As we head into week 2 of the LCS, all eyes are on Dignitas’ Johnson “Johnsun” Nguyen. The young bot laner broke onto the scene as a substantial piece of young talent in week 1, and successfully swept away all doubts regarding his youth and inexperience. Although the entirety of the Dignitas roster showed up in droves during the team’s first two games, you could definitely make the case that Johnsun put the team on his back last week and has already emerged as the best player on the roster in this young season.

Coming out of week 1, Johnsun proved to be an incredibly bright spot for Dignitas, as after the first two games of the year, he leads the entire LCS in KDA at 20.0, while topping the charts among bot laners in KPG, as he averaged just about 5 per contest. Additionally, Johnsun ranked at least in the top 3 among LCS bot laners last week when it came to APG and GPM.

His average GPM of 447 sits only behind Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen when it comes to bot laners, while his DPM of 507 sits just 31 points behind Johnny “Altec” Ru’s 3rd-best mark of 538.

And as Dignitas transitions its way back into the league for the first time in nearly three years, the team will most definitely need a frontman to carry the load throughout the franchise’s first season back in the swing of things. So, while longtime LCS feature players like Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon and Henrik “Froggen” Hansen will certainly provide a veteran presence to the team, it’s clear that Johnsun is already establishing a foundation on which Dignitas can plant itself for the foreseeable future.

Johnsun seems to be in the right place at the right time, and the dividends of Dignitas’ gamble are already being recompensed. With wins over CLG and Evil Geniuses, DIG jumped right out of the gate in 2020 and established themselves at one of the only undefeated teams coming out of the first week of play. Moving into week 2, Dignitas will surely be tested further as the team’s schedule includes last year’s Spring and Summer Split champions in Team Liquid, as well as DIG’s fellow 2-0 contemporaries in FlyQuest.

While week 1 showcased what Dignitas was capable of, week 2 will put the team up against the wall. Especially in the case of Johnsun, Dignitas will have to expect a big performance out of their rookie bot laner, as it’s never as easy task to stare down the barrel of a veteran opponent – especially those with the experience of Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng and Jason “Wildturtle” Tran.

Regardless, there’s a lot to be excited about in terms of young potential in the LCS – and it’s already looking like Dignitas is going to be the epicenter of that development.

Photo Credit: Riot Games, Lolesports, League of Legends