10 Most Banned Champions in League of Legends
By Roger on May 2nd, 2025, 06:15
Many things can happen in the Champion Select lobby: swapping for first and counter picks, removing your biggest nightmare, or your one trick getting benched. The match hasn’t started, but the ban phase is already a crucial and exciting (or frustrating 😭) part of the game. Who are the usual suspects? Who consistently fears players across the globe, relegated to the sidelines more often than others?
Let's get straight to the ban conversation: the 10 most banned champions in League of Legends.
Note: Ban rates fluctuate constantly with patches, meta shifts, and new champion releases. The champions listed here are based on generally high ban rates observed across various skill levels and regions, according to data aggregators like U.GG and League of Graphs in 2025.
Before we name names, what usually lands a champion on this notorious ban list in League of Legends?
Let's meet the 10 most banned champions in League of Legends. The order may vary based on the current meta.
One of the latest champions to hit the Rift, Mel has posted the highest ban rate in the entire game since her release, with numbers as high as 73% at launch and still hovering near 50% after multiple nerfs.
Her unique kit, which combines high burst, crowd control, and mobility, makes her both difficult to play against and difficult to balance. Central to her frustration factor is her signature projectile reflection ability, which allows her to bounce back incoming spells and skill shots, redirecting them at their original caster or back along their path. This forces opponents to think twice before using key abilities against her.
It’s a whole new sport rather than a new ability. No other champion can do anything remotely like it, and players have gleefully discovered that if you get two Mels in a custom game, you can play “ping pong” with projectiles. It’s hilarious until you’re on the receiving end in ranked.
The unfamiliarity and perceived over-tuning of her abilities have led to an almost universal ban in solo queue, especially at higher ranks.
Players have joked for years: “Riot, do you dare release a champion with even more dashes?” Well, challenge accepted. Meet Ambessa, the undisputed queen of dashes. Her arrival brought a wave of bans, particularly in pro play, where her presence and ban rate are among the highest for new champions. Her versatile kit, which offers both strong engagement and survivability, makes her a threat in multiple roles. The lack of established counters and her impact in coordinated teamfights have led to a surge in bans across all levels of play.
Naafiri’s kit brings relentless aggression and snowball potential, making her a nightmare for any player who gets ahead early. Her ability to quickly roam, burst, and reset fights has resulted in ban rates that rival or surpass many of the game's legacy ban magnets.
But what really pushes Naafiri over the edge is her reworked W, which now makes her untargetable for a brief moment, letting her dodge critical spells, turret shots, and even hard crowd control. And just when you see her W on cooldown, her loyal packmates block skillshots and crowd control, making her even harder to pin down or peel off your carries.
This champion is feared for punishing squishy champions with his burst damage. The Master of Shadows remains a popular ban, especially in lower to mid ranks. His ability to instantly delete squishy carries with Death Mark and escape relatively safely makes him a constant threat. If you don't have instant CC or a Zhonya's Hourglass, facing a fed Zed feels like a death sentence waiting to happen.
Love him or hate him (mostly hate him if he's on the enemy team), Yasuo's hyper-mobility, damage potential, and game-changing Wind Wall keep his ban rate consistently high. The fear of the "10-death power spike" Yasuo on your team is rivaled only by the fear of the 10-kill Yasuo on the enemy's. His ultimate synergizing with all knock-ups makes him a potent pick in many team compositions.
A champion like Yone can dominate the top lane if left unchecked. Yasuo's brother, Yone, brings a similar taste of high damage and mobility but with a different flavour. His ability to go deep with Soul Unbound and then snap back to safety, combined with substantial mixed damage and crowd control, makes him incredibly difficult to pin down and punish, thus earning frequent bans.
A champion like Darius can dominate the top lane with his powerful kit. The Hand of Noxus is a lane bully whose passive, Hemorrhage, coupled with the execute potential of Noxian Guillotine, can quickly spiral out of control. One good fight can see Darius stacking his passive and dunking his way through an entire team of squishy champions. His lack of mobility is a weakness, but his sheer dueling power and reset potential make him a common ban.
The Demon Jester embodies the "frustration factor" in gameplay. Deceive (invisibility and a blink), Jack in the Box (fear and damage), and Hallucinate (a clone that explodes on death) make him incredibly slippery and annoying. A good Shaco dictates the early game's tempo and creates chaos, which many players prefer to avoid altogether by banning him. His unpredictable gank paths are a constant source of anxiety.
That Rocket Grab can change the tide of gameplay in an instant. It's iconic, game-changing, and utterly terrifying. Landing one good hook on a key target can instantly win a fight or secure an objective. While dodgeable, the pressure Blitzcrank exerts just by existing is immense, especially in the bot lane. Many ban him simply to avoid the stress of playing against that potential pick.
Smolder, another recent addition, has quickly climbed the ban charts thanks to his (almost) exponentially scaling damage, poke, and late-game teamfight presence. His ability to harass in lane and then transition into a hyper-carry has made him a top ban in both solo queue and competitive play. Many players find his kit frustrating to play against, especially given his power spike after a few items.
Seeing these champions frequently banned tells a story about the League of Legends meta. It highlights what players find oppressive, frustrating, or simply too strong to deal with.
The ban phase is your first move in the game, setting the tone for your gameplay. Use it wisely. Ban a direct counter to your intended pick, remove a champion you struggle against, or eliminate one of these overpowered champions to make your climb smoother.
