Picking a main in League is like choosing a college major. You’re gonna spend hundreds of hours with this champion, so you better not hate them after game 50. Season 2025 changed enough that some old reliable picks just don’t work anymore. Here’s who actually climbs right now.
Top Lane Kings
Ambessa dominates lane phase harder than any recent release. Her kit flows naturally, combos make sense after 10 games, and she scales without becoming useless. Players in Diamond+ show 58% winrate after 50 games. That’s absurd for a newer champion.
Garen still works. I know, boring pick. But consistency wins games. You’ll never get banned out, never worry about mechanical misplays, and can focus entirely on macro. Plus nobody expects the Garen one-trick in high elo. They exist and they’re terrifying.
Jungle Carries
Viego fits every single team comp. Tank top? You’re the damage. Full AD team? Build bruiser. Behind early? Farm for items. Ahead? Invade everything. The possession mechanic means you’re basically learning five champions at once, which keeps things interesting after 200 games.
Warwick for players under Platinum. Hear me out. His clear is healthy, ganks are straightforward, and blood hunt teaches you map awareness naturally. You’ll learn jungle fundamentals without worrying about complex mechanics. Graduate to harder champs after hitting Plat.
Mid Lane Monsters
Ahri survived every meta since 2011 for good reason. Safe laning, pick potential, mobility, and enough damage to matter. She teaches you everything about mid lane – roaming, wave management, positioning. When Ahri’s weak, you’re still useful. When she’s strong, you’re unstoppable.
Twisted Fate if you want to actually improve at League. Not just climb, but understand the game. His ult forces you to watch the entire map. His weak laning teaches wave manipulation. Every game becomes a macro lesson. Fair warning: first 100 games will hurt.
Bot Lane Beasts
Jinx rewards good positioning more than any ADC. Stay alive in fights and you become a monster. Die once and you’re useless. This binary nature teaches you ADC fundamentals fast. Plus her rocket range forgives spacing mistakes that would kill you on other carries.
Caitlyn controls lane phase better than anyone. You’ll win lanes you shouldn’t through trap placement and range abuse. She falls off mid-game but comes back late. Perfect for learning how to push advantages and play around power spikes.
Support Difference Makers
Poppy works into everything. Enemy has dashes? You’re their biggest counter. No dashes? You’re still a tank with CC and damage. Versatile build paths, can roam, can peel. Nobody bans her. Ever.
Lux because damage supports carry harder in solo queue. Land one Q in a teamfight and someone dies. Shield your whole team. Steal objectives with ult. Low elo players don’t respect her damage. High elo players respect it but still die to it.
The Reality Check
Before committing to any champion, check where you actually stand. Use a LoL MMR Checker to see your true rating. If your MMR is way below your visible rank, you need simple champions while you fix fundamentals. No point learning Azir when you’re getting +15 LP per win.
Champions like Yasuo, Lee Sin, and Aphelios are trap picks for climbing. Sure, that challenger one-trick makes them look broken. But you’re not them. You have a job, school, whatever. You play 3 games a day max. Pick something that works with limited practice time.
Actually Committing
Pick two champions. One main, one backup for when you’re banned or hard countered. Play nothing else for 100 games. Not 20. Not 50. One hundred games minimum.
Track your stats. Win rate, KDA, CS per minute. You’ll see massive improvement around game 30, plateau around 60, then breakthrough around 80. That’s normal. Push through.
Season 2025 rewards consistency over flashy plays. The durability changes mean you can’t just one-shot everyone anymore. Teamfights last longer. Macro matters more. Pick champions that fit this reality.
Skip the montage champions. Pick something proven. Climb first, style later.
