Credit — Riot Games

Following months of speculation, roster moves and brand-new organisations entering the fray, competitive European League of Legends finally returns to our screens tomorrow. Complete with a fresh look and title, the League of Legends European Championship — or LEC for short — represents a new era for EU.

This years franchised league attracted a lot of attention from potential partners and as a result, four new organisations will be joining the LEC this season. A whole host of new faces await viewers when the Spring Split begins on Friday evening, whether it be the recognisable names of Origen and SK Gaming, or unfamiliar orgs to regular LCS viewers, like Excel Esports and Rogue.

With an influx of new organisations comes an influx of new rosters, and this off-season has proved no different. Of the 50 starting players on LEC teams for the Spring Split, 35 were involved in some form of roster change over the last few months, with no less than 8 set to make their EU debuts on Friday.

Fans are undoubtedly anticipating another exhilarating season of European League of Legends and looking forward to watching a bunch of new and old players take to the Rift. Here are five of the most exciting names to keep an eye on in the 2019 LEC season.

sOAZ (Misfits Gaming)

Credit — Riot Games

With 280 EU LCS appearances and a career spanning back to November 2010, Paul “sOAZ” Boyer is without a doubt the most experienced League of Legends player heading into the LEC this season. Last year sOAZ helped Fnatic win back-to-back LCS play-offs and reach the World Championship final — the first time a European team has reached the final of League’s most elite competition since Season 1.

Despite Fnatic’s resounding success, sOAZ may not look back on his 2018 achievements as fondly as his teammates do. After a season of large meta shifts, the Frenchman found himself second choice behind EU LCS ‘Rookie of the Year’ Bwipo, and only made 4 appearances during Fnatic’s Worlds run. Not content with sharing play time, sOAZ made a move to Misfits Gaming in the off-season with the hope of re-establishing himself as EU’s best top laner.

In Misfits, sOAZ joins a very strong roster that will be vying for play-off success come the end of Spring. This move presents the perfect opportunity for the former Fnatic man to contest Bwipo, Cabochard and Wunder for the title of best top laner in the West. It is for this reason that sOAZ is a player to watch in 2019 as he looks to prove himself on the LEC stage, starting tomorrow against European new boys Rogue.

Mowgli (Team Vitality)

Credit — Riot Games

Vitality can look back on their 2018 season with some pride after reaching Worlds, taking games from the likes of RNG and Gen.G, and winning over fans from across the globe in the process. Despite their successful season, YamatoCannon and his squad have made changes heading into the LEC this year with the aim of reaching even greater heights in 2019.

Lee “Mowgli” Jae-ha joins Vitality from Afreeca Freecs, where he spent 2 years sharing game time and learning from former Samsung Blue and Fnatic jungler Spirit. Although he was the team’s second choice jungler, Mowgli gained experience on a roster that finished 2nd and 3rd in LCK play-offs, as well as a quarter-finals appearance at Worlds.

With a starting position on Team Vitality, the Korean jungler finally has the chance to prove his worth against some of the best junglers in Europe. Capable on both carries and tanks, in a meta that features both options, Mowgli is a player that has the potential to become a force in the LEC along with a Vitality squad that showed its immense quality in Europe during 2018. Tomorrow we’ll see Mowgli make his European debut against Schalke 04, where he’ll be hoping to make a positive start to his Vitality career.

Nemesis (Fnatic)

Credit — LVP

Caps’ huge move from Worlds finalists Fnatic to G2 Esports was the most controversial talking point of the off-season, but there has been less conversation about his talented replacement Tim “Nemesis” Lipovšek. The 19-year-old joins from Spain’s MAD Lions shortly after aiding the team to lift trophies in the Summer SuperLiga Orange play-offs, Summer EU Masters and Iberian Cup.

An unknown quantity to those unfamiliar with the Spanish League of Legends scene, Fnatic will hope the signing of Nemesis will continue their tradition of transforming non-LCS talents into stars on their roster. The Slovenian mid laner spent just over a year with MAD Lions and in that time won six major tournaments, the most notable of which being the Summer EU Masters where Nemesis and his team made their mark on the European audience.

Undeniably, this LEC rookie has huge shoes to fill in the absence of Caps. The new Fnatic recruit’s predecessor picked up 5 ‘Player of the Game’ awards during Worlds and dominated against some of the world’s best mid laners. Nevertheless, Nemesis has impressed Fnatic’s coaching staff enough to convince them he is prepared for Europe’s biggest stage — and as we’ve seen before with the likes of Broxah, Bwipo and Caps, Fnatic’s scouts are eagle-eyed when it comes to spotting potential talents.

Perkz (G2 Esports)

Credit — Riot Games

To facilitate Caps’ move to G2 Esports, Luca “Perkz” Perković made the decision to ply his trade in the bottom lane in 2019. After reaching the semi-finals of Worlds and cementing his name amongst EU’s best, G2’s star player required a new challenge for this season and thus has swapped his role from the middle lane to AD carry.

Opinions are scattered when it comes to predicting Perkz’s ability outside of his natural position, with some already placing him at the top of their tier list before he’s played a single game. Nonetheless, there is no question about the Croatian’s natural ability when it comes to League of Legends as he demonstrated his mechanical prowess on the largest international stage in 2018.

It is the uncertainty and unpredictability when it comes to Perkz’s bottom lane performance that makes him one of the players that everyone will be watching on the first weekend of the LEC. It will be a baptism of fire tomorrow as Perkz debuts his new role against Origen, and will be up against Patrik and Mithy, a more than experienced duo that will prove a difficult test for G2’s new marksman.

Norskeren (Splyce)

Credit — Riot Games

Everyone’s favourite dabbing support made a name for himself in the 2018 season on ROCCAT with plays almost as high quality as the player-cam reactions that followed. Initially it was feared that Tore “Norskeren” Hoel Eilertsen would not find a place on an LEC team for 2019, however Splyce swooped in late for the Norwegian support to conclude their roster, much to the relief of many EU LCS fans.

Despite ROCCAT failing to make play-offs in Spring and Summer, Norskeren gained popularity for his ability to make flashy plays even when his team fell behind. After displaying his ability and potential throughout 2018, Splyce picked up the 19-year-old to join Splyce mainstay Kobbe in the bottom lane, forming a strong and promising duo.

Norskeren begins the LEC season up against Excel Esports tomorrow and will be hoping to guide his team to victory and build momentum for the rest of the Spring Split, while the audience keep an eye on the new Splyce man’s player cam to see what reaction he’ll bless us with next.