Aaron 🌯🍳🐀🐝🐇💦⛄️ · @stilwell__
16th May 2017 from TwitLonger
So, let's talk about NA mid laners.
I was curious so I decided to check out how many NA native mid laners became new, starting mid laners on LCS rosters in the Bjergsen era since the start of Spring 2014. Native NA mid laners who were starting mid laners before Bjergsen came to NA don't count (see: Hai, Mancloud, Link, Shiphtur). Native NA mid laners who subbed in for a couple of games don't count (Goldenglue Spring 2014, Gate Summer 2015 + Spring 2015). I'm talking **starters**. Players who were given or earned a starting position on an LCS roster.
There's only six.
Voyboy and Pobelter were the first two, Spring 2014 being their debut. Voyboy had a well regarded past as a top laner, but he was new to mid lane and Curse swapped him. He kind of counts in a way that he was new to the role. Pobelter is the other obvious one as he still plays to this day as the endling of the NA mid lane species.
Prolly promoted to LCS with Complexity for Summer 2014, Slooshi promoted to LCS with Team8 for Spring 2015, and Innox promoted to LCS with Enemy for Summer 2015.
Goldenglue - in being the starting mid laner for TL in Spring 2017 - was the only "new" NA mid laner who was given a starting position on an existing LCS roster since Pobelter and Voyboy in Spring 2014.
It's frankly pathetic how bad NA orgs have been at bringing up and nurturing native talent across pretty much every position, but it's especially awful for mid lane. And it's not as if mid lane talent has been a historically awful position for NA. In recent years obviously because there is no mid lane talent anymore, but Hai is one of the most successful NA players of all time, Mancloud and Reginald were well regarded in season three, Link was thought to be extremely talented, and Pobelter still performs well in the existing LCS. Shiphtur had a couple splits of good performances a couple years back, Scarra was regarded as a decent mid in the season two and season three era, and even Voyboy had a pretty decent run at it in season four.
Yet, since Bjergsen entered the league and almost immediately had an MVP impact, NA orgs have pretty much abandoned bringing in NA mid laners for fear that they'll never work out. This abandonment has basically killed off whatever mid lane talent existed because if there's no chance of being rewarded then players will naturally move to other positions.
In the current LCS, LOD, Gate, and Shady were all former challenger mid laners who were never able to obtain a starting mid lane position in LCS. They did find starting positions in other roles though.
NA orgs are as much to blame for the lack of native mid lane talent as solo queue mentality and the fabled lack of skill are. As a masochistic follower of NA challenger over the past few years, there's been a number of native mid laners who showed some real talent and were never able to progress it past the challenger series. It's a shame to see other roles in NA show brand new talents in LCS as each split passes, yet mid lane continues to be totally absent.