The League of Legends World Championship is always filled with talent from across the globe. But this year, the tournament’s mid lane player pool might be one of the best we’ve seen in a while.
From veteran superstars to young phenoms, the toughest role to pin down this year will come from the mid lane kingdom. Each squad relies on this role, whether they have flashy playmakers or utility-based players who focus on their team.
Here are the best mid laners heading into Worlds 2020.
Top Esports’ Knight
Could Knight be the best League player right now? Many fans and analysts believe so. The 20-year-old superstar from China has taken over the LPL alongside Top Esports and is now one of the best individual talents at Worlds.
He’s one of the biggest reasons Top are considered favorites to win the Summoner’s Cup this year since he was clearly the most dominant player in his region. Last split, he had a league-leading 7.2 KDA and an incredible 75.6-percent kill participation rate in one of the most competitive and bloody regions in the world, according to League stats site Oracle’s Elixir.
Don’t be surprised if Knight stomps your favorite mid laner at Worlds this year.
DRX’s Chovy
Ever since he made his LCK debut with Griffin, Chovy has been considered one of the best young mid laners in Korea. This 19-year-old phenom was already impressive in the past but his heroics in 2020 propelled him even further on people’s lists as one of the world’s best talents.
Chovy had plenty of hurdles to jump over this past season, though, and his ability to carry his team to victory shows how strong of a player he’s become. DRX might look great on paper with the third-highest team kills in the league and the highest mid-to-late game rating, according to Oracle’s Elixir. But Chovy still had to do some heavy lifting throughout the summer. He had the highest gold share of any LCK mid laner and some of the highest damage numbers in the league.
For many games, especially in the playoffs, it was the Chovy show. Expect more fireworks and bright lights when DRX takes the stage this October.
Damwon Gaming’s ShowMaker
ShowMaker and Damwon boast one of the strongest top sides of any team in the tournament. The 20-year-old superstar has some of the best mechanical skills anyone has seen and had a mind-blowing 16 KDA during the 2020 LCK Summer Split with only 29 deaths through 39 games, according to Oracle’s Elixir.
Like many top-tier Korean mid laners, he’s extremely strong in the early game. He had the highest gold difference at 10 minutes of anyone in his role in Korea. He also had the highest average damage to champions per minute of any mid laner in the league.
Damwon are another group of clear favorites to lift the Summoner’s Cup this fall. Look for ShowMaker to be right in the middle of the action when the group stage begins.
G2 Esports’ Caps
Caps has been the life force of Europe’s best team this season—and for good reason. He’s been the best mid laner in the West, as well as the most consistent member of his team this summer.
The 2020 Summer Split wasn’t as dominant for G2 as past seasons, though, with the team only finishing with an 11-7 record. The rest of the team’s roster had multiple moments of weakness throughout the split and there were games were Caps had to put G2 in his backpack. In the playoffs, he had to become an even stronger machine to bring his team yet another LEC championship.
G2 fans are hoping that Caps won’t have to do as much heavy lifting at Worlds since the competition will be infinitely fiercer in Shanghai than in Europe.
Worlds 2020 begins on Sept. 25.
