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The best champions by role on League of Legends patch 26.21 are Gangplank in the top lane, Cho’Gath in the jungle and Ahri in the mid lane — each the strongest, most consistent pick across U.GG, OP.GG, Lolalytics and Mobalytics. Behind them, Shen and Malphite lead top, Master Yi and Wukong the jungle, and Yasuo and Ekko the mid.
Here are the best LoL champions for top, jungle and mid on patch 26.21, how we ranked them, and which to pick by difficulty.
Best champions by role (26.21)
The strongest top, jungle and mid picks, by consensus across the major trackers.
| Role | Top picks | Best overall |
|---|---|---|
| Top | Gangplank, Shen, Malphite, Camille, Darius | Gangplank |
| Jungle | Cho’Gath, Master Yi, Wukong, Sylas, Lillia | Cho’Gath |
| Mid | Ahri, Locke, Yasuo, Ekko, Katarina | Ahri |
How we ranked them
For each role we cross-referenced U.GG, OP.GG, Lolalytics and Mobalytics on Emerald+ solo-queue data, favouring champions that rank highly on most sources rather than one. In the top lane, Gangplank is the only champion with full 4/4 consensus, with Shen and Malphite close behind. The jungle is led decisively by Cho’Gath, first on OP.GG and Lolalytics in both patches, backed by Master Yi and Wukong. Mid is headed by Ahri — the most popular and safest carry — alongside the heavily banned new champion Locke and the ever-present Yasuo. Note Darius and Xin Zhao were buffed this patch, while Lee Sin and Viktor were nerfed.
The top pick in each role
The best champion to first-pick in top, jungle and mid.
Top #1
JG #1
Mid #1
Rising
More LoL? See our best champions overall, best supports and best ADCs.
Best by difficulty
Which pick to choose depending on how much mechanical skill you want to invest.
| You want… | Top | Jungle | Mid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy to learn | Malphite / Garen | Wukong / Master Yi | Ahri / Vex |
| A bruiser or carry | Darius / Camille | Cho’Gath / Sylas | Yasuo / Katarina |
| High skill ceiling | Gangplank / Fiora | Lee Sin / Elise | Ekko / Twisted Fate |
Best champions by role FAQ
Win rates and tiers are Emerald+ solo-queue data from U.GG, OP.GG, Lolalytics and Mobalytics on patch 26.21 (22 October 2026). LoL patches roughly every two weeks, so we update this list each patch.
