The 2023 Mid-Season Invitational is showing fans which lanes have prio and which don't and it's pretty obvious where the power lies in the current League of Legends meta.
MSI 2023 is underway and with the LoL picks that have become popular throughout the tournament it's evident where the meta is at its strongest. Spoiler alert, it isn't the top lane.
Who would have thought we would revert back to 2019 with the current meta, eh? MSI 2023 has been pretty diverse in terms of champion picks, but there are a few that have risen in priority to facilitate the strongest lanes and champion picks of the tournament.
LoL MSI 2023: Nautilus Mid Rises In Priority
The mid lane has featured a multitude of champions, but one has been rising in priority throughout the tournament. With Caps kicking off the Nautilus supremacy in the Play-In stage, the champion has only become more and more sought after.
- Sadly Lux is not one of the most played champions at the tournament... doesn't mean you shouldn't get yourself a Lux figurine for your desk!
The rise in Nautilus priority stems from the current meta, with every single team putting all their resources into the ADC role, which means that mid laners will have to move to more facilitative roles, which can protect and keep their ADC's safe.
Top Lane has also featured picks that can help peel for their ADC's in fights or with some form of reliable crowd control to try and get at the enemy backline. It seems like team comps are simply built around the bot lane.
During the T1 and Gen.G series, T1 drafted safety for Gumayusi in every single game. Similarly, JDG also made sure that their carry bot laner, Ruler could survive any and every fight and get time to free hit enemy champions to dish out as much damage as possible.
This has left an impact on the games though, meaning that top laners are forced to farm to their heart's content and whichever team gets their ADC ahead first is basically set up for success. This means top laners also don't get to shine, which has upset some fans, especially with hyped players like 369, Bin and Zeus all facing off.
Mid laners play utility and tank picks. As mentioned, Nautilus mid has become a highly contested pick thanks to the champion's tankiness. He's got decen wave clear and damage and if he is faced with an Ahri, he simply builds some magic resist and then heads to the bot lane to help out the ADC.
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Picking off single targets is also quite easy with Nautilus and it's made him a very strong pick. The fact that mages aren't in the best spot in the current meta also doesn't help either, which is why tanks like K'Sante are also highly contested.
Overall, it's the teams with the better bot lane that usually win the snowball race and thus win the game. The next match is May 16, 2023 between G2 Esports and BiliBili Gaming. Will Elk or Hanssama be victorious or are we going to see the meta flipped on it's head with Yagao and Caps carrying?