Via the official League of Legends esports Twitter, Team Liquid’s superstar ADC Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng is the MVP of the NA LCS Summer Split.
Congratulations to @TLDoublelift on winning the 2018 #NALCS Summer Split MVP Award! pic.twitter.com/wYmDh5AAWO
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) September 8, 2018
The Summer Stats Leader
It might have been a very easy decision for many voters on who they should choose for MVP. Doublelift has been having one of his most dominant years in his career stats-wise. He has the most kills and the fourth most assists amongst NA LCS ADC’s. Also, he has the second highest Kill Participation percentage of all NA LCS ADC’s, next to Golden Guardians’ Matthew “Deftly” Chen. Additionally, the perennial All-Star has the highest average creep score difference at ten minutes (CSD@10). Peng also has the second highest average gold difference at ten minutes, next to CLG’s Trevor “Stixxay” Hayes.
Yes, Doublelift has always been a stats leader in the NA LCS. However, with the influx of talent and new teams that would join the league this year, it was even harder to dominate. Yet, he found a way to that and more this season. These stats are a testament to his pure skill of the game, but these are not the only reason why he would take home MVP this split.
Get in the Doublelift backpack!
Wherever Doublelift would go, he would be a focal point for his team, and for his opponents. Whether it was on Counter Logic Gaming, TSM, or now on Team Liquid, he would be a polarizing player. It is Doublelift’s incredible mechanical skills that would force teams to focus in on the bottom lane. He is one of the best 2v2 players in the world, and can dictate the pace of the laning phase.
Liquid frequently plays around Doublelift to give him an early lead, so he can apply his lead around the rest of the map. Basically, he would be the X-factor for many games, especially if Pobelter and Impact are underperforming. His target choice, as well as his ability in teamfights are crucial for Team Liquid’s success. Without Doublelift, I am sure that Team Liquid would not have the same amount of success this year.
Other candidates?
There were only two viable candidates in many fans’ minds, Cloud9’s Eric “Licorice” Ritchie and 100 Thieves’ Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho. Ssumday would be one of the closer players who would be deserving of MVP, as his role can be comparable to Doublelift’s. 100 Thieves’ success is very dependant on Ssumday’s success in the top lane, so they do play around that lane constantly. Also, Ssumday has the most kills of any NA LCS top laner, as well as the most assists.
Licorice is not far behind in terms of stats, though. For example, he has the second most kills amongst top laners in North America and has the best CSD@10 of all top laners in the region. He was also a very important part of Cloud9’s rise to the top of the league, as the utility he would provide his team would be invaluable. However, although his effect on his team is huge, it is not as comparable as the effect of Ssumday and Doublelift. He still is a very good candidate, but when sharing the same role as Ssumday, who was a big challenger for MVP, it will be hard to get votes.
Congratulations to Doublelift on winning the MVP again, and good luck at Worlds! Make North America proud!
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