Players To Look Out For In The LCS 2022 Summer Split
The League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) is only a couple of days away which means there’s plenty to talk about. From what teams sit atop the table going into the split to some of the storylines to follow, there is no shortage of topics.
However, one can’t forget some of, if not, the most important bit when it comes to the LCS… its players. Without its players, the league wouldn’t exist - rosters wouldn’t be filled, and teams wouldn’t be competing.
That’s why we’ve decided to mention some of the players to look out for in the LCS 2022 Summer Split.
Nicolaj "Jensen" Jensen - Cloud9
We’d be remiss if we didn’t start off with this mid-laner. Half of the Jensen v Soren "Bjergsen" Bjerg rivalry, the mid-laner who came in the middle of the Team Liquid dynasty and helped elevate it, and an all-around strong player - he was a player that any team not named Team SoloMid would want on their roster.
He seemed like a mid-laner that, unless he retired, would always be a part of the LCS even if it was on a lower-end, lower-name team. Unfortunately for him come a rowdy 2022 offseason that had his rival, Bjergsen, replace him, he quickly found himself teamless, something that any LCS watcher would never have imagined in a million years.
However, his days of not getting to play pro-League of Legends are over as a familiar face, one that brought him into the LCS back when he was named Incarnati0n and had doubts cast over him due to past toxicity has sought out his services once more. We’re talking about, of course, Cloud9.
It’ll be exciting to watch Jensen play on the LCS stage one again. Storylines such as him possibly seeking revenge against Team Liquid for not only dropping him but replacing him with his rival, him wanting to show that he’s still one of the best mid-laners in the region, and much more.
- Looking for the LCS 2022 Summer Split format? We've got you covered.
Noh "Gamsu" Yeong-jin - Dignitas
Look, you may think Gamsu isn’t deserving to be on this list, especially seeing the number of North American talent that has risen to the occasion as of late, but looking at his past, and how he got here is deserving of praise.
A League of Legends player who started his pro career in bottom-of-the-barrel Korean teams who later made his jump to the West with Dignitas, and later Fnatic, left it all behind to pursue a pro career in an entirely different game just to come back eight years later to the very team that welcomed him initially is more than attention-worthy.
He managed to not only re-join League of Legends with ease but he did so with one of the best North American Amateur teams, 100 Thieves and in just two years is back in the LCS. His first go at it in the LCS wasn’t the most successful, so it’ll be exciting to see how he will perform his second time around.
Kyle "Danny" Sakamaki - Evil Geniuses
It might feel weird seeing Danny on a list such as this with the two players that were mentioned before but bear with us. The reason why we have Danny on this list is fairly simple, as of May 2022, the North American star has reached one year of pro-play. This means that he’s on his way to possibly joining what is famously known as the "sophomore slump."
Click to enlargeThis phenomenon has somewhat been a plague on several younger players across all of the regions in League of Legends. For example, the LCS could look at Edward "Tactical" Ra as one of the more recent players to experience this as soon as he took over North American legend, Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng, on Team Liquid, he showcased to be the region’s next top star, exceeding expectations. However, come his second year, that same calibre of player wasn’t really showing.
It’s not for certain if Danny will partake in the sophomore slump and so far, all signs point toward a definitive no. But, it’s still worth paying attention to the idea as thanks to his own outstanding performances, the ADC will have all eyes on him come the Summer Split’s start.
- Here's our LCS 2022 Summer Slit tier list.
