I have spent the last few years watching 2XKO grow from the mysterious Project L into a real fighting game, and I still cannot stop fantasy-booking its roster. In 2026, Riot has already turned several League of Legends champions into fighters, and Illaoi — one of my absolute must-picks — is already in the game. But with more than 150 champions in League, the question remains: who else deserves a slot? The original Project L chatter imagined a launch roster of around 25 fighters, and I still think that ceiling is both generous and cruel. It means every pick has to justify itself through archetype, silhouette, and the way a MOBA kit translates into a 2D fighter. I do not want a roster stuffed only with sword users and safe poster champions. I want grapplers, stance monsters, trap-setters, and weirdos.
The rules I use for a 2XKO roster pick
Before I get to the countdown, here is my filter. A champion needs at least one of these:
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🧩 A kit that becomes more interesting, not less, when stripped of items, levels, and cooldown runes.
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🎭 A clear fighting-game archetype: grappler, stance character, puppet fighter, trap zoner, or technical duelist.
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🌍 A region or fantasy that broadens Runeterra on screen, not just another pretty face from the same city.
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⭐ Enough popularity to sell a slot, or enough obscurity to make the pick feel like a discovery.
Most importantly, I ask whether the champion would feel distinct after five minutes of play. If the answer is no, they can wait.
10. Nautilus ⚓
Nautilus is not a late-game monster in League, but he is a natural for the big-body grappler slot. I know Thresh and Blitzcrank are beloved supports, yet their fighting-game identity often collapses into a single hook. Nautilus can do the same job with more honesty. His geyser knock-ups, anchor swings, and absurd floaty air movement could create a grappler who controls space above the ground as well as the ground itself. I would also steal his joke dance — the one where he swims through the air — and turn it into a movement mechanic. That is the kind of nonsense that makes a fighting-game roster memorable.
9. Udyr 🐻
Udyr is an underrated jungle pick in modern League, but he is an ideal stance character. I would map his four spirits directly onto fighting-game states. Bear is the default all-rounder. Turtle is slower, built around timed counters and armor. Tiger is faster and strings together aggressive combos. Phoenix extends range or gives him a literal quarter-circle-forward fireball. That is four characters in one, and it gives 2XKO a shaman who can switch tempo mid-match. I want to see players forced to learn all four forms, not just pick the one with the best damage.
8. Fiora 🗡️
Fiora is obvious in the best way. She is a duelist, so parries, feints, and precise pokes belong in her kit. But her League passive keeps her circling enemies and striking weak spots, and that could become terrifying in a fighter. Give her air mobility and she becomes a cross-up nightmare. I also want a nod to her original ultimate, Blade Waltz, which was basically Cloud's Omnislash from Final Fantasy VII. A modern version could be a cinematic super that rewards clean reads rather than raw execution.
7. Zed 🌑
Zed has everything I want: popularity, martial arts energy, and unique mechanics. Lee Sin also has the first two, but in a fighting game he risks becoming a generic shoto with a gimmick. Zed is different. His shadow puppets mimic attacks and let him trade places, which turns every exchange into a setup. I can imagine him as an aggressive martial artist who plays more methodically than his appearance suggests. He would be the character who makes opponents afraid to press buttons because a shadow might already be behind them.
6. LeBlanc 🔮
Mages are central to Runeterra — Demacia's mage genocide is a huge plot point — so a fighting game should represent them. Lux is the safer, more popular pick, but LeBlanc gives me more to work with. She can chain projectiles without delay, blink in and out for spacing, and create a doppelganger that mirrors her inputs without dealing damage. I would borrow a page from Tekken 7's Rage mechanic, but instead of a damage buff at low health, LeBlanc gets a temporary clone she can swap with two or three times. Lore-wise, she is a pillar of Noxus and a matron of the Black Rose. She has earned the spot.
5. Samira 🎯
Samira is Dante from Devil May Cry dropped into League. Her kit is already about style, aerial knock-ups, and long combo strings. Dante has been in fighting games before, and 2XKO clearly draws inspiration from that Marvel vs. Capcom energy. If Samira was truly designed with Project L in mind, as the rumors say, then she belongs on the base roster. I want her to be the character who makes every combo look like a highlight reel, with gunfire, blade slashes, and a super that ends in an explosion.
4. Irelia 🗡️
Irelia has always been powerful, and her rework made her popular. As a fighter, she could be far more technical. Her floating blades are endless opportunities: a projectile shield, a slicing wall, or traps placed across the screen. Not everything needs to be copied from League. I would rather see the spirit of Irelia preserved while her blades become a full fighting-game system. She could zone, rush down, or set up blade formations depending on how players spend her resources. That flexibility makes her a roster centerpiece.
3. Illaoi 🐙
Talking about screen set-ups, Illaoi is the Bilgewater pick I wanted most. In 2026, she is already in 2XKO, and that still feels like validation. I imagined her as slower and more deliberate than a rushdown trapper, placing tentacles around the stage and choosing when to activate them, similar to Zato-1 in Guilty Gear Strive. Her Test of Spirit could work as a command grab, giving players a grappler option if Nautilus is not their style. Illaoi also draws from Mesoamerican mythology, a region rarely seen in popular media. Riot's design team did something special with her, and I am glad the fighting game recognized it.
2. Sylas ⛓️
Sylas is compelling on two levels. First, he can copy or steal abilities, which sounds gimmicky but could be a fun counterpick mechanic. Second, and more importantly, his chain spinning triggers whenever he uses a special. In a fighter, that could increase the range and speed of his normals, turn his chains into grabs, or help him move around the stage. He is a bit like Shang Tsung from Mortal Kombat, but the chains give him a physical identity beyond mimicry. I would not make ability theft his whole game. I would make it a spice on top of a brutal chain fighter.
1. Aphelios 🌙
Aphelios is my number one because he represents controlled chaos. Jinx is likely the primary mid-ranged fighter in 2XKO, with snappy commands and a few traps, but there is room for another marksman with a stranger brain. Aphelios has one of the widest ability ranges in League, and as a stance changer he could rival Angel's Chain Circles in The King of Fighters for follow-up complexity. I would not let him switch weapons freely like Udyr. Instead, he would follow a pre-set order that he can slightly tweak as he goes. Players would have to think on the fly about which combos to commit to, knowing that certain buttons change after five weapon attacks. That is the kind of high-risk, high-reward design that makes a fighting game roster live for years.
Final thoughts
In 2026, 2XKO has already proven that League champions can work in a fighter. But I still have a wishlist. I want Nautilus to slam, Udyr to switch, Fiora to parry, Zed to vanish, LeBlanc to lie, Samira to style, Irelia to dance, Illaoi to teach, Sylas to steal, and Aphelios to confuse. If even half of these picks make it, I will be in the lab for a long time. 🥊