The NA LCS Top Dogs

We’re past the point where teams in the North American League of Legends Championship Series can claim that they are still warming up, or need time to mesh with their new rosters. It’s time for the teams to step up and prove that they deserve a spot at the top, and for Team Liquid, it’s not a spot they want to share.

Impact

Jung “Impact” Eon-yeong has the world class pedigree that made him such a hotly contested signing for the 2018 season. A former world champion, his games with former team SK Telecom T1 won him world renown in the professional scene, and his eventual arrival in the NA LCS scene won fans over for both himself and his new team. Despite a rocky start upon arrival, Impact eventually joined Cloud9, which is where he finally started to shine in the NA LCS. A combination of the easy going streaming nature of the team, combined with their LCS success, allowed Impact to finally settle into the role as a true challenger to the title of “best top laner NA”. The acquisition of Impact by Team Liquid makes a bold statement that they intend to be the best in North America.

Xmithie

Jake “Xmithie” Puchero is no stranger to life in the NA LCS. A breakout member of Team Vulcun back in season 3, Xmithie was highly rated for his jungling prowess and ability to play multiple archetypes. After a time on Counter Logic Gaming, which included winning back to back NA LCS titles, Xmithie was traded to Immortals, where he was praised for his ability to lead the team in game, while also maintaining his jungler mechanics that served him well earlier in his career. While Immortals had a very successful year, they were unable to secure a spot in the newly franchised NA LCS, and Xmithie would go on to join Team Liquid.

Pobelter

Eugene “Pobelter” Park is perhaps the most mechanically skilled of the domestic mid laners, with an ability to compete at the highest levels with such players as Bjergsen and Jensen. Playing for a few teams in the NA LCS, Pobelter was never really able to find success until he joined Counter Logic Gaming, where he, alongside teammates Xmithie and Doublelift, was able to finally claim victory over TSM and win the NA LCS. Pobelter joined Immortals for their 2016 season, and played a key role in their incredible winning streak during the spring split. It was in 2017 that Immortals, led by Pobelter, was finally able to get over their playoffs problem, and progress to the World Championship, though they were not able to proceed out of the group stage. When Immortals was disbanded at the end of 2017, Pobelter joined up with Team Liquid, allowing them to focus their import slots on other roles.

Doublelift

Yiliang “Peter” “Doublelift” Peng is no stranger to the spotlight of the NA LCS. One of the most storied players, Doublelift has been a part of the NA LCS for nearly its entire duration, minus a brief pause in early 2017. Joining up with Counter Logic Gaming in 2011, Doublelift would become the face of the brand that struggled to find success for so long. Despite being a top team, it wasn’t until 2015 that CLG was able to finally claim victory in the NA LCS, and Doublelift was finally able to put a marker on his claim of being the best AD Carry in North America. After a shock departure from CLG just weeks after their Worlds 2015 campaign, Doublelift announced that he would be joining TSM, a perennial CLG rival, in a move that immediately divided the fan base between those loyal to CLG, and those loyal to Doublelift himself. While success wouldn’t happen straight away, it did happen, with TSM claiming victory in the NA LCS three more times, twice with Doublelift. After another surprising roster season which saw Doublelift dumped from the TSM roster, he would go on to sign with Team Liquid, joining former teammates Xmithie and Pobelter in the process.

Olleh

Kim “Olleh” Joo-sung has had an interesting career, starting in the Korean LCK, before making the move to Brazil to join paiN Gaming in 2014. Olleh would go on to play in the League of Legends Master Series, which gathers teams from Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong, before again switching regions to NA to play for Immortals. While the team did not have its greatest results, Olleh was a highly commended member, garnering a wide variety of praise for his mechanical skill, as well as his team synergy. Olleh has shown a propensity for aggressive support champions, preferring to make active moves, rather than re-active ones, a skill that allows him to get his lane partner Doublelift ahead in the early game. This allows his team to engage upon and defeat their enemies come late game.

Team Liquid now sits tied for first place, along with Cloud9 and Echo Fox. While a team will have to beat their opponents to prove their skill, Team Liquid will have to face both of their NA LCS co-leaders this weekend. To find out when these teams will go head to head, check out the official NA LCS schedule here. To see how these teams got to this point, check out our recaps for the NA LCS week 3, days 1 and days 2.