With the spring split in the books and the playoffs looming, our esports staff took a look back at the League of Legends season that was to reflect on the best and worst of the North American League Championship Series.
Based on the results of the spring split, which NA LCS player would you build a team around?
It's still Soren "Bjergsen" Bjerg, and I don't see how anyone could answer differently. He's the best player in the region still, would be the No. 1 pick for any owner in the league if there was a draft with every NA LCS player available... and did I mention he's won the league MVP three times and is a contender for his fourth this split? He's won three domestic titles on Team SoloMid, and the club has never failed to reach the final with him as the centerpiece of the core. There might have been one or two players better than him over the course of the past three years, but he's never fallen out of the top three, and his consistency along with his unparalleled work ethic is what makes him the best. If I was starting a team in the NA LCS with unlimited funds, I'd do everything in my power to sign him. He's also an NA resident, so you don't even need to use an import slot on him; there's no other answer but Bjergsen. -- Tyler Erzberger
Despite AD Carries not being in the strongest place for the spring split, Noh "Arrow" Dong-hyeon has been outstanding for Phoenix1. The organization went from the brink of relegation in the 2016 summer split to a third place 2017 regular spring split finish. A lot of that can be attributed to Arrow's play. Against other AD Carries with 40 or more games, he's accumulated the second-most kills (161), fewest deaths (78), highest KDA (5.3), highest damage percentage (27.6 percent), highest damage per minute (589) and highest kill percentage (70.7 percent). -- Darin Kwilinski
Arrow. This split, Arrow has showed himself as the most valuable player in the region and the best AD carry in North America. I've heard nothing but good things about Arrow as a teammate and can't wait to see what Phoenix1 can do around him for the summer. If I was their general manager, I'd focus on building a super squad around Arrow. -- Jacob Wolf
Bjergsen. Sure, he had a rough start to the split, and there were other players who stood out during the spring split. But who wouldn't build a team around the Danish wunderkind if they had the chance? Bjergsen embodies the kind of versatility necessary for any mid laner to succeed in the NA LCS -- he's got his shotcalling wits about him and he's smart enough to let go of the reins of control when it's necessary, too. -- Rachel Gu
Arrow. Even with ADCs being "minimized" in the meta game, Arrow was dominant. If ADCs become a bigger part of the game, he might be the best player in the region by any standard. -- Leo Howell
Akaadian, Cody Sun or Contractz? Which one would you want on your team now? Which one for the future?
This is a difficult question. All three should have bright futures ahead of them, but I think all three are dependent on what kind of coaching and teams they have around them. With that being said, I would probably take Juan "Contractz" Garcia, just for the teaching and comfort he gets from Cloud9. You can argue Cody "Cody Sun" and Matt "Akaadian" Higginbotham outperformed him this split, but as long as C9 stays C9, Contractz will have the support system and teammates to help him continue growing. As we saw in the second half of the split, Akaadian had a dip in performance, and outside of Henrik "Froggen" Hansen, there was little help for him. Young players, unless they're a unicorn that can carry such a heavy load early on in their career, need to have experienced teammates that can pick up the slack from time to time when they're learning. Contractz has that in spades on C9, so I'm siding with him. If Akaadian can get a stronger team around him, I think he has the potential to surpass Contractz. -- Erzberger
Akaadian is the choice here. While you can make a great case for Contractz, look at what Akaadian did with fewer resources around him. Cloud9 is objectively (and statistically) a better team, yet Akaadian was still a stand-out for Echo Fox. Not only that, he genuinely seems like he wants to be there, watching matches out in the crowd. -- Kwilinski
Akaadian. He's shown a huge upside this split and I feel with a better team, he could perform even better. I think he's also my pick for the future, like Contractz he's a young and experienced jungler who just needs some help ironing out kinks. I think he's the real deal. -- Wolf
Contractz. And Contractz. -- Gu
If I was putting together a team for the playoffs and got to pick one of these three players, I'm going with Cody Sun. That might seem odd, but I value his improvement and consistency over the up-and-down nature of Akaadian and the often low-impact Contractz. However, long term, I think Contractz will develop into the best player, especially with the support staff he has with Cloud9. -- Howell
Which player let you down the most this split?
It's easy to say names like Lee "Flame" Ho-jong or Jang "Looper" Hyeong-seok, but then you're trivializing how difficult it is to learn English and communicate with an all-English squad when you don't know the language. Team Liquid's Kim "Reignover" Yeu-jin, on the other hand, has no real excuses. He is a former MVP, can communicate with his teammates, and honestly had a nightmare start to the split. If Team Liquid wants any prayer of making Worlds or even making the postseason next split, Reignover is going to need to be the guy that leads them there with the departure of Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng from the bottom lane. -- Erzberger
Reignover. The move from Immortals to Team Liquid was supposed to be an upgrade for all parties, but it just fell devastatingly flat. He went from a dominant jungler to fighting to stay alive in just one split. -- Kwilinski
Cody Sun. I had high expectations for him based off his individual skill shown in the Challenger Series, and from hearing good things from current and former staff and teammates. Unfortunately, his performance did not meet my expectations and I have a feeling others feel the same. -- Wolf
Flame. -- Gu
Reignover. He was the most sought after free agent of the offseason and didn't make as big of an impact as we'd expect on Team Liquid. Obviously that roster had plenty of other struggles, but a world-class player should be able to perform and carry a bad team to a few surprisingly good performances along the way. -- Howell
Which team let you down the most this split?
I actually had Team Liquid in the top four and challenging for the finals. I was on the Samson "Lourlo" Jackson bandwagon of him breaking out as one of the better top laners in the league -- and, to be fair to Lourlo, he was the club's best and most consistent player the entire split -- and thought Reignover would flex his muscles enough to prop up Greyson "Goldenglue" Gilmer in the mid lane. Everything fell apart, though. Chae "Piglet" Gwang-jin couldn't adjust to the utility AD carry meta and went mid, Goldenglue didn't transfer his scrimmage performances to the main stage, and Reignover was a shell of his former self for over half of the split. The only positive constant was Lourlo, who for the most part held his own in the most stacked position in the league. -- Erzberger
Team Liquid. They looked good last spring with Lourlo, Joshua "Dardoch" Hartnett, Kim "Fenix" Jae-hoon, Piglet, and Matt "Matt" Elento but started to slip in the 2016 summer split, and tried to right the ship with the Reignover pickup. However, a lack of a solid mid laner forced Piglet to move mid, and TL was forced to pull a veteran out of retirement from another organization just to try and stay alive. -- Kwilinski
Team Dignitas or Immortals. I really thought these teams had potential to be top four teams with some work and both turned out to be middle of the pack. Immortals didn't even qualify for playoffs. -- Wolf
Immortals. -- Gu
Team Dignitas. The team's late surge into the playoff picture showed the potential they had from Day 1, potential that was wasted by various mistakes and letdowns along the way. They could have truly been a contender for the top spot, and instead they barely snuck into the postseason. -- Howell
Which team surprised you the most?
Honestly, Team SoloMid. I didn't doubt they would make the playoffs, but I thought the loss of Doublelift would keep them away from getting a first round bye with other teams bettering themselves in the offseason. And while TSM was nowhere near as dominant as it was in the 2016 summer season (only losing a single match), the team won the regular-season title and only dropped a few matches along the way. TSM plugged the holes (at least most of them) that Doublelift had left in the vessel. The organization has made eight NA LCS finals in a row, and as long as it can win its semifinal matchup against either FlyQuest, Counter Logic Gaming, or Dignitas, that number will shoot up to nine. -- Erzberger
Phoenix1. As stated earlier, they were on the verge of being relegated last summer, and somehow put together a competitive team. Dignitas gets a shoutout for turning their season around -- from tenth to sixth and in the playoffs once David "Cop" Roberson came on to coach. -- Kwilinski
Echo Fox. I thought they'd be worse than they are now (switched with Liquid most likely) but they weren't as bad as I originally expected. Most of that is due to Akaadian. -- Wolf
Phoenix1. -- Gu
FlyQuest. They didn't end on a high note, but they were way better than I expected. I assumed this would be a team that wouldn't last more than a split in the LCS. -- Howell
Is the NA LCS better or worse than it was heading into Worlds last year?
From talking to players, NA LCS is definitely worse than it was going into Worlds of last year where Team SoloMid was being discussed as a potential semifinalist and the other two teams possibly having a chance at the top eight. But that's the NA LCS. We import a lot of players, especially South Koreans, and that means the spring split is somewhat moot when compared to how the region will perform at Worlds, as it takes a longer time for hybrid-language teams to mesh. As clubs like Dignitas, Phoenix1 and Immortals start adjusting, the region should be up to snuff come summer postseason, especially with Doublelift more than likely rejoining Team SoloMid in the offseason. By the end of the summer split, I expect North America to have one or two teams expected to make the bracket stage at Worlds, and we'll watch as our hopes go up in smoke for the seventh straight time. -- Erzberger
Right now it feels fairly similar to last year with Team SoloMid and Cloud9 at the top, but having Arrow, Flame and Kim "Ssumday" Chan-ho all in North America certainly helps the talent pool. It's tough to say at this point with the spring split just concluding and rosters have yet to shuffle around for the mid-season. -- Kwilinski
It's worse currently, but with some adjustments, it could be better. I think once Team SoloMid reintegrates Doublelift and Cloud9 and Phoenix1 have more time together, North America will be better internationally. -- Wolf
There's really no good answer for this right now. Lots of teams are still going through growing pains and the spring split isn't necessarily a good indicator of how a team will perform heading into Worlds. There are a myriad of factors that measure into success. That being said, I'd say it's around the same right now. South Korea is definitely on top, and I think Taiwan (mainly the Flash Wolves) or China will give NA a run for their money. -- Gu
Worse. There's still plenty of time to go, but it's clear that TSM took a step back without Doublelift and many other teams didn't mesh right away with new lineups. The summer split will be important in determining how the region will do in international play. -- Howell