Top 5 LCS Jungle Picks For League of Legends Season 11
League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) Lock In tournament 2021 has heated up, and the final four teams are keeping their eyes on the prize. While the favourites of this competitive North-American tournament, Cloud9, have re-established their dominance and top-notch form, some underdog teams like Evil Geniuses have also showcased their valour moving into the Spring Split.
The League of Legends' current meta focuses on the jungle since the last season's major patch changed how dragons buffs work. If the ally/enemy team successfully slays four elemental dragons, they will get the soul of the last dragon that they have slain. Moreover, this elemental dragon buff is permanent. It gives an upper edge to the whole ally/enemy team throughout the match and drastically improves their chances of winning the match.
Therefore, every jungler has a responsibility to secure these dragons for his/her team and at the same time, perform the duties of the role. The Jungler has a very unpredictable role, and the players who can adapt to different game-states are good at it. They have to farm camps, invade whenever possible into the enemy jungle, and gank lanes to help counter-matchups get the lead on the opponent laners.
Due to the dragons being a significant priority, the junglers have ganked the bottom lane more than the top/mid lane to give them lane priority and safely get the dragons. Moreover, many jungle picks have been carrying the match for the teams, and they have been significant due to the recent item changes in the game. LCS 2021 also saw a host of old and new jungle picks taken by the professional players.
TOP FIVE LCS JUNGLE PICKS FOR LEAGUE OF LEGENDS SEASON 11 2021
1. GRAVES
Click to enlargeComing from Bilgewater, Graves has been a reliable pick in the jungle as he has a lot of utility and damage in his arsenal. His passive, Double Barrel, is all about his double-barrel shotgun, which shoots four pellets in a cone. His Q ability deals damage and has a significant AOE effect, making his clears faster. His W ability allows him to throw a Smoke Screen that blinds the enemy, and Graves could use it to outplay enemies. His E is a simple dash that instantly reloads one shot for his shotgun. His ultimate is a finisher, which can be used to eliminate mobile targets from a distance.
Combined with Galeforce, he has an extra mobility option, which allows him to reposition during the team fights. Moreover, the critical damage from the item synergies well with his passive and gives him access to raw damage.
2. HECARIM
Click to enlargeHecarim quickly takes second place on our list, and he has been a great Jungler in the current meta. His abilities have a comparatively low cooldown, and speed is a crucial aspect of his kit. His passive turns some of his movement speed to raw attack damage, which has the ability to obliterate enemy laners. With his E ability and other speed based runes/items, he can make fast rotations to catch the enemy off-guard and secure kills for his team. His ultimate ability, Onslaught of Shadows, is a great engage tool for starting team fights and opens up new windows of opportunities for the players.
For his mythic item, Divine Sunderer would be the go-to choice as it helps the champion gain tank stats and helps a bit with his early skirmishing power.
3. NIDALEE
Click to enlargeNidalee is one of the highest picked junglers in the LCS. She has a very interesting kit that allows her to poke the enemies heavily and heal herself in the process. She has a reasonably good clear, and her ultimate turns her into her cougar form, which grants her melee abilities. She is famous for her versatility, and her decent AP damage output always keeps her relevant. For her mythic item, feel free to choose different items based on the enemy champion. The LCS has seen quite a lot of items experimented onto her, serving different purposes.
4. UDYR
Click to enlargeThe Udyr used to be an unconventional jungle pick, but he has seen quite some play in the LCS and international leagues as well. He has a great early game, with players choosing to scale on him for the late game and let him soak up the damage while the squishy teammates do the damage and destroy enemy champions. He is a versatile pick as well, with quite a bit of heavy damage and Crowd Control in his kit, which allows him to be relevant within any stage of the game.
The ideal mythic item for him would be Turbo Chemtank, as it allows him to close the gap between the enemies and himself.
5. TALIYAH
Click to enlargeTaliyah is an underrated jungle pick, but she has seen her play-rate soaring high in the LCS, with numerous teams relying on her damage and late-game AP scaling to win the matches. Her passive allows her to roam faster through the map, and her abilities are designed to dish out heavy damage if placed perfectly. Her jungle clears are very fast in the mid to late game, and her ultimate serves as a tool to create windows for kills. Her ultimate can separate the team with her wall, and the ally team can pick up easy kills.
Her mythic item could be Liandry's Anguish, which pushes her damage to a whole new level and allows her to burst through tanks in the game.
Images via Riot Games
