State of the LCS: The Top 5
With the 2022 LCS Summer Split starting up on the 17th, and after I covered the bottom five teams of the league, it’s only right that I also talk about the state of the top of the table and what I think each teams' prospects are for this upcoming split. Cloud9 is not expected to be at full strength right away due to COVID and missing passport issues, while the reigning champion Evil Geniuses may start out cold or burnt out to kick off the latter half of the year.
This is the closest the top five has been in a long while, with differing ideologies and play styles. This summer should be an exciting run up to the World Championship taking place here in NA later this fall.
DISCLAIMER: This list is NOT put into any particular order!!
FlyQuest
Top: Kumo
Jungle: Josedeodo
Mid: Toucouille
ADC: Johnsun
Support: aphromoo
You’re probably surprised that I rated FlyQuest above TSM or maybe even the new look Immortals, but the key pieces for FlyQuest are going to continue their upward trajectory and shock a lot of LCS fans. Josedeodo and Toucouille are one of the most underrated mid-jungle duos in the entire west right now. Kumo is clearly the weakest link for this team, but I still think he can hold his own against any of the top laners in LCS. Johnsun also has the potential to pop off at any moment (while also throwing in about two to three ints per game) and aphromoo’s one of the most consistent players we’ve ever seen. This FlyQuest team is highly underrated by many, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up playing spoiler and denying some of these other teams from a spot at Worlds.
100 Thieves
Top: Ssumday
Jungle: Closer
Mid: Abbedagge
ADC: FBI
Support: huhi
Let me preface this by saying that I think this is the last split we will see these five players play together under the 100 Thieves banner. After failing to defend their 2021 Summer Split title, the 100 Thieves elected to run it back for Summer and try again. Nothing to be ashamed of, being runner ups, but I know Nadeshot and Papa Smithy are chasing titles and international success/acclaim. The two I could see making their exit after this split are Abbedagge and huhi. Abbe was severely under performing during the playoffs and did not look like the same Faker-dagge we’ve seen in the past. huhi is not a bad player by any means, but I also think he’s been holding FBI back in lane and that was evident in the Finals as they lost to Danny and Vulcan consistently, who are infamously weak in laning phase. Closer is still the main emphasis of the team while Ssumday remains Mr. Consistent. This team should still expect to be at the top, but it would not surprise me at all if they come up just short of making it to Worlds.
Team Liquid
Top: Bwipo
Jungle: Santorin
Mid: Bjergsen
ADC: Hans sama
Support: CoreJJ
Team Liquid is in a weird position right now. They should have won spring, no doubt about it. Instead, they didn’t and now we have this super expensive roster within the LCS, but they might not even make it to WORLDS. Not to say that I don’t expect to see them make it, I do, but man was it disappointing to see them lose in such embarrassing fashion. Bjergsen hopefully will be finally back at the level we’ve seen previous, as it took awhile for him to ramp after taking a year off to coach. The only player foresee guaranteed on the roster in 2023 is CoreJJ. Hans was supposed to arrive and dominate all other LCS bot laners, but has met actual competition in Berserker and Danny. Santorin’s a solid, dependable player, but he’s been unable to get the best of Blaber, Inspired, Closer, and others as of late. Bwipo’s another big contract that doesn’t seem too worth it anymore. Towards the end of their playoff run, he straight up solo lost them a few games by refusing to drop the ego and play tanks. That to me was the most bizarre thing because Bwipo is a good tank player. Some of his best games during his time on Fnatic were spent playing Ornn, which ended up being an integral part to the meta. All in all TL should not miss out on Worlds once again, but if they do all hell’s about to break loose.
Cloud9
Top: Fudge*
Jungle: Blaber
Mid: Jensen
ADC: Berserker*
Support: Zven*
Cloud9 is in a weird position to start out the Summer Split, as Berserker’s stuck in Korea with a missing passport and Fudge is still recovering from COVID. Starting in their place will be long standing LCS legend Darshan for Fudge, while k1ng and Destiny will be playing in place of Berserker and Zven. This means that Wixxi, who wasn’t able to find a team after being dropped by 100 Thieves Academy, will be playing on C9 Academy for the time being. Jensen’s return to C9 is a welcome one, as I was never too fond of Fudge mid. I’m sad to Summit go and head back to Korea (or maybe China depending on if the FPX rumors are true), especially after he just won Spring Split MVP. Jensen and Blaber are two players that have expressed they wanted to play with each other since Jensen’s departure in 2018. At full strength, this team could easily compete for the title of Summer Split Champion and I expect them to be at that level once everybody’s around. As long as Zven can help improve Berserker’s laning, this team should be dangerous.
Evil Geniuses
Top: Impact
Jungle: Inspired
Mid: jojopyun
ADC: Danny
Support: Vulcan
The Evil Geniuses are coming fresh off a noteworthy run at MSI, meaning they could be burnt out or behind the meta to kick off summer. This is natural, many teams returning from MSI always start out a little shaky and look like shells of their former selves. I was impressed with jojopyun’s growth throughout the tournament, holding his own against mid lane legends like Xiaohu, caPs, and of course the unkillable demon king Faker. He’ll be able to take everything he learned and hopefully dominate the other LCS mid laners. Danny had a rough time at MSI, as his weak laning was on full display and he and Vulcan got taken advantage of often. I hope that we will see improvement between the two in summer, and Danny can be a force in more than just the mid to late game. Impact’s playoff buff wore off while in Korea when facing higher levels of competition, but he should still be considered one of the best in his role among NA players. Inspired hard carried Evil Geniuses throughout MSI, and he will be continue to be a force for EG moving forward. I’m hoping to see them evolve their play style from being so scaling and team fight oriented, and become a more diverse team. I’d love to see all five of these players expand their champion pools as well for summer.
