LCS Spring Split 2020: Week 3 Player Power Rankings

Jungle

1. Robert “Blaber” Huang (Cloud9)

In the jungle right now there is Blaber…and then there is everybody else. Literally, the statistical difference between Blaber and the second-best jungler on our list is bigger than the difference between the best top laner, Licorice and the worst top laner sOAZ. That means, right now, if you told me I could have any top laner in the LCS and any of the other nine junglers in the league or Blaber and a random jungler, picking Blaber is the best choice.

It’s easier to list the statistical categories in which Blaber is not first than those that he leads all junglers in. Those would be kill participation (he’s fourth), death share (he’s second-worst), vision score (he’s third), and jungle forward percent (he’s second, just barely behind Xmithie). While the death share stat might be worrying, it’s important to remember that Blaber averages a full death less per game than the next closest jungler. The only reason his death share is so high is because no one on Cloud9 dies.

2. Lucas “Santorin” Tao Kilmer Larsen (FlyQuest)
3. Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett (TSM)
4. Jake “Xmithie” Puchero (Immortals)

On a team full of pieces that weren’t supposed to succeed, the one that has stood out has unquestionably been Xmithie. As noted above, this season he has been one of the most aggressive early-game junglers, helping to impact his lanes and giving him the second-best vision score per minute in the role.

5. William “Meteos” Hartman (100 Thieves)
6. Raymond “Wiggily” Griffin (CLG)
7. Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen (Evil Geniuses)
8. Shern “Shernfire” Cherng Tai (Team Liquid)
9. Can “Closer” Çelik (Golden Guardians)

Another take I vehemently disagree with is the notion that Closer is one of the best junglers in the LCS when, statistically, he’s far closer to the bottom. He has made a lot of mechanically good plays and his early game pathing is slightly better than average (his jungle forward percent is 0.3% higher than the average jungler).

Two areas where I think Closer is very lacking are damage and vision. Despite his decent early game forward and invades, he has the worst vision score per minute of any LCS jungler. This is likely something that he never fully learned in the TCL and I expect he can improve as the year continues.

However, Closer is also the worst jungler in the LCS in terms of damage dealt, both raw (168 DPM) and when compared to other junglers (163 aDPM). It’s not by a lot, but when you’re down ranking right next to inactive players like Shernfire and Grig, that is a big problem.

10. Jonathan “Grig” Armao (Dignitas)