Minor League Standouts: Top Performers From This Year’s Proving Grounds Tournaments

Proving Grounds is over.

North America’s amateur circuit gave a stage to players wanting to break into the competitive stage and it worked. People are genuinely interested in watching the next generation of North American competitive League of Legends players.

The highs and lows that can come with the amateur circuit, however, can be brutal. With stocks of players rising and falling every single match, it is tough to keep up with. It is also incredibly subjective — with people valuing different traits. In an effort to stay with the trend, here’s a list of 15+ prospects that deserve your attention if you’re a fan of the LCS.

Here’s the criteria:

1. Players must not have been listed as LCS starters for more than one week. Spoiler alert – this is why members from 100 Thieves Academy will be listed and players from Immortals Academy will not be listed
2. The player must have participated in at least one Proving Grounds event. No solo queue superstars.
3. It is subjective. This won’t be an analytical piece. This will simply be covering what is seen with the eyes.

Top

1. Tenacity
2. Tony Top
3. Phillip
No honorable mentions

Top lane continues to be the role teams struggle to develop. With legends still roaming the scene, the next generation continues to step up to the plate and continues to be put in their place. Thomas “Jenkins”  Tran would have easily made the list if he did not get a substantial amount of LCS playing time. Credit should also be given to veterans Omran “V1per” Shoura and Colin “Kumo” Zhao for reminding people they’re still good at the game. Aiden “Niles” Tidwell saw a tremendous amount of development in the summer split.

Milan “Tenacity” Oleksij has been the prospect to watch in the top lane. Popping up in the LCS for one game, it wasn’t enough to show just how good he has been and how he continues to improve his game. While an argument could be made that he has benefited from being promoted within the 100 Thieves pipeline and has been partnered with Shane Kenneth “Kenvi” Espinoza for a good period of time, the individual performances he’s putting out there continues to be impressive. Not a perfect prospect and has at times showcases his solo queue tendencies, it is tough to deny the potential in his play.

Zheng “Tony Top” Fen continues to raise some eyebrows for both positive and negative reasons. And a similar case could be made for Philip “Philip” Zeng  — who was very impressive for FlyQuest Academy.

There is hope for more players to make their case for LCS consideration. But it really does feel as if there is a good understanding of who is the next generation of top laners and organizations are giving them time to develop.

Jungle

1. Kenvi
2. Keel
3. Will
HM: RBM, Chad

Truthfully after witnessing 100 Thieves Academy’s impressive performance in Proving Grounds finals, Maximilian “Chad” Lisitsa might just be cracking the top three of jungle prospects.

The depth in North American junglers quietly continues to grow. Not only have more players been introduced into the amateur scene, but they’re getting reps against LCS veterans who arguably should still be in the LCS.

Once again, a 100 Thieves Academy member is holding the top spot. It will be an interesting testing ground if Kenvi is separated from Tenacity. However, Kenvi has continued to impress with his form.

CLG Academy stumbled into having one of the better jungle prospects in Ryan “Keel” Keel — who was a substitute for the team as CLG’s main roster experience visa issues. His active early game presence, being able to put a relatively weak CLG Academy team in favorable positions is an excellent selling point.

But the real interest and intrigue is coming with some of the late bloomers.

William “Will” Cummins and Maximilian “Chad” Lisitsa would be late joiners to their respective academy teams. But both ran with the opportunity. Running over very talented line-ups with their aggression and constant pressure was stunning. Without their involvement, it could even been argued that the teams wouldn’t have been as successful.

And one final honorable mention goes to Peyton “RBM” Demarest. Finding his groove while being paired with Isaac “DarkWings” Chou, RBM stood out as a key member in two really impressive amateur line-ups. Showing stylistic flexibility and being able to operate at a slower pace than other members on this list, there’s a bright future for the Michigan State student if given the opportunity and time.

Mid

1. Bradley
2. 5fire
3. APA
HM: Jojopyun, Copy, Takeover (Import), Darkwings

This list has changed multiple times and will continue to change up to the moment that this is posted. Competition in the mid-lane is not only incredibly close but incredibly exciting for the region.

Bradley “Bradley” Benneyworth and Aidan Joseph “5fire” Reckamp each gave us one really good amateur split to chew on. Highlighting stylistic flexibility along with raw skill, both excelled at being really good players on really good amateur teams. While not necessarily the top performer or the headline grabber of their teams, their influence was clear. Jouhan “Copy” Pathmanathan also falls into this category and is arguably one more season away from being in the conversation of best North American prospect.

The hype for Joseph “jojopyun” Pyun still remains. He’s arguably one of the most exciting prospects given his aggression and mechanical prowess. Eain “APA” Stearns’s roaming style and in-game leadership qualities continue to go under-discussed as he continues to quiet critics. Isaac “DarkWings” Chou really stood out against the rest as one of the best control mage mid-laners in the amateur scene. And TSM’s decision to bring in Ji “Takeover” Cha Hyeun-min from the Latin American region paid dividends as he took over for a struggling Rico “Sword” Chen.

It feels really good to be excited about mid laners in North America’s amateur scene. It gets even better when players like Nicholas “Ablazeolive” Abbott show up in the LCS.

ADC

1. Value247
2. Luger (Import)
3. Prismal
HM: TeamLuke, Yeon, Gorica

The marksman talent pool continues to grow as well.

Ross “Value” Luppino did not play in the summer amateur circuit after failing to find a home however he has shown enough to secure his status as the best prospect — even with incredible performances coming out of Fatih “Luger” Güven. It is a shame we didn’t get to see the two battle it out more but then again, it adds more to the story.

Other marksmen that may have been riding the fence cemented their status as players to be watched. Golden Guardians  Academy’s Jacob “Prismal” Feinstein really would have a standout performance in the summer, Sean “Yeon” Sung has continued to show great progression after being signed away from 100 Next and Alexander “Gorica” Gorica continues to perform on every team he’s been apart of.

But the man from James Madison University, Luke “TeamLuke” Wasikowski, might just be making his case for the best prospect in 2022. Joining Keel on CLG Academy for a short period of time, it was the best CLG Academy looked in 2021. Getting a position on EG Academy, he made the most of the opportunity,  really pairing well with Jojopyun.

It’s another year where we think the talent pool is shrinking in a role and new names continue to come and perform.

Support

1. Isles
2. Eyla
3. Daption
HM: Rhino

The supports from Oceania are still really good. Everyone knew it coming in, everyone was ready for it and yet they still managed to overperform expectations compared to their counterparts. It is without question that they should be in the LCS already and they’re only being included on this list as a formality.

So instead, the focus should be on two players that really were standing out in the amateur stages.

Paired with a marksman that shouldn’t be in the amateur region for the summer split, Sam Parsa “Daption” Zarriz proved he was playing up to his partner’s skill.  Being a key point of engage for his team not only allowed for him to showcase his mechanical ability but also great decision-making skills — truthfully everything you would want and need from a developmental support.

Douglas Scott “Rhino” Reynolds would also let it be known that his departure from Team Liquid Academy was a mistake and he is incredibly deserving of a return to an LCS organization.  A player that received praise from a legend in the North American scene continues to impress with his individual performances. While his bottom lane partner Sami “Raheen” Raheen took a step back, Rhino continued to push through.

Final Thoughts

Unironically, the future is brought for North American competitive League of Legends. The new amateur circuit not only is bringing new faces into the spotlight but continuing to give players an opportunity to pursue a career in competitive League of Legends. The path to getting noticed is a lot easier to follow.

It is also keeping LCS organizations on their toes. Watching as amateur organizations really outclass them in certain departments is a reality check needed going forward. Its continuing to improve the health of the region and more importantly, continuing to inspire younger players.

Now, it’s on the organizations to take advantage of the opportunity.

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