5 League of Legends champions dominated the esports scene in 2025. Here’s why they were so good

Many League of Legends champions dominated the esports scene in 2025. With Fearless drafting taking over the scene, there were countless more matchups to watch as pro players adjusted. Especially as the season progressed, we saw the full extent of Fearless drafting, with many series going the full five games.

We’ll walk you through the five best LoL champions in 2025. Don’t worry if you think your role won’t be covered. We have a champion prepared for each role — yes, even you top lane players who still think you’re on an island. 

Rumble was the ultimate weakside top lane champion in LoL for 2025. Although lane swaps started to phase out, Rumble was still the champion that players opted for when they wanted an advantage for their bottom lane. With his ultimate, players were able to clear the wave to prevent the enemy team from forcing a tower dive. And even if they did kill the top laner, they were still going to be useful later on.

Across all major regions, MSI, and Worlds, Rumble was the most picked champion in top by a wide margin at 618 picks. On top of that, he also boasted the most wins with 332, rocking a sweet 54% win rate in 2025. There aren’t many champions on this League tier list that will stack up to Rumble’s teamfighting ability. 

There probably won’t be a bigger pick rate discrepancy in any role in comparison to jungle. Xin Zhao, from start to finish, dominated the League esports scene. He was the ultimate pick in Fearless and was often considered a free win to the jungler who was able to snatch him up. With early game aggression being a prominent feature in the jungle this year, thanks to the many neutral objectives. Teams needed a champion who would clear quickly and achieve objectives faster.

Xin was such an aggressive Jungler when it came to the early game that many players struggled to deal with him. And with that, Xin became one of the best LoL champions of 2025. Xin Zhao was the most picked champion in his role by a substantial margin, racking up 703 games across the competitive year. 

Although she featured heavily in the 2025 season, Taliyah was the surprising entrant on this League tier list. Primarily because she had a surprisingly high number of games played this year, with 591. Taliyah, perhaps, was a byproduct of Fearless, where many of the power picks, such as Azir, Yone, and Sylas, were all banned for most of the season. Meaning Taliyah was going to get her moment in the spotlight, a spotlight that stayed on her for an entire season. 

Taliyah is one of the more versatile champions who benefited from the teamfight-oriented meta that dominated LoL. Atakhan was one of the new objectives introduced this year and often changed the tide in many competitive games this season. Taliyah was an excellent champion to play around when fighting for this objective, with her Weavers Wall (ultimate) being used to zone off the enemy team. 

Varus was one of the most versatile ADCs in League of Legends this year. He could play weakside, he could carry with his on-hit build, and he could poke people out with his AP build. Varus had all the tools in his arsenal to be a problem. He was a tank shredder, locking enemies down with his ultimate before ripping them to shreds. Teams would also put Varus in advantageous lane swaps so that he could gain plates and gold solo, putting him ahead of the curve. 

Varus had the most picks for the ADC position at 554, winning 305 of those games. Teams simply did not want to go up against this champion, with the marksmen having a whopping 972 bans, the second most of any champion in the game. 

Alistar was the supreme support pick in pro League this year. With the meta favoring supports who could engage, there was no better choice than Alistar. He has a lot of sustain in his kit, even with just a couple of items, and can withstand most engagements. Having an Alistar made it very difficult for other teams to engage in the bottom lane, making him an elite pick. 

As far as the stats go, Alistar is just as dominant off the rift as he is on it. Alistar boasts an impressive 53% win rate, putting him among the best in his role.

Fearless draft added a lot of variety to the game, even if the number of champions played stayed relatively the same. It was interesting to see teams battle it out for power picks, with certain champions consistently getting through the pick and ban phase.