Worlds Meta Takes Shape! Winners and Losers of League of Legends Patch 25.18

With Worlds 2025 only a month away, the latest League of Legends balance patch is beginning to set the stage for the most important meta of the year. Bringing forth a new wave of buffs and nerfs, LoL Patch 25.18 has brought some strong champions down a peg, while also carrying old favorites back to the forefront.

Let's take a look at the biggest winners and losers of League of Legends Patch 25.18.

Biggest Winners of the Patch

Ashe

After spending a large portion of 2025 in the shadows, Ashe received some much needed buffs in Patch 25.18. Now, Ashe scales a lot better than she used to, as her AD growth per level was increased by 0.5. This, coupled with the recent Kraken Slayer buffs, have turned Ashe into one of the highest win rate ADCs in Solo Queue.

With only a month to go before the start of Worlds 2025, it will be interesting to see whether the buffs will prove enough to see this iconic Worlds champion return to the stage once more.

Cassiopeia

Cassiopeia received important buffs in Patch 25.18 which made her laning phase even stronger than it already was. With a deeper mana pool to start the game and increased DPS thanks to buffs to her bread and butter ability [E] Twin Fang, this serpent looks more dangerous than ever.

Though not the easiest champion to pilot effectively, Cassiopeia's win rate after the buffs rose by over 4% in Emerald and above, marking one of the biggest spikes in recent memory.

Garen

Like Cassiopeia, Garen received buffs to his most iconic ability, [E] Judgment. The result? Garen now holds the single highest win rate in Solo Queue among all champions in the Top Lane.

As a fairly simple champion with a straightforward kit, his win rate does drop the higher you climb. Among the lower ranks, though, Garen is an absolute menace right now, and undoubtedly one of the biggest winners of League of Legends Patch 25.18.

Biggest Losers of the Patch

Yunara

The new patch definitely hit Yunara too hard. After seeing nerfs to her Base Health, Base AD, and the power of her [E] Kanmei's Steps, the game's newest champion now sits as the worst ADC in the game with an abysmal 45.55% win rate across all ranks.

Patch 25.18 actually hit Yunara so hard, that Riot immediately tried to fix the issue, shipping out a hotfix just days into the patch to try and help Yunara stay afloat. Despite a partial revert to her nerfs, though, it's likely the champion will need a few buffs before she can be worth picking again.

Azir

Will this turn out to be the first Worlds in a while where Azir doesn't completely rule the Mid Lane? Like Yunara, the nerf hammer came down hard on Azir in the latest update, hitting both his Attack Speed growth and the AP scaling of his soldiers ([W] Arise!). And, like Yunara once more, the nerfs turned Azir into the worst Mid Laner in the game with a similarly atrocious 45.4% win rate.

After the nerfs, Azir's late game is simply not nearly as powerful as it used to be. Despite his sorry state, though, the champion somehow retains a healthy pick rate in Solo Queue at 2% (higher than Cassiopeia, for instance).

Qiyana

After recent buffs to her kit overshot the mark, Qiyana became an absolute monster in Solo Queue. Now, Riot aimed to fix the problem they created by nerfing the champion's kit in several places in Patch 25.18.

With a weaker passive, lower Base AD, and lower Armor growth, Qiyana's win rate and pick rate have taken a hit across both the Mid Lane and Jungle roles. Make no mistake, though, Qiyana definitely remains strong, and will reward anyone who has the hands and decision-making to make the most of her kit. In Emerald and above, for instance, she retains a high win rate (51.44%) even despite the nerfs.

Shaping Worlds Meta

While we're still a couple patches away from the Worlds patch (will be played on Patch 25.20), the latest update is beginning to give shape to what we may come to expect from the biggest tournament in the game. Champions like Azir, who have long terrorized the pro scene, may fall out of favor entirely ahead of Worlds 2025, while an old favorite like Ashe looks to make a comeback just in the nick of time.

Will Yunara return in time to make her Worlds debut? Are there any last minute surprises coming our way? Only time will tell. For now, though, keep up with all of the latest changes to the game by checking out the complete LoL Patch 25.18 notes.

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Featured image credit: Image exclusive to Strafe Esports

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