Which LCK supports bring the POWR over the last year?
By the end of 2021 MSI, Beryl found himself getting flamed by commentators left and right. His performances on Nautilus were lambasted. He was outmatched by both Europeans and Americans. And, of course, Damwon Kia Gaming lost to Royal Never Give Up when it mattered most.
But this is a player whose average POWR over the last year was 45 – far and away higher than the average pro player. Amongst his Korean peers, he is still the record setter. Some chastise his performance in the LCK, too, but the numbers speak for themselves. When it comes to Korean players, Beryl’s roams are still the deadliest on the rift.
Supports are often overlooked, but you don’t need me to tell you their plays make and break games. These critical utilitarians continue to drive dynamic games with both huge ultimates and subtle shields. Sifting through the Korean ranks, support players emerge as the sturdy bedrock.
Amongst these legends, who are the best of the best?
Number 1: Beryl of DWG KIA
Are we surprised? Beryl is the name that comes to mind for any fan of the LCK, and, frankly, any fan of the pro League scene in general. He brings unheard of supports like Sejuani and Heimerdinger to the world stage (and wins). He brought Korea a world title for the first time since 2017. And he’s the global face for Bilgewater’s own Pyke.
Beyond the hype, though, one finds that he is an incredibly consistent support. This is much the trend for our LCK support superstars: the data indicates that they often attain POWR in a similar bracket. For Beryl, that looks like 16 games in the last year between 54 and 55 POWR. It also looks like 17 games at POWR of 60 or greater. That’s fairly uncommon: many players across the scene have high highs and low lows.
On top of reliable play, though, Beryl holds a polished average POWR of 45. He also rocks an impressive highlight of 76 POWR on Gragas. If he opts for the pick, you can bet that’ll be a big game – he has an 88% win rate on the boorish drinker. He does well on a plethora of champs, though: he showed the world 26 different supports in the last year alone.
He has dipped a bit this year, currently third in POWR among LCK supports at the time of publishing.
Number 2: Life of Gen.G
Consistency remains king in LCK supports. Of 127 games in the last year, Life scored a POWR rating of between 50 and 59 in 40 of them. The one-time trainee for Gen.G replaced Kellin and has brought the team further than ever. It can be said that Life gave the team a new lease on...you get the idea. [Editor's Note: Kellin is currently second in POWR among LCK supports at the time of publishing, so time will tell.]
Life maintains an average POWR rating of 42, the very same as C9’s Vulcan. Eleven of Life’s games are 60 POWR and higher. He also holds a 100 percent winrate on Taric with four games of four as wins. His highest POWR rating of 74 scraped the sky with Jarvan IV’s polearm.
Number 3: Keria of T1
Speaking of Jarvan IV, as a support it’s still rare to see in Europe and North America. In fact, in 2020 he was only played by one player in regular play: Keria of T1. He only played the champ one time, but that’s because we’re talking about a player with a champ pool of 29 in the last year alone.
From DRX to T1, Keria provides a huge amount of reliability to his fellow bot laner and to his teams at large. His average POWR is locked at 39. Of those same 144 games, 34 reached a POWR rating between 50 and 59. An additional 12 games reached 60 or above, topping at 73 POWR on a particularly epic game as Sett. This is a man who won a game as support Kayle, a champion neither Beryl or Life even played in regular games.
This is a man who would like to play Yasuo support on stage someday.
Number 4: Vsta of Hanwha Life Esports
The 20-year-old player is new to the competitive scene. But that hasn’t stopped him from stomping the competition: he went 2/1/12 on Rell against Gen.G, one of the LCK’s deadliest teams.
While his consistency may not be as clear cut or strong as his counterparts in the top five, it’s still noteworthy. To compare to Vulcan again, Vsta’s highest POWR on that Rell play reached 68. Vulcan maxed out at 67 on Durand’s idol, Galio. Interestingly, Vsta holds an average POWR of 37. A game between these two would certainly be a dynamic watch.
Understandably, Vsta leans toward Rell. The young pro throws in stalwart picks like Janna, though, and Maokai.
Number 5: Effort of Liiv SANDBOX
Fifth in a list like this is no kind of knock: the former T1 and now LSB support maintains an average of 36, just one point less than Vsta at number four. That’s just the difference of one or two games, one or two deaths. And Effort is no one to scoff at.
Though the player may have joined T1 after the Golden Age, his time with the team was still strong. As Nautilus for the team he notched a POWR of 61. His personal best over the last year was as Alistar, hitting a POWR of 62, for his new home team of LSB.
Consistency and reliability shine through, once again: Effort held a POWR between 50 and 59 for 31 games of 127. Lux and Shen show up in the roster, both with wins, and one remembers that playing the master of none can mean that a bind or taunt goes unmentioned before the ADC scores a huge double kill.
Never fear, the support is here
The support engine chugs mightily along. While POWR may look different for the unsung heroes of League, there’s no denying the strength of these five players.
