Whether you’re a casual fan or a competitive player, everyone knows that it is nearly time for the League of Legends World Championship. This year, the Championship will be hosted in South Korea – you can find out all about it here. However, this article will analyze the patch, otherwise known as the state-of-the-game, that the pros will be playing on for the entire month of the World Championship. Released on September 27th, patch 13.19 literally sets the stage for how the game will be played and which champions will be relevant in nearly all the games played at this World Championship. First, this analysis will review patch 13.19 in its entirety, then will make predictions on champions, team compositions, and gameplay strategies that will be most effective at the championship.

Patch 13.19

For the entire readout of the patch notes, please read the Riot Games press release above – this analysis will only be a review of the changes and an in-depth breakdown. With that being said, it is time to get started with the champion and item buffs.

Beginning with the minor buffs, Galio, Gangplank, Jhin, and Twitch all got their ultimate abilities buffed in various ways. These changes likely will not change their viability in the patch, but we could see a bit more of Galio and Gangplank being played; Jhin and Twitch probably won’t be played at all during this Championship. Lee sin also received some minor buffs, but they could also be viewed as nerfs. His W and E abilities lost some power, but his base Armor was increased. Lee sin will probably see some play because he always does in the World Championship.

Moving on to the more major buffs, Lissandra, Nunu, Pyke, and Syndra all got pretty good buffs. Syndra got the best buffs, garnering 5 more damage on her Q at every level. While this does not seem like much, she uses her Q every 3ish seconds in the mid to late game, so the damage will add up quickly. Lissandra received a CC duration increase on her W, making her a lot more viable in pro play. Nunu and Pyke both got some big buffs across all their abilities but probably won’t see any play at Worlds. Syndra and Lissandra are much more likely to see a good amount of playtime by pros in the mid-lane.

Quickly going through the nerfs, Azir, Renekton, and Zeri all got small nerfs to their early game. All three of these champions will still be played in the Championship, they will just be a bit easier to play against in the early game. On the other hand, Leblanc, Rek’sai, and Briar got pretty big nerfs, so big that they probably won’t be played very much in this championship. Briar especially because she is the newest champion in the game and may be globally banned for the championship.

Finally, only three items were changed. Randuin’s Omen got a cost change from 3000 to 2700 gold, meaning it will definitely be one of the best tank items at the championship. Seeker’s Armguard got a five-armor increase, which makes Zhonya’s Hourglass a bit better. Since Zhonya’s has always been one of the best mage items in the game, this buff to its component will make it even better and will probably be bought by mages every game in the championship. Lastly, Statikk Shiv got hit the hardest, losing 25% of the damage on its active. The Statikk Shiv buff indirectly nerfs all the champions that use it, including Leblanc (who basically is double nerfed with this change), Kai’sa, Vayne, and more.

Championship Predictions

It is too early to predict the winner of the championship with any certainty, but we can predict what the games could look like with this new patch. Games will likely start out very early game-centric, and teams will win in the first 20 to 30 minutes of the game. Team fights will probably center around Rift Heralds in the early game, and dragon fights will be a secondary objective while the herald is not up. However, as the championship tournament progresses, dragons will become the primary objective over the herald because the games will last longer as the teams become more evenly matched.

Team compositions will start out early game-centric as well, with champions like Tristana, K’Sante, Rumble, Lee sin, Elise, Ahri, Ashe, Draven, Xayah, Rakan, Nautilus, and Alistar. All of which are strong early-game lane champions but also have a good team fight capabilities around objectives. However, as the tournament progresses, the team compositions and champions probably will too. Champions like Azir, Corki, Syndra, Lissandra, Varus, Sivir, Aphelios, Thresh, Karma, Maokai, Sejuani, Aatrox, and Jax will likely emerge as the games become more evenly matched and longer. All somewhat strong in the early game but have their real power come out in the late-game team fights. While these are just predictions, we will see all these champions at some point during the Championship because they are all standard in the worlds meta.

The League of Legends World Championships is always an exciting time, and anything can happen! What are you most excited for in this World Championship?