As the group stage of Worlds 2018 is set to start it’s time for analysts and fans around the world to look at and figure out who the top players this year are. The Game Haus staff is no different. Now we’re proud to present our own top 30 players list starting from 30-26. It’s a Invictus Gaming and Gen.G party but still filled with great players in their own right.

30.Kang “Haru” Min-seung, Jungler, Gen.G

Around this time last year the situation was very different. After a couple poor performances, Haru was benched for the remainder of Worlds. Coming into Worlds this year, Haru will have every opportunity possible to prove that the starting jungler role is his. With a meta that favors him over fellow jungler Kang “Ambition” Chan-yong, and his own play at best it’s ever been, this Worlds is going to be his time to shine. Finding himself in a stack group with amazing junglers with the likes of RNG’s Hung “Karsa” Hau-Hsuan, Haru will need to play amazing for Gen.G to make it through.

Comment: “As the jungle meta encourages active early game junglers, Haru will have a huge role to play if Gen.G wants to defend their championship. During the gauntlet, Haru has proven that he’s a very capable jungler that can keep up against some of the best junglers in the world. As he lacks the great performances as some players on this list he barely makes the top 30 list.” -Rui Yang Xu

29.Wang “Baolan” Liu-Yi, Support, Invictus Gaming

As everyone knows, China is known for their aggressive ADCs, as such these ADCs need an amazing support. For Invictus Gaming, this is no different as they have Baolan in the Support role. While Baolan may not be the most talented player on Invictus Gaming, he definitely plays a huge role through his playmaking and shotcalling for the team. While he doesn’t receive as much praise as he deserved on the team, his stellar play does land him in TGH’s top 30 list at 29th place. But for now he has bigger tasks at hand as he tries to lead Invictus Gaming into a deep Worlds run.

Comment: “Even though JackeyLove doesn’t get to play Draven a lot on stage, you can’t take the “Draven” out of a Draven player. Enter, Baolan. The amount of times that I’ve seen JackeyLove being saved by Baolan in teamfights is dizzying. You will primarily catch Baolan on good peel supports like Alistar, Braum, Tahm Kench, and Shen. He has also become increasingly better at shotcalling throughout the year and is a big reason why IG’s style of 1-3-1 that relies on getting advantageous picks and skirmishes works so well.” -Taylor Damaschi

28.Lee “Crown” Min-ho, Mid, Gen.G

For a majority of the Summer Split, Crown was missing from matches. With a meta that better favored Song “Fly” Yong-jun at the time, Crown simply watched from the bench. But with the arrival of gauntlet, came a meta that Crown excelled in. Upon his return, Crown didn’t miss a beat as he helped Gen.G run the gauntlet and qualify for Worlds. Coming into Worlds now, Crown has the task of leading the same team to another championship in order to defend their title. Finding themselves once again in a group with Royal Never Give Up, Crown may be in for a rough road ahead. But if he and the rest of Gen.G have shown anything, it’s that they should never be counted out.

Comment: “Crown is not your typical killing machine in mid. Instead he is steadfast and does his job well. In a game where people focus on kills you may miss just how important Crown is to his team. With a team of stars he helps to play around them and do what is necessary to win. He will need to do so again this year as he makes another worlds apperance. This time he and GenG will face RNG in the group stages and if they plan on going much further it is likely they will face them again. Look for Crown to do his and thing and try to help GenG make another Finals appearance.” -Robert Hanes

27.Gao “Ning” Zhen-Ning, Jungler, Invictus Gaming

While Ning has proven himself as one of the top junglers in China with a first team all-star to back up that claim. However, Ning has yet to prove himself when it matters the most in the playoffs. During the playoffs, Ning had mostly mediocre performances as Invictus Gaming ended up losing to Royal Never Give Up in the finals. While Ning could’ve easily been much higher on the list, his recent performance in the playoffs left a lot to be desired. However with a spectacular Worlds performance, don’t be surprised if Ning jumps up in the rankings.

Comment: “Name recognition is the main reason Ning falls so low on this list. The second-year LPL jungler carried several victories for Invictus Gaming this summer, earning 12 Player of the Game awards (tied for third). Solo carries Rookie and TheShy would not look as unstoppable without Ning’s jungle presence. He comes out third best jungler on our Top 30, but a full 17 spots behind second place Karsa. While several top teams are running jungle substitutes at Worlds 2018, Invictus’ success in the role rests solely on Ning. If they make a deep run in the tournament, then Ning will be praised; if they fail, then Ning will be blamed.” -Thomas Baker

26.Hu “SwordArt” Shuo-Chieh, Support, Flash Wolves

When you think of the Flash Wolves as a team, SwordArt will usually be one of the first players that come to mind along with mid laner Huang “Maple” Yi-Tang. In the case of SwordArt he has shown at every tournament that he’s a world-class support. Even when the team as a whole is struggling, SwordArt continues to shine and show his abilities as a player. With a fairly even group this year, SwordArt will be looking to push Flash Wolves into the playoffs as the first seed and make yet another deep run this year. Whether they accomplish their goals or not will fall mostly on SwordArt’s play making.

Comment: “Flash Wolves are no longer going to surprise anyone. They have consistently performed and while they lost Karsa major pieces like SwordArt and Maple have stuck around and kept this team at the top of the LMS. SwordArt has always been a standout player for this team by keeping Betty alive and making plays around the map. This year he will have to do more of the same to ensure that Flash Wolves succeed.” -Robert Hanes

To watch Worlds, 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 LoL Esports Flickr.

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