The 2023 Summer Split hasn’t been perfect for Team Liquid, with the perennial LCS champions sitting in fourth place with a 7-5 record. Their League of Legends team has been searching for consistency since, and after trading out mid laners halfway through the season, it looks like the roster is on the right track with back-to-back wins.
Liquid’s rookie mid laner Eain “APA” Stearns has been in the North American development system since 2019, jumping from various teams as he built his résumé on the way to his first shot at a major esports organization. The 21-year-old finally made his LCS debut this past week and made the most of things by going perfect in his matches against Immortals and 100 Thieves.
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While piloting Tristana and Ziggs, APA finished the week with 11 kills and 14 assists while also holding 31.4 percent of his team’s total kills, according to League stats aggregate Oracle’s Elixir. His early laning stats weren’t as impressive, but he showed plenty of promise on a roster filled with superstar veterans looking to break into the playoffs.
Although he still has a ways to go before completely earning the trust of Liquid’s fanbase, winning two games in a row should help bolster their confidence in his talent moving forward. He still needs to face off against the higher-rated mid laners of the league, like Cloud9’s Jang “EMENES” Min-soo, who he’ll be clashing with next week.
APA will need to hold his ground as Liquid aim to maintain their spot among the top teams in the league, especially if they want a better position in the upcoming summer playoff bracket. There are a few top contenders that they’ll have to deal with if they wish to attend the 2023 World Championship in South Korea as one of three NA representatives at the tournament.
Catch Liquid in action when the 2023 LCS Summer Split returns for its fifth week on Wednesday, July 12.
