10 Players to Watch: "In what was pegged as a 'down' split for Bjergsen, he still managed to lead all mid laners in KDA and kills on a roster with three new players."

Riot·Jun 13, 2018·0 votes·23,402 views

Summer means no school which means it’s the perfect chance for NA fans to forget everything we’ve learned in past years as we build up hype for another Worlds run. Let’s look at the positives: TSM didn’t lose MSI, this is the least amount of roster upheaval ever (the top seven teams didn’t cut a single player), and we didn’t import any EU players (Santorin has NA residency). That means the ultra competitive split that saw all six playoff teams finish the regular season within one game of each other could very well repeat itself. And here are my 10 players who may break that stalemate:

100 THIEVES - SUPPORT

APHROMOO

A famous expression is “Holy Cow!” This is what you might say when Aphromoo makes a big play. You might also say it if you were part of a ~~cult~~ religion that worshipped Aphromoo as your lord and savior. Or more simply -- a 100 Thieves fan. Aphromoo is coming off an MVP split -- the first ever in NA for a support player -- where he led his team all the way to the Finals. His playmaking prowess the second half of the Spring Split helped propel 100 to the #1 overall seed. In particular, he generated about four kills more per game in five less minutes of game time in the second half. Combined with his leadership, shotcalling, and memorable individual performances on champs like Thresh, he became the Spring Split darling. An Aphromoo-led team hasn’t missed playoffs since 2013 (CLG missed this past split -- their first without Aphro), and that shouldn’t change now. Supports are strong in the current meta, and there’s no playmaker more consistent over the years than Aphromoo. He’ll look to avenge 100’s Spring Finals loss.

CLOUD9 - TOP

LICORICE

The only time C9 has been a champion lately is when Sneaky cosplays. Despite being one of NA’s elites, C9 hasn’t won the NA LCS in over four years. Sure, they still make it to Worlds and do relatively well (compared to other NA teams), but they’ve been unable to hoist the NA LCS trophy since winning the first two splits they joined the league. Licorice could change that -- he’s no longer a rookie and has had an offseason to reflect on his spring learnings. He played an aggressive style that reaped a lot of benefits early on in the spring when tanks weren’t really in the meta, but since top lane has gravitated (again, surprise!) to tanks, he’s been less consistent. Part of maturing as a player is learning how to be smart with your aggression, which means some of the prove-myself mentality he may have had as a rookie needs to be tempered. C9’s Worlds streak could finally be in peril -- if Licorice can top his spring split, then he could be the final piece to C9’s NA LCS Championship dreams.

CLUTCH GAMING - SUPPORT

HAKUHO

If you google Hakuho, his Wiki entry is fourth on the page after a professional sumo wrestler. This says one, we need trial by combat for the top spot, and two, it’s symbolic for Clutch still flying under the radar. In talking to some players this past week, Clutch isn’t even coming up as a team to watch out for. Sure, that’s tied as much more to brand recognition as it is to their actual play, but at what point will that perception change? Hakuho finished second in KDA and kill participation among supports last split and gained tons of recognition for his Thresh play. Alongside partner Apollo, the two are one of the longest tenure duos in the NA LCS. Clutch was one game away from making the Spring Finals and features a consistent roster that should only get better this split. Hakuho is one step away from superstardom -- a step that he can take right now if he can be more consistent on a variety of support champs and styles.

COUNTER LOGIC GAMING - JUNGLER

REIGNOVER

At his individual height, Reignover won the NA LCS MVP and was seen as one of the league’s most cerebral players -- a consummate team player who rarely made mistakes. Two years later, though, and history has rewritten itself. Reignover’s initial climb to stardom was hand-in-hand with Huni, but Reignover was often seen as the brains behind that operation. People thought Huni could only do what he did because of Reignover, but now it seems like it was perhaps the opposite. CLG had an embarrassingly slow start to the Spring Split, but a second half surge nearly propelled them to a miracle playoff berth. Look to Reignover to see if they can continue that momentum -- whether he can match the eccentricity of his solo laners will be key to CLG’s fortunes.

ECHO FOX - JUNGLER

DARDOCH

I guess Dardoch never quite reached his breaking point with FOX -- one of the things people wondered last split was how this team’s mentality would hold up if they struggled. FOX was full of players seen as being mentally weak or tough to play with. But they avoided that by… not really struggling. They stumbled a bit in the second half of the split but had already secured their playoff spot early and seemed to be coasting. During the first half of the split, though, Dardoch garnered a lot of MVP hype thanks to his ability to play around top lane better than anyone else in the league. Alongside Huni, the two seemed unstoppable. But some meta shifts pushed carry top laners out of the meta and FOX couldn’t quite adjust in time to the new meta that demanded their bot lane to shine. With an offseason in their pockets, they’ll be back in full force. Dardoch is slowly inching past his toxic origin story -- it’s like watching Peter Parker wrestle between Spider-Man and Venom. And, well, I’ve got my money on Spider-Man.

FLYQUEST - TOP

FLAME

FLY faced a lot of roster issues over the Spring Split -- between trying to integrate AnDa and Fly’s visa issues, they never seemed to have enough time to gel. But Flame proved to be a rock all split as he posted the second highest KDA and had the highest kill participation amongst all top laners. That’s super impressive when you consider how much the team around him changed and struggled. Flame is one of the most tenured players in the world, but his teams’ achievements have been subpar in recent years. And FLY made significant changes again over the offseason by bringing in a new mid laner, jungler, and support in addition to some coaching personnel changes. It may take them some time to come together as a team, but Flame’s endeavors may result in some early heroics for FLY. There’s no one better to start the fire.

GOLDEN GUARDIANS - MID

MICKEY

As part of Kingdom Hearts’ 15 year promotional campaign for KH3, the Golden Guardians have signed Mickey as their new mid laner. He is expected to bring some keyblades and magic to the team. And magic they will need -- the Guardians struggled mightily last split which resulted in the team pivoting away from veteran and primary shot caller Hai. The hope is Mickey will shore up early laning weaknesses, but he’s still largely unproven as the go-to guy. He was inconsistent during his days in the LCK and hasn’t really played much in NA, but the hope is he can level off closer to his ceiling instead of his floor. Korean mid laners haven’t found much success overseas, and he’ll have to overcome some communication barriers to lift this team. It’s not going to be an easy task to elevate this team much higher. A full split, though, may finally let him acclimate to NA, and ultimately expectations are still low enough for him to take his time to adjust.

OPTIC GAMING - MID

POWEROFEVIL

When all else fails, OpTic can count on… evil? Honestly, PowerOfEvil is one of the nicest people in the league, which makes me wonder if we’ll ever see a shift where he tries to take on more of a “bad guy” persona to play up his name’s brand. What would constitute as evil in-game? Taric/Yi? Teemo mid? Intentionally banning a champion your teammate is hovering and then saying “sorry I was tabbed out?” It’s hard to say, but maybe PoE will descend into darkness if OPT continues to struggle. Last split, his individual prowess was still clear -- he never looked outclassed and at times was the only ray of light for his team. But still the split was a major disappointment when compared to his run with Misfits at Worlds 2017, and now OPT has added a couple of unproven players in top and support in Dhokla and Big. They don’t exactly have the star-power you’d like to see as an OPT fan, which means once again all eyes will be on PoE to shoulder his team’s burdens.

TEAM LIQUID - ADC

DOUBLELIFT

A long time ago, some sadist made the /r/DoubleliftsTrophyCase subreddit, which was empty for years. If you’re a newer fan of the NA LCS, then you might not remember that Doublelift was widely considered a choker. But since he won the 2015 Summer Split, he’s gone on to win three more NA LCS titles, appeared in a fourth, and the one split he missed the Final was because he didn’t play at all (though he was summoned to save TL’s franchise). That’s four titles with three different teams. There isn’t a more prolific winner than Doublelift in North America. And now he’s coming off an MSI where he played well against even the likes of Uzi. To me, Doublelift has always been one of the most exciting players to watch -- both in-game and out, he’s a dynamic personality and showman. A near perfect Spring Playoffs run and the MSI performance makes him one of the pre-season contenders for the Summer Split MVP, and he has a chance to set the pace for the new era of bot lane. I expect the former Blitzcrank main to be among the first to show some new champs.

TSM - MID

BJERGSEN

Bjergsen faces the same type of voter fatigue that LeBron sees -- he’s not compared so much to his peers as he is to our idea of him, which is of course an ever-building legend. So while Aphromoo (deservedly) won the MVP last split, I imagine the bulk of voters would still take Bjergsen first overall in a hypothetical franchise draft. In what was pegged as a “down” split for him, he still managed to lead all mid laners in KDA and kills on a roster with three new players. And faced with a bunch of new mid lane talent like Febiven and PoE, Bjergsen still proved NA’s mid lane kingdom belonged to him. When you hear people talk about Bjergsen’s faults (and I am super guilty of this as well), they isolate and nitpick at perceived weaknesses. On international stages, there may be some merit to those claims. But in NA? He’s been the best player in the league for nearly five years now. And after a first round exit in the Spring Playoffs, TSM’s path to Worlds is murky for the first time in years -- they’ll need him to, somehow, elevate his game once again.

Tune in Saturday at 2 PM PT as Team Liquid takes on the 100 Thieves in a Finals rematch.

Kien Lam is a content producer for Lolesports. You can find more ~~awful~~ great jokes and commentary on his Twitter @meanmisterkien.

40 Comments

EvitarecJun 13, 20187 votes

So many of these players are always the " ones to watch "

Wifi the RouterJun 15, 20181 votes

Maybe the other players should start watching them.

Seduced MilkmanJun 13, 20185 votes

I had hopes for this list because at first it looked like you didn't just select the most basic players. Then we get to the top 2 and its like, yeah they're some of the best, duh. This is a stupid list. Then you have the audacity to compare Bjergsen to LeBron. I'm not a LeBron fan but holy crap there are so little parallels. LeBron changed the game he plays and is so good he can carry any team to the finals. Bjergsen can't get out of NA.

sinZsoulJun 13, 201810 votes

I'd like to point out that no where it does it say that this list is in ranked order. Then I'd like to point out the fact that you don't have to have a ton of parallels to make a comparison. In this case, both Bjerg and Lebron have reigned over their respective leagues as consistent candidates for MVP and best player in the league in most professional opinions. I'd like to point out that I'd agree a bit more with you if he had made this comparison for worlds. However, this is NA preseason and so I do believe it's an apt comparison.

UltraviolentlyJun 13, 20183 votes

Like sinZsoul said, this isn't in ranked order. It's, in fact, in Alphabetical Order by team name.

MercuriálJun 13, 20184 votes

I think Bjergsen is comparable in an NA sense. No matter his team, he's almost always in the finals except this split. I think Tom Brady is a better comparison. Proven winner, similar characteristics, huge presence, along with the leadership inside and outside the game. Can't rank the intangibles but they set the team up for success domestically.

US NA LCS PigeonJun 14, 20185 votes

Time to write the follow-up article - "Three players to NOT watch on C9." summoner 14

EpicSoapJun 15, 20181 votes

That hurts and is hilarious [cass-cry] [sg-miss-fortune]

Premortal BlightJun 13, 20184 votes

They posted this just barely too early. no roster changes in the top 7 teams. C9: lol

Wizzer SavesJun 14, 20184 votes

"Flame’s endeavors may result in some early heroics for FLY. There’s no one better to start the fire." Your references are PLUS ULTRA!

RawhunJun 13, 20183 votes

TSM and C9 potentially missing worlds? Man, if that happens it would signify an end of an era.

woodvsmurphJun 13, 20183 votes

I don't think huni carried reignover. I'd say reignover is more of an enabling jungler like xmithie (not entirely the same) than most people realize(d). And when he got paired with all passive players expecting him to make and set up every move, he looked bad. But as you say, he started looking better last split. Cuz you've got huhi (maybe the name resemblance helps) to enable his aggression and early game playmaking. He's got more points of action to play around and probably a more competent team overall than when he really slumped.

As for Dardoch, I really hope he and the whole team stick it out and get along. They've got great potential and can totally become an NA powerhouse team. They also wouldn't be exactly what most people expect from an NA team at worlds so... if they make it there, who knows how they'd do.

Doublelift... people don't see just how much of his success actually comes from the sacrifices of his teammates. Like when you go.. oh Pob is playing it safe on taliyah or something... is he too scared or unsure of himself to try to carry the game? And you miss... oh, Pob just bought Doublelift a ton of safety bot lane against early ganks, forced the enemy bot to play more passive out of respect for Pob's potential to early shove and gank them, and gave Double an easy snowball potential off level 6 ganks. He's a great player and at TIMES the best in NA for adc. But at other times, he only wins bot lane off the back of heavy pressure from mid and jg to help him get ahead... where he was losing 2v2. If he doesn't recognize this, overcome it and improve himself he will never stand toe-to-toe with the best at world's w/o heavy and predictable help from his teammates... which enables the rest of the other team to pick champs and make plays elsewhere accordingly and heavily punish the babysitting he needs (far too often). What Double does with a winning bot lane 2v2 matchup Uzi does with a losing matchup while being more heavily pressured by the enemy mid and jg than any counter-ganks he gets. And that's the difference between Double and the best adc's in the world.

I didn't pay as much attention to Aphro or 100T this year, but overall in the past, he's kinda been in a similar situation to Double. He has higher highs than other NA supports when he's playing out of his mind... but he also has lower lows than other top tier NA supports. So you're choosing name, skill ceiling, and mentality over consistency when you pick him. He can play more champs well than many other supports and play the full spectrum of support playstyles. Roaming, in-lane, enchanter, caster, peeler, engager... all of them. But he'll also seemingly assume that he's the best (because often he is) and can make anything work. Like when he picked an enchanter support at worlds vs a heavy engage and burst enemy team while his team had only one frontline champ. Most people would have recognized you're team probably needs a second tanky champ with cc and engage or peel to give your squishy carries better protection... but he or his team decided.... nah, it's Aphro, we can pull off this squishy hype new (to the meta at the time) support that's only good if we can survive the enemy's burst and have her shielding/healing kick in to sustain us through the fight. They should have won lane too.. which would buy them time to get the items they needed to potentially do just that. But they got bodied 2v2, got picked on because they were getting wrecked 2v2, and his squishy support pick was basically a massive liability that ended up offering the team nothing whereas if they'd picked like a normal team instead of going... we have Aphro, we can make this work... they would have at least been somewhat useful and could have mounted a comeback. Due to that, and due to when he and Stixxay had been more or less inting for a whole split and largely passing the buck onto Xmithie (making jg take the blame and pay the death tax for their misplays) I don't respect the guy as much as most people. I know it's probably not just him, but a team decision... but still. That all comes from the mentality he can get where he thinks or plays like he can make anything work against anyone in the world. When there's plenty of other equally or better skilled supports at worlds who can punish him for playing something that doesn't give max benefit to his team comp just because he's Aphro and it's a new/flashy/innovative pick in the meta or something. Pick what the team comp needs... and you'll end up looking better.

Zulu RammusJun 13, 20187 votes

dude you just said that you didn't keep track of aphro and then pulled up some stuff from worlds 2016. This is a PLAYERS TO WATCH list, listing players that played well (or improved a significant amount) in spring split or the latter half of spring split. Considering that Aphro won mvp for the spring split, and was the all-pro team support by a fairly wide margin, I'd consider him a player to watch.

woodvsmurphJun 16, 20181 votes

I said he has higher highs and lower lows that other top tier NA supports. So no crap he's someone to watch. But I also said I'm not a fan of his for a few reasons.

Ducked out of taking responsibility for his mistakes; the split before Xmithie left clg and nearly got mvp of the split in summer, he was getting railed by almost everyone (fan, caster, analyst, teammates) for his poor performance. But having taken a step back from that and after seeing him in summer, analysts and many fans realized what I'd argued DURING that split (when Xmithie was getting railed). That most of his deaths were paying the price for Aphro and Stixxay messing up - and Xmithie bailing THEM out for only his life. That much of the reason he couldn't play carry junglers (which we see some of even now on liquid and saw on immortals too) is not HIS incapability, but rather on his TEAM. His teammates are so used to him playing a certain style that they didn't and don't (past and now) adjust properly to give him the support and enable him to pop off the way other teams support (and supported back when he was on clg) their carry junglers. Xmithie isn't the guy to suicide 1v3 for instance just to get a blue buff in his own jg if he knows he's about to be 1v3. So when that stuff was happening regularly... obviously there was communication failure and whatnot... generally involving bot lane of clg back in the day. This falls on Aphro and Stixxay, but rather than own up to it and admit that most of Xmithie's bad split was due to clg as a whole not supporting him and to bot duo overextending over and over again... they just let Xmithie get crucified for it. That's not being a good teammate or a good team captain.
He has great highs yes. And then he gets too full of himself and picks some terrible champ for the team's comp because it's new (to the meta), shiny, and he's gonna show everyone how to make it work. Only... the win is far more difficult or they lose because... the champ can't do anything to help the team. Like an example would be janna or soraka to support a bunch of squishies vs a team with a ton of aoe burst. There's no one to shield if the enemy team gets a lead early because all your carries are 1-shot. A lulu, taric, leona, etc. would be far better in such a scenario. And probably even normally Aphro WOULD go something like that. But he gets so much hype around himself that he and/or his team pick as though he can play anything against ANYONE and win. And that has happened in some of the biggest games that matter most. Now he's not the vikings, but he's not the patriots either.

Thus... I don't hold him in high regard. Both for the character issue with Xmithie and due to seeming arrogance with the whole pick anything and act like you can win against anyone. There's a difference between healthy confidence and pure arrogance. And sometime's Aphro goes over the line a bit I feel. I don't wish the guy any ill will, but I'm not gonna get overly hyped or cheer him on like crazy either. You might think he's the greatest support of all time, and you're entitled to think that; it's your opinion. And that's ok. This is mine.

Penny ProudJun 15, 20181 votes

I honestly cant tell if you're disappointed in Aphro cuz you were a huge fan or you're sipping too much of that haterade?

woodvsmurphJun 16, 20181 votes

Honestly more of the latter. I'd love to like the guy and get behind him... because he can be super amazing at times. But from what I've seen - especially the picks that are poor for the comp and the Xmithie situation right before he left clg - I feel like his ego is just too damn big sometimes. I don't hate the guy or anything, but I'm disappointed in his seeming arrogance getting the better of him too often.

Xmithie got all the hate from fans and analysts when the majority of the problem was Aphro and Stixxay over-reaching and/or clg in general failing to play properly around carry junglers like their opponents did. If you're the captain and it's 90% you and your adc messing up... you'd say so and not leave a teammate of yours to carry the blame - much less join the haters and basically say you want to get rid of your jungler cuz they're having a bad split.

Just because you can play something like say... soraka and you're helping pioneer it into the meta partway through worlds or something doesn't mean you need to pick it just to show off and prove... I can play this and wreck with it. Like if your team is liable to get blown up from being a bunch of squishies with little cc/peeling... raka's not going to help much if you aren't far ahead. Because you can't heal teammates if they're getting deleted in 1 combo or so. Picking a tankier cc-heavy support would be better. And I've seen Aphro not pick for the comp (again - I can't assume it's 100% HIM personally, but I have to believe he's got some say in the matter) far more than other supports. Because in NA he can mostly get away with it. But against the best in the world? No buddy; you're not head and shoulders above everyone else in the world.

As isolated one time incidents I could believe very easily that it's not him at all. But when these incidents add up, it leads me to believe more and more that at least some of this is Aphro and not just a team decision or something. That's there's some ego and pride in excess of what is necessary to be willing to go in and take the risk on some 4 man flash headbutt pulverize if that makes sense. So yeah, I don't hate the guy, but I can't say I'm a fan because of the issues I see that I just mentioned. If I see stuff to show he's changed and is a bit more humble, playing better to his team's needs ALL the time and not ducking out and letting others take the fall for his mistakes on occasion; they it can be a different story. I'd be glad to get behind him then.

EleshakaiJun 13, 20182 votes

"And, well, I’ve got my money on Spider-Man." So Dardoch is going to be come an Elise main? Interesting prediction, Mean Mister Kien. ;)

RiotMean Mister KienJun 13, 20185 votes

You heard it here first!

ƒunyunsJun 15, 20182 votes

I'm probably just gonna watch Dunkey. Neat list though

ParakeeniJun 15, 20181 votes

MY MAN

Rasmus LayorumJun 13, 20181 votes

Despite this list, I'll always be watching for Sneaky. Those Jhin plays are always amazing to watch with Sneaky

ReaxetionJun 14, 20182 votes

While I love Sneaky, you might have to wait an extra week, or more, to see him.

Forlorn RoninJun 13, 20181 votes

I'm so tired of all the hype of the NA players when they always suck in international events. I love the NA region but we absolutely suck when it comes to playing the best in the world. How about we get a TEAM who actually represents NA well instead of the performances we get now. just my frustration at international events coming through.

Ravens6969Jun 14, 20181 votes

Reignover has fallen off of the cliff. Legend has it that he is still falling. He has 0 motivation to be a champion. he should change his name from Reignover to Gameover! his head is on the chopping block. If he has another horrible split. he may as well go join the golden ass hats. or perhaps Optic.

benatshishikuJun 14, 20181 votes

Where's Pobelter?

Rebel Phoenix17Jun 14, 20181 votes

Kind of less "10 players to watch" list and more of a "name the key player on each team" list. I get you were finding representation for each team, but realistically the 10 players to watch would have some on the same team. Sneaky or Jensen for example could have easily been included as they are superstars that could certainly pull C9 back to the top. Hell Jensen is the one the LCS keeps presenting as Bjergsen's rival for best mid NA.

None of your notes about Mickey have him pegged as a player to keep my eye on - you even note he was inconsistent and Korean mid-laners don't have a stellar track record when they switch regions. It seems to me there aren't high hopes for him flipping the tables and hard carrying, but you _needed _ to pick someone on GG to represent them.

ReaxetionJun 14, 20181 votes

Just because historically Korean mid's haven't transitioned well doesn't at all mean he is not someone to watch. If he plays towards his ceiling, it could be warping for GG.. So I would venture to say that is somebody to watch - especially since we have very little to go on, and all we can do is watch to see how he does.

As for Sneaky and Jensen, I don't think they are players to watch since they are on the Academy team for at least the first week of this split....

Rebel Phoenix17Jun 15, 20182 votes

{quoted}

Just because historically Korean mid's haven't transitioned well doesn't at all mean he is not someone to watch. If he plays towards his ceiling, it could be warping for GG.. So I would venture to say that is somebody to watch - especially since we have very little to go on, and all we can do is watch to see how he does.

As for Sneaky and Jensen, I don't think they are players to watch since they are on the Academy team for at least the first week of this split....

Ah I wasn't aware about Sneaky and Jensen - I haven't been closely following C9, so I just used them as an example thinking they were still starting.

And sure it's true that Mickey could be revolutionary for GG, but they way his paragraph is presented makes it seem unlikely. That's all I really meant, no disrespect to Mickey.

Ultimately, I just feel that if we are naming the 10 players to watch then it should be the 10 players expected to be the most influential in the league, even if that means naming two ppl on the same team and leaving one or more teams without that representative. I still enjoyed the list either way.

TrollFan01Jun 14, 20181 votes

I was wondering if we got these for the rest of the major regions.

InvictionJun 14, 20181 votes

Biofrost? Anyone? Bard

PaulFinNewmanJun 18, 20181 votes

the only finger BJERGSEN should ever be raising is his middle one and it has to be held so its facing his overrated face

Noble JonJun 13, 2018

Hmmm the smash pro scene really has changed since Smash Ultimate was announced. I wonder what happened to Zero and Nairo are they still playing Smash 4? Kinda weird these guys went from League of Legends to Smash Ultimate Pros so soon though.