The EU LCS team taking part in All-Stars this year as a part of Team Ice is as follows:
- Paul “sOAZ” Boyer (OG) 23.3%
- Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski (H2K) 38.4%
- Enrique “xPeke” Cedeño Martínez (OG) 35.3%
- Martin “Rekkles” Larsson (FNC) 43.2%
- Alfonso “Mithy” Aguirre Rodríguez (G2) 18.2%*
*Mithy replaces Bora “Yellowstar” Kim (34.8%) who won the voting, but declined to take part.
Jankos
With the overwhelming majority of people voting to see old Fnatic make a comeback with Jankos as an add-on, many fans were upset to hear that Yellowstar would be turning down the invite after his retirement. However, he declined with fair reason, citing work with Paris Saint-Germain as his main priority.
Jankos was often underestimated throughout the year despite his constant growth as a jungler and team player on H2K. After a strong showing at Worlds, he finally began to recieve some of the much-deserved praise and support that evaded him all year.
Looking back, many of the players taking part in the EU LCS have had amazing moments that have stuck, one in recent memory can speak for itself…
CAN YOU STOP THE OLAF?
NO YOU CAN’T. #Worlds pic.twitter.com/td9YVpHhOb
— H2K (@H2KGG) October 22, 2016
Jankos with the epitome of a titanic effort which saw H2K team go to the semi-finals at Worlds 2016, being only the third EU team to make it to the semi-finals after Fnatic and Origen in 2015. While many harp on H2K’s “easier” route to the semi-finals, there is no denying the that top four is an achievement in itself.
Many will be hoping to see Jankos guide this team of European greats to glory after Team Fire were victorious last year.
Mithy
Then, there is Mithy. Mithy was the second most voted support and will be going to the EU All-Stars off the back of Yellowstar’s decline.
Very honored to be voted as the European All-Star support but unfortunately I won’t be able to attend the event. ????
— YellOwStaR (@YellOwStaRL0L) 8 November 2016
While many will be upset not to see Yellowstar, I feel the prospect of seeing Mithy helps the Team Ice cause in the long-run. While All-Stars is meant to be a fun end-of-the-year event for fans and players to relax and enjoy themselves, Mithy deserves the spot for being arguably the best support in EU this year.
His fellow support players have also come out saying that Mithy is tough to play against due to his unpredictable playstyle. Teams have to play cautious when there is no vision of him because of his ability to make facilitate plays and the possibility that he could be setting up a play or laying down deep wards.
SoaZ and xPeke
Xpeke being slotted as a mid laner was a big surprise for a lot of people, especially when we consider that he rarely played mid for the majority of the 2016 season. In fact, he played more ADC than mid. However, Riot was set to place him as a mid lane, which caused a bit of controversy on the subreddit.
SoaZ and xPeke of Origen are huge fan favourites in EU due to their previous Fnatic exploits and what they were able to achieve as a part of Origen. Also with xPeke missing out of All-Stars last year, 2016 was finally a place to allow the players to come together to allow a sense of nostalgia to sweep over Barcelona.
Let us not forget that xPeke is also Spanish, so having him perform in his home country at the final show for the 2016 season was all too perfect.
Rekkles
Fnatic’s one and only representative after the team’s lacklustre finish to the year. When the question of who the best ADC in EU is, question of Rekkles vs. G2’s Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen (formerly Niels) has often risen over the past two years with Rekkles taking both victories this time around.
Many were surprised not to see H2Ks’ Konstantinos-Napoleon “FORG1VEN” Tzortziougain earn as many votes due to his heroics at the World Championships for the team. But as I stated before, this team had fan favourites written all over it.
What are your thoughts on Team Ice’s EU LCS? How do you think the team will perform and who do you think will win All-Stars this year, Team Ice or Team Fire?
Let us know by commenting below or leaving a message on our social media
Adam Newell is a journalist for @GAMURScom and can be contacted in ways displayed below. If you have any tips or want anything covered, be sure to let us know:
Email: adam.newell10@outlook.com
Twitter: @MonkeyKingHero
