Players to Watch in the Worlds 2021 Play-ins

10. Huang "HuSha" Zi-Wei: The jungler of Beyond Gaming, the PCS runner-up, was instrumental to his team's masterful map control that saw them trade blows with regional powerhouse PSG Talon. HuSha is a very active and capable jungler and if he can force his styleon his peers in group B, Beyond will be the clear favorite for the first place in the group (© Beyond Gaming).

9. Kiss "Vizicsacsi" Tamás: The Hungarian top laner's retirement was only temporary. After assisting LEC Champions MAD Lions as a positional coach, he announced he is open to offers as a player - and Peace, who needed a top laner after both their main and substitute top laners could not attend. Csacsi was long one of the best European top laners but he hasn't played in a while. Will he show his class or will the pause from pro play be too much? (© Riot Games).

8. Xie "icon" Tian-Yu: icon spend several years as the mid-laner of Oh My God before moving to LNG Esports. Despite many people being uncertain of him after OMG's mediocre performance, he has proven to be quite the powerhouse on his new team and alongside Tarzan instrumental in their great playoff performance. He has a hard task in front of him, having to play against LCK superstar Chovy, but if he can make it work, LNG is looking good (© LNG Esports).

7. Lev "Nomanz" Yakshin: the Unicorns of Love mid laner has surprised us with aggressive play and unusual pocket picks before and he can no doubt do it again. UoL struggled at MSI and had a harder time in the LCL in summer, but they prevailed regardless. At Worlds, he will be facing several other good mid laners, but Nomanz has been there before (© Riot Games).

6. Lee "Aria" Ga-eul: Aria already impessed us at MSI, when he led Detonation FocusMe to a victory against Cloud9 and a close game against DWG KIA. The best mid laner of the LJL had great performances on Leblanc and Ryze, but for Worlds, he may have more in the bag. Now that his team is coming with their main support and would not bleed pressure in the bot lane, Aria could be very dangerous (© Detonation Gaming).

5. Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu: One of the proven veterans of the LCK, Deft has seen many Worlds championship throughout a career that spans the greater part of a decade. His returning to form was a big reason why Hanwha Life Esports was so powerful in the regional finals. Can he step up his game and send Hanwha to the group stage and beyond? (© Korizon Esports).

4. Chiu "Doggo" Tzu-Chuan: Doggo's international debut with PSG Talon at MSI was quite impressive and he played a key role in taking the team to third place. This time, the prodigal AD Carry comes with his own team, Beyond Gaming, after a split where Beyond challenged PSG to their limit. Doggo's mechanical mastery should test the limits of every other ADC in the group (© Inven Global).

3. Luka "Perkz" Perković: Cloud9's mid laner may well be the most successful western player in all of League of Legends. His mechanics and leadership skill are as good as ever, and his time as AD Carry has given him a rare aptitude for pocket picks like playing marksmen in the mid lane. On top of it all, Perkz is the rare clutch player that tends to shine under pressure (© Riot Games).

2. Lee "Tarzan" Seung-yong: After wowing the LCK on Griffin, the king of the jungle departed for the LPL. LNG Esports struggled in the spring, but a long and bloody playoff run saw it take the last fourth seed. Throughout it all, Tarzan often carried the team and showed everyone he is one of the best junglers today. With a
carry-heavy jungle meta behind him, he should be a joy to watch (© LNG/LPL).

1. Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon: Hanwha's revival just in time for the LCK regional finals proved what many already said: Chovy is one of the best mid-laners in the world. His control over the mid lane was impressive and he played a key part in HLE going to game 5 in the finals against SKT, playing his heart out against Faker. Chovy is one of the players we want to see the most of this entire Worlds and we believe he is the top player to watch in the play-in stage (© Riot Games/LCK).