I've had maybe 5 games out of 400 or so in ranked that haven't had a jungler, and it hasn't happened since 1200ish ELO.
AP top works fine a lot of the time. The 'META' doesn't need to be followed unless you're a top tier player playing with a team.
this :b. things with good sustain can easily top with a bruiser, as can an aggressive tank or melee easily lane vs a tryhard support group bot.
ive had a bit of bad luck the last few weeks and went down from 1700 to 1540s, and been playing norms to blow off the steam. i dont get why people are getting all bent out of shape when i say solo Q junglers are dumb there. 9 times out of 10 i end up with someone claiming they can solo in a 2v1 on a champ that cant clear or sustain very well.
you dont have to follow the meta to a T, try to figure out new strategies like saintvicious did in dreamhack, shocking the world by winning with jungle GP, thought totally to be a troll pick at the time.