Note that these are not necessarily the top players statistically, but those who had the greatest impact for their team.
Top Lane
1ST: Wickd
Alliance has been on the up-and-up since their poor start to the season, and the significantly improved play of Wickd is one of the major reasons why they placed better recently. He received a lot of criticism for his uninspiring Malphite play (as well as his Trinity Force build) in the early weeks of the EU LCS, but his transition back onto comfortable tanky champions made him much more of a factor and less of a liability for Alliance.
His Renekton versus Millenium was strong despite his tough match-up against Kev1n’s Shyvana and his Trundle was key in withstanding sOAZ’s bold top-lane Leblanc pick. Had Wickd played the match-up versus sOAZ poorly the dual mage composition of Fnatic would have taken off, but his patient play and smart item build allowed him to keep sOAZ as a non-factor.
If Alliance is to continue on their upward trend they need Wickd to be at his best and playing comfort champions. His tanky presence is needed to allow Froggen, Shook and Tabzz to make the plays – out with Malphite and in with Renekton seems to be the new mantra for Alliance, and it certainly worked for them in Week 4.
Stats:
Total Score: 3-3-19 KDA: 7.3 Average Cs: 255 Best Champion: Trundle
2nd: Xaxus
His Renekton was top-level all weekend and his domination of sOAZ was especially note-worthy, picking up solo-kills where they should have been impossible.
3rd: Mimer
Although his play against Millenium was less than ideal, he absolutely dummied Darien in the match versus Gambit and made plays happen all around the map.
Jungle
1ST: Jankos
Much like the rest of ROCCAT, Janko’s greatest strength is his consistency. He never misses a beat or has a truly terrible game. Reliable is the name of the game for Jankos, and he cosistantly delivers when the team needs his to.
In Week 4, Jankos’ brilliant Elise absolutely ran over Fnatic – and Cyandie in particular – with massive farm advantage and smart ganking, allowing ROCCAT to take down the powerhouse team. His Baron steal sealed the deal, and was clutch as it was brave, diving into 4 members of Fnatic to Venomous Bite-Smite combo.
Against Millenium his play was slightly less spectacular, but he showed that he must be considered as one of the best jungle Pantheons in Europe (he is the only one who has found consistent success on the Artisan of War).
As a key factor in both of ROCCAT’s victories in Week 4, its hard to deny Jankos deserves this weeks jungle MVP.
Stats:
Total Score: 8-4-12 KDA: 5 Average Cs: 177 Best Champion: Elise
2nd: Diamond
Confirmed his position as the best Evelyn player in Europe and ran rampant all over the Copenhagen Wolves.
3rd: Amazing
His Lee Sin was un-killed and was vital to seal the victory for the Wolves against the resilient SK Gaming.
Middle Lane
1ST: Froggen
As the heart of the Alliance squad, whether or not Froggen plays well is central to whether or not they win or lose. Fortunately, Week 4 was Froggen’s best to date, with solid play on Kayle and Gragas to lead his team to a pair of wins.
While the communication with Shook doesn’t seem to be 100% just yet, Froggen seems to finally have found his groove, leading to better laning, strong rotations and better team-fighting across the board. The mid-lane is central to the current meta, and with Froggen finally holding his own in lane Alliance can pick up momentum and carry their winning streak forward.
His Gragas play deserves a special note for keeping xPeke under control. Fnatic’s greedy Leblanc-Orianna dual mage picks was a gamble, and Froggen was able to punish the decision well.
Overall, it finally seems that Froggen has returned to form – and not a moment too soon.
Stats:
Total Score: 16-4-16 KDA: 8 Average Cs: 170 Best Champion: Gragas
2nd: Moopz
The best player on his team by far in the defeat at the hands of Millenium, and he didn’t miss a beat when laning against AlexIch’s mid Lulu.
3rd: Overpow
While his play wasn’t as flashy as it has been in weeks past (no Mordekaiser sadly), his unusual build on Ziggs worked perfectly and his Kha’Zix was solid.
Bot-Lane Duo
1ST: Celevar and Vander
The ROCCAT bottom lane has topped this list once already, and I expect them to continue to do so if they are able to maintain the fantastic play they are currently putting on display. Not only have they proven themselves as one of the top duos in Europe, but they did so in dramatic and dominant fashion against teams such as Fnatic, Gambit and Millenium.
Celevar continues to impress with his strong mechanics and laning abilities, and showed off the depth of his champion pool by pulling out a solid Ezreal and a powerful Lucian to add to his already fearsome Caitlyn.
It must be said, though, that Vander is really the star of the duo. His Thresh must be considered as the best in all of Europe (maybe even the world) for his pixel-perfect and shockingly consistent hooks, his well-placed Lanterns and his mind-blowing Flays. With a 75% win rate on Thresh (6-2) the Chain Warden is a must ban versus ROCCAT due to Vander’s utter mastery of the champion.
This week, especially against Fnatic, the bot-lane duo of ROCCAT continued to do what they done all season: win lane, team-fight well and almost never die. You can’t ask for much more – Vander and Celevar earn their second MVP title.
Stats:
Celevar
Total Score: 7-3-11 KDA: 6 Average Cs: 306 Best Champion: Lucian
Vander
Total Score: 3-0-19 KDA: 22 Average Cs: 62 Best Champion: Thresh
2nd: Creaton and Jree
Strong in defeat against Alliance and ROCCAT, Creaton and Jree absolutely took over the game versus Suppa Hot Crew, picking up 16 kills between the two of them in a crushing performance.
3rd: Tabzz and Nyph
Tabzz went death-less and Nyph’s initiations were excellent. The Alliance duo has been the strongest (and certainly most consistent) part of the team and should be the ones the team looks to if they are to continue their win streak.
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Top Plays of the Week:
1) Into the Wild: Migxa’s Wolf Hook
You have to see it to believe it. With Gambit in full retreat mode Migxa pulled off a Thresh hook that rivals any of the EU LCS so far.
No vision and the Wolf camp between him and AlexIch’s fleeing Lulu, Migxa lined up a hook which ruffled the fur on the back of the small wolf, snagging the fleeing yordle and securing the kill.
Pixel-perfect and mind-blowing aim from the Suppa Hot Crew Support player.
(Click photo for VOD)
2) The Baron Bite: Jankos Steals Away Nashor
What makes this play so good is not only the perfect timing that Jankos put on display but the wholly too casual way in which he did it.
Flashing over the wall he merely strolled up to Baron and took it away from under Fnatic’s nose with impunity.
Great timing, better mechanics leads to a confident steal which looked all too easy and was the nail in the coffin for Fnatic.
(Click photo for VOD)
3) Happy Hour Incoming!: Kerp’s Magic Barrel
You can’t ask for much more than this from your Gragas player. With ROCCAT in full retreat in the bottom lane, Kerp’s roam from mid was perfectly timed to catch out the fleeing members. A quick Flash over the wall followed by a perfectly placed Explosive Cask to knock all three members of ROCCAT back into his team leads to an instant double kill. Not only was the placement of the Cask on point, but the timely roam punished ROCCAT when Millenium needed to.
(Click photo for VOD)
EU LCS MVPs and Top Plays:
