Among all of the support champions currently being played in League of Legends solo queue games at the Challenger rank, one peculiar pick stands above the rest of the field with a staggering win rate: Vel’Koz.
Vel’Koz holds the highest win rate among all support champions (as well as all champions, overall) in Challenger games on Patch 13.1, according to League stats site U.gg. His 57.1 percent win rate outranks all other champions at the position, including Lulu, Karma, and Nautilus.
Perhaps the biggest reason for this high win rate is the low sample size that Vel’Koz is also sporting. While the champion is in a good place in terms of balance, his low play rate could serve a role in why he has a skewed win rate. Overall, Vel’Koz is the 33rd-most played champion at the support position out of 38 eligible champs, according to U.gg.
While other champions like Nami, Rakan, and others have slightly lower success rates in Challenger games right now, they also have far more games played, giving them a higher factor of consistency. Fewer games played means fewer chances to lose, after all.
Related: Why are AD carries becoming supports in League?
The support position has been undergoing a series of changes on the professional stage as of late. Pros are picking two AD carries in the bottom lane in an effort to deal more poke damage and earn gold via their support items at a faster rate. Vel’Koz fits a similar bill since his long-range geometric poke can be a nuisance during the laning phase.
For many years, Vel’Koz has been a go-to choice for players at lower Elo who were looking to play a mage in the support position to deal damage. Now, though, he’s looking to be a viable choice in high-Elo games as well—even if he doesn’t have the widespread popularity to back it up just yet.
