Top five Western free agents in League of Legends
With the League of Legends free-agency period opening Monday, North American and European teams are gearing up to bolster their teams in what is the busiest day of the game’s annual calendar.
Thirty-seven players who competed in at least one game in the League of Legends Championship Series and League European Championship will be free agents come Monday — with roles such as jungle and support leading by numbers in North America and big names in AD carry and support available in Europe. Some Western teams will ultimately look East and bring in players from the likes of China and South Korea, but domestically, in both regions, there will be high demand for certain players with significant value.
Here’s a look at the top five free agents in North America and Europe going into the madness on Monday.
Position: Jungler | 2019 team: Team Liquid
With top laner Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon agreeing a two-year, $2.3 million guaranteed contract extension with Dignitas, Xmithie is now the most valuable free agent in all of North America. In March, the Team Liquid jungler was named First Team LCS All-Pro for the spring split and then in August made the Second Team LCS All-Pro list.
Xmithie has pulled his weight on the greatest North American roster of all time alongside some of the best players in the region and shown why his professional playing career has lasted for more than six years now. Xmithie is also a North American resident, meaning he won’t take up one of each team’s two valuable import slots wherever he signs.
Expect Liquid to work hard to renew Xmithie, and if they don’t, look for teams like Team SoloMid, Immortals, Dignitas and 100 Thieves to be interested in acquiring him.
Position: Support | 2019 team: 100 Thieves
There are many North American support options on the market this offseason, but none as experienced as Aphromoo.
The 100 Thieves anchor did not have his best season in 2019, but the most successful supports in the league — such as Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-in, Philippe “Vulcan” Laflamme and Vincent “Biofrost” Wang — remain under contract in a season when support will be a position many teams need to fill.
Aphromoo is a proven leader, with several championships under his belt with Counter Logic Gaming in the past, and while 100 Thieves had a rough year, he is likely to be sought after in the free-agent market. With the team under new management, it’s unclear if Aphromoo will elicit a renewal offer from 100 Thieves or if he’ll explore his options across the league. In addition to 100 Thieves, teams such as Immortals, Dignitas and FlyQuest will be searching for a support this offseason and Aphromoo could be just that.
Position: AD carry | 2019 team: Team SoloMid
For two seasons now, Zven has competed on North America’s most popular team, Team SoloMid. In March, he made the Third Team LCS All-Pro list, just two points below the second-teamer, Cloud9 AD carry Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi. But the real storyline for the Danish AD carry’s time abroad is that he has failed to make the world championship after falling just short in two consecutive regional gauntlets. Look for him to make a change this offseason.
On Tuesday, Zven said he has been speaking with various teams, in both North America and Europe, including Team SoloMid, for over a month now. Zven first burst onto the scene as a heralded rookie in 2015 as a part of Origen, and it wasn’t long before he became highly coveted in that league and recruited by G2 Esports, where he won three consecutive domestic championships. Zven has drawn eyeballs from far and wide; don’t be surprised to see him paired up with a set of strong players looking to win another title in 2020.
Position: Support | 2019 team: Echo Fox
Throughout 2019, Hakuho played for the turbulent Echo Fox, whose season ended with Riot Games revoking their franchise slot and then selling it to Evil Geniuses. Those issues had nothing to do with the players, but it certainly affected morale in their office and practice space in Beverly Hills, California. The whole roster will now have an opportunity to find new homes in free agency, and among them, Hakuho will provide the most value.
Hakuho is a sturdy support and a North American resident. He has had some flashy moments over the years, but at a minimum he is an acceptable LCS-caliber player and other than Aphromoo is better than the remaining North American supports in the free-agent pool: William “Stunt” Chen, Terry “Big” Choung, Austin “Gate” Yu and Matt “Matt” Elento.
Expect teams in the support market to give Hakuho consideration and for him to land on an LCS team for 2020.
Position: Jungler | 2019 team: OpTic Gaming
One of the most veteran players in the LCS, William “Meteos” Hartman enters the offseason as a valuable free agent. He is experienced and tested under pressure and likely will end up on an LCS team that needs a North American jungler to be able to use up import slots elsewhere. Throughout his long career, with stops at Cloud9, 100 Thieves and OpTic Gaming, Meteos has continued to remain relevant in the LCS with mostly consistent play while at times being a star.
Teams in the market for Meteos likely will be the same as the ones in the market for Xmithie. Team SoloMid, Dignitas, Immortals, 100 Thieves and Team Liquid all will explore the jungle market this offseason. That provides a big opportunity for Meteos, and even lesser junglers such as Maurice “Amazing” Stückenschneider, Mike “MikeYeung” Yeung and Andy “AnDa” Hoang, all of whom are considered North American residents under the Riot Games interregional movement policy.
Meteos might not be the prized jungler in the offseason, but he provides a great alternative for teams who don’t win the Xmithie race.
Position: Jungler | 2019 team: Splyce
Europe features a star-studded lineup of free agents this offseason, headlined by Xerxe. This year has been another successful campaign for the 20-year-old jungler, who is considered one of the best League European Championship players outside of the G2 Esports lineup. Come Monday, Xerxe will be highly sought after as European teams look to aim to take down the G2 giant in 2020.
The free-agent jungle pool in Europe this offseason is small. Only Xerxe, Kim “Trick” Gang-yun and Nubar “Maxlore” Sarafian will be outside of contract on Monday, but multiple teams, including Origen, Misfits, Team Vitality, Splyce, Schalke 04 Esports and others, will be in the jungler market. Expect trades and transfers to occur and for regional players to receive promotions, but none will matter as much as Xerxe.
Position: AD carry | 2019 team: Schalke 04 Esports
On Tuesday, Schalke 04 Esports said goodbye to its young star AD carry, Upset. For two years, Upset proved to be one of the best talents in all of Europe, and now, as a free agent with a high amount of value, the 19-year-old will be a target for all teams looking to bolster their bottom lane.
In 2019, Upset took two Second Team All-LEC honors, one behind the likes of Luka “Perkz” Perković and the other just below Kasper “Kobbe” Kobberup. Upset appeared in two European playoff finals, once in Summer 2018 and again this past September. But he hasn’t made it to the world championship yet, and that goal will serve as a guiding point for wherever he chooses in the offseason.
With Schalke out of the picture, look to teams both domestically and internationally to make moves to try and secure Upset’s talents.
Position: AD carry | 2019 team: Splyce
Splyce have three major free agents to worry about this offseason, and while Xerxe leads that pack, AD carry Kobbe should not be forgotten. Kobbe was a strong talent for a number of years competing in Europe and the center of a Splyce team that has remained competitive since it earned its way into the European LCS four years ago as Dignitas EU.
But market value for Kobbe has never been as high as it is right now. In March, Kobbe earned First Team All-LEC over Upset and Martin “Rekkles” Larsson, and in the summer, Kobbe qualified for his second world championship appearance. Interest in Kobbe will come from Europe and across the pond, and he could wind up in either region. Either way, expect Kobbe to end up on a contender, because he has been on one since he went pro in the first place.
Position: Support | 2019 team: Rogue
VandeR has competed professionally for the majority of the existence of the European LCS and now the League European Championship, but 2019 has been a year of resurgence for the Polish support who once was considered washed up. Competing on Rogue, VandeR proved again why he not only deserves a spot but that he should be taken seriously in free agency. He took a revamped roster that finished 10th in the spring split and, along with longtime duo partner Pawel “Woolite” Pruski, pushed Rogue into the summer playoffs.
Rogue would be silly not to renew him. VandeR has played for Rogue general manager Tomislav “flyy” Mihailov, formerly of Kiedys Mialem Team and Team ROCCAT, for the majority of his career, and there is no reason that should change. But there is a market for supports in Europe, and VandeR is among the most valuable ones who will be out of contract.
Position: Support | 2019 team: Schalke 04 Esports
In his return to the European region in 2019, IgNar showed spectators and teams why his success on Misfits in 2016 and 2017 was no fluke. Paired with Upset, IgNar earned himself a Third Team All-LEC honor in the summer and helped his team to a third-place finish in the LEC summer playoffs in September.
IgNar could very well return to his home of South Korea, but with only five total supports who competed in the LEC this season being free agents — IgNar, VandeR, Hampus “Promisq” Abrahamsson, Kang “Gorilla” Beom-hyun and Alfonso “mithy” Aguirre Rodriguez — finding a team for IgNar should not be difficult. Whether that means staying on Schalke or finding a new home on a new roster, IgNar showed this year why he deserves to be taken seriously as a free agent this offseason.