Why are malz, Amumu and Heimerdinger so strong i soloque?

I don't play Voli or Heimer but I have some ideas about why the other two aren't played as much. Malzahar likely has high solo q winrates because he's pretty easy to reliably win lane with in most matchups, assuming there is little jungle interference. Plus, he's great right now because he's got % health damage so he can melt tanks with w + r + ignite. However, the "jungle interference" bit is pretty big in professional play. It is very easy to punish a Malzahar's laning phase with well-coordinated ganks because he is painfully immobile. In solo queue, this doesn't happen as often because of poor coordination so he can reign terror on the map.

Malzahar has another big downside: he has to stand still to get his big damage combo off. In chaotic solo queue teamfights, this is usually fine. In coordinated team play, not so much. With this downside in mind, why play Malzahar in competitive when you could play Lissandra instead? You get the same single-target burst and lockdown with more mobility and less risk.

Now, Amumu. Mummy is a champion that is shut down by early counterjungling. In solo queue, junglers aren't sure if their team is going to back them up when they invade the enemy jungle so they are more hesitant to take the risk. However, in competitive, junglers KNOW they have the backup they need to make sure that Mummy will never see a blue buff, if all things go according to plan. Once again, pros look at the tradeoffs. They could play Mummy, who has a risky early game, or they could play someone who functions basically the same in teamfights without that glaring weakness, like Sejuani or Zac.

Swain and Galio are kind of in the same boat, if we're talking about high winrate champions with low pro pick rate. With Swain, you can cut hiim down with some early ganks (once again, low mobility) or by pushing him into tower because he's difficult to farm with. Galio is a pretty niche pick that needs flash to get into fights, unlike other similar champions with more reliable means of engagement (Sejuani, Zac). The bottom line is that lower risk champions are more highly prioritized in pro play. If a champion has a glaring weakness and can be functionally replaced by another champion, they're not going to be picked.

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