As we head towards the League of Legends World Championships, the top teams are considered to be EDG, ROX and SKT while Clearlove, Smeb and Faker are widely perceived as the best players. However, there are some dynamic participants who may be less well-known, but are still vitally important to the potential success of their teams.
Here are just a few:
Meiko (EDG)
It’s hard to believe a player in one of the world’s top three teams could fly so far under the radar, but EDG’s Support Meiko definitely deserves more recognition. While most highlight the talent and abilities of Jungler Clearlove and ADC Deft, Meiko’s supreme vision control and coordination with his team have resulted in him becoming one of the top Support players in the world. Meiko may not show up in the post-game damage charts, but his ability to unlock Clearlove’s control oriented style, coupled with his brilliance in the 2v2 alongside Deft, demonstrates how influential and important Meiko is to the success of EDG.
Crown (Samsung Galaxy)
Ever since his return from Brazil, Crown has been a rock in the Mid lane for Korea’s Samsung Galaxy. While Crown has never usurped Faker for the title of best Mid laner in Korea, he has consistently been a top 3-5 player in the position, and he gives his team a sense of stability from a major role.
Many will point to the success of Samsung during the Gauntlet, the end of season last-chance qualification tournament to find the third team from Korea for the World Championships, being based on the Support switch to CoreJJ. However, Crown’s ability to control the Mid lane against both afreeca’s Mickey and KT’s Fly allowed Samsung to make a riskier decision in a separate lane.
Crown will have the chance to show off his place as one of the top Mid laners in the world when he faces off against three quality Mid laners in RNG’s Xiaohu, Splyce’s Sencux, and the best of the west, TSM’s Bjergsen.
Maple (Flash Wolves)
Maple will be making his third appearance in four years in the League of Legends World Championships. While regarded highly in the LMS, many overlook Maple in discussions for the best Mid laners in the world, even though his record clearly shows he belongs amongst them. Maple has been the best player coming out of the LMS for years now and has an affinity for assassins that have playmaking potential.
Similar to Crown, Maple will have a prime opportunity to prove himself at Worlds by going up against Cloud 9’s Jensen, IMay’s Athena, and most of all SKT T1’s Faker, who is widely perceived as the world’s best League of Legends player.
Smoothie (Cloud9)
With Impact and Jensen getting most of the attention after Cloud 9’s strong showing in the Summer Split, little credit has been given to the most consistent member of the team; Smoothie. After splitting time with Bunnyfufu in the Support role, Cloud 9 eventually rolled with Smoothie as the starting Support, and it has worked like an absolute charm. Smoothie hasn’t had particularly extravagant plays or champion picks, but he’s the cornerstone of a solid bot lane that allows Jensen more freedom to play in his aggressive style.
Smoothie is essentially everything you want in a Support for this team; he plays every meta support, shot calls, and coordinates well with Jungle Meteos. Consequently, Smoothie might just be the catalyst for Cloud 9’s progression into the knockout stage.
MikyX (Splyce)
Splyce went from relegation to representing Europe at the League of Legends World Championships in the span of one split. Only one roster move was made, that being the addition of MikyX to the starting Support position, and as a result Splyce transformed themselves into a well-coordinated dominating force.
Mikyx came straight out of Solo Queue, the standard ranked ladder where players show off their overall ability, as a raw undeveloped Support, but within his first split he quickly honed his mechanical prowess and developed an incredible mind for the game. Splyce’s coach YamatoCannon has praised Mikyx’s willingness and ability to view the game from a macro perspective, allowing him to be the all-important shot caller of the team.
Not only does Mikyx perform well on the rift, but even before the game he consistently draws a target ban towards his Bard, freeing up more options for his team in the pick and ban phase.
In conclusion, Meiko, Crown, Maple, Smoothie and MikyX are not the only under-appreciated talents at the World Championships this year, but each has a key role that will make them compelling viewing throughout the event. They are definitely the players to watch if you want to make some wise bets.
