It’s time for some prime off-season material! Now that the 2016 Spring Split has been concluded for a short while now, we can take a look back and gaze upon all the highs and lows, but most importantly, make a meaningless list of the most average player in each position, creating the NA LCS’s all-average team.
Before we begin, it’s important to note that these players are simply a reflection of average numbers. I would even consider a couple of these players the very best in their role within North America. The average Kill Participation (KP), Kill-Death-Assist Ratio (KDA), and Gold Distribution (GD) was calculated for each respective role, then the player with the lowest deviation from the created prototype was selected. These statistics represent their activity, proficiency, and team priority, respectively for each player. Skewed statistics have been kept in because we’re an inclusive family here, so while you won’t see any Immortals players on this list, keep in mind that they heavily screwed up the final numbers.
Top Lane Averages – KP: 63.3%, KDA: 3.4, GD: 21.7%
Despite being arguably the star player for Counter Logic Gaming, Darshan finds this spot, partly as a result of Huni and Seraph putting up some extremely high performance numbers in the games that each of them played. He is almost an identical match to the league average for his role, despite sporting probably the most unique and refined play style of any top laner in North America. If anything, this is immediate proof that stats don’t always tell the whole truth.
Jungle Averages – KP: 73.0%, KDA: 3.6, GD: 18.7%
A middle of the pack team, Echo Fox also happens to have a very mediocre jungler. This Canadian has a playstyle that didn’t really blow anyone away, but also was rarely found to be the source of blame for any of Echo Fox’s losses. He is truly the paragon of our all-average team – playing a supportive role that gets some farm, while having a moderate contribution and accumulating an average stat line.
Mid Lane Averages – KP: 74.6%, KDA: 4.2, GD: 24.3%
Another superstar finds himself on this list. In large part attributed to TSM’s 5th/6th place regular season finish, Bjergsen’s statistics weren’t off the charts as some would expect from the Danish ace. He also is far less demanding of resources than many once presupposed, perhaps in part due to a need to share the spotlight (and minions) with fellow star Doublelift. His actual mechanical skill combined with clutch performances in the postseason though indisputably place Bjergsen as a top 3 midlaner in North America, if not the best. But we give him a breath of mediocre air here on our all-average list.
Support Averages – KP: 74.9%, KDA: 3.1, GD: 11.2%
Supports see a significant drop-off in both KDA and GD; often times, they are sent in to initiate, and in the most drastic situations, they sacrifice themselves in order to save their brainless marksmen. Yellowstar’s regular season performance may have been underwhelming relative to his previous standard, but still placed him above half of the NA LCS statistically. Perhaps his return to Europe will bounce him back into the spotlight – after all, there’s no place like home.
Marksman Averages – KP: 73.9%, KDA: 3.7, GD: 24.8%
Frankly, this is where the biggest chunk of gold is going – nearly a quarter of it on average. NRG’s Altec has been a consistent performer from the moment he joined the LCS several years ago. Though his participation is a few percentage points lower than the league average, he definitely fits the average number better than any other marksman. The dynamic playstyles of each individual player in this role lead to some highly variable statistics, yet Altec finds himself pretty close to the bullseye of this numerical dartboard. Regardless of the state of his team, he always finds himself doing the exact job of an AD carry: kill minions, deal a hell of a lot of damage, and don’t die. His consistency somewhat pigeonholes him right into this spot, rounding out the North American All-Average Team.