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Meta Forecast: Rising Champion Picks to Watch at MSI 2025
The latest string of patches to arrive to League of Legends have thrown the meta for a loop. With MSI 2025 just around the corner, what are some forgotten champions that might see a surge in pick rate at the second international tournament of the year?
Let's have a look at the surprise picks that threaten to take over MSI, or at the very least prove crucial over the course of an extended Fearless series!
Top Lane Trifecta on the Rise: Aatrox, Jax, and Gangplank
Once staples of the Top Lane, Aatrox and Jax have fallen out of favor at the highest level of play in recent months. Well, that may well be about to change at MSI 2025.
With a damage increase to the sweetspot of his [Q] The Darkin Blade, as well as buffs to the healing received from both his [P] Deathbringer Stance and [E] Umbral Dash, Aatrox should prove much harder to deal with at this coming tournament.
Jax, meanwhile, received a considerable Attack Speed buff to his [P] Relentless Assault, something which will help him take over the lane and start destroying enemy towers all the faster.
Last but not least, we have Gangplank. During MSI's patch (25.13), the bilgewater pirate received buffs to his [Q] Parrrley, giving increased power to his already oppressive laning phase. The buffs to the cooldown of his [R] Cannon Barrage, moreover, will mean Gangplank can help his team secure picks across the map more easily, and frequently, providing a lot of value in the pick.
Expect both Jax and Aatrox to rise in priority at MSI 2025, while teams look at Gangplank as a potential solution when running into draft problems late into a Fearless Bo5.
Nidalee and Lee Sin Up the Jungle Tempo
With their recent buffs, both Nidalee and Lee Sin will come into MSI 2025 as potential alternatives to the usual suspects in the jungle (Xin Zhao, Wukong, Vi).
Lee Sin received a buff to the slow amount of his [E] Cripple, making his early ganks considerably deadlier. Nidalee, meanwhile, got a boost to the damage of her [Q] Javelin Toss based on distance travelled, further increasing the burst capabilities of what was already one of the game's best jungle assassins.
As champions who shine the brightest during the early game, the potential rise of Nidalee and Lee Sin in the jungle could make games at MSI a whole lot more exciting to watch. At the very least, we can all thank Riot Games for putting an end to the era of tank-jungle-supremacy.
Twisted Fate Takes Over the Map
With the set of buffs received to his [E] Stacked Deck and [R] Destiny (though then partially reverted), Twisted Fate has exploded in both pick rate and win rate in recent weeks, particularly among the highest levels of Solo Queue.
With a kit that seems built for pro play (pushing power, crowd control, global ultimate), expect Twisted Fate to begin showing up on stage sooner rather than later thanks to his recent buffs. This, coupled with the fact that previous Mid Lane staples like Ahri and Azir became two of the biggest losers of patch 25.12, should see Twisted Fate's value skyrocket ahead of MSI.
Zeri is Back!
That's right, speedster Pikachu is back for MSI! Zeri received considerable buffs in Patch 25.12, particularly to her teamfighting and multi-target burst. Though her early laning phase remains the same, these buffs have been enough to propel Zeri to the top of the ADC list at the highest levels of play when it came to Solo Queue.
The question now is: will Zeri also return to her days of terrorizing pro play? Though all the signs point to 'yes', MSI 2025 will be the final judge of that. With Zeri poised to become a contested ADC pick at the second international tournament of the year, perhaps we should just go ahead and hand Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk and Gen.G the trophy now...
Lulu: A Yordle Among Giants
With the expected rise of Zeri (and perhaps even Aphelios), along with the current power level of ADCs like Jinx, Lulu presents herself as the perfect option to enable these carries to take over games.
Though the Support meta at MSI should remain heavily tied to engage picks like Alistar, Rell, or Rakan, teams could resort to Lulu for a different approach to the gameplan. And even for those that don't, teams will quickly find themselves running out of engage options the longer a series goes (thank you, Fearless Draft), and will need to look elsewhere for answers.
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Featured image credit: Riot Games
Read more:
MSI 2025 Pick'Em Guide and Rewards: Play-In Stage
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