JD Gaming jungler Seo “Kanavi” Jin-hyeok has won the MVP of the LPL Spring Split, the Chinese league revealed today.
The 19-year-old former Griffin substitute narrowly beat FunPlus Phoenix mid laner Doinb to punch, accumulating 105 MVP points in total.
JD Gaming finished the regular season fifth in the standings with a 26-10 game record thanks to Kavani. But the team could have potentially placed higher in the league if star top laner Zhang “Zoom” Xing-Ran wasn’t under quarantine.
Kanavi was the standout jungler of the split, participating in 76 percent of his team’s kills. His gank-heavy, teamfight-orientated playstyle helped JD Gaming overcome some of the top dogs in the league, like Invictus Gaming, and eStar.
Kanavi played 11 different champions over the course of the split, prioritizing Kindred, Sylas, and Rek’Sai.
In 2019, before Kanavi made an appearance in the LPL, the player came under controversy for his questionable contract with LCK team Griffin. Taking a substitute role, Kanavi signed a “slavery contract” and was “treated like an animal”, according to Korean Senator Ha in November.
Kanavi was eventually granted free agency, leading to his transfer to JD Gaming in November 2019.
JD Gaming will play their next best-of-five series in the semifinals of the LPL Spring Playoffs on Monday, April 27.
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