The LEC returns – These 7 LEC rookies might become the new superstars

This year will give us the chance to see a bunch of new rookies in the LEC. Most of them got promoted from the EU Masters and ERL circuit and are the best in their respective regions. But there are seven players that really stand out to us who might represent the EU on the international stage soon!

Last year we saw AGO Rogue win the European Masters 2020 Summer Main Event. It should come as no surprise that four out of their five members instantly got promoted to the LEC this year. Even their head coach is now active in the LCS, coaching FlyQuest. Other talent that got promoted came from teams that placed high or played well at this event. This is what makes the LEC great. The fact that we have such a wide pool of talent, just under the LEC, ready to be recruited is great. It’s a healthy system that Europe relies on to do great internationally.

1. Czekolad (20) – EXCEL

Enough with the waiting, let us start with the first player on our list: Czekolad, the new midlaner of EXCEL. The only midlaner to come from EU Masters finds himself surrounded by a lot of EU’s greatest talent ever produced in the midlane. There is no doubt that he will be tested in his first weeks, especially facing Larssen, Abbedagge and Caps quite soon. Coming from the victorious AGO Rogue squad together with three of his teammates, he already had the taste of victory.

He recently showcased his mastery over Sylas with a pentakill vs mousesports in EU Masters and he has an almost flawless track record in the Ultraliga. Now he has finally arrived at the big stage. At the young age of 20 he might just be the new European star midlaner we all want to see. With Ryze being his favourite champion, there is no doubt that we can already see some similarities between him and Caps.

2. Trymbi (20) – Rogue

Having climbed to the top of solo queue for these past few months with his aggressive engage picks, Trymbi was also a valuable part of the AGO Rogue roster. Setting up his team for success with his signature pick Rakan, he has showcased a diverse champion pool. Starting for Rogue he undoubtedly has some previous experience with the players, coming from their academy roster. This comes in handy, as he will be able to fit in very quickly and will most likely come out strong the first few weeks.

Having played for teams like G2 Heretics and SK Gaming Prime, this man has been a star in the making. Most notably his play on the French powerhouse LDLC has been a joy to watch. His debut in the LEC could be the start of a very fruitful career of the next European generation.

3. Tynx (21) – SK Gaming

Finally. That word describes perfectly how we feel when we see this name on a starting LEC line-up. TynX has been terrorizing the European Regional Leagues (ERL) for quite some time now. Every strong ERL team has been at the end of his Nidalee spear or Graves ultimate, but we’ve seen him pull off a controlled playstyle with Trundle or Skarner as well. The fact that he can play multiple styles in a team, makes him a very flexible jungler.

Although his recent result in the EU Masters Main Event does not really reflect how good he is, he still came in 3rd/4th place. His current roster has a bumpy road ahead of them but it feels like TynX could be one of the main voices within this team. A lot of players came from different backgrounds this offseason and the first few weeks will tell us a lot. One thing is certain, TynX will take this chance with both hands and he will make sure to leave his mark on the league in one of the more influential roles in the league. Especially with this current meta on patch 11.1 revolving more around a carry-potential in the jungle.

4. Szygenda (19) – Team Vitality

Syzgenda joins a promising roster for the next split but is mostly looking to prove himself a force to be reckoned with in the toplane. With Cabochard leaving us for now, there are some big shoes to fill. Having won EU Masters really boosted his popularity with other teams. We had the privilege of seeing him in action at the end of 2020 in the Trinity Force Puchar Polski 2020 where he demonstrated how to play strong and weakside against established teams like K1CK. Especially excelling at Gangplank which he is very known for.

He was previously part of Nordavind, Origen and AGO Rogue, so he has all the ERL experience he needs. That last line-up was also the most promising one in recent history in the European scene. With four out of the five members joining the LEC next split, Szygenda was part of this successful project from Rogue. He will now face his former teammates alongside the many talented players the LEC has to offer.

5. Dan (24) – EXCEL

The second rookie from EXCEL on this list, but one to keep an eye on. One of Europe’s most dominant organisations noticed him early one. He has been in and out from Fnatic since 2017. Having played for Fnatic Academy, Fnatic Rising and even for the main line-up from Fnatic at Rift Rivals, this player has a lot of experience with pro play. Beating North America will never be enough for a player like Dan.

He has been working for a long time to get a shot in this big League, even trying to qualify for the EU LCS back in 2016 by going through the EU Challenger Series with the likes of Caps, Upset and Norskeren. Starting this split on a very promising line-up, he was reunited with Tore (Norskeren), and it looks clear that they will not settle for anything less than play-offs. This goal has been set by an ambitious EXCEL. With the newly added talent from all over the ERLs, they seem closer to that goal than ever before. We can feel all the motivation behind this team.

6. Zanzarah (24) – Astralis

The second to last rookie we are going to discuss here is Zanzarah. He is also the last member of that same promising AGO Rogue squad that joins the LEC and made it to this list. Matching with his goofy personality, he played a lot of tanks. Preferring the champions Skarner and Sejuani to not only peel for his team, but also be the main engage for them. He is currently 24 years old.

He will be debuting with Astralis, a team known for their struggles in the previous splits. He will be looking to add new life to an organisation that has been suffering under quite some performance issues. His line-up has a lot of familiar faces, but we are not quite sure yet if this team will be able to throw some punches against the big names in the league. For now we have ranked Astralis as the possible worst team in the league, but we will be looking at Zanzarah to change that. Are you ready Jankos? Because Zanzarah already gave us quite some laughs and he is coming for that “clown of the league” title.

7. Armut (22) – MAD Lions

Lastly, we have Armut who previously played his heart out at Worlds 2020. Not going unnoticed, he was quickly picked up by the MAD Lions at the end of Worlds when the departure of Orome was announced. He was one of the players on the successful SuperMassive roster that included KaKAO, Zeitnot and SnowFlower who qualified for Worlds together. Now starting for a team that is known for their amazing scouting and starting rookies in their line-up, he will once again have to prove himself for a new home crowd.

With his favourite picks being Dr. Mundo and Jayce, we can only hope that the MAD Lions coaching staff have some spicy drafts for us ahead. He will be a perfect fit for the league, as he already has his own meme going for him. His dad once tweeted out “Aferin İrfan” and is now consistently used whenever Armut is playing. Knowing the LEC, Twitch-chat will love this new addition to the league!

Return of the LEC

A lot of new faces will make their first appearance on Europe’s biggest stage and these seven really stood out for us. Some of these players might represent our region internationally in the future so make sure to follow their journey from the start. The LEC starts January 22.

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Image credit: EXCEL
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