The best performing players so far in the 2020 LCS Summer Split

The 2020 LCS Summer Split is getting closer to its playoffs after many chaotic weeks of play, affording us time to consider which players have managed to consistently perform the best over the course of the split.

The LCS is known to be a league in which nearly every team can beat each other under the right circumstances. This split has been no different, with a lot of upsets that few expected. The current king of the LCS, Cloud9, has also seen a decline in form, which has made the league look wide open once again. 

We will be taking a look at the best performing player from each role, based on individual stats and their teams’ overall performance. Note that all statistics cited are relative to each player’s respective role.  

Licorice

• Highest gold per minute with 419 gold
• Highest gold differential at 15 minutes with 971 gold
• Highest CS differential at 15 minutes with 19 CS
• Highest XP differential at 15 minutes with 633 XP

Eric “Licorice” Ritchie has been a rock for Cloud9 for several splits and the talented top laner continues to deliver. While C9 is a great team overall, Licorice is a big part of their success since every team needs a consistent player to rely on. Licorice has played at C9 for almost three years, and nothing suggests that his dominant form will change any time soon.

C9 is currently sitting at the top of the league as expected after their dominating spring split, but it looks like other teams are now closing in on them. 

Blaber

• Highest CS per minute with 6.6 CS
• Highest gold per minute with 393 gold
• Highest average kills per game with 4.4 kills
• Highest gold differential at 15 with 716 gold

It came as a shock to some when Robert “Blaber” Huang started dominating the league, but he has proven that he is the real deal. Blaber started out as the jungler for Cloud9 Academy and was later promoted to the LCS roster where he would share playing time with Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen. After Svenskeren left the team in late 2019, it was up to Blaber to take over as the starting jungler. 

His aggressive playstyle has been a big reason for the recent success of C9, and he is without a doubt the biggest carrying jungler in the LCS. Blaber has accrued some impressive stats while setting up his team for success at the same time. 

PowerOfEvil

• Highest number of kills per game with 4.7 kills
• Highest CS per minute with 9.7 CS
• Second highest damage per minute to champions with 540 damage

The mid lane in the LCS is highly competitive as always, which is why no single player stands out like in some of the league’s other roles. Despite the tough competition, Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage has been keeping his team within top-three contention. PowerOfEvil has been a consistent force during the laning phase while also being able to dish out a lot of damage in later team fights. The strong control mage meta is suiting him well, with champions such as Syndra, Orianna, and Azir at the forefront of the meta.  

FlyQuest had an amazing spring split, where they finished in second place after losing to C9 in the finals. This split the team has been struggling more, mainly because the competition around them has gotten better. 

FBI

• Highest damage per minute to champions with 617 damage
• Highest CS differential at 15 minutes with 12 CS
• Second highest gold differential at 15 minutes with 327 gold

Ian “FBI” Huang is often forgotten amongst the great bot laners in the LCS, but that shouldn’t be the case this split. He has been a beast during the laning phase despite not playing on a team that is considered top-tier. He has also been a menace in team fights, as he is currently dealing the most damage per minute to champions among all players in the league.

Golden Guardians is currently fighting for a spot in the playoffs and it seems that FBI could push them over the edge and into the postseason.

CoreJJ

• Highest vision score per minute with 3.20
• Highest average wards per minute with 1.75 wards
• Second highest wards cleared per minute with 0.48 wards

Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-In and his team were in a big slump during the spring split, but Team Liquid has picked up the pace since then. The former world champion has been amongst the best supports in the LCS since he originally transferred to Team Liquid, and his domination continues this split. CoreJJ has been playing like a true MVP throughout the split, carrying his team to a top spot with great engagements and superb vision control. 

Team Liquid is currently challenging C9 for first place in the league, and if CoreJJ continues playing well, TL might be the team to finally dethrone C9 in 2020.