With the Play-Ins completed, four teams will advance into the World Championship Main Event. Worlds 2018 says goodbye to eight other teams, which will return to their home regions, analyzing what went wrong and what went right. The clash between major region third seeds and minor region first seeds has been exciting. Playstyles, drafts, and regional differences clashed on stage unlike most of the year. With such a mixture of talent going at it, some individuals have risen above others, showcasing their skill and strength for their teams. This is the OP-5 of the Play-In stage who qualified to the Main Event.
Top – Wunder
KDA: 6.7Â CSD10: +19.0Â DPM: 510
EU LCS fans know how strong Wunder is, and he has shown up at Worlds so far. Wunder maintained some the highest laning stats during lay-Ins, such as the highest CS difference, and the third highest gold and XP difference at 10 minutes. He brought the highest damage per minute of any top laner, as well as the second highest top lane KDA.
All-around, Wunder looked really good. G2 playing around him in the draft and on the Rift helps, but they are also investing into him and he is making returns. Fabfabulous, Rockky, and Relic were his opponents during this stage, which should be much easier than Kiin, Zeros, and Hanabi in the Main Event. Nonetheless, Wunder really stood out during this introduction stage, which is a good sign for G2 moving forward.
Jungle – Empt2y
KDA: 8.7Â DTH: 13.6%Â GOLD: 17.4%
G-Rex’s jungler did not necessarily make a huge impact through 1-v-1 outplays. Assisting was his main contribution, as he averaged 9.1 per game (fourth highest player overall). While his individual early game resources are negative, his high KDA, high average assists, and low death share are indicative of his style. Empt2y prefers getting his lanes advantages over getting his own resources. These stats also show how he knows his champions’ limits.
Junglers are under a lot of pressure at Worlds 2018. Some of the absolute best in the world, best ever in the game, will meet Empt2y at the Main Event. Luckily, G-Rex’s group for the Main Event only features Broxah, Anda, and Ning. These are strong players, but Empt2y should be on par with the group. His laners will need assistance when facing the likes of Rookie, Caps, TheShy, and Ssumday. If he carries over his Play-In performance into the Main Event, then they might have a chance.
Middle – Scout
KDA: 7.8Â FB: 100%Â GD10: +684
Scout is the most undeniable on this list. He completely dominated laning phase against Cotopaco, Triple, and Ceros. EDG’s mid laner finished Play-Ins with the highest gold and XP differences at 10 minutes, as well as second most CS difference, among all players. Scout also has the second highest KDA among mid laners.
Beyond the stats, though, Scout has just looked amazing. He popped off on Akali, Leblanc, and Irelia, while also showing more measured play with Syndra, Ryze, and Galio. Scout felt like one of the only players through Play-Ins to warp the game around him, and the observer found himself frequently following the mid laner all over the map. EDG can be happy bringing Scout into the Main Event.
Bottom – Sneaky
KDA: 6.1Â DPM: 592Â DMG: 30.6%
Despite Cloud9’s shaky Play-In stage, Sneaky still looked like a high class AD carry. He and Zeyzal did not dominate laning phase, but once teams started rotating and fighting, Sneaky really shined. He comes out of Play-Ins with the second highest overall damage per minute and the third highest KDA among bottom laners.
Sneaky’s six Kai’Sa games were immaculate. He utilizes her ultimate so well, and always seems to squeeze in the most damage, even when the fight looks out of C9’s favor. Sneaky drafted Draven in his other three games, which looked a tier below his Kai’Sa, but he still pulled out some wins. Overall, Sneaky should fit in well with the pool of Main Event AD carries, but his group includes Attila, Ruler, and Uzi.
Support – Meiko
KDA: 8.8Â DTH: 15.4%Â VSPM: 2.25
Everyone has high expectations for Meiko, but the guy just keeps showing up. During Play-Ins he played Tahm Kench, Alistar, Leona, Gragas, Nautilus, and Rakan, and he made plays on every single one. Meiko’s performance during Play-Ins should inspire all support mains in solo queue to know they can solo carry if they are good enough.
Supports always have padded stats when they play on the winning team, so those don’t matter as much. Just go re-watch some of EDG’s games and focus on Meiko, then watch Zeyzal, Wadid, and Koala. Meiko is clearly a step above. The Main Event welcomes him as one of the best players on the Rift right now. We will see how he matches up with Mata and Ming and the best in the world.
CREDITS
(KDA: Kills+Assists/Deaths, CSD10: CS difference at 10 minutes, GD10: Gold difference at 10 minutes, DPM: Damage per minute, DTH: Death share, GOLD: Gold share, DMG: Damage share, FB: First Blood percentage, VSPM: Vision score per minute)
Statistics from Oracles Elixir and Games of Legends
Images from LoL Esports Flickr
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