The Best Players in the LEC: 2020-2021
It’s a meme: Europe beats NA. Send in the trolls on the Twitch chat. After some brief investigation, the trolls do seem to start making sense. Across the board the top ten European players seem to rank bit by bit higher than their neighbors across the pond. But who amongst them are the best of the best?
The numbers are in: we have the POWR ratings from May 2020 through to the end of the 2021 summer split. To compile the best-of-the-best, we took the highest average raw POWR ratings throughout the year. As of publishing, these are your top 10 players in the LEC.
Number 1: Elyoya, Jungle for MAD Lions
As detailed in the article all about how the MAD Lions are just badasses in general, Javier Prades Batalla has exploded onto the professional scene. His average POWR rating over the last year was 56, two points higher than the next best.
Throughout the year he demonstrated his prowess on 18 different champions, including a great game on the hugely unpopular Ivern pick against XL. To further showcase the raw talent of the young Spaniard, he scored a POWR of 78 on Volibear while playing against Rogue Gaming. This was after losing their first two games against the powerhouses. Elyoya was able to change the tides after a 6,000 gold deficit and made history by becoming the fourth LEC team to take the European title.
Number 2: Jankos, Jungle for G2
Marcin Jankowski, a veteran at 26-years-old, tethers his team to greatness. His yearlong POWR sits at an impressive 54.7 with a record high of 78 on Rumble this June. His consistency at the top is an important facet of his game: he landed between 70 and 79 POWR on 14 games this year, with another 11 between 60 and 69.
Though G2, MAD Lions, and Misfits Gaming are effectively all tied for second in the LEC, it’s hard to deny the terrific recent showings by the 2019 and 2020 MVP. In one of the last regular games of the summer split, Jankos devastated S04 as Viego, the ruined king, securing baron and then a game-winning triple kill.
In fact, the Polish jungler went crazy hard against the MAD Lions as the viking reaver Olaf. That day in January, the elder jungler put the hotshot rookie in his place.
Number 3: Inspired, Jungle for Rogue
Of all the top ten lists, only the Europeans are so tilted toward the jungle. An interesting difference? The team ending the regular season at number one finds their jungler at number three. But that doesn’t mean the 19-year-old Kacper Słoma is any less terrifying on the rift than his peers.
His POWR by the end of the year was 54.6, barely below Jankos. The guy got into the top 50 challengers in the world when he was only 15-years-old. His winrate sits at 68 percent, with a 70 percent winrate on that once-popular magical deer Lilia. He’s been known to bring out the solo queue scarecrow Fiddlesticks, and be afraid when he does.
Number 4: Carzzy, Bot Lane for MAD Lions
The second member from the Spanish LEC champs is the often-flamed marksman Matyáš Orság. Your journalist doesn’t see the issue – MSI proved a lot of those casters wrong, where his ADC play was hugely helpful to his team. His POWR rating stacked an average of 54.5, too, with a year long high of 80 on Jhin. (Including his ridiculous game against Misfits when his lane partner built three giant’s belts.)
Number 5: Larssen, Mid Lane for RGE
Emil Larsson had an average POWR rating of 54.2 – the competition for this list became all the more intense after a wild summer split. With Rogue he has spent a few years dominating the scene, but this year brought out some serious competition and knocked the 21-year-old down a peg or two. His highest POWR rating was on Ryze at 78, the same game that Inspired brought out Jarvan IV. These two can play the meta, but they can also play the meta from 2013.
Number 6: Rekkles, Bot Lane for G2
The smiley marksman keeps it real with an average POWR rating of 53.1. Martin Larsson of Sweden is known for his deft mechanics across a myriad of champions; he took home a fifth and final game against Schalke as the songstress Seraphine, scoring a shocking POWR rating of 87. Rekkles is the only player on this list with two games of POWR rating 80 and above. His other game was an 81 on Jhin. That cereal he’s eating before each game must be Wheaties, the breakfast of champions.
Number 7: Hans sama, Bot Lane for RGE
At 21-years-old Steven Liv managed to maintain an average POWR rating of 53 throughout the past year – maybe he should have played more Seraphine. Obviously the decimals shook Hans sama to seventh, but that’s not to say he’s worse than his compatriots. As Varus he racked up a POWR rating of 75, and he keeps an 88 percent winrate on the wicked bowsman. On top of those numbers he has a 78 percent winrate on Kai’sa and a 64 percent winrate on Kalista. If he doesn’t quit to become a manga artist, Hans sama will have a long career in the league.
Number 8: Humanoid, Mid Lane for MAD Lions
It’s hard to stack up against the best midlaners in the world (or should we say Korea?) but 21-year-old Marek Brázda does as well as any could, taking two games off of Korean all stars DWG at this year’s MSI. He’s the first player from the Czech Republic to play at World’s, and the first to hold the LEC title. His yearlong POWR average is 52.6, with a personal high on Akali at 74. His total KDA by the end of the game was an impressive 16, and he won player of the match from the analyst desk. Don’t sleep on him.
Number 9: Caps, Mid Lane for G2
Rasmus Borregaard Winther, 21-year-old Dane, has played for eight teams. With each stop, he’s elevated not only that team but the European scene. Even a few years into his career with G2, Caps brings the heat. His average POWR rating over the last year was 51.8, putting him just a hair behind eighth. Indeed, on the marksman Lucian he managed a POWR rating of 78 against Schalke. The legend is still bringing the game to another level.
Number 10: Armut, Top Lane for MAD Lions
The Monkey King has found its international ambassador! İrfan Berk Tükek comes from Turkey, is 22-years-old, and straight dunks on his opponents when he gets the chance to play Wukong. He tends to dunk in general – his average POWR rating is 51.2. While on his favorite champ, he scored a 73 POWR against the missing link, Gnar.
