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Breaking Down the Most Picked Champions of the LTA North Split 3
Split 3 in the LTA North has drawn to a close, crowning FlyQuest once more. The tournament delivered its fair share of thrilling matchups, but beyond the highlights, the draft phase has revealed clear trends that defined the competition.
With the inaugural LTA Championship fast approaching, it's time to take a look back at the picks that gave shape to the final split in the North, and what we might come to expect when the two conferences clash in Texas.
The Most Picked Champions of the LTA North Split 3
Alistar
With 21 picks (and 15 bans), Alistar shares the top spot for the most picked champion of Split 3 with Wukong. Despite being highly sought after as a good engage/frontline option, though, Alistar held the lowest win rate out of any champion in the top 20 (38.1% WR).
- Player with the most picks: Vulcan with 5 picks.
Wukong
Wukong shared the same number of picks as Alistar, but saw far fewer bans (4 total). With his high mobility, good early burst, and great teamfighting and catch potential, Wukong was the most picked jungler throughout Split 3 in the LTA North.
- Player with the most picks: River with 5 picks.
Rumble
Rumble has been hit with several nerfs and tweaks throughout the year. No matter how much his Solo Queue win rate may fluctuate, however, the champion remains one of the biggest top lane threats in pro play. In Split 3, Rumble became the third most picked champion at the tournament, all while maintaining a sky-high 80% win rate despite the high number of picks.
As if that wasn't enough, Rumble also held the top spot in terms of damage per minute out of any champion picked in the top lane more than once.
- Player with the most picks: Dhokla with 5 picks.
Xin Zhao
Like Wukong, Xin Zhao has been highly sought after in the jungle. With one fewer pick, Xin held a slightly higher win rate (50%) than his simian counterpart while receiving one more ban (5). A champion who offers strong early ganks, crowd control, and is deceptively tanky later on thanks to his [R] Crescent Guard, Xin Zhao makes for a good fit in almost any game in pro play.
- Player with the most picks: Contractz with 6 picks.
Corki
With 18 picks total, Corki takes the 5th spot on this list. Over time, the Daring Bombardier has moved down from the mid lane to the bottom lane, with ADCs favoring the pick thanks to his high burst and relative safety. This means, however, that not a single mid lane champion made it into the top 5 (or the top 12, for that matter) of the most picked champions of Split 3.
Avoiding Pantheon Like the Plague
For the entirety of Split 3 over in the LTA North, Pantheon kept a 100% presence despite being picked only once. That's right, Pantheon was banned in 67 out of 68 total games played, making him the most banned champion of Split 3. The one time he got picked? 100 Thieves picked it for River in the jungle in Game 5 of their Elimination Phase series against Cloud9, leading to C9 missing Worlds for the second year running.
Surprisingly, no other region has prioritized banning Pantheon as much as the LTA North did, with the closest being their neighbors over in the LTA South banning Pantheon in 82.1% of their games in Split 3. Now the question remains, will teams be bold enough to let the champion through over in the LTA Championship, or will Pantheon fail to see the light of day as LTA teams fight for a spot at Worlds?
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Featured image credit: Robert Paul /Riot Games
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