Most Underrated League of Legends Champions in 2026

Underrated League of Legends champions in the 2026 LoL meta are picks that combine high win rates with surprisingly low pick rates, making them some of the strongest hidden options for climbing ranked. While most players follow tier lists and popular meta picks, several champions consistently outperform the field despite being rarely played.

In this guide, we break down the most underrated LoL champions in 2026, explaining why they win so often, how they fit into the current meta, and which elos benefit the most from mastering them.

How We Chose the Most Underrated LoL Champions in 2026

One of the ways we chose the most underrated LoL picks was to examine each champion’s pick and win rate. Aside from spending a lot of time playing, we used op.gg for data. Each of the low play rate champions in LoL you will see has proven to be a reliable option when it comes to wins, so let’s dive in.

Before showing you all the names, the table below shows some of the most successful LoL Champions as of early 2026. Some of them are on the list, but others are more popular and did not make it.

If you want a quick meta baseline before jumping into sleeper picks, check our breakdown of the top 5 League of Legends champions of 2025—then use this guide to find the underrated champs with high win rates and low pick rates in the 2026 LoL meta.

Anivia

Anivia consistently boasts a high win rate because she is very efficient when it comes to taking advantage of people’s mistakes. She has the ability to counter a lot of mid-lane patterns and works well against melee assassins. 

Once she hits level 6, Anivia can easily hold mid on her own. Her damage output is also pretty impressive, especially when the enemy team is near a chokepoint. 

Despite the impressive win rate (54.33%), her pick rate is just 0.6% due to the slow animations and the fact that she is not easy to pull off. Making a mistake usually results in death and it seems like most players prefer something that is more “forgiving”.

Our observation is that Anivia (same as Gragas) usually dominates in higher elo.

Veigar

One of the first high-win-rate champions in LoL that does not have that many picks right now is Veigar. The stats paint an interesting picture: he has a 54.99% win rate, one of the highest among League of Legends champions. With that said, his pick rate is at 0.74% and ban rate at 0.51%.

One of the reasons we believe Veigar maintains a low pick rate despite a consistently high win rate is how he works. He is one of the champions who scales really well with Phenomenal Evil Power. In other words, games that go longer than 25 minutes usually favor him a lot.

His Event Horizon (E) is another thing that makes Veigar a solid pick in 2026. It is among the strongest non-ultimate abilities in the game.

As for the reasons why he is not that popular, the main one is his early game presence. He is weak early on and has limited mobility, which makes him a bad pick most of the time.

Gragas

The next of the high win rate champions in LoL that we’d like to include is Gragas. His stats are also interesting because he has a 52.27% win rate and a 0.55% pick rate. His ban rate is also low at 0.81%, making him among the least popular champions overall.

Among the reasons why he is one of the sleeper picks in League of Legends is his Body Slam-Flash engage timing. He does really well against dash-heavy champions because he can interrupt their mobility. Sadly, most of these champions are just not that common in the current meta, so we don’t see much of them.

Despite all of these perks, Gragas also has some weaknesses, such as his skill-shot reliance. Decision-making is also crucial when it comes to this champion, so it seems like people prefer to focus on more effective champions. We would not be surprised if Riot decides to redesign Gragas from the ground up.

Morgana

Morgana is probably one of the most underrated champions in solo queue that you can get. She is a powerful League of Legends champion when it comes to anti-engaging and counters all CC comps really hard. Sadly, these kinds of combos are not that popular in pub games, so she is just not that popular.

Morgana is a champion that excels when there are coordinated objective setups and defensive lanes. However, she is not the best when it comes to roaming presence. On top of that, she has a somewhat predictable play pattern.

Morgana remains one of the high win rate champions in LoL, and we expect this to continue to be the case. In terms of her stats, Morgana comes with a 0.56% pick rate and a 51.28% win rate. What sets her apart from all other champions is her impressive ban rate – 9.63%. It seems like players really do not want to play against her.

Morgana (and Neeko for that matter) tend to excel in lower elo.

Neeko

The last of the underrated League of Legends picks in 2026 that we feel like has to be on the list is Neeko. With a total of 53.69% win rate, she’s among the high win rate champions in LoL. Despite that, her pick rate is 0.56% and her ban rate is 1.97%.

Her power comes from deception and setup rather than lane dominance. Neeko is one of the LoL champions that can be hard to predict and has amazing CC. She is a great option against immobile carriers.

Neeko is not consistently good because her effectiveness is highly conditional and punishable. She relies a lot on her cooldown and has weak sustained damage. All of these things cause players to focus on other options.

Why Underrated League of Legends Champions Win More Games in 2026

Overall, the underrated League of Legends picks are definitely options you can consider. Understanding why these champions work and when to pick them will give you a measurable edge in ranked. In a meta obsessed with tier lists, these champions reward mastery more than popularity—and that’s exactly why they win. We recommend experimenting with them to see if they fit your playstyle.