NOTE: I’ve been writing the Academy Standouts series since early 2020, but with the changes in competitive format for Academy and the introduction of more structure to North America’s amateur scene, I need a new framework for highlighting standout performers at the sub-LCS level in NA. Going forward, I will be using the title “AC/AM Standouts” and adjusting the format so that I can highlight players in both Academy and amateur.
AC/AM Standouts highlights the players who performed best in the most recent week of NA Academy and NA amateur play, with primary focus on Academy. I’ll discuss a few of the most noteworthy players, then list some other strong performers below.
AnDa, Jungle, No Org
Last year, AnDa was the best Jungler in Academy. Some believed he had earned another shot in the LCS, and it was a pretty big surprise that he didn’t at least stick in Academy. But he landed on No Org in the amateur scene, and he has been the foundation of the team, playing equally well on a wide variety of styles, from Nidalee to Olaf to Graves to Elise. His pathing has ensured that No Org’s star solo laners can do their jobs and carry the team. As a trio, AnDa, V1per, and 5fire are three of the best players in the entire amateur scene.
AnDa Stats, Unified Grand Prix
| Â | KDA | KP | GXD10 | DPM | CSPM |
| UGP | 10.8 | 65.2% | +397 | 406 | 7.1 |
Three weeks in, and Pretty makes his second appearance in the top 3. You might look at his 1.9 KDA and wonder why he’s on the Standouts list, especially when his team went 0-2 this week, but if you watch the way he played on Azir and Galio, the mechanical and situational plays he made, the positions he put himself in, and the opportunities he created for his team, you can’t help but be impressed by what this man is bringing to the table.
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.