Most picked champions at First Stand 2025: An old favorite claims the top spot
The inaugural edition of First Stand has wrapped to a close, marking the first international tournament to feature the use of Fearless Draft throughout. After teams from every Tier-1 region in professional League of Legends converged at Seoul, South Korea, which champions stood up to dominate the draft?
Let's take a look at the most picked champions at First Stand 2025, as well as how these performed at the tournament.
Most Picked Champions at First Stand 2025
Exclusive to Strafe Esports#1 Ezreal: 13 picks
Despite being released in 2010, Ezreal stands the test of time by becoming the most picked champion at First Stand 2025. And yet, though teams at the tournament leaned heavily on the Prodigal Explorer for his safety and long-range poke, Ezreal only won 6 games out of the total of 13 times (46.2% win rate) that the champion was picked.
Clearly, teams didn't have an issue playing against Ezreal either, with the ADC being banned only twice throughout all of First Stand.
- Player with the most picks: Doggo with 5 picks.
#2 Vi: 11 picks
For all you junglers out there, understand that Vi is a pick that simply brings a bit of everything to the mix; be it mobility, decent amounts of damage, or the ability to create space for her carries to take over fights. The real reason Vi is so high up on the list, however, is simply due to her [R] Cease and Desist, an ability that means the enemy backline is never safe the minute Vi hits level 6.
With a 54.5% win rate and a total of 10 bans at First Stand 2025, Vi continues to be a menace on the international stage thanks to a kit that suits pro play to a tee.
- Player with the most picks: Peanut with 5 picks.
#3 Leona: 11 picks
Leona shares the same number of picks as Vi (11), though with only 4 total bans at the tournament. Like Vi, Leona's kit brings a bit of everything to the support role: engage, peel, lockdown, frontline; you name it.
Despite the players' trust in the pick, Leona held the second-lowest average KDA (1.98) out of all support picks at First Stand 2025, which explains her win rate only going as high as 45.5%.
- Player with the most picks: Targamas with 5 picks.
#4 Varus: 10 picks
Like Ezreal, Varus is a safe pick for ADC players looking to stand back and dish out the pain from a distance. In the case of Varus, however, his [R] Chain of Corruption has the ability to create space for himself as well as teammates in fights, setting him apart from the competition.
Perhaps it's for this very reason, coupled with the ludicrous amounts of damage he can deal through his Lethality build, that Varus has the highest win rate out of any champion on this list at an incredible 70%. This would also explain why he was also the most banned champion on this list at First Stand 2025 with 11 total bans.
- Player with the most picks: Viper and JackeyLove with 3 picks each.
#5 Taliyah: 9 picks
Taliyah's ability to move quickly around the map thanks to her [P] Rock Surfing and [R] Weaver's Wall brings enough value to pro play as it is. And yet, when paired with a champion with reliable lockdown in the jungle such as Vi or Maokai, Taliyah can delete an enemy target in an instant by landing [W] Seismic Shove on a priority target, potentially changing the course of the game on the spot.
This is perhaps what serves to explain her 66.7% win rate at First Stand 2025, the highest out of any mid lane champion picked more than 5 times. Though Taliyah shares her 9 total number of picks with Azir, Rell, and Aurora, the Stoneweaver trumps all of these champions after seeing a total of 9 bans throughout the tournament.
- Player with the most picks: Vladi with 4 picks.
The Top Lane Phenomenon
Surprisingly, there is not a single top lane champion among the top 5 most picked champions at First Stand 2025. This is because the top lane was the most varied role at the tournament when it came to champions picks with a total of 21 unique picks (shared with the mid lane).
The most played champion in the top lane at First Stand was actually Rumble with 8 total picks. A reliable source of damage, Rumble put up the highest number of kills per game (3.75) out of any champion picked in the top lane more than twice throughout the tournament. Despite this, the pick only won 50% of its games: perfectly balanced, as all things should be.
The player who picked Rumble the most at the tournament was none other than First Stand Champion, Zeus.
Rumble was the most picked champion in the top lane at First Stand 2025. (Credit: Riot Games)Follow Strafe Esports for all the latest League news and our X account for the latest content and coverages. Also, stay tuned to Strafe YouTube for exclusive interviews, press conferences, and more.
Featured image credit: Christina Oh/Riot Games
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