Meta Shifts and Champion Popularity Trends After Worlds 2024

Welcome to our in-depth look at the meta shifts and champion popularity trends that emerged from League of Legends Worlds 2024. At Blix, we know that understanding the evolving meta is essential—not just for pros, but for players at every level who want to refine their strategies, optimize their champion picks, and learn from the highest-stakes matches in the game. By the way, you may look into our articles “LoL Patch Notes 14.18 Review” or “Riot Games Completed Another Round of Layoffs in 2024 – What’s Next?” to be sure of our competence.

This article breaks down the standout champions and roles that dominated the tournament, from the surprise rise of new champions like Aurora and Smolder to the resurgence of classics like Yone and Sejuani. Whether you’re looking to adjust your own playstyle or simply want insight into the strategies that shaped Worlds 2024, this analysis will equip you with the knowledge to stay competitive and inspired.

Highlights

• Review of Mid-Laners, Junglers, ADCs and Supports meta trends
• New Champions on the Rise tendencies
• Additional pick: Worlds 2024 as a Cultural Event

Yone’s Dominance in Mid-Lane

Yone stole the spotlight at Worlds 2024, becoming the favored pick for his mix of high mobility, burst damage, and versatility. Yone’s effectiveness on the Rift is nothing new, but this year’s tournament highlighted how versatile his playstyle can be in pro play.

In matches where T1’s Faker picked Yone, he used the champion’s early-game aggression to pressure opponents right from the start. Faker’s Yone showcased a mix of aggressive combos and safe farming that was extremely hard to counter. Yone’s Q and E abilities allowed for risky, extended trades without significant risk, as Faker demonstrated by diving in and out of skirmishes, often turning fights around single-handedly.

Notably, in the semifinals against BLG, Yone’s scaling power became evident when Faker managed to secure critical mid-to-late game picks, enabling T1 to snowball and press their advantage. In particular, Yone’s Soul Unbound (E) allowed Faker to initiate plays, poke down key targets, and then safely retreat, making it nearly impossible for the enemy team to catch him. This Worlds performance reinforced Yone as a powerful and reliable pick for mid-lane dominance.

Why Yone is so polarizing – Reddit

Jungle Choices: The Consistency of Vi, Nocturne, and Sejuani

This year’s jungle meta showed a balance between heavy engage, single-target lockdown, and sustain-based options, with Vi, Nocturne, and Sejuani standing out as reliable choices.

• Vi: Known for her single-target lockdown and ability to isolate key players, Vi’s Assault and Battery (R) made her a staple for setups that relied on eliminating high-priority enemy champions. In a crucial quarterfinal match, Hanwha Life Esports used Vi to consistently target the opposing ADC, preventing them from ever reaching critical mass. Her synergy with mid-lane assassins like Ahri or control mages like Orianna meant that once Vi locked down a target, her team had no trouble securing the kill.

What is the strongest build for vi right now? – Reddit

• Nocturne: Famous for his darkness-inducing Paranoia (R), Nocturne re-emerged as a popular pick due to his ability to disrupt communication and split apart team formations. FlyQuest’s jungler used Nocturne to perfection by timing Paranoia to split up team fights, creating opportunities for his team’s backline to eliminate isolated targets. Nocturne’s fear-inducing Unspeakable Horror (E) also served as an effective counter to squishy, high-damage champions who thrived on positioning and spacing.

Nocturne tips! – Reddit

• Sejuani: With a heavy tank presence, Sejuani became the go-to for compositions needing a frontliner who could also provide substantial crowd control. Her Glacial Prison (R) proved instrumental in team fights, and her ability to soak up damage while slowing enemies let her initiate and endure through skirmishes. Team Liquid’s use of Sejuani to buffer the frontline allowed them to hold off aggressive dive comps, providing consistent zoning that enabled their ADC to thrive without fear of diving threats.

Sejuani Top is AMAZING –  Reddit

Sejuani Top is AMAZING –  RedditSejuani Top is AMAZING –  RedditVi, Nocturne, and Sejuani each offer unique approaches to the jungle role, from high-engagement plays to sustain-heavy zone control, and their continued viability is a testament to the depth and flexibility of this year’s jungle meta.

Bot Lane Variety: Kai’Sa, Ezreal, and Ziggs Emerge as ADC Favorites

While ADC meta usually revolves around critical-strike champions, Worlds 2024 showed a surprising variety, with Kai’Sa, Ezreal, and Ziggs leading the charge.

• Kai’Sa: Known for her hybrid magic and physical damage, Kai’Sa fit into compositions needing a high-burst, engage-heavy ADC. Her Killer Instinct (R) enabled her to dive alongside her team’s frontline, allowing for aggressive plays against backlines. Top Esports’s ADC masterfully showcased Kai’Sa’s potential in aggressive comps, using her for high-risk, high-reward plays that often saw her melting enemy backliners before they could react.

Tips for new Kaisa main? – Reddit

• Ezreal: Ezreal’s mobility and poke made him a solid choice for compositions needing to kite out opponents. His Arcane Shift (E) enabled him to reposition effectively, and his Mystic Shot (Q) poke allowed him to wear down tanks before the full engage. G2 Esports leveraged Ezreal’s safety and sustain for a scaling-focused bot lane, winning extended fights by dodging skill shots and gradually out-damaging less mobile ADCs.

What makes Ezreal so popular? – Reddit

• Ziggs: An unconventional ADC pick, Ziggs found a unique role in poke compositions, offering long-range zoning potential and tower pressure with his Satchel Charge (W). His ability to siege safely from a distance, combined with heavy poke, made him a great fit in slower, siege-oriented team comps. Fnatic ran Ziggs as a tower-destroying machine, using his ultimate to soften enemy lines before closing in for objectives.

Is Ziggs just underrated? – Reddit

Each ADC demonstrated a different approach to bot lane strategy, from aggressive divers to poke-oriented siegers, contributing to an unpredictable bot lane meta that kept opponents guessing.

Support Variety: Engagers and Enchanters Take the Stage

Support picks at Worlds 2024 revealed a balance between crowd-control-heavy engage supports and utility-focused enchanters.

• Rell and Nautilus: With teamfight-heavy kits, Rell and Nautilus found roles as initiators, capable of locking down multiple opponents with heavy CC. Weibo Gaming’s support repeatedly used Rell to disrupt enemy formations, diving into the heart of fights to peel for the ADC or pin down threats. Nautilus similarly provided consistent CC, with his Dredge Line (Q) letting him reliably initiate.
• Renata Glasc and Senna: Renata Glasc and Senna, however, offered unique alternatives with heavy utility. Renata’s Hostile Takeover (R) turned teamfights by causing chaos within enemy lines, allowing her team to eliminate key targets during the confusion. Senna provided long-range poke and sustain, acting as a secondary ADC with her Piercing Darkness (Q) while still supporting her team with heals and shields.

With these picks, supports could toggle between enabling ADCs, disrupting backlines, or mitigating incoming damage, giving teams flexibility in responding to their opponents’ comps.

New Stars: Aurora and Smolder’s Rise to Meta

Two new champions, Aurora and Smolder, debuted at Worlds 2024, quickly carving out roles and bringing fresh strategies to mid and jungle positions.

• Aurora

A highly mobile mage with unique crowd-control mechanics, Aurora has abilities that synergize well with roaming strategies. Her Frozen Field (W), which slows and gradually roots enemies, made her perfect for setting up ganks and assisting in jungle skirmishes. Aurora’s ultimate, Frigid Embrace, an area-effect that stuns enemies within a radius, became a game-changer in team fights, especially when combined with champions like Nocturne or Vi.
In the quarterfinals, Gen.G’s mid-laner deployed Aurora to control vision and pressure objectives, freezing out enemy champions and making it difficult for them to engage safely. Aurora’s capacity to engage or disengage by slowing enemies around her enabled her team to set up advantageous fights or disengage after taking objectives.

• Smolder 

A versatile, damage-dealing jungler, Smolder adds new life to the jungle role by thriving both as an assassin and a fighter. His Ignite Fury (Q) has a stacking mechanic that boosts his attack damage based on stacks, allowing him to go toe-to-toe with tankier champions. This makes him a terror in 1v1 jungle matchups but also lets him scale up to become a late-game threat.
LNG’s jungler brought Smolder into a game against Top Esports, where his ability to close gaps with Blazing Rush (E) and instantly secure kills on the enemy backline made him invaluable. His ultimate, Inferno Descent, let him dive directly into enemy lines, dealing AoE damage while becoming nearly unstoppable.

The adaptability of both Aurora and Smolder across compositions made them top picks this year, and their success at Worlds is likely to make them mainstays in ranked games for months to come.

What Made Worlds 2024 More Than Just a Tournament?

Aside from the meta shifts and champion popularity trends, Worlds 2024 highlighted League of Legends as a full cultural event that extends beyond gameplay alone. The tournament delivered on atmosphere, with an opening ceremony blending music, augmented reality, and live performance, creating a spectacle that energized the entire venue and thousands of fans watching online. Worlds also embraced a global, inclusive viewing experience with expanded co-streaming options, allowing fans to tune in with over 75 different content creators worldwide. Riot’s partnership with Opera GX amplified this by offering fans custom viewing options, unique in-game rewards for key moments, and a “co-streamer hub” for finding streams in various languages. This year’s event clearly wasn’t just about which team won, but about giving fans an immersive experience that connected them to the action—and to each other—on a global scale.