Summer means no school which means it’s the perfect chance for NA fans to forget everything we’ve learned in past years as we build up hype for another Worlds run. Let’s look at the positives: TSM didn’t lose MSI, this is the least amount of roster upheaval ever (the top seven teams didn’t cut a single player), and we didn’t import any EU players (Santorin has NA residency). That means the ultra competitive split that saw all six playoff teams finish the regular season within one game of each other could very well repeat itself. And here are my 10 players who may break that stalemate:

100 THIEVES – SUPPORT

APHROMOO

A famous expression is “Holy Cow!” This is what you might say when Aphromoo makes a big play. You might also say it if you were part of a cult religion that worshipped Aphromoo as your lord and savior. Or more simply — a 100 Thieves fan. Aphromoo is coming off an MVP split — the first ever in NA for a support player — where he led his team all the way to the Finals. His playmaking prowess the second half of the Spring Split helped propel 100 to the #1 overall seed. In particular, he generated about four kills more per game in five less minutes of game time in the second half. Combined with his leadership, shotcalling, and memorable individual performances on champs like Thresh, he became the Spring Split darling. An Aphromoo-led team hasn’t missed playoffs since 2013 (CLG missed this past split — their first without Aphro), and that shouldn’t change now. Supports are strong in the current meta, and there’s no playmaker more consistent over the years than Aphromoo. He’ll look to avenge 100’s Spring Finals loss.

LICORICE

The only time C9 has been a champion lately is when Sneaky cosplays. Despite being one of NA’s elites, C9 hasn’t won the NA LCS in over four years. Sure, they still make it to Worlds and do relatively well (compared to other NA teams), but they’ve been unable to hoist the NA LCS trophy since winning the first two splits they joined the league. Licorice could change that — he’s no longer a rookie and has had an offseason to reflect on his spring learnings. He played an aggressive style that reaped a lot of benefits early on in the spring when tanks weren’t really in the meta, but since top lane has gravitated (again, surprise!) to tanks, he’s been less consistent. Part of maturing as a player is learning how to be smart with your aggression, which means some of the prove-myself mentality he may have had as a rookie needs to be tempered. C9’s Worlds streak could finally be in peril — if Licorice can top his spring split, then he could be the final piece to C9’s NA LCS Championship dreams.

CLUTCH GAMING – SUPPORT

HAKUHO

If you google Hakuho, his Wiki entry is fourth on the page after a professional sumo wrestler. This says one, we need trial by combat for the top spot, and two, it’s symbolic for Clutch still flying under the radar. In talking to some players this past week, Clutch isn’t even coming up as a team to watch out for. Sure, that’s tied as much more to brand recognition as it is to their actual play, but at what point will that perception change? Hakuho finished second in KDA and kill participation among supports last split and gained tons of recognition for his Thresh play. Alongside partner Apollo, the two are one of the longest tenure duos in the NA LCS. Clutch was one game away from making the Spring Finals and features a consistent roster that should only get better this split. Hakuho is one step away from superstardom — a step that he can take right now if he can be more consistent on a variety of support champs and styles.

COUNTER LOGIC GAMING – JUNGLER

REIGNOVER

At his individual height, Reignover won the NA LCS MVP and was seen as one of the league’s most cerebral players — a consummate team player who rarely made mistakes. Two years later, though, and history has rewritten itself. Reignover’s initial climb to stardom was hand-in-hand with Huni, but Reignover was often seen as the brains behind that operation. People thought Huni could only do what he did because of Reignover, but now it seems like it was perhaps the opposite. CLG had an embarrassingly slow start to the Spring Split, but a second half surge nearly propelled them to a miracle playoff berth. Look to Reignover to see if they can continue that momentum — whether he can match the eccentricity of his solo laners will be key to CLG’s fortunes.

ECHO FOX – JUNGLER

DARDOCH

I guess Dardoch never quite reached his breaking point with FOX — one of the things people wondered last split was how this team’s mentality would hold up if they struggled. FOX was full of players seen as being mentally weak or tough to play with. But they avoided that by… not really struggling. They stumbled a bit in the second half of the split but had already secured their playoff spot early and seemed to be coasting. During the first half of the split, though, Dardoch garnered a lot of MVP hype thanks to his ability to play around top lane better than anyone else in the league. Alongside Huni, the two seemed unstoppable. But some meta shifts pushed carry top laners out of the meta and FOX couldn’t quite adjust in time to the new meta that demanded their bot lane to shine. With an offseason in their pockets, they’ll be back in full force. Dardoch is slowly inching past his toxic origin story — it’s like watching Peter Parker wrestle between Spider-Man and Venom. And, well, I’ve got my money on Spider-Man.

FLYQUEST – TOP

FLAME

FLY faced a lot of roster issues over the Spring Split — between trying to integrate AnDa and Fly’s visa issues, they never seemed to have enough time to gel. But Flame proved to be a rock all split as he posted the second highest KDA and had the highest kill participation amongst all top laners. That’s super impressive when you consider how much the team around him changed and struggled. Flame is one of the most tenured players in the world, but his teams’ achievements have been subpar in recent years. And FLY made significant changes again over the offseason by bringing in a new mid laner, jungler, and support in addition to some coaching personnel changes. It may take them some time to come together as a team, but Flame’s endeavors may result in some early heroics for FLY. There’s no one better to start the fire.

GOLDEN GUARDIANS – MID

MICKEY

As part of Kingdom Hearts’ 15 year promotional campaign for KH3, the Golden Guardians have signed Mickey as their new mid laner. He is expected to bring some keyblades and magic to the team. And magic they will need — the Guardians struggled mightily last split which resulted in the team pivoting away from veteran and primary shot caller Hai. The hope is Mickey will shore up early laning weaknesses, but he’s still largely unproven as the go-to guy. He was inconsistent during his days in the LCK and hasn’t really played much in NA, but the hope is he can level off closer to his ceiling instead of his floor. Korean mid laners haven’t found much success overseas, and he’ll have to overcome some communication barriers to lift this team. It’s not going to be an easy task to elevate this team much higher. A full split, though, may finally let him acclimate to NA, and ultimately expectations are still low enough for him to take his time to adjust.

OPTIC GAMING – MID

POWEROFEVIL

When all else fails, OpTic can count on… evil? Honestly, PowerOfEvil is one of the nicest people in the league, which makes me wonder if we’ll ever see a shift where he tries to take on more of a “bad guy” persona to play up his name’s brand. What would constitute as evil in-game? Taric/Yi? Teemo mid? Intentionally banning a champion your teammate is hovering and then saying “sorry I was tabbed out?” It’s hard to say, but maybe PoE will descend into darkness if OPT continues to struggle. Last split, his individual prowess was still clear — he never looked outclassed and at times was the only ray of light for his team. But still the split was a major disappointment when compared to his run with Misfits at Worlds 2017, and now OPT has added a couple of unproven players in top and support in Dhokla and Big. They don’t exactly have the star-power you’d like to see as an OPT fan, which means once again all eyes will be on PoE to shoulder his team’s burdens.

TEAM LIQUID – ADC

DOUBLELIFT

A long time ago, some sadist made the /r/DoubleliftsTrophyCase subreddit, which was empty for years. If you’re a newer fan of the NA LCS, then you might not remember that Doublelift was widely considered a choker. But since he won the 2015 Summer Split, he’s gone on to win three more NA LCS titles, appeared in a fourth, and the one split he missed the Final was because he didn’t play at all (though he was summoned to save TL’s franchise). That’s four titles with three different teams. There isn’t a more prolific winner than Doublelift in North America. And now he’s coming off an MSI where he played well against even the likes of Uzi. To me, Doublelift has always been one of the most exciting players to watch — both in-game and out, he’s a dynamic personality and showman. A near perfect Spring Playoffs run and the MSI performance makes him one of the pre-season contenders for the Summer Split MVP, and he has a chance to set the pace for the new era of bot lane. I expect the former Blitzcrank main to be among the first to show some new champs.

TSM – MID

BJERGSEN

Bjergsen faces the same type of voter fatigue that LeBron sees — he’s not compared so much to his peers as he is to our idea of him, which is of course an ever-building legend. So while Aphromoo (deservedly) won the MVP last split, I imagine the bulk of voters would still take Bjergsen first overall in a hypothetical franchise draft. In what was pegged as a “down” split for him, he still managed to lead all mid laners in KDA and kills on a roster with three new players. And faced with a bunch of new mid lane talent like Febiven and PoE, Bjergsen still proved NA’s mid lane kingdom belonged to him. When you hear people talk about Bjergsen’s faults (and I am super guilty of this as well), they isolate and nitpick at perceived weaknesses. On international stages, there may be some merit to those claims. But in NA? He’s been the best player in the league for nearly five years now. And after a first round exit in the Spring Playoffs, TSM’s path to Worlds is murky for the first time in years — they’ll need him to, somehow, elevate his game once again.

Tune in Saturday at 2 PM PT as Team Liquid takes on the 100 Thieves in a Finals rematch.