S15 Pro Meta & Key Picks Analysis (Part 3): PrioScore Top 21–30 Champions
October 2, 2025
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Kai’Sa is often drafted as the primary ADC in professional play when teams run dive compositions with strong initiation. Her passive grants bonus damage based on missing health, which suggests she could scale well into the late game. However, her base attack range is only 525, making positioning extremely difficult and limiting her carry potential compared to other marksmen.
When facing long-ranged mage mid laners such as Orianna, Azir, or Viktor, Kai’Sa struggles in the mid to late game if her team fails to secure advantages earlier. For example, if her team drafts Galio mid in a dive setup and the enemy locks in Orianna, Kai’Sa will increasingly feel the pressure of Orianna’s Q poke that outranges her auto attacks. As the game progresses, these range disadvantages make teamfighting much harder for Kai’Sa.
In the traditional bot lane triangle frequently mentioned in pro play, the matchup cycle goes Ezreal beats Xayah, Xayah beats Kai’Sa, and Kai’Sa pressures Ezreal. Ezreal can stack his passive to push waves while poking Xayah, Xayah outscales Kai’Sa in mid and late game fights with her E and R setup, while Kai’Sa has a clear edge against Ezreal once she reaches level six and completes her first core item.
Ezreal can pressure Xayah by stacking his passive and pushing waves while consistently harassing her with his superior range. Xayah, on the other hand, offers more late game value than Kai’Sa and excels in teamfights with the pullback from her E and the safety of her ultimate. While Kai’Sa cannot directly dominate Ezreal in lane, once she reaches level six and completes her first core item, her skirmishing power allows her to flip the matchup and pressure Ezreal in return.
One of the main reasons Kai’Sa drew particular attention this year was the rise of Neeko support. Kai’Sa relies heavily on pairing with a support that can provide reliable crowd control to stack her passive. Neeko complements Kai’Sa perfectly by covering her weak laning phase and enabling powerful initiation chains with her ultimate, creating a highly synergistic duo.
Kai’Sa is also unique in that both AD and AP builds are viable. The choice depends on early to mid game strength and the team’s AD/AP damage ratio. AD builds provide strong auto attack damage and greatly boost skirmishing power in the early and mid stages. AP builds, however, allow for stronger poke once W evolves and offer flexible itemization such as Zhonya’s Hourglass, which increases survivability and adaptability in extended games.
Lucian became established as a bottom lane ADC after major structural changes in patches 11.17 and 13.12. His original passive, which grants a double auto attack after casting an ability, was enhanced with a new effect that deals extra damage when paired with an ally’s buff or crowd control. This greatly strengthened his synergy with supports, which became the turning point for his role in pro play.
Because of this passive interaction, champions like Nami, who empowers auto attacks, and Braum, whose passive relies on auto attacks, are considered ideal partners. Braum in particular fits the current meta, which has shifted toward skirmish-heavy play. As teamfights around objectives have become more frequent, tank supports have risen in value. Braum thrives in these situations, providing strength in both lane and teamfights while maximizing Lucian’s kit.
Lucian’s biggest strengths are his fast power spikes and his ability to secure vision control around objectives. Compared to other ADCs, his early damage output is very strong, allowing him to easily gain lane priority. During objective fights, his ultimate pushes enemies back and creates advantageous zoning angles. This is why traditional bot lane duos like Ezreal–Braum and Lucian–Braum remain staples in professional tournaments. Even though Braum received a heavy nerf with a 12-point reduction to his base armor, his pick rate has stayed high because of his synergy with Lucian and his value in the current meta.
His main weakness, however, is his limited range. Lucian’s late game carry potential is noticeably weaker than most other marksmen. As a result, he shines best in compositions that need to engage first and secure control in the early and mid stages. In these setups, Lucian is not expected to carry the entire damage load alone but rather to contribute within a balanced team where the overall damage is evenly distributed.
The most impactful change for Annie came in patch 15.9 this April, when her R gained built-in magic penetration. This significantly improved her damage against tanky champions and shifted her role from being a lane-focused mage to a mid laner who can consistently pressure the frontline in mid and late game teamfights.
Her straightforward yet reliable kit, built around the guaranteed stun from four stacks, is the main reason Annie remains a steady pick in professional play. The presence or absence of Flash often determines her engage angles and initiation success rate, but even before her first core item she can handle most mid lane matchups smoothly while offering strong early skirmishing power.
Annie also has excellent synergy with junglers. Data shows her pairing especially well with Wukong. Since Wukong struggles to establish early priority before level six, Annie’s strong early trading and skirmishes help cover that weakness, allowing the duo to contest fights effectively.
In the end, Annie is less of a solo carry and more of a champion who maximizes her impact through coordinated play. Her value comes from reliable crowd control, strong early to mid game pressure, and team-oriented setups that make her a consistent threat in pro play.
Despite receiving two consecutive nerfs this season, Braum continues to hold a strong presence in professional play. There are two main reasons for this.
The first is the current skirmish-focused meta, which has pushed out many ranged poke supports. While Braum can be vulnerable if picked early due to weak lane pressure, the absence of most ranged supports other than Neeko makes him a much safer choice. This allows teams to draft him without heavy risk and more easily secure priority across different matchups.
The second reason is the buff to the Font of Life rune, which significantly improved Braum’s sustain. Previously, allies had to attack an enemy marked by Braum’s crowd control to heal. Now, the heal is applied instantly to nearby allies as soon as he lands crowd control. This change greatly increased lane durability and addressed one of Braum’s traditional weaknesses, which was early lane stability.
Braum recently suffered direct stat nerfs, including a 12-point reduction to his base armor, yet he remains competitive at the professional level. While his playstyle is somewhat passive, his clear impact in bot lane matchups and his consistent contributions in teamfights keep his pick value high.
In terms of matchups, Braum performs well against most engage-oriented tank supports, with Rakan being a notable exception. However, he struggles more when facing ranged poke supports who can harass him from a distance.
Looking ahead, if future patches buff ranged poke supports or long-ranged marksmen, Braum will likely lose priority in the pick order. Until then, his stability in lane and reliable teamfight presence ensure he remains a strong option in the current meta.
Recent pro play data shows a clear tradeoff between hyper-carry, auto attack–oriented ADCs like Jinx and Aphelios, and utility-focused marksmen. Jhin is always one of the first utility ADCs mentioned when this kind of meta takes shape. His overall value depends less on his raw stats and more on items and the champions drafted around him.
Jhin’s biggest strengths are his nearly even matchups into most lane opponents and his ability to impact long-range teamfights. With guaranteed crowd control and reliable damage from afar, he raises his team’s overall fight potential.
Another unique advantage is that Jhin relies less on auto attacks compared to most ADCs. He fits into the same category as poke champions like Varus, Ezreal, Lucian, Ziggs, and Kai’Sa. Even Corki, who is considered a top-tier pick outside of the newest champion Naafiri, still mixes in autos to supplement skill damage. Because of this, pro teams often design their bot lane compositions around this “skill-based marksman” grouping.
In terms of synergy with supports, Jhin works reasonably well with almost any partner except those who specifically empower auto attacks, such as Lulu or Braum. His flexibility allows him to be drafted according to a team’s overall strategic intent, making him one of the more adaptable picks in professional play.
Between October 2023 and April 2024, Yone’s W skill had its max health damage reduced from 11% to 8%, which pushed him out of the top-tier mid lane pool for a time. Even so, he remains one of the most reliable options when professional teams need an AD mid laner. His ability to balance the AD/AP ratio in team compositions is a major strength, and compared to other melee bruisers or assassins, Yone offers far stronger teamfighting presence.
Yone has particularly high value in dive compositions. The Yone–Sejuani duo is a classic example, maximizing synergy between their ultimates, while Yone–Maokai lineups stack multiple AoE ultimates to force favorable teamfights. In these setups, Yone does not need to be the primary initiator; his ultimate alone can shift the momentum of an entire fight.
His 2024 professional play record highlights his versatility across matchups:
Yone’s weaknesses are also very clear. His early laning is weak, and as a melee champion he is especially vulnerable to opponents with reliable crowd control. Against most other champions, his win rate remains relatively balanced. This reflects the fact that Yone is more often drafted as a counterpick rather than a blind pick. When selected in favorable conditions that minimize counterplay, Yone’s performance is maximized and he becomes a powerful mid lane option in pro play.
Jarvan IV was one of the most contested champions in 2023 international tournaments, ranking among the top three in ban-pick rate. However, after his passive’s current health damage was nerfed from 8% to 6% in the September patch that year, he fell out of the first-tier jungle pool. Interestingly, even though he later received stronger numbers in September 2024 compared to his pre-nerf state, his pick rate never fully recovered. This suggests that the issue was not purely about stats but rather a meta shift where pro teams preferred bruiser junglers like Vi who offer more stable and reliable roles, combined with individual player preferences.
Despite these trends, Jarvan’s kit design remains inherently strong. His Q reduces armor, his E grants allies bonus attack speed, and his ultimate provides guaranteed long-range engage that can trap immobile carries. These features make him effective as either the primary initiator or a secondary engager alongside another frontliner.
From a skirmish perspective, Jarvan is weaker in early 1v1 duels compared to early-game power junglers like Xin Zhao or Trundle. However, once he reaches level six, he excels in 2v2 and 3v3 fights, where his initiation and utility shine.
Jarvan’s ultimate also has excellent synergy with many champions. Classic pro-level combos include Rumble–Jarvan, Galio–Jarvan, and Orianna–Jarvan, all of which are designed to lock down key enemy carries and layer devastating AoE damage.
While Jarvan does not have many hard counters on a champion-to-champion basis, there are clear matchup concerns when viewed from a team composition standpoint. Champions like Poppy or Braum, who specialize in shutting down dive comps, are difficult for him to play against. Poppy can completely block Jarvan’s EQ combo with her W, while Braum can protect allies trapped by Jarvan’s ultimate or even turn fights with counter-engage tools.
Jarvan also loses effectiveness against mobile carries. Even if he lands his ultimate to trap them, opponents with Flash or mobility abilities can often escape, breaking the intended teamfight setup. Pro play data has repeatedly shown this scenario.
For these reasons, Jarvan is usually picked with careful consideration of the enemy ADC’s mobility and the team’s broader engage plan. Conversely, when Jarvan is drafted early, common counter-strategies include drafting mobile carries or pairing dive-stopping champions like Poppy and Braum into the composition.
Ezreal remains one of the most consistently picked marksmen in professional play. His defining strength compared to other ADCs is his exceptional safety. With his E providing instant mobility, Ezreal can avoid fatal mistakes in lane skirmishes and teamfights, while also responding flexibly to unexpected situations.
When he stacks his passive, Ezreal can hold his own in lane, and his synergy with a wide variety of supports such as Karma, Braum, and Yuumi makes him highly versatile. In pro play, the classic triangle of Ezreal beating Xayah, Xayah beating Kai’Sa, and Kai’Sa beating Ezreal continues to hold, while common pairings like Ezreal–Karma, Ezreal–Braum, and Ezreal–Yuumi are frequently drafted.
Ezreal’s core build revolves around the two-item spike of Trinity Force and Muramana. This is his strongest point in the game, but if his team fails to leverage that power spike, his carry potential drops sharply afterward. The reason is that as a spell-based damage dealer, his DPS does not scale significantly beyond two items, while traditional auto attack hyper-carries start reaching their peak around three items with armor penetration builds. This timing marks the end of the tank meta phase and the start of the true hyper-carry ADC growth window.
Because of this, drafting Ezreal early requires pairing him with supports like Karma that guarantee lane priority. When picked later in draft, team compositions must be designed to maximize his two-item power spike, ensuring he can deliver impact before being outscaled by other marksmen.
Bard has recently risen in professional play under similar circumstances as Braum. While his laning phase is relatively weak, the current meta heavily favors engage-oriented melee tank supports with limited poke. This makes Bard stand out as a ranged support who can secure lane priority more easily than most alternatives.
As of September, Neeko is the only other ranged utility support commonly seen in pro play, which makes Bard’s emergence feel almost inevitable. His ability to contest lane while offering utility outside of direct trades has made him a valuable strategic option.
Bard also synergizes extremely well with the item Redemption. In today’s meta, where frequent objective skirmishes are the norm, Redemption’s AoE healing effect provides immense value. Meanwhile, Bard’s ultimate can completely change the outcome of a fight by disabling enemy AoE initiation or enabling follow-up plays from his team, making it one of the most game-changing tools in a single cast.
Of course, Bard’s weak laning phase leaves him vulnerable in certain matchups. If champions like Neeko, Senna, or Seraphine are buffed, or if grab-based supports like Blitzcrank and Thresh rise in priority, Bard could face more pressure as a countered pick. Even so, his powerful ultimate and synergy with meta-friendly items allow him to remain a stable and reliable support choice in professional tournaments.
Nocturne has long been a jungle pick in professional play not for raw individual power, but for the synergy he brings to specific team compositions. Classic dive setups such as Nocturne–Galio, Nocturne–Orianna, or Nocturne–Naafiri revolve around layering ultimates to dive directly onto enemy carries, making him a central piece of these strategies.
Unlike most junglers who rely heavily on their level six ultimate but are weak beforehand, Nocturne is an exception. His entire kit is designed for dueling, giving him exceptional strength in early 1v1s. In fact, he can go toe to toe with early-game powerhouses like Trundle, Xin Zhao, and Olaf, often matching or even outpacing them in direct combat.
Nocturne’s greatest strength is his ability to influence side lanes after level six. His ultimate allows him to support split-push strategies or punish enemy laners attempting to farm in isolation. However, he is far more effective in skirmishes and pick-based play than in large-scale 5v5 teamfights. This makes scenarios where his team sacrifices early dragons and is later forced into 5v5s at four or five drakes particularly dangerous for Nocturne comps.
Recently, the buff to Experimental Hexplate drew renewed attention to him, adding more depth to his itemization. Even so, Nocturne only reaches full potential when drafted into dive-oriented lineups. At the pick-ban stage, it is critical to remove counter champions like Poppy or Braum, who can shut down his engage and limit his team’s dive potential.
For teams running Nocturne, the win condition is clear: snowball hard in the early and mid game, maintain tempo, and dominate side-lane pressure. On the other side, opponents must respond by securing early objectives or forcing straight 5v5 fights, which neutralize Nocturne’s preferred playstyle.
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