Best LCS players in the 2022 Spring split so far

We’re officially midway through the LCS Spring split, and here’s a look at some of the players that have stood out so far in 2022. 

The 2022 LCS Lock In gave NA fans a taste of how the LCS’s teams would shape up for the Spring split. But with visa issues and roster swaps running rife throughout the tournament, the LCS was the first opportunity for fans to see these teams at their full fighting strength. And the results have been surprising to say the least.

Lock In finalists Evil Geniuses have crashed and burned, sitting in a three-way tie for sixth place at the end of Week 4 after shaky performances throughout the first half of the split. A seemingly unstoppable FlyQuest have finally slowed down, dropping into second place with an 0-3 slump in Week 4.

Team Liquid and Cloud9 sit comfortably tied for first place, and will face off on Sunday, March 13, to decide who’s truly the king of the castle in North America.

For many of NA’s players who were unable to play in the Lock In, this has been their first chance to show off on the LCS stage. And they’ve taken full advantage. Here’s a look at some of the best-performing players so far in the 2022 Spring Split, from top laners to AD carries.

Søren ‘Bjergsen’ Bjerg (Team Liquid, mid laner)

Even after a year away from competitive play in a coaching role for TSM, Bjergsen is still the undisputed KDA king of the LCS. He’s died only seven times across his nine games so far in the LCS.

He’s a rock in the mid lane for Team Liquid. They’ve got carry power in the bot and top lanes in Steven ‘Hans sama’ Liv and Gabriel ‘Bwipo’ Rau, but Bjergsen is the glue that holds those carries together and keeps the game from spiralling out of control if they get a little too overzealous (something they were both guilty of on occasion during their time in the LEC.)

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Alongside CoreJJ, Bjergsen has been his team’s enabler on picks like Zilean, Orianna, and Corki. He’s not quite the high-damage mid lane Syndra carry of his earlier years, but he’s a picture-perfect supportive mid laner, and one of the LCS’s best.

Kyle ‘Danny’ Sakamaki (Evil Geniuses, AD Carry)

There are few better examples of a good player on a bad team right now than Danny. Evil Geniuses were touted in the offseason as the saviours of NA, a team promoting homegrown rookie talent. They made it to the Lock-In finals in dominant fashion, but they were quickly taken down a peg with a swift 3-0 defeat at the hands of Team Liquid.

But the promise of the shining future of North American talent has been more than a little tarnished so far this split, with the team currently sitting in a three-way tie for sixth place at 4-5. But even though the team’s performance has not lived up to the community’s high expectations, AD Carry Danny has continued to show why he’s one of the most promising talents in North America.

He has the highest DPM in the league at 661, and has contributed 36% of EG’s total damage. He has also racked up 42 kills, the most in the LCS, an incredible feat for a player whose team has not been performing all that well.

Danny is an old-school hyper carry in the style of someone like Deft or Uzi. He’s not quite able to put his whole team on his back just yet, but he’s getting there.

If EG can truly optimize their playstyle with him as the primary carry, and give midlaner Joseph ‘Jojopyun’ Joonpyun a little more experience on supportive picks, then they might just have a winning strategy in their hands.

Gabriël ‘Bwipo’ Rau (Team Liquid, top laner)

Surprise, surprise, Bwipo is just as good as he’s always been. A year off role in the jungle didn’t slow down this top lane behemoth, and he’s been bringing the fire power to a Team Liquid who have looked pretty much unbeatable in the split.

He’s by far one of the most aggressive players in the LCS, but interestingly, he’s a player whose statistics don’t necessarily tell the whole story. His kill count is high, but not the highest, and his laning statistics are fine, but nothing groundbreaking.

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But he’s the spark that Team Liquid need. Mid laner Bjergsen is by no means an aggressive player, and neither is jungler Lucas ‘Santorin’ Larsen. AD Carry Steven ‘Hans sama’ Liv can’t exactly be the one to start off fights on champions like Jinx and Aphelios, so the responsibility falls on Bwipo to be the team’s initiator across the map.

Whether that comes in the form of drawing pressure in a side lane, or barreling it down mid, Bwipo has got his team covered.

Park ‘Summit’ Wootae (Cloud 9, top laner)

It’s rare that you’ll see a top laner with the highest percentage of his team’s damage. But then, there’s no other player quite like Summit.

He’s the best laning top laner in the LCS by quite a long shot, leaving lane ahead of his opponent in gold, cs, and experience in almost every matchup. He also has one of the highest counter-pick rates in the LCS, with his team choosing to set him up for success in the majority of games.

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He has the second-most kills of any top laner in the LCS and likes to play to set himself up for his own advantages rather than grouping with his team. He’s not a team fighter by any means, favoring self-sufficient picks like Gnar, Camille, and Jayce.

In fairness to Cloud 9, it’s understandable that Summit’s doing most of the team’s damage when his mid laner has been relegated to picks like Soraka and Ivern. But that’s not to take away from Summit’s performance. He fits perfectly into the team identity C9 have built for themselves, one that has carried them to the top of the LCS standings with ease.