The most played champions in LoL right now are Yone, Caitlyn, Yasuo, Lux and Jinx. Across all ranks on patch 26.20, Yone shows up in 20.7% of ranked games between top and mid, Caitlyn in 19.7% and Yasuo in 18.3%, our read of op.gg data. That list changes a lot by rank, though. In Emerald+ the leaders are Kai’Sa and Jhin, and Lux and Miss Fortune drop out of sight. Below you get the pick rate leaders overall and per role, how popularity shifts from Iron to Master, the all-time question nobody has clean data for, and what any of it means for your climb. Popularity is the lens here; if you want strength by bracket instead, our champion tier list by rank covers that.
How we measured popularity
Pick rate on trackers is per role, so we added it up per champion. Every number comes from op.gg’s champion tier lists, Ranked Solo/Duo, all regions, patch 26.20 (op.gg labels it 16.20), last checked October 2026. Patch 26.21 went live on October 20 without a usable sample yet, so we used the last full patch. Riot does not publish official pick rates.
- Role pick rate means “picked in X% of games in that role”. Both teams pick, so each role adds up to roughly 200%.
- Presence is our sum of a champion’s role pick rates. A champion can only be in a ranked game once, so the sum is the share of games the champion appears in. Yone at 9.59% top plus 11.11% mid is in 20.7% of games.
- Ban rate is kept separate. A champion banned in a quarter of games cannot be picked in them, which matters for the most banned names below.
Most played champions overall
Bot lane dominates the list because the role has the smallest real champion pool. Six of the 12 most played champions are marksmen, and the other spots go to the two wind brothers, Lux, Sylas, Thresh and Malphite.
| # | Champion | Main roles | All ranks | Silver | Emerald+ | Master+ | Ban rate (all ranks) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yone | Mid, top | 20.70% | 22.73% | 17.53% | 16.79% | 17.79% |
| 2 | Caitlyn | Bot | 19.74% | 22.69% | 15.29% | 11.37% | 27.24% |
| 3 | Yasuo | Mid, top, bot | 18.26% | 20.27% | 15.24% | 14.01% | 24.74% |
| 4 | Lux | Support, mid | 18.06% | 22.61% | 11.46% | 7.70% | 14.14% |
| 5 | Jinx | Bot | 17.32% | 17.37% | 16.94% | 14.04% | 10.41% |
| 6 | Jhin | Bot | 16.93% | 16.21% | 18.04% | 18.38% | 3.45% |
| 7 | Kai’Sa | Bot | 15.76% | 13.86% | 18.51% | 18.40% | 3.15% |
| 8 | Sylas | Mid, jungle | 13.41% | 12.51% | 16.03% | 16.17% | 14.49% |
| 9 | Miss Fortune | Bot | 13.04% | 18.01% | 5.73% | 3.56% | 4.11% |
| 10 | Thresh | Support | 11.81% | 9.13% | 15.49% | 15.62% | 7.93% |
| 11 | Tristana | Bot | 11.32% | 11.86% | 10.82% | 11.83% | 9.18% |
| 12 | Malphite | Top | 11.15% | 12.44% | 9.04% | 7.59% | 15.98% |
Our read of op.gg data, patch 26.20, last checked October 2026. Percentages are the share of ranked games the champion appears in, summed across roles.
Look at Caitlyn: she is in nearly 20% of games and banned in another 27%, so she touches close to half of all ranked games one way or another. Yone and Yasuo are in a similar spot. Meanwhile Jhin and Kai’Sa are almost never banned, which is part of why they are so reliable to pick in high elo.
Most played champions by role
Every role has one or two “default” champions that people fall back on, and they are different at the top and bottom of the ladder.
| Role | Top 5 by pick rate, all ranks | Top 5 by pick rate, Emerald+ |
|---|---|---|
| Top | Yone 9.59%, Mordekaiser 8.31%, Sett 8.31%, Darius 7.76%, Garen 7.66% | Yone 8.85%, Malphite 7.39%, Darius 6.38%, Aatrox 6.36%, Garen 6.15% |
| Jungle | Lee Sin 10.32%, Kayn 10.28%, Master Yi 9.91%, Viego 9.08%, Wukong 7.10% | Lee Sin 13.17%, Viego 8.35%, Graves 8.30%, Kayn 7.81%, Wukong 7.74% |
| Mid | Yasuo 11.73%, Yone 11.11%, Ahri 9.19%, Zed 7.84%, Malzahar 6.96% | Ahri 9.41%, Yasuo 9.21%, Viktor 9.00%, Yone 8.68%, Zed 8.12% |
| Bot | Caitlyn 19.74%, Jinx 17.32%, Jhin 16.93%, Kai’Sa 15.76%, Miss Fortune 13.04% | Kai’Sa 18.51%, Jhin 18.04%, Jinx 16.94%, Caitlyn 15.29%, Ezreal 11.13% |
| Support | Lux 13.11%, Thresh 11.81%, Nautilus 10.06%, Seraphine 9.69%, Leona 8.70% | Thresh 15.49%, Lulu 12.57%, Nautilus 10.11%, Nami 9.19%, Leona 7.79% |
Role pick rates, op.gg, patch 26.20, last checked October 2026. Lee Sin is the only champion who leads his role in both columns, and his lead grows with rank. Top lane is the most spread out role: no champion reaches 10%, which is why top laners complain about matchup knowledge more than anyone.
How pick rate changes by elo
Low elo plays what looks fun and feels simple; high elo plays what wins games for the team. The gap is bigger than you would guess:
| Champion (role) | Iron | Silver | Emerald+ | Master+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miss Fortune (bot) | 28.11% | 18.01% | 5.73% | 3.56% |
| Lux (support) | 21.56% | 17.22% | 6.57% | 3.42% |
| Seraphine (support) | 19.02% | 11.54% | 6.47% | 5.29% |
| Master Yi (jungle) | 16.54% | 12.11% | 6.32% | 4.54% |
| Warwick (jungle) | 15.18% | 8.55% | 3.09% | 1.31% |
| Teemo (top) | 10.03% | 9.65% | 4.32% | 2.44% |
| Lulu (support) | 2.67% | 5.40% | 12.57% | 14.08% |
| Thresh (support) | 5.68% | 9.13% | 15.49% | 15.62% |
| Lee Sin (jungle) | 6.06% | 8.49% | 13.17% | 16.07% |
| Kai’Sa (bot) | 10.70% | 13.86% | 18.51% | 18.40% |
| Qiyana (jungle) | 1.80% | 2.96% | 7.35% | 9.89% |
| Viktor (mid) | 2.83% | 5.00% | 9.00% | 9.30% |
Role pick rates, op.gg, patch 26.20, last checked October 2026. Miss Fortune is the most extreme case in the game: she is in more than one in four Iron bot lanes and fewer than one in 25 Master+ bot lanes. Lulu moves just as far the other way.
The top half of the table is champions that do their job with little coordination: Miss Fortune and Lux land a big ultimate, Master Yi and Warwick run at whoever is low. They are also what newer players get pointed to, which is why they show up on every list of the best champions for beginners. The bottom half is champions whose value depends on teammates or on hard mechanics: Lulu needs a hyper-carry to enchant, Thresh needs follow-up on the hook, Qiyana needs a hundred games. If you queue Iron or Bronze, expect a Miss Fortune or a Lux in most games, and plenty of our Bronze lobbies have both. In Master+, plan for Kai’Sa, Jhin, Thresh and Lee Sin instead.
Knowing the popular picks in your bracket still leaves the LP to earn. If you would rather not grind it out, our LoL division boost handles the climb, placements or a duo queue run with a high-elo player.
The most played champions of all time
Riot does not publish all-time play totals for each champion, so no one can give you a clean answer, and you should be suspicious of any list that claims one. What we do have are two partial signals.
The first is current pick rate across all ranks, the table above. Champions like Ezreal, Jhin, Caitlyn and Yasuo have stayed near the top of their roles for many seasons, and Ezreal sits at 10.3% to 11.1% of bot lane games in every bracket from Silver to Master+ on this patch. That is about as close to permanent popularity as League gets.
The second is dedication. ChampionMastery.GG tracks the highest mastery scores on each champion. These are single players, not totals, but they show which champions people never stop playing:
| Champion | Highest single-player mastery | Region |
|---|---|---|
| Teemo | 34,816,917 | VN |
| Heimerdinger | 32,434,342 | EUW |
| Ashe | 26,758,632 | RU |
| Udyr | 19,762,986 | KR |
| Ahri | 19,415,241 | EUW |
| Annie | 19,413,960 | NA |
ChampionMastery.GG highscores, checked October 2026. 34.8 million points of Teemo is years of games on one champion, and we have no idea how that player is still sane. What the table does not tell you is overall popularity: Yone and Caitlyn are far more played today, they just do not have one player who has spent a decade on them.
What popularity tells you about climbing
A high pick rate tells you what you will face, not what you should play. Many of the most played champions win less than half their games in Emerald+:
- Ezreal: 11.13% of Emerald+ bot lane games and a 45.82% win rate. People love how safe he feels, and he loses anyway.
- Sylas (mid): 48.03%. Caitlyn: 49.20%. Lee Sin: 49.22%. Kai’Sa: 49.66%. Jhin: 49.76%. Yone (top): 49.86%.
- Popular and winning: Jinx (52.14%), Thresh (51.94%) and Malphite (51.82%) are the exceptions.
Champions get popular for reasons that have nothing to do with win rate: comfort, skins, pro play, and being safe to blind pick. The most played champions also tend to sit a little below 50%, because a strong champion in 20% of games gets noticed and nerfed fast. Two practical lessons follow. First, the matchups you need to know best are the top three or four picks in your role and bracket from the tables above, because you will play into them every day. Second, playing a popular champion in low elo is fine when it also wins there: Miss Fortune wins 51.23% in Silver, Lux 50.94% at support, Master Yi 51.22%. They fall off later, so plan to switch around Platinum or Emerald.
Where pick rate misleads
Pick rate has gaps too, and some of them are big.
- Bans hide demand. Locke is a good example. He is picked in 7.35% of Emerald+ mid games, but he is also banned in 31.65% of them, and in Master+ the ban rate reaches 37.07%. A lot more people would play him if they could. The r/leagueoflegends thread asking why everyone bans Locke explains it: he is strong and people do not know how to play against him yet. Our list of the most banned champions covers the rest.
- Presence is our sum, not an official stat. It is accurate in principle, but op.gg hides very low-volume role rows, so flex picks are slightly understated.
- The patch is already moving. The patch 26.21 notes nerf Jinx, Yone, Lee Sin and Locke, rework Caitlyn’s passive and Q damage, and buff Miss Fortune. Pick rates react within a week.
- Pick rate counts games, not players. A champion with a small, dedicated playerbase can post the same pick rate as one that half the server plays occasionally.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most played champion in League of Legends?
Yone, across all ranks on patch 26.20. He appears in 20.7% of ranked games between top and mid on op.gg. In Emerald+, Kai’Sa takes over at 18.5%.
What is the most played ADC?
Caitlyn across all ranks, in 19.74% of bot lane games. In Emerald+ it is Kai’Sa at 18.51%, with Jhin right behind.
Who is the most played champion of all time?
Riot does not publish all-time totals. The biggest individual mastery scores on ChampionMastery.GG belong to a Teemo player, at about 34.8 million points, and a Heimerdinger player at about 32.4 million.
Does a high pick rate mean a champion is strong?
No. Ezreal is picked in 11% of Emerald+ bot lane games and wins 45.82% of them. Popularity follows comfort, skins and pro play as much as strength.
Why is Lux so popular in low elo?
She is simple, safe and ranged. Lux is in 22.6% of Silver games but only 7.7% of Master+ games, and her support win rate falls to 48.61% in Master+.
Yone, Caitlyn, Yasuo, Lux and Jinx are the most played champions in League across all ranks right now, while Kai’Sa, Jhin, Thresh and Lee Sin take over in high elo. Learn the matchups for the popular picks in your bracket, and do not mistake popularity for strength.
When you know the matchups and the climb still is not moving, book a LoL boost for a division climb, placements or duo queue, and get to Emerald, Diamond or Master without another hundred games against the same Yone.
