Best Top Lane Champions in LoL

Top Lane is the home of brawlers, tanks, and strange experimentation. The meta changes so often that it’s difficult to predict which Champions will be on top, but for now, we’ve got these LoL best top laners to dive into.

To help give you a better idea of how top lane works and which Champions you should play, we’ve ranked all the best top laners in League of Legends for Season 11 in general. This list applies to ranked, draft, and blind pick — we want to ensure all players can benefit, regardless of skill or experience.

Let’s get started!

Best Top Laners Tier List

First, let’s break things down with a tier list showing the best top lane Champions in League. We’ll go into further depth on each of our top ten Champions down the line.

As a quick disclaimer, Teemo doesn’t quite make our tier list. He’s a bit too unpredictable to rank (and honestly, I just don’t like him).

These are some of the best and most consistent top laners right now. You don’t have to solo carry a game in top lane, so not all of these Champions are based around doing that — they’re simply the LoL best top laners to climb the ranks with.

Darius is an absolute monster, but Shen and Mundo are a bit safer. Shen provides some of the best counterplay in the game, and Mundo is one of the most consistent tanks.

These picks have the potential to both dominate lane and provide excellent utility in a teamfight. They cover a wide range of play styles and uses, and each one does their job to near perfection. 

Whether you want to carry the game on your back or simply keep your opponent from doing anything useful, there’s something for you here.

Here is where we get into more unstable territory when it comes to the LoL best top laners. All of these Champions are solid picks, but things can go wrong if you don’t play them the right way. For example, you have to be aggressive with Renekton early on, or you’ll be irrelevant twenty minutes in.

We recommend giving all of these a try, but make sure you know what you’re doing!

I personally think these four Champions are okay, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend them to someone who isn’t already practiced with them. They just don’t perform well with the meta most of the time, so they’re better off as counter picks.

If you’re going to play these Champions, take your time learning them before jumping into ranked play.

Don’t play these Champions in top lane. They can be okay if you’re skilled enough, but you’re better off shooting your shot in another lane or avoiding them entirely.

Especially Singed. Don’t play Singed.

10 LoL Best Top Lane Champions in League of Legends

With our tier list in place, let’s take a look at the ten best top laners in LoL in more detail. The goal here is to give you a solid overview of each Champion and their stats.

After this, we hope you’ll have a better understanding of top lane and its meta!

10. Renekton

Win Rate: 48.39% | Ban Rate: 8.1% | Counters: Yasuo, Yorick, Gragas | Countered By: Ornn, Kled, Singed

Renekton is one of the most aggressive top laners. You absolutely have to play aggro in the early game, as he falls off hard in the late game. If you don’t get ahead early, do your best to just be a tank. 

Renekton can carry a teamfight if your positioning is good enough, so try to keep that in mind. Don’t be afraid to fight with this LoL best top laner, even in 1v2 situations. His Q is good enough to stomp multiple people at once as long as they aren’t ahead of him.

Renekton relies heavily on his abilities to dive on enemies and burst them down. The most common combo uses his E to dash onto someone and then spam everything else on them. 

Ability Order: W-E-Q-Q-Q-R (max order: Q-E-W)

9. Gnar

Win Rate: 50.07% | Ban Rate: 7.02% | Counters: Volibear, Yone, Singed | Countered By: Darius, Urgot, Kled

Gnar is one of the more fun top laners, but he can be difficult to learn. When in normal mode, he plays like an ADC. You don’t have to play too aggressively with normal Gnar, so just farm and get ready for mega mode. 

Mega Gnar is an absolute monster that just wants to harass everyone. In the late game, Gnar wants to get into mega mode as often as possible so he can destroy teamfights. Watch out for aggressive tanks like Darius or Urgot, and you’ll have a great time playing Gnar.

Since Gnar’s abilities change when he’s in mega mode, you’ll have to make sure you’re familiar with both versions. His Q is where most of your damage will come from, especially in the early game. 

Ability Order: Q-E-W-Q-Q-R (max order: Q-W-E)

8. Cho’Gath

Win Rate: 50.39% | Ban Rate: 1.5% | Counters: Yone, Malphite, Kayle | Countered By: Warwick, Wukong, Singed

Cho’Gath is big, dangerous, and super fun. His ultimate’s passive is the best part about Cho, as it allows you to become massive and one-shot anything with low health. During lane phase, your priority should be pressuring your opponent back and keep them from farming. Then once you have your ultimate, you’ll want to start devouring minions with it (until you hit the cap for how many you can use it on). 

Late game is where Cho becomes a serious threat. If you stack your ultimate passive correctly, you’ll be able to do so much damage that any non-tanks won’t be able to fight you without help. The main threat to Cho as one of the LoL best top laners at this stage is getting kited by marksmen, but you should be able to avoid that.

Cho’s E allows him to shred through enemies’ health bars, and his Q makes sure they won’t get away. Utilize his Q knock-up as often as possible during lane phase.

Ability Order: E-Q-W-E-E-R (max order: E-W-Q)

7. Sett

Win Rate: 51.14% | Ban Rate: 4.3% | Counters: Sylas, Irelia, Rumble | Countered By: Volibear, Malphite, Ornn

Sett is an excellent brawler with a good variety of abilities. He just wants to beat people down, and he refuses to die. During the early game, you can play Sett pretty much any way you want to — you can run at your opponent and start throwing hands, or just stay back and farm among the other LoL best top laners.

During the late game, Sett has two major uses. He’s good at catching and destroying individual enemies who have wandered too far from their team, but he’s also good at using his ultimate to initiate teamfights. He’s not a hard Champion to play once you get the hang of him, so I’d recommend him to players new to top lane. 

Sett’s Q boosts the damage of his punches, allowing him a ridiculous damage boost. Don’t forget to use his W for its shield, as it can allow him to survive a damage burst with ease — winning a 1v1 is a breeze for him. 

Ability Order: E-W-Q-Q-Q-R (max order: Q-W-E)

6. Jax

Win Rate: 50.52% | Ban Rate: 4.5% | Counters: Yasuo, Irelia, Volibear | Countered By: Malphite, Kled, Shen

Jax has been a favorite of mine for a long time, and it’s not just because he uses a lamp for a weapon (although that is a significant factor). Jax can win almost any 1v1 he finds himself in if he gets that far.

The problem with Jax is that you have to play smart as one of LoL best top laners. You can’t just dive in, or you’ll end up dead 9/10 times. Play safe and pick your battles. Once you’ve gotten a few kills, it’s time to go wild. You have to learn the Jax combo — wind up his E, then jump on them with his Q. Use other abilities at will.

In the late game, a fed Jax can do anything he wants. No one can stop him. If you’re not fed, or especially if you’re behind, you’ll have to play safe and try to land a stun before doing anything. Jax is particularly weak to aggressive tanks like Urgot and Cho’Gath, so watch out for them.

Ability Order: E-Q-W-W-W-R (max order: W-E-Q)

5. Wukong

Win Rate: 51.87% | Ban Rate: 3% | Counters: Irelia, Yone, Yasuo | Countered By: Singed, Rengar, Warwick

Wukong has been strong for a while now, and this remains true as a top laner. The best thing about Wukong is his potential for confusing and outplaying his opponents. He wants to throw his enemies off and deal a lot of damage, which lines up well with his clone ability.

Wukong’s clones can be frustrating to deal with if used correctly. You’ll want to play aggressively in the early game, getting practice using the clones to get maximum damage. Make sure to get familiar with how his other abilities interact with his clones; otherwise, you won’t do as well.

Ability Order: E-Q-W-Q-Q-R (max order: Q-E-W)

4. Garen

Win Rate: 50.29% | Ban Rate: 4% | Counters: Rengar, Irelia, Viego | Countered By: Darius, Camille, Kayle

Garen is always a reliable pick. He’s easy to play, does good damage, and is one of the best tanks in the game. Your goal when playing Garen should be to push your opponent back and prevent them from farming. Avoid ranged opponents, though — Garen can’t fight ranged Champions in the early game.

In the late game, Garen is a super tank that simply won’t die. He’s also an all-star in teamfights and can shred squishy champions. Before picking him, make sure the Champion you’re against in lane isn’t a hard counter. Playing Garen into someone like Quinn is a nightmare.

Garen’s abilities are all pretty straightforward, and since they don’t use mana, there’s no reason not to use them often. Always remember: spin to win.

Ability Order: Q-E-W-E-E-R (max order: E-Q-W)

3. Dr. Mundo

Win Rate: 50.63% | Ban Rate: 1.6% | Counters: Yone, Renekton, Tryndamere | Countered By: Ornn, Mordekaiser, Sylas

Mundo is similar to Garen in that he’s massively tanky, but he has more unique aspects. Since he uses his health as a resource, you’ll often find yourself close to death. But this is a part of what makes him so much fun. Mundo typically plays safe since he doesn’t need to get close to deal damage, and he’s easy to survive with if necessary.

In the late game, Mundo is okay in teamfights but truly shines when fighting for objectives. Since he’s so hard to kill, Mundo can distract others with ease, allowing his team to finish off objectives. Watch out for Champions with really high DPS, but other than that, you should be able to tank through most damage with Mundo.

Mundo’s Q is his best source of damage, as it allows him to stay far away from enemies while hitting them. I recommend saving his ultimate for ganks or tower dives.

Ability Order: Q-E-W-Q-Q-R (max order: Q-E-W)

2. Shen

Win Rate: 52.42% | Ban Rate: 6.3% | Counters: Irelia, Viego, Gangplank | Countered By: Urgot, Kayle, Dr. Mundo

Shen is the LoL best top laner for if you want to support your team as well. His ultimate allows him to teleport to a teammate, and if your map awareness is good enough, you can stop a lot of bad situations before they get out of hand.

Shen usually plays safe, but he can fight if he needs to. You won’t want to get too aggressive unless you’re either ahead or a good counter for your opponent, but going in for some occasional damage isn’t too dangerous. Make sure you stay aware of his spirit blade’s positioning. One of his best abilities is his W since it prevents enemies from attacking you for a short time. Make sure and use this ability often.

In the late game, you’ll want to focus on objectives and keeping allies alive. Due to his massive impact on each lane, Shen is easily one of the current season’s best top laners.

Ability Order: Q-E-W-Q-Q-R (max order: Q-E-W)

1. Darius

Win Rate: 51.73% | Ban Rate: 30.9% | Counters: Viego, Sylas, Yasuo | Countered By: Teemo, Riven, Maokai

If you want to absolutely dominate top lane, Darius is the best Champion for you. He’s been one of the LoL best top laners for years now, and it doesn’t look like that will change any time soon. What makes him so good is how easily he wins lane. Darius is one of the best aggressive champions in the game, and he’s able to make it almost impossible for his opponent to accomplish anything other than dying. 

Darius’s damage does fall a bit in the late game, but not enough to make him bad. He’s still a monster in teamfights, and if he got fed early, there’s no chance of survival. Darius can very easily 1v5 if he’s fed. All in all, I’d say that Darius is the best top laner in LoL right now.

High Ground View

That’s it for our list of the LoL best top laners! Top lane can be a very rewarding role to play, and we hope you have a better understanding of it after reading this guide. Don’t forget to practice with new Champions before trying them in ranked!

Happy gaming!