How to draft & execute a split push composition

The Execution

When it comes to execution, the main thing to remember is that the team’s split pusher must always be able to 1v1 their lane opponent. On top of that, the other four members of the team should always be on their toes and ready to respond to any movement from an enemy player. Ultimately, the game can be broken down into two parts – the early game and the mid-late game.

Early Game (0 – 20 mins)

Similar to most strategies and team compositions, a split push centric team should start out standard. Playing safe early on, and looking to edge out small victories through intelligent ganks and jungle pathing should be the goal for the first 20 minutes of the game.

One area that could differ to other win conditions is the focus of ganks. In this case, targeting ganks or roams towards the top lane would be beneficial in order to give the designated split pusher an early lead to build from. While champion select should have ensured the top lane match-up was favoured in your team’s direction, giving it a little push in the early game is the best way to set your team up for success.

Mid-Late Game (20 mins onwards)

The later stages of the game is when the split push composition comes online, and your team can potentially become a nuisance for the opponents. The trio of Jungle-ADC-Support should permanently set up shop in the middle lane, maintaining priority and securing vision control around the Baron area. Mid lane should join this group but is also tasked with ensuring the top lane wave is in a steady, pushing position. The top laner should always look to be in the bottom lane, provided their TP is off cooldown.

In short, the perfect set up is continually moving from the mid lane wave to areas of darkness in the north river to threaten a Baron start or fight. During this time, the split pusher should be pushed up towards the opponents’ inner tower, slowly whittling its health bar down over time. The next steps of the strategy boil down to how the enemy team responds to this aggression.

Vision control is vital to thwarting any attempts at a teamfight in the Baron river or middle lane. Warding key flanking or engage paths allows your mid lane group to maintain pressure but from a safe distance. If, at any point, the enemy looks to initiate a fight, your team should have a number of disengage tools to avoid skirmishing with a numbers disadvantage. Nevertheless, there is always the chance that the opponents could break through, and in this scenario a decision has to be made – should the split pusher teleport or continue pushing?

In the vast majority of cases, TP’ing to help the team is the better option as it creates a 5v5 and increases the chances of winning the impending fight. However, if your team can minimise the number of deaths in the fight and block any attempts at the Baron, your Jax or Nasus may be able to take down one/two towers and even an inhibitor if left alone in the side lane.

On the other hand, instead of attempting to fight, the enemy team could look to gank the split pushing champion and take them down in a 1v2. The middle lane group should always be prepared for this as its likely to happen several times throughout the late game. The correct response to this is to immediately look to start a 4v3 fight, or if this is impossible, start on the Baron. The numbers advantage created by the enemy’s movements, along with the strong vision control, should allow your team to take the Baron or start a fight around it.

Decision making is key when it comes to a split push composition – reacting correctly or poorly to what the opponent is doing is the difference between winning comfortably and falling flat on your face. A strong split pusher, capable of winning any 1v1, should eventually single-handedly win the game, and thus it is important for the other four members of the team to allow this to happen by maintaining concentration and keeping pressure up in the middle lane and Baron area.

Overall, an intelligent split pushing team should always come out on top in the late game due to their clever movements around Baron and mid in response to the enemy team’s decisions. When the gold lead is sufficient, taking Baron should be easy and this is the perfect route to closing out the game and destroying the enemy Nexus.

Do you agree with this guide? Think anything is missing? Do you have a favourite split push champion? Add your thoughts in the comments below!