Just because someone in the lcs uses something doesn't make it any stronger then it was before, I swear people literally pick whatever is being used in the lcs and it makes no sense. tl;dr just because the pro's are good with it, doesn't mean you're good with it
EDIT: Every champ is strong, some champions are more abusable then others cough 
cough
but just because lcs players pick something often or almoust every game means that this particular thing is somehow more effective than other things in some way
pros pick for reasons, certain meta picks arent meta justbecause of sheer power but for instance reliability or capability to adapt to diferent situations
anyway if pros play something it means there is something to it, because pros play a certain pool of champions and they dont want to just pick random champions, basicaly pros are the guys who show other people what is the most effective, and thats why they shape the meta
But there is a huge difference between competitive team play and solo queue. Competitive teams have been working together for months-years. You literally just met the people you play with in solo queue. Champions that excel in solo queue are different than the champions that excel in the LCS.
I think the biggest example of this is 
. He's seeing a bit of pro play now, but in solo queue, he is still a very risky champion. He really relies on team play to make the most out of his kit. He is also very difficult to play to boot. I'm not saying you can't play Bard in solo queue, but you'll probably be better off with 
or 
if you're looking for a more reliable Win.
Another thing the OP is stating is an example of "know where your skill level is". If you are in Bronze or Silver, you probably shouldn't use your bans on 
or even 
. Some of the champions that are banned in the LCS are champions who have higher skill caps or rely heavily on team play to be used to their full potential. Barring smurfs, most of the players who you will face in solo queue will not have the skill to use these champions effectively, so place your bans on 
and really just easy lane bullies (Amumu isn't a lane bully but for the love of god ban him over Gragas if you are at lower tiers). And likewise, don't pick really team reliant or really difficult to play champions (unless you have really put in the time to learn them).
