Intro

In playoffs last split in the North American scene if you looked at top lane you would see a lot of champions like Poppy, Ekko, or Maokai, but now if you look at the top lane champion pool it is a lot of Trundle, Irelia, Jax, Lissandra, Swain, and even Shen. One reason for this is because of the new Glimpse of the Void buff which rewards players for staying in a side lane and split pushing or fighting 1v1. Another reason is because the meta has shifted into a more mid lane focused meta and that has resulted in the top laners having more time to farm up and get more items. Also all three of those top laners listed have ways to dive the enemy squishies and Shen has a way to save his own squishies. While Poppy, Ekko, and Maokai can also dive squishies or protect their own team they have also gotten pretty hard nerfs over the course of the splits.

Shen

Shen is a really strong champion right now because he provides a lot of global pressure with his ult and he counters Irelia who is one of the strongest top laners right now. Shen doesn't have any waveclear built into his kit but because Sunfire Cape is one of the best tank items right now he becomes able to clear waves once he gets that item. Also in teamfights his taunt is a good way to lock down the enemy ADC or Mid and is a great initiation tool. Even though Shen can hold his own against a lot of champions right now but once a champion like Irelia or Trundle gets items Shen can very easily be bullied by a strong duelist like that.

Irelia

Irelia became strong because of how strong she is in 1v1 situations. She can split push extremely well and with Glimpse of the Void is very hard to deal with 1v1. She also has great waveclear and sustain in her R, Transcendent Blades. Along with being a very strong split pusher with her Q, Blade Surge, and her E, Equilibrium Strike, she can dive on squishes and burst them down at the start of a fight. If Irelia falls behind in XP or gold she can be punished pretty hard by a good freeze or gank.

Trundle

Trundle is best as a split pusher because his R, Subjugate, gives him a lot of sustain in 1v1 fights and he can push towers pretty fast with the help of his W, Frozen Domain. His E, Pillar of Ice, is also good in poke comps because he can use it to put the enemy in a spot where they are able to get hit by his teams poke, or he can use it to wall off a choke point.

Jax

Jax has become more popular lately because the Trinity Force changes made the item more efficient for him and he can also match champions like Irelia in pressure and dueling potential. He also has a pretty good stun and damage in team fights than can be used to burst down a squishy Mid laner or ADC.

Lissandra

Lissandra was picked a few times last split but this split so far she has been picked a lot more. Lissandra is really strong right now because of how much reliable CC she has. She can easily lock down something like an Azir or Ryze and that makes her extremely useful. Lissandra is also very good even if she gets behind because of how much CC she has.

Swain

Swain got a lot of buffs in the Mid-Year Mage Update and they made him an extremely strong team fighting champion. Even though as of right now he isn't seeing as much play as he was at the start of the split, mainly because champions like Irelia and Trundle can fight him in lane phase, he is still strong. Swain was picked before mainly because of how strong he was in team fights and he could also deal with split pushers pretty well.

Conclusion

Every champion listed above has pretty good team fighting capability and most can split push well. Almost all of the current meta Top laners have a way to cause havoc in a team fight whether it be doing damage and killing carries or tanking and forcing people to kill them. They also can apply a lot of pressure in sidelanes and most can siege pretty well. The best Top champions during spring split and at MSI were mainly Poppy, Ekko, and Maokai, and these champions were meta because they all had some form of CC and were able to intiate fights. Now the Top lane is about applying side lane pressure and dueling the enemy Top laner or Jungler.

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