LCS 2021 Awards: Breaking down potential All-Pro Team, MVP, Rookie of the Year

The League of Legends Championship Series’ (LCS) top eight teams are heading into the start of the LCS 2021 Championship this weekend, each vying for a chance to represent North America at the League of Legends World Championship this October. Before that, though, LCS broadcast members, LCS team staff and players and third party media were given the opportunity to vote for their All-Pro Team, Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year.

The All-Pro Team is composed of players voted as the best in each role, while the Most Valuable Player award is given to the player voted best in the league. Rookie of the Year is awarded to the best performing rookie player in the league, highlighting the brightest new talent the LCS has to offer. End-of-season awards often carry a lot of debate and controversy, but these are the votes I settled on for the 2021 LCS season.

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Photo credit: Riot Games via ESPAT

Top lane -- Fudge (Cloud9)

Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami is an absolute rock. Cloud9 were easily the best team during the first half of the LCS season, and Fudge’s growth as a top laner was a big part of that. Although he struggled initially, he bloomed into one of the best top laners with arguably the deepest champion pool. Whether it was tanks, carries or even support champions like Karma, Fudge shined as one of the best players during Cloud9’s dominance earlier this year.

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Realistically, it’s easy to look like one of the best players in the league while playing on the best team. Fudge was often overshadowed by Team Liquid’s Barney “Alphari” Morris for his raw carry potential, but there was no doubt that he could hang at the top. Toward the latter half of the year, though, Fudge set himself apart as a player who could do it all. Once Cloud9 began to struggle after a poor performance at the Mid-Season Invitational, Fudge maintained the highest bar of performance for all top laners in the league, being a reliable force in each and every game. Cloud9 mustered only a 15-12 record this summer, but Fudge’s impact became even more apparent as he carried the team in its most trying times.

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Jungle -- Spica (TSM)

In the current state of the LCS, it feels like any jungler can show up, carry and make the other team look ridiculous. In a region filled with jungle talent, Mingyi “Spica” Yu wasn’t expected to challenge for the title of “best jungler in North America,” but he’s done that and more. As the only returning player to a brand new TSM lineup, Spica kept the team’s poor early game together with strong defensive pathing that stifled offensive playmaking from opposing junglers.

As TSM continued to develop, Spica began to find more offensive opportunities, grabbing early-game leads for TSM and securing mid-game neutral objectives. Spica doesn’t stand out as a carry jungler the same way that Cloud9’s Robert “Blaber” Huang and 100 Thieves’ Can “Closer” Çelik do, but no jungler in North America controls the game better than he does.

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Mid lane -- Abbedagge (100 Thieves)

Felix “Abbedagge” Braun only made his way to the LCS this summer, but there’s no doubt that the German mid laner is the very best in his role. 100 Thieves were strong in the spring but lacked a consistent mid lane presence that could carry their weight in teamfights. Abbedagge joined 100 Thieves as a mid laner that could play supportive champions like Karma, but also dish out the damage on champions like Akali and Azir.

More than anything, Abbedagge fully enabled the potential of 100 Thieves and brought a new offensive threat to make their early games all the more potent. Closer already stood out as one of the best junglers in the league, but Abbedagge’s lane pressure and coordination with both him and the side lanes gave rise to 100 Thieves’ dominant summer performances. Given that other mid lane stars like Luka “Perkz” Perkovic and Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen had down seasons, Abbedagge especially stands out as No. 1 for me.

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Bottom lane -- FBI (100 Thieves)

There’s no investigation necessary here. Ian “FBI” Huang put together the most complete performance of any AD carry in the LCS this season. While other bot laners often ebbed and flowed with the performance of their teams, FBI maintained a level of lane and teamfight dominance that was unmatched throughout the season. Alongside Choi “huhi” Jae-hyun, FBI established a consistent point of pressure for 100 Thieves that could be augmented or sidelined to gain advantages elsewhere.

Compared to other elite AD carries in the LCS, FBI was also arguably the most self-sufficient in games where resources were more focused toward the top and mid lane. Plenty of star carries can deal damage and create leads with optimal drafts and jungler attention, but FBI remained effective in both losing matchups and low-resource situations. Evil Geniuses’ Kyle “Danny” Sakamaki and Team Liquid’s Edward “Tactical” Ra remained as electric as ever in teamfights, but FBI’s steady dominance earned him a place on my All-Pro squad.

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Support -- huhi (100 Thieves)

Support is often the most difficult role to peg for All-Pro teams as some of its major influences remain subtle to the casual eye. TSM’s Hu “SwordArt” Shuo-Jie said himself that the best support is the player that wins the split. In this case, the split isn’t over, but 100 Thieves sat atop the LCS for several weeks before finishing second behind TSM. Behind a great deal of that success was huhi, the best support in the LCS this year.

Ever since huhi debuted as a mid laner, his playstyle has always been focused on moving around the map and creating skirmishes for his team. Wherever huhi goes, 100 Thieves go, and that has worked out perfectly for them. Huhi’s teamfight engagements on champions like Sett, Nautilus and Leona have been nothing short of excellent since 100 Thieves’ rise to the top. Huhi is the center of 100 Thieves’ patented aggression, and that’s the best aspect for a professional support player in the current meta.

Photo credit: Riot Games via ESPAT

MVP -- Spica (TSM)

There is a lot of debate over what makes any player the “most valuable player,” but there’s no doubt that Spica was not only the best player in his role, but also the most impactful player on first-place TSM. Spica doesn’t bring the same electric early-game plays that other junglers bring, but stability is the name of the game for a TSM roster that loves focusing on mid-game teamfights in lieu of aggressive early games.

When considering TSM’s overall record, there’s no doubt that the team would have struggled immensely without Spica holding the line at the start of the year. As Spica learned to play with a brand new roster, the team grew alongside him and captured first place entering the playoffs. Amid his play and TSM’s place atop the standings, Spica also led the league with nine “Player of the Game” awards, making his impact especially clear to fans watching from home.

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Rookie of the Year -- Danny (Evil Geniuses)

It’s not often that a rookie makes the jump to the LCS and immediately finds success as one of the best players in their role, but Danny took the league by storm as one of North America’s most potent AD carries. Only 17 years old, Danny was the primary carry on an Evil Geniuses roster that often bounced between “top tier” and “just missing the mark.” Although he was primarily known for his Samira coming into the LCS, Danny performed on a wide variety of AD carries, even bringing Aphelios and control mage, Ziggs, into the fold.

Danny had stiff competition among rookies with Golden Guardians Nicholas “Ablazeolive” Abbott and Dignitas’ Toàn “Neo” Trần also being the primary carries of their teams, but Danny maintained poise throughout the entire season and made the difference for an often see-sawing Evil Geniuses. Now, going into playoffs, it’s up to Danny to continue pushing Evil Geniuses into the upper echelons of the league as they take on Dignitas in the first round of the LCS 2021 Championship this Saturday.

Lead photo credit: Riot Games via ESPAT