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These are the promising League of Legends rookies to watch in 2019
The Spring season is right around the corner, and there's a host of new promising players to get o know. We break down the rookies set to dominate the Rift in the upcoming LEC and LCS Spring Split.
The West showed us a glimpse of its true potential at the 2018 League of Legends World Championship, with players reaching far beyond our expectations. The region once considered the underdogs finally look like they've become a formidable force in the international scene, and 2019 is the year to prove it.
Team Vitality's Daniele 'Jiizuke' di Mauro and Cloud9’s Eric 'Licorice' Ritchie started 2018 as relatively unknown entities, straight out of the challenger circuit, yet the two ended the year securing Rookie of the Split awards in their respective EU and NA leagues, each with a dominant performance propelled by their confident play.
The European league is known for breeding star mid laners from Denmark, but this time a bearded Italian surpassed all our expectations. With his extremely aggressive play style, and his unconventional champion pool, 'Jiizuke' was Vitality's dynamic hard carry. Although the team failed to advance to the quarter finals of Worlds, he'll stay on everyone's radar going into the new year.
Meanwhile, Cloud9 was a team built on rookie talent, with 'Licorice', Robert 'Blaber' Huang, and Tristan 'Zeyzal' Stidam all playing amazingly on the big stage, coming back from 10th place in the NA LCS all the way to the Worlds semi finals.
The rookies have taken centre stage, and we can't wait to see who'll be the next new faces to step up. With the new season right around the corner, we run through the most promising rookies appearing on our screens in the 2019 Spring Split.
Marek 'Humanoid' Brázda – Splyce (LEC)
After a mid-table finish in 2018's Summer Split, Splyce have gone back to the drawing board and are looking to come back with a vengeance for the brand new League of Legends European Championship. With a new league, there are new players, and the organisation revealed their new lineup coming into the 2019 split. Marek 'Humanoid' Brázda of the Czech Republic was the first to be announced, a young and upcoming mid lane talent who previously played in the Polish and Turkish competitive divisions.
'Humanoid' secured multiple first place finishes, winning both Polish leagues, the Polska Liga Esportowa and the Ultraliga, alongside sweeping the ESL Summer European Masters in convincing fashion. Known for his prowess on Ryze, Azir and Zoe, expect him to prove to us that he's a real contender, and Splyce isn't just another team to be shrugged off and left at the bottom of the leaderboards.
Sergen 'Broken Blade' Çelik – Team SoloMid (LCS)
It was a stretch from being Team SoloMid's best year in the history of the League of Legends Championship Series. Since the league was founded, the fan favourite team have qualified for Worlds every year but 2018, narrowly missing out to 100 Thieves.
Thankfully, it's a new year, and something had to be changed. In the top lane comes 'Broken Blade', dual citizen of Germany and Turkey, solo queue prodigy, and former Turkish league star. A player known for his diverse champion pool, playing both top lane carries and tanks, he could just be the player TSM needs after all these years of relying on the mid lane.
'Broken Blade' isn't afraid to play unconventional champions, picking up and perfecting Irelia, and not shying away from the likes of Poppy, Yasuo, and even Viktor. Despite his lack of experience in the highest competitive environment, he could be the key to success, leading TSM back to the top again.
Felix 'Abbedagge' Braun – FC Schalke 04 Esports (LEC)
FC Schalke 04 Esports could be a real surprise this year. Vastly underestimated, the underdog team with a lineup that screams upset potential is full of hidden talent. Despite lacking a defined individual star carry, the team has five solid players hungry to succeed. 'Abbedagge' has been floating around in the European scene for the past two years, playing alongside the likes of Aleš 'Freeze' Kněžínek and Sergen 'Broken Blade' Çelik, but now he finally has the chance to prove his value.
He's not the most flashy player or the playmaker, but 'Abbedagge' has real consistency, a trait that's often underestimated in competitive League of Legends. He's not the one to go for unnecessary high risk plays, relentlessly flashing in without vision or tower diving. He'll play for the team, and if that means staying in lane and farming it out until the later stages of the game, that's what he'll do. He's a confident player, but by no means hotheaded, and sometimes that's just what a new and emerging team needs in order to win.
Omran 'V1per' Shoura – FlyQuest (LCS)
'V1per' has big shoes to fill in replacing legendary top laner Lee 'Flame' Ho-jong, the South Korean player immortalised for dominating his position and coining the term 'Flame Horizon', the act of reaching a 100 CS advantage over your lane opponent.
Despite FlyQuest not having the most promising of seasons, the team has made the changes it felt necessary and is plowing onwards with a new, and hopefully, improved team at the helm. It's too early to say if 'V1per' will be the strong top lane force FlyQuest needs, but he has promising potential with Danish jungler Lucas 'Santorin' Tao Kilmer Larsen at his side. The duo should be able to be able to kick up a storm with their aggressive capabilities, partnered with the ever reliable Eugene 'Pobelter' Park in the mid lane.
The Canadian top laner, previously of Team Liquid Academy, will begin his rookie season as FlyQuest's unknown entity. In the challenger scene he played a diverse variety of champions, but he was first noticed as a Riven main, reaching rank one with the heavy blade wielding top laner. Heading into the Spring Season, anticipate 'V1per' performing at his full potential, making the necessary key plays and showcasing his aggression.
Jesper 'Jeskla' Klarin Strömberg – exceL Esports (LEC)
The UK scene is here to make its mark on competitive League of Legends. It's been a long time coming for the UK scene to finally step up to the big leagues and enter the LEC, and with exceL Esports, a team is flying the flag that's long had potential, but hadn't quite managed to throw in with the bigger EU orgs.
This year is different, and the organisation are hungrier than ever to put their team on the map. exceL are taking a different approach than some, sporting a 10 player lineup, giving the coaches the ability to freely substitute players and have them fight for the opportunity to play. Alongside the veteran support Raymond 'kaSing' Tsang, AD Carry 'Jeskla' will make his first rookie appearance in the LEC.
He’s Swedish, and similar to his fellow countryman Martin 'Rekkles' Larsson, his career began from a football-related injury. 'Jeskla' is eager to perform, and he should have all the necessary tools to do so. Expect to see him do all he can to earn his spot on the starting lineup.
Raymond 'Wiggily' Griffin – Counter Logic Gaming (LCS)
Counter Logic Gaming are back. The team, once considered a powerhouse of the North American LCS, have since taken a step back from their glory days. This year, hopefully, things have changed, with the introduction of European mid laner Tristan 'PowerOfEvil' Schrage and rookie jungler 'Wiggily' in the starting lineup. The new additions to the team will have to learn to play as a cohesive duo, and will no doubt be the underdogs in a league full of veterans.
'Wiggly', who previously played for CLG Academy, is an ambitious jungler who's chomping at the bit to finally play on the big stage. He's seen success in the challenger scene, but his drive and enthusiasm to become the next up-and-coming jungler well exceeds the second division league. Keep your eyes peeled here.
