Best League of Legends players of 2023
Colin Young-Wolff/Riot GamesWorlds 2023 has once again placed League of Legends on top of the esports world, putting on one of the best events of the year that saw Faker finally get his fourth trophy. Here are the top 5 League players in what was an incredibly storied year for the esport.
Though League of Legends has been out for over a decade now, the game’s esports scene hasn’t slowed down. Constant iteration and updates have led to a game that’s nearly unrecognizable when put next to the game Faker was playing when he took his first title in 2013.
Speaking of, it was a big year for Faker. From having to step away from playing the game entirely for a while as he recovered from a wrist injury to stopping JDG’s Golden Road and winning Worlds, he’s had one of the best comebacks in esports.
And, for the sake of keeping the list from being an assortment of players that are all from the same team, we’ll be sticking to one standout star from each roster. Having most of the list be T1 and JDG players may be accurate according to some, but it’s a big world out there with lot of competitors that have had incredible storylines this year.
With all of that in mind, here are the Top 5 League of Legends players of 2023.
5. Chen ‘GALA’ Wei – LNG Esports
Colin Young-Wolff/Riot GamesThough many other native Chinese ADCs like Elk and Light had an incredibly good year, it’s hard to argue against GALA being the best non-import ADC in the LPL.
He was the missing piece LNG needed to become one of the best teams in China, and, though Scout was already an incredibly strong mid laner who put LNG in the LPL’s top half, GALA’s ability to carry took some pressure off Scout and allowed the team to shine. Meanwhile, RNG floundered without him.
And, though he’s known for his Kai’Sa, GALA’s been able to adapt as the meta has shifted away from her to other picks like Xayah, Tristana, and Aphelios when the need arises. Though LNG weren’t able to overcome T1 and make a deep run at Worlds 2023, it’s impossible to deny GALA’s excellence through all of 2023 regardless of which team he was on.
4. Mihael ‘Mikyx’ Mehle – G2 Esports
Michal Konkol/Riot GamesScrim world title aside, it’s been a great year for G2. They managed to build a team around rising star Yike who replaced Jankos, arguably Europe’s best jungler of all time, while the rest of G2’s roster looked as strong as ever.
That said, it really felt like Mikyx was the person who kept this team together through their hardest times this year, and he even managed to make a Lissandra counterpick work against BLG despite them ultimately losing the set. Engage, enchanters, bizarre mage counterpicks; Mikyx really has it all, and it’s no surprise he was the LEC MVP this year.
Miky’s got a real eye for when to engage and when to peel for his team, making him the glue that keeps G2 together. Though all of the team’s players are strong individually, it’s hard to imagine this team working without Mikyx on it.
And, with this roster being one of the few teams globally that have decided to stick with their 2023 roster, G2 clearly has confidence that this roster works and that they’re betting on the right set of players.
3. Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok – T1
Colin Young-Wolff/Riot GamesIt’s been a very up and down year for Faker. Spring saw the team fall just short of greatness twice, once at the LCK Spring 2023 Finals and again at MSI 2023. This would lead into Summer, where Faker had an injury that’d leave T1 reeling as they almost fell out of playoffs contention entirely, only for him to come back and qualify for Worlds 2023. From there, the rest is history.
It seems that, despite Faker not having quite the same impressive stats as someone like Chovy, he’s got something that really keeps T1 together. It’s hard to explain something that isn’t represented statistically, but Faker just has that X factor that few other players have. His 2023 comeback would be impressive even if he didn’t have 10 years of top level play under his belt.
However, seeing how T1 performed without Faker this year draws into question just how strong this roster would be without him. Seeing as there are other teams that performed consistently well while T1 went through some tough times, it’s impossible to say that any single T1 member was the best player in the world for the entire year.
This team will be sticking together despite the roster being exorbitantly expensive to keep, signaling that the organization clearly values these players and wants to see them maintain and even top their level of skill at Worlds 2023. T1 may have finished first at Worlds, but they had to wrestle the title away from teams who consistently outperformed them.
2. Chen ‘Bin’ Ze-Bin – Bilibili Gaming
Colin Young-Wolff/Riot GamesBin is a player who proves that it’s not all about what’ll let you win in the short-term. Rather, it’s about how you win. He’s a player known for picking carry top laners even in tank metas, with him being well known for his Jax, Aatrox, and Renekton. And, while he abused K’Sante when the champion was busted, he’s really not much of a weakside player. Despite top lane being a “weak” role in comparison to bot and mid, he has a way of making the game revolve around him.
What’s more, Bin has a quality that not many League pros have: star power. He isn’t afraid to talk some trash and show how confident he is in his skills. Combined with his remarkable skill in-game, the unpredictability of doing things like first-timing Rumble in the Worlds quarterfinals, and going toe to toe with the very best top laners in the world, there’s a reason Bin has gained a massive following.
And, though he spent time learning tanks earlier this year, Bin eventually realized that he’s meant to be the carry on the team. As Bin himself put it in a prior interview with Dexerto, “I always believe I’m the best.”
BLG fell just short of greatness for much of the year, but, even when his team faltered, Bin was doing his best to keep the game alive by finding an angle that could let him put the game on his back. It’s hard to expect anything but the best from Bin if he’s playing at the same level in 2024.
1. Park ‘Ruler’ Jae-hyuk – JD Gaming
Colin Young-Wolff/Riot GamesWorlds 2023 aside, JDG was the super team this year. And, unlike many cursed super teams in League of Legends’ past JDG actually delivered. While their Golden Road was stopped short by T1, they crushed domestically within what is currently the strongest region in the world (if we’re going by which teams have done the best internationally this year), all during Ruler’s first year in the LPL.
The new environment didn’t seem to impact the hard-carry potential he had for years with GenG, and he was the absolute gold standard in the LPL for the entire year. Ruler was untouchable. Alongside an incredibly flexible JDG roster that could draft in ways that allowed him to shine, JDG conquered the LoL esports world for most of the year.
If you’re looking for a hard carry player that has the mechanics and game sense to bring home a win, look no further than Ruler. It’s hard to argue against him being, individually, the best player in the world right now.
While it’s difficult not to let recency bias take over with JDG being handily beaten by T1 at the end of the year, JDG had the better of T1 and every other team in the world for most of 2023. And, considering Ruler’s set to stay with JDG despite the high price tag on his contract, the organization still clearly thinks he’s got the potential to pave another Golden Road in 2024.
As Ruler put it in an interview with Dexerto, “I’m too good to quit.”