I’ll be honest right from the start; countless games have been won and lost through split pushing. If you split push at the wrong time, or can’t generate enough pressure through your split, then you will throw games. Split pushing is a dangerous game to play. But if you can master the art of the split, you will be able to carry many more games.
Split pushing is so great, especially in Solo Queue, because it lets you take the game completely into your own hands. If you’re ahead, it will allow you to generate insane amounts of pressure, allowing even your worst teammates to take advantage. If you’ve ever played against a fed Tryndamere or Irelia, then it’s likely you’ve experienced a non-stop split push that completely shuts down every single play you make.
You won a team fight? Can’t push mid because Trynd will take inhibitor. You’re about to take Elder Drake? Guess what? Jax is on your Nexus. When someone split pushes well, they can even the playing field, even when their team loses.
When Your Champion is Good at Split Pushing
Some Champs excel at split pushing. You may have picked up on which Champs can split push super well just through experience. These Champs usually have; fantastic 1v1 capabilities, huge wave clear potential, and some kind of escape tool(s).
If a Champion can’t 1v1, the enemy team can throw someone in their lane to answer their split. This may be fine if you’re dragging their carry to a side lane and keeping them out of a team fight, but it’s not optimal.
Wave clear has an obvious advantage. Being able to shove lane ASAP is fantastic. If you notice the whole enemy team is on the other side of the map, you need to push fast before the window closes.
The escape tool is for when the entire enemy team decides to run you off the map. This will happen often, and your team will not always answer their rotation. In a perfect world, bringing five people top lane will net you a bot tower. But don’t count on it. Always have an escape route in mind and be ready to fight for a trade in a 1v5 situation.
Also read: When Does The Laning Phase End?
When No One Can 1v1 You
If you win a 1v1 against every single enemy Champion, then you should highly consider moving to a side lane and split pushing. If you team fight, there is a higher chance that you will get locked down by CC, or your team will throw the fight (and the game) somehow. If you go to a side lane and split push hard, the enemy team will have to engage on your team or send someone to die to you as a sacrifice.
It’s essential to keep an eye on the map while you split push. If your team is pushed too far up, in range of a Flash engage, then you need to start spam pinging. If the entire enemy team is missing, and you’re about to be on their turret, guess where they’re coming.
Now, if they send one or two people, you can demolish them and continue your push. If they send no one, you can run it down the lane, grab an inhibitor, then slide to the next lane, rinse, and repeat.
When You’re Behind
Split pushing is a fantastic way to catch up when you’re behind. It’s important to keep your team in check and ensure they don’t 4v5 while you’re trying to get some XP. It’s also important not to over-extend and die during your split push.
The good news is that if you’re significantly far behind, it really doesn’t matter if you die for your split push. You’ll offer no gold to the enemy, while dragging an important enemy player to your lane. Now, I’m not promoting feeding. However, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to get gold and XP. If you’ve only died 2 or 3 times, then you need to be a little smarter because you’re still worth gold. However, if you’re splitting while 0/10, you’re going to be getting more gold in minions than the enemy will get for killing you.
How well this work also depends on how well your Champion scales. If you split push as Draven while you’re behind, you’ll be much more vulnerable and less likely to catch up than if you’re playing Vayne.
Also read: How to Fix Bug Splat After Champion Select?
When Your Team Can’t Team Fight
Some team compositions just cannot team fight. You can usually gauge pretty early on whether this is the case. If your whole team is winning but gets decimated in the first team fight, then perhaps team fighting isn’t the key to victory in that game. Many solo queue players make the mistake of trying to team fight over and over again, even though they lose every fight. They don’t realize there are other ways to close out a game.
If your team can’t win, communicate. Tell them you’re going to split and not take any 4v5 fights. Tell them to ward up and play for picks while you get pressure. If you can bring two people to your lane, your team will be able to engage in a good fight.
Make sure you’re gauging the situation correctly. I’ve seen many games thrown because one person was deadset on split pushing when we could’ve easily team fought and won the game. On the other hand, I’ve seen many games thrown by repeatedly trying to force team fights against better compositions.
The Best Split Pushers in League of Legends
There are countless Champions in League of Legends that excel at split pushing. I’ve mentioned a few of them and which assets to look for in a split push Champion. Now I’ll go over some of the most infamous and valuable split pushers in the game. I tried to choose one Champion for each role, except Jungle and Support (these roles will be with the team most of the time).
Tryndamere
Tryndamere is an infamous split pusher. He has devastated so many teams and is the sole reason for thousands of throws. He can demolish waves with his E and powerful auto attacks.
His Ultimate gives him the potential to win any 1v1 or 1v5 he may come across. Tryndamere can also escape most sticky situations with his R and his E.
Tryndamere has always been one of the kings of solo queue due to his split pushing capabilities. But he’s also been one of the kings of throwing. There’s a fine line between a Trynd that generates infinite pressure with his split push and one that runs it down and feeds every time he spawns.
Also read: Best Champions in Gold
Zed
Zed usually plays one of two roles during a game. He will either assassinate squishy carries or split push and melt turrets. As I discussed in the team fight section, you need to decide which role you should play in every game.
If you can 1v1 anyone on the enemy team, split pushing will likely be a pretty good choice. Zed’s W > E > Q combo can annihilate waves, and his auto attacks will make quick work of turrets. If anyone comes to fight, simply press R and win.
If you find yourself biting off more than you can chew, then you can always use your W to escape. One of the most fun things to do on Zed is jumping around with your shadows and Flash to escape a situation where you were dead to rights.
Vayne
Vayne has always been a scaling nightmare. Vayne split pushes so much because it is a fantastic way to catch up when behind or to gain a considerable lead when she’s even. Split pushing will net you solo XP, and plenty of gold, which is vital on Vayne.
Another reason Vayne excels at split pushing is that she has insane 1v1 potential. Her W melts tanks and squishies alike, and her Ultimate turns her invisible. These two abilities together make her insanely hard to lock down and 1v1.
I’ve played Vayne for years and can say she is one of the most dangerous Champions in the game. Even when she is behind, she has the potential to win fights which is rare in League of Legends.
Also read: Best Hard Carry Champions
Final Thoughts
That’s our split push guide. Make sure your split push is necessary. If your team can win team fights, it’s probably better to join them and end the game. If they can’t, you need to take matters into your own hands.
Remember, it’s your Elo, so if you decide to split push and feel like you can’t win fights, do not let spam pings and toxicity convince you to group. If you’re wrong, you’re wrong, and you will learn from your mistakes and become a better split pusher because of it. If you’re right, you’ll carry the game.
