Many League of Legends players claim jungler is the most broken role in the game, and while that may be an extreme statement, it’s been proven throughout the years that junglers do have an essential impact on a team’s overall performance.
With the meta favoring more and more coordinated plays over individual actions, jungle players have gained ever-increasing importance both in the early-game action, as well as teamfight initiation. To put it simply, a great jungler can single-handedly elevate a team’s potential by a tier or two, especially when they have the possibility to enable and give resources to world-class carries.
At the 2023 Mid-Season Invitational, running from May 2 to May 21, junglers from regions across the world will have the chance to prove their worth and showcase their strategies and game knowledge.
Here are the five best junglers competing at MSI 2023.
Blaber
Cloud9 continue to dominate the LCS and just like in previous years, Blaber is a big contributor to their success.
Even though he has been playing more supportive champions like Sejuani lately, the North American is still averaging positive stats all around, having the highest KDA, experience, and gold differential at 15 minutes (according to Games of Legends). In other words, he’s always able to exert pressure early on and generate leads for his own team.
With the new jungle meta at MSI, it will be exciting to see what Blaber can do against the best junglers in the world. He’s always been known as a mechanical player, so the international tournament will be the best chance to showcase his talent, with the hopes of taking Cloud9 to even greater success.
Elyoya
Elyoya is the best western jungler there is in season 13. No other jungler has been carrying a team as hard as he has so far: If MAD were able to crawl their way to a LEC Spring Championship and a direct ticket to the MSI bracket stage, huge credit must go to the Spanish player.
The way Elyoya carries is by having a strong and constant early-to-mid game presence in all matches. Whether it’s ganking and covering lanes, or playing for neutral objectives, you can expect him to always be a part of the action. Despite his negative CS differential at 15 minutes, Elyoya compensates for that loss with more experience and gold generated with proactive plays.
What’s even more important is that he rarely makes mistakes: In the LEC Spring Playoffs, he never died for First Blood and averages the lowest amount of deaths among the four junglers at that stage (according to Games of Legends).
The west might not have the best teams in the world, but Elyoya is definitely establishing himself as one of the greatest junglers in League history.
Oner
Oner has been popping off less lately and this season he has had a similar role to Peanut, becoming a much more supportive player with some occasional carry moments.
Considering the current iteration of T1, it’s probably much better for Oner to fall back into a utility role. Zeus and Gumayusi have been the carries of the roster this season so far, and they will likely continue to be at MSI.
The Korean jungler did a great job during the regular split, getting the highest amount of first blood, as well as positive experience and gold differentials at 15 minutes (according to Games of Legends). That said, he struggled to deliver the same impact during the LCK Spring playoffs, which is why he ended up lower on the list compared to Peanut.
Related: Answering 3 burning questions before MSI 2023
Regardless, Oner is still an incredibly talented player with great mechanics. Given the small meta shift in the jungle, we might be able to see him shine more on his carry champions. If T1 want to take the victory at MSI this year, then Oner’s performances will play a major role in their run.
Peanut
Peanut is the perfect example that some players don’t need to have the best stats to prove their worth. Despite not having pop-off performances or particularly flashy moments, Peanut stabilizes his team with his own consistency and supportive playstyle.
Back in the days when Peanut was a youngster on the SKT lineup, he used to be a mechanical god with enormous potential. That version of Peanut has gone missing in the past few years, especially after he landed on Gen.G. While it may seem like a bad thing, it’s actually the opposite. Gen.G doesn’t need more carry players in the jungle since it already has Chovy and the rising rookie Peyz.
What Gen.G need is a player who is great at enabling and playing for his own team, sometimes sacrificing his own lead. Needless to say that Peanut is one of the best in this department. It’s not a surprise to see him have a 48.8 percent first-blood participation and the highest average of assists during the LCK Spring Split (according to the stats site Games of Legends). That said, this doesn’t necessarily mean Peanut can’t play carry style anymore: he just adapted himself to suit the team’s identity better.
Now that the MSI meta will favor some of his favorite picks like Lee Sin and Nidalee, we might get the chance to see the older version of Peanut and relive some of the carry performances that made him one of the best junglers in the world.
Kanavi
Kanavi started the 2023 season where he left off in 2022—as the best jungler in the LPL. He was one of the main reasons JD Gaming were able to dominate the second part of the season, delivering carry performances one after another.
Once again this year, Kanavi has great stats across the board, especially the individual ones. He registered the highest CS per minute, damage per minute, and KDA (6.16, according to stats site lpl.qq). He also had the second-highest damage share percentage among all LPL junglers, as well as an average gold differential of 2,002. To put that in comparison, the second-best was Top Esports’ Tian, sitting at 849.
While these numbers might have been inflated by JD Gaming’s overall exceptional level of play, Kanavi always plays a crucial part in the team’s early game. He can play all different kinds of junglers at a high level, making him one of the most versatile junglers in the world.
Given JD Gaming’s stacked roster, Kanavi will have the chance to get his team to the organization’s first MSI trophy.
