Greatness does not always equate to gold, a fact that is very prevalent in the Korean League of Legends scene. There are a multitude of extremely talented players that have never raised an OGN Champions Trophy. Looking back at the Korean League of Legends scene, here are the top 10 greatest players to never win an OGN Champions season. Keep in mind that this list will not include players currently on a starting position in SBENU Champions Spring 2015.

10. Won "Mafa" Sang Yeon

Support

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PANDORA.TV Champions Winter 2013-2014 IEM Season VIII - World Championship

Mafa is such a forgotten name that people many times assume that you simply mistook him for the superior Mata. Yes, Mafa is not on the level of other Korean supports like Mata, MadLife, or PoohManDu. However, Mafa has always quietly been a good player, historically being one of the best defensive supports.



During his career on StarTale and KT Rolster Mafa was rarely criticized, hardly ever losing in lane, performing well in team fights, and being a contributing shot caller to the most strategically intelligent team ever. In addition to his always acceptable play on most champions, Mafa had the best support Fiddlesticks in the world, and most notably shown during Champions Winter 2013-2014, making huge impacts on every game he played that season. While Mafa rarely ever shined the way the aforementioned supports did, his versatility and ability to play make still make him one of Korea’s better supports, and one of the best players never to win a Champions season.

9. Jeong "NoFe" No Chul

Jungle

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Korea is famous for having many incredible junglers. There are the junglers that seem perfect like DanDy and KaKAO, both being mechanically prodigious as well as possessing great decision-making abilities. There are the mechanical prodigies like inSec that have amazing play making ability but lack in making good decisions for their team. Then there is NoFe. NoFe may not have been the most mechanically potent player, but his brilliant jungle pathing and decision making made him one of the most respected junglers in Korea. NoFe also displayed great adaptability, able to shift between both herbivore and carnivore style jungle champions.



Although NoFe never experienced great success in Korea, his intelligence as a player can be considered one of the main factors for the success of the newer Najin White Shield (when Ggoong, Zefa, and GorillA were picked up). NoFe’s great performance in PANDORA.TV Champions Winter 2013-2014 and strategical brilliance do not make NoFe one of history’s greatest junglers, but it certainly makes him one of the smartest.

8. Gu "Expession" Bon Taek

Top

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After MaKNooN won OLYMPUS Champions Winter 2012-2013 and was hailed the MVP of the tournament, the star top laner was asked who he thought the best top laner in the world was. At the time there were incredible top laners. Korea had Shy, Ragan, and MaKNooN himself. Outside of Korea, names such as Darien, Caomei, and PDD were surely considered. MaKNooN’s response? Expession.



Despite such a flattering comment from one of history’s best top laners, Expession has never won a Champions season. Or made a finals, or a semi-finals, or a quarterfinals. Although he never made it to the playoffs in Champions, it is possible that Expession just prefers playing online, never placing below 3rd in four NLB tournaments. Not only did he play tanky top lanes at a considerably strong level, he shined brightly on split push heavy champions like Irelia and Jax. Although his decision-making in team fights was quite mediocre, he possessed an incredible laning phase, capable of crushing even the most formidable of top lane adversaries, that he could later convert into a locomotive like split push. This led to both Najin teams he played for to center their styles around him split pushing, a one-dimensional but at least somewhat effective playstyle. Such a playstyle almost defeated SK Telecom T1 at the Season 3 World Champions, only edged out by a single game. Although he was not one of the most strategically intelligent or flexible players, for what he did well he did fantastically, and will remain one of Korea’s best top laners in history.

7. Jang “Looper” Hyeong Seok

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Looper was easily the worst player on his team. However, considering the fact that his team was the second best in history, this is nothing to deride. Famous for his exceptional use of Teleport, Looper has always been a strong force in the top lane. An astounding fact about Looper is his ridiculous KDAs. In PANDORA.TV Champions Winter 2013-14, Looper won the top lane KDA award with an amazing 10.40 KDA. In Hot6ix Champions Spring 2014, Looper again posted an impressive 5.7 KDA, only narrowly beat out by his Samsung counterpart Acorn with 5.8. However, in Hot6ix Champions Summer 2014 Looper once again was the king of KDA, winning the top lane KDA award with 5.90.



Although Looper never had to carry his team, he was certainly not dead weight, consistently playing well and always fitting the needs of his team. Originally famous for his strong Singed play, Looper never struggled with versatility, steadily adjusting his champion pool with every change in the meta. Although Looper cannot be placed higher due to him enjoying top tier players in every other position on his team, he was still a valuable asset to his team and deserves the seventh spot.

6. Yu "Ggoong" Byeong Jun

Mid

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To be competent in two eSports of different genres is an impressive feat in itself. However, not only was Ggoong a professional Starcraft: Brood War player, but also in his prime playing League of Legends was one of the world’s best mid laners. Ggoong never appeared to be the most naturally talented player, but his experience as a professional Starcraft player gave him a worth ethic that allowed him to diligently practice his way to being a top tier mid laner.



Ggoong is not the most versatile player, only being an average mid laner when the meta called for ranged burst mages like Xerath and Syndra. But when granted champions he’s comfortable with such as Nidalee, Orianna, Zed, Leblanc, and Ahri, there was little stop Ggoong. Although on his team he was overshadowed by Save in the top lane, on the right champions Ggoong still had his moments in carrying his team to victory.

5. Heo "PawN" Won Seok

Mid

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Any player to win Worlds is at least somewhat decent in their position. Considered Faker’s archenemy, PawN has always been formidable player in the mid lane. While his performance against other mid laners does not compare to his dominance against Faker, and having three of the best players of all time on your team certainly helps, the point still stands that PawN is an extremely good mid laner.



PawN’s career while playing for White in Korea was based around outputting consistent performances, which allowed DanDy to exert pressure around the map in all lanes and shape a victory. On most champions PawN was simply an above average player, but giving him his power picks like Fizz, Nidalee, or Yasuo turned PawN into a monster, pummeling his opponents in lane and being just as fearsome in team fights.

4. Baek "Save" Young Jin

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2014 Season Korea Regional Finals 2014 World Championship

Save’s excellent decision making and fantastic mechanical skill make him stand as one of the great Korean carry top laners. During his prime in OGN Spring 2014, Save was the best top laner in the world, displaying an extremely fearsome Shyvana that could best even the likes of Flame. Additionally, Save’s Teleport usage was among the best in the world, utilizing it to initiate advantageous fights for his team.



While Save did display weakness while playing utility champions in the top lane, Save was extremely strong on champions with carry potential; playing great on mages like Kassadin, Nidalee, and Ryze, as well as being damn near invincible on tanky champions like Renekton and Shyvana. Although Save was not one of the most versatile or consistent player, his amazing streak in OGN Spring 2014 and somewhat strong play afterwards make him truly worthy of being considered one of the best players to never win a Champions season.

3. Ryu "Ryu" Sang Wook

Mid/Jungle

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Two spots ahead of the player that dominated Faker is the player who got dominated by Faker. Why would I make the choice to put Ryu as better than PawN? Simple, PawN had much better team mates than Ryu did, and Ryu was an overall better player, despite his poor performances against Faker compared to PawN’s.



I am of the belief that the reason for Ryu’s constant dour face is that he secretly always knew that despite his incredible intelligence, diversity, and consistency, he would never win the highest honor in his country. Being an incredible player as well as the cornerstone of arguably the most strategically brilliant team in history, it would not be surprising if this was the case. In 2013, Ryu was undoubtedly the second best mid laner in Korea and perhaps the second best mid laner in the entire world. However, it was bad year to be the second best, considering 2013 was also the year of the ascension of the greatest player of all time, Faker. Three times that year Ryu was defeated by Faker, in the OGN Summer final, the S3 Korean Regional final and the OGN Winter semi-final. Ryu was a total package; great mechanics, a deep champion pool, mind-numbing consistency, and fantastic shot calling ability. The only thing standing in his way from being the best mid laner in Korea was SK Telecom T1’s golden boy.



For those not familiar with Ryu, he can best be described as a more refined version of Cloud 9’s mid laner Hai. Like Hai, he played a more supportive role for his team, focusing on securing objectives rather than securing himself kills. The other similarity Ryu holds with Hai is that he was also one of the shot callers for the KT Rolster Bullets. Considering just how canny the Bullets’ decision making and objective control was, one can assume he was a quite talented one. The main difference between Hai and Ryu is that Ryu was far more mechanically potent, as well as possessed a more versatile champion pool. While Ryu may not be remembered as being as skilled as other mid laners like Faker and Dade, his astounding amount of intelligence, versatility, and mechanical ability is something very few players rival.

2. Choi "inSec" In Seok

Jungle/Top

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IEM Season VII - Cologne NLB Winter 2012-2013



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2014 LPL Summer Playoffs 2014 World Championship

An unwritten rule is that any player to have a move named after them at one time was extremely good. That is not the only remarkable thing about inSec. Another notable attribute of inSec is that he has played at a top level in both the top lane and the jungle. That’s right, inSec has demonstrated great strength in two positions, something very few players can claim to have done.



In the top lane, inSec has been characterized as good, but not anywhere near the likes of some of the Korean top lane gods. However, being just an above average player in a region known for its plethora of exceptional talent in that position is nothing to scoff at. During inSec’s two OGN seasons as a top laner, he posted fantastic results, holding his own against exceptional top laners such as Shy, Expession, and Flame. Another testament to inSec’s strength in the top lane is the during OGN Summer 2013, inSec possessed the highest KDA of any top laner at the end of the season and was second only to Faker in MVP points. While this fact is in part due to his abuse of the overpowered nature of Zac at the time, the point still stands that inSec was very good in the top lane. Although he mostly played tanky champions like Zac, Shen, and Renekton, he occasionally also played carry top laners like Riven. While he certainly was not the best top laner in Korea, inSec was still an extremely valuable asset to his team; coordinating successful ganks with his jungler KaKAO and effectively initiating fights for his team.



However, when people think of inSec, they think of him in the jungle. inSec’s tenure in the jungle is among the greatest in history. While his play in the jungle was less than successful domestically, never advancing past the Ro8 in an OGN season, inSec still stands as being one of the five greatest junglers in League of Legends history. inSec’s champion pool is amazing, playing not just standard meta picks at an exceptional level, but also picking more exotic champions; Rammus, Fiddlesticks, Zed, etc. Other than Diamondprox, no jungler in history has ever experimented with the jungle meta as much as inSec has. In addition to his champion pool, inSec is one of the most mechanically talented in history. inSec’s Lee Sin was incredible, creating dozens upon dozens of incredible plays on the blind monk. For a long period of time, giving inSec Lee Sin was the equivalent of giving Blitzcrank to MadLife, Zed to Dade, or Leblanc to Faker - almost a guaranteed win to his team. While inSec’s decision making and consistency are not exceptional, his innovation and play making ability allow him to stand among the greatest players in history.

1. Lee "Flame" Ho Jong

Top

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Flame possesses almost all the qualities that make up a legendary eSports athlete. Talent? During Flame’s 13-0 winning streak with CJ Entus Blaze in OGN Spring 2013 before being defeated by MVP Ozone, his laning, one-on-one skills, and general mechanical ability was great enough to easily regard him as the most talented player in the world. Longevity? While other famous Korean top laners such as MaKNooN have only displayed brief flashes of brilliance before darkening out of top tier form, for the past two years Flame has always been held in the conversation for best top laners in the world, continually playing at an elite level. Dominance? While I just mentioned the amazing consistency that Flame holds over other great top laners, Flame had one of the most dominant streaks of any League of Legends player in history. During the aforementioned 13-0 win streak, Flame was incredible in every way. Commanding laning ability, an ocean-like champion pool, incredible mechanics; Flame had a level of perfection in his position only matched by the likes of Faker and WeiXiao.



The only component holding Flame back from being one of the five best players ever to compete in professional League of Legends is achievements. In Flame’s career he has never won an OGN Champions season. He has never competed in the World Championships. He has never completed the final step in being a true legend: success. If Flame had won OGN Spring 2013, and gone on to prove his excellence at the World Championships, it is very likely that we would consider him to be a top five player. But because that never happened, there will always be that question. But even so, the level of skill Flame has displayed is high enough to ignore such a shortcoming. Despite Flame never winning an OGN Champions season, never competing on the World Championships’ stage, and never defeating Dade’s fearsome Zed, he is still one of the best players in Korean history, and the best top laner of all time.