Optimal Best Champions Bans At Each Division - Patch 6.18 September List

Hey everyone! The latest ban list is finally available, and as usual it looks like the majority of bans are focused around professional level play and assassins like Leblanc and Zed, who people hate for their perceived lack of counterplay.

Be sure to check out the regular ranked queue list, and the FOTM tier list as well!

The purpose of this list is to discover optimal bans, with the knowledge that enemy teams will likely ban the ones at the top of the list.

SEASON 6 - PATCH 6.18 BAN LIST

"Problems"

Preface Chatter

Hey everyone! The latest ban list is finally available, and as usual it looks like the majority of bans are focused around professional level play and assassins like Leblanc and Zed, who people hate for their perceived lack of counterplay.

Be sure to check out the regular ranked queue list, and the FOTM tier list as well!

The purpose of this list is to discover optimal bans, with the knowledge that enemy teams will likely ban the ones at the top of the list.

Banning Thought Process

1. Which champions could the enemy team pick that would really screw my team over?
2. Which champions could the enemy team pick that would really screw ME over?
3. Which of the champions above is the enemy team likely going to pick if it's not banned?
4. Which of the champions above is the enemy team probably going to ban?

After considering these items, it's time to hit the ban phase.

Optimal Bans

 Diamond+

God Tier [Likely/Should Bans]: Yasuo, Irelia, Nidalee, Graves, Malzahar, Jhin
Good Bans [Popular Strong Champions]: Janna, Riven

Meh Bans [Probable But Unnecessary Bans]: Vladimir, Zed, Gangplank, Hecarim, Zac, Ekko, Leblanc

Platinum

God Tier [Likely/Should Bans]: Yasuo, Irelia, Darius, 

Good Bans [Popular Strong Champions]: Jhin, Janna, Graves, Ahri

Meh Bans [Probable But Unnecessary Bans]: Zed, Vladimir, Hecarim, Leblanc, Gangplank, Zac

Gold

God Tier [Likely/Should Bans]: Yasuo, Darius, Irelia
Good Bans [Popular Strong Champions]: Jinx, Blitzcrank, Graves, Ahri

Meh Bans [Probable But Unnecessary Bans]: Zed, Vladimir, Hecarim, Leblanc,  

Silver

God Tier [Likely/Should Bans]: Yasuo, Darius, Hecarim, Irelia
Good Bans [Popular Strong Champions]: Blitzcrank, Ahri

Meh Bans [Probable But Unnecessary Bans]: Zed, Leblanc, Vladimir, Fizz

Bronze

God Tier [Likely/Should Bans]: Yasuo, Darius
Good Bans [Popular Strong Champions]: Jinx, Blitzcrank, Sona, Ahri, Miss Fortune

Meh Bans [Probable But Unnecessary Bans]: Zed, Leblanc, Vladimir, Fizz, Hecarim

Method

To do this list, I first start with whichever statistical compilation site I have available (my personal preference is leagueofgraphs.com). Afterwards, I check the most banned champions and separate them into either "God Tier" or "Meh Bans" based on win rate and popularity, sometimes subjective reasoning (in which case I'd do a write up).

Last I do an analysis of both the win rate and the popularity by division and add in good bans for that division based on such.

Some people may note that most sites don't distinguish between "Platinum Only" and "Platinum and Higher". However, this generally doesn't make much of a difference as a result of the way the overall player distribution is between the ranks. Bronze and Silver make up the highest percentage of error, but generally run similar to each other.

Explanations

• Yasuo [God Tier - All] - In Yasuo's current state, he is an extremely tanky champion that deals excellent sustained/burst damage with a good mix of offensive and defensive abilities. In other words, he is far too good in almost every aspect (except poke and sustain), and fits into nearly every team composition flawlessly. By utilizing the Frozen Mallet and Phantom Dancer build, Yasuo's ability to dominate almost every game makes him a must ban in every division.
• Irelia [God Tier - Most Divisions] - Despite popular belief that Irelia may be losing her touch, the fact of the matter is that she performs well at all divisions. It might be that some players get more aggressive than they should with the mindset of "I am playing an overpowered champion, I can probably 1v5". However, for the most part an average Irelia still does very well in the current meta after she picks up a Trinity Force.
• Riven [Good Ban - Diamond] - In terms of current power, Riven is extremely strong now. Additionally, she is currently one of the most popular top laners in higher divisions. If you can ban out a Riven main, things generally go downhill for them, especially if their likely back-up, Yasuo, is also banned. Meanwhile, if you take Fiora out of the equation as well, you will probably see them pick something like Heimerdinger...
• Zed [Meh Ban - All Divisions] - Zed is certainly a very respected champion that is worthy of the title of one of the strongest champions when mastered. However, if he does not snowball early to mid game, he has trouble picking off targets during teamfights when everyone is peeling for squishies. This translates into a sub 50% win rate at all divisions, despite the fear he puts in enemy players.  
• Jhin [Good Ban - Higher Divisons] - At higher divisions, animation cancelling allows Jhin to be extremely powerful in the right hands. As a result, banning him is an excellent idea since most players will default to Lucian, another champion that is well respected but sports a sub 50% win rate.
• Ahri [Good Ban - All Divisions] - In ranked ladder play, Ahri is one of the safest mid laners available at all divisions. Even if you misposition and miss your charm, the triple dash on her ultimate combined with her speed boost allows her to escape almost any situation. Getting camped by the enemy jungler is no longer an issue after level 6 with the amount of mobility she has at her disposal as long as her ultimate is available.
• Blitzcrank [Good Ban - Most Divisions] - Blitzcrank is still the king of solo queue tilt and game-changing plays. There are few spells that have as much one-spell potential as Blitzcrank's Rocket Grab, and he is feared for a good reason. Right now there are a lot of professional scene related bans like Vladimir, but Blitzcrank still has a much better track record for winning games on the ladder climb.

What do you think about this list? Agree? Disagree? Comment below!

Click here to check out previous versions of this list!