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League of Legends' best snowball champions according to C9
We caught up with Cloud9 jungler Robert “Blaber” Huang and mid laner Jang "EMENES" Min-soo back during the 2023 LCS Summer Split to find out which champions they think are best at snowballing.
Snowball champions take a while to come online but, when they do, you’ll be wiping entire teams in no time. If you’re looking to carry your way to victory, these recommendations from C9 will satisfy your hunger for all-out dominance. These late-game monsters will give you the ability to rise through the ranks, often without too much extra effort.
Kindred is a go-to for Blaber
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Kindred (Blaber)
Blaber’s first answer when asked what champions are the best at snowballing was one of his own signature picks. Since the start of the 2023 League Championship Series Summer Split, Blaber has won four of the five games he’s played Kindred professionally.
As a marksman, Kindred is one of the most carry-centric junglers in League of Legends, but what Blaber thinks makes The Eternal Hunters such a strong snowballing champion is the innate abilities of their kit, especially her Mark of the Kindred passive.
“Kindred is just a very strong champion,” Blaber explained. “When she gets Marks, she gets very fed and it's hard to keep up.”
Blaber also made the caveat that Kindred snowballs more efficiently in higher elos where the players are more skilled. To truly get the most value out of Kindred, you must stack marks with your passive and take over the game as a carry threat. Otherwise, you’ll be left with little utility outside of your ultimate, Lamb’s Respite.
Maybe go with Azir?
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Azir (EMENES)
EMENES doesn’t just think Azir is the best 1v1 champion in the game – he thinks he’s the best snowballing champ in the game, too. “I think he is the best champion in the game right now for everything,” said the C9 mid laner. Laning phase, side laning, teamfighting, scaling – everything is way better than all the other champions.”
EMENES’ comments on the Emperor of Shurima are particularly interesting in context of his post-season performance. While Cloud9 was dominant throughout the majority of the Summer Split and the LCS Championship, Azir was mysteriously missing from EMENES’ champion pool and was a permaban for C9 in their loss to NRG in the finals of the post-season.
Azir is one of the most difficult champions to play in League of Legends, and he has recently received a nerf to Conquering Sands’ cooldown time on Patch 13.18. If you have the skill to master the sands, Azir can snowball and take over a game due to the unique versatility of his abilities.
Make an impact with Master Yi
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Master Yi (Blaber)
“Master Yi snowballs pretty well if he actually gets a lead,” Blaber said, pondering. And he’s right – but the “if” is a pretty big one.
Master Yi is one of the most binary champions in League of Legends. He can singlehandedly take over a game if he is put in a position to carry it, but he has utterly no utility to his team. Yi either carries the game or is useless if he fails to do so. Fortunately, for those looking to take advantage of Yi’s strengths in their solo queue games, the Wuju Bladesman thrives in disorganized chaos.
“Specifically for solo queue, Master Yi is annoying because no one plays champions with CC,” said Blaber. “CC champs aren't that fun, and most people are playing for fun. Most supports are playing like Brand and Xerath, I swear… If Master Yi gets free kills, you can't stop him, but he snowballs terribly if you hit him with crowd control like an Alistar combo or a Nautilus ult.”
What Blaber is talking about is a great explanation for why Master Yi is almost never seen in pro play, but in solo queue, he can certainly be effective especially at lower ELOs.
Stay in your lane with Caitlyn
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Caitlyn
Team play is less coordinated in solo queue, so oftentimes, games are won through lanes. If you want to snowball the game effectively, picking a champion with a strong laning phase is a great first step.
Throughout LoL’s existence, perhaps no marksman champion has been associated with lane domination as much as Caitlyn. The Sheriff of Piltover has impressive range, a reliable harass tool in her Q, Peacemaker, and has a bit of mobility in her E, 90 Caliber Net. Caitlyn can be particularly oppressive in lane with a ranged support like Lux or Morgana that can use their own crowd control in tandem with Caitlyn’s Yordle Snap Traps.
Cailtyn is an incredible laner, but to stay relevant as the game goes on, getting that early lead is paramount.
Fizz still has some tricks up their sleeve
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Fizz
Fizz is not the force he was in early seasons of League of Legends, but when it comes to making sure a single target is dead no matter what, few champions can match what the Tidal Trickster has to offer.
Fizz has amazing mobility with his Q, Urchin Strike and his E, Playful/Trickster, the latter of which is also Fizz’s main means of outplay and escape since he can go untargetable and also hop over terrain. Fizz’s W, Seastone Trident, empowers his auto attacks and makes his otherwise anemic laning phase a little less forgiving with its mana refund active, and his ultimate, Chum the Waters, carries multiple forms of CC and amplifies Fizz’s damage on any target it hits.
When compared to more modernized assassin kits, Fizz is not very versatile and it’s no coincidence that he has essentially disappeared from pro play over the past handful of seasons. However, he can thrive in the disorganized, individualistic play of solo queue and can easily take over a game if he starts to snowball in the early game.
