League of Legends esports is back in full force, with the five major regions gearing up as the first international event of the year, First Stand, is upon us. Every year, there are a select few champions, specifically in the esports scene, that drive the overall narrative that transcends into League of Legends solo queue with players looking to emulate their favorite esports player. Let’s take a look who is the most banned champion in LoL at the moment. These League bans will give you an idea of who is strong in the game at the moment.

LoL’s most banned champions

Skarner and Kalista are by far the most banned champions in League of Legends esports for the 2025 season. The pair have only seen 33 games between each other across all major regions. Considering there have been hundreds of games played already, that is not a high number by any means. Skarner has a presence rate in League of Legends of 94%, which means the Scorpion features in almost every single best-of-three and best-of-one across the globe in the competitive scene.

Kalista is also one of, if not the, strongest ADC in the game, especially in the competitive scene. If the right person is able to get their hands on her, it’s a major problem as they are likely to take over the game. Thankfully with the entire esports scene moving to fearless draft, she can only be played once. Kalista has a slightly lower presence rate than Skarner at 87%, being played a few more games than the Scorpion. 

After Kalista and Skarner, the ban rate in League of Legends falls down drastically. In esports, teams will often do what’s called a handshake, where they will allow certain picks to remain open in order to get a good pick for themselves. For example, most teams will often handshake on giving over one of K’Sante, Ambessa, and Renekton in the top lane.

K’Sante is often the champion who is allowed to somehow keep his spot despite being arguably the strongest top laner in the game. K’Sante has the best of both worlds in the sense he gets to play a lot of games but also sees himself on the LoL ban list quite often. K’Sante has the third LoL champion ban rates at 91.

Which League bans are worth it?

Ideally, K’Sante is one of the best bans in League of Legends. In the right hands, such as a Bin, or Zeus, he is a completely different champion to many who try to pilot him without really understanding the nature of his kit. He is a tank, but he is also an immediate threat to squishy champions hugging the enemy backline. K’Sante has run rampant on the LoL esports scene since his debut, and Riot has struggled to keep him out of the game for an extended period of time. Let’s take a look at K’Santes League of Legends banned champions states across multiple tournaments and where that ranks him amongst the other champions at the event:

• LoL esports 2025: 91 (3rd)
• Worlds 2024: 12 (28th)
• MSI 2024: 12 (25th)
• Worlds 2023: 15 (18th)
• MSI 2023: 35 (2nd)

While the middle of the calendar shows K’Sante did not receive many bans in a couple of tournaments, don’t let that statistic fool you. K’Sante when not having a high ban rate was always being allowed to be picked with K’Sante frequently dominating the competition.

How the ban system works in solo queue and professional play

League of Legends has had a ban system since the dawn of time. It started off with three bans, and those who were in the first three positions on the match screen got to choose who they were banning. A few years ago, Riot changed that to ensure every player got a ban, as it often led to arguments with players three and four demanding a ban they may not get. More often then not, players will target specific champions they don’t want to face in their own lane. As you go lower down the ranks, the ‘noob champs’ such as Master Yi and Teemo will be banned regardless of position.

In competitive play, it obviously works differently. Teams will get five bans still, but it's more hyper-focused on the specific team they are playing. In the professional scene, there is a stricter meta is formed, with a limited number of champions available. This year, however, teams have had to broaden their champion pool as the fearless draft has been introduced for the first split of the season. Fearless draft for 2025 esports means when a champion has been picked in a best-of-three, they can no longer be picked for the rest of the series. 

If you wish to see how fearless draft is being played, there are multiple professional League of Legends leagues, such as the LPL, the LCK, the LTA, and the LCP currently doing fearless draft. The LEC will also be doing fearless once the tournament progresses to the knockout stage.