The League of Legends World Championships 2020 is over, and the stats are in. The Purifier, Lucian, stood out as the most-banned pick of the tournament.
The traditional marksman caused havoc on the Rift at Worlds 2020. With the ability to be triple flexed, Lucian is considered to be dominant in almost every lane in the meta. He could be played top or bot, albeit to little success compared to his prominent position. He was found to be the most dominant in the mid lane, particularly on the blue side.
Due to his lane dominance and triple-flex ability, he was banned in 78.9 percent of games during the Worlds 2020 main event, according to Oracle’s Elixir and Game of Legends.
Although Lucian was most prominent in the mid lane, he did see play in the bot lane for one match. G2’s bot laner Perkz, historically one of Europe’s greatest players, picked up Lucian in the drafting phase against eventual winners DAMWON Gaming in the semifinals. Unfortunately for the bot laner, he couldn’t match the range of the opposing team which stifled G2’s chances against the Korean side. DAMWON proved to be way too strong for G2 to handle and eventually won it all.
The second and third most-banned champions at the Worlds 2020 main event was Nidalee and Twisted Fate. Both champs were banned in 63.2 and 60.5 percent of games, respectively. Twisted Fate, in particular, is strong in the mid lane because of his global ultimate and instant-stun gold card in his kit.
It’s no surprise that Lucian became so sought-after. LCK and LPL top laners discovered his strength towards the end of the Summer Split and since then he became a pick or ban champion. His lane pressure was insane and he still remains strong to this day. If he doesn’t get nerfed in the upcoming patches, then he will maintain his strength throughout the upcoming Spring Split in all regions.
While there are different ways to nerf Lucian, his current state is unplayable in the bottom lane. He could be played top or bot, albeit to little success compared to his prominent position. He was found to be the most dominant in the mid lane, particularly on the blue side. By giving him his old range back and nerfing some ratios, he might become stronger in the bottom lane while being less picked in the solo lanes. However, until then all we can do is wait for Riot to offer their solutions.
