Worlds 2025 Swiss Stage: Most Picked Champions and Meta Takeaways

The Swiss Stage has come to a close at Worlds 2025, and the top 8 League of Legends teams on the planet will now head to the Playoffs for a chance at ultimate glory. But before we head into the Knockout Stage, it's time to take a look back at the most picked champions and other meta trends that defined the Swiss Stage this time around.

K'Sante and Sion: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

In the Top Lane, K'Sante and Sion were the two most picked champions of the Swiss Stage with 19 and 15 picks each. When it came to the bans, though, Sion pulled far ahead (23 total bans compared to just 3 bans for K'Sante), and for good reason.

Despite being the most sought-after Top Laner at Worlds so far, K'Sante put up a measly 31.6% win rate. Sion, meanwhile, dominated the stage, winning 11 of his 15 games for a whopping 73.3% win rate. Even outside the Top Lane, this saw Sion put up the highest win rate of the Swiss Stage out of any champion picked more than 8 times.

Completing the top 3 most picked Top Laners, we have Rumble, who put up a perfectly balanced 50% win rate. Though he won't slot into any team composition as easily as a traditional tank like Sion might, Rumble continues to prove his worth when picked under the right circumstances.

Xin Zhao Runs the Jungle

After his recent visual update, it seems everybody wants a piece of The Seneschal of Demacia. At Worlds, Xin Zhao wasn't just the most picked Jungler, but rather the most picked champion of the Swiss Stage overall, irrespective of role.

Despite his whopping 21 total picks, Xin Zhao had twice as many wins as losses (66.7% win rate), demonstrating how strong the pick is in the current pro play landscape.

After Xin Zhao, the next most sought-after picks in the Jungle were Wukong and Jarvan IV, both of whom held respectable win rates at 53.5% and 40% (most surprising for Jarvan, who was able to recuperate after a very slow start to the Swiss Stage for the champion).

Looking past the top 3 picks in the role, though, we have Trundle, a champion that has proven to be a valuable counterpick under the right conditions. At 12 total picks, Trundle was able to match Xin Zhao's win rate of 66.7%. The reason? His ability to shred a tank's defenses while beefing up his own in the process.

For all of Sion's impressive win rate, Trundle proved to be the perfect pick into the champion. During the Swiss Stage, Trundle was picked 3 times into Sion, leading his team to victory twice in those bouts.

Taliyah's Kit Was Made for This

Perhaps not too surprisingly, Taliyah became the most picked Mid Laner of the Swiss Stage with 17 picks and a respectable 47.1% win rate. The fact that the champion can create game-winning picks with a well-timed [W] Seismic Shove is invaluable at the highest level. Looking past that, though, Taliyah's [P] Rock Surfing and [R] Weaver's Wall let the champion roam the map faster than anyone in the position, something that continues to be one of the most important aspects of pro play.

Following Taliyah we have two timeless Mid Lane champions that always seem to turn up when Worlds comes around: Ryze and Orianna (16 and 15 picks, respectively). Despite the high regard pro players have for the champion, Ryze was only able to put up a 37.5% win rate. Admittedly, Ryze is not an easy champion to execute on due to his short range, something which contributes to his low win rate. In the right hands, though, the champion is a true powerhouse: CFO's HongQ, for instance, picked Ryze 4 times in the Swiss Stage, picking up 3 wins including an all-important victory over T1 and Faker's Cassiopeia.

As for Orianna, the only reason the champion didn't see more action is because she saw a whopping 31 bans through the Swiss Stage. Whenever she does make it through in draft, opposing teams are forced to be constantly aware of Orianna's ball in teamfights due to the sheer power of her [R] Shockwave.

New Champion, New Problem: Yunara Takes Over

While Kai'Sa shared the top spot as the most picked ADC of the Swiss Stage (14 picks), her 28.6% win rate paints a sorry picture. As for the real problem in the Bot Lane, that comes in the form of Corki and Yunara.

With 14 and 13 picks each, Corki and Yunara are proving to be incredibly powerful at the highest level of play once more. For Corki, his Trinity Force powerspike is tough for opponents to overcome in the mid-game. Yunara's straightforward kit, meanwhile, allows her to deal high amounts of DPS through careful positioning in teamfights, something the best ADC players in the world naturally excel at.

Throughout the Swiss Stage, Corki and Yunara maintained sky-high win rates of 71.4% and 69.2%. It's worth noting that, at the time of writing, Corki and Yunara are two of the weakest ADCs in Solo Queue, where both of their win rates linger at around the 47% mark across all ranks (Patch 25.21). When it comes to pro play, though, now that's an entirely different story...

Support Equals Engage

As has been the case throughout the entire year, engage Supports continue to dominate the pro scene. At the Swiss Stage, Alistar became highly sought-after (19 picks) due to his terrific engage capabilities coupled with the frontline strength of his [R] Unbreakable Will.

Another champion who excels at engaging, Rakan, was the second most picked Support of the Swiss Stage with 14 picks. Just one pick beneath him (13), we have Neeko, whose [R] Pop Blossom can turn a fight around on the spot. Due to how difficult dealing with Neeko can be, the champion was the most banned Support of the Swiss Stage with 28 bans.

So far, enchanter Supports just cannot keep up with the value of engage picks. Champions like Lulu and Soraka, for instance, have only been picked once and seen no wins. It's actually Karma and Nami who are the most picked enchanters of the Swiss Stage. With just 3 picks and a 33.3% win rate for both, their numbers are rather disappointing, to say the least.

The Poppy Phenomenon

With a very unique kit, Poppy became the most banned champion of the Swiss Stage with a total of 33 bans. Her ability to shut down most forms of engage with a single ability is invaluable at a level of play where timing and execution comes down to the finest of margins.

Simply put, Poppy's kit can prove incredibly frustrating to play against. Her incredible number of bans don't come without reason, though. Out of the 8 times a team did manage to pick Poppy in the Swiss Stage, the champion was able to come away with 7 wins for an 87.5% win rate, the highest out of any champion picked more than 3 times.

Heading into Playoffs

As we head into the playoffs, it will be interesting to see how the meta evolves (if at all) as teams leave no stone unturned on their way to the trophy. After a strong run in the Swiss Stage, champions like Xin Zhao and Corki might see a few more bans in the playoffs, for instance. Meanwhile, expect to see a good amount of variety in the Mid Lane, a role that already saw the most unique champion picks in the Swiss Stage (19) by a considerable margin.

With the entire Knockout Stage being Bo5, and Fearless Draft in full effect, players will need to dig deep into their champion pools moving forward, potentially delivering a few surprises yet.

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