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.
Watch Tim’s pick for Game of the Week
eXyu, Jungle, Dignitas Academy
eXyu got to play Lee Sin twice in week 2 for some reason. He picked up 7 kills in each game, and his 7/1/9 showing against C9 Academy must have felt especially good since he was part of the org’s now-defunct Amateur team last year and they opted to import Malice instead of bringing him up into Academy themselves. His constant trap plays with JayJ paid off beautifully, and he capped his week with a game-winning Baron steal against TLA.
Trust me, you need to keep watching this player.
Copy, Mid, Cloud9 Academy
C9A got themselves back in the win column for the first time game 1 of week 1, posting a 2-0 victory over Hundred Thieves Academy largely off the back of Copy’s Twisted Fate and Vex. His Akali game in a loss against DIG Academy was also a high point as he posted a 7/2/4 scoreline. Copy laned well, showed good map activity, and recognized his role in team fights.
With C9’s promise to interchange pieces of their roster throughout the year, don’t be surprised if Copy gets some LCS reps.
Kaori, Bot, Evil Geniuses Academy
Fresh off a week 1 standouts appearance, Kaori is back to retain his position. This week EG Academy fared better in the wins column, going 3 and 1, and Kaori was there to carry them throughout. He played two games of Jhin in wins over FLY Academy, going 11/1/7 in those games, then after a quiet loss on Aphelios he capped the week with an explosive 9/0/7 on Jinx to bring EGA back to their patented 50% win rate.
He can’t keep playing this well every week, can he? …Well, yeah, somehow I think he can.
Additional Standouts
The following players also stood out.
- Armao, Jungle, Team Liquid Academy
- Dhokla, Top, CLG Academy
- Haeri, Mid, Team Liquid Academy
- k1ng, Bot, Cloud9 Academy
- Kenvi, Jungle, 100 Thieves Academy
- RoseThorn, Jungle, CLG Academy
- Tomio, Jungle, Evil Geniuses Academy
Photos courtesy lolesports.com