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 standouts, then list some other players whose performances caught my eye below.
Kumo, Top, FlyQuest Academy
Last week I included Kumo in the “additional standouts” and wrote:
If he can keep up that level he can definitely become a player to watch once again.
Well, he delivered an even stronger week this time around, driving FLY Academy to a 4-0 week over Golden Guardians Academy and Dignitas Academy (which may not sound like the stiffest opposition until you note that DIGA 2-0ed C9 Academy in their other series this week).
Kumo Stats
| KDA | KP | GXD10 | DPM | CSPM | |
| Week 4 | 7.5 | 72.8% | +459 | 588 | 7.6 |
| Overall | 4.8 | 64.2% | +30 | 508 | 7.8 |
Nocturne, Lee Sin, and Viego were Kumo’s tools of choice this weekend, aggressive melee picks that allowed him to play forward and dive into fights. That looks like a real comfort zone for Kumo, so he should continue to thrive while this meta remains.
Takeover, Mid, TSM Academy
Like Kumo, Takeover appeared in the additional standouts last week and then built on his showing with an even better set of games.
Part of my quote about him last week was:
If he shows a similar level of proficiency in other styles, he’s going to be one of the best mids in the league.
Well, I’m comfortable saying it now: he’s a top 3 mid in Academy. TSM have really found something in this 18-year-old Chilean.
Takeover Stats
| KDA | KP | GXD10 | DPM | CSPM | |
| Week 4 | 4.9 | 61.3% | +827 | 555 | 8.7 |
| Overall | 6.1 | 66.7% | +430 | 484 | 8.7 |
Nxi, Jungle, FlyQuest Academy
After Nxi crushed an opponent with his Rumble yet again, I offered some advice to the rest of the league. His coach didn’t appreciate it.
hey tim….uhm maybe delete the tweet? pic.twitter.com/GpjEuEHeka
— Paul Kanani (@TheRealKanani) June 24, 2021
But even when Nxi played Diana in the fourth game of the week, he still performed well.
Nxi has been steadily improving this year, validating the high regard he earned at Scouting Grounds last year. He still has some work to do before he earns a chance at the LCS but he’s on the right path.
Nxi Stats
| KDA | KP | GXD10 | DPM | CSPM | |
| Week 4 | 11.4 | 77.7% | +1,231 | 632 | 5.9 |
| Overall | 4.4 | 69.3% | +5 | 434 | 5.5 |
jojopyun, Mid, Evil Geniuses Academy
We haven’t seen jojopyun on these standouts lists yet in the summer split, but he finally put together a consistent enough week of games to warrant a mention.
He always has the potential to solo kill people, or get himself killed. He’s always ready and willing to throw his body into a fight to secure big damage output and create chaos for his teammates to capitalize on. Sometimes these tendencies bite him, and usually these tendencies suppress his KDA, but the leads he creates in lane and the damage numbers he puts out provide ample compensation — most of the time.
jojopyun Stats
| KDA | KP | GXD10 | DPM | CSPM | |
| Week 4 | 3.8 | 60.2% | +337 | 741 | 8.2 |
| Overall | 2.8 | 64.7% | +170 | 626 | 8.0 |
Additional Standouts
The following players also stood out.
- Contractz, Jungle, Evil Geniuses Academy
- Don’t let Contractz play Nidalee.
- Darshan, Top, Cloud9 Academy
- C9 Academy went 0-4 this week, but Darshan was doing everything in his power to prevent it. He was one of the best players on the Rift in the series against 100 Academy, and he kept C9A in it for the first against DIG Academy, but despite his efforts, C9A looked too disjointed.
- Hauntzer, Top, TSM Academy
- Another effective week for TSM’s veteran, carrying team fights on Sett in particular. Other than one “off” game against EGA, he was just as good as Takeover this week, maybe better.
- Kenvi, Jungle, 100 Thieves Academy
- Kenvi had a great Kindred with well-used ults and some solid Rumble play as well.
- Pretty, Mid, Immortals Academy
- Pretty was the brightest point on his team while IMTA suffered a losing record, going 1-3 for the week. He played Viego, Akali, Ezreal, and Lee Sin, continuing to show off his flexibility, but IMTA just need something more as a unit to start converting his work into wins.
- Prismal, Bot, Golden Guardians Academy
- We got a couple of games of Jinx plus another Ziggs from Prismal. He’s so fun to watch, and I really hope we’ll get to see him in LCS soon.
Photos courtesy lolesports.com