This season, everything changed for the European AD Carry as the role became one of the most stacked positions in Europe.

Forg1ven returned and showed he wasn’t just our shining spring 2014 circumstantial outlier, but genuinely the best player in the new competitive bottom lane. Rekkles was punished for his grievous sins of passivity for the duration of spring 2015 and returned in the summer as a true teamfighting AD. Hjarnan, Freeze and Niels entered the fray and for one split Steeelback was with us, all four displaying the previously hidden strength of European Challenger.

Previously strong players relative to 2014 Europe such as Woolite and Tabzz fell far from the mark in this new Europe. Even the much lauded MrRallez would re-emerge without making too much of a dent to the Top 5. As the meta shifted towards favouring a more bot-centric style of play come playoffs, the best of the bot lanes were secure in their chances to go to Worlds. Europe has had to catch up with the ways of the rest of the world. No more mid-centricity here.

In light of such improvement, here are the ADCs that Europe proudly sends to the 2015 World Championship, carrying the expectations and progress of the region on their backs.

Hjarnan

EU LCS Summer Statistics

Games Played: 28

Most Played Champions: Sivir (7), Tristana (6), Jinx (5), Corki (5), Kalista (4)

Most Successful Champions: Tristana (83%), Jinx (80%), Kalista (75%)

DPM/DMG% (Playoffs): 646, 33.6% (1st in role)

DPM/DMG% (Regular Split): 586, 29.7% (1st in role)

Gold Share (Playoffs): 27.7% (1st in team, 1st in role)

Gold Share (Regular Split): 27.4% (1st in team, 3rd in role)

There was rarely much doubt to Hjarnan’s raw skill throughout the Challenger Series. Part of Cloud 9 Tempest, Hjarnan was picked up as part of a team stacked with Top 10 solo queue talent. Cloud 9’s North American philosophy began to manifest in Europe. The bread and butter of the team at the time was Febiven, while Odoamne served as the unmoving rock upon which the team could always rely on. Question marks were frequently held over the jungler/support position, with both changing frequently and not giving Hjarnan a long enough period of grace to adequately show his form.

With their original support Voidle ushered back in, things looked grim for H2K in their debut split despite the presence of incoming Korean veteran Ryu. Going 0-8, the final roster change of H2K occurred. Voidle was swapped out for kaSing, with issues concerning team mentality cited. Whatever happened behind the scenes, it worked. The addition of kaSing seemingly brought about a brand new H2K. This new stability allowed Hjarnan to evolve into a genuine threat and by the time of Summer few could doubt that this man was laying a claim to the throne of Europe. Even Forg1ven, a man infamously judgemental of other AD’s such as Rekkles, gave the title to Hjarnan.

Hjarnan is the epitome of a teamfighting ADC. I have talked about H2K’s tendency to make picks off of kaSing and Odoamne’s roams but all of this is done with Hjarnan in mind. He gets all the resources early that he could want. H2K’s tendency to rush standing gold (they have the quickest first tower down stat at 3:24 average) as fast as possible became the backbone of their early game strategy. Mid-late game they would turn into a pseudo pick comp, rotating with speed around the map and trading objectives until they could make that one pick. kaSing and Ryu only had to kill one, they had every faith that Hjarnan would do the rest and they were rewarded each and every time.

H2K was essentially unaffected by the Sivir nerfs (100% win rate at playoffs, 71% overall). Skirmish Sivir was taken off the table for all but the most co-ordinated of teams, yet H2K were not like that. Sivir was a rotational booster for them. Sivir was the AOE they needed to take the fights they choose. There are other turret busters anyway, as Hjarnan’s insane proficiency on Tristana and Jinx have shown. Though there is no doubt in my mind that he plays a good Corki, it just won’t fit into H2K’s rotational playstyle as of yet as is evident by it’s appalling 20% win rate. Regardless, Hjarnan puts the Damage in Attack Damage Carry. If H2K are ever able to fight on their own terms, teams will learn precisely what that means.

Rekkles

EU LCS Summer Statistics

Games Played: 26

Most Played Champions: Sivir (6), Kalista (6), Tristana (5), Corki (5), Ashe (2)

Most Successful Champions: Kalista (100%), Sivir (100%), Tristana (80%)

DPM/DMG% (Playoffs): 596, 29.8% (2nd in role, 3rd in role)

DPM/DMG% (Regular Split): 570, 26.6% (2nd in role, 7th in role)

Gold Share (Playoffs): 26.9% (1st in team, 2nd in role)

Gold Share (Regular Split): 27.4% (2nd in team, 10th in role)

Rekkles was Fnatic’s quintessential cleanup ADC in season four. Every attempt by the community to define him as otherwise was just painful to watch. He was a massive gold hogger, accruing incredible CS and KDA leads while contributing very little to his team’s overall damage. In their decisive victory over Samsung Blue at the World Championships, Deft had still managed to double Rekkles’ damage to champions despite being down by far in every single stat on a late game hyperscaling champion vs. Rekkles’ superior mid game.

This is not that Rekkles. This is not even the Rekkles that showed up in Elements’ infamous spring split debacle. This is a player who has held a genuine claim to the throne, is selfless and efficient, outputs the damage expected of him and functions as part of the tight five man unit that is Fnatic. Rekkles went from having the third highest gold share on Elements to the tenth highest gold share in one split. On a team with carry-oriented players like Huni and Febiven, Rekkles learned to take a back seat. Prioritising Kalista, Fnatic would go on to secure a quite frankly staggering amount of 20 minute barons, becoming the most successful baron taking team in the league.

This meant a new form of decision making and macro play on Rekkles’ part. He had to be there for the game plan, not just build himself into as much of a threat as possible. Yellowstar’s propensity to roam and consolidate advantages with vision would often leave Rekkles alone, but he never isolated himself from the rest of the team. As Fnatic grew, so too did Rekkles. In teamfights he was no longer the passive cleanup ADC of old. Who could forget his performance against Giants where Fnatic’s utter faith in his Kalista was rewarded so highly. Or the game-changer that was Gambit, where Rekkles stood as the only rock Fnatic had left - laning against his old rival Forg1ven, of all people. Rekkles seems to have realised that skill in a team environment need not be selfish to be visible.

It is difficult to weigh up individual success on a team that held a 100% win rate in the regular split. Rekkles is still not without his faults. In the playoffs, a bot-centric meta had taken over the rift and Rekkles was suddenly given all the resources needed to carry games. It is easy to point to his famously aggressive Pentakill on Origen in the finals as an argument for his development into the undisputed best, but on Tristana and in this new environment we saw a return to the old ways of Rekkles. Too often would objectives like Baron be traded while Rekkles needlessly farmed elsewhere on the map, giving nothing to the overall plan of the team. These instances were nowhere near the frequency of his old self, but did cost Fnatic dearly.

If Fnatic can iron out the old, passive Rekkles for good and finalise the establishment of his new form, the oncoming threat of Rekkles can finally be realised and the world will be forced to take note.

Niels

EU LCS Summer Statistics

Games Played: 35

Most Played Champions: Corki (13), Sivir (8), Kalista (4), Vayne (3), Tristana (3)

Most Successful Champions: Kalista (100%), Corki (69%), Vayne/Tristana (66%)

DPM/DMG% (Playoffs): 565, 30.7% (3rd in role, 2nd in role)

DPM/DMG% (Regular Split): 550, 26.6% (5th in role, 5th in role)

Gold Share (Playoffs): 26.7% (1st in team, 3rd in role)

Gold Share (Regular Split): 27.4% (1st w/xPeke in team, 6th in role)

DPM/DMG% (Regionals): 479, 26.8% (2nd in role, 3rd in role)

Gold Share (Regionals): 26.8% (1st in team, 1st in role)

There is a lot to be said for what Niels has achieved. He is a rookie ADC who has made the World Championships first try. He has done so not as a supportive or utility player, taking the back seat to the four veteran world finalists that exist on his team. He has done so with a team that, to all extents and purposes, plays around him. If I wanted to be extremely controversial, I would say that Niels carried Origen to the World Championships, but that would be an exaggeration. Origen were simply too happy to build compositions around their miraculously lifted ADC, and their faith was rewarded each and every time.

Niels is not without his faults, but his faults have too often been representative of the flaws of Origen as a whole. In a team so prone to making greedy and risky moves, Niels’ Sivir ultimates will occasionally fall flat. He has been a victim of Origen’s questionable draft phase, lumbered on hyperscaling individualistic champions like Vayne with no mid game power spike to lift him up or ability to contest early objectives on the map. Origen’s difficulties in these areas have frequently been addressed by their inclusion of Corki, giving a definite early power spike with which to plan around. Even then, they have fallen into the trap of too-much-AP as they did in their almost-victory against Fnatic during the regular split. Defeated by a Locket and a poor understanding of their own composition’s teamfighting dynamic.

Yet Niels was never the one to throw these games. His instances of greed are so few I can only bring one to memory. Even on famously risky champions like Vayne, he ensured he was never a burden to his team. His Kalista holds a 100% win rate. Origen were always at home playing around neutral objectives and Niels could always be trusted in teamfights. Niels could be trusted to do a lot of things. Take a look at the above champion pools and compare them to Niels. Hjarnan is defined by champions that excel at taking turrets and exerting map pressure. Rekkles is defined by utility. Niels on the other hand can be whatever Origen wants him to be. Origen’s greatest strength at the end of the day is it’s flexibility, but Niels goes above and beyond that, showcasing his ability to be the core focus of his team in a variety of different playstyles.

Just how good is Niels? The scary thing is we honestly don’t know yet. He is good enough to have his veteran superteam play around him but he is still in his debut split. He is good enough to output high damage statistics on single target champions. He is good enough to stand up to the best in lane and out of it and unlock the legendary Mithy to his full potential. Yet Niels is still improving day by day. Niels is still finding his optimal playstyle and discovering where he fits into the food chain. Niels has been the most well rounded AD Carry in Europe for a while now. He doesn’t have new-Rekkles’ questionable decision making or the passivity of the Rekkles of old. He has never needed his team to give him a positional or man advantage as Hjarnan is able to rely on. He has never been anything but a core reason for Origen’s success.

The Niels of summer may have a claim to be the best ADC in Europe, but the Niels that comes out of Origen’s Korean bootcamp could still be even better.

Power Spike

Not more than one season ago, European ADCs were incredibly weak.

Rekkles was far from his prime, serving as a perfect example of what would become the ‘clean up ADC’ but was essentially an attack damage carry that forgot the ‘damage’ part of the title. Tabzz was gifting us with a far more intelligent style of play, being one of Alliance’s two main aggressors - but he was far from held up as an international threat mechanically. Forg1ven was arguably the only true ADC in Europe but he was given only one split on the Copenhagen Wolves before falling into a split’s worth of purgatory.

The three competitors Europe sent to Worlds are exceptional in their own rights and have each held, in my opinion, the title of best ADC in Europe on separate occasions throughout the split. Look forward to what the new, improved Europe is sending to Worlds.

Michael “Veteran” Archer is former coach/analyst turned EU writer and a dedicated abuser of oracleselixir.com. You can follow him on Twitter.



