My best players in NA LCS in each position this split
So, here are some thoughts for you. I know the split technically is not over yet as the finals are still to come and I did not yet watch the 3rd place match but I have been following the NA LCS Spring Split quite closely as I have watched lots of the regular season games - more than half of them for sure, mostly the interesting ones and not some Winterfox vs Team 8 shit of course (and I just had to look up that Team Coast was in the league as I only came to nine teams counting them in my head), as in I watched every CLG and C9 game, almost every TSM and TL game and as the season progressed most of the TIP games aswell so I can say I got the top teams covered. Coming to the playoffs I have seen every game since it's the interesting part of the season and not some meaningless best of one stuff. So much for the context of having seen actual gameplay. Thus I have been watching analysis stuff like Summoning Insight or Montecristo's Countdown where some of the games were broken down by experts and player's performances discussed.
Whooh, so much words already. Before you guys need a tl;dr version of this I am coming to my five players now and I will give a short notice why I think they have been the best at their position this split, alas mostly the "eye-test" of how the respective players have impressed me is the greatest reasoning part, I am no league expert analyst after all or I would have applied for a position somewhere this context or created my own youtube channel discussing these things.
Top - Impact (TIP)
In toplane former world champion Impact has impressed me the most but it wasn't an easy call. Not because there have been ultrabeasts of toplaners everywhere but more because of the non-impressiveness the NA toplaners had to me overall. Maybe it is the returning supertank meta and the fact I have no immediate eye for teamfight zoning and stuff but I have seen so many awkward teleports, ill-decided flanks and poor engages that I can't even remember the greatest Gnar ultimates from earlier this season. People got towerdived and killed again and again (I think Impact was killed three times within six minutes by CLG in one game for example). So yeah, I kinda find NA toplane a bit lackluster to be honest and it came down to good old Dyrus and the carrytype toplaners Quas and Impact for my decision because Balls and ZionSpartan were not very consistent at all, Zion's teamfighting was pretty lackluster for the majority of his games and Balls only turned up close to his former self towards the end of the split. I kinda guess Impact had more impact (pun intended) on his team than Quas overall because TIP was clearly centered around Impact and Rush doing work together so I decided for Impact here. Dyrus or Impact, well, Dyrus' ability to stay relevant is really awesome and he doesn't die randomly in lane by a half-hearted gank with zero wards or something like ZionSpartan or Europe's fredy122 tend to but then he had many awful teleports, some crucial not-canceled teleports and he got solo-killed by Impact so I'll give it to the Korean here. As a sidenote I have to mention that Dyrus has no jungler at all. Santorin is never to be seen in the toplane whereas Rush is always there for Impact. So Dyrus might seem very unimpressive but just think of it. He doesn't even get the privilege of playing League of Legends some of the time you know. That's why it initially has been so hard to decide. But overall I think Impact's task of carrying the game is a bit more than Dyrus' job of "don't feed, get cs and let Bjergsen carry" so again that's why I give it to the Korean here.
Jungle - IWillDominate (TL)
This guy is just really good. He is legitimally the best jungler in NA right now. Of course there is Meteos but he had his slumps during the split and overall IWDominate has impressed me more. For example in the C9 vs TL semifinals IWDominate has been better head to head than Meteos in my opinion. He had baron steals and baron stops, gank pressure everywhere and crucially he was always performing. Even with Piglet and the team going to shit early on, IWDominate has always been good, him and Quas to a certain degree were the hopes of Team Liquid for a long time. He is the catalyst of the team, the center, everything evolves around his presence. I admit I have become a huge fan of IWDominate during this split. I am really impressed by him. Oh I forgot about Rush. Him and Meteos were the contenders for second place so to speak. I haven't seen so many TIP games during the regular season so I was initially afraid of giving him too less credit but that Nunu flash-iceblast shit during the semifinals versus TSM pointed me the direction. IWDominate is good on Rek'Sai, on Nunu, on Sejuani, early game jungler, mid game jungler, late game jungler, it doesn't matter. His jungle pathing in that Nunu game? So clutch. I can't remember which game it was but he counterjungled like hell, it was just awesome. Rush just seems to be good on early game junglers where he can snowball Impact ahead...
Mid - Bjergsen (TSM)
Do I need to explain? Probably the best western player right now, everybody knows the Bjergerking is NA's best midlaner by far - not even close! He is solo-killing like everybody, he leads in cs over almost everyone every game AND he even roams a lot and takes pressure to the jungle and the botlane. I would love to see that guy play in Korea, watching him going toe to toe with players like Jin Air's GBM. North America is simply no match for him. At least send him back to Europe where there are Febiven and Froggen, xPeke is coming back, there are other good midlaners. What the hell happened to XiaoWeiXiao? He is not even remotely close to Bjergsen this split.
AD Carry - Sneaky (C9)
The true carry of Cloud 9. It wasn't Meteos this split, it was Sneaky. Even with Piglet back to form again, paired with good old Xpecial, he looked like the better of the two in the semifinals between C9 and Team Liquid. He was consistent, his teamfight positioning was good, his laning was good, he was reliable, he just has been the best AD Carry in NA this split. Not Piglet, not Doublelift, it was Sneaky. Even with LemonNation, not with some Aphromoo-Morgana or Xpecial-Thresh.
Support - Lustboy (TSM)
I would have said Aphromoo to be honest. If it wasn't for the playoffs. Man, he just can't deliver there like his whole team can't. It makes me so sad. I'm a CLG fan I may say here. None of their players is on my list though. The pressure is too much for these guys, even for the godlike support Aphromoo who has been so wow-amazing-legendary good in the regular season. But Lustboy was too. I never recognized that guy until IEM Katowice I guess. TSM is all about Bjergsen, right? Well, I did see Lustboy's Annie at IEM and I was stunned. That guy doesn't just keep the WildTurtle alive, he kinda carries his team in a more silent manner than Bjergsen but he still does. No mistakes. Did that guy ever make a huge misplay? I can't remember. I watched him more closely after IEM and I continued to be impressed. A real Korean after all. Lustboy is the best support in NA. As a sidenote I want to mention Xpecial. Of course he is good too, I did not forget. But Lustboy is better. He does not make mistakes. He doesn't.
So obviously TSM will win because they have Bjergsen and Lustboy on my list. But my secondary team is Cloud 9 (as my summoner icon suggests) so I am hoping against the odds and that Hai and Crew can take down the IEM World Champions to crown themselves Kings of NA one more time. Still the same five guys. Never change a winning team, eh?
Jokes aside, what are your thoughts to my list, guys? Keep the discussion going, I am open for criticism. Give me your own five players with a short reasoning why you have chosen so. Who will step up in the future? Will BunnyFuFuu ever be better than Xpecial as Saintvicious claimed to be on August 12th 2015? Will Doublelift ever legitimally be the best AD Carry in NA again? Meteos vs IWDominate? Give me your thoughts, guys. I will also make a list for Europe soon but not tonight, gotta get some sleep before I have to go to do real sports stuff in five hours from now as in coaching my protégée to a semifinal of her own. Good luck to us then. And good night.
