Note that these aren’t necessarily the top players statistically, but those who had the most impact for their team.
Top Lane:
1ST: Balls
Quiet in nature and quiet in play, Balls is a rock for Cloud 9, consistent in lane and there when his team needs him. Although this week didn’t have any of his famous Rumble play, he was un-killable on Renekton and played a pair of very solid games on Shyvana. His strong laning never put Cloud 9 behind even in tough 2v1 and he was a force in skirmishes.
There’s not much to say here - with a respectable KDA of 5.6 and strong roams and split-pushing, Ball’s play wasn’t highlight reel, but it was a key factor in Cloud 9’s dominant start.
Stats:
Total Score: 9-6-25 KDA: 5.66 Average CS: 309 Best Champion: Renekton
2nd: Quas (Curse)
Coming into the LCS as a prodigy of sorts, Quas did not fail to impress in his debut matches with a duo of games on Mundo in which he played well and a Karthus pick which he used to great effect. Hopefully he’ll pull out one of his unusual picks like Poppy in the coming weeks.
3rd: ZionSpartan (Coast)
This choice may be controversial due to his mixed performance, but I feel like ZionSpartan proved his status as an elite top-laner. His Yasuo can clearly compete as among the best (and might be one of the few which are ban-worthy) and his Nasus was very strong. While Dyrus’ play was better on paper, I think Zion really showed off his skills and made the plays when his team needed him too.
Middle Lane:
1ST: Bjergsen
The Bjergerking is here – all hail. Bjergsen coming over the Atlantic to replace Reginald on TSM was a big deal, and his impact has been felt immediately. Whether it’s faking out everyone which his tricky play on Zed or going godlike on Leblanc, it’s hard to deny that Bjergsen is a force to be reckoned with when he is on an assassin. With insane stats on Leblanc (20-2-3) in two games, Bjergsen’s play was dynamic and exciting to watch, and he was definitely one of the keys to TSM’s 3-1 start.
Stats:
Total Score: 30-8-16 KDA: 5.75 Average CS: 305.5 Best Champion: Leblanc
2nd: Shiphtur (Coast)
Contesting Bjergsen for the Leblanc king, Shiphtur was instrumental in Coast’s victories, especially against EG – but even in defeat, Shiphtur proved he is one of the top mids in NA with only two deaths all weekend and an impressive 13.5 KDA. Just because Coast is a modest 2-2, do not dismiss Shiphtur when he gets in a groove, because he can be one of the most ruthless assassin players in NA.
3rd: Hai (Cloud 9)
Hai’s place on this list was almost assured by his Teemo pick against TSM (which later drew a ban!), but his top-notch Zed play and brilliant Yasuo were both deadly. Definitely one of the players to look out for in the weeks to come – and who knows, maybe he’ll continue to surprise and delight the crowd with niche picks.
Jungle:
1ST: Meteos
Meteos generated a lot of admiration with his dominating play in the last LCS split, earning high praise
from the best across the world, and he looks primed to continue this trend in Season 4. Although he only played Vi and Elise, he is clearly a master of these high-impact junglers and pulled off many impressive ganks.
Although his KDA isn’t nearly as impressive as last season, his overall performance was still the most consistent of all the NA junglers so far and he should be looked to as a major threat on a Cloud 9 team which is already dangerous.
Stats:
Total Score: 15-7-30 KDA: 6.4 Average CS: 152 Best Champion: Vi
2nd: IWillDominate (Curse)
IWillDominate had big shoes to fill stepping into the spot on Curse once held by SaintVicious, and while his play on Wukong and Gragas were uninspiring (especially when he allowed Aphromoo to steal away his Blue with a stray auto-attack) his play on Elise and a surprising Pantheon was excellent. With such high expectation I feel like IWD has a lot of potential – only time will tell.
3rd: Crumbzz (Dignitas)
Much like IWD, he played a pair of less-than-excellent games, but managed to recover with pristine work on Vi and Wukong to help Dignitas finish 2-2.
Dual Lane:
1ST: WildTurtle and Xpecial
While some of the other categories were close, this one was an obvious choice. Turtle and Xpecial once again showed they are to be feared as one of the best duos in North America. Xpecial proved his Leona is as good as anyone’s, and WildTurtle played Sivir to great effect. With a combined score of 23-18-65, TSM’s dual lane was head and shoulders above the other pairings in terms of statistics and impact.
It’s hard to argue against a duo that are so dominant and win lane so often. The fearsome TSM duo are this week’s Bot-Lane MVPs.
Stats:
WildTurtle
Total Score: 18-9-26 KDA: 5.2 Average CS: 310.75 Best Champion: Sivir
Xpecial
Total Score: 5-9-36 KDA: 4.55 Average CS: 34.75 Best Champion: Leona
2nd: Cop and Zekent (Curse)
With extremely impressive numbers for a new bot-lane, the Curse duo were solid even in a loss. Zekent in particular was noteworthy for his Annie stuns and Cop’s Caitlyn play continues to be top in NA.
3rd: Imaqtpie and KiWiKiD
A lot of people were questioning whether this new Dignitas bot-lane would work, and those rumors have been silenced for now. Qtpie went huge on Jinx, unkilled in two games, and KiWiKiD showed that he can play support at a top level.
Plays of the Week:
1) Mindgames Win Games: Cloud 9 Dances CLG Around
Although the weekend was full of great individual plays, I wanted to highlight this brilliant team play by Cloud 9. After a couple of great plays by CLG, it looked for all the world like they would be able to make a comeback against Cloud 9. However, at 26 minutes into the game Cloud 9 showed off their team coordination and trust, pulling off a move which totally strangled the life out of CLG.
With Hai’s Zed split-pushing bot lane, CLG and the rest of Cloud 9 danced around Baron, and CLG’s lack of decisiveness and Cloud 9’s positioning allowed Hai to contrinue split-pushing unopposed. When CLG tried to panic recall, Balls on Mundo wreaked havoc, forcing CLG to fight unfavorably.
So instead of a decisive teamfight likely followed by Baron for CLG, Cloud 9 came ahead not only with the inhibitor but trading 4 kills for 2 deaths.
This is the sort of mind-games that great teams can impose on their opponents, and Cloud 9 showed off their team coordination in style.
2) Those Mechanics: Bjergsen Wrecks Voyboy
In a dazzling display of mechanics and champion knowledge, Bjergsen was able to not only 1v1 Voyboy, but make it look easy. By perfectly chaining together all of Leblancs abilities, Bjergsen took down Voyboys Riven from full to dead without ever getting touched.
In a weekend full of ridiculous Leblanc plays, this one takes the cake.
3) Punishing the Carry: EG’s Dual Invade Works Wonders
Another excellent team play, Evil Geniuses killed Coast’s WizFujiin not only once, but TWICE before the creeps even spawned on the back of two brilliant Thresh hooks from Krepo. What makes this play so excellent is persistence and trickery – after the first kill, EG does a massive loop around the Dragon to convince Coast into thinking they were retreating before re-entering the lower jungle. Nothing is as scary as well laid plans perfectly executed, and that’s exactly what EG did.
