with his zoning and serious damage combos, he's a solid middle-of-the-pack champ with the potential to climb into the top tiers.
A Tier Commentary (Mid Tier)
Darius
While some players label Darius as a “noob stomper,” he has proven effective even at the highest levels of play. He boasts massive buttons for neutral, an S2 Special Super that travels nearly full screen and deletes projectiles, and Apprehend, which disables defensive tools even when used as a back assist.
Darius received a few nerfs this patch, which makes his on block pressure worse. However, the previous buff to be able to charge Apprehend was untoched, and is an incredible blockstring and Tag out tool.
His game plan may appear straightforward, but countering it is far more difficult than it seems. Across GM, Challenger, and tournament play, expect to see Darius frequently represented.
Caitlyn
The Sheriff of Piltover arrives as 2XKO’s newest champion. Although she has an extremely high skill floor and ceiling, the time and effort required to master her versatile kit has decent pay off as Caitlyn is a powerful enabler when paired with fast champs like Vi and Ahri.
Recently, Wawa took CaitlynR all the way to the Grand Finals of a major tournament, and although he is easily considered one of the top players in the world, this feat still shows us the Sheriff's potential.
On point, her zoning is excellent for chipping down opponents’ health and baiting mistakes as they attempt to approach. She can also play offensively with her deployables, rolls, rifle pressure, and aerial crossups.
The biggest drawback to Caitlyn right now is her speed and difficulty playing solo if her teammate gets KO'd, or whe her Asisst gets hit and put on the 6-second cooldown.
We expect to see more Caitlyn representation as the top-tier champions are steadily nerfed down with game balancing.
Jinx
Jinx is in a strange spot right now. She has unfavorable matchups against anti-zoners like Yasuo, but did get a buff specific to this matchup with her BackS2 Special Zap now passing through his Tornado.
Her back-assist rocket is one of the best assist moves available, and she can convert full-screen hits into massive damage.
What holds her back most is her slow mobility and lack of explosive mix-ups. If her teammate is KO’d first, Jinx struggles to open opponents and pull off comebacks.
While her traps can be dangerous, deploying them leaves her vulnerable unless she has earned enough space to do so safely.
She is much better at spamming her projectiles and deployables compared to previous patches. Jinx remains a strong zoner, synergizes well with both 2X Assist and Double Down, and pairs effectively with many top-tier champions.
Warwick
The problem with Warwick in the game leading up to the most recent patch, was the reliance on his S1 Special overhead for mixups. Now that this has been severely nerfed to make it easier to react to, Warwick is struggling to find a new playstyle to dominate with.
S1 Special is still a good attack, and can certainly be used to mixup your opponent, but it's just a shadow of its former glory. Think of it as being more in line with other characters' overheads.
After this nerf, we haven't seen nearly as much representation for Warwick in high-level play, so it remains to be seen if dedicated players re-optimize his kit, and move him back up the rankings.
B Tier Commentary (Low Tier)
Blitzcrank
First off, Blitzcrank's placement at the bottom of the list reflects 2XKO’s overall balance more than any indication that he is unplayable or unfairly weak. Unfortunately for grappler players, his massive body and slow movement make it difficult to consistently enter—and stay within—his optimal range.
He received meaningful buffs in the 1.0 launch patch, including eight buffs to his H attacks. In the recent Match patch, he had no changes. A notable indirect heavy nerf to his strength, however, is the removal of overhead mixups from heroes like Yasuo who were really good at utilizing Blitzcrank's restand mixups.
While the gap between Blitzcrank and the rest of the roster has narrowed since early access, the nature of his design still places him slightly behind the cast.
That said, don’t write him off. Blitzcrank’s true strength lies in team utility rather than solo dominance. At high levels of play, he is often treated as a support character due to his ability to enable point champs.
However, the long range of his assist moves combined with his slow movement speed means he often cannot HandshakeTag into combo conversions off assist.
