In today’s League of Legends meta, junglers play a crucial role in the team’s success. Not only do they have to be mechanically talented, but junglers also must have incredible game knowledge and game sense to lead their team to victory.
Whether through ganks, objective control, or teamfighting ability, elite junglers have proved they can have a major impact on any team in any match. And with the World Championship just around the corner, it’s fundamental to discover the best junglers in the world and what makes them stand out from the competition.
Here is our list of the top five junglers at the Worlds 2022, starting with our honorable mentions.
Honorable Mentions
Kim “Malrang” Geun-seong
Malrang is considered by fans the best European jungler this year, having carried Rogue in the LEC finals with his high early game presence. Despite being one of the newest players on the lineup, Malrang has immediately become an essential piece in Rogue’s latest successes. His stats might not be stellar, but that makes Malrang so special.
He’s the type of player to sacrifice his own experience and gold (negative XP and gold differential at 15 minutes, according to gol.gg) to ensure his teammates get the resources needed to carry the game. He’s what people define as the low-economy player, and in the modern era of League, these types of players are uncommon.
Malrang has the highest KP percent (Kill Participation) among all jungler from the LEC Summer Playoffs and the highest FB percent (First Blood), at a tremendous 53.3 percent.
Overall, Malrang’s one of the must-watch junglers at this year’s Worlds
Mun “Oner” Hyeon-jun
Ever since he joined T1’s main roster, Oner has had constant improvements and has already become a top-tier LCK jungler. Similarly to Malrang, he relies on his early game to make proactive plays on the map: 75 percent FB participation makes him the best in that department among the LCK junglers.
That said, Oner doesn’t give up as many resources as Malrang, and he can keep up in most metrics with the other players in his role. He was second in the CS per minute department and fourth in the damage percentage output, according to gol.gg, meaning he doesn’t stick to a fully supportive role.
Oner has been negatively influenced by some of the poor drafts T1 made throughout Summer. The team also had this kind of issue in Spring, but they could get away with it thanks to the individual players’ talents. Now that everyone has improved, T1 gives the impression that they remained more static than others, and as part of the team, Oner couldn’t fully showcase his worth.
With the major expected meta shift for Worlds, Oner is probably hoping to cover a carry-oriented role in the team. If given a chance, he will likely take T1 to strong results.
Top 5 best junglers at World 2022
5) Zhao “Jiejie” Li-Jie
Now that we have the honorable mentions, we discuss the best five junglers at Worlds. Jiejie didn’t have a stellar regular split, but he redeemed himself once the LPL playoffs came around.
He earned the highest KDA and KP percent in both playoffs and regional finals, allowing EDG to get the last spot at the Worlds group stage. He’s more conservative than most LPL players, and to a certain extent, EDG’s playstyle is the closest to the Korean teams.
Jiejie’s main strengths are his composure and consistency throughout the games. He rarely gets caught in fights and is always ready to pull the trigger when the situation calls. That said, he lacks or hasn’t shown the carry potential that all the other junglers above him have, which is why he’s fifth on this list.
4) Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu
It might surprise some to see Canyon so highly rated after the disappointing season DWG KIA has had so far, but let us explain.
First, Canyon has been getting held back by all of his team this year. Aside from his mid laner, the top and bot lanes haven’t been at the same level as the other top LCK teams. For any jungler, having two weak side lanes is problematic. Playing around with either of them becomes hard since you’re guaranteed the other will fall behind. As a result, DWG KIA will always have a losing lane, ultimately putting the team in uncomfortable situations.
Canyon has tried to cover the issue, playing a more carry-oriented style and willing to try any champion that can guarantee them a draft edge. He played 15 unique champions in the regular summer split, and during the Regional Finals, he never played a champion more than once. Having this level of flexibility is rare and what makes Canyon so special is that he performs at a high level with everything. He might not have a super team around him anymore, but Canyon is definitely still one of the best junglers in the world.
3) Gao “Tian” Tian-Liang
Tian has almost returned to his peak form when he became the 2019 Worlds Champions and won the Finals’ MVP.
The Chinese jungler’s career plunged in 2020 due to serious health issues that impacted his performance. In addition to the stress he had built up, Tian took a break from competitive in 2021 early into the season. After a disappointing season with FunPlus Phoenix, Tian joined Top Esports and has become a key player on the roster.
Despite not having the best statistics among the LPL junglers (fifth highest in KDA from Summer Playoffs, seventh in CS per minute, just to name a few), Tian’s strength relies on his playmaking ability in teamfights and the ability to clutch out crucial plays.
Now that both Hecarim and Lee Sin will be back in meta, I think that Tian will shine even more than he had in Summer, as he loves playing these two champions. Despite failing to win the LPL title twice, Top Esports has shown for the whole year that they are strong enough to be at the very top: watch out for Tian and his squad.
2) Han “Peanut” Wang-ho
Just like Tian, Peanut had to crawl his way back to the top of the best junglers in the world. Following his unsuccessful stint in China, Peanut proved his worth on Nongshim RedForce, which convinced Gen.G to pick him up for the 2022 season. Needless to say that it was probably the best pickup possible for the organization.
While most people are giving credit to Ruler or Chovy for the great carry performances in Summer, some credits also must go to Peanut for how well his jungling was. He’s smart with his pathings, and he’s willing to give up his own resources to make sure Ruler or Chovy gets ahead. He also has a wide champion pool, having played nine different junglers in LCK summer, and he particularly excels at playing bruisers, which are the strongest types of champions in the meta.
With how dominant Gen.G looked in the summer split, Peanut didn’t really have much competition domestically, which may raise some questions about him and Gen.G’s overall level of play. Will they overcome the LPL teams and become World Champions? We’ll have to wait until Oct. 7 to find out.
1) Seo “Kanavi” Jin-hyeok
Since he joined JDG from the LCK, Kanavi has been considered one of the best import talents in the LPL. He immediately made a name for himself in 2020, winning the LPL Spring Split and finishing second in summer. This year, however, Kanavi surpassed himself, elevating his gameplay to higher peaks, with even greater consistency.
What makes Kanavi so special compared to all the others in this tier list is how he can take a carry role in a bot-centric meta. He’s willing to take the resources and use them to be aggressive with the goal of extending his team’s lead even more. In a season where junglers usually cover a utility role, his playstyle is hard to pull off, as one mistake can be fatal for the result. Yet, Kanavi is always a constant presence in JDG’s games, as he led the damage charts among all junglers in playoffs.
With how he has performed this season, Kanavi doesn’t look like he’s slowing down anytime soon and will be the key player for JDG coming into Worlds 2022.
