The LTA North is churning through Split 2, with the teams already into their second series for the group stage phase. After an exciting round of best-of-ones, the teams are now diving back into fearless draft, where more emphasis will be put on the teams creativity to come up with solid drafts over a potential three game series. This means that more champions will hit the chopping block, especially the strongest in the meta right now. 

Let's go lane by lane at some of the most popular picks right now in Split 2 for LTA North.

Top

With grubs being such a high priority right now in professional League of Legends, three champions dominate the presence percentage in the pick and ban phase. Rumble, Jayce, and Gwen are the three most common picks in the lane. This is done with the thought of getting a winning lane in the top lane, that can then transition into either a Grub's advantage, or getting pressure onto the bottom tower when the bottom lane swaps in the first few minutes.

Jungle

The current meta right now in the jungle is facilitating, which means picking champions that aren't exactly going to carry the game from a damage perspective, but will help set the team up for success. Xin Zhao, Sejuani, Naafiri, and Vi are the four most common champions in the game. Out of the four, only Vi has a 100 percent pick and ban rate, with the latter being more common in the LTA North. Although Xin has been played the most, it's mainly been on the losing side, having a 25% win-rate according to League of Legends stats site gol.gg.

Mid

The mid lane pool right now in the LTA is more about having a strong laner that can shove in the waves and then be first for the grubs. This is why champions like Azir and Taliyah have risen to the ranks in the LTA this split. Both of these champions have played over ten games this split, and they are the only two champions to have this accolade. They both have a win rate of 54% and 42%, respectively. Ryze has been an interesting introduction to the mid lane with the item changes coming through. The problem has been that most mid laners in the LTA do not look comfortable on the champion at all, never taking him to the side lane to apply pressure, and constantly lacking in damage during fights.

ADC

The ADC position has been dominated by two champions in particular, Varus and Ezreal, with both of them having over ten games each this split, with no other champion reaching double digits. The objective for the bottom lane right now is to have a strong 2v2 that can then swap to the top side of the map and contest for grubs, as they seem far more valuable right now than the early dragon. Other champions like Miss Fortune and Kalista have also been picked, but they are what some pro players would consider a bait pick, because they heavily rely on setup, something the NA teams are not efficient at.

Support

The support pool in the LTA North has been an interesting one, with many of the picks focused around teamfighting and having a strong presence early in the bottom lane. Champions like Alistar, Rakan, and Nautilus have all featured heavily, and we expect that to continue as the season moves into fearless draft for the remainder of the split. When the best-of-fives come around, expect more picks like Braum, Neeko, and Leona to appear far more often.

Moving into the best of fives, it'll be interesting to see how teams will perform with the fearless draft. And with the new seasonal changes coming mid way through the season, it could send the meta into comply anarchy as players and teams scramble to find the best picks as the map, items, and more change!