Ram Djemal · @brokenshard
8th Jan 2015 from TwitLonger
The 10 players of EU LCS that I am excited to watch and why (COMPLETE)
This will be the first 5 players I am keeping my eye on this upcoming split and why. Some of these opinions may differ to yours and thats fine, because these are simply opinions of mine. My writing is not perfect either, its mainly just to give you guys an idea of why I'm interested to see how these players shape out to be in the split.
This is in no particular order at all.
ALLIANCE – Shook
A lot of the hype around ALLIANCE will undoubtedly be around their newest acquisition, Rekkles, however I’ve decided to go a different route. I have no doubt in my mind that Rekkles is a top ADC in EU, and the west as well, but my eyes have a different focus. Shook has been regarded as a top contender for the best jungler in EU, however, a lot of people, myself included, have criticized his consistency in the LCS games and on the international stage. One can remember his flawless Lee Sin game against NJWS at the world championship and then compare it to his less than stellar performances in the EU regional playoffs or his most recent IEM San Jose performance. The acquisition of shook was a well sighted one, with a lot of people praising his ability from the jungle, and there is no doubt to his potential skill ceiling if he can fix his consistency issues within the EU LCS split. Shook is my player to watch because I am interested to see if he can start to show development and improvement upon fixing his vision control and consistency that will put him clearly above the other top Junglers of his region such as Svenskeren and Jankos. I look forward to seeing what ALLIANCE can do especially with a new support staff behind them. He is my player to watch because if he can fix his consistency issues, he can become the best jungler in Europe, but if he can’t , there is potential for a new face to appear in that role come Summer.
ROCCAT -- Nukeduck
The newest player to join ROCCAT, some might say one of the most obvious roster changes, will be the former world championship player Nukeduck. Nukeduck impressed a lot of people in his premiere split back in the Summer of 2013 as a top tier mid laner competing amongst the ranks of Froggen, Alex Ich and Peke. His fall from grace was however very sudden, when he got relegated by KMT (now known as ROCCAT ironically) and subsequently banned. He is however back, and the meta favors his assassin heavy style very well, his known champions being Ahri and Zed. On the new ROCCAT, I expect nukeduck to impress a lot of people once again and solidify himself as a top tier mid of the region once again. He is my player to watch simply because I believe him to be one of the most dominant mid laners in this upcoming spring split. On a team with outstanding players like Vander and Jankos, a player of Nukeducks caliber is sure to shine.
SK GAMING – Forgiven
Forgiven is another player who only really had one split to showcase his skill. Picked up to the challenger team Copenhagen Wolves, following their departure of their star player Rekkles (being loaned to them from FNATIC) Forgiven had some big shoes to fill; and boy did he fill them. He not only impressed a lot of people in his rise to power during the challenger scene, he was widely regarded as one of CW’s best players during the LCS split. However disputes within the team caused him to unfortunately not be on the roster for the summer split and he enjoyed a brief period of inactivity as a pro. He has returned to the new SK gaming lineup with a point to prove; that he is one of the best that EU has to offer. He was very vocal about his drive to win and how he felt that his team held him back, resulting in a fine earlier in 2014. Now he is on a team with fairly strong players such as top laner Fredy112, nRated, the newly acquired Fox and Svenskeren. He will have his chance to show that he has the drive to win and only to win, and to solidify himself as a definite top ADC of EUW on this roster. He is my player to watch because I’m excited to see Forgiven return to the LCS. He is a passionate player who has definitely not only matured from his experiences but one can say also gotten much smarter and hungrier.
Bonus player to keep an eye on: Fox
Strong in the challenger scene, Fox will have much to prove in this coming LCS split.
FNATIC – Febiven
The so-called tilt master had an impeccable performance in the expansion tournament, albeit it being on another team, he boasted an undefeated record in all 6 games with an incredibly high KDA. EU mid laners indeed. The young blood player has joined alongside veteran Yellowstar on the new FNATIC lineup to the disappointment of many. Many, myself included, were looking forward to the complete H2K lineup competing in the EU LCS. However regardless of the team he is on, Febiven is clearly in the LCS to prove a point. With multiple accounts in the top 25 of EUW challenger ladder, the young player clearly has the mechanical prowess to compete with the best. He has a lot to prove in the competitive stage, but with all the hype around the new EU mids, he will have a strong competing ground. Regardless, everyone including myself are anxious to see Febiven in action, even if he is on a new team. I look forward specifically for the Febiven vs. Nukeduck matchup, as both are close in sharing strategies amongst each other and have quite similar playstyles. He is strong new talent, and his performance on this team could make or sink his career.
GAMBIT – Diamondprox
The legend himself. Diamondprox has been known by many names; god of the jungle, master innovator, best jungler in the world, since the start of his career on the incredibly dominant Moscow 5 earlier in Season 2. Diamondprox, like GAMBIT, had a fall from grace early in Season 4, with 5th place finish in the spring split and a 7th in the Summer, which led a lot of people to believe that the time of the jungle god is over, However, a revitalized Diamondprox and GAMBIT Gaming appeared in the most recent IEM Cologne tournament. Much like the story of GAMBIT’s career, they took a convincing 1st place victory over CLG, with Diamondprox looking very much on point. A lot of the attention was pointed at p1noy, who had an excellent showing, and as much as I’d like to put him as the player to watch, I feel that the return of a revitalized Diamondprox and what that could mean for the jungle meta this upcoming spring split…. That is just exciting. He was known as a top innovator back in S2, who’s to say he can’t do that again? I look forward to seeing Diamondprox brave the new jungle and what tricks he has to pull out.
Bonus player to keep an eye on: p1noy
Can’t say GAMBIT without p1noy nowadays, he had a fantastic showing in IEM Cologne and everyone looks forward to seeing how he can do in the upcoming split.
UOL – Vardags
UOL has many known members on their team, Vizi in the top lane with his unconventional Poppy, Hylissang and his heat seeking thresh hooks, Kikis with his ability to pull out random junglers, and PowerOfEvil with the impressive showcase of his Syndra. You might be wondering why of all these players I decided to pick their AD carry, Vardags. Well you see it’s just that, of all the players on his team, one might say that Vardags is the most… conventional. He lacks a certain identity that makes him pop out like the others on UOL. His conventional play as an AD Carry as well has been, in my eyes, slightly underwhelming. He has a really good attitude towards improvement, and a very unique team behind him, so for him to define his own playstyle on a team open to trying many different strategies should be easy. I want to see how Vardags improves himself over the split, if he can make an identity for himself like the others on his team, or at the very least to rise through the ranks in the AD carry role.
Bonus player to watch: UOL
This entire team is crazy as fuck.
GIANTS – Rydle
GIANTS was the last team to qualify into the LCS through the Expansion tournament, taking a 3-0 victory over RG in the loser bracket to secure their spot. Throughout the series, even against H2k, one player had really stood out to me. It was not xPepii, who unfortunately actually had a very underwhelming series against H2k. Rydle, throughout the entire expansion tournament, showed that he is the real deal on this team. When given his Thresh, he lands some insane hooks and is very accurate with his lantern placements. When given his Alistar, he has no fear making some incredibly strong engages under your turret, tanking everything up for his team. A lot of people will say that the GIANTS mid laner is the main person to watch, and I would agree with you if we didn’t have such stacked mid lane talent in the EU LCS. Rydle has a good chance to make a name for himself as a solid support in the LCS, and it will be interesting to see how he fares against the likes of the other top supports like Yellowstar and nRated. Rydle is one of the big playmakers of his team, so look to him to see how GIANTS fares.
MYM – Nisbeth
MYM, formerly known as SHC, have had a bit of a troubling past when it came to supports. They joined the LCS with Migxa, the incredibly aggressive, ‘’nice’’ shouting Leona main who ended up racking the most deaths in that split. Then, in the summer, they picked up Wewillfailer, who was swiftly swapped over for Kasing about 5 weeks in. Now they have opted to swap Kasing out for the new and untested Nisbeth. Nisbeth has been skirting around the challenger ladder for quite some time now, but this will be first LCS debut. A lot of questions were raised when the sudden drop of Impaler and Kasing was announced. Some claimed it was disputes within the team, nevertheless, they have a new face in the bot lane. MrRallez was considered a good ADC in his own demand, but will him and Nisbeth really shine? Will they impress like the Rallez+Migxa or Rallez+Kasing duo we used to see? SHC ended up 3rd in their summer split during the actual split, but fell to a disappointing 5th. I’m curious to see this new face in the LCS, and want to see how Nisbeth and Rallez synergize in the bot lane.
CW – Freeze
The curse of Freeze has ended. Finally Freeze will have a chance to show himself on the LCS stage. The last time we saw Freeze in the LCS, he was alongside Bjergsen in the NiP squad. What people don’t remember is that Freeze actually used to play with the old CW back when they were known as Samurais in Jeans with Unlimited in the bot lane and Youngbuck in the top, so this wouldn’t be the first time they joined forces. That being said, there is a lot of hype surrounding Freeze, a lot of people were saying that he was the only member on the old NiP squad who truly looked ‘’alive’’ per say. The only one who looked to really try to make plays and perform well. A lot of people were looking forwards to his return to the LCS to see how he fares once again, and now he will have his chance. I’m curious to see how Freeze and Unlimited synergize as compared to Woolite did in the first split. This will be his chance to shine on his team, and prove that he was LCS caliber from the start.
H2K – Odoamne
Last but definitely not least it’s the much anticipated debut of H2K. A team that I was assisting into the LCS, however, they’ll be using a new face in the mid lane considering the departure of Febiven. That being said, we’re here to talk about Odoamne, my player to watch. Odoamne has, for the longest time, been an incredibly solid and versatile member of the top lane. His innovation regarding the rise of Trundle in the top lane, his ability to adapt and even go toe-to-toe with Zorozero, widely regarded as one of the best, during their CS matches puts him at the top of the list for me. I truly believe that Odoamne is one of the best top laners in EUW and will continue to prove that by his performance in the LCS. His ability to adapt from a utility role to a tank role to a hard carry role during the expansion tournament really showcased just how versatile and skilled he was at all aspects of the role. His laning and teleport knowledge are on point, and he will impress a lot of people. He is probably not only my player to watch for H2K but also could be my player to watch for the entirety of LCS. EU is criticized for its lack of effective top laners. I’m confident that Odoamne will stamp his authority
Bonus player to watch: Voidle
He was formerly on gambit in summer of 2013 and even went to worlds. He had a solid showing at the Expansion tournament and a lot of people will look to see how he fares amongst new faces in the LCS.