LCS 2021: Five Free Agents Who Should Have a Roster Spot

As the LCS free agency period winds down, here are five players still currently free agents who do not have a team for 2021.

With only a couple of months left before the LCS returns for the 20201 season, teams have begun setting their rosters. Plenty of teams have taken chances on young talent, while others have – once again – splurged on big-name free agents.

After the music has stopped, though, there are a few players still left without a chair. Normally, these would be the retread options, apathetic veterans, and low-tier younger players. This year, surprisingly, with plenty of teams overcorrecting and going for wholly young rosters, there are actually a few very good players left as free agents.

These five players are not only proven to be LCS-quality players, I would venture to say that they are superior to some of the players that have been signed to rosters for 2021. Here are the five players that are currently free agents and do not currently have a team.

1. Colin “Solo” Earnest (Top)

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Going into last year, I thought it was crazy that Solo didn’t have a spot on a roster in LCS or Academy. It’s even crazier this year given his strong performance in 2020.

In his full-time role with FlyQuest in the Summer Split, Solo had the second-highest KDA among all players with at least 10 games played. He also proved to be a very solid weak-side player, with most of his games on Sett, Ornn, and Renekton. For teams that have bot lanes you want to carry through, like his former FlyQuest team, Solo is an excellent top lane anchor.

2. Kevin “Hauntzer” Yarnell (Top)

In the same vein as Solo, I thought last year Hauntzer proved to be one of the best top laners in the LCS, so I’m shocked that he did not end up with a team. Last summer, he was among the best top laners in terms of gold, experience, and CS differentials at 15 minutes, with the second-highest laning score in his position (behind only Licorice).

In addition, Hauntzer showed a lot of diversity in his champion pool last year, nimbly able to switch from Aatrox/Ornn/Sett in spring to Kennen, Mordekaiser, and Renekton in summer. There’s no reason that he should still be a free agent, given how strong he was last year.

3. Juan Arturo “Contractz” Garcia (Jungle)

In a relief appearance for 100 Thieves, Contractz was quietly among the best junglers in the LCS. He was fourth in KDA, third in kill participation, and second in damage share among all junglers. While his early game pathing wasn’t perfect, he still managed the third-highest laning rating for junglers.

One big knock on Contractz has always been his propensity to die a lot. While that was a big issue in the playoffs (fourteen deaths in three games), it was not an issue in the regular season. He averaged 2.17 deaths per game on some very aggressive champions (Olaf, Nidalee, Lee Sin, and Graves), which was third-lowest in the role.

4. Henrik “Froggen” Hansen (Mid)

This is probably the most controversial one on the list, because Froggen has been accused of being one of the “paycheck stealers” who are holding the region back. There’s also the fact that, in six games during the Summer Split, he had the worst performance of any mid laner. From that standpoint, it’s no wonder why he’s still among the free agents without a team.

However, if you back to the spring, there is a legitimate argument to be made that he was a top-three mid laner in the LCS. He led all mids in kill participation, was second in damage per minute and damage share, and was tied for fewest deaths per game in his position. Such a good performance not even a full year ago warrants someone taking a flyer on him, especially given how weak the mid laners in LCS look.

5. Tristan “Zeyzal” Stidam (Support)

I feel like I’m taking crazy pills, because I have no idea how six to seven of the LCS teams could look at Zeyzal and think they couldn’t use him. Last summer, Zeyzal was, statistically, a top two or three support, particularly from his low death share and high damage share. He was also graded as our third-best laning support in the Summer Split (behind Vulcan and Huhi), with the second-highest experience differential at 15 minutes.

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While Zeyzal isn’t the flashiest player or a team leader like a CoreJJ, to me he is a perfect glue player for the support role. He doesn’t make mistakes, he doesn’t die, and he has a versatile champion pool. There’s no way he shouldn’t have gotten a roster spot somewhere.

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