The new and improved LEC’s first Winter Split will begin on January 21.
2023 is shaping up to be a very exciting year for European League of Legends, although it is now EMEA and not just EU. if you’ve missed the off-season, there are a lot of changes to the league, starting with its new name, League of Legends EMEA Championship. The new name and inclusion of other regions haven’t affected the league yet, but organizations departing and joining definitely did. Misfits Gaming, a long-time partner of the LEC, sold their spot to the Spanish org Team Heretics, and the reigning champions Rogue partnered and changed their name to KOI.
Last but not least, the format changes. LEC will have a whole different look in 2023, with a lot of best-of series and not so many Bo1s. Unlike last year when the top-six was the place team aimed at, this year we will probably look for a top-four. So, let’s see where our teams, both new and returning ones, are before the split starts. This power rankings list will be updated throughout the Winter Split with each week of games.
Introducing the new era of competition in EMEA! #EMEA23
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— LEC (@LEC) November 18, 2022
10. Team BDS
- Top lane: Adam “Adam” Maanane
- Jungle: Théo “Sheo” Borile
- Mid lane: Ilias “NUCLEARINT” Bizriken
- AD Carry: Juš “Crownie” Marušič
- Support: Labros “Labrov” Papoutsakis
BDS’s first year in LEC was nothing sort of abysmal. They not only finished in the bottom two in both splits, but the team looked functional in only a very small amount of games. Of course, they are coming into 2023 with an almost completely different team, but is it actually that much better? They definitely upgraded their bot lane, both Crownie and Labrov are better players than their predecessors. But they are not exactly top LEC players either, with Labrov not playing up to his solo queue prowess.
The only player remaining from last year is NUCLEARINT, which shows they want to build the team around him. And I’m just not sure if he is good enough to be that guy. He had some decent games, sure, but he hasn’t shown that he could be a playoff-level player. On the other hand, I like their top and jungle, but with Sheo being very inexperienced I’m keeping my expectations low for his debut split. All in all, I would be very surprised if BDS play any Bo3s in the Winter Split.
9. Astralis
- Top lane: Finn “Finn” Wiestål
- Jungle: Doğukan “113” Balcı
- Mid lane: Oliver “Dajor” Ryppa
- AD Carry: Kasper “Kobbe” Kobberup
- Support: Lee “JeongHoon” Jeong-hoon
Despite finishing ninth, Astralis put up some good fights in the Summer of 2022, unlike BDS, and they managed to keep most of their roster intact. In most cases, it’s fair to argue that we should expect some improvements between seasons. But considering one player they lost was the backbone of their team, Andrei “Xerxe” Dragomir, and they replaced him with a rookie, we now have a complicated situation.
Not to mention, many fans scratched their heads about the 113 signing, as his performance in the LFL last year wasn’t all that impressive. He needs to fill some very big shoes in his new role, and don’t think he is capable of doing that, especially in his first split. There is some potential in the rest of the team, we saw both Finn and JeongHoon have their moments last split. But the coin can also flip to the other side. Dajor is very similar to NUCLEARINT, in that he is in a franchise player position for Astralis without playing at the level of one. And with Kobbe still not playing near his peak, even though he was better than Spring, Astralis is another team I don’t think will surprise anyone.
8. SK Gaming
- Top lane: Joel “Irrelevant” Miro Scharoll
- Jungle: Mark “Markoon” van Woensel
- Mid lane: Daniel “Sertuss” Gamani
- AD Carry: Thomas “Exakick” Foucou
- Support: Mads “Doss” Schwartz
Talking about surprises, I can see SK Gaming having that kind of a split. There is some great young talent in SK, especially with the Exakick addition. He was stellar in his time at LFL, and already has existing synergy with his lane partner, which should give them some boost. Also, Doss has prior LEC experience, so he can help Exakick adjust to the new environment.
Another great signing for SK was Markoon. He’s been one of the most exciting junglers while he was on XL, and I think he still has a lot of room for growth. The same can be said for Sertuss. He started out quite in last year, but he was easily the best player for SK in their short-lived playoff push in the Summer. They have the potential to be a good duo, and if they find a good synergy they will have too decent side lanes to play off of. In my mind, Irrelevant was the most impressive rookie last Summer, and I think he will be much better this year. It might be hard to justify putting SK higher on this list, but I wouldn’t be surprised if manage to end there.
7. Team Heretics
- Top lane: Shunsuke “Evi” Murase
- Jungle: Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski
- Mid lane: Lee “Ruby” Sol-min
- AD Carry: Jakob “Jackspektra” Gullvag Kepple
- Support: Mertai “Mersa” Sari
What a team for Heretic’s first LEC roster, albeit a weird one. Not many expected this team to come into the season with Evi and Ruby in their solo lanes. Although Peter Dun was right more than he was wrong, we will have to wait and see how this experiment will end. At the very least, both of these players showed they are good on the Rift at their previous teams, Evi even did it on the international stage. But playing at that level week in and week out is a different ask.
What is sure to help is their jungler. Even though Jankos was slipping a little bit in his last year with G2, there is no denying his pedigree. It also helps that his playstyle in recent years isn’t that reliant on mechanics, but rather on his experience and knowledge. I think he is the best jungler Heretics could’ve gotten, considering they promoted Jackspektra from their Academy team and he will need some help and time to adjust to LEC. Jankos can be the perfect jungler to hold his hand along the way if he needs it, and facilitate him during games. I can see them getting a lot better in Spring, but Winter might be sacrificed in the process.
6. MAD Lions
- Top lane: Kim “Chasy” Dong-hyeon
- Jungle: Javier “Elyoya” Prades Batalla
- Mid lane: Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer
- AD Carry: Matyáš “Carzzy” Orság
- Support: Zdravets “Hylissang” Iliev Galabov
Not the greatest 2022 for MAD Lions after they got eliminated at the Worlds Play-Ins. The second time that happened to a major region team, with the first one being them too. But the most important news of the off-season was that they managed to hold on to Elyoya, despite nearly all teams going after the star jungler. If he and Nisqy are in form, MAD will have a say in most games they play. The problem is they will have to be in top shape, as the rest of MAD isn’t all that reliable.
Neither Hyli nor Carzzy had a good Summer, despite the former being an MVP candidate in Spring. The hope for MAD is that Hylissang shakes off his slump from Worlds while a return back to the nest reinvigorates Carzzy. The other side lane for them is another question mark, with MAD also joining the teams importing their top laners. Chasy is a talented player who came out of DAMWON’s Challengers team, but he doesn’t have any experience playing at this level in a consistent fashion. If all goes well, MAD can be a Worlds representative at the end of the year, but I don’t think it’s a realistic expectation.
5. Fnatic
- Top lane: Martin “Wunder” Nordahl Hansen
- Jungle: Iván “Razork” Martín Díaz
- Mid lane: Marek “Humanoid” Brázda
- AD Carry: Carl Martin Erik “Rekkles” Larsson
- Support: Rúben “Rhuckz” Barbosa
Fnatic fans start out the season as the biggest winners. What else can they want now that Rekkles is back? We saw him dominate during the SKE, even though it was just a showmatch. He was also great during his time with KCorp so his return to LEC is shaping up to be very exciting. Unfortunately, he won’t be playing with Hyli anymore, although Rhuckz is a great replacement as he showed the fans at Worlds 2022.
The problem with his team is the top side. Last year, this trio wouldn’t have had the chance to make playoffs, and play much better once there, if it wasn’t for their bot lane dragging them along. But Upset isn’t here anymore, and Rekkles isn’t exactly a drag people kind of an ADC. They are of course great players, especially Wunder and Humanoid, but the three will have to improve a lot in the consistency department if Fnatic wants to get into the top-four.
4. Excel Esports
- Top lane: Andrei “Odoamne” Pascu
- Jungle: Andrei “Xerxe” Dragomir
- Mid lane: Vincent “Vetheo” Berrié
- AD Carry: Patrik “Patrik” Jírů
- Support: Raphaël “Targamas” Crabbé
Excel got a taste of playoffs in 2022, but unfortunately, they still haven’t won a series. Now they are back with kind of a budget super team and aiming a lot higher than just playoffs. It’s interesting they parted ways with four of their players after a relatively successful year, but they somehow arguably upgraded in all positions. Targamas and Odoamne suffered some loss to their standing after not-so-great showings at Worlds, but they were at times at the top of their positions last year. And Xerxe just had a breakthrough year in his sixth season.
Last but not least, the former MVP. Finally, Patrik will have another real carry to help him share the load. I am surprising myself by rating Excel highly second year in a row. But unlike last year, they probably will have actual consistency from their solo lanes. Maybe this is the year they win a best-of series?
3. G2 Esports
- Top lane: Sergen “BrokenBlade” Çelik
- Jungle: Martin “Yike” Sundelin
- Mid lane: Rasmus “Caps” Borregaard Winther
- AD Carry: Steven “Hans sama” Liv
- Support: Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle
A bittersweet start to the new season for G2 fans. They lost Jankos, but Mikyx made his return home. This will also be great for Mikyx, who will be reuniting with his former ADC Hans Sama. This would be an insane bot lane at the start of 2022, but after the year both players had, I’m a little worried. Still, there is always a chance they can step it up again, and they won’t have too much pressure to start the split thanks to the carry players in their solo lanes.
We know both BB and Caps like to play aggressively and take the game into their hands. The problem is they won’t have the best EU jungler ever to support them this season. While Yike is a great prospect and a potential star, it’s unfair to expect him to play at Janko’s level. It may take G2 some time as they wait for Yike to get some experience and Hans and Mikyx to adjust to each other, but they are always a contender. For the sole fact that they have Caps.
2. Team Vitality
- Top lane: Kyeong “Photon” Gyu-tae
- Jungle: Zhou “Bo” Yang-Bo
- Mid lane: Luka “Perkz” Perković
- AD Carry: Matúš “Neon” Jakubčík
- Support: Norman “Kaiser” Kaiser
Is it too optimistic to place the failed “super team” at number two, after they disbanded the said super team? I’m not sure, but I feel like 2023 will finally be the year of Vitality. They apparently saw the success of Berserker at Cloud9 and decided to take a chance on a T1 Challenger player themselves. Photon is a versatile young player who many Korean fans speak very highly of. I am very high on him and with the weak top lane pool in the league, I expect him to be good from the get-go. His new bot laner being used to playing weak side and his support having a heavy roam style will also be very helpful for him.
But it’s normal to doubt Photon or the new bot lane for Vitality. So let’s talk about the obvious. If you don’t follow LEC pros off the Rift, you might not know how big of a mayhem Bo is causing in the EU West solo queue. Sure, it is just solo queue, but he’s been looking great. Also considering he’s been away from the stage some time and he was hungry to get another shot after his suspension, I am scared for other LEC junglers. His new partner, Perkz, is also back in form. He had a great Summer performance and nearly dragged his team into the playoffs. Not to mention the coveted wife buff.
1. KOI
- Top lane: Mathias “Szygenda” Jensen
- Jungle: Kim “Malrang” Geun-seong
- Mid lane: Emil “Larssen” Larsson
- AD Carry: Markos “Comp” Stamkopoulos
- Support: Adrian “Trymbi” Trybus
New name but familiar faces. The Summer 2022 champions nearly kept their winning roster together, only losing Odoamne. Although the change came from the organization, so it means they have a lot of trust in Szygenda, which isn’t a wrong thought as the Danish top laner was one of the best in his position at EU Masters. And considering the competition isn’t that great in LEC, he can offer a lot to KOI in his return to the league.
The other four players don’t need much discussion. Comp/Trymbi duo showed that they are a world-class bot lane during their Worlds 2022 campaign, and with no Upset in the league, Comp is the best ADC in LEC. While I consider them a lock for the final-four stage of the Winter Split, they might need more consistent performances from Larssen and Malrang to repeat their championship. The two had their fair share of bad games last year, and with G2 and Vitality on their heels, they might not afford too many of those this split.
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