Our players of the year candidates
2022 in Retrospect: Who are the MVPs of the Major Regions
With two full splits, a Mid-Season Invitational and Worlds firmly behind us, these are our picks for MVP in every major region.+
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It has been a long and eventful year in League of Legends. With the fading of the pandemic restrictions, we finally saw the leagues returning to stage broadcasts for most regions, the return of the Mid-Season Invitational and a nearly-full Worlds schedule, marred only by the suspension of the LCL. Meanwhile, T1 returned to power and had a five-game blowout series against RNG at the MSI finals, Gen.G made a claim to be the LCKs best, Rogue finally won a LEC title and DRX won Worlds after another amazing final. It's a good time to take stock of the players who impressed us the most this year for every region, so here is our take:
LEC: Emil "Larssen" Larsson (Mid Laner, Rogue)
It was a pretty crazy year for the LEC with a lot of ups and downs, which makes Larssen's continued good form that much more impressive. Long seen as a very strong control mage player who just couldn't reach the GOAT candidates like Caps or Perkz, Rogue's mid laner had a solid first split where he and his team reached finals only to be swept by G2 Esports. He continued to be a rock in the mid lane and was instrumental to his team's miracle weekend in the summer playoffs, where they went from heavy underdogs to LEC champions within two days, taking their sweet revenge on G2 with a 3-0 in the final.
Rogue had their ups and downs at Worlds - from a 3-0 week 1 to three consecutive losses and a 0-3 versus JD Gaming in the quarters - but whether his team was winning or losing, Larssen showed he was a world-class player that even the best had to respect.
LCS: Kacper "Inspired" Słoma (Jungler, Evil Geniuses)
Inspired had already made a name for himself as one of the new generation of great Western junglers before he moved to NA and signed on with Evil Geniuses. While some fans weren't sure how to former Rogue player would replicate his success and Worlds appearance from 2021, he quickly dispelled those worries. Inspired led EG to a LCS cup in spring and was a big part of them reaching quarterfinals at the Mid-Season Invitational , followed by an even better summer split where he earned the LCS season's MVP.
EG went to Worlds as the LCS third seed and had to fight through the Play-In. Despite an early disappointment versus Fnatic, the team quickly picked up steam and ended in second place after two very decisive tiebreaker wins, then swept LECs' MAD Lions to earn their group stage. Through it all, Inspired was a powerhouse in the jungle and for our money the best NA player at Worlds.
LPL: Li "Xiaohu" Yuan-Hao (Mid Laner, Royal Never Give Up)
The LPL has long been famous for players who were amazing mechanically but struggled to remain in good shape. On this backdrop, Xiaohu's continued top form is even more impressive. Royal Never Give Up's veteran returned to the mid lane in 2022 and he quickly showed he had not lost his form during his tenure as a top laner. He racked a series of amazing performances in the spring split that led RNG to yet another title. At MSI, the LPL representatives were just as impressive, taking the cup once more after a five-game series against Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok’s T1.
Xiaohu's good form continued at Worlds, where RNG first eventual champions DRX in the Play-Ins before going through to have a showdown with LCK champions Gen.G in the group stage. While RNG would proceed to lose against their old rival T1 in the playoffs, Xiaohu's continued prowess makes him our LPL MVP for the year.
LCK: Ryu "Keria" Min-seok (Support, T1)
LCK is a region awash with star players, but this year, we think T1 support Keria might just be the best. The young player was already impressive in 2021, but it was in the summer of 2022 that he truly popped off with top-tier performances on Thresh, Pyke or Braum. Keria is the first support player ever to win a LCK player of the split award, something not even world class players like Cho "Mata" Se-hyeong or Jo "CoreJJ" Yong-in managed to - and it was not undeserved. Keria's great form continued in the spring split and on the Worlds stage and he was an instrumental part of the T1 roster that came so, so close to adding another Summoner's Cup to their collection.
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Do you think someone else would be a better fit for the MVP title? Let us know on our Facebook page here!