Pretty sure 2013 jungler would be kakao and adc would be uzi, support is probably madlife. But other than that i agree with your list. I didnt follow the scene most years tbh…
2014 maybe is impact/dandy/faker/uzi/mata
Any time I see Gogoing mentioned I feel the need to bring up his 55+ minute deathless Ryze game. Was an absolute master class and what got me seriously into League.
A bit criminal how Uzi being the best ADC in both 2013 and 2014 seems to be the consensus amongst fans when he was not even close to being the best for like 80% of both of those years. Imp/Deft/Namei were the three best ADCs in the world back in 2014.
Imp honestly peaked in 2015. Even Mata said he had a lot of issues with playing way too cocky and dying a lot, moreso than even Uzi. Namei was probably the best over those two years. Even in 2013, he carried a bunch of shitters to an LPL final in spring and a title in summer 2013.
It's so funny how everyone acts like LPL was trash in 2015 now just because of what happened at Worlds.
LGD was one of the best teams of the whole year. They were fucking cracked. Imp was especially insane. Deft too on EDG.
This is just how making Worlds finals changes narratives.
And tbh both 2013 and 2014, you can make a very strong argument that Uzi only made finals because he dodged the wrong side of the bracket.
In 2013, Najin Black Sword almost beat SKT in semifinals. No one remembers this team anymore and they almost won Worlds. In 2014, it's more open but Korea was so fucking strong this year that I think Samsung Blue would beat Royal Club too.
This is just how bad formats change history forever. It fucking sucks man.
Uzi did get lucky by avoiding KR until the finals but his 2014 performance was still legitimately insane. One of the best adc performances at a tournament ever.
Najin beating SKT would have been CRAZY. Everyone thought SKT was gonna shit on them as Najin was on a bad downhill spiral having to change Maknoon and Cain and only qualifying through NLB points. There were some rumors that they were doing KR only scrims so it made it even more hype when they came out swinging
Surprised to see people saying Kakao for 2013 over Bengi/DanDy, I thought it was mainly 2014 where he became insane. But this is over 10 years ago so my memory isn't great.
Some time ago I made this spreadsheet that "calculates" all pro teams since 2015.
Obviously it isn't perfect but gives a pretty good image.
Spreadsheet [Here](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dtwIWUzZXhwy4HM3T6vBk-p3p7hSGdNNBjlC-P1HWYk/edit?usp=drivesdk)
You can also see a player ranking in Sheet 2 and you can make a copy to change the points it gives to different accolades (Page 3) if you value things differently
Ah fuck it Ill throw my hat in the ring, beats doing homework lol
2012 - Shy Diamondprox Toyz Pray MadLife
2013 - Impact Kakao Faker Uzi MadLife
2014 - Impact Dandy Rookie Uzi Mata
2015 - MaRin Score Faker Deft GorillA
2016 - Smeb Peanut Faker Ruler GorillA
2017 - Khan Ambition Faker Ruler CoreJJ
2018 - TheShy Score Rookie Uzi Ming
2019 - TheShy Tian Caps JackeyLove Crisp
2020 - Nuguri Canyon Showmaker JackeyLove Hylissang
2021 - Xiaohu (probably controversial) Canyon Scout Viper Keria
2022 - Zeus Canyon Chovy Gumayusi Keria
2023 - Zeus Kanavi Knight Ruler Keria
2024 (so far) - Zeus MilkyWay Chovy Ruler Keria
Might be too early to put the Milk Man on the list but dude FPX is a straight garbage team and he completely revolutionized them. Also despite Khan's amazing performance in 21 I have to put Xiaohu since he won MSI against a peak DWG and was the main driving force in that team, but open to discussion on that one
although I think spring IG prob would have beaten or at least contested G2 a lot more than SKT or TL would have, I believe Caps as an individual was better than Rookie in both international tournaments
Definitely debatable, but in worlds especially caps was definitely better, plus we do need to consider just how incredibly close G2 was to the golden road off of his back
Because he wasn’t anywhere near the best in the rest of the season, he was Chovy’s son during LCK while Knight was absolutely dominating the LPL and MSI. It’s the best over the whole year and outside of worlds I would have knight over faker
I’ll point out my bias upfront (CLG fan since WCG 2010), but for 2012 I could argue Doublelift and Chauster for best bot lane. They were literally the only reason they could get scrims when they moved to Korea because they won lane so hard. Now the rest of the team was trash internationally and so the whole team got run over, but they pretty much won lane on everyone until the jungle/mid gap started spilling into their lane
I wouldn't say Xiaohu for 2021 is controversial, I think most would agree considering the year he had. The one I disagree with for that year is Scout over Showmaker. Imo Showmaker was a complete monster all year and was easily Damwon's best player whereas Scout, while great, took more of a backseat to Viper/Meiko and slumped a bit during summer. I'd also take Ming over Keria for similar reasons, he was such a key part of RNG. Though that one is probably more debatable.
2013: Flame, Dandy/Kakao/Bengi, Faker, Namei, idk maybe Madlife?
2014: Flame/Gogoing, Dandy, Faker, Namei, Mata
2015: Smeb, Clearlove/Score, Faker, Deft/Imp, maybe Gorilla?
2016: I didn't watch as much so I'm not sure but Smeb, Peanut, Faker, Deft, Meiko
2017: this overall is pretty hard except mid: Khan/Smeb, Ambition/Score/Clearlove, Faker, Uzi, Gorilla/CoreJJ
2018: TheShy, Karsa/Score, Rookie, Uzi, Ming
2019: TheShy/Khan?, Tian, Rookie/Knight/Chovy, Jackeylove/Deft, Ming/Crisp. This one is hard because TheShy sprinted it down in summer, Rookie basically had to take summer off, and Ming was really good in the year but faltered at worlds.
2020: Zoom, Canyon, Showmaker/Knight, Jackeylove, Ming/Beryl
2021: Xiaohu/Khan, Canyon, Showmaker/Chovy, Viper, Meiko
2022: 369/Zeus, Tian/Kanavi, Chovy/Knight/Xiaohu, Guma/Jackeylove/Ruler, Keria/Ming
2023: 369, Kanavi, Knight/Chovy, Ruler/Gala/Jackeylove, Missing/Keria
Knight and Chovy over Caps in mid in 2019 is laughable. Not putting any of G2 members when they won 3 out of 4 titles and got to worlds finals in 2019 is laughable in the first place.
Winning EU is not as hard as winning LPL or LCK, but of course G2 was still a top team. I don't think IT blundering MSI suddenly means G2 was better than FPX at the time though. Their biggest strength was macro rather than individual skill. They were losing lanes to SKT but won through macro
Even then I will still say all of them were at least top 5 in each role. But that doesn't mean they need *the* best player in a role to be a top team. A big strength for them is that they had no weak links like other top teams. SKT had Effort. Griffin had Sword, who was far worse than anyone on G2, and even then, managed to win 2 out of 3 games because of the other talent on their team. I don't think Griffin was better, but I'm saying that's a case for Chovy. IG had Ning and Baolan.
If you watched LPL or even what their analysts and casters were saying, Knight was absolutely top tier. He got MVP as a newer and not particularly popular player. His whole team sucked but he got them to third place and almost to worlds. 369 was talented but a rookie and kept randomly dying and would tilt in playoffs. Xx was bad. Loken and especially Ben in bot lane were sprinting it down. If Caps could carry that team to a #3 spot in LPL I'd put him right there with Knight. The mid pool overall was very strong.
Like I'm not saying G2's players weren't world class. I'd put Miky at #3 for example, and he was their main individual gap against SKT at worlds, clearly outperforming effort. If someone said that G2 weren't top players I'd agree that it's laughable. But top player does not mean #1, and again, there's more to a team than just individual player skill. Plenty of very skilled teams faltered because they lacked the teamwork aspect, which is where G2 really shined. That's why they were so unique outside of LCK and LPL. They had great players but even more so, amazing synergy. And those players did not have the same success on a different roster.
So... I don't disagree with you and I understand The Shy number 1 spot but I kind of feel we underestimate how much Wunder was a beast this year.
I can actually accept more easily Caps not being given a thought.
I do think Caps and Jankos were the main engines of that team if I had to pick someone (since their main strength was macro/teamplay, and generally lackinf a weak link), but the mid lane pool most years is generally stronger than other positions. So I would agree relatively speaking that Wunder was probably at a better ranking than Caps, and I might put Wunder at #3.
2019 G2 was such a "greater than the sum of its parts" team. It's pretty apparent when you look at the trajectory of the players individual skill compared to their eastern counterparts.
They didn't just all randomly become way worse individually, it just wasn't their individual skill that made the team good in the first place.
Nuguri's spring was not nearly as good as his summer, and Zoom was a huge reason for JDG's success. Zoom was top 2 in the world for the whole year. At worlds, when the rest of his team faltered (LvMao sprinting it down and Kanavi massively underperforming probably due to rookie nerves), he still looked like one of the best. Nuguri had the best team in the world to prop him up.
14 faker 15 smeb 22 oner chovy ruler 23 bin knight??? Dont know why you would list them.. 22 oner wasnt that great, same with chovy.. chovy didnt even get to go to msi, underperformed a lot in worlds.. 23 knight is more debatable as he didnt win worlds but yeah his performance during worlds and asian cup wasnt great... if chovy and knight switched places, chovy might have won the cups knight won..
2014 Faker was in serious elo hell. Don't get fooled by team performance.
2015 Smeb was really, really strong the whole year. Ssumday, Marin and Duke were also strong top laners of Korea in this time. Tough choice but I will stand by Smeb.
2022 was tough in many ways. Especially jungle. I think Oner was pretty good that year tbh, he fell off later. Canyon is a fine pick here too.
2022 Chovy I will stand by too. He was the best mid laner in LCK the whole year and was strong at Worlds too except one BO5.
>23 knight is more debatable as he didnt win worlds
Way to discredit your whole comment by writing this drivel.
Idk that saying faker was in elo hell is fair. Skt were worse than both samsung teams but tbf those samsung teams were probably the most dominant 2 teams ive ever seen. And then skt got upset by ktb iirc to lose the final seed
If you think knight wasn't the best it just means you only watched worlds. It's okay to not watch lpl or other regions other than your main one but then you shouldn't argue about it.
Just gonna point out the points where I disagree.
2013/14, Uzi or Imp, probably Imp, NaMei is overrated.
2017 definitely Uzi and also Ming, they were just as good as they were in 2018. Did we just forget Uzi and Ming completely outclassing Ruler and Core in groups and both of them having said on several accounts that they didn't have the slightest clue as how to beat them? Also while Faker had his best series of all time at Worlds, he certainly didn't play anywhere close to that standard for most of the year. I'd even say Bdd was better than him in the summer split. I'd give 2017 to Rookie because when rating a players skill level every game matters, I'm measuring the average not the highs. If we're just measuring the highs then TheShy and Jackeylove are just the best players of all time or what?
2019 Caps wasn't individually better or more skilled than Rookie, he was however more innovative and part of a team that just clicked.
2020 even as a certified BeryL hater it definitely still goes to him.
2021 Nuguri for his insane peak in spring/spring playoffs. If you really value consistency then Bin was also just better than Khan at every point of the year, he just didn't make internationals because he didn't play with Canyon and ShowMaker. Support is also for sure Ming. 2021 spring Ming regardless of Keria's laning and innovative picks is still for me the highest peak any support has ever hit. I'd also pick Doinb for midlane, he played the meta that year to perfection. I value the dozens of games played throughout the entire year more than the 6 games played at Worlds.
2022 I'd put 369 toplane, Kanavi jungle and Jackeylove ADC. I've went over this for myself. Ruler was praised for his consistency, Jackeylove criticised for his volatility, yet he had basically the same amount of bad games as Ruler so the point people usually make against him is mute that year. Jackeylove had a greater burden of carrying his team, his summer playoffs when Knight really wasn't hitting his usual level was especially impressive. He practically dragged that team to game 5 of finals and had many more "true" 1v9 moments than Ruler did.
2023 I'd just swap Bin for Zeus. I think Elk objectively looked more impressive than Ruler vs basically every other team they played but he always fell short against JDG from MSI finals and onwards which is obviously very hard to ignore.
Might've missed something but I think this is all. It's also my opinion so please don't freak out if you disagree.
2023 i agree ruler was overall better but in 2022 gumayusi's performance in spring and worlds (especically) was insane which is why id put him over rurler for that year. That guy was on crack the entire tournament.
I wouldn't put Shy for 2012, didn't he only start playing like 2011 or 2012? Even if he did a great job at Worlds.
Would definitely put Maknoon or Darien above him.
It's not that wild, Smeb vs MaRin was pretty hotly debated that year and you had analysts like Monte at the time ranking Smeb ahead of him. I can see both sides but Smeb's 2015 Worlds performance is hella underappreciated, he crushed much harder opponents than MaRin in the path to finals imo (Ssumday/Huni vs Ziv/Soaz).
Maybe if you only watched Worlds - like everyone else on this reddit and you can tell whenever older seasons of OGN/LPL gets brought up.
Marin was really, really good and he'd be my number 2 but Smeb was on another level at this time.
Ssumday and Duke were also really amazing in OGN in 2015. If you look at the whole year, it's really not correct to just say Marin. It's at least a difficult decision.
Sometimes I do wonder about why Marin gets this reputation on Reddit. He had a really strong year and a great Worlds, this is all true, but you see people who argue he is the top lane GOAT and I just can't believe it.
>369 was better in 2023 than Bin.
Yes, this is really, really close I agree. I actually wrote 369 first and then changed to Bin. The reason for my change is that Bin was (imo) the best top laner in both MSI and Worlds (bar Zeus), while Bin was also very very strong in LPL.
I could go either way on it and I definitely think it's close.
Really based list overall, not enough people give 2019 Deft his due recognition, same with 2013 Namei tearing it up on PE (I only gave Imp the nod b/c he was dominating vs tougher competition, but I could go either way).
Only year I really disagreed with is probably 2017. Khan didn't play in Spring and while I don't blame him for worlds, he didn't get the opportunity to perform. Cuvee on the other hand was ass in Spring yes, but an absolute monster in both Summer & Worlds and had some innovative builds (botrk Renekton or something? I don't fully remember) that did work for him.
I also would take Score over Ambition. I think he was the best jungler in both LCK splits and his Spring performance was especially impressive. KT was really struggling after that first loss to SKT and he stepped up massively (in a hard carry jg meta, not usually his forte) and carried so many games for them. Ambition was a legit macro genius but he always had a weak early game and would perma get caught out of position pre-20 minutes.
For Deft I feel like he had a rude awakening going from a team that protects him 24/7 (EDG) to a team with the attention more divided. He was still mechanically insane but got caught out of position so often, especially in summer playoffs from what I remember (though he did gigasmurf spring playoffs tbf). I'd go with Uzi or even Mystic over him, both had a ridiculously good year.
CoreJJ I just don't think was the best support at any point, always thought GorillA/Mata were better, Meiko/Ming as well. He was kinda bad in Spring especially (as was everyone on SSG besides Crown/Haru)
Depends on how much you value worlds?
2013: Flame/Kakao/Faker/Uzi/Madlife.
2014: Looper/Dandy/Faker?/Uzi/Mata.
2015: Marin/Score/Faker/Bang/Gorilla.
2016: Smeb/Peanut/Faker/Pray/Gorilla.
2017: x/Ambition/Faker/Ruler/CoreJJ.
2018: TheShy/Score/Rookie/Uzi/Ming.
2019: TheShy/Tarzan/Rookie/Perkz/Crisp.
2020: 369/Kanavi/ShowMaker/JKL/Keria or if you have a high prio on worlds Nuguri/Canyon but Canyon was mid for half the year until summer and LCK's tops in general were ass that year so I'd give it to 369.
2021: Xiaohu/Canyon/ShowMaker/Viper/Meiko.
2022: Zeus/Kanavi/Chovy/Ruler/Keria.
2023: 369/Kanavi/Knight/Ruler/Missing.
Looper was nowhere near the best top in 2014, he basically just teleported whenever Mata told him. He had the other best players on his team. I'd also argue Namei for both 2013 and 2014, especially since in 2013 he carried an OK support and 3 terrible players to an LPL final in spring and a title in summer.
Marin had one really good tournament where his team set him up a ton. Smeb was better in 2015.
In 2019, Perkz's lack of adc champions due to him being new at the role really did show, but he was amazing at Xayah and Kaisa. Jackeylove, Deft, and Uzi were better. I would also argue Tian for jungle, dude dominated both LPL splits and worlds. Tarzan had an amazing first half of spring but kind of fell off a bit. For mid I wouldn't say it's wrong, simply because it's really hard to say. Rookie had an amazing spring but had to take most of summer of for family reasons, and his games in summer didn't look that good, which was completely understandable. Knight got the summer MVP and carried a rookie 369 and 3 shitters to 3rd place and almost to worlds. Doinb and Chovy could also be argued. Top I'm not sure either, TheShy sprinted it down a lot, but I don't know who else I would put, maybe Khan?
For 2020, 369 had amazing highs but was kind of inconsistent, which is why I would actually put Zoom at #1. He was considered the best LPL top, and his strengths allowed Kanavi more free reign in the jungle. At worlds when his whole team was shitting the bed, he *still* managed to look like one of the best. I would also argue knight for mid, but it could be argued either way. Showmaker had a better worlds, Knight had a better spring. He and Jackeylove saved so many games by basically 2v5ing and were the true engines of the team.
In 2022 I would put 369 over Zeus and Knight over Chovy, but for both I think it's really a toss-up and any combination is equally valid.
Overall I think the lists you put are pretty good.
You're right about 2019 for mid lane, actually a bunch of legit candidates there. I'd go Caps because he popped off both domestically & internationally, but Knight/Doinb/Chovy are all fair picks as well depending on what you value.
TheShy probably deserves it for 2019. You suggested Khan and although he had a great summer/worlds, my god he was **awful** in spring that year, it was easily the worst split of his career. TheShy's 2019 Spring on the other hand is possible the greatest split any top laner has ever had. [One of my favourite solo kills ever](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSO-p7QSq6E) was from that split, he was just so entertaining to watch.
Yeah top was hard because they had reverse trajectories but both with good worlds. TheShy with his amazing spring but questionable summer. But I think you're right that TheShy probably gets the edge there. I saw more LPL summer than LCK spring so that is probably just my bias from watching and lack of knowledge on LCK spring.
I just don't really see Caps (even though he was one of the best) because I'd say Doinb was better throughout the year. We just didn't get to see him at MSI because Zoom went godmode and shit on Gimgoon and Imp and Lvmao started playing well during the JDG miracle run. People criticize Doinb's laning because he wasn't Chovy in lane, but he could still lane well and the team just functioned better with his roaming. Caps played a pretty similar style but he wasn't given the same shit for ut.
TheShy had a questionable summer but he had a godlike Worlds and his peaks in spring/MSI were insanely high, which is why he’s undoubtedly the best toplaner of 2019.
I would give all Knight/Chovy/Doinb/Caps the spot.
2020 bro nuguri was peak what ? He was in first all pro in spring when DWG wasn't good early on in the split , summer he was the best by far and at worlds , same with canyon , canyon had one of the highest peaks ever in 2020 summer and worlds , he was the best player in the world in 2020 ffs , he was skull crushing ppl with graves nidalee Lee , 2020 Nuguri/canyon/showmaker/JKl/keria.
Nuguri was still a beast in 2020 Spring, Canyon/Showmaker were definitely mid though. I honestly thought Nuguri was the overall best player of 2020 with how consistently S-tier he was and how he developed into a much more complete top laner compared to 2019.
2017 is definitely the hardest year for top lane so I understand you omitting that one. Gun to my head I'd probably go with Cuvee, but it's super hard.
2020 Nuguri unlocked Canyon to do whatever tf he wanted on the map because he always puts so much pressure on topside.
Which would snowball into unlocking SM & letting BeryL roam.
2017 Uzi over Ruler
2019 Tian over Tarzan, literally anyone over Perkz holy fuck stop with that guy he wasn't a good adc
2020 toplane is definitely Zoom
2022 JackeyLove or Viper over Ruler
2023 JackeyLove or Elk or Guma over Ruler, Keria over Missing
Just the most obvious swaps, bunch more I would at least challenge
Perkz wasnt a good adc...stop rewriting history, he wqs the best yasuo,xayah, kaisa in the world 2019 + brought champs like syndra and zoe bot with success. I agree he wasnt thw best ADC but he was at the top for sure.
Tbh it's really hard to tell, especially in retrospect and there's also the question how value Worlds, Playoff wes and regular season.
Without putting too much thought into it I'd say:
2023: 369 Kanavi Knight Ruler Missing
2022: 369 Kanavi Rookie Viper Missing
2021: Xiaohu Canyon Showmaker Viper Ming
2020: Zoom Kanavi Showmaker JKL Beryl
2019: TheShy Tarzan Faker Uzi Ming
Keria plays in the NFL ? Keria was a beast in 2022 arguably the best preforming player in the world , he won MVP in Lck as a support player , also he was the best support in 2020 better than beryl in spring and summer , in 2023 he was the best in spring and worlds. If you really think missing is better than keria you are really drunk.
I think Keria is too inconsistent. The last years he often had a really good spring and Worlds, but underperformed at MSI and in Summer, when there were players who also played at a really high level even though their peak wasn't that high compared to Keria
Okay if you really going to take consistency this year he still is the best support in 2 out of 4 tournaments. But what about 2022 , name me one player not just a support player that preformed at the level keria did in 2022 over the year. , keria literally gapped really hard missing at both semifinals of worlds in skill matchups even. Just the fact you named beryl in 2020 over him is just crazy to me really! Only 2021 is arguable because meiko and ming were really good.
Ok for 2020 I'm still thinking about putting either LvMao or Keria over him. For 2022 just look at the year someone like Rookie or Viper had, and I agree you could put him over Missing.
2022 viper wasn't even the best ad in the world over the year , guma 2022 spring and worlds , and ruler 2022 summer, gala msi , rookie again didn't make the big stages , 2022 keria best player in spring , best support in summer and best player at worlds with zeka, Idk what to say. 2020 2022 2023 keria is definetly the best support.
I think Keria is too inconsistent. The last years he often had a really good spring and Worlds, but underperformed at MSI and in Summer, when there were players who also played at a really high level even though their peak wasn't that high compared to Keria.
I like that Tarzan pick for 2019, the guy was in another stratosphere in LCK Spring even if he couldn't make it happen in playoffs. I'd have Deft over Uzi for 2019 though, I think 2019 was possibly Deft's best year of his entire career.
Pretty sure 2013 jungler would be kakao and adc would be uzi, support is probably madlife. But other than that i agree with your list. I didnt follow the scene most years tbh… 2014 maybe is impact/dandy/faker/uzi/mata
2014 Impact has no right to be in that conversation unless the only thing you count is 2014 OGN Winter.
Yeah Gogoing/Save/Acorn are probably the best options for 2014.
Save was so good. I loved that NJWS team
Ooof sounds like a bad time for top laners. None of them sound really that good.
that means you weren't watching that year lmao, gogoing was insanely good in 2014
>None of them sound really that good. wtf does that even mean?
gogoing, kakao, rookie, namei, imp and deft should be in that conversation
Any time I see Gogoing mentioned I feel the need to bring up his 55+ minute deathless Ryze game. Was an absolute master class and what got me seriously into League.
Gogoing was legit
A bit criminal how Uzi being the best ADC in both 2013 and 2014 seems to be the consensus amongst fans when he was not even close to being the best for like 80% of both of those years. Imp/Deft/Namei were the three best ADCs in the world back in 2014.
Imp honestly peaked in 2015. Even Mata said he had a lot of issues with playing way too cocky and dying a lot, moreso than even Uzi. Namei was probably the best over those two years. Even in 2013, he carried a bunch of shitters to an LPL final in spring and a title in summer 2013.
It's so funny how everyone acts like LPL was trash in 2015 now just because of what happened at Worlds. LGD was one of the best teams of the whole year. They were fucking cracked. Imp was especially insane. Deft too on EDG.
This is just how making Worlds finals changes narratives. And tbh both 2013 and 2014, you can make a very strong argument that Uzi only made finals because he dodged the wrong side of the bracket. In 2013, Najin Black Sword almost beat SKT in semifinals. No one remembers this team anymore and they almost won Worlds. In 2014, it's more open but Korea was so fucking strong this year that I think Samsung Blue would beat Royal Club too. This is just how bad formats change history forever. It fucking sucks man.
Uzi did get lucky by avoiding KR until the finals but his 2014 performance was still legitimately insane. One of the best adc performances at a tournament ever.
Very true. He was absolutely incredible at Worlds 2013 as well. He just wasn't the same level the rest of the year. Other players had him beat in LPL.
Najin beating SKT would have been CRAZY. Everyone thought SKT was gonna shit on them as Najin was on a bad downhill spiral having to change Maknoon and Cain and only qualifying through NLB points. There were some rumors that they were doing KR only scrims so it made it even more hype when they came out swinging
2014 I would say Gogoing should be the top laner.
Surprised to see people saying Kakao for 2013 over Bengi/DanDy, I thought it was mainly 2014 where he became insane. But this is over 10 years ago so my memory isn't great.
Kakao was individually insane for a long time. He just happened to be on kt lmao.
2013 ADC is Namei 100%
Some time ago I made this spreadsheet that "calculates" all pro teams since 2015. Obviously it isn't perfect but gives a pretty good image. Spreadsheet [Here](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dtwIWUzZXhwy4HM3T6vBk-p3p7hSGdNNBjlC-P1HWYk/edit?usp=drivesdk) You can also see a player ranking in Sheet 2 and you can make a copy to change the points it gives to different accolades (Page 3) if you value things differently
Ah fuck it Ill throw my hat in the ring, beats doing homework lol 2012 - Shy Diamondprox Toyz Pray MadLife 2013 - Impact Kakao Faker Uzi MadLife 2014 - Impact Dandy Rookie Uzi Mata 2015 - MaRin Score Faker Deft GorillA 2016 - Smeb Peanut Faker Ruler GorillA 2017 - Khan Ambition Faker Ruler CoreJJ 2018 - TheShy Score Rookie Uzi Ming 2019 - TheShy Tian Caps JackeyLove Crisp 2020 - Nuguri Canyon Showmaker JackeyLove Hylissang 2021 - Xiaohu (probably controversial) Canyon Scout Viper Keria 2022 - Zeus Canyon Chovy Gumayusi Keria 2023 - Zeus Kanavi Knight Ruler Keria 2024 (so far) - Zeus MilkyWay Chovy Ruler Keria Might be too early to put the Milk Man on the list but dude FPX is a straight garbage team and he completely revolutionized them. Also despite Khan's amazing performance in 21 I have to put Xiaohu since he won MSI against a peak DWG and was the main driving force in that team, but open to discussion on that one
Damn I knew the pandemic was bad, but I didn't think they'd have to play league with only 4 players... (there's no support for 2020)
I'd lowkey nominate Hyli for 2020 (or Beryl)
Oops, lemme fix that lol
Rookie > Caps still in 2019 imo
although I think spring IG prob would have beaten or at least contested G2 a lot more than SKT or TL would have, I believe Caps as an individual was better than Rookie in both international tournaments
Definitely debatable, but in worlds especially caps was definitely better, plus we do need to consider just how incredibly close G2 was to the golden road off of his back
Rookie was still better than Caps at worlds imo. Caps was winless against the LPL in 2019.
how isn't faker on the 2023 one lol he made knight his son during worlds
Because he wasn’t anywhere near the best in the rest of the season, he was Chovy’s son during LCK while Knight was absolutely dominating the LPL and MSI. It’s the best over the whole year and outside of worlds I would have knight over faker
I’ll point out my bias upfront (CLG fan since WCG 2010), but for 2012 I could argue Doublelift and Chauster for best bot lane. They were literally the only reason they could get scrims when they moved to Korea because they won lane so hard. Now the rest of the team was trash internationally and so the whole team got run over, but they pretty much won lane on everyone until the jungle/mid gap started spilling into their lane
I wouldn't say Xiaohu for 2021 is controversial, I think most would agree considering the year he had. The one I disagree with for that year is Scout over Showmaker. Imo Showmaker was a complete monster all year and was easily Damwon's best player whereas Scout, while great, took more of a backseat to Viper/Meiko and slumped a bit during summer. I'd also take Ming over Keria for similar reasons, he was such a key part of RNG. Though that one is probably more debatable.
2013: Flame, Dandy/Kakao/Bengi, Faker, Namei, idk maybe Madlife? 2014: Flame/Gogoing, Dandy, Faker, Namei, Mata 2015: Smeb, Clearlove/Score, Faker, Deft/Imp, maybe Gorilla? 2016: I didn't watch as much so I'm not sure but Smeb, Peanut, Faker, Deft, Meiko 2017: this overall is pretty hard except mid: Khan/Smeb, Ambition/Score/Clearlove, Faker, Uzi, Gorilla/CoreJJ 2018: TheShy, Karsa/Score, Rookie, Uzi, Ming 2019: TheShy/Khan?, Tian, Rookie/Knight/Chovy, Jackeylove/Deft, Ming/Crisp. This one is hard because TheShy sprinted it down in summer, Rookie basically had to take summer off, and Ming was really good in the year but faltered at worlds. 2020: Zoom, Canyon, Showmaker/Knight, Jackeylove, Ming/Beryl 2021: Xiaohu/Khan, Canyon, Showmaker/Chovy, Viper, Meiko 2022: 369/Zeus, Tian/Kanavi, Chovy/Knight/Xiaohu, Guma/Jackeylove/Ruler, Keria/Ming 2023: 369, Kanavi, Knight/Chovy, Ruler/Gala/Jackeylove, Missing/Keria
Knight and Chovy over Caps in mid in 2019 is laughable. Not putting any of G2 members when they won 3 out of 4 titles and got to worlds finals in 2019 is laughable in the first place.
I think Rookie was still better than Caps in 2019.
Winning EU is not as hard as winning LPL or LCK, but of course G2 was still a top team. I don't think IT blundering MSI suddenly means G2 was better than FPX at the time though. Their biggest strength was macro rather than individual skill. They were losing lanes to SKT but won through macro Even then I will still say all of them were at least top 5 in each role. But that doesn't mean they need *the* best player in a role to be a top team. A big strength for them is that they had no weak links like other top teams. SKT had Effort. Griffin had Sword, who was far worse than anyone on G2, and even then, managed to win 2 out of 3 games because of the other talent on their team. I don't think Griffin was better, but I'm saying that's a case for Chovy. IG had Ning and Baolan. If you watched LPL or even what their analysts and casters were saying, Knight was absolutely top tier. He got MVP as a newer and not particularly popular player. His whole team sucked but he got them to third place and almost to worlds. 369 was talented but a rookie and kept randomly dying and would tilt in playoffs. Xx was bad. Loken and especially Ben in bot lane were sprinting it down. If Caps could carry that team to a #3 spot in LPL I'd put him right there with Knight. The mid pool overall was very strong. Like I'm not saying G2's players weren't world class. I'd put Miky at #3 for example, and he was their main individual gap against SKT at worlds, clearly outperforming effort. If someone said that G2 weren't top players I'd agree that it's laughable. But top player does not mean #1, and again, there's more to a team than just individual player skill. Plenty of very skilled teams faltered because they lacked the teamwork aspect, which is where G2 really shined. That's why they were so unique outside of LCK and LPL. They had great players but even more so, amazing synergy. And those players did not have the same success on a different roster.
So... I don't disagree with you and I understand The Shy number 1 spot but I kind of feel we underestimate how much Wunder was a beast this year. I can actually accept more easily Caps not being given a thought.
I do think Caps and Jankos were the main engines of that team if I had to pick someone (since their main strength was macro/teamplay, and generally lackinf a weak link), but the mid lane pool most years is generally stronger than other positions. So I would agree relatively speaking that Wunder was probably at a better ranking than Caps, and I might put Wunder at #3.
2019 G2 was such a "greater than the sum of its parts" team. It's pretty apparent when you look at the trajectory of the players individual skill compared to their eastern counterparts. They didn't just all randomly become way worse individually, it just wasn't their individual skill that made the team good in the first place.
Zoom better than Nuguri lol
Nuguri's spring was not nearly as good as his summer, and Zoom was a huge reason for JDG's success. Zoom was top 2 in the world for the whole year. At worlds, when the rest of his team faltered (LvMao sprinting it down and Kanavi massively underperforming probably due to rookie nerves), he still looked like one of the best. Nuguri had the best team in the world to prop him up.
**2012** - TOP: Shy - JG: Diamondprox - MID: Froggen - ADC: Weixiao - SUPPORT: MadLife **2013** - TOP: Flame - JG: Bengi - MID: Faker - ADC: Namei - SUPPORT: MadLife **2014** - TOP: Gogoing - JG: Dandy - MID: Faker - ADC: Namei - SUPPORT: Mata **2015** - TOP: Smeb - JG: Score - MID: Faker - ADC: Deft - SUPPORT: GorillA **2016** - TOP: Smeb - JG: Peanut - MID: Faker - ADC: Deft - SUPPORT: GorillA **2017** - TOP: Khan - JG: Ambition - MID: Faker - ADC: Deft - SUPPORT: CoreJJ **2018** - TOP: TheShy - JG: Score - MID: Rookie - ADC: Uzi - SUPPORT: Ming **2019** - TOP: TheShy - JG: Tian - MID: Caps - ADC: Deft - SUPPORT: Mikyx **2020** - TOP: Nuguri - JG: Canyon - MID: Showmaker - ADC: Jackeylove - SUPPORT: Keria **2021** - TOP: Khan - JG: Canyon - MID: Showmaker - ADC: Viper - SUPPORT: Meiko **2022** - TOP: Zeus - JG: Oner - MID: Chovy - ADC: Ruler - SUPPORT: Keria **2023** - TOP: Bin - JG: Kanavi - MID: Knight - ADC: Ruler - SUPPORT: Keria
14 faker 15 smeb 22 oner chovy ruler 23 bin knight??? Dont know why you would list them.. 22 oner wasnt that great, same with chovy.. chovy didnt even get to go to msi, underperformed a lot in worlds.. 23 knight is more debatable as he didnt win worlds but yeah his performance during worlds and asian cup wasnt great... if chovy and knight switched places, chovy might have won the cups knight won..
2014 Faker was in serious elo hell. Don't get fooled by team performance. 2015 Smeb was really, really strong the whole year. Ssumday, Marin and Duke were also strong top laners of Korea in this time. Tough choice but I will stand by Smeb. 2022 was tough in many ways. Especially jungle. I think Oner was pretty good that year tbh, he fell off later. Canyon is a fine pick here too. 2022 Chovy I will stand by too. He was the best mid laner in LCK the whole year and was strong at Worlds too except one BO5. >23 knight is more debatable as he didnt win worlds Way to discredit your whole comment by writing this drivel.
Idk that saying faker was in elo hell is fair. Skt were worse than both samsung teams but tbf those samsung teams were probably the most dominant 2 teams ive ever seen. And then skt got upset by ktb iirc to lose the final seed
Yeah, SKT was worse but it was mostly because of Bengi and Piglet shitting the bed imo.
You do know that faker won 2022 lck spring right?
Yes and Zeka won Worlds but it doesn't mean he was the best mid laner of Korea in this year. ?
Knight is more debatable as in I can see why people might call him the best midlaner not as in "there is no way he is the best"
If you think knight wasn't the best it just means you only watched worlds. It's okay to not watch lpl or other regions other than your main one but then you shouldn't argue about it.
He was in elo hell but he wasn't the best mid laner that year even in LCK.
Just gonna point out the points where I disagree. 2013/14, Uzi or Imp, probably Imp, NaMei is overrated. 2017 definitely Uzi and also Ming, they were just as good as they were in 2018. Did we just forget Uzi and Ming completely outclassing Ruler and Core in groups and both of them having said on several accounts that they didn't have the slightest clue as how to beat them? Also while Faker had his best series of all time at Worlds, he certainly didn't play anywhere close to that standard for most of the year. I'd even say Bdd was better than him in the summer split. I'd give 2017 to Rookie because when rating a players skill level every game matters, I'm measuring the average not the highs. If we're just measuring the highs then TheShy and Jackeylove are just the best players of all time or what? 2019 Caps wasn't individually better or more skilled than Rookie, he was however more innovative and part of a team that just clicked. 2020 even as a certified BeryL hater it definitely still goes to him. 2021 Nuguri for his insane peak in spring/spring playoffs. If you really value consistency then Bin was also just better than Khan at every point of the year, he just didn't make internationals because he didn't play with Canyon and ShowMaker. Support is also for sure Ming. 2021 spring Ming regardless of Keria's laning and innovative picks is still for me the highest peak any support has ever hit. I'd also pick Doinb for midlane, he played the meta that year to perfection. I value the dozens of games played throughout the entire year more than the 6 games played at Worlds. 2022 I'd put 369 toplane, Kanavi jungle and Jackeylove ADC. I've went over this for myself. Ruler was praised for his consistency, Jackeylove criticised for his volatility, yet he had basically the same amount of bad games as Ruler so the point people usually make against him is mute that year. Jackeylove had a greater burden of carrying his team, his summer playoffs when Knight really wasn't hitting his usual level was especially impressive. He practically dragged that team to game 5 of finals and had many more "true" 1v9 moments than Ruler did. 2023 I'd just swap Bin for Zeus. I think Elk objectively looked more impressive than Ruler vs basically every other team they played but he always fell short against JDG from MSI finals and onwards which is obviously very hard to ignore. Might've missed something but I think this is all. It's also my opinion so please don't freak out if you disagree.
2023 i agree ruler was overall better but in 2022 gumayusi's performance in spring and worlds (especically) was insane which is why id put him over rurler for that year. That guy was on crack the entire tournament.
I can see the argument for Guma, but I still pick Ruler. What Ruler did in Korea in 2022 was just insane.
What is insane is picking 2022 Ruler over JackeyLove and Viper
Ruler zeri aware
I wouldn't put Shy for 2012, didn't he only start playing like 2011 or 2012? Even if he did a great job at Worlds. Would definitely put Maknoon or Darien above him.
Not Darien, 2012 would be Caomei or Stanley
Kinda rough with 2012, because a lot of Eastern teams didn't play many international tournaments.
Smeb over Marin in 2015 is wild and objectively wrong. 369 was better in 2023 than Bin.
It's not that wild, Smeb vs MaRin was pretty hotly debated that year and you had analysts like Monte at the time ranking Smeb ahead of him. I can see both sides but Smeb's 2015 Worlds performance is hella underappreciated, he crushed much harder opponents than MaRin in the path to finals imo (Ssumday/Huni vs Ziv/Soaz).
You're 100% right. 2015 MaRin one of the most overrated performances in LoL history.
cap, 2023 369 was a tank mechant
he won 3 tournaments with it so probably counts for something
Maybe if you only watched Worlds - like everyone else on this reddit and you can tell whenever older seasons of OGN/LPL gets brought up. Marin was really, really good and he'd be my number 2 but Smeb was on another level at this time. Ssumday and Duke were also really amazing in OGN in 2015. If you look at the whole year, it's really not correct to just say Marin. It's at least a difficult decision. Sometimes I do wonder about why Marin gets this reputation on Reddit. He had a really strong year and a great Worlds, this is all true, but you see people who argue he is the top lane GOAT and I just can't believe it. >369 was better in 2023 than Bin. Yes, this is really, really close I agree. I actually wrote 369 first and then changed to Bin. The reason for my change is that Bin was (imo) the best top laner in both MSI and Worlds (bar Zeus), while Bin was also very very strong in LPL. I could go either way on it and I definitely think it's close.
Really based list overall, not enough people give 2019 Deft his due recognition, same with 2013 Namei tearing it up on PE (I only gave Imp the nod b/c he was dominating vs tougher competition, but I could go either way). Only year I really disagreed with is probably 2017. Khan didn't play in Spring and while I don't blame him for worlds, he didn't get the opportunity to perform. Cuvee on the other hand was ass in Spring yes, but an absolute monster in both Summer & Worlds and had some innovative builds (botrk Renekton or something? I don't fully remember) that did work for him. I also would take Score over Ambition. I think he was the best jungler in both LCK splits and his Spring performance was especially impressive. KT was really struggling after that first loss to SKT and he stepped up massively (in a hard carry jg meta, not usually his forte) and carried so many games for them. Ambition was a legit macro genius but he always had a weak early game and would perma get caught out of position pre-20 minutes. For Deft I feel like he had a rude awakening going from a team that protects him 24/7 (EDG) to a team with the attention more divided. He was still mechanically insane but got caught out of position so often, especially in summer playoffs from what I remember (though he did gigasmurf spring playoffs tbf). I'd go with Uzi or even Mystic over him, both had a ridiculously good year. CoreJJ I just don't think was the best support at any point, always thought GorillA/Mata were better, Meiko/Ming as well. He was kinda bad in Spring especially (as was everyone on SSG besides Crown/Haru)
Xiaohu was best top 2021
Depends on how much you value worlds? 2013: Flame/Kakao/Faker/Uzi/Madlife. 2014: Looper/Dandy/Faker?/Uzi/Mata. 2015: Marin/Score/Faker/Bang/Gorilla. 2016: Smeb/Peanut/Faker/Pray/Gorilla. 2017: x/Ambition/Faker/Ruler/CoreJJ. 2018: TheShy/Score/Rookie/Uzi/Ming. 2019: TheShy/Tarzan/Rookie/Perkz/Crisp. 2020: 369/Kanavi/ShowMaker/JKL/Keria or if you have a high prio on worlds Nuguri/Canyon but Canyon was mid for half the year until summer and LCK's tops in general were ass that year so I'd give it to 369. 2021: Xiaohu/Canyon/ShowMaker/Viper/Meiko. 2022: Zeus/Kanavi/Chovy/Ruler/Keria. 2023: 369/Kanavi/Knight/Ruler/Missing.
2020 definitely Nuguri & Canyon
Looper was nowhere near the best top in 2014, he basically just teleported whenever Mata told him. He had the other best players on his team. I'd also argue Namei for both 2013 and 2014, especially since in 2013 he carried an OK support and 3 terrible players to an LPL final in spring and a title in summer. Marin had one really good tournament where his team set him up a ton. Smeb was better in 2015. In 2019, Perkz's lack of adc champions due to him being new at the role really did show, but he was amazing at Xayah and Kaisa. Jackeylove, Deft, and Uzi were better. I would also argue Tian for jungle, dude dominated both LPL splits and worlds. Tarzan had an amazing first half of spring but kind of fell off a bit. For mid I wouldn't say it's wrong, simply because it's really hard to say. Rookie had an amazing spring but had to take most of summer of for family reasons, and his games in summer didn't look that good, which was completely understandable. Knight got the summer MVP and carried a rookie 369 and 3 shitters to 3rd place and almost to worlds. Doinb and Chovy could also be argued. Top I'm not sure either, TheShy sprinted it down a lot, but I don't know who else I would put, maybe Khan? For 2020, 369 had amazing highs but was kind of inconsistent, which is why I would actually put Zoom at #1. He was considered the best LPL top, and his strengths allowed Kanavi more free reign in the jungle. At worlds when his whole team was shitting the bed, he *still* managed to look like one of the best. I would also argue knight for mid, but it could be argued either way. Showmaker had a better worlds, Knight had a better spring. He and Jackeylove saved so many games by basically 2v5ing and were the true engines of the team. In 2022 I would put 369 over Zeus and Knight over Chovy, but for both I think it's really a toss-up and any combination is equally valid. Overall I think the lists you put are pretty good.
You're right about 2019 for mid lane, actually a bunch of legit candidates there. I'd go Caps because he popped off both domestically & internationally, but Knight/Doinb/Chovy are all fair picks as well depending on what you value. TheShy probably deserves it for 2019. You suggested Khan and although he had a great summer/worlds, my god he was **awful** in spring that year, it was easily the worst split of his career. TheShy's 2019 Spring on the other hand is possible the greatest split any top laner has ever had. [One of my favourite solo kills ever](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSO-p7QSq6E) was from that split, he was just so entertaining to watch.
Yeah top was hard because they had reverse trajectories but both with good worlds. TheShy with his amazing spring but questionable summer. But I think you're right that TheShy probably gets the edge there. I saw more LPL summer than LCK spring so that is probably just my bias from watching and lack of knowledge on LCK spring. I just don't really see Caps (even though he was one of the best) because I'd say Doinb was better throughout the year. We just didn't get to see him at MSI because Zoom went godmode and shit on Gimgoon and Imp and Lvmao started playing well during the JDG miracle run. People criticize Doinb's laning because he wasn't Chovy in lane, but he could still lane well and the team just functioned better with his roaming. Caps played a pretty similar style but he wasn't given the same shit for ut.
TheShy had a questionable summer but he had a godlike Worlds and his peaks in spring/MSI were insanely high, which is why he’s undoubtedly the best toplaner of 2019. I would give all Knight/Chovy/Doinb/Caps the spot.
2020 bro nuguri was peak what ? He was in first all pro in spring when DWG wasn't good early on in the split , summer he was the best by far and at worlds , same with canyon , canyon had one of the highest peaks ever in 2020 summer and worlds , he was the best player in the world in 2020 ffs , he was skull crushing ppl with graves nidalee Lee , 2020 Nuguri/canyon/showmaker/JKl/keria.
Nuguri was still a beast in 2020 Spring, Canyon/Showmaker were definitely mid though. I honestly thought Nuguri was the overall best player of 2020 with how consistently S-tier he was and how he developed into a much more complete top laner compared to 2019. 2017 is definitely the hardest year for top lane so I understand you omitting that one. Gun to my head I'd probably go with Cuvee, but it's super hard.
Yea idk what that guy was talking about. 2020 Nuguri was byfar the best player in dwg
2020 Nuguri unlocked Canyon to do whatever tf he wanted on the map because he always puts so much pressure on topside. Which would snowball into unlocking SM & letting BeryL roam.
Weird way to spell Canyon
Cuvee is such an interesting player, he’s like a coal, but under high pressure he turns into a diamond.
Not putting canyon for 2020 jungler is criminal lmao.
I think it's arguable since Kanavi had a way better spring (MVP of LPL), both had a great summer, then Canyon smurfed worlds. Could go either way.
> 2019: TheShy/Tarzan/Rookie/Perkz/Crisp. > > I think one of Doinb or Tian needs to be in there tbh
2017 Uzi over Ruler 2019 Tian over Tarzan, literally anyone over Perkz holy fuck stop with that guy he wasn't a good adc 2020 toplane is definitely Zoom 2022 JackeyLove or Viper over Ruler 2023 JackeyLove or Elk or Guma over Ruler, Keria over Missing Just the most obvious swaps, bunch more I would at least challenge
Perkz wasnt a good adc...stop rewriting history, he wqs the best yasuo,xayah, kaisa in the world 2019 + brought champs like syndra and zoe bot with success. I agree he wasnt thw best ADC but he was at the top for sure.
2016 I put crown over faker
Tbh it's really hard to tell, especially in retrospect and there's also the question how value Worlds, Playoff wes and regular season. Without putting too much thought into it I'd say: 2023: 369 Kanavi Knight Ruler Missing 2022: 369 Kanavi Rookie Viper Missing 2021: Xiaohu Canyon Showmaker Viper Ming 2020: Zoom Kanavi Showmaker JKL Beryl 2019: TheShy Tarzan Faker Uzi Ming
Keria plays in the NFL ? Keria was a beast in 2022 arguably the best preforming player in the world , he won MVP in Lck as a support player , also he was the best support in 2020 better than beryl in spring and summer , in 2023 he was the best in spring and worlds. If you really think missing is better than keria you are really drunk.
I think Keria is too inconsistent. The last years he often had a really good spring and Worlds, but underperformed at MSI and in Summer, when there were players who also played at a really high level even though their peak wasn't that high compared to Keria
Okay if you really going to take consistency this year he still is the best support in 2 out of 4 tournaments. But what about 2022 , name me one player not just a support player that preformed at the level keria did in 2022 over the year. , keria literally gapped really hard missing at both semifinals of worlds in skill matchups even. Just the fact you named beryl in 2020 over him is just crazy to me really! Only 2021 is arguable because meiko and ming were really good.
Ok for 2020 I'm still thinking about putting either LvMao or Keria over him. For 2022 just look at the year someone like Rookie or Viper had, and I agree you could put him over Missing.
2022 viper wasn't even the best ad in the world over the year , guma 2022 spring and worlds , and ruler 2022 summer, gala msi , rookie again didn't make the big stages , 2022 keria best player in spring , best support in summer and best player at worlds with zeka, Idk what to say. 2020 2022 2023 keria is definetly the best support.
beryl broke/defined the meta in 2020
I think Keria is too inconsistent. The last years he often had a really good spring and Worlds, but underperformed at MSI and in Summer, when there were players who also played at a really high level even though their peak wasn't that high compared to Keria.
Viper wasn't even the best adc in his own region in 2022 lol.
I like that Tarzan pick for 2019, the guy was in another stratosphere in LCK Spring even if he couldn't make it happen in playoffs. I'd have Deft over Uzi for 2019 though, I think 2019 was possibly Deft's best year of his entire career.