Yahoo Esports’ All-EU LCS Team for 2017 Spring Split

The 2017 EU LCS Spring Split has seen many critics complaining of the straightforward nature of the season. A gap existed between top and bottom teams. The best players stood out even more, and naturally, some stood out more than others.

In assessing which player best represented each position for our All-EU LCS picks, we focused on the consistency, impact on the team, and the overall legacy of form. Within that context, our top picks were pretty clear, but second and third positions warranted some dispute.

Top Lane: Unicorns of Love’s Kiss “Vizicsacsi” Tamás

Runners-up: H2K-Gaming’s Andrei “Odoamne” Pascu, Splyce’s Martin “Wunder” Hansen

Vizicsacsi has performed exceedingly well in 1v1 situations, and his team channels the pressure he generates into leads. His midseason struggle to initiate teamfights gave us pause; we considered ranking Odoamne higher for his reliable performances in the early part of the split, as he bolstered his team while they improved synergy with bottom lane. But ultimately, Vizicsacsi’s superior understanding of flanks earned him the spot.

Our only dispute came in the third place position. Though Wunder made the official ballot because of his role in Splyce’s rise, my Yahoo Esports colleague Emily Rand had a different selection on her personal list for similar reasons. Recency bias is a dangerous thing, and something that we try — not always successfully — to avoid. That being said, ROCCAT’s late-season push was remarkable, and top laner Ambrož “Phaxi” Hren was a big reason behind their success, earning him Emily’s pick for third.

Jungle: H2K-Gaming’s Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski

Runners-up: G2 Esports’ Kim “Trick” Gangyun, Nubar “Maxlore” Sarafian

Jankos underwent an exciting transformation just before the World Championship last year. He went from a jungler who forces ganks and camps brush to a jungler who understands how to use the position of creeps in lane and play off of which lanes have advantages. He and Fabian “Febiven” Diepstraten demonstrated the best performances as a unit this split, giving H2K a strong backbone in the middle of the map to provide opportunities for solo lanes. Although Odoamne carried H2K while the team was still figuring out their communication system, Jankos has been a sturdy presence throughout, a force behind their famed map control.

The second and third picks sparked more discussion. Both Emily and myself included Trick on our lists, earning him the second place spot for his efficiency on the map, despite his risk-taking. The third pick was most contentious and came down to Maxlore and Giants Gaming’s Jonas “Memento” Elmarghichi. I briefly championed Memento, as he shares some of Maxlore’s strengths for controlling the jungle to a lesser degree with more sparks of variation. Ultimately, ROCCAT’s impressive surge, speared in part by Maxlore’s resourcefulness, earned him the nod.

Mid Lane: H2K-Gaming’s Fabian “Febiven” Diepstraten

Runners-up: G2 Esports’ Luka “Perkz” Perkovic, Unicorns of Love’s Fabian “Exileh” Schubert

Febiven hasn’t so much returned to form as simply been able to play off vision generated by his jungler much better and react more to information to pressure his opponent. These overall improvements have made him more stable, and he stands out as a strong fixture in the mid lane. Holding pressure is the most important factor of mid lane play this split, and he was a clear choice.

Perkz’s steady improvement in conjunction with his history earned him the second place position, while Exileh’s impressive transformation into a more consistent player slotted him into third. Exileh still overextends in early levels, but his understanding of when he has roam priority has had a massive impact on Unicorns of Love’s ability to get ahead.

ADC: G2 Esports’ Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen

Runners-up: Martin “Rekkles” Larsson, Steven “Hans sama” Liv

Zven has been one of the best AD carries in the LCS for a while, and with his longtime rival Konstantinos-Napoleon “FORG1VEN” Tzortziou absent, his prowess is all the more apparent. While he and Alfonso “mithy” Aguirre Rodríguez haven’t been as consistent as a pair, Zven still has a large impact on teamfights and can exert pressure in lane well.

While G2 have had problems (some born of the fact that they’ve remained at the top of Europe unchallenged for so long), Fnatic had a massive mid-season internal spiral that nearly cost their team a chance at the playoffs. Despite his vocal struggles, Rekkles has been an in-game constant for Fnatic, and his flexibility is partially responsible for their last-minute postseason entry.

The final pick was a bit more difficult, but Hans sama’s steady improvements — rather than peaks and troughs — and his ability to complement Lee “IgNar” Donggeun earned him the last place on our list.

Support: Misfits’ Lee “IgNar” Donggeun

Runners-up: Splyce’s Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle, H2K-Gaming’s Choi “Chei” Sunho

Lee “IgNar” Donggeun creates the most opportunities for Misfits with his sense for engage. Although he may have his impact somewhat limited to engage picks, there’s a reason Misfits try to free him up in the bottom lane as early as possible. He has a strong sense for mid roams, and earlier in the season, his synergy with Lee “KaKAO” Byungkwon was exemplary. The support role was one of the hardest to judge, with the usual pack-leader Alfonso “mithy” Aguirre Rodríguez setting an unreliable example, but IgNar came the closest.

Following IgNar, Mikyx and Chei showed the most consistent form near the conclusion of the split to earn spots.

You can follow Kelsey Moser (@karonmoser) and Emily Rand (@leagueofemily) on Twitter.