Patch 26.8 is here, and the meta has shifted in meaningful ways. Dr. Mundo lost jungle clear speed, Mel and Karma both took nerfs, while Lucian, Hwei, Lillia, and Viego received welcome buffs. This is also the last patch of Ranked Season 1 — Season 2 starts with 26.9 — so picking the right champion to grind your final LP matters more than ever.
This tier list covers all five roles using win rate data, pick rate trends, and patch context for Emerald+ solo queue.
What Changed in Patch 26.8 — Key Meta Shifts
Patch 26.8 is a balance patch with targeted changes rather than a systemic overhaul, but several of those changes hit high-profile picks hard enough to reshuffle the meta.
The biggest nerf goes to Dr. Mundo. His jungle clear speed has been curbed to prevent him from reaching his high-power spike too quickly, forcing him to spend more time in camp and giving enemies more windows to invade or contest objectives. Mundo was borderline oppressive in the jungle over the last two patches — this should push him out of must-ban territory.
Mel and Karma both took nerfs. Mel’s tuning addresses her overall damage output in the mid and late game, while Karma lost some of her poke efficiency in lane. Both champions had been overtuned in high-elo matchups. Expect their presence to drop in the mid and support roles respectively.
On the buff side, Lucian receives improvements to his early-game damage, which could put him back as a serious ADC option. Hwei gets mana efficiency buffs that make him less punishing to play in longer fights. Lillia has her jungle pathing smoothed out — combined with her built-in mobility, she now competes for a spot in the S tier again. Viego benefits from a cooldown reduction on his passive reset, making his snowball sequences faster and more reliable.
Season 1 context matters here. Patch 26.8 is the last patch before Ranked Season 2 kicks off in 26.9. That means two things: the meta is well-understood, so you should play proven high-win-rate picks rather than experimenting, and every game in the next two weeks has LP implications for your final Season 1 rank and rewards.
S Tier — The Best Champions Right Now (Patch 26.8)
These are the champions you should be playing if your goal is to maximize your win rate in patch 26.8. S tier picks are strong in the current meta, require manageable skill levels to execute, and have win rates consistently above 52% at Emerald+ rank.
Top Lane S Tier
Garen sits at the top of the top lane tier list with a 54.8% win rate — the highest of any top laner this patch. His kit is unaffected by the 26.8 changes, his item scaling is intact, and he punishes almost every melee matchup. Aatrox remains a safe blind pick with strong split-push and teamfight. Malphite is back as a reliable engage threat thanks to the current ADC-heavy bot meta — a full AP Malphite ultimate still wins teamfights on its own.
Jungle S Tier
Briar leads the jungle in raw carry potential — her snowball in the mid game is among the strongest in the game right now. Warwick and Xin Zhao both hover around 51–52% win rate and offer consistent gank pressure with low execution overhead. Nocturne is a reliable S tier pick for players who want to reliably assassinate squishy targets and force rift herald. Lillia re-enters S tier after her 26.8 buff — her pathing improvement makes early ganks reach lanes faster. Note: Dr. Mundo has dropped due to his clear speed nerf and is no longer an auto-include.
Mid Lane S Tier
Lissandra is the breakout pick of patch 26.8. Her Q cooldown buff from 26.7 has had time to sink into the meta, and players are now fully abusing her as a roaming threat — she freezes a lane, roams at level 6, and resets fights with her ult. If you can play her, she is the best mid laner in solo queue right now. Sion mid is the sleeper pick: his massive HP scaling and wave clear make him a reliable poke-bully who transitions into an unstoppable teamfight frontliner.
ADC S Tier
Jinx continues to dominate bot lane. Her 1v9 carry potential is unmatched when she gets ahead, and the current support meta — full of enchanters like Lulu and Sona — is tailor-made for her. She spikes hard at three items and is nearly unstoppable in teamfights once she gets a reset. Miss Fortune offers an accessible high-damage option with strong laning phase. Xayah retains her status as a reliable A-to-S pick thanks to her feather mechanics making her difficult to all-in.
Support S Tier
Lulu is the premier support this patch — her ability to peel for hypercarries like Jinx is unmatched. Sona is the highest win rate enchanter and one of the most impactful duo partners in the game. Thresh has climbed back into the top three supports through his CC chain and lantern utility, replacing more defensive picks. Braum rounds out S tier as the best engage tank — his passive stun setup punishes aggressive lanes and he excels at protecting his ADC from assassins.
A Tier — Strong and Reliable Picks
A tier champions are excellent choices that require a bit more knowledge or game sense to fully leverage, or are strong in certain match-ups but not universally safe blind picks. These are all viable for climbing.
Top Lane A Tier
Darius stays in A tier — he brawls very well in short skirmishes and his bleed passive punishes anyone who doesn’t respect him in lane. Fiora is one of the highest skill-ceiling top laners in the game and drops to A because she requires precise parry timing, but mains will put her in S. Sion top (rather than mid) also belongs in A — he is a slower, more telegraphed version of his mid counterpart but still an excellent tank-bruiser.
Jungle A Tier
Amumu is a strong team-fight-oriented jungler with near-infinite CC in his kit. His clear is clean and his ganks with W+E are easy to land. Kayn sits in A thanks to his two distinct transformation paths — Rhaast excels against tank-heavy comps while Shadow Assassin melts squishy targets. Viego jumps up from B tier following his passive cooldown buff: his reset sequences are now faster and cleaner, making him a legitimate threat once he gets his first item spike.
Mid Lane A Tier
Ahri is the most consistent mid laner for players who want a skill-expressive carry that can 1v9. Her mobility and pick potential are always relevant regardless of team comp. Hwei rises in value after his mana efficiency buff — he can now sustain through longer lane phases and contribute more heavily in extended fights. Lux rounds out A tier as a safe poke pick that transitions well into both support-adjacent and carry builds.
ADC A Tier
Lucian is the most interesting ADC to watch this patch. His early-game buff gives him back some of the laning dominance he had lost in previous patches — he could be S tier by the next patch if players adapt to him. Caitlyn provides the safest lane phase in the ADC pool with her range advantage. Ezreal stays in A for his safety and versatility, though he remains a low-damage option compared to hypercarries.
Support A Tier
Milio and Seraphine are the two best enchanter alternatives to Lulu and Sona. Milio shines against hard engage compositions thanks to his cleanse ultimate; Seraphine is especially strong alongside picks like Ashe or Senna that benefit from her aura range. Nami offers a reliable mix of poke, CC, and healing. Leona is the best aggressive engage support outside of S tier — she reliably finds picks in lane and transitions into an unstoppable frontliner in mid game.
B Tier — Solid Situational Choices
B tier champions are not bad — they just need the right conditions, the right team composition, or a deep champion familiarity to perform at peak level. Avoid blind-picking these unless you are comfortable on them.
- Top: Renekton, Camille, Kennen. Renekton is still a good counter-pick to most dive champions but lacks the late-game power of Garen or Aatrox. Camille punishes bruisers with her true damage passive.
- Jungle: Hecarim, Kha’Zix, Vi. Hecarim can snowball with E-ult engage, but requires strong map awareness. Kha’Zix excels in isolation kills but falls off in grouped team fights. Vi provides reliable engage but is predictable.
- Mid: Twisted Fate, Syndra, Viktor. TF is always relevant if you can hit level 6 before your opponents and exploit his global. Syndra is high burst but immobile. Viktor is a strong scaling pick but needs a safe laning phase.
- ADC: Jhin, Sivir, Kai’Sa. Jhin is satisfying to play and can reach high-damage thresholds, but is immobile. Sivir offers great engage-follow and waveclear. Kai’Sa is a skill-heavy carry who thrives with the right jungle set-up.
- Support: Blitzcrank, Pyke, Soraka. Blitz hooks decide games when they land. Pyke provides the only support execute in the game and resets gold. Soraka is the safest safe choice but brings no engage or peel against burst champions.
C Tier — Struggling This Patch
These champions are below average in patch 26.8. Playing them is not impossible, but you are putting yourself at a disadvantage in most games.
- Karma (Mid/Support): Her nerfs in 26.8 target her Q damage and mana costs, reducing her safe poke dominance. She is now a below-curve pick in both roles.
- Mel (Mid): Mel’s late-game damage output was trimmed significantly. She was borderline broken before — now she is back to merely “average” but that makes her C tier in a meta full of higher-damage mids.
- Lee Sin (Jungle): Lee Sin has been sliding for multiple patches. His carry potential depends almost entirely on mechanics and early snowball, and the current meta rewards less risky, more teamfight-oriented junglers.
- Zed (Jungle): Zed jungle was a niche pick that got exposed when the meta shifted towards tankier teams. He lacks the clear speed and flexibility of the S and A tier junglers.
Champions can and do cycle out of C tier quickly. Check back when 26.9 drops.
How We Rank Champions in This Tier List
Our rankings are based on three main inputs: win rate data at Emerald+ rank (where game sense is consistent enough to make win rates meaningful), pick and ban rate trends (high ban rate often indicates S tier power even if win rate is skewed by non-mains), and patch change context (buffs and nerfs, especially those that target core mechanics rather than numbers).
This is a solo queue tier list, not a pro play tier list. Azir might be S tier in coordinated pro play — he is B tier in solo queue. We focus on what wins you games in the ladder, not what teams draft at Worlds.
One important note: the tier of a champion assumes a reasonable build path. Using the right rune page and item order for the current meta is a significant win rate multiplier. Tools like buildzcrank adapt build recommendations in real time based on your team composition and the enemy champion list, so you are never running a generic build into a bad matchup.
Best Champions for Climbing in Patch 26.8
With Season 1 ending on this patch, here are the best picks to grind LP fast — sorted by how much practice you need to execute them.
If you want easy wins:
- Garen (Top) — point and click, great matchups, no skill shots required
- Amumu (Jungle) — his teamfight CC chain carries games with zero flashy mechanics
- Jinx (ADC) — if she gets 3 items and a kill, she wins teamfights on autopilot
- Malphite (Top/Support) — one button (R) that can turn fights instantly
If you have some champion experience:
- Aatrox (Top) — rewards reading your matchups but his kit is forgiving
- Lissandra (Mid) — need to understand roam timing, but high payoff
- Xin Zhao (Jungle) — aggressive early game that snowballs predictably
- Sona (Support) — position-dependent, but her sustain output is massive
If you are a champion specialist:
- Briar (Jungle) — high risk/reward, but the best carry potential in the jungle
- Viego (Jungle) — his reset sequences require practice but are gamebreaking when mastered
- Lux (Mid/Support) — landing her full combo reliably takes practice but the burst is enormous
For role-specific deep dives, check out our best top lane champions patch 26.8 and best mid lane champions patch 26.8 guides.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Patch 26.8 Tier List
What are the best champions in patch 26.8?
The strongest picks right now are Garen (Top, 54.8% WR), Briar and Warwick (Jungle), Lissandra (Mid), Jinx (ADC), and Lulu or Sona (Support). These champions consistently outperform the rest of the meta at Emerald+ and are safe blind picks in most situations.
Did Dr. Mundo get nerfed in patch 26.8?
Yes. Riot reduced Mundo’s jungle clear speed to prevent him from reaching his power spike too quickly. He was among the dominant jungler picks for the previous two patches. After this nerf he has dropped to A/B tier — still playable for Mundo mains, but no longer worth blind picking.
Which champions got buffed in patch 26.8?
Four champions received notable buffs: Lucian (early-game damage, rebounding as an ADC option), Hwei (mana efficiency, sustains better in long fights), Lillia (pathing smoother, re-enters jungle S tier), and Viego (passive cooldown reduced, faster reset chains). Lillia and Viego are the most impactful of the four for solo queue.
Is patch 26.8 the last patch of Ranked Season 1?
Yes — Ranked Season 1 ends at the end of the 26.8 cycle. Season 2 starts on the first day of patch 26.9. This is your last window to climb to your target rank and lock in your Season 1 rewards, so stick to proven, high-win-rate champions rather than trying new picks.
How often is this tier list updated?
We update the tier list with every new patch. If you want to compare the current meta with the previous one, check out our LoL tier list patch 26.7 for reference. Bookmark this page — it will refresh when 26.9 drops.