During the offseason, numerous discussion has arisen about a potential League of Legends Hall of Fame and the influential players who would be inducted into it. This article will provide an in-depth analysis on what such a hall could look like.

Selection Process

To clarify, this Hall of Fame will feature only players who have affected League of Legends on a global scale. The HoF can and should have several regional branches commemorating players of significance to their region (i.e. outside of international competition), but to keep this article short, only a few pioneers will be discussed.

The selection process is fairly straightforward. Players, coaches, and other figures associated with LoL can be nominated some time after retirement (one year or longer). Every year, a voting panel per region will nominate up to 5 individuals for consideration by all panels across the world. Candidates must receive a certain level of support (say 75%) to be inducted. Successful candidates will be honored at a ceremony, say the annual All-Stars event (currently scheduled for the end of 2015). At the event, they could play an exhibition game with other HoF members.

First Ballot Speculation

The rest of this article is the author’s opinion and is not meant to reflect the official opinions of other figures.

Now, let’s discuss an important topic: what players should be inducted into the first class of the HoF? Unfortunately for this year, the top picks are mostly still active, but there are some obvious choices, i.e. 100% first-ballot selections. Note that the following players have infected the popular psyche of the community in some way or another.

Players

Faker (SK Telecom – Mid): Faker is near-unanimously hailed the best player in the world for good reason. After reaching rank 1 of the Korean ladder in Spring 2013, SKT built an entire team around him. During the team’s heyday (until they and their sister teams were merged for OGN Spring 2015), Faker led SKT to first place at the following premier competitions:

OGN Summer 2013

Riot Season 3 World Championship

OGN Winter 2013-2014 (They famously swept their competition 15-0 this season)

All-Star Paris 2014

Faker is still active, and despite major issues hitting his team in 2014, he remains SKT’s franchise player. Going into the 2015 season, SKT are contenders to win OGN and return to the WC after the dissolution of Samsung White (Ozone) and Blue.

Madlife (CJ Entus – Support): Before Faker was ordained God, there was Madlife. CJ Entus’ predecessor, Maximum Impact Gaming (MiG) was jokingly referred to as “Madlife is God” for a reason. Madlife essentially set the standard for support play back at a time where the role was severely underpowered (S2 and S3). His standout Blitzcrank and Thresh play has led the community to call any hook impossibly landed on enemies a “Madlife.”

Today, Madlife is still CJ Entus’ franchise player, having led CJ (Azubu / MiG) Frost to the following accolades:

OGN LoL Invitational Champion

OGN Spring 2012 Runner-up

OGN Summer 2012 Champion

Riot S2 World Championship Runner-up

OGN Winter 2012-2013 Runner-up

Diamondprox (Gambit Gaming – Jungle): Diamond is to jungle as Madlife is to support. Back in S2, Diamond redefined and showed the potential power of the jungle role. His ganks and counterjungling ability were practically unparalleled in 2012, and with the legendary Moscow 5 roster, he won the following tournaments:

IEM Season VI – Kiev

IEM Season VI – WC

S2 EU Regional Finals

IEM Season VII – Katowice

IEM Season VIII – Cologne

IEM Season IX – Cologne

While Gambit’s dominance has waned, Diamond is still respected across the world for his innovations, and he is the only player who has remained with M5 / Gambit during its existence (Edward had a brief stint with Curse back in Summer 2013). Meanwhile, Gambit always finds a way to win an IEM tournament each season, it appears.

xPeke (Origen – Mid): Xpeke is an institution in competitive LoL. He was essentially the face of Fnatic for four years, and despite a respite in S2, his team set the standard for excellence in the EU region. Here’s a list of the tournaments that he won with Fnatic, which doesn’t even include runner-up or semifinalist finishes.

Riot S1 World Championship

IEM Season VI – Cologne

IEM Season VI – New York

EU LCS Spring 2013

EU LCS Summer 2013

EU LCS Spring 2014

Like Madlife, he also has a move associated with him. After he single-handedly beat SK Gaming with his legendary Kassadin play at IEM Katowice in 2013, all backdoors in LoL are now referred to as xPeke. Out of all the players in this list, he has had the longest career and shows no signs of slowing down just yet.

Managers

Just as in other sports, LoL can and should induct managers (and perhaps even coaches) as well who have produced benefits for their organizations. There are two obvious choices in this category:

Reginald (Team SoloMid): While the original TSM roster had plenty of recognizable faces, its captain, founder, and manager, Reginald, was its most prominent figure. His abrasive personality and bold management decisions have often attracted the ire of teammates, but under Reginald’s leadership in game or as a manager, TSM has achieved first-place victories at the following competitions:

MLG 2011 Providence

IPL 4

MLG Spring 2012

IPL Face Off

Riot S2 NA Regional Finals

NA LCS Spring 2013

NA LCS Summer 2014

Despite TSM’s dominance in NA during S2, it’s questionable that Reginald should be inducted into the HoF as a player based on mediocre results in international play. That said, as a manager, he is a first-ballot selection for building TSM from scratch into its current form, a well-off organization with a massive fanbase. Under Reginald’s management, TSM tops the Twitch viewing statistics, and TSM chants can be heard at events around the world. Today, TSM is arguably the most recognizable LoL-based eSports organization, though its rival CLG may have something to say about that.

HotShotGG (Counter Logic Gaming): Believe it or not, TSM isn’t the oldest LoL organization around, as that honor belongs to CLG. Under HSGG, CLG was the most prominent organization in LoL’s infancy. While his play declined towards the end of his competitive career, it’s important to note that he was one of the best top players in his prime. With him, CLG won the following tournaments:

2010 WCG Grand Finals

IEM Season VI – Cologne

2011 MLG Raleigh

Like Reginald, HSGG is a questionable choice to be inducted based on player accomplishments, but he has been with LoL from its beta and deserves recognition for his role in its growth. Besides founding CLG, he deserves to be inducted for popularizing streaming on LoL, paving the way for LoL’s dominance in minutes viewed on Twitch and other websites. His ventures to Korea, though ultimately unsuccessful, did play a role in growing the Korean scene and aiding LoL’s rapid expansion in 2012. Lastly, he popularized the LoL subreddit, which is one of the largest on the site today.

Final Opinions

This article is getting a bit long, so it’s time to wrap it up. Aside from the above 6 figures, there’s a long list of individuals who are likely to enter the HoF based on current accomplishments and projections. Here’s a quick survey of the figures with a high probability of induction:

inSec (KT Rolster B, StarHorn Royal Club – 95%): A fantastic jungler who is well known for his Shaco and Lee Sin play. Lee Sin kicks are even called inSecs in honor of him. Though he never won an OGN Final, he did help carry SHRC to the 2014 Season WC Final. If he can carry his team to an LPL championship, he’ll become a first-ballot lock for sure. As for now, he would be a Tier A, compared to the four aforementioned Tier S players.

(KT Rolster B, StarHorn Royal Club – 95%): A fantastic jungler who is well known for his Shaco and Lee Sin play. Lee Sin kicks are even called inSecs in honor of him. Though he never won an OGN Final, he did help carry SHRC to the 2014 Season WC Final. If he can carry his team to an LPL championship, he’ll become a first-ballot lock for sure. As for now, he would be a Tier A, compared to the four aforementioned Tier S players. Dade (Samsung, Master3 – 95%): One of the top mid laners in Korea, he is the “King of Spring” for leading his team to first place in OGN Spring 2013 and OGN Spring 2014. Unfortunately, he isn’t as revered as his counterpart Faker due to underperforming slightly at the World Championships. Nonetheless, a semifinalist finish in the recent WC is nothing to sneer at.

(Samsung, Master3 – 95%): One of the top mid laners in Korea, he is the “King of Spring” for leading his team to first place in OGN Spring 2013 and OGN Spring 2014. Unfortunately, he isn’t as revered as his counterpart Faker due to underperforming slightly at the World Championships. Nonetheless, a semifinalist finish in the recent WC is nothing to sneer at. Dandy, Mata (Samsung White / Ozone, Vici Gaming – 90%): The heart and brain behind Samsung White’s dominance in 2014 and earlier, Spring 2013. While they were foiled by their sister team in OGN Spring and Summer 2014, they finally overcame Samsung Blue at the WC and handily took home the Summoner’s Cup. Leading their new team, Vici, to a championship would raise their probabilities of induction to 100%.

(Samsung White / Ozone, Vici Gaming – 90%): The heart and brain behind Samsung White’s dominance in 2014 and earlier, Spring 2013. While they were foiled by their sister team in OGN Spring and Summer 2014, they finally overcame Samsung Blue at the WC and handily took home the Summoner’s Cup. Leading their new team, Vici, to a championship would raise their probabilities of induction to 100%. Uzi (SHRC, OMG – 75%): Uzi has been considered by many to be the best AD carry in China for carrying his team to the World Championship finals twice. In fact, he’s the only player who’s been in a WC final twice, which puts him in a very exclusive club. Unfortunately, he hasn’t won an LPL title yet, but if he does so with his new team, he’ll basically be the most accomplished player in Chinese LoL history and a lock for the HoF.

There are some other figures on the potential shortlist, but they face a lot of competition for induction:

Weixiao: Hailed as the best AD carry in the world in his prime, was with WE during their undefeated streak in late 2012 – early 2013

Namei: Uzi’s AD rival who has won three LPL titles. A better showing at the 2015 WC would make him a lock for the HoF.

YellowStaR, Dyrus: only two players to reach the WC four times, longevity in the scene

Alex Ich: captain of the legendary M5 roster

Doublelift: face of CLG, compelling life story, longevity in the scene

Watch: only Korean player to reach the WC three times, Najin’s franchise player

There may also be a possibility that entire teams can be recognized in the HoF, and there are some very obvious choices. More on that in a future article.