The League of Legends World Championship is the equivalent of Christmas for League fans and esports fanatics since they get to see their favorite teams and players fighting for the Summoner’s Cup and the title of world champion. Since teams have to showcase incredible mental resilience and consistency throughout the season, Worlds is stacked with talented and skilled players looking to prove that they are truly worthy of the title.
Rookies and Worlds first-timers usually have the biggest appetite to prove themselves during the event, not only to justify their current spot on a team but also to secure themselves a contract for the next year. Even though their gameplay may need some polishing to be up to the standards of professional play, rookies and Worlds first-timers regularly have a rather unconventional approach to the game that can even break the current meta and result in ingenious strategies coming to life.
This year’s Worlds is packed with talented rookies and first-timers who will stop at nothing to try to win the new Summoner’s Cup. So, here’s an overview of all the rookies and Worlds first-timers who have the potential to turn the tides and should have the fans’ eyes glued to them.
Kaori
Muhammed Hasan “Kaori” Şentürk is a professional player coming from Turkey. He signed a contract with Evil Geniuses’ academy team and will be filling in for EG’s star AD carry, Danny, at least for part of the tournament. All eyes will be directed at this rookie to see if he can step up in Danny’s absence. Still, he’s showcased promise with his first performance in the LCS featuring Lucian, that, although only performing in two games, is still undefeated on the champion.
Though he’s still an unpolished diamond, Kaori has already briefly showcased that he’s more than ready to play with the big boys with plays like this:
Berserker
Kim “Berserker” Min-cheol had big shoes to fill after joining Cloud9 earlier this year in place of Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen, who later swapped from AD carry to support. Under the watchful eye of Zven, Berserker has easily adapted to C9’s playstyle and showed why he was playing under T1’s banner for years. If C9 are going to see success at Worlds 2022, look for Berserker to be the catalyst. With a total win rate of 75 percent in the LCS, and over 80 percent win rate on Zeri and Kalista, Berserker can easily shine and take over the game.
Malrang
After joining Rogue in December 2021, Kim “Malrang” Geun-seong has had two strong splits with the team following his short stint with DWG KIA in South Korea. Two splits in the peak of the European League, and Malarang has already swept the competition and won the title of European champion. Not only did Malrang showcase that his time with DWG KIA taught him more than enough to confront and take down European titans like G2 and Fnatic, but we’ve also seen him single-handedly saving doomed games with incredible outplays like this:
Flakked
Similar to Berserker, Victor “Flakked” Lirola Tortosa joined G2 after Martin “Rekkles” Larsson’s departure, meaning he was obliged to roll up his sleeves and show that he deserved his spot as Rekkles’ replacement. Although there were, naturally, doubters, Flakked stepped up and by having a 100 percent win rate on champions like Draven, Sivir, and Aphelios during the Summer split, he showed his more than capable to replace Rekkles. On top of this, his performance during the MSI 2022 was nothing less than stunning, with an 83 percent win rate on Kai’Sa and a 100 percent win rate on Zeri.
Here’s a glimpse of what awaits fans at Worlds 2022 with Flakked:
Zeus
Choi “Zeus” Woo-je is easily one of the most exciting players who will be participating at Worlds 2022 thanks to his champion ocean, his methodical and intricate gameplay, and carry potential. He posted some impressive statistics in the 2022 LCK Summer Split, including a 71.4 percent win rate on Gangplank and 3-0 records on both Gragas and Camille, according to Game of Legends. We expect Zeus to outshine many of the top laners he faces at the 2022 Worlds.
Here’s a sneak peek from his streams to see how he might outperform some veteran top laners:
Breathe
Chen “Breathe” Chen has only been playing for Royal Never Give Up for three months now, but he’s already established himself as a new top lane prodigy. Breathe doesn’t shy away from fresh and flex picks like Gragas, Jax, Sejuani, and Graves, so we believe he could probably go even with Zeus himself.
As we’re still discovering details about this incredible top laner, here’s a clip of his mind-blowing Fiora combo:
Brance
From the organization that swept VALORANT Champions 2022 comes League team LOUD and their stunningly talented AD carry, Diego “Brance” Amaral. With a 6.0 KDA and 70.2 percent kill participation rate this year, according to Game of Legends, Brance is one of the strongest Brazilian ADCs who will look to match some of the best ADCs at Worlds 2022 if he’s set up for success with his power picks like Zeri, Kalista, and Aphelios.
Yaharong
Japanese team DetonatioN FocusMe has been showing promise each time they make an appearance at Worlds. This year seems even more optimistic for them since the team is featuring the mid lane carry Lee “Yaharong” Chan-ju, who has an 81 percent win rate this season in professional play, according to Game of Legends. Since he’s not afraid to put on his carry pants with a stunning record of 90 percent win rate during the regular split and 100 percent win rate on numerous champions like Ahri, Sylas, and Orianna, we expect he could put on a good show if he faces off against giants like Faker or Showmaker.
