After an amazing first week of the LCK, it’s hard to list all the players that stood out. That said, lets take a look at players that impressed in every role. From amazing stats to a week full of highlight reel moments, these players have simply been amazing throughout the week and deserved to be recognized in this weeks OP 5.

Top: Jang “Nuguri” Ha-gwon (DAMWON Gaming)

Firstly, we start with Nuguri who had a fantastic debut as he and the rest of DAMWON went on to have a 2-0 week. In the first week, he led all top laners with the most kills (22), least deaths (3, tied with 2 others), and had dealt an amazing 32.5% of the team’s damage. While he played a variety of picks this week, Nuguri simply looked unstoppable regardless of matchup. Although other players had more memorable plays and were flashier throughout the week, Nuguri has been a consistent player that has been quietly putting a solid carry performance for the team. With Griffin and SKT awaiting him and the rest of DAMWON next week, Nuguri will be relied upon again to have yet another amazing week. If DAMWON is able to go 2-0 next week, don’t be surprised to see Nuguri back on this list again.

Jungle: Lee “Tarzan” Seung-yong (Griffin)

What can’t be said about Tarzan and the incredible week? No deaths; received all four player of the game honors in Griffin’s victories; and on top of that, he led the entire league in kills (24). Is it over the top to suggest that Tarzan is the best player in the world right now? Probably, but if he can maintain this level of play for a few more weeks, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he enters that conversation real quick. With a few key matches coming up in the next few weeks, this will be a great chance for Tarzan to quiet any doubters that remain. Your time is now Tarzan, cement your legacy as the best in the world.

Mid: Kim “Lava” Tae-hoon (Hanwha Life Esports)

Hanwha has been one of the bigger surprises of the week as they took out KT Rolster and Afreeca Freecs. A large part of that was thanks to the play of Lava, who is slowly putting together a strong argument to be considered one of the top-tier mid laners in Korea. With the second most kills (14) and second highest kill participation (83.1%) among mid laners, Lava’s contribution to Hanwha’s victory cannot be understated. This is especially true against Afreeca, where he picked up both player of the game awards. As the season continues, Hanwha will continue looking to Lava to act as a key playmaker for the team. As long as he continues to succeed, Hanwha will continue to win.

ADC: Park “Teddy” Jin-seong (SK Telecom T1)

On a team with stars in every role, Teddy has managed to shine the most. While he has shared the player of the game honors with jungler Kim “Clid” Tae-min, Teddy has simply been a consistent source of damage for the team (35%) and usually the go to carry. Teddy has shown that he doesn’t need all the resources to carry like on Jin Air, proving once and for all that he is likely the best ADC in Korea. With a chance to get revenge for their loss to DAMWON in KeSPA Cup coming in week 2, expect Teddy to continue his amazing play as SKT will look for another 2-0 week.

Support: Cho “Mata” Se-hyeong (SK Telecom T1)

To continue the trend of players that just don’t die, Mata ended the first week with a single death (30 KDA) across all four games. While he didn’t lead in many categories this week, Mata is the OP support of the week. This honor is thanks to his amazing play through the two series that simply won’t show up through his stats. Whether it was clutch saves on Tahm Kench or perfect initiations on Rakan and Braum, Mata’s play this past week was nearly perfect. Along with that, he continues to control the pace of the early game by working alongside his jungler with great vision control and roams early game.

Although it’s not hard to look good when you have Teddy as an ADC, Mata has more than pulled his weight in this bot lane partnership. With more time, this duo will become nearly unstoppable and Mata’s great play will be a huge reason for it.

Honorable mentions

With all the great players, it’s hard to fit everyone in. Here’s some honorable mentions for the first week of action:

Park “Thal” Kwon-hyuk (Hanwha Life Esports) quietly had a great week one on his new team. Going up against great top laners in Song “Smeb” Kyung-ho and Kim “Kiin” Gi-in, Thal ended the week with a 14.3 KDA and only 3 deaths across five games. Along with a solid 72.9% kill participation, Thal is showing his true capabilities with a much better jungler aiding him during laning phase.

• Despite a 0-2 week Gwak “Bdd” Bo-seong (KT Rolster) was impressive as he was all over the map trying to snowball his teammates. This translated to a whopping 95.1% kill participation, the highest among players that played every game. So despite a rough start for KT, as long as Bdd can continue his stellar play, their fortunes may turn around sooner rather than later.
• Normally it would be pretty impressive to end a week with no deaths, but when you’re teammates with Tarzan (who also had no deaths) it’s hard to stand out as much. But regardless, Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon (Griffin) had a great week as well, showing new champs that opponents will need to take away from him as he went on to have a deathless week as well. With some big matches coming up in the next few weeks, Chovy will be expected to continue his amazing play as Griffin look to dominate the league.

To watch League of Legends tournaments, visit watch.na.lolesports.com. For more information on the Split, teams, standings, and players, visit www.lolesports.com. Recaps of former weeks and other LoL content can be found at https://thegamehaus.com/league-of-legends/.

Featured image courtesy of LCK flickr

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