The lolesports.com Top 20 players at the World Championship list has sparked debate with quite a few voices expressing dissent. Yet at theScore eSports, we believe it isn’t polite to criticize without offering alternative reasoning and transparency. Kelsey Moser, Nicholas “Impulse” Doucet, and Tyler “Fionn” Erzberger put together their Top 20 lists based on individual criteria to explain a difference in perspective as to what constitutes a “great” player at the World Championship. Below are the fruits of our independent agonizing.

The Criteria

Kelsey’s Criteria: A panel producing one list would have led to three people putting forth a product with inconsistent reasoning which they are each only partially able to explain. In producing three lists, we can discuss differences in what we value and offer clearer insight into what we’ve put forward.

In my criteria, I value player versatility, consistency for the summer, most recent form, and a tinge of career form longevity. Players fundamental to team success will be ranked over others of the same team.

Nic’s Criteria: For the most part, I focus on evaluating a player’s individual skills, team contribution and ability to work within a team structure, as well as their recent performance.

I value role-players (ie. utility tops, supports, junglers) lower than my colleagues, instead favoring high impact players. This is Worlds after all, where the best show why they’re the best, and the skilled will shine.

Fionn’s Criteria: Going into this, the three main things I was looking for was individual skill, how well they performed in the season leading up to the World Championships, and how well I expect them to perform on the world stage. For instance, I believe that Flame is one of the 20 most talented players at the World Championships, but he is off my list due to the fact that LGD Gaming will most likely be using Acorn for the majority of their games due to their team composition.



Looking at the three of our lists, I believe while Nic and I share similar views in terms of rating ace players above their role playing counterparts, Kelsey adds the right balance by going the opposite route by rewarding players like Acorn who play more of an all-around game. With the similarities and differences in our rankings, I think we’ve come up with an interesting aggregate overall for our Top 20 Players at Worlds.

Top 5

Rank Kelsey Nic Fionn 1. Faker Faker Faker 2. Acorn imp imp 3. Clearlove Clearlove GODV 4. Pyl GODV Ssumday 5. GorillA Ssumday RooKie

Kelsey: LGD had a unique summer relative to other teams that will make the list since they spent most of it without a coach. Pyl and Acorn were the team's two pillars and made it possible for them to survive without one. In Week 1, LGD played without Pyl and seemingly had no semblance of focus. Pyl then came back to the team earlier than he had originally planned, and the difference was significant.

Acorn took over coaching duties early this summer, keeping them afloat while still competing, and often his versatility has allowed LGD to run a wide variety of styles. They also have both performed well over long careers beginning in 2011 (Pyl) and 2012 (Acorn). I couldn’t justify placing other members of LGD higher. (For a more detailed explanation as to why I rate Acorn and Pyl over imp)

Clearlove has gone from a solid team fighter to the jungler with the highest form for the year. When Edward Gaming’s roster was inconsistent, he carried them. GorillA had a similar year to Clearlove on KOO, keeping them in the running as a top team for most of the season with incredible efforts from the support role.

Nic: As expected, Fionn and I highly value dynamic carry potential, with GODV, Ssumday and RooKie populating our Top 5 while Kelsey’s appreciation for stability and the team aspect of the game are reflected in the rankings of GorillA, Pyl and Acorn. However, I share in her belief that Clearlove is not only the best jungler at the event, but that his role on EDG has been fundamental to their success. He successfully led EDG through their roughest moments, and as such I placed him alongside our resident LPL expert.

Ssumday is absolutely oppressive to play against when he is ahead, as the LCK Summer MVP can quickly become a split pushing nightmare if given a slight advantage. If properly shut down he is significantly less effective than his top lane counterparts, but his snowball potential pushes him over the edge in my eyes. KT invests a lot of gold into getting Ssumday fed, and he has consistently delivered this summer.

Fionn: Oh wow, we all picked Faker as the best player in the tournament.

What a surprise, I'm in total awe and shock. Beyond Faker, my other Top 5 placements include Imp, GODV, Ssumday, and Rookie. These are the five people that I feel have the best chance of taking over the tournament like Faker did back in 2013, when SKT rampaged through the competition to win the Summoner's Cup.

In my opinion, imp is the second best player in the history of League of Legends. He's grown from a selfish player that only got by with his intuition and raw mechanical skill to a full-fledge superstar that has grown up on LGD Gaming under the guidance of Pyl. I ranked GODV higher than my colleagues, and I am confident that he can have a 2013 Faker-like performance at Worlds in his debut on the world stage. Although his playoffs were lackluster compared to his incredible summer split, the meta will favor his style and aggression.



My fourth and fifth picks are Ssumday and Rookie, the former KT Arrows who won the Champions Summer title together last year. Ssumday is the closest we've come to a top laner that matches Flame's performance during the 2013 spring season. He's an incredible carry that knows how to take small weaknesses and exploit them to their fullest, resulting in games where he is routinely 100+ CS over his opponent. RooKie, like Faker and GODV, is a player that will be enhanced by the offensive style brought on by the 5.18 patch, and has the potential to take over a game with his well-timed roams and hard carrying in the late-game.

Top 10

Rank Kelsey Nic Fionn 6. RooKie Deft Acorn 7. imp GorillA Deft 8. Smeb Smeb Smeb 9. pawN RooKie KaKAO 10. Ssumday KaKAO Clearlove

Kelsey: After outlining the importance of Acorn and Pyl, that leaves the imp or GODV debate. GODV has shown the best performances overall of mid laners in the LPL, but imp’s recent form and longevity as the only ADC to have remained in the “Top 5” conversation since 2012 makes it impossible to not include him in the Top 10. GODV had a more fundamental role on LGD, but lacked in the finals.

RooKie was only just below GODV in his performances and served as Invictus Gaming’s carry force through the mid and late game, despite a few passive games. I put Smeb above Ssumday for his ability to play from behind and his damage dealt over Ssumday relative to gold distribution. Ssumday is the best player to have if he gets a lead, but doesn’t always translate otherwise.

Many may be surprised to see pawN this high, but he recharged the team while Deft struggled with his champion pool and mispositioning. pawN plays a primarily enabler-based role in EDG's success to snowball early game.

Nic: Similarly to imp, Deft's carry potential is simply too much for him not to be in the Top 10. Although he had a weaker summer season relative to his counterparts, he stepped up and made some crucial plays in the Regional Finals and delivered when the chips were down. If he can carry that momentum forward, Deft can become a wrecking ball.

Even as the KOO Tigers went through periods of inconsistency, GorillA and Smeb were the bedrock upon which their team could rely. GorillA in particular put up some phenomenal matches, keeping his team in contention seemingly through a pure effort of will.

I agree with Kelsey in Rookie’s placement in the Top 10, as he played the role of hard carry for Invictus Gaming throughout the split and the Regional Finals. I also take KaKAO’s recent improvement in terms of getting more active on the map early as a good sign for Invictus Gaming, and at peak performance KaKAO is almost unmatched as a jungler.

Fionn: Kelsey ranked Acorn second, and I can't really disagree that he is one of the best players at the tournament. I nicknamed him the "Monster Tamer" for his ability to boost carry players around him. He did it back on Samsung Blue last year with Deft and Dade, and he's doing it again with Imp and GODV. He's smart, can play carry champions if needed, and is selfless enough to be entirely starved out of games if his job is to support the duo of GODV and Imp.

Behind Acorn, I have Deft, Smeb, KaKAO, and the player my colleagues ranked much higher than I did, Clearlove. Deft had a terrible playoffs with Imp-like mistakes where he overplayed his hand too much, but he's still the second-best AD Carry at the competition and came roaring back in the Regional Finals. Smeb is a player that lacks slightly behind Ssumday in being an ace and Acorn in terms of utility, yet he is another player that is entirely flexible in his role. With KOO being a team of innovators, Smeb has been on the forefront of bringing new champions into the meta — such as Riven and Malphite — and he's a true wildcard. I wouldn't be shocked to see KOO and Smeb redefine the meta for the umpteenth time at Worlds.

Then we get to Clearlove, a player that both Kelsey and Nic ranked as the third best player at the tournament. While I do like Clearlove and feel he's right there with KaKAO as the most consistent and strongest jungler in the world, I personally feel like the jungle is the shallowest pool of all the positions at Worlds when it comes to power. I still see Deft as the team's ace with Clearlove serving as the squad's secondary force. Maybe I'm still upset that the best jungler in the world, DanDy, was forced to become a top laner. Why did you do that to me, Vici?

Top 15

Rank Kelsey Nic Fionn 11. KaKAO Acorn GorillA 12. Piccaboo Piccaboo Pyl 13. GODV pawN MaRin 14. Deft bengi pawN 15. YellOwStaR YellOwStaR YellOwStaR

Kelsey: KaKAO had periods over the summer where he would allegedly “farm for late game” with reduced jungle pressure. Given Invictus Gaming’s general lack of coordination, “farming for the late game” was a dead-in-the-water strategy. Still, KaKAO is a monster when he plays well, and he’s the second best jungler at this tournament.

Piccaboo's addition to KT Rolster has improved them from a statistical standpoint, though he does have moments where he is isolated and killed in the mid game. GODV appears here for his hybrid jungle-mid style in picking up much of TBQ’s slack. Despite Deft's inconsistencies, he still did high damage output in winning games and had great recent form. YellOwStaR’s superb control and power for Fnatic makes him the only western player on my list, though he’s hurt somewhat for his laning phase and low "awe" factor compared to other supports.

Nic: Here we find the rest of the role-players Kelsey values so highly, but were forced towards the bottom of mine and Fionn’s list by carry style players.

bengi has been a rock for SKT, and was instrumental in their return to peak form. His historic synergy with Faker and excellent showing in the LCK playoffs make him a top jungler heading into Worlds, but compared to KaKAO and Clearlove his skill ceiling is overall a bit lower, hence his lower placing.

I have Acorn ranked the lowest of the three of us, a clear reflection of my favoritism towards high-risk-high-reward players. What I admire most is his versatility and consistency, qualities which keep LGD together and focused during their tumultuous season and coach issues.

YellOwStaR is the highest ranked Western player and slots in nicely at No. 15. I imagine that his career longevity and historic ability to adapt and succeed in changing circumstances played heavily into his placement, as did his four previous Worlds appearances. Undoubtedly one of the finest in-game leaders Europe has ever produced and a master at vision control.

Fionn: At No. 11 and 12 I have my top supports, GorillA and Pyl, the first being my pick as the best consistent playmaking support in the competition, and the latter being my choice for the best leader from the support role at Worlds. GorillA, while not lighting off fireworks like Piccaboo in the summer, is the definition of consistency. Even when PraY is off his game and running head first to his doom, GorillA still plays at a high level that can get the Tigers back into the game through his superb engage capabilities and uncanny ability to find the right timings. Pyl is the player, along with Acorn, that makes LGD's superstar carry duo of GODV and Imp work as well as they do. When Pyl missed games in the regular season due to surgery, the entire team fell apart. You can have the best carries in the world, but you need a guy like Pyl that can point them in the right direction.

MaRin is up there with Acorn in terms of shot calling and leadership, and I only rate him below my "Big 3" top laners because of the fact that I need to see him play more split pushing champions like Smeb and Ssumday. On LGD, Acorn doesn't need to be that kind of player and Marin does with the amount of resources his team gives him throughout the game.

PaWn is the perfect secondary or even utility mid laner on a team of powerful players. He's now been on Samsung Blue, Samsung White, and Edward Gaming, three of the best teams talent-wise we've ever seen in League of Legends. He's a topflight player, but he isn't in the same class as Faker, GODV, and Rookie when it comes to influencing his team. PawN started off last year's tournament in poor fashion, and it was the power of DanDy/Mata/Imp that helped him get through his shaky start and eventually become a valuable piece of the puzzle.



YellOwStaR is simply the best Western player at the tournament. He has played the most games in World history at 36, has played on three different teams (aAa, SK, FNC) in his World Championship history, and is now returning with an entirely new (and better) Fnatic team. He only ranks behind Pyl in my eyes when it comes to a support leading his team around him.

Top 20

Rank Kelsey Nic Fionn 16. bengi MaRin Piccaboo 17. Koro1 Ziv Bang 18. Bang Pyl Febiven 19. Zzitai Febiven Karsa 20. SwordArt Karsa Doublelift

Kelsey: bengi’s impact as a pillar of SK Telecom T1 this year make him an incredible asset, and he will show up well in a tournament with a weak jungle pool. Koro1 may have been excluded from Regionals, had poor form in the semifinals, and appeared intermittently on the team due to illness, but he’s been the LPL's best top laner for most of this year and his performances in the summer kept Edward Gaming’s inconsistent team fighting tighter with clutch plays.

Bang is SK Telecom’s unsung hero in the bottom lane, with the lowest gold resources of an AD Carry at the tournament. Zzitai is likely my most controversial pick, but he has done a lot to carry Invictus Gaming’s early game this year when they struggled to make confident calls. He’d never make my list as a mid laner, but his dedication this year has transformed him. SwordArt has had to deal with a fluctuating AD Carry and shown proficiency at multiple support styles. His vision control gives the Flash Wolves an edge with a, at times, disconnected roster.

If we had honorable mentions, mine would include meiko for his consistency, Score for his role as a stable, if not a high skill ceiling, jungler this split, Febiven, and Karsa.

Nic: It was pretty clear from the get-go that the bottom of the list was going to be the most varied, with each of us recognizing different players on different teams and with regions other than LPL and LCK creeping into the standings.

I included Ziv and Karsa not only because they are the best players at their positions in the LMS, but their contribution to their teams is of a magnitude which matches or surpasses other players on this list. It’s safe to say Karsa’s arrival on the Flash Wolves took them from a middle of the pack to top tier team, and his focus on the early game combined with his high in-game IQ makes him an asset at all stages.

Ziv must be counted among the best utility top laners in terms of contributing to his team in a significant way despite being starved of gold and ignored by his own jungler. He made a name for himself on peeling tanks like Maokai or team fight threats like Gnar, and when combined with his immaculate Teleport play Ziv is a force to be reckoned with.

Fionn: At No. 16 is Piccaboo, a player that I absolutely love and have followed since his first professional games with Xenics Storm. With that being said, you must be asking yourself why I ranked him lower than my two counterparts on the panel? To me, Piccaboo is the definition of a feast or famine player. When Piccaboo is great, he is the best support in the world and his in-your-face shot-calling leads to games where KT Rolster rolls over their opponent in a flashy, stylish fashion. Yet when Piccaboo plays too recklessly and tries to do too much, he falls on his face, which can lead to situations where the rest of the team is put in a hole before they're out of the laning phase. At his best, Piccaboo is a Top 5 player at this tournament. At his worst, I wouldn't even rank him in the Top 30.

Bang is the complete opposite of Piccaboo. He plainly does his job, takes less resources than you'd expect from an AD Carry, and does his job diligently in the bottom lane. We've seen him have games where he hard carries on micro-intensive champions like Kalista and Lucian, but that isn't the normal Bang we'll usually see, and that's why I have him much lower than Imp and Deft on the list.

Febiven, Karsa, and Doublelift are the trio that make up the end of my rankings. Febiven has impressed me the most his year with his growth, going from a player I saw as simply a third wheel behind YellOwStaR and Huni at MSI to a person I now see as the best mid laner in the Western scene. Karsa is a player that I've focused on a lot during my preparation for Worlds, and he's someone I believe is set up for success in Europe. Although I think bengi will perform well, there are still flashbacks of his inconsistent play in the back of my mind.



Doublelift rounds out my Top 20 and is the only NA player on the list. It was a difficult decision picking between him, ZionSpartan and Bjergsen for who I thought was the tournament's best NA player, and I just think that Doublelift has been the most consistent over the past few months. He's experienced, played possibly the best games of his life during the NA LCS playoffs, and he'll likely play a key role if CLG want to keep their faith alive and make the quarterfinals.

Aggregate Exercise

As a final exercise, we added the points together for the 15 players we had in common and ranked them. There were five remaining players two of us had chosen that a third one hadn’t (ex: Nic and Kelsey chose bengi, Fionn and Kelsey chose Bang, Fionn and Nic chose MaRin). We put those after the top 15. In cases of point ties, the player who someone had given the lowest number (ex: Kelsey put Acorn second, so he was ranked over Ssumday, Fionn put GODV third, so he was ranked over RooKie) took the higher spot.

Rank Player 1. Faker 2. imp 3. Clearlove 4. Acorn 5. Ssumday 6. GODV 7. RooKie 8. GorillA 9. Smeb 10. Deft 11. KaKAO 12. Pyl 13. pawN 14. Piccaboo 15. YellOwStaR 16. MaRin 17. bengi 18. Bang 19. Febiven 20. Karsa

Final Thoughts

Kelsey: The end result of aggregation yields something I'm sure none of us could truly find a consistent thread to argue. Acorn ending up over GODV may fly in the face of both Fionn's and Nic's logic. Clearlove above KaKAO could trouble Tyler. I prefer Smeb above Ssumday. Neither party would agree to placing four SK Telecom T1 players on the list.

Nic: I feel that the list is a fair aggregate and has merits in representing all our opinions even if logic isn't consistent throughout. A mix of styles are all represented in this list, and it warms my heart to see Karsa and Febiven make the cut.

Fionn: I would describe this list as Orianna. It's a good mixture of aces, utility players, and in-game leaders that doesn't just put superstar carries in the Top 10. I also want to apologize to bengi for for leaving him off the list. I still love you, Mr. jungler.

Kelsey Moser is a staff writer for theScore eSports. You can follow her on Twitter.

Nic Doucet is a News Editor for theScore eSports. You can follow him on Twitter.

Tyler "Fionn" Erzberger is a staff writer for theScore eSports. You can follow him on Twitter.