Out of the more than 100 players going to LoL Worlds 2024 to represent their region, there are some true standouts that paved the way to success for their teams.
From T1 almost missing the event entirely to Cloud9’s super team collapsing at the last leg, there were a lot of twists and turns on each team’s treacherous path to the biggest League of Legends event of the year. Making the cut was no small feat for the teams that qualified.
But, as we’ve seen from Worlds runs like DRX’s 2022 win from seemingly out of nowhere, the seed that teams come into the international from doesn’t always dictate who will end up winning the event. It’s a big opportunity for the best individual players to make a name for themselves.
Here are our top 10 players going into League of Legends Worlds 2024:
10. Wang ‘Light’ Guang-Yu – Weibo Gaming
Weibo Gaming almost didn’t make it to Worlds 2024 despite making it to the Grand Finals in 2023. They lost key players in their topside after the event and struggled to pick up the pieces, resulting in Weibo being a pretty bad team for much of 2024.
But Light always persevered. He’s an absolute rock for this team, playing champs like Miss Fortune, Ziggs, and Ezreal while staying safe in the laning phase and carrying when it matters most. His champion pool perfectly fits the Worlds meta, and him outclassing Ruler in their match against JDG is the only reason this team is at the event.
If Weibo can iron out their issues with consistency and get everyone playing to the same level Light is, they’ve got a real shot at winning it all.
9. Yoo ‘Delight’ Hwan-joong – Hanwha Life Esports
Delight has silently been one of the best players in the world for years. From somehow making BRION look like a decent team in 2022 to joining Gen.G in 2023 and besting Gen.G in 2024, he has time and time again shown that he’s able to step up when it matters most for Hanwha Life.
He’s willing to adapt to any situation and has done extraordinarily well in the current tank meta, and he’s one of the only supports out there who can really push the advantage he gains from having counterpick. Delight has been more and more willing to step away from his signature champ, Rakan, to capitalize on picking the right counter at the right time.
Picking Blitzcrank with a title on the line is something very few players have the guts to do, but Delight is someone who’s willing to take a risk like that and reap the rewards.
HLE’s surprise win over Gen.G in the LCK Summer Final is in large part owed to Delight, and he deserves to be recognized for it.
8. Rasmus ‘Caps’ Winther – G2 Esports
When it comes to the chances of the West at Worlds 2024, there’s one player you can rely on: Caps. There’s no doubt that mid lane is a role filled with greats across the world, but he has continued to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the world’s best ever since his Fnatic days in 2018.
From winning MVP at MSI 2019 to outplaying Faker at MSI 2024, Caps has maintained a standard that every player in the West thrives for even if the Worlds title eludes him. Does this put Caps on a pedestal as a title contender for Worlds 2024? Well, G2 have myriad problems that will get punished by any top Eastern team in terms of consistency and late-game macro, but they’ve also got a certain X-factor that’s hard to beat.
Syndra and Sylas coming into the meta puts Caps in a prime position to counter the ADC-heavy meta that’s been prevalent in recent times, but he’s also got the guts to play stuff like Sion mid if it seems like the best pick. This team’s unpredictability and unorthodox drafting only works because their star mid laner is just that consistent.
Written by Rishov Mukherjee
7. Kim ‘Aiming’ Ha-ram – DPlus KIA
Aiming is the reason DPlus KIA made it to Worlds 2024, bar none. Sure, Kingen had some decent games, and Showmaker really showed up when it mattered in his clash against Faker to secure their spot at the event, but Aiming has been on fire the entire split.
This team’s greatest weakness is their macro, partially a result of their jungler being a fairly new player and Moham being a last-minute call up from their challengers roster. DPlus’ solution for most of the year has been Aiming winning the game for them to make up for lackluster map play.
However, he’s the polar opposite of Light in that the current meta doesn’t fit him at all. Aiming loves hard scaling carries rather than the Ziggs/Miss Fortune/Ashe meta that’s upon us. If the meta going into Worlds 2024 suited him more, Aiming could be even higher on the list.
6. Kim ‘Kiin’ Gi-in – Gen.G
Kiin is the glue that keeps Gen.G together. Though he’s been known for trying out some weird carry picks over the several years he’s been in the LCK, he’s had no issue stepping into the role of being a consistent weaksider.
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If Gen.G decides he should have some carry power, he can fit that role in their draft. But, with how many superstar players are on this team, Kiin has been able to identify that he shouldn’t always be the one getting all the resources.
When it comes to building a star-studded roster, ego can be the hardest opponents players on the team face. There are only so many resources on the map, and not every player can be a carry. Kiin’s ability to be humble and do exactly what his team needs is one of the main reasons Gen.G have had so much success this year.
5. Luo ‘ON’ Wen-Jun – Bilibili Gaming
ON’s career has had a lot of ups and downs. During his time on both Suning and Weibo, it was pretty common to jokingly call ON, “OFF”. He’s had some misses that have a Hylissang-esque level of int to them where it’s hard to wonder what he was thinking in positioning the way he did.
With BLG, though? ON has been unlocked. Alongside Elk, one of the more aggressive ADC players in the LPL, his hyper-aggressive playstyle and eye for engagements is a key part of BLG’s overwhelming domestic success in both 2023 and 2024. What’s more, his borderline int playstyle is perfect for the current tank-focused support meta.
He may not have the largest champion pool in the world (though he’s got a solid Renata and Bard), but he doesn’t have to be a super flexible player considering how good he is at what he plays. BLG is a team that always feels like they know what their win condition is and how to play to it, and ON feels like a huge part of that unwavering confidence both in draft and in game.
4. Yan ‘Wei’ Yang Wei – Bilibili Gaming
Wei’s position is an unenviable one. Replacing a good jungler with the expectation that you’d be great is a daunting task. BLG would have been fine with Xun starting, sure, but this is a team that clearly wants to win it all and Xun just wasn’t doing the job. So, Wei came in as an upgrade. His long tenure with RNG made him stand out as a top-tier jungler, but it was hard not to have reservations when he got signed.
After a few sets, it was made clear that having any reservations about Wei being the best jungler in the LPL were flat-out wrong. Despite being thrown onto the team last-minute, this player just performs. He was immediately able to adapt to the magical jungler heavy meta and quickly got a read on exactly what he needed to play in order to succeed.
The meta has thrown a lot of junglers for a loop, with players like Canyon and Tian looking much weaker than they did earlier this year. Peanut would be a shoo-in if he wasn’t a notorious international choker. Those things may change going into Worlds 2024, but, as of now, Wei feels like the only jungler worth putting in the top 10.
3. Jeong ‘Chovy’ Ji-hoon – Gen.G
Ever since his days at Griffin, Chovy has developed an identity as one of the best players in the world in terms of mechanics and laning. No matter what, he always seems to find a way to win lane.
While his greatest strength in years past was his laning, he has grown into a much more complete player since he joined Gen.G. Chovy was rightly criticized in the past for being someone who won lane and failed to turn that lead into a win, but that notion has long since been disproven. He’s the LCK’s best mid laner for a reason.
He also tasted international glory for the first time at MSI 2024, where he helped Gen.G crush the competition and stood out as the best mid laner at the event. And, though Hanwha Life Esports kept Gen.G from paving the Golden Road this year, Chovy’s still chasing his first Worlds title.
Written by Rishov Mukherjee
2. Zhuo ‘Knight’ Ding – Bilibili Gaming
The spot for best mid laner in the world is a hotly contested one between Knight and Chovy. It’s pretty hard to argue against either of these players deserving the spot. For me, though? The Golden Left Hand has been known as the king of mid lane for a reason in the LPL.
Not to mention that he’s adjusted well to the current hard-carry meta in mid lane. Knight’s always been great at late-game scaling hypercarries, and, considering so much of the meta is revolved around that kind of champion, he’s set up to succeed.
Where Chovy has a reputation for finding small openings and maintaining a lane lead, Knight is known for crushing his opponent into submission and taking over the map. BLG have had an iron grip on the LPL through 2024 and, though every player on the team has contributed to that success, Knight is leading the charge.
1. Park ‘Viper’ Do-hyeon – Hanwha Life Esports
Though he hasn’t seen much success in terms of results since his Worlds 2021 win, Viper’s level of skill hasn’t wavered much. For him, death is rare. He exists as an enigmatic presence, an ever-looming threat of a player who can, if left alone, take over the game. If you’ve never seen Viper’s pro-view, it almost feels like he has an overlay on his screen that shows the exact radius of other players’ abilities.
There are some players who are restricted by what the meta demands in this role. Some ADCs just need hard carry picks to succeed, and not every meta supports that. Viper, meanwhile, has the ability to turn any champion into a carry threat. He’s always at the top of the charts in terms of raw damage and finds a way to turn the tide in his team’s favor.
It’d be no surprise to see Hanwha Life Esports take the Worlds 2024 title off the back of his efforts.