Impact Players: Smeb

Leading up to the 2015 World Championship Semifinals, we'll be discussing four of the top impact players left in the tournament -- one from each team.

Smeb

• Position: Top
• Team: KOO Tigers
• KDA: 4.55 (52/22/48)
• Damage per minute: 516 (1st in Worlds top laners)
• Damage dealt per gold spent: 1.441 (1st in Worlds top laners)
• Average CSD @ 10: 11.5 (2nd in Worlds top laners)
• Average CSD @ 20: 27 (2nd in Worlds top laners)
• Average Gold differential @ 20: 1,815 (1st in Worlds top laners)

Champions Played at Worlds 2015: Darius (x3), Fiora (x4), Gnar (x2), Kennen (x1)

At the beginning of the year, Smeb said that he wanted his team to be the instrument of Korea's redemption. He's gone far to help them achieve that goal, as KOO -- in their first year as a team no less -- has earned a spot in the 2015 World Championship Semifinals, thanks in part to Smeb's top lane performance.

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Despite being Korea's No. 2 seed, many analysts didn't consider KOO to be better than KT Rolster, who had defeated them in the LCK Summer Semifinals coming into Worlds. KOO didn't quite silence the critics with their Group Stage performance, going 4-2 and dropping both games to the LMS' Flash Wolves. Nevertheless, as they advanced towards the Quarterfinals, a few KOO players began to stand out above the rest.

One of which was Smeb, who played a key role in KOO making it to the Quarterfinals for another face off against KT. The versatile top laner has previously shown his proficiency at adjusting to the state of the meta, which has been a boon for KOO at Worlds. He skillfully played tanks earlier in the year, but now that the meta has shifted back to carry top laners, he's displayed prowess on Darius, and especially Fiora. Smeb's been the only top laner to deal over 500 damage per minute at Worlds 2015, and he's earned the most kills in the entire tournament at 52 (albeit he's also tied for the most games played, at 10).

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In the Quarterfinals against KT, Smeb showed heightened levels of finesse, playing Fiora in all four games against his rivals. Even though he felt like he underperformed in the first game, where he went 5/3/2, his teammates believed in his abilities with the Grand Duelist. He proceeded to pick her again and rewarded their faith in him with a combined 5.8 KDA (13/5/16) over the last three games.

Smeb quickly became the target of Score's ganks in the series, but KOO's own jungler Hojin made a point to come up to the top lane to counter some of them, or help even out the lane, letting Smeb get caught up or pull ahead. Afterwards, Smeb performed his split-pushing duties admirably, bringing plenty of pressure to KT and especially LCK Summer 2015 MVP Ssumday. In the skill match-up against Darius, Smeb was untouchable on Fiora, quite literally at times, like when he expertly used Riposte against Darius' Noxian Guillotine to cheat death. His ferocity was top notch as he fearlessly dove under a turret, sometimes even two, to lockdown kills. Smeb and KOO's performance proved their doubters wrong, and they knocked KT out of the tournament.

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Up against Fnatic in the Worlds 2015 Semifinals, Smeb will need a repeat performance of the Quarterfinals when he faces off against Huni if KOO hopes to advance. He has to bring the same threatening pressure to the top lane, while being respectful of Reignover's ganks, as we've seen Fnatic's jungler visit top often in an effort to get Huni ahead. Moreover, Smeb may need to be more centered around winning team fights than duels against Fnatic, as the EU powerhouse is much more proficient in that area than KT. But, with KOO's creative team compositions and unique strategies, they could definitely have a few surprises up their sleeve in store for Fnatic. And with only two more series wins to go, Smeb is closer than ever to bringing redemption to his region.

Let us know what you think of Smeb, and who you think has had the most impact for KOO. Read about other impact players from Worlds 2015 including MaRin and Febiven, and stay tuned to Lolesports for more.