Phoenix1’s ADC Arrow named MVP
The tightly contested race for the 2017 NA LCS Spring Split MVP was won by Phoenix1’s Arrow. A panel consisting of casters, media, analysts, coaches, and players voted to give the award to the highly touted carry.
Here are the voting tallies for the top 3:
- 1st place MVP: Donghyeon “Arrow” Noh - ADC, P1 (96 Points, MVP+PoG)
- 2nd place MVP: Kevin “Hauntzer” Yarnell - Top, TSM (85 Points, MVP+PoG)
- 3rd place MVP: Søren "Bjergsen" Bjerg - Mid, TSM (63 Points, MVP+PoG)
A large portion of this season saw ADCs relegated to a more supportive role. Champions like Ashe, Varus, and Jhin soared to the top the pick and ban phase. Each of them offered initiation tools with their ultimates to go along with a safe and strong lane phase. They still played a vital role, but it seemed the meta had shifted away from a place where ADCs could single-handedly reverse the tides of a game.
In comes Arrow -- who’d made a name for himself in Korea and the LCK, where he was one of the league’s top carries. He was expected to immediately make an impact in the NA LCS. And he delivered.
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On the split, he says, “When I made the decision to come to NA... it was not an easy decision. I’d never had to use English so much before. But our final goal is to go to Worlds. We got 3rd place this season, and it seems like not a bad result. “
Phoenix1's roster shifted throughout the split, which included three different support players. Arrow also had to adjust to different playstyles from junglers Inori and Meteos. Adapting wasn’t so difficult for him, though. He says, “The support and ADC -- if you just duo and play a lot of games, you can just adjust and adapt. If you just communicate, changing players is not a problem.”
He had impressive stats throughout the regular season, too, which included:
- KDA: 5.3
- DMG/M: 616
- DMG%: 27.6
- GD@15: +130
- KP: 70.7%
Arrow played a lot of different styles throughout the split and was one of the few players who could still play the role of hyper carry. Even in the third place match, we saw the likes of Twitch, Ziggs, and Kog’Maw. He played a different champion in every single match yesterday. And he has no issues shifting back to the likes of Ashe and Jhin.
He says, “Before the nerf to lethality, Varus was OP so I just played that. After the nerf, he doesn’t seem that strong. For Ashe -- if you miss the arrow… actually it’s hard to miss the arrow, but if you do miss -- if you just make a mistake once, she is not a good champion.”
It’s as easy as not missing the arrow! How’s that for some Korean advice? He continues, “They are really strong in lane phase, but I watch our combination and the team combination, and then I pick depending on that. That’s why I use other champions.“
The MVP award is a testament to the level of respect given to his play this season. It’s clear he was one of the NA LCS’s top players this split. A lot of people worried about the power level of ADCs. Lots of new players came over the LCS, especially from Korea, but it was Arrow who delivered the most consistent results.
And for him personally, it was a nice cap to the end of the season. He says, “Winning MVP makes me more tryhard -- it motivates me. I want to show my best performance in the Summer Split. Even if I didn’t get the MVP award, I’d still try my best. But I really appreciate getting it. “
