Over the first half of the North American LCS Summer Split, no player has been more valuable to his team's success than Immortals' starting jungler Jake "Xmithie" Puchero.
Seen as the throwaway piece in a two-team trade between Immortals and Counter Logic Gaming for star Joshua "Dardoch" Hartnett, Xmithie and Immortals had humble aspirations at the start of the season. Following a seventh-place finish in the spring and the first time Immortals as an organization had finished outside of the top three in the league, the team, aided by the veteran presence of Xmithie and new South Korean coach Kim "SSONG" Sang-soo, set its sights on returning to the playoffs with a renewed sense of camaraderie.
Playoffs, while not certain, are no longer Immortals' main objective. A top-two seed, and an all valuable first-round bye are now front of mind as the team has reeled off the league's best record at 7-1 through the first four weeks of the summer season. In the middle of all of it has been Xmithie, the team's newfound voice as captain, bringing an intellectual edge to a team filled with individual mechanical talent. Last season, the team was dependent on getting leads early and snowballing through the laning phase if it hoped to win; this split, with Xmithie's critical thinking, the club has thrived in the mid-to-late game, prioritizing objectives like dragons and towers over going for a single kill like the team did last season.
Stats-wise, Xmithie is not the best player in the league, and far from it. This is where the definition of the award, "Most Valuable Player," comes under fire. Does the award go to the player that has been the most valuable to his team's success? If so, it's Xmithie, as he has enabled his teammates to take the next step in their games, more so than his own. The team's carries, Lee "Flame" Ho-jong, Eugene "Pobelter" Park, and Cody "Cody Sun" Sun, are all having career seasons, and although giving Xmithie all the credit would be an insult to the talent of the three players, his inclusion on the team has unlocked their full potential.
If the award was to be given to the best performing individual player overall, there would be no question the award would go to Cloud9's Nicolaj "Jensen" Jensen. His team isn't doing as well as it was last season, but his numbers and play, just as a solo player, are some of the best in the history of the NA LCS. He leads all players in kills and KDA, and his DPM is in the top five, as well. Xmithie is the opposite of Jensen; where Jensen is enabled through his team to be the ultimate ace -- high damage, record-setting kills, an unstoppable force -- Xmithie is the one who enables the four players on Immortals to be their best.
The position Xmithie finds himself today is almost identical to Samsung Galaxy's Kang "Ambition" Chan-yong's situation in 2016. Ambition, one of the most experienced South Korean professionals, moved over to Samsung after the entirety of his career was spent on CJ Entus. After having a disappointing end to his CJ tenure, his signing to Samsung was a curious one; how much did he really have left in the tank?
Apparently, a lot, as Ambition's selection into the starting lineup was what needed to take Samsung -- a team with talented pieces but no direction -- to the World Championships and eventually all the way to the Summoner's Cup Final. The steady, utility-style Ambition inhabited along with his years of knowledge and macro expertise allowed the team's mechanical standouts to take the next step in their careers. Under Ambition's watch, Samsung Galaxy's mid laner Lee "Crown" Min-ho transformed from one of the better mid laners in the LCK to a bonafide superstar.
The same can be seen, maybe in a lesser fashion, with Xmithie and Immortals. Flame, who was on an island for the most part in spring, has been the league's best top laner through the first half of the season, and that's because of his improved communication with the team. While Flame still relies on his bread and butter of split-pushing at times, he no longer feels like an add-on piece to a team. Now, when crucial plays are called, Flame is the first person on the button to teleport -- not his lane opponent -- and that's given Immortals free reign in the bottom lane, where Cody Sun and Kim "Olleh" Joo-sung have excelled this season.
Xmithie accomplishes the little things that get his team going. He won't always be racking up the kills or be the one up 50 CS on his opponent at the 15-minute mark, but that's not his job. He is strong around objective control; in Immortals' closest victory of the season against Cloud9, it was Xmithie who came in at the tipping point of the third and final game, stealing a Baron and pushing his team toward the finish line. Flame's expertise in handling himself in one-on-one and even two-on-one situations has allowed Xmithie to focus most of his attention on the bottom lane with Cody and Olleh, which in turn gives Olleh, the best playmaking support in the league alongside CLG's Zaqueri "Aphromoo" Black, to go on the offensive.
Dardoch last season wasn't an issue himself, but the configuration of the team didn't work with him. When he would want to put most of his pressure in the mid and top lanes, it left Cody and Olleh, two players who want to play aggressive, in a weird spot where they'd find themselves behind in the early game. On CLG, Dardoch, although not having the season he's capable of, has acclimated well to his new surroundings, and his team sits right behind Immortals in the No. 2 position with a record of 6-2.
What appeared to be a trade that pointed toward a rebuild for Immortals has turned out to be a boon. In going for a "less impactful" part in Xmithie and signing SSONG from South Korea, Immortals turned its spare parts, ranging from valuable to on the chopping block, into a well-oiled machine that is leading the pack in North America.
There is still half the season left, and things can change, sometimes even in a single weekend. But for now, Immortals isn't getting overconfident. When asked following the victory of his former team last week if Immortals would be the next team to a hang a championship banner inside the LCS Arena, Xmithie said, "Um ... hopefully."
Spoken like a true MVP ... hopefully, if Immortals wants to go to its first World Championships in October.