LCS Summer 2020: The Three Ways to Define MVP of the Split

With the LCS Summer Split drawing to a close, let’s take a look at who fits the three different definitions for MVP ahead of the voting.

Most Valuable By Team

The final definition MVP voters will use to determine which LCS player is worthy of the award is to ask which player is the most valuable to his team. Again, using our player rating system we can help make this determination by comparing the best player on each team to not only the second-best player on their team but also their team’s overall strength. In this way, we can see which players disproportionately shouldered the burden of “carrying” their team.

As we can see, arguments for players like CoreJJ and Blaber begin to fall apart when we look at the teammates surrounding them. Blaber might be the most valuable jungler in the LCS, but compared to the rest of his teammates on Cloud9 is he really that irreplaceable (yes, for the record is my answer but that is still debateable)?

Similarly, how can we argue that CoreJJ is the MVP of the league when he’s being outperformed by two players on his team, ADC Edward “Tactical” Ra and mid Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen, relative to their positions. While CoreJJ is responsible for leading the team, it certainly looks like TL could more afford to do without him than Tactical based on the level he’s playing at.

Finally, Bjergsen (who is also being overrated by most based on his play) hasn’t really outperformed his teammates that heavily. Particularly, he’s buoyed by having a strong second-carry in Doublelift, something he hasn’t had in a few years.

Instead, if we’re going by value to team, the clear answer here is 100 Thieves top laner Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho. Not only is he the best player on his team, but the second-best player on the roster – jungler “Contractz” – was a mid-season substitution. Playing on a very weak roster that underwent a lot of turnover, Ssumday was easily the best player on his team.

Another interesting candidate (though not a serious one) is Immortals rookie mid laner David “Insanity” Challe. On a team filled with chaos and roster overhauls, Insanity managed to post numbers good enough to put him in our top-five mid laners by grade. He did this all despite having one of the worst supporting casts in the LCS (unsurprisingly, Immortals and CLG both had the lowest average grade for their rosters and both missed the playoffs).

Because he played for a team that missed the playoffs, it’s unlikely that anyone would give him serious consideration for the MVP award. However, his accomplishments on such a bad team are worth mentioning and celebrating.

Which methodology you want to use to determine your MVP is entirely up to you. If you want to go by the subjective “best player” approach, you’ll probably end up voting for CoreJJ. Going by the most valuable relative to position, you’ll pick Blaber to win his second-straight award. By the measure of who his team most relied on, 100 Thieves Ssumday wins that award walking away.