NA LCS: 2019 Spring Split Top 5 Top Laners
Which North American top laner will be among the greatest adversaries come this spring? Find out below.
The NA LCS resumes this weekend, and there is a ton of intrigue as to which players and lineups will step to the top of the pack. In the top lane, we see a lot of the same stalwarts battling for the number one slot. Who is the best top laner of the bunch?
Coming into the split there is a lot of unproven talent, like TSM’s Brokenblade, along with solid performers who once had transcendent highs, like CLG’s Darshan. But today, we only care about the cream of the crop.
5. Ssumday (100 Thieves)
Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho starts off the list. Returning to the top lane for 100 Thieves, Ssumday is coming off a successful split, especially one for an inaugural team. In the 2018 season, he, along with his team, clinched a surprising NA LCS first seed during the regular season.
Ssumday is joined by new additions to the team in Huhi and Bang, who are both top tier individuals in their own rite and they should give 100 Thieves even more power than last season.
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With the rift seeing many top laners going through balancing changes as of late, Irelia, Akali and Camille just to name a few, tanks and bruisers are once again finding their place among the top lane. It is this type of meta Ssumday should thrive in and so it will be interesting to watch him this coming split, as he may even outshine some of the people higher up on this list.
4. Huni (Clutch Gaming)
Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon is the fourth player on our top laner ranking. Joining Clutch Gaming in November of 2018, Huni is looking to help lead another inaugural team to higher glory than they had in their first season.
Huni is well known for his flashy Riven mechanics and ability on carry-oriented champions. Sometimes these types of champions don’t fit well in the current meta and it has shown in Huni’s gameplay when he is forced into a tank role.
If Huni can get his hands on a strong split pushing champion and duelist, he can certainly be a premier contender in the top lane. Teams are likely to ban him out though unless ADC Piglet or Jungler LirA can draw some bans of their own.
Whether or not he can find a comfort pick that isn’t target banned will surely be a factor of Clutch Gaming’s success in the upcoming Spring Split.
3. Impact (Team Liquid)
Jung “Impact” Eon-yeong is the third seed on our list. A former world champion with SKT T1 in Korea, Impact is a seasoned veteran of League of Legends, having played competitively since Season 2.
He has seen several successful seasons since his arrival in North America, where he transferred in 2015. More recently, he helped Cloud9 achieve a respectable quarterfinal appearance in 2017’s World Championship and helped Team Liquid to an NA LCS playoffs title win in 2018.
Impact has generally been a consistent top laner and performs exceptionally well in a tank meta. He does exactly what his name entails and can always be seen making impactful plays around the map during a split push, or having precise ultimates in team-fights, be it on a tank or bruiser.