The Top Lane can be the most snowball-heavy in the game, with many champions calling it their home. In the newest season of League of Legends, we have seen quite a few champions already dominate the Top Lane and carry their way to victory, and picking one of these champions increases your chances of winning the game.
In this article, we will discuss five of the strongest current Top Laners in the newest season of League of Legends. This list contains champions that are relatively easy to master, so if you put some time into practising them first, you will gain lots of LP quickly.
Before we begin, the data in this article is from our Mobalytics tier list. It is also using Platinum+, global and mid-patch data. While some of these champions might not be statistically the best, they’re very strong overall, and our list is in no order...
1. Riven
Riven currently has a 50.1% win rate on patch 16.1, making her a strong contender for any new Top Laner. While her win rate may not look overwhelming at first, it reflects how strong she can be in the right hands. Riven is good in the current meta due to her strong laning potential and the number of favourable matchups she has against other top laners.
However, Riven is a mechanically difficult champion, requiring significant practice to master. Her kit relies heavily on animation cancels, good ability timing, and proper combo execution. She has a high skill ceiling, but players who invest time into learning her are far more likely to see success.
In addition to mechanics, learning how to manage waves is essential when playing Riven. Understanding when to freeze, slow push, or hard push allows her to punish enemy mistakes. If you have good wave control, Riven can be extremely oppressive in lane and can snowball really quickly.
How to Play Riven
2. Fiora
Fiora has a 49.1% win rate on patch 16.1. Split pushing champions are especially strong right now, and Fiora fits perfectly into this niche in the current meta. Her ability to apply pressure in side lanes makes her a constant threat throughout the game.
She is relatively easy to play, and she can out-trade most enemy laners. Her true damage, combined with her intense mobility and punishing game style, allows her to consistently win extended trades with the enemy. This makes her really effective in 1v1s in the Top Lane.
Her most OP ability is her W, which is great versus basically all champions in the game. It can block damage, crowd control, and even turn 1v1s around when timed correctly. This ability gives Fiora strong outplay potential and makes her difficult to punish.
How to Play Fiora
3. Zaahen
Zaahen has a 49.3% win rate on patch 16.1, which is respectable considering he is the newest champion in League of Legends. Split pushers are strong in the current meta, and Zaahen benefits heavily from this, allowing him to consistently pressure side lanes and then fight anyone who tries to stop him.
One of Zaahen’s biggest advantages right now is that many players do not yet know how to play against him. This lack of matchup knowledge can be easily exploited, especially in solo queue. Players unfamiliar with his abilities often misjudge trades and his Passive, giving him an early advantage when trading and getting kills. This is especially true in the lower ELOs.
He does not have many bad matchups right now, even though he doesn’t have a 50%+ win rate. However, he may struggle against Top Laners who also like to fight a lot.
How to Play Zaahen
4. Malphite
Malphite has a 53.8% win rate on patch 16.1, making him one of the strongest and most reliable top lane picks in the current meta. He is one of the simplest champions in the game to play, so you can even blind pick him or first time him and do pretty well as him. The only issue with playing Malphite is not wasting or running out of mana in the lane.
He is very easy to play, making him good for players of all skill levels. Malphite’s kit is straightforward and easy to understand. His ultimate ability is extremely impactful in team fights and can single-handedly win a fight if he can knock up a key carry.
Another major strength of Malphite is that he is always useful, even when behind. His versatile tanky build path allows him to adjust his build according to the matchups and how ahead/behind he is.
How to Play Malphite
5. Darius
Darius currently has a 49.3% win rate on patch 16.1, but his true strength lies in how oppressive he can be during the laning phase. He is a powerful duelist, largely due to his Passive, which increases his damage in extended fights.
Darius is particularly effective in Low ELO, where players tend to fight more often and walk too far up in the lane. His “win lane, win game mentally” playstyle works exceptionally well in solo queue, as dominating the lane can heavily impact the outcome of the game.
In addition to his insane lane dominance, Darius is good at split pushing and applying pressure in the side lanes. He has been really strong for several seasons now, and he is even good in High ELO too, so he should be your go-to if you want to play the role.
How to Play Darius
Final Thoughts
And that is about it for this article. We hope you have enjoyed it, and that you can climb the ranks quickly and effectively with one of these five champions. Make sure you head over to our guides page, as we are covering a lot of new season material, including guides for the other four roles that will help you climb as well.