We’re over halfway through Worlds 2022, and NA is doing as we all expected. Do you think they will win Worlds? Probably not, but watching them play against some of the top teams from EU, KR, and the rest of the world has been pretty exciting.

Unfortunately for North America, they tend not to turn up for international events such as Worlds and never really do well when it comes to getting out of groups. Historically, NA hasn’t performed very well on the Worlds stage for a long time.

In this Mobalytics article, we’re going to give some insight and compare NA to the rest of the world and break down a few things that will help us build a picture of why NA doesn’t do too well on the big stage.

Before we begin, it is important to note that we will not be biased towards any server and will be as neutral as possible. If you like this article, head to the Mobalytics site for more Esports and educational articles.

5 Reasons NA Sucks at Worlds

1. Different Playstyle
2. Lack of Practice
3. Poor Work Ethic
4. Retirement Home
5. Low Server Population

1. Different Playstyle

Every server has a different play style and favours different types of champions. The NA play style is slightly different to the rest of the world, which could be one reason why they do not do too well.

It is known that NA doesn’t really adapt to well to meta sifts and meta changes. Some regions adapt really quickly or are ahead of the curve, while it takes NA teams slightly longer to adapt. This is not always a bad thing, but on an international stage, having any advantage is key.

If it takes NA a patch or 2 to adapt, then they’re going to be behind everyone else as they usually adapt extremely quickly or at the same time as every other server- why do you think NA is behind everyone else?

Something else that could be mentioned is their lack of knowledge/skill in the drafting phase. Often you will see teams draft extremely poorly, or not play to the team comps strengths which ultimately costs them games.

2. Lack of Practice

Now we could go all over the place with this one, but I want to keep it to the point. NA doesn’t play as much ranked compared to other servers. This is mostly down to pros not wanting to play as often, but it is not always their fault.

If you watch any big pro streamer, you can see how much they don’t want to play ranked due to how bad the ranked experience is. There are a few reasons why it is worse in NA compared to some other regions:

• Lots of remakes

Long queue times and multiple remakes a day coupled together make for a less-than-stellar experience. There are many reasons for a game to be remade, but unfortunately, it feels like most remakes are due to deliberate AFKS.

• Low-quality games

As of late, many people are deliberately throwing games and running it down in high ELO. This is heavily influenced by betting and max fixing.

• High ELO “trolls”

There are a lot of players who are in high ELO that will run it down and int certain players when they have them on their team.

While NA isn’t the only server that has these issues, they all contribute to why NA doesn’t play as much. I don’t blame them for not wanting to play when these things affect their Solo Queue experience, but they need to release that they need to play if they want to improve.

For my next point, I need to be pretty vague to not call out any pros or make it obvious who we’re talking about, but in 2022, there were some pretty good game releases. Instead of doing their job and grinding League, some pros were playing other games instead. I’m not saying they can’t play other games, but if it’s getting in the way of doing your job, then it’s an issue.

When a new game was released, we saw many pros clock in ridiculous hours within the first week of release. This mindset is different from NA to KR, for example.

Here’s a video by Markz which breaks down more information on why NA sucks!

3. Poor Work Ethic

This somewhat ties into our last point. However, when we compare NA to the rest of the world, they tend to, on average, play less ranked games and spend less time on Summoners Rift. Korea is an amazing example of hard work and dedication. You will see pros on this server grinding day and night to improve while NA is nowhere to be seen.

If we look at some high ELO players like Tyler 1 on NA, he grinds League day and night, but where are the pros? What are they doing? They’re not playing ranked nearly as much as him or pros on other servers. With this poor work ethic and less time spent playing the game, it’s clear that they’re never going to win Worlds.

There are some outliers, but for the most part, NA just doesn’t practice enough and their poor work ethic is one of the main contributing factors when it comes to this.

Take a look at Fakers 24 hour schedule. It’s slightly outdated, but just look at how much time he plays or does things surrounding the game.

4. Retirement Home

The North American pro scene is full of old players who have been playing for years. This is a good thing because the old blood can teach the newbies a thing or two. Their experience is valuable when it comes to building characters and faces of the LCS.

But, theres a slight issue with so many players being in the League for a long time: they become washed up. It’s a very common meme that NA is a retirement home for pros, and it is somewhat true. Imports from other countries who have been playing for some time will get brought by NA teams to fill their roster. When they come to NA, they don’t perform as they had been before, and they soon get dumped or stay in the league doing the bare minimum to survive.

In recent times, players who have retired have made their way back into the scene. This isn’t exactly healthy for the strength of North America because they don’t always perform too well when they’re back. However, franchisees in the NA pro scene don’t care about this because it’s good to have big names in their organisation.

5. Low Server Population

North America is huge in size, but the server population isn’t. There is a large difference in numbers between NA, EU and KR with NA having similar members playing ranked compared to much smaller servers around the world (such as EUNE).

These stats were taken from the OP.GG site. Huge props to them for having this data. You can check the data and compare their server to others worldwide.

With so few players playing ranked, it can be hard to create talent because there are less people playing the game. There can be a few different reasons why less people play in NA.

• Game type

People just don’t like League. NA may not favour MOBA games and prefer games such as Shooters or RPG games instead. MOBA’s are one of the dominant games in KR for instance.

• High Ping

Nobody likes lagging, and if you’re in NA, you will have a high ping. This is one of the pitfalls of being in NA; unless you live near the servers, you’re in for a rough time.

Ending Thoughts

There are some deep-rooted errors in NA that are costing them the Worlds title. Until NA, LCS, and the player base works on these issues; there isn’t much hope for them ever winning the biggest title of the year.

If you found this article interesting and want to see more, sign up for a free Mobalytics. account for more Esports and educational content!

The post Why NA Sucks at Worlds and International Events appeared first on Mobalytics.

With Worlds 2022 just around the corner, we at Mobalytics are super excited to see the world come together and battle it out at the highest level of League of Legends. You may have noticed lately that we’ve been creating lots of content regarding pro play, and it’s been very fun looking at historical pro play.

In our continued series of Esports guides, we will today discuss five champions that we expect to see pick or ban status at Worlds 2022. These champions will either get picked by one team, or banned by the other, and whenever they make it through champion select, they will dominate the enemy and take over the game.

If you like any of the champions on our list, make sure you check out their champion pages on the Mobalytics site, where you can find builds, tips and much more to help you play each of the champions on today’s list.

5 Champions Who Will Dominate Worlds 2022

1. Ornn
2. Gwen
3. Wukong
4. Renata
5. Viego

Ornn

The first champion on our list is Ornn. Ornn has and will see a lot of play on the Worlds Stage this year. Ornn is a dominant champion who has seen play in pro play ever since his release.

Ornn synergises well with a ton of different champions. He fits into basically any team comp, and his build is highly adapative. Ornn is a great tank champion who will soak tons of damage for his team, regardless of the enemies team comp.

He is amazing in team fights thanks to the amount of CC his kit includes. His Ultimate is also very good in team fights. He can use it to knockup the whole enemy team if they’re grouped around an objective or in the river.

Gwen

The second champion on our list is Gwen. Gwen is a very dominant champion in both solo queue and pro play. She has been one of the most popular picks since her release, and I don’t recall a time when she hasn’t been good in pro play.

Gwen can dominate the enemy Top laner in lane thanks to her skirmish-heavy play style and excellent early game damage. Outside the laning phase, she is a good split pusher who can apply pressure to side lanes and be a nuisance for the enemy.

Her pick potential is actually quite good too. Her Ultimate deals damage and slows the enemy, which can help her team pick enemies off and start a fight. If she can get on and pick off the enemy carry, her team will easily win the fight.

Wukong

Wukong has been a dominant champion throughout the Season. He has seen play in several lanes, including the Top, Mid and Jungle roles. After his slight rework, he has been, what feels like – pick or ban in League of Legends.

Wukong has a lot of early game damage and can gank pretty much from the get go. As these types of Junglers are strong, he should dominate pro play and snowball his team. Outside of that, Wukong has many tools to set up ganks and fights. His Ultimate can be used twice to knock up enemies and CC targets.

Something that may be forgotten about Wukong is that his build is versatile. Regardless of how ahead or behind he is, he can adapt his build to his team’s needs to be a monster. If he gets fed, he will deal a lot of damage and be super tanky.

Renata

Renata has been a powerful champion ever since her release. Her kit is amazing in pro play, and she has so many tools to help her team and keep them alive.

Her Ultimate is a fantastic team fighting tool that can CC and deal lots of damage to the enemy team. As teams usually group in Pro play, she will be able to CC the whole enemy team at once. Each champion will damage another enemy, resulting in free kills for her team.

She is a very reliable champion and very good from behind. She just needs to empower her allies and keep them alive; they will do the hard work for her.

Viego

The final champion on our list is Viego. Veigo is a new champion but has been dominating pro and solo queue since he was introduced. Veigo will most likely be played in the Jungle role, and it is doubtful we will see him in any other role.

Champions that can gank early and skirmish are very good in pro play. Viego can start ganking early after his double buff clear. Early ganks are essential, so he is a good pick in this regard.

One thing that is good in pro play is that there are a lot of skirmishes and fights in pro play, which means he can take over the body of the enemy champion, allowing for a lot of good playmaking and outplay potential.

Summary

And that about sums up our guide on the 5 champions that we think will be dominating Worlds 2022. What do you think of our list? Do you feel there will be stronger champions we see this year, or do you think we’re right. Let us know! As always, you can learn how to master all of the champions in today’s guide by signing up for your free Mobalytics account!

The post 5 Champions Who Will Dominate Worlds 2022 appeared first on Mobalytics.

Every role and player plays a crucial part in professional League of Legends. Junglers are one of the most impactful roles in any level of play as they can impact the map and get kills with their allies.

While you may not see every Jungler you do in Solo Queue get played in Professional League of Legends, you may see the same faces over and over again. Pro players pick the best champions for their role, and you often see some champions picked or banned.

If you’re interested in finding builds, more stats, extra tips and tricks or more information for any of the champions on today’s list, why not sign up for a free Mobalytics account?!

Before we begin, we would just like to say that these stats and all the other stats we are using in this series of Esports guides are taken from GOL.GG. The filters we are using are all seasons and all roles, and we are not including any champions that have been released in the last year or so (however that doesn’t affect this guide in particular).

5 Most Picked Junglers in Pro League of Legends

1. Lee Sin
2. Jarvan IV
3. Gragas
4. Sejuani
5. Rek’Sai

1. Lee Sin

Lee Sin is not only the most popular Jungler in pro play, but he is also one of the most played champions in Solo Queue. Lee Sin is a strong early skirmisher who will look to gank his allies often.

Junglers that can gank and get stuff done are what pro players want as they need to gank their allies early to get a lead. You very rarely see farm-heavy Junglers in professional play as they don’t really do anything apart from farm early.

I think Lee Sin is good in Solo Queue. However, he is quite hard to play. If you master him, you will be a deadly Jungler for sure, though.

Quick Tips

• Just because you hit your Q, it doesn’t mean you have to go in. Refrain from following every Q.
• Try and initiate ganks with your W rather than Q. If you use your Q and miss, it is going to result in a failed gank. It will also be harder for you to land your Q the further you’re away from the enemy.
• Flash kick the enemy carry or squishy champion into your team. Do not kick the enemy tank or engage champion as you’ll do more harm than good.

2. Jarvan IV

Jarvan recently got a buff, which may bring him back to pro play. Back in the day, Jarvan was very popular because of his early skirmishing power and amazing play-making potential. Unfortunately, he has fallen off slightly, but he still remains one of the most popular champions in pro play.

In pro play, he tends to gank often and look for counter ganks whenever possible. He is a really strong early-game Jungler who will try to make plays everywhere. Regardless of how far ahead or behind he is, he can adapt his build path accordingly and provide his team with whatever they need.

I think Jarvan is a good champion right now, and he has been made better by the recent buffs he received several patches ago. Although, I will say that there are stronger Junglers out there compared to him.

Quick Tips

• Jarvan is an early-game dominant Jungler. Look to gank as frequently as possible to get yourself and your laners ahead. You can gank at level 2 once you’ve unlocked your E and Q if the enemy laners are weak and your laner has a strong level 1.
• Use alternative ganking routes to gank your allies. You can utilise the Blast Cone to dodge commonly placed wards or the Scuttle Crab.
• Jarvan has incredibly strong Dragon and Rift Herald taking potential. Try to take them whenever they’re up to get a lead. To do so, get priority in a nearby lane and then take the objective, but make sure it’s not warded.

3. Gragas

The third champion on our list is Gragas. Gragas has always been a consistent pick in pro play. He is good in the early game, and has a strong Ultimate and a very versatile build path. He can practically start ganking from the get-go, which is one of the reasons why pros love him.

Like the rest of the champions on the list, Graas is a good skirmishing Jungler early. He can gank from level 2 when he unlocks his E, although this is rarely done in pro play. He has a very versatile build path and can go pure damage or off tank depending on whether he is ahead or behind.

I think Gragas is a good champion in Solo Queue and is pretty versatile. He is pretty easy to play, and his paths are basic, but his Ultimate can be quite challenging to use for beginners and people who are not used to playing him.

Quick Tips

• Gragas is an early-game dominant Jungler. Look to gank as frequently as possible to get your lanes ahead.
• Throw your Ultimate just behind the enemy to ensure they get knocked forward. Placing it on top of them may knock them in the wrong direction.
• Staying off to the side while your team groups can allow you to flank the enemy and knock them into your teammates.

4. Sejuani

Sejuani is one of the best ganking champions post 6, thanks to her Ultimate. She is strong early too, but once she knocks her Ultimate, each gank she does will result in a kill for her team, thanks to the CC it provides.

Sejuani is a strong skirmishing champion who can gank often. She will also build tanky items which ensures that her team has a strong frontline to protect the carries. Her Ultimate is very versatile and can be used to pick champions off or protect her carries from the enemy frontline.

I think Sjeunai is a great Jungler, but I may be biased because I really like her. She is pretty easy to play, so that is always a bonus if you’re new to the Jungle role.

Quick Tips

• Your Passive makes you very tanky, but a single auto-attack even from the jungle will proc it. Make sure your Passive is ready before initiating a gank to increase the chances of you surviving/ killing the laner.
• Sejuani is a good ganker in the early game, but you don’t need to force anything. You could power farm until you get your Ultimate, as it is a great ganking tool.
• Don’t be afraid to use your Ultimate from afar to start a team fight. If somebody walks too far forward, you could use it to catch them out of position to start the fight.

5. Rek’Sai

The final champion is Rek’Sai . Rek’Sai is the newest champion on our list, although she has been out for a very long time. Rek’Sai used to be a very popular champion but doesn’t see much play after some heavy nerfs.

Rek’Sai has very unique gank paths which made Supports and laners prioritize warding in different areas, which added to the mental game of LoL. Next, she was a very strong early game champion who could gank very frequently. She could also fight pretty much any Jungler she faced.

I think Rek’Sai is an alright champion, but there are far stronger champions around compared to her. I wouldn’t bother learning Rek’sai right now unless she gets some significant buffs because she (currently) gets outclassed by a lot of champions.

Quick Tips

• Rek’Sai excels at skirmishing during the early game. Use this opportunity to dominate the jungle and assist your lanes.
• When out of combat, always remain Burrowed. This is vital as it allows you to have a much higher vision range with Tremor Sense which can be the difference between living and dying.
• Be creative with your ganking patterns and avoid the linear gank path. Rek’Sai Tunnel can go through any wall in the game.

Final Thoughts

And that brings us to the end of another guide. We hope you learn something from it and that you found it interesting. You can learn more tips and tricks for any of the champions we listed in our guide by heading over to the Mobalytics site.

The post 5 Most Picked Junglers in Professional League of Legends appeared first on Mobalytics.

Professional players always pick the best champion to do the job. Compared to your average Solo Queue player, they spend a lot of time learning the ins and outs of every champion they play, and they’re pretty darn good at them too.

Have you ever thought about who are the most picked champions in the Top lane of professional League of Legends? No? Well, some of the champions on today’s list may surprise you. What has historically been great in Solo Queue doesn’t always transition well to pro play, as we will find out in today’s article.

Looking for more stats for champions in League of Legends? Or if you want any more tips and tricks to play any champions on our list, then make sure you sign up for a free Mobalytics account.

Before we begin, we would just like to say that these stats and all the other stats we are using in this series of Esports guides are taken from GOL.GG. The filters we are using are all seasons and all roles, and we are not including any champions that have been released in the last year or so (however that doesn’t affect this guide in particular).

5 Most Picked Top Laners in Pro League of Legends

1. Gnar
2. Renekton
3. Ornn
4. Aatrox
5. Camille

1. Gnar

Gnar is a strong champion in pro play, thanks to his versatility and strength in team fights. His Ultimate and transformation are pretty good in fights as he can become stronger and lock down and pick off targets. Gnar is pretty simple, but playing around with his rage bar is key.

Gnar is a safe Top laner that can handle the majority of Top laners in LoL. However, he is quite squishy. Gnar is dependable and safe and can escape ganks and skirmishes with his jump. He can also set up his Jungler post 6 with his Ultimate.

I don’t rate Gnar as a Top laner right now. I think there are stronger champions around. However, I will say that he is good in Clash and Flex if your team is on voice comms and have good synergy.

Quick Tips

• When against melee champions, use your range advantage to harass enemies. Whenever they have 2 stacks on them, make sure you auto-attack or use your Q to proc your W.
• Try to delay a team fight for as long as possible while you stack your Rage Bar. When it’s up, force a fight before you go back to Mini Gnar.
• Before using your E aggressively, take a look at the mini-map to make sure the enemy Jungler is not nearby and ready to engage once you’ve overextended.

2. Renekton

Renekton has always been one of my favourite Top laners in the game, and I feel like a large portion of Top lane mains like him as a champion. Although, many of them may not like to play against him as he can be quite infuriating to play against and hard to handle once he is ahead.

Renekton, while not very popular nowadays, used to be good in the Top lane because of his skirmishing power and strong duelling potential. He could handle the other strong Top laners, and he could also set up his Jungler. Renekton’s build is very versatile and can be built in a variety of different ways.

I think Renekton is a strong Top laner and someone who is good if you want to learn how to play Top lane because he is easy to learn and quite forgiving thanks to his dashes and the heal.

Quick Tips

• Renekton is a strong early game champion. With this in mind, try to play aggressive and use your strength to get ahead.
• If you’re in need of health, use your empowered Q to heal back up. If you’re in need of damage, use your empowered W. Don’t bother using your E if your next ability will be empowered.
• Attack from the side in team fights for a better chance of dishing out damage and killing the enemy. Renekton cannot really run towards the enemy in a team fight as he is easy to kite and get away from.

3. Ornn

Ornn is an extremely flexible and popular champion in pro play. He is a great team fighter because of his Ultimate which he can use to catch enemies out of position. While he is a tank, he can deal an extraordinary amount of damage.

He is played in pro play for his Ultimate which can allow him to catch enemies out of position. Furthermore, his Passive is really good at assisting his allies as he can upgrade their items and make them stronger. He synergises well with every champion because of this.

I don’t recommend you play Ornn in Solo Queue because he relies too heavily on his allies. However, if you’re playing flex with a five man premade or if you’re playing Clash, I think he is fine.

Quick Tips

• Hold on to your dash unless you’re looking to fight. You never know when your dash will come in handy and save your life.
• In team fights, look to use your Ultimate aggressively to start the team fight. Only do this if your teammates are in a position to follow up.
• Whenever given the prompt, make sure you upgrade your ally’s items with your Passive.

4. Aatrox

Aatrox is the next champion on the list. Aatrox used to be a really strong champion in the earlier seasons of League of Legends. However, he quickly fell off. He was then reworked, and then he was played often again. Unfortunately, he doesn’t see much play right now.

He was a very strong skirmisher that could contend with the other strong duelling champions and tanks of the time. When he was ahead, he could take be extremely challenging to deal with thanks to his damage output, CC and sustain.

I think Aatrox is an oaky champion, but I don’t see any point in playing him right now. There are far easier, much stronger and way better top laners you could play instead.

Quick Tips

• Try and play around with your Passive and trade when it’s up. Don’t look for an extended fight unless your Passive is up; otherwise, you’ll miss out on extra damage.
• You can use your E to reposition your Q sweet spots. This includes using your E forwards, backwards and even left or right.
• Play safe at level 1, and then look to play aggressive from levels 2 to 6. Aatrox is an early game dominant champion, so make sure you play aggressive early on.

5. Camille

The final champion on our list is Camille. Camille is a strong skirmishing champion who can perform well regardless of how far ahead or behind they’re. Camille was often picked back in the day, but she isn’t as popular as she once was due to the current meta of champions.

Camille had good gank setup and good pick potential. Her E is very strong, and it can enable her Jungler to gank her. She can also use it to start skirmishes with the enemy. Post 6, her gank setup increases, and then when it comes to team fights she can always lock down one target.

I think Camille is a great champion for Solo Queue, but she is extremely hard to play. I wouldn’t recommend her in low ELO, but higher ELO top lane mains would do really well with her.

Quick Tips

• In team fights, don’t run directly towards the enemy. The best way to team fight for Camille is by flanking the enemy from the side and then using your Ultimate on a carry.
• Before using your E aggressively, check the map to see if the enemy Jungler is nearby. It’s important that you do not engage if they’re nearby.
• If you’re not able to get any kills in the top lane post 6, you could look to roam and help another lane out with your Ultimate.

Final Thoughts

That sums up our list of the 5 most played Top laners in professional League of Legends. Are you surprised by anyone on our list? If you found any of the champions interesting and want to give them a try for yourself, head over to Mobalytics.

The post 5 Most Picked Top Laners in Professional League of Legends appeared first on Mobalytics.

Ready for Worlds 2021? We are!

In this article, we’ve compiled all the known boot camp accounts and summoner names for all the players at this Worlds with links to their profiles.

We’ll be updating this article leading up to play-ins as more teams arrive, so let us know if we miss anything and we’ll update it.

To learn more about each team and their all-time records at the event, check out our World 2021 Team Histories infographic.

Click below to jump to a section:

• LCK Teams (DWG KIA, Gen.G, T1)
• LPL Teams (EDG, FPX, RNG)
• LEC Teams (MAD, FNC, RGE)
• LCS Teams (100T, TL, C9)
• PCS Teams (PSG, BYG)
• CIS Teams (UOL)
• TR Teams (GS)
• OCE Teams (PCE)
• LAT Teams (INF)
• JP Teams (DFM)
• BR Teams (RED)

LCK Worlds 2021 Boot Camp Teams

DWG KIA Boot Camp Accounts

Status: DWG KIA have arrived to boot camp in EUW.

• Top (Khan)
  • headache man
• Jungle (Canyon)
  • Aurora time
• Mid (Showmaker)
  • SHøWMAKéR
• ADC (Ghost)
  • 2021worlds0148
• Support (Beryl)
  • QJNVJuywetsf

Gen.G Boot Camp Accounts

Status: Gen.G have arrived to boot camp in EUW.

• Top (Rascal)
  • 2021Worlds0161
• Jungle (Clid)
  • 2021Worlds0162
• Mid (Bdd)
  • byeeeeeee
• ADC (Ruler)
  • ADADAD141414
• Support (Life)
  • acaweamsdacqwqwe

T1 Boot Camp Accounts

Status: T1 have arrived to boot camp in EUW.

• Top (Canna)
  • Account unknown
• Jungle (Oner)
  • OnerKING
• Mid (Faker)
  • wincg
• ADC (Teddy and Gumayusi)
  • Teddy = 2021Worlds0141
  • Gumayusi = Giant Monster
• Support (Keria)
  • Genius Monster

Hanwha Life Esports Boot Camp Accounts

Status: Hanwha Life Esports have arrived to boot camp in EUW.

• Top (Morgan + DuDu)
  • Morgan = Account unknown
  • DuDu = Im fine thx you
• Jungle (Willer + yoHAN)
  • Willer = Account unknown
  • yoHan  = Account unknown
• Mid (Chovy)
  • Shrimp Shark
• ADC (Deft)
  • IcelandWalrus
• Support (Vsta)
  • wow cold

LPL Worlds 2021 Boot Camp Teams

EDward Gaming Boot Camp Accounts

Status: EDward Gaming have arrived to boot camp in EUW.

• Top (Flandre)
  • YQSH
• Jungle (Jiejie + JunJia)
  • JieJie = Dinner first
  • JunJia = Expecto Patrounm
• Mid (Scout)
  • Kimchi3
• ADC (Viper)
  • Cóbb
• Support (Meiko)
  • 2021Worlds0109

FunPlus Phoenix Boot Camp Accounts

Status: FunPlus Phoenix have arrived to boot camp in EUW.

• Top (Nuguri)
  • Stargazer7
• Jungle (Tian)
  • S11Tian
• Mid (Doinb)
  • woshilqs
• ADC (Lwx)
  • maoxiandao
• Support (Crisp)
  • woshidoinb

Royal Never Give Up Boot Camp Accounts

Status: Royal Never Give Up have arrived to boot camp in EUW.

• Top (Xiaohu)
  • lucky iceland
• Jungle (Wei)
  • 2021Worlds
• Mid (Cryin)
  • Karzzy11
• ADC (GALA)
  • 2021Worlds0171
• Support (Ming)
  • 2021Worlds0173

LNG Esports Boot Camp Accounts

Status: LNG have arrived to boot camp in EUW.

• Top (Ale)
  • LNGLNGLNG
• Jungle (Tarzan)
  • LngLng
• Mid (icon)
  • Goldguns88
• ADC (Light)
  • laozitianye
• Support (Iwandy)
  • GNLGNL

LEC Worlds 2021 Boot Camp Teams

MAD Lions Boot Camp Accounts

Status: MAD Lions are from the LEC so many of them will be using their usual EUW accounts.

• Top (Armut)
  • 2021Worlds0033
• Jungle (Elyoya)
  • bobber kong
• Mid (Humanoid)
  • Jonah Falcon
• ADC (Carzzy)
  • mommys milk yum
• Support (Kaiser)
  • my adc cringe

Fnatic Boot Camp Accounts

Status: Fnatic are from the LEC so many of them will be using their usual EUW accounts.

• Top (Adam)
  • Sigmα Grindset
• Jungle (Bwipo)
  • Wide Canyon
• Mid (Nisqy)
  • FNC Nisqybaba
• ADC (Upset)
  • FNC Upset13
• Support (Hylissang)
  • fnc hylissangg

Rogue Boot Camp Accounts

Status: Rogue are from the LEC so many of them will be using their usual EUW accounts.

• Top (Odoamne)
  • Odoamne
• Jungle (Inspired)
  • Sοfm Jr
• Mid (Larssen)
  • peacefulwαrrior
• ADC (Hans sama)
  • 2021Worlds0053
• Support (Trymbi)
  • 2021Worlds0055

LCS Worlds 2021 Boot Camp Teams

100 Thieves Boot Camp Accounts

Status: 100T have arrived to bootcamp in EUW.

• Top (Ssumday)
  • nangman topsolo
• Jungle (Closer)
  • Kral returns
• Mid (Abbedagge)
  • agdang
• ADC (FBI)
  • NA Hopium
• Support (Huhi)
  • Banande

Team Liquid Boot Camp Accounts

Status: Team Liquid have arrived to boot camp in EUW.

• Top (Alphari)
  • masked gamer XD
• Jungle (Santorin)
  • JetlagIsAMyth
• Mid (Jensen)
  • 2021Worlds0019
• ADC (Tactical)
  • UnstoppableForce
• Support (CoreJJ)
  • NanamiHakuya

Cloud9 Boot Camp Accounts

Status: C9 have arrived to boot camp in EUW.

• Top (Fudge)
  • c9 fudge factor
• Jungle (Blaber)
  • c9 blaberfish2
• Mid (Perkz)
  • theclutchfact0r
• ADC (Zven)
  • C9 ZVENNN
• Support (Vulcan)
  • euw tourist

PCS Worlds 2021 Boot Camp Teams

PSG Talon Boot Camp Accounts

Status: PSG Talon has not arrived at Worlds yet. Below are the Korean accounts they played most recently on. We’ll update them as soon as they arrive and have new EUW accounts.

• Top (Hanabi)
  • Shirakami Fubuk1
• Jungle (River)
  • la ji game
• Mid (Maple)
  • Slowly Song
• ADC (Unified)
  • kcvawsreiuyopdgz
• Support (Kaiwing)
  • 풍월량 풍뎅이

Beyond Gaming Boot Camp Accounts

Status: Beyond Gaming has not arrived at Worlds yet. Below are the Korean accounts they played most recently on. We’ll update them as soon as they arrive and have new EUW accounts.

• Top (Liang)
  • dingjimeinv
• Jungle (HuSha)
  • mohuado
• Mid (Maon)
  • UMBBBBBBBBB
• ADC (Dogg)
  • zxcsazxcazdz
• Support (Kino)
  • Piu Piu pp Piu

CIS Worlds 2021 Boot Camp Teams

Unicorns of Love Boot Camp Accounts

Status: Unicorns of Love are from the CIS so many of them will be using their usual EUW accounts.

• Top (BOSS)
  • JBL ABUSER
• Jungle (AHaHaCiK)
  • Shengshun
• Mid (Nomanz)
  • Nomanz
• ADC (Argonavt)
  • Monkey D Baam
• Support (SaNTaS)
  • Oswaldo Mobrey

TR Worlds 2021 Boot Camp Teams

Galatasaray Esports Boot Camp Accounts

Status: Galatasaray Esports are from the TR so many of them will be using their usual EUW accounts.

• Top (Crazy)
  • Ccrazy
• Jungle (Mojito)
  • qladfqwe
• Mid (Bolulu)
  • 2021Worlds0058
• ADC (Alive)
  • Account unknown
• Support (Padden)
  • was mistake

OCE Worlds 2021 Boot Camp Teams

PEACE Boot Camp Accounts

Status: PEACE has not arrived at Worlds yet. Below are the OCE accounts they played most recently on. We’ll update them as soon as they arrive and have new EUW accounts.

• Top (Apii)
  • Account unknown
• Jungle (Babip)
  • Account unknown
• Mid (Tally)
  • Account unknown
• ADC (Violet)
  • Jolyne Cujoh
• Support (Aladoric)
  • PCE Aladoric

LAT Worlds 2021 Boot Camp Teams

Infinity Esports Boot Camp Accounts

Status: Infinity has not arrived at Worlds yet. Below are the NA accounts they played most recently on. We’ll update them as soon as they arrive and have new EUW accounts.

• Top (Buggax)
  • sushícat1
• Jungle (SolidSnake)
  • Account unknown
• Mid (cody)
  • codystar
• ADC (Whitelotus)
  • XxXELMATADORXxX
• Support (Ackerman)
  • ACKÈRMAN

JP Worlds 2021 Boot Camp Teams

Status: DFM has not arrived at Worlds yet. Below are the Korean accounts they played most recently on. We’ll update them as soon as they arrive and have new EUW accounts.

DetonatioN FocusMe Boot Camp Accounts

• Top (Evi)
  • oxi52
• Jungle (Steal)
  • L1sure
• Mid (Aria)
  • 총을 다루는 소녀
• ADC (Yutapon)
  • Imaokai
• Support (Gaeng)
  • DFM GAENG

BR Worlds 2021 Boot Camp Teams

Red Canids Boot Camp Accounts

Status: Red Canids have arrived to boot camp in EUW.

• Top (Guigo)
  • ssibal mosquitos
• Jungle (Aegis)
  • JoJo fangirlQAQ
• Mid (Avenger)
  • presetdocalabras
• ADC (TitaN)
  • Lasthitmagic
• Support (JoJo)
  • Aegis fangirlQAQ

To see more solo queue stats or check out your own match history + LP progression, see your Mobalytics Profile.

The post Worlds 2021 Boot Camp Summoner Names and Accounts appeared first on Mobalytics.

Although the event had a different look than usual because of COVID, we still saw a ton of awesome young talent show their stuff in this year’s Scouting Grounds.

This article will recap the ten players that were drafted during the recent 2020 LCS Honda Scouting Grounds!

We include stat comparisons from the event versus their solo queue stats leading up to the tournament as well as interview questions that the players answered (before the event) to give you a better idea of their personalities and motivations.

To see predictions leading up to the event by Tim Sevenhuysen and Pastrytime, be sure to check out our power rankings article.

If you want to learn more about Scouting Grounds and how it works, revisit our new viewer’s guide.

Click any of the players below to jump straight to them!

The 2020 Scouting Grounds Draft Class:

1. IMT – Tony Top
2. CLG – Yeon
3. DIG – Copy
4. GG – Niles (Pick acquired from 100T)
5. EG – Tomio
6. GG – Yunbee
7. C9 – Shady
8. TL – Spawn
9. FLY – nxi
10. TSM – Shoryu

1. IMT – Tony Top

What motivated you to get into League Esports?

Because it’s my goal and I want to become the best player in all regions.

How many hours of League do you play in a week?

90 hours.

What is your proudest achievement?

Thankfully I’ve reached rank 1 on NA servers in multiple seasons, but I am not the best player around all regions yet (I’ve been practice a lot with some teams and pros) so I wish that someday I can join on the big stage and help NA to get what we should’ve done for a long time ago.

What was your most frustrating experience?

Communication is the hardest part for me, but I spent time fixing it and now I’m always chill so it won’t be a problem.

What is your best trait?

I am a patient person, and I wish people can believe in me which is one of my steps forward.

Do you give feedback to your teammates?

To all fight for their dreams, I wish that we have the best of luck and achieve our goals.

What is one thing that changed the way you play?

They commented that I have a positive attitude and tryhard, but I can play more aggro if I need to stand up to cheer up my teammate.

Which pro player do you look up to?

I actually look up to the analysts because it can be the hardest part for a team.

2. CLG – Yeon

What motivated you to get into League Esports?

I want to beat everyone and be better than everybody else.

How many hours of League do you play in a week?

10~15 games a day depending on the day.

What is your proudest achievement?

I don’t have any achievements I’m proud of currently, Hopefully, I’ll make an achievement I’m proud of soon.

What was your most frustrating experience?

Losing due to my own shortcomings, I don’t think anyone wants to be the reason for a loss, I specifically hate it if I win and I play bad. Just playing bad is the most frustrating thing ever, especially when it comes down to finals.

What is your best trait?

I’m not very sure what my biggest impact is on my teammates.

Do you give feedback to your teammates?

I’d like to ask them what their opinions are and say what I’m thinking and what I think could be better.

What is one thing that changed the way you play?

I can’t remember the most meaningful feedback I’ve received from a teammate but if it was anything it’d just be basic reviewing that was most meaningful to me.

Which pro player do you look up to?

I don’t have somebody I particularly look up to, just somebody who is good at the game would be somebody I look up to.

3. DIG – Copy

What motivated you to get into League Esports?

The game is fun to me and I realized that I enjoy competing at the highest level and striving to be the best at what I do.

How many hours of League do you play in a week?

In a week I’d normally try to play every day for about 3-4 hours, but that varies constantly depending on my school schedule/amount of homework.

What is your proudest achievement?

Hitting Rank 2 on the ladder in Season 9. It meant a lot since that was one of my beginning goals when first playing League of Legends (hitting top 10 in the ladder) and even to go as high as rank 2 was eventually a reality and proved to myself that hard work pays off.

I’d say I achieved it through grinding solo queue games and practicing to get better, turning my weaknesses into strengths, expanding champion pool, etc.

What was your most frustrating experience?

High ping, long queue times (20+ minutes). Nothing really in specific.

What is your best trait?

I always tend to take in my teammates information/playstyles and adapt towards them, so I’m more of a team player than a solo carry style.

Do you give feedback to your teammates?

If something they did were to be a mistake, I would offer a suggestion on how to look at the same play in a different perspective or alternate scenario with more ideal circumstances to help them understand.

What is one thing that changed the way you play?

Being a flashy player or “1v9 player” doesn’t always matter when your attitude and mindset towards the game aren’t optimal in a competitive environment.

Being a good teammate and friend both inside and outside of the game are factors that are infinitely more important in creating a winning team because at the end of the day, League of Legends will always be a team-oriented, 5v5 macro game.

Which pro player do you look up to?

Bjergsen due to his champion mindset, amazing work ethic, and because he always strives to be the best or at least top 2 in NA (CONSISTENTLY). He inspired me enough to switch roles from fill to mid lane.

4. GG – Niles (Pick acquired from 100T)

What motivated you to get into League Esports?

I want to save NA.

How many hours of League do you play in a week?

~40 hours.

What is your proudest achievement?

I won the 2019 Collegiate championship, it was most meaningful because of the people I won it with.

What was your most frustrating experience?

My biggest frustration has been not being able to compete against the best players and show how good I am.

What is your best trait?

The biggest impact I have on people around me is making sure everyone is on the same page and making sure that people feel comfortable to have conversations about the game.

Do you give feedback to your teammates?

1 on 1 reviewing afterward and we have a discussion on what our thoughts/problems are.

What is one thing that changed the way you play?

I think the most meaningful feedback I have received from a coach or teammate is that I don’t always have to do everything on my own, just to trust my teammates and let them do their own thing as well sometimes.

Which pro player do you look up to?

NUGURI. 1v9 goat top laner.

5. EG – Tomio

What motivated you to get into League Esports?

1. To see if I like competing.

2. To further learn my knowledge of the game for example fundamentals and team environment.

3. To make a living by doing what I have the most passion for right now and enjoy the most playing.

4. I can see myself becoming something part of a professional League of Legends player as I play it every day.

5. Learning more about what I haven’t yet.

6. Becoming a better player than I already am.

How many hours of League do you play in a week?

I generally play a lot, if I guess the most accurate is about 7 solo queue games a day so it would be 49 a week on estimation.

What is your proudest achievement?

My proudest achievement in League of Legends is hitting 1250 LP mid-season on the ladder on this current season which is Season 10. It’s meaningful because it is my peak rank, it was while pro players were playing, and every game I would queue up, there would be at least 2-6 pro players in the lobby.

I worked on achieving it by starting off to duo with a pro player named “Revenge” then I started to stream every day and shared it with my viewers while I soloed after hitting about 900 LP.

What was your most frustrating experience?

The biggest frustrating experience or most frustrating experience I have in League of Legends is getting teammates that either do not try to win or tilt easily. For example, mid-game, if the game is winnable and they put up the forfeit vote. Basically, teammates who don’t try and don’t try to win.

What is your best trait?

I’d say to try to and motivate my teammates or the environment around me to succeed, strive for success, and build a healthy growth mindset around the game and outside of the game

Do you give feedback to your teammates?

I’d say don’t focus on the loss or LP loss as there is always something to learn from a game. For example, you learn from winning and losing and I feel like losing is really good as you can understand and see what you did wrong or could have done better.

All in all, I would like to give feedback to teammates by helping them understand and see more than a loss rather than just losing as taking in like, “Oh, we lost whatever.”

What is one thing that changed the way you play?

Meaningful feedback I have received from a teammate is having a strong mental, never giving up no matter how bad the situation is, and always try to look for opportunities in-game to win at any state of the game.

This is meaningful because it comes from many pro League of Legends players and from what I observe, you need this skill in order to become a pro player and that it is important.

Which pro player do you look up to?

Johnsun. I look up to this player because they have been a decent long time friend of mine online and is currently a pro player because they teach me a lot from the time I first talked to them up until now.

He taught me to treat teammates with respect or to not type. He taught me about game knowledge, micros me, and overall is a good and smart role model as part of the LoL esports industry.

Johnsun also helps me learn and further my game understanding outside of my main jungle role and matchups and keeps me staying positive when times feel low.

He is always someone that I can go back to if I need any help in game or outside of the game.

6. GG – Yunbee

What motivated you to get into League Esports?

I want to see how I can perform on the stage.

How many hours of League do you play in a week?

6-7 games a day.

What is your proudest achievement?

I got rank 2. I just enjoy playing League and at some point, I was 1500 LP this season.

What was your most frustrating experience?

When people are very negative and toxic when they’re underperforming.

What is your best trait?

Once I get to know an individual’s gameplay style I can be flexible and make my team the best.

Do you give feedback to your teammates?

I don’t say stuff outside of going through the VOD review after the games and we discuss what we could’ve done better.

What is one thing that changed the way you play?

I’d like to receive some feedback, I haven’t really got it since I didn’t play competitive much.

Which pro player do you look up to?

A player with a positive mindset is the most important thing and I hope everyone thinks that nothing is impossible if we put our efforts into it.

7. C9 – Shady

What motivated you to get into League Esports?

It’s the number one thing in my life.

How many hours of League do you play in a week?

65 hours.

What is your proudest achievement?

3rd place in LCS 2017 Spring Playoffs.

What was your most frustrating experience?

I was given a chance to play professionally too early as I had only been playing support for less than a year plus had only 3 months of competitive experience. The perception around me as a player is heavily skewed due to that.

What is your best trait?

Pushing my teammates to improve, helping everyone reach a common goal, developing a camaraderie

Do you give feedback to your teammates?

If it’s in game, then through discussion, giving examples, looking through replays. If out of game, then being direct with them and letting them know what I think. Giving feedback should always be focused on solving a problem and not about attacking a person personally.

What is one thing that changed the way you play?

Know your role in-game and execute it.

Which pro player do you look up to?

Lebron James, hell of a competitor.

8. TL – Spawn

What motivated you to get into League Esports?

I enjoy playing League of Legends and like the competitive atmosphere. I want to be able to compete at the highest level. Also becoming a pro is a goal of mine.

How many hours of League do you play in a week?

Usually 40-50 hours a week right now.

What is your proudest achievement?

Winning a LAN event. This was meaningful because it was the first time I played on stage and in a competitive team environment – I had a lot of fun.

I worked to achieve this goal by putting in the hours with my team by playing scrims and also playing a lot of solo queue to fix my weaknesses

What was your most frustrating experience?

Losing in a previous Scouting Grounds playoffs. This was frustrating because my teammates and I worked really hard to win, but in the end, we lost.

What is your best trait?

The biggest impact that I typically have on my teammates is being understanding and easy to talk to.

I don’t take it personally when a teammate thinks I have to improve in a certain area. Doing this creates trust and helps the team improve.

Do you give feedback to your teammates?

I like to give feedback to teammates by being honest but also not being direct without any filter.

I tell them what I think they could do better and also try to give a solution that could work and help them with it.

Also when my teammates are playing well I like to let them know that it helps the team.

What is one thing that changed the way you play?

The most meaningful feedback that a teammate has given me is to play with more confidence.

What they meant by this is having trust in myself to make the plays and be confident enough in myself to carry games.

I think this is important for bot lane since you are one of the main carries in the game, meaning you can have a huge impact on the game once you start getting items.

Which pro player do you look up to?

I would say for me it’s Doublelift. I look up to Doublelift because he has been one of the top Bot laners for such a long time.

9. FLY – nxi

What motivated you to get into League Esports?

I really enjoy League of Legends and would like to play it at the highest level. The competition and improvement is really fun for me.

How many hours of League do you play in a week?

Earlier this year I was playing about 8 games a day but I’ve been relaxing this past month to avoid burnout but generally, I’d like to play 8-10 games a day if I can.

What is your proudest achievement?

I’m not particularly proud of anything, when I first hit Challenger in Season 6 it was cool, but these days I just play and it’s just fun for me I don’t really get proud of anything I’d like to play for a greater purpose and something meaningful like winning academy and LCS.

What was your most frustrating experience?

I think these days, solo queue has made me the most frustrated in recent years. It’s been extremely frustrating with all the toxicity and the dip in solo queue quality.

A lot of people type a lot and just run it down or matchmaking is really bad and it makes pros not want to play which makes the game qualities and competition go down significantly which is not fun for me.

I’d like to play against good players but these days I can’t seem to enjoy the state of solo queue.

What is your best trait?

I think I’m really comfortable to be around. A lot of people have confided in me in the past and just feel at ease around me.

I’m very aware when I’m around people in terms of not wanting to make them feel left out, or make them feel uncomfortable so I try to my best to include them and make sure they’re welcomed.

Do you give feedback to your teammates?

I think in a competitive environment when everyone is trying to win, everybody shouldn’t be afraid of criticism and try to improve with each other to win.

If a teammate of mine is not playing well I wouldn’t tilt in game but I’ll definitely bring it up for review and discuss the play so it doesn’t happen again so we can constantly get better together.

What is one thing that changed the way you play?

You should not have an ego when you play. It’s okay to be confident but don’t ever look down on your opponent and play to the best of your abilities.

Which pro player do you look up to?

Faker 😀 because he’s super diligent and works super hard and despite him being super successful he’s always super humble.

10. TSM – Shoryu

What motivated you to get into League Esports?

Because I’ve competed in sports all my life and my goal has always been to be the baddest dude possible so with League its no different.

How many hours of League do you play in a week?

For most of the year, 8-12 games a day. Hard to say hours because of q times.

What is your proudest achievement?

Winning amateur this year filled the ego that I was missing a lot when I was playing in Academy. Being able to play another year vs the upcoming talent of NA showed me that I still have a huge edge over these guys and helped me regain that confidence that I can lead a group of talented guys to victory.

What was your most frustrating experience?

I think my second year on TLA as a whole was the most frustrating time. Looking back I felt like my individual play was really good but I just wasn’t able to balance my life and I think let that spill into my career.

This question kind of ties in with the first question because having this year to play amateur from home gave me the time to find proper balance between my personal life and League and in turn that ended up being the biggest blessing in surprise I could have asked for.

What is your best trait?

I’d say the thing I’ve heard some of my previous teammates say is that they really respect the intensity and passion I bring to practice. I try really hard in practice because I do believe championships are won there so I guess I try to make sure all my teammates are putting in their best effort when they show up in the morning up until they leave that office.

Do you give feedback to your teammates?

I think before I was just very raw and direct so Id say it right in review in front of everyone but I think that was just a sign of immaturity. It really depends on the person and I think every player receives criticism best in different ways so finding that is always my first goal when working with players I’m not familiar with.

An example is some supports may do well with me showing what they’re doing on the big screen and me criticizing them in front of everyone whereas for some players, it’s better to call over on my own time and review on a PC together. Just gotta find ways to bring out the best in my teammates and giving feedback is a big part of it I feel.

What is one thing that changed the way you play?

One memory that first came to mind is when I had the fortune of playing with Matt. The first week or so of scrims I was quite cold since I hadn’t been able to practice much leading up to our practice and that frustrated me a lot. Throughout more scrims I improved a lot and I realized that maybe in week 4 of Academy when Matt and I were crushing everyone because after one of our games he said playing with me reminded him of when he played with Piglet and that I was his favorite AD he’s played with.

That was a really nice thing to hear because I had always looked up to Piglet’s view of trying to lane kingdom every game and I’d watched so many VODs of him on top of him expressing his enjoyment of playing with me really meant a lot to me.

Which pro player do you look up to?

Doublelift. Hes won Eight LCS Championship so I really want to get to play vs him soon. I watched and practiced vs him for two years and after having this year to refocus and reproach the game and my life really gave me the confidence and the ego I need to do great things just like him soon enough

Thanks for reading. To see many more stats from these players, head to the 2020 Scouting Grounds section of our site!

The post LCS Honda Scouting Grounds Recap: The 2020 Draft Class appeared first on Mobalytics.

In our recent New Viewer’s Guide to Scouting Grounds 2020, we announced that we are once again the official data partner for the event this year!

We’re excited to share that this year, we have two very special guests working with us: Tim Sevenhuysen from Oracle’s Elixer and Pastrytime, who you know from the LCS and Academy broadcasts as a shoutcaster.

In this article, we’ll be providing their analysis all twenty attendees Scouting Grounds 2020 and providing their rankings for each of the players. Their two ranks will be combined with our Mobalytics AI to determine their overall power rank.

Throughout the event, we’ll be updating our Scouting Grounds site with the latest stats from the tournament so you can keep up with how the players are performing.

If you’d like to know more about each player, they have questionnaires to give you more insights about their backgrounds and motivations.

You’ll find links to their questionnaire and their profile alongside their commentary in the list below.

Note: Please note that because of COVID, the event will be remote. Unfortunately, this means that there will not be player portraits like last year.

Scouting Grounds Attendees (Ranked)

Click on any player below to jump to their section:

1. Niles (Top)
2. Nxi (Jungle)
3. Copy (Mid)
4. APA (Mid)
5. Yunbee (Mid)
6. Shady (Support)
7. Shoryu (Bot)
8. Tony Top (Top)
9. Yeon (Bot)
10. Auto (Support)
11. Rodov (Top)
12. Spawwwwn (Bot)
13. Tomio (Jungle)
14. RoseThorn (Jungle)
15. Zoun (Jungle)
16. CptShrimps (Mid)
17. Joey (Support)
18. Plux (Support)
19. Andybendy (Bot)
20. Gible (Top)

1. Niles (Top)

Power Ranking: 1 (Tim = 2, Pastrytime = 2, Mobalytics AI = 4)

[See Niles’s profile] [See Niles’s questionnaire]

Expert Commentary

Tim:

Niles team fights very well, dancing in and out of fights to avoid enemy threat ranges and cooldowns and then selecting the right targets to attack when he finds an opening. He plays well with a lead, especially, with a strong read on when to push his lane deeper, when to move onto the map to group with his team, and when to Teleport into a fight.

Sometimes Niles tries to do a bit too much, though, which good opponents can punish. His rate of improvement over the past couple of years hasn’t been the fastest, but he has been working through a college degree, so he deserves some leeway on that point.

Pastrytime:

Niles is the name on this list I’m best acquainted with and for good reason. I cast the Maryville University sweep of the 2019 collegiate finals and that whole event had the same player at the forefront of everyone’s minds that event.

Niles is one of the few fresh collegiate talents that appears to be looking to make the transition into the North American pro scene. Extremely lane dominant, Niles is the kind of player that you just watch him play and realize why he’s so revered in the circles he competes in – he just oozes talent.

In his HSG 2020 survey, he said the reason he wanted to go pro was “to save NA”. Whether he’s serious or just flexing some of his personality, he certainly has the individual skill to make a claim so bold.

Niles has only grown since that collegiate win and while his talent certainly is there, his drive and rapid accumulation of competitive experience makes me think he’s looking to make good on his promise this event.

2. Nxi (Jungle)

Power Ranking: 2 (Tim = 1, Pastrytime = 4, Mobalytics AI = 9)

[See Nxi’s profile] [See Nxi’s questionnaire]

Expert Commentary

Tim:

Nxi is the physical incarnation of Lee Sindrome, and that is both his greatest strength and his biggest weakness. I’m not sure he’s ever landed a Nidalee javelin without transforming into a cougar and leaping in behind it afterwards.

Kidding aside, when Nxi’s aggression pays off, it’s impressive to see, and it works more often than it fails — at least at the amateur level. The main question is how well he can adapt to a higher level of opposition and rein himself in, adding more calculation and deeper game knowledge to his toolkit.

Pastrytime:

For all the credit we’ve given Cloud9 and Cloud9 Academy in the last few years for being perhaps the greatest single talent siphon the region has ever seen, as teams invest more and more into their infrastructure and the future of their organizations, we need to start adding 100 Thieves to that conversation as well.

Specifically, we need to add 100 Thieves Next who have seemingly pumped out nothing but amateur superstars since their recent inception, as well as a large number of the HSG 2020 prospects. As Kenvi moved into Academy, Nxi was right there waiting to take his place, and boy did he make an impression – which is often the case when you get 15 kills on Kha’Zix your first time out with your new team.

In a story we’re becoming happily familiar with in North America, Nxi appears as the next in a seemingly never-ending line of young NA junglers that play Nidalee, Lee Sin and Graves and wish you’d never queued up for solo-queue that day.100X miss very little when they bring in new talent and the stage couldn’t be more perfect for Nxi to demonstrate that the hype is a lot more than just that.

3. Copy (Mid)

Power Ranking: 3 (Tim = 4, Pastrytime = 12, Mobalytics AI = 2)

[See Copy’s profile] [See Copy’s questionnaire]

Expert Commentary

Tim:

Copy is primarily a control mage player, spending most of his time on Orianna, Azir, Syndra, and Zoe, with forays into Leblanc and Corki. He’s a fill-in-the-gaps Mid laner, providing what his team needs and occasionally stepping up with big plays, but more often playing a solid, anchoring style that allows his teammates to serve as focal points.

To take the next step, Copy needs to find his killer instinct and make more aggressive use of his strong mechanics.

Pastrytime:

Copy is yet another in the current lineup of the talent giant that is 100 Thieves Next. Perhaps to his detriment this year as he describes himself as more of a team or role player and some of his flashier teammates are in attendance. But, his attitude certainly seems excellent for a young player who is just starting to move forward towards a possible pro career.

Listing Bjergsen as an influence on him makes sense when you look at his self-appointed champion pool (Zoe, Syndra, Twisted Fate) and the role he takes on within 100X, but I like a little more 1v9 in my mid-laners and I’m hoping Copy is able to show off some of that as well.

Copy likely would’ve qualified via solo-queue anyway if 100X somehow weren’t as dominant in Amateur as they are, so Copy certainly has the chops to battle against the other mid-laners alongside him. Mid also might be the closest it’s ever been talent-wise at a Scouting Grounds, so everyone – including Copy – will have their chance to step into the limelight.

4. APA (Mid)

Power Ranking: 4 (Tim = 12, Pastrytime = 1, Mobalytics AI = 6)

[See APA’s profile] [See APA’s questionnaire]

Expert Commentary

Tim:

APA plays a unique champion pool led by an Aurelion Sol comfort pick that shows up a little too often. He’s fond of Taliyah as well, and has an oddball Cho’gath that he’ll break out now and then. If he wants to be seriously considered for LCS Academy, APA needs to shed a reputation of being overly reliant on those off-meta picks.

The less Aurelion Sol he plays at Scouting Grounds, the more likely he’ll be to gain real credit in the eyes of the LCS scouts – assuming he can deliver good performances when he isn’t piloting his pocket picks.

Pastrytime:

APA a.ka. Always Plan Ahead is a very fitting alias for someone who is so proficient on roaming that it can feel like the enemy team has a backup jungler always ready to pounce on an unsuspecting lane. It also shouldn’t surprise you that APA is a very-well known Aurelion Sol main. Remember when everyone said you had to ban Huhi’s ASol in the LCS just in case it was a good Sol game?

Apparently, every game for APA is a good Aurelion Sol game, so expect to see the cosmic dragon on the bench permanently when APA is on the Rift. For a player that’s only eighteen years old, it is really interesting to me that the common thread in his reputation is how intelligently he plays the map.

With young players you often hear that they’ve got ridiculously good mechanics they just need to use their brains more, APA might already have the (sometimes literal) galaxy brain plays at the ready.

APA is a player that seems comfortable in his roam-heavy style, but feels young enough that he can take to fresh ideas as well. Given the last two top prospects from HSG have been mid-laners and APA offers something unique among youngsters as his greatest strength, I’m very excited to see how that manifests.

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5. Yunbee (Mid)

Power Ranking: 5 (Tim = 10, Pastrytime = 8, Mobalytics AI = 1)

[See Yunbee’s profile] [See Yunbee’s questionnaire]

Expert Commentary

Tim:

Yunbee is a somewhat difficult player to scout, with minimal amateur scene material to review, which is a shame since the available evidence about him looks pretty good! In his amateur matches with XT Esports and TBA, he has played a pretty standard champion pool of Orianna, Azir, and Corki, with a 3-0 record on Diana (one of my personal favorites!) to spice things up.

He seems to have decent awareness of good timings to move out of his lane. Beyond that, it’s difficult to say much about him without more opportunities to watch him play in a competitive environment. I’m very excited to get that chance at Scouting Grounds!

Pastrytime:

At first, I didn’t think much of Yunbee. Then when I asked around someone said he might be the best mid lane prospect in NA Amateur behind 5Fire without ever having really broken through in that scene. Being compared to the best player on the winning SGC Play Off team is very high praise, especially if you consider that 5Fire is sadly no longer eligible for Scouting Grounds as the reason he’s not in attendance this year, despite continuing to show that he is someone worthy of attention.

So not only is Yunbee being put in very good company for his current level of play, he also qualifies as the highest-ranked player coming into this event, being a current Top 5 Challenger in NA and peaking at #2 this season. He’s apparently a very classic mid-laner, listing his three main champions as Syndra, Orianna and Ryze.

While you don’t win any awards for champ pool creativity in this instance, impressing on control mages is only possible if you’re really good at them. From the sounds of things, Yunbee may very well be that good. I’m expecting consistency here, but I’m really hoping for some flashiness out of him too.

6. Shady (Support)

Power Ranking: 6 (Tim = 16, Pastrytime = 5, Mobalytics AI = 3)

[See Shady’s profile] [See Shady’s questionnaire]

Expert Commentary

Tim:

There are some good qualities to Shady’s game, like his engage sense and playmaking. He expresses that with a champion pool that featured Rakan, Thresh, Bard, and Nautilus this year.

All around, though, he isn’t at the level necessary to really entice LCS organizations and hasn’t shown enough in his growth curve. He’s been around, playing with Phoenix1 and with TSM Academy in the past, and participated in the 2019 Scouting Grounds but spent 2020 with Maryville University rather than landing in Academy.

That will probably be the case again after the 2020 Scouting Grounds.

Pastrytime:

If nothing else, Shady should be praised alone for how willing he has been to put his nose to the grindstone. A true journeyman of North American League of Legends, Shady has played at every possible competitive level NA has to offer, from the LCS to Amateur and everything in-between.

With already one HSG showing from last year, he’ll be looking to continue to build upon what he showed off last year and if his 2020 games are any indicator, he might have a real pop-off moment ahead of him. His Pyke is absolutely nasty and while he may be not so fondly remembered for his enchanter games back in the LCS, he has playmaker blood in his veins.

As a player that felt thrust into the spotlight too early, this event might be his homecoming back into professional play and Shady is here to rewrite the narrative that began back in 2017.

7. Shoryu (Bot)

Power Ranking: 7 (Tim = 3, Pastrytime = 7, Mobalytics AI = 16)

[See Shoryu’s profile] [See Shoryu’s questionnaire]

Expert Commentary

Tim:

Shoryu is capable of winning his lane with the right champion matchups, but it’s more common to see him go even or lose gracefully and get more of his work done in the mid and late game, with calm, poised team fighting and clean-up ability. In other words, his game knowledge and decision-making are stronger than his mechanics.

That should help him look really good during Scouting Grounds and will make him competitive at the Academy level, but he’ll have to keep working on his “hands” if he wants to contend for an eventual LCS spot.

Pastrytime:

A somewhat known quantity, formerly of Team Liquid Academy, Shoryu came out blazing with ANEW esports to finish first in the SGC 2020 play-off. While it must be stated that Shoryu had excellent teammates on ANEW that shouldn’t diminish his contributions to that championship.

Shoryu was a star in both Challenger Uprising and the SGC Play Off that they both took first in and has had a consistently successful Amateur career since he was last in Academy. In some ways, Shoryu seems like he might’ve hit his ceiling.

But, enough time has passed since his professional debut that he’ll be looking to prove himself as more than just another one-time Academy player and as the interest in domestic talent only increases, Shoryu stock could very much be rising with that tide.

8. Tony Top (Top)

Power Ranking: 8 (Tim = 17, Pastrytime = 3, Mobalytics AI = 7)

[See Tony Top’s profile] [See Tony Top’s questionnaire]

Expert Commentary

Tim:

Tony Top has an interesting profile for a Top laner. In the games I’ve watched, he has filled a clean-up carry role on champions like Renekton and Camille, doing a good job of finding a soft target in a team fight and blowing them up after a teammate engaged and created the opening.

In a Bot laner, or even a Mid, I would unequivocally praise that skill set. On a Top laner, I find myself looking for more proactivity and a stronger sense of when and how to be the primary engager.

Tony needs to work on improving his ability to visualize the next few minutes of a game before they happen, so he can manage side lanes more effectively and use anticipation to create stronger team fighting angles.

Pastrytime:

A mystery to many, unless you frequent the highest echelons of NA solo-queue. Tony Top has been obliterating people in the top-lane for years. The highest points among top laners attending HSG 2020 by far, Tony will be looking to finally make the impact on North America he’s been after ever since his first Scouting Grounds invite in 2018 which he declined due to school.

Tony’s story is also made more interesting as he has recently acquired his Canadian citizenship having been born in China and has apparently trained with some LPL Academy teams as well. Known particularly for his Jax, but plenty capable outside of it, Tony enters this event as presumably the top laner with the most raw skill, but without any opportunities to really prove it yet.

This event is a chance to showcase that talent outside of his usual arena of solo-queue and if the rumours are to be believed, he’s sure to make a very big impression.

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9. Yeon (Bot)

Power Ranking: 9 (Tim = 6, Pastrytime = 10, Mobalytics AI = 13)

[See Yeon’s profile] [See Yeon’s questionnaire]

Expert Commentary

Tim:

As part of 100 Thieves Next, Yeon had an excellent opportunity to develop this year.

So far, he is rounding into a measured, intelligent player who, at times, he’s willing to step up into openings and chase a big play, but he’s still finding the balance between overcoming his naturally conservative playstyle and learning to recognize the appropriate times to assert himself.

That balance will come with time, as his confidence grows.

Pastrytime:

Surprisingly, despite being on one of the best-known orgs within the Amateur scene, Yeon might actually have a disadvantage perception-wise coming into this event. While 100X are seemingly incredible at finding and nurturing talent, Yeon feels like he’s in the shadow of his more hyped teammates in some ways, some of which are also in attendance this year.

That being said, not only should we trust in the 100X talent machine but Yeon has some wildcards looking through his match history. One of his main listed champions for his role, provided on surveys the players filled out themselves for this event is Taliyah! With his solo queue numbers supporting that as well as his most played champion this season.

He’s also been playing Samira, so I have high hopes for Yeon to throw more than a few surprises during this event as well as be at least a solid-looking bot laner. Perhaps being separated from 100X will actually help him when it comes to showing off his individual skill as he’ll need to prove he can play with very different teammates in a short amount of time.

10. Auto (Support)

Power Ranking: 10 (Tim = 9, Pastrytime = 9, Mobalytics AI = 12)

[See Auto’s profile] [See Auto’s questionnaire]

Expert Commentary

Tim:

Auto’s role swap from Bot lane to Support in early 2020 has paid off so far, allowing him to take some steps forward in his overall development as a player and become a leader on 100 Thieves Next in the amateur scene.

His game knowledge is strong for a player at this level of competition, and it shows in the way he steps out of his lane to affect the map. His mechanics aren’t up to the level of the stronger players at Scouting Grounds this year, though, which is somewhat understandable given his limited time as a Support so far.

Auto is the best all-around Support player coming to Scouting Grounds this year, but only a mid-level prospect in terms of receiving an Academy offer. He needs to keep grinding solo queue and growing into his new role, and the offseason is a great time to do that, whether or not he finds himself with any Academy offers for 2021.

Pastrytime:

Another name that should be very familiar to anyone who has watched the NA Academy scene closely, Auto is the former longtime bot laner of CLG Academy before switching to Support only this year, slotting into 100 Thieves Next after Poome got the express ride into the LCS team and Breezy moved back into Academy.

While individually he might struggle to stand out among a surprisingly strong lineup of supports this year, Auto brings a huge amount of savvy and experience from professional League of Legends that teams might be drawn to when they have a chance to sit down and chat with him.

He’ll also presumably be pretty valuable in helping organize the often expected chaos of the HSG pickup teams and if he can show off both his skill and his shotcalling/leadership, he could make a strong case for himself to be back into Academy and maybe even beyond.

11. Rodov (Top)

Power Ranking: 11 (Tim = 7, Pastrytime = 13, Mobalytics AI = 15)

[See Rodov’s profile] [See Rodov’s questionnaire]

Expert Commentary

Tim:

I appreciate the balance in Rodov’s game. He’s a good tank player who can function without resources, but he’s also able to carry at times and has enough skill to be a diverse player.

I’m told he is a very fast learner, which means he could benefit a ton from playing in a professional team environment with access to more coaching and analytical help. That might help with some of the odd itemization choices I’ve seen him make, too!

Rodov lacks the explosiveness of someone like Niles, but if he keeps learning and improving, he could be a reliable, solid Academy Top lane pick-up.

Pastrytime:

If we were to give Rodov a nickname, it’d have to be Mr. Reliable. While Reliable Rodov is not as flashy as his counterparts he’s known for his weakside expertise and seeming inability to not lose lanes. Thankfully for him, if that’s a strength he’s looking to lean on he’ll have plenty of opportunities to test that against some very aggressive top laners attending this event.

As one of the few players to actually be eligible for ANEW esports, the winners of the SGC 2020 Play Off that qualified for this event, he comes away from a talented amateur roster looking to strike out on his own.

We’ll know very quickly if Rodov can hang amongst the likes of Niles and Tony Top, but as someone that has flown the underrated flag for awhile in his still short career, I’m ready to be surprised once the games begin.

12. Spawwwwn (Bot)

Power Ranking: 12 (Tim = 8, Pastrytime = 18, Mobalytics AI = 10)

[See Spawwwwn’s profile] [See Spawwwwn’s questionnaire]

Expert Commentary

Tim:

Spawwwwn shows some strong awareness of what is happening inside his own screen, with smart outplays and step-up aggression, like a young WildTurtle.

But he has a lot to learn about how to read what is happening off-screen, how to move to the right parts of the map at the right times, and how to communicate actively to his team.

The good news is that his biggest weaknesses are exactly the things he would learn in an Academy environment. Spawwwwn could be a real diamond in the rough if he’s given the right opportunity to learn.

Pastrytime:

Not to be confused with my good friend and Oceanic caster/analyst extraordinaire Jake ‘Spawn’ Tiberi, Spawwwwn has been around the amateur scene for a while, most recently on Polar Ace, one of the more established amateur orgs that has churned out quite a bit of talent within that scene.

I’ve been told to watch for his teamfight positioning, particularly on the likes of Aphelios and Ashe. While his team despite lots of promise, did not fare well in the SGC 2020 Play Off, he more than made it on solo-queue points with more than 1.2k LP in Challenger.

Bot lane is certainly on the less stacked end for roles attending this year, but all the more reason to shoot your (literal) shot.

Back to top!

13. Tomio (Jungle)

Power Ranking: 13 (Tim = 14, Pastrytime = 17, Mobalytics AI = 5)

[See Tomio’s profile] [See Tomio’s questionnaire]

Expert Commentary

Tim:

Tomio is difficult to scout since he didn’t play in the Scouting Grounds Circuit, leaving solo queue as the only real option.

Analysts who follow NA solo queue more closely tell me he has strong mechanics and an expanding champion pool, which suggests some decent potential, but he apparently isn’t too far removed from being a one-trick and has had issues with tilt.

Tomio will be a player to watch more closely at Scouting Grounds to round out a more meaningful opinion.

Pastrytime:

The other solo-queue qualifier for jungle is amusingly, teammates on Zenith Esports with RoseThorn. Perhaps there’s something in that org that compels players to grind the living daylights out of solo-queue.

According to his solo-queue stats he’s played what’d I’d call a very ‘NA’ amount of Rengar, among the other usual suspects of aggressive junglers. Not that this is a bad thing at all, Rengar has been surprisingly successful for a lot of North American junglers and Tomio may well be an unearthed talent waiting to unleash the kitty cat out of the brushes.

Jungle is in an interesting spot this Scouting Grounds as none of the attending players have much history at all, in-fact even though I have Nxi at the top of my players for jungle, a lot of that rides on the recent history of the org he joined and how good they are at finding talent.

NA has consistently produced strong aggressive junglers and with the role being as open as it is this Scouting Grounds the time for Tomio will be now to make his name known.

14. RoseThorn (Jungle)

Power Ranking: 14 (Tim = 5, Pastrytime = 14, Mobalytics AI = 19)

[See RoseThorn’s profile] [See RoseThorn’s questionnaire]

Expert Commentary

Tim:

RoseThorn is very “raw”, with minimal competitive experience, but he shows great potential. He has strong mechanics and he’s a very good communicator, which bodes well for his ability to learn from coaching.

Look forward to his play on Kindred, in particular. RoseThorn still needs time to learn how to better recognize the map state and make cleaner decisions around where to move at different times, and when it is appropriate to invade.

Pastrytime:

Seemingly out of nowhere, RoseThorn ripped through solo-queue to land himself a spot at HSG 2020 as well as two different accounts in Challenger having none before that. On top of all this, the first time he hit Challenger he was taking a full course load at college and working part-time with barely any time to dedicate to League as is the usual story of the lesser known Challengers players who grind games seemingly endlessly.

While now he’s apparently flipped that idea with more free time and of his own admission, plays, and watches around eighty hours of League a week. This tells me two things: 1) that he is a somewhat young player that found a way to successfully balance his life, something that many fully-functioning adults can still struggle with and 2) that his work ethic is ridiculous.

While the pedigree of a known organization or competitive experience doesn’t sit with him, RoseThorn embodies the Scouting Grounds story. Of a grinder that has landed in a spot where he has a week to prove it all to himself, his new pug teammates, and then the world at large just how high his ceiling is.

15. Zoun (Jungle)

Power Ranking: 15 (Tim = 13, Pastrytime = 16, Mobalytics AI = 11)

[See Zoun’s profile] [See Zoun’s questionnaire]

Expert Commentary

Tim:

Playing for Maryvillle University throughout 2020, Zoun (formerly known as Iconic) paired with Niles as a duo of carry threats that could rival most top/jungle pairings in the NA amateur or collegiate scene.

He focused his champion pool around Graves, Kindred, Nidalee, and Trundle and frequently racked up high kill counts by leveraging his side laners’ pressure.

He needs to work on the efficiency of his pathing and demonstrate that he can get more done with losing lanes and other unfavorable situations.

Pastrytime:

Zoun comes in off of the collegiate hotshots Maryville University, who although they finished third in the SGC 2020 Play Off did have some invites trickle down as ANEW and 100X had some ineligible players in some positions. While Zoun isn’t a name I’m familiar with unlike a number of his teammates, he’s clearly put himself in the right places when it comes to building up competitive League experience.

He also has the most Lilia games of all the junglers attending as was one of only two players to have her listed as his main three champions for his role, somewhat outside of the Graves, Nidalee, Lee, and Kindred we so often see from NA junglers. While Lilia certainly can be aggressive, she is very delicate despite being very powerful as a jungler and Zoun might be able to lean a little on his competitive experience and perhaps a slightly different champion pool to those around him.

Like all the junglers here though, the door is wide open to impress as the jungle pool this year is very green. I feel like all my hype for Niles and Shady hasn’t rubbed off on their jungler teammate just yet, but I might feel very differently once teams start talking and games start happening.

16. CptShrimps (Mid)

Power Ranking: 16 (Tim = 19, Pastrytime = 15, Mobalytics AI = 8)

[See CptShrimps’s profile] [See CptShrimps’s questionnaire]

Expert Commentary

Tim:

CptShrimps qualified to Scouting Grounds through solo queue as a player who likes to stick to his own unique comfort, bringing out Rumble very often in amateur play as well as Karma, Swain, and the closest he gets to a consistent on-meta choice, Galio.

He sprinkles in games of Zoe and Orianna but with poor results. Unless he proves that he can adapt himself to the meta and play a more Academy-friendly champion pool at a high level, it will be tough for CptShrimps to attract attention from LCS orgs.

Pastrytime:

Collegiate League of Legends does not often get that much attention in the Amateur/Academy scene. While there are certainly collegiate players and teams that do compete outside of their college competitions, that tends to be the exception not the rule.

Not only has CptShrimps been around high-level solo-queue for awhile, but he’s been absolutely carrying his school to the playoffs two years running and would’ve done it this year too if it wasn’t for the whole global pandemic thing.

Now here at HSG 2020, ‘ol Shrimps is here to show off both his Sylas and that Canadian collegiate League players should be feared not just within the confines of academic sports.

Back to top!

17. Joey (Support)

Power Ranking: 17 (Tim = 20, Pastrytime = 6, Mobalytics AI = 17)

Expert Commentary

[See Joey’s profile] [See Joey’s questionnaire]

Tim:

Joey has been in and out of Academy in the past, most recently playing with Clutch Academy in 2019, and he’s back for another attempt to break into the pro scene. He struggles with putting his best foot forward in the most important games and didn’t find much success in the amateur scene while playing with Wildcard Gaming this year.

To earn an Academy offer, Joey will need to overwrite LCS scouts’ pre-existing ideas about his potential as a player, which will require a very convincing Scouting Grounds performance.

Pastrytime:

A familiar face to many, literal MSI 2018 competitor Joey has gone through a lot since attending that event as Team Liquid’s sub. While he’s also had some strong showings in Academy as well it should go without saying that we didn’t get nearly enough time with Joey at the pro level.

Consistently impressing with his playmaking, Joey is a player that has grown into the leadership roles he was thrust into on Academy teams and like many supports attending this event, he’ll want to show off that he’s far from past his time to compete.

While he’s competing against a strong class this year, he should be on the radars of any team in need of a support player that’s here to show he’s still got it and then some.

18. Plux (Support)

Power Ranking: 18 (Tim = 18, Pastrytime = 11, Mobalytics AI = 14)

Expert Commentary

[See Plux’s profile] [See Plux’s questionnaire]

Tim:

Plux does a lot of things right and communicates fairly well, but he needs to improve his read on potential and emerging action and get in better position to create plays or help out his teammates.

Some of this will come as he gains comfort playing in high-level teams, but some needs to come from his personal map awareness and recognition of where his teams are vulnerable and whether they are in a position to follow up on his plays.

This Scouting Grounds should be a great learning experience for Plux.

Pastrytime:

Plux (pronounced Flux) sits in the unenviable position of being both an unknown entity and also the other solo queue qualifier in his position, which means the amount of available tape on him is extremely limited. While he has competed in some small tournaments here and there, he enters this stacked support lineup as almost a true wildcard.

In his survey responses, he talked about pushing himself to learn other champions and clearly he pushed enough to qualify for this event on solo-queue merit alone, including hitting Top 50 without one of his main champions of duo’ing which as a Support seems like an exercise in masochism.

While being the greenest player out of this bunch could turn out to be a weakness or a strength with so many veterans attending, if he can compete with the rest of this class it won’t matter how unknown he is relative to the field. Like many before him, Plux has an opportunity to make a name for himself here at HSG 2020.

19. Andybendy (Bot)

Power Ranking: 19 (Tim = 11, Pastrytime = 19, Mobalytics AI = 18)

Expert Commentary

[See Andybendy’s profile] [See Andybendy’s questionnaire]

Tim:

There are ups and downs in Andybendy’s laning, and his play with Radiance in the Scouting Grounds Circuit didn’t really “leap out” with big highlight-reel plays most of the time, but he plays at an above-average level pretty reliably, much like how Radiance was an upper/mid-tier team in the amateur scene as a whole.

Out of all the roles, Bot lane is where I place the most value on reliability over pop-off moments, which is why I see some good potential for Andybendy to be a worthwhile player to develop, despite ranking him lowest of all the Bot laners at Scouting Grounds.

Pastrytime:

Apart from having perhaps the ‘funniest name but in a good way’ among the SGC 2020 attendees, Andy has actually been around the Amateur scene for quite a while. Including recently being on Radiance before landing on the Columbia College team, one of the better-known schools for League of Legends.

He also apparently tried to qualify for EU Masters a short while back, which is almost unheard of for a NA player. To say that Mr. Bendy hasn’t been trying would be a massive understatement and while he sits at the bottom for me based on what little information I could gather, bot lane does feel like it has a lot of unknowns going into this year of HSG.

He’s also apparently sick of losing to 100 Thieves Next in the Amateur circuit, so this Scouting Grounds not only will provide a place to showcase his talent but perhaps enact a little revenge along the way.

20. Gible (Top)

Power Ranking: 20 (Tim = 15, Pastrytime = 20, Mobalytics AI = 20)

Expert Commentary

[See Gible’s profile] [See Gible’s questionnaire]

Tim:

It’s difficult to track down good insight on Gible, who has played a decent number of games in Upsurge League and Challenger Uprising but has shown up on video almost as little as Bigfoot.

Experts in the amateur scene are reasonably high on his potential, and of course, he has performed well enough in solo queue to secure an invite to Scouting Grounds, but he has some work to do to prove himself as a strong enough candidate to crack the top 10 and get himself drafted by an LCS team at the end of the event.

Pastrytime:

The other solo queue qualifier for top lane, Gible comes in as an unknown quantity among a pretty top-heavy position. With Niles and Tony battling it out for best in the role, if not among the best players in attendance, and Rodov having a bigger jump in competitive experience already, Gible is going to have his work cut out for him if he’s going to stand out for his lane.

While there is some freedom in not having expectations thrust upon you from the onset, Gible will have to come up big here if he’s looking to shine among attendees. Thankfully, that’s exactly what an event like Scouting Grounds can provide and I’ll be the first to admit I was wrong if he starts trouncing the competition.

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Thanks for reading! Remember to check out our site throughout the event for the most-up-to-date Scouting Grounds stats. 

The post 2020 Honda Scouting Grounds Power Rankings (Analysis on All 20 Players) appeared first on Mobalytics.

We’re excited to announce that Mobalytics is once again the trusted data partner for Riot’s 2020 Scouting Grounds event!

The event’s broadcast eventually begins Nov 10th and continues until the final draft on Saturday Nov 14th.

This article is designed to help new viewers understand how it works and why you should tune in.

What is Scouting Grounds?

Scouting Grounds is an annual event where twenty players from NA are invited to showcase their talents in the hopes of being picked up by LCS teams.

To put it simply, it’s sort of like a draft combine for the NFL or NBA where players can be evaluated by their individual skills, ability to play in a team environment, and many other qualities teams may be looking for.

During the event, the twenty players are placed into four teams and play a mini-tournament.

Once the tournament concludes, LCS teams are able to draft players for the rights to sign them (draft order is the reverse order of the Summer 2020 standings).

In the past, players were invited to play live at the LCS studio, but this year they will be participating remotely due to COVID.

How do players qualify?

There are two main ways to qualify for Scouting Grounds: either through FACEIT’s Scouting Grounds Circuit or through solo queue.

In both cases, players must be 16 years old by January 14, 2021 and cannot have played “more than two League matches at the semi-pro
or academy level in the two previous splits and/or more than two League matches in a professional league during the previous six splits.

A “professional league” is defined as any league that sends teams to Worlds. A “semi-professional league” is defined as any league that feeds into a professional league, such as NA Academy or EU Masters.

In addition, the participants must not have appeared in three or more of the past five Scouting Grounds.

FACEIT’s Scouting Grounds Circuit

FACEIT’s Scouting Grounds Circuit is basically an amateur league where teams play through a qualification system of smaller tournaments that narrows down to a final 8-team tournament.

The two final teams from the top eight are qualified for the Scouting Grounds event – this year, these are the players from ANEW Esports and 100 Next.

Solo Queue

From June 24th to September 30th this year, Riot took snapshots of the ranked ladder. Based on where players ranked, they earned points:

There are some other subtleties involved, but to simplify things, the top two players in each role with the most amount of points are invited to Scouting Grounds.

If the players that are invited cannot attend or decline, the next players in line with the most points are then invited as backups, and so on.

In addition to maintaining a high ranking on the ladder, players must have a minimum of 25 games on 4 champions, in order to ensure that the players aren’t one-tricks.

Since this is a first-timer guide, that’s all you need to know for now but if you want to know every detail for how players qualfiy from solo queue, head here.

Who are this year’s players?

The twenty players of Scouting Grounds 2020 were revealed on November 4th with the tweet below:

We are excited to announce the twenty players who will be attending the 2020 #LCS @Honda Scouting Grounds! pic.twitter.com/W9OceMf1Ys

— LCS (@LCSOfficial) November 4, 2020

We’ll be adding a dedicated section to our website with insights like stats, interviews, and power rankings on the first day of the event so be sure to check back to learn more about all the players!

How many make it to pro?

Just like any sport, only the best of the best of all the great players who try to become pro will make it as starters.

Here are some of the former Scouting Grounds attendees who are now big names (if you follow pro play you’ll probably recognize them):

• Blaber
• Tactical
• Spica
• Vulcan

After these four stars, you have players that are currently in the Academy system but have spent time as starters:

• Deftly
• Fakegod
• Kumo
• Soligo

Beyond this tier of players, there are many Academy players who were former Scouting Grounds attendees, still developing and waiting for their opportunity to find a starting spot.

When and where can I watch?

Be sure to follow the official LCS Twitter for the latest updates in regards to the event’s schedule, such as when the games will be live and which teams are playing.

Most of the matches (some will not be shown live) will be streamed on the LCS Academy Twitch channel starting on Tuesday, November 10th at 4PM Pacific and every day until the finals on Saturday, November 14th.

If you’re unable to catch the broadcast live, no worries, just head to the LoL Esports VODs and Highlights Youtube channel where the matches will be uploaded soon after they’re played.

The post The New Viewer’s Guide to the 2020 Honda Scouting Grounds appeared first on Mobalytics.

In recent years, the European pro scene has been growing in strength, becoming the undisputed best region of the west and making two Worlds finals appearances. In comparison to their LCS counterparts, who often import players to try to improve their teams, the majority of LEC has shown a continued commitment to the development of homegrown talent.

BT Excel

• Excel has had a rough start to its LEC legacy, having been the 9th and 10th place team in its first two years in the league.
• Although at times, they’ve been in the running for playoff contention, they’ve struggled to maintain momentum and have been plagued by inconsistency.
• With increased involvement from their sponsor, BT, and an improved bot lane with Patrik and Tore (formerly known as Norskeren), Excel is poised to have their best year yet.

FC Schalke 04

• Despite not qualifying for Worlds, Schalke had a strong run during Summer 2019, finishing as 3rd place during the split.
• Entering 2020, only two starting members remain in their solo laners, Odoamne and Abbedagge.
•  S04 seems to be taking a high risk, high reward approach in picking up FORG1VEN, who is returning from an absence due to military service, and Gilius, who is back on an LEC/EU LCS team for the first time since 2018.

Fnatic

• After losing Caps, FNC were impressively able to integrate Nemesis in time to maintain their stride as one of the top EU teams.
• Despite making it out of groups over RNG, they unfortunately ran into the eventual champions, FPX.
• With the exception of Broxah who has left to join Team Liquid in NA, the majority of FNC’s potent roster still remains intact.
• Many see Selfmade’s acquisition as a potential improvement or sidegrade at worst for the jungle role so expect FNC to remain as a dominant force in LEC.

G2 Esports

• As the clear #1 LEC team, G2 enters 2020 without any changes to their starting roster in terms of new players.
• Instead, they are shaking things up by role swapping Perkz back to mid and Caps to bot lane.
• Who knows if they’ll stick to this for the whole year, however, this will add even more flexibility to G2’s insane flexibility.

Splyce –> MAD Lions

• Splyce has rebranded to MAD Lions and with the new team, comes a brand new roster outside of their 2019 mid laner, Humanoid.
• With the other four new members joining from the regional European Leagues, MAD is looking to develop young talent and build for the future.

Misfits Gaming

• 2019 wasn’t kind to Misfits after their failed experiment with what should’ve been a superteam on paper (SoAZ, Maxlore, Febiven, Hans Sama and Gorilla).
• Similar to MAD, Misfits are looking to focus on the future with nearly all of their roster being revamped except for Dan Dan, who earned the starting top lane spot over SoAZ mid-way through the summer split.

Origen

• After a 2nd place finish during Spring, Origen struggled during Summer and ended the Split at 8th. They also failed to qualify for Worlds during the LEC Regional Finals.
• As a result, OG are making changes at jungle and bot lane. Xerxe will be replacing Kold, who had suffered health issues that prevented him from participating in the World qualifier.
• Patrik and Mithy will be replaced by Upset, formerly of S04, and Destiny, a new talent imported from the OPL.

Rogue

• Rogue should great improvement during 2019, jumping from 10th in Spring to to a 4th place finish in the LEC playoffs.
• Their 2020 roster looks to continue building on momentum with the only addition being Hans Sama as the starting ADC.
• Woolite will still be on the team, however, sliding down to AGO Rogue, their academy roster.

SK Gaming

• SK Gaming’s 2019 return to the newly formed LEC has been lackluster with a 6th place finish in Spring being their peak.
• Things aren’t looking great for them entering 2020 as they lost their promising young jungler, Selfmade, to FNC.
• However, Trick has always been a serviceable jungler and Limit will be making his LEC debut, so perhaps we shouldn’t write of SK before we see what their new members bring to the table.

Team Vitality

• Vitality hovered as a middle of the pack team throughout 2019, placing 5-6 in playoffs for both splits.
• Heading into 2020, only Caboshard and Jactroll remain from their 2019 starters.
• The remaining three roles will be filled in by three promising rookies from the regional European leagues, including Skeanz from Vitality’s academy team.

Thanks for reading! We can’t wait for the new LEC season to start and we’re looking forward to seeing how these new rosters will fare in Spring split. Let us know in the comments below who you think made the best roster changes.

The post All LEC Roster Changes (Spring 2020 Teams) appeared first on Mobalytics.

The beginning of Spring Split is always one of the most exciting times for professional League of Legends. Players that had bad years look to redeem themselves, new faces enter the fold, and the best teams start to solidify their weaknesses in the hopes of an MSI run. In this article, we’ve collected all the roster changes including the new players for every team as well as the status of their previous players. Enjoy!

100 Thieves

• 100 Thieves are starting 2020 with a completely different starting five than the one that ended 2019.
• They’re bringing back Ssumday (played on the academy team during 2019), Cody Sun, and Meteos – 3 of 5 of the players that helped them make their finals run in Spring 2018.
• After a rough 2019, Aphromoo is being replaced by Stunt, who was on 100TA.
• To round out the roster, Ry0ma, a newcomer from the OPL will be starting at mid lane.

Cloud 9

• Despite consistently making it to Worlds, Cloud 9 has had quite the roster transformation, with Licorice and Nisqy as the only remaining members.
• Long-time C9 veteran Sneaky, is being replaced by Zven (formerly of TSM). Sneaky has left the pro scene for now to become an indendent streamer.
• The Summer 2019 MVP, Svenskeren, and Zeyzal are also departing, both going to the new Evil Geniuses team.
• In their places will be Blaber, who will finally see LCS time as a starter, and Vulcan, a rising young Support who just had his first Worlds with CG/DIG.

Counter Logic Gaming

• After having solid years, Ruin, Wiggily, and Stixxay return as core CLG members.
• PoE is being replaced by Crown, who had an MVP-candidate year for Optic in 2019.
• Lastly, Biofrost was traded for Smoothie in a direct Support-for-Support exchange.

Clutch Gaming –> Dignitas

• Despite managing to pull off an impressive run to secure a spot at Worlds, Dignitas has revamped their whole roster with the exception of Huni at Top lane.
• After bouncing between being a starter and academy for TSM, Grig is finally landing a starting role as Dignitas’s Spring Jungler.
• Young NA mid laner, Damonte, was replaced in favor of Froggen, one of professional League’s most experienced veterans.
• Bot lane is interesting as there will be two ADCs, Johnsun and Fenix. Johnsun, formerly of TSMA, is known to have a ton of potential as a young and upcoming player. Fenix, known for his mechanical ability at Mid, will be making the role swap to ADC.
• Lastly, these ADCs will be partnered with Aphroomoo at Support, who’s looking to bounce back with a better year.

Echo Fox –> Evil Geniuses

• Evil Geniuses will be replacing Echo Fox as an LCS team – none of their previous players remain.
• They have an interesting and international mix as they have two young NA players (Kumo and Zeyzal) playing alongside veterans Svenskeren, Bang, and Jiizuke.
• If you’re unfamiliar with Kumo (formerly known as Shiro), he briefly started in place of Licorice (who was having wrist pains) and played well, winning three of four matches.

Flyquest

• Flyquest remains mostly intact with three remaining players, V1per, Santorin, and WildTurtle.
• The newcomers, PowerOfEvil and IgNar, make for an intriguing duo as both were formerly teammates on Misfits during their run where they almost beat SKT at Worlds.

Golden Guardians

• Veteran Top laner, Hauntzer,  and last year’s rookie from Oceania, FBI, return to GGS as the only starters.
• Closer, their new Jungler from the Turkish Championship League (TCL), joins to fill in their second import slot.
• After years developing in Cloud 9’s system, Goldenglue is getting is shot as a legit starter. We’re rooting for him!
• Lastly, Keith, who has been an ADC veteran as both a starter and academy player throughout his career, will be making a shift to the Support role. Check out the video below for more details.

Optic –> Immortals

• Similar to Evil Geniuses, Immortals are returning to League of Legends with a brand new roster.
• With players like sOAZ, Xmithie, and Hakuho, this team brings a ton of experience to the table.
• Altec, who was a free agent in 2019, spent the year training in the Korean solo queue ladder, reaching 795 LP.
• The last addition to the roster is Eika, who has spent 2019 as part of Team-LDLC, of the French league, La Ligue Française (LFL).
• To learn more, check out the video to hear explanations for signing every player from IMT’s general manager, Keaton Cryer, and their head coach, Zaboutine.

Team Liquid

• Even after four consecutive LCS championships and a finals appearance at MSI, Team Liquid is still tweaking their roster to improve their international showings.
• In an attempt to improve their early game, they’ve picked up Broxah from Fnatic, in the hopes that he’ll bring more of a carry style to TL – an angle they previously lacked due to Xmithie’s more controlled playstyle.
• The rest of the roster remains with Impact, Jensen, Doublelift, and CoreJJ, all contenders for the top 1-2 spots in their roles within the LCS.

Team Solo Mid

• Will this year finally mark the return to greatness for TSM?
• After the failed experiments of the past two years, only Broken Blade and Bjergsen remain as the starters from 2019.
• Another player making a return is Biofrost, who was replaced alongside Doublelift for Zven and Mithy. Does Regi regret that offseason move? Probably, but it sort of made sense at the time.
• We all know the big question mark for TSM has always been their Jungler. Well, TSM fans have been begging for him for years, and Dardoch is finally here. Hopefully, he’ll be able to complete his redemption arc.
• Finally rounding out TSM’s starters is Kobbe, one of the top EU ADCs in recent years. He’s been in better form than Zven is recent times but could be comparable to Zven when he originally came to TSM. It’s a sidegrade in the aspect but perhaps Kobbe’s personality may mesh better within the team.

All Roster Changes

Thanks for reading! We can’t wait for the new LCS season to start and we’re looking forward to seeing how these roster shifts pan out. Let us know in the comments below who you think made the best roster changes.

The post All LCS Roster Changes (Spring 2020 Teams) appeared first on Mobalytics.