Academy Standouts highlights the players who performed best in the most recent week of NA Academy play. I’ll discuss a few of the most noteworthy players, then list some other strong performers below.

Eyla, Support, Team Liquid

Team Liquid Academy are counting on Eyla to be the best player on their team and lead them to victory, in somewhat of a parallel with their LCS squad and CoreJJ, and in Week 1 he came in and did just that, dominating on Rell against GGA, in particular.

Eyla Stats, 2021 Spring Week 1

	KDA	KP	DTH%	WPM	WCPM
W1	5.0	57.1%	16.0%	1.09	0.38
Total	5.0	57.1%	16.0%	1.09	0.38

Eyla also played Nautilus against DIGA, as a response pick to their Rell, and in that game he made a lane-winning play at level 1 with a hook out of a bush. A lot of the things he did this week couldn’t help but bring CoreJJ to mind, and I’m not sure I can give higher praise.

He’s not a perfect player, but I was quite happy with what I saw this week. If it continues, Eyla and Yeon could be one of the most feared bot lanes in Academy in 2021.

Potluck, Jungle, Immortals

I saw some strong signs from Potluck in 2020, but not enough consistency to break through into the upper echelon of Academy Junglers. Judging by his start to 2021, he’s been working hard to make that breakthrough in the coming year. His play was a key factor in IMT Academy coming out so strong and looking far better than my expectations.

Potluck Stats, 2021 Spring Week 1

	KDA	KP	GXD10	DPM	CSPM
W1	15.0	81.1%	+406	429	7.8
Total	15.0	81.1%	+406	429	7.8

Pretty

The other central piece of IMTA’s opening-week success was their new Greek import Mid laner, Pretty. I knew very little about this player coming into the year, and that influenced my expectations for them. After watching Pretty in his first couple of Academy games, I’m already prepared to start revising my opinion of his team’s potential.

Since IMT only have 1 import in their starting lineup, they have the flexibility to give Pretty some LCS stage time whenever they want. I mean no disrespect to Insanity when I say that I expect to see Pretty in the LCS for at least a handful of games this year.

Pretty Stats, 2021 Spring Week 1

	KDA	KP	GXD10	DPM	CS%P15
W1	5.4	73.0%	+317	420	22.3%
Total	5.4	73.0%	+317	420	22.3%

Additional Standouts

The following players also stood out.

• Fizzi, Support, TSM
• Hauntzer, Top, TSM
• Jojopyun, Mid, Evil Geniuses
• Kenvi, Jungle, 100 Thieves
• K1ng, Bot, Cloud9
• rjs, Mid, Counter Logic Gaming
• Ryoma, Mid, 100 Thieves
• Yusui, Mid, Dignitas

Photos courtesy flickr.com/lolesports and watch.lolesports.com