LoL 26.21 Best Top Laners: Akali, Fiora and Malphite

The LoL 26.21 best top laners in GamerPapers EUW data are Akali, Fiora and Malphite. Among picks with 500+ games, Akali has the highest win rate: 54.9% over 603 games.

48 champions have at least 200 games in this role. The sample is 16,552 ranked games from the EUW server. For every role at a glance, see our LoL 26.21 tier list.

LoL 26.21 best top laners: top 10

The table follows the order on the GamerPapers stats page. Rows under 500 games carry a caution note.

Champion	Role	Tier	Win rate	Pick rate	Ban rate	Games
Aurora (small sample, read with caution)	Top	S+	59.4%	1.4%	1.5%	239
Akali	Top	S+	54.9%	3.6%	18.6%	603
Fiora	Top	S+	53.0%	5.5%	15.2%	911
Malphite	Top	S	52.8%	6.0%	15.4%	999
Vladimir (small sample, read with caution)	Top	S	56.3%	1.6%	6.0%	268
Zaahen (small sample, read with caution)	Top	S	54.9%	3.0%	0.9%	492
Darius	Top	S	51.5%	6.8%	13.1%	1,119
Aatrox	Top	S	52.9%	4.1%	3.7%	680
Garen	Top	S	51.9%	6.2%	4.2%	1,035
Irelia	Top	S	51.2%	4.8%	11.8%	800

GamerPapers data: patch 26.21, EUW server, 16,552 ranked matches

Ban rate is champion-wide. If the same champion is played in another role, that row shows the same value.

Three standout picks: runes, items and matchups

This section only covers champions with 500+ games. For matchups we require at least 50 games.

Akali: top lane

Akali sits in S+ tier as a top lane pick. In GamerPapers EUW data it has a 54.9% win rate over 603 games. Its pick rate is 3.6%. Its ban rate is 18.6%; that figure is champion-wide, not role-specific. Average KDA is 2.12.

No Akali matchup reaches 50 games in this EUW sample yet, so we do not list best or worst matchups.

• Runes: Domination (Electrocute, Sudden Impact, Grisly Mementos, Ultimate Hunter) + Resolve (Overgrowth, Second Wind). Used in 358 games with a 51.7% win rate.
• Common items: Hextech Gunblade (in 87.1% of games, 55.2% win rate), Shadowflame (in 60.9% of games, 55.0% win rate), Zhonya's Hourglass (in 30.3% of games, 63.4% win rate).
• Boots: Sorcerer's Shoes (in 77.1% of games).
• Summoner spells: Flash + Ignite (in 81.6% of games).
• Skill max order: Q-E-W (in 100.0% of the 119 games with timeline data).

Fiora: top lane

Fiora sits in S+ tier as a top lane pick. In GamerPapers EUW data it has a 53.0% win rate over 911 games. Its pick rate is 5.5%. Its ban rate is 15.2%; that figure is champion-wide, not role-specific. Average KDA is 1.59.

No Fiora matchup reaches 50 games in this EUW sample yet, so we do not list best or worst matchups.

• Runes: Domination (Hail of Blades, Sudden Impact, Sixth Sense, Treasure Hunter) + Sorcery (Nimbus Cloak, Scorch). Used in 264 games with a 51.5% win rate.
• Common items: Ravenous Hydra (in 98.6% of games, 53.7% win rate), Death's Dance (in 42.8% of games, 60.0% win rate), Eclipse (in 32.4% of games, 52.5% win rate).
• Boots: Plated Steelcaps (in 53.9% of games).
• Summoner spells: Flash + Ignite (in 89.8% of games).
• Skill max order: Q-E-W (in 97.6% of the 166 games with timeline data).

Malphite: top lane

Malphite sits in S tier as a top lane pick. In GamerPapers EUW data it has a 52.8% win rate over 999 games. Its pick rate is 6.0%. Its ban rate is 15.4%; that figure is champion-wide, not role-specific. Average KDA is 2.44.

Its hardest matchups (50+ games) are Jayce (50 games, 48.0%).

• Runes: Sorcery (Arcane Comet, Manaflow Band, Transcendence, Scorch) + Resolve (Overgrowth, Second Wind). Used in 585 games with a 51.5% win rate.
• Common items: Sunfire Aegis (in 42.8% of games, 54.4% win rate), Frozen Heart (in 33.8% of games, 59.5% win rate), Thornmail (in 31.5% of games, 58.1% win rate).
• Boots: Plated Steelcaps (in 62.2% of games).
• Summoner spells: Flash + Teleport (in 82.4% of games).
• Skill max order: Q-E-W (in 51.5% of the 134 games with timeline data).

The rest of the list

Other top-10 picks with 500+ games: Darius (S, 51.5%, 1,119 games); Aatrox (S, 52.9%, 680 games); Garen (S, 51.9%, 1,035 games); Irelia (S, 51.2%, 800 games).

Aurora, Vladimir and Zaahen also make the list but have fewer than 500 games (Aurora: 239, Vladimir: 268, Zaahen: 492). So we do not feature them.

Patch 26.21 notes for the top lane

The changes below come from Riot Games patch 26.21 notes. In brackets: this role's EUW data, meaning tier, win rate, change from the previous patch (only when 26.20 had 200+ games) and games.

• Darius: Q cooldown at max rank dropped from 5 to 4 seconds. (S, 51.5%, 1,119 games)
• Sion: health per level went up, and his R damage ramp got stronger. (A, 49.5%, 781 games)
• Yone: Q ratio dropped from 110% to 105% AD. (S, 49.2%, 1,236 games)
• Varus: W power, favored in the top lane, was cut while Q got stronger. (under 200 games in this role)

We cover the biggest moves in our risers and fallers article. Even when a change and the data point the same way, we do not claim it is the only cause.

Data and method

Mixed sample: ranked solo/duo matches from the EUW server only. They come from EUW Challenger/Grandmaster players collected by GamerPapers, plus matches of player profiles looked up on the site (all ranks). It is not a random sample of the server and not pro-play data.

The numbers in this article come from 16,552 ranked solo/duo games. Lists include champion and role pairs with at least 200 games. Pairs under 500 games carry a "small sample, read with caution" note in the tables. We do not feature them in the title or the intro.

Ban rate is champion-wide, not per role: bans happen before roles are assigned, so every role row of a champion shows the same value.

Comparisons with the previous patch refer to 26.20. Its EUW sample was only 1,829 games, so we only show a previous tier when a pick had 200+ games in 26.20. The game client shows this patch as 16.21; Riot's official name is 26.21.

For the full live table, see the GamerPapers LoL stats page. Patch changes are sourced from Riot Games patch 26.21 notes.

Last updated: October 31, 2026, 06:54 UTC (when the data was calculated). Sample: 16,552 ranked EUW matches.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best top lane pick in 26.21?

In GamerPapers EUW data the standouts are Akali, Fiora and Malphite. Among picks with 500+ games, Akali has the highest win rate at 54.9%.

Which runes does Akali use?

The most common page is Domination with Electrocute. It appears in 358 games with a 51.7% win rate.

Which matchup is hardest for Akali?

No Akali matchup reaches 50 games in this EUW sample yet, so we cannot name one.

Why isn't Aurora featured?

Aurora has 239 games in this role in EUW. That is under 500, so it only appears in the table with a caution note.

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