When it comes to the conversation about who the best player in League of Legends is, answers always point to an eastern player. Western League of Legends may not have as much of an impressive record as the east but a lot of what makes the game so popular today are influenced by western pros. Here are some of the best LoL western players that have achieved so much in the game whether it’s competitively or by influencing other people to play the game even more.
The Best LoL Western Players
When discussing the best LoL western players there are already a few names that come to mind. In this list, we’ll only be including players that are native to the western hemisphere which doesn’t include naturalized players who have been imported from other leagues. This means that players like Huni, Ssumday, Impact, and CoreJJ are ineligible for this list because they are natives to eastern countries that have their own League.
The best LoL western players are those that don’t only have the best achievements in League of Legends esports but also contributed to the community in ways that persist even today. Of course, we’ll only be including League of Legends pro-players on this list. Those that we think might have come close to winning Worlds if they were in a different situation than they were at the very peak of their performance.
10. Sneaky
Sneaky is definitely one of the best LoL western players to have ever played in the bottom lane. Despite his highest achievement only being a Worlds Semifinalist, Sneaky has always carried the expectations of North America on his shoulders as the last hope for the region. In the LCS, Sneaky has become a beloved personality thanks to his streaming antiques, personality, and most especially – his crossdress photos that can leave even the straightest person confused.
- Teams – Cloud9
- Role – AD Carry
- Nationality – USA
- Highest Achievement – Worlds 2018 Semifinalist
In terms of professional achievement, Sneaky definitely has a lot to boast considering that the LCS has had very poor performances internationally after his retirement. When it comes to his influence over League of Legends, it’s safe to say that Sneaky has inspired a lot of people to play in the bottom lane despite having people like Doublelift being major personalities in this role. He also helped popularize meme-builds when playing serious champions.
9. Zven
Zven has always been one of the best AD Carries in the west and might even be one of the best LoL western players in the bottom lane. Ever since his debut in Origen (IGN: Niels), Zven and Mithy have been considered the best bottom lane duo but has seen decline only when they joined Team SoloMid. Today, he has reclaimed his status as a world-class AD Carry for Cloud9 and continues to dominate the lane with all of his achievements to back him up.
- Teams – Origen, G2 Esports, TSM, Cloud9 (Current)
- Role – AD Carry
- Nationality – Denmark
- Highest Achievement – Worlds 2015 Semifinalist
When it comes to his influence over people, Zven might not be the most influential player of all time but he still manages to inspire people to go to the bottom lane but what is influence over pure skill? Zven might not be one of the most popular League of Legends players of all time but at least he’s managed to reach the semifinals of the World Stage in the early stages of his career.
8. Doublelift
For the third time in a row, we’re adding another AD Carry to the list with one of the most prominent League of Legends players in the world – Doublelift. Doublelift is a player that probably doesn’t have much to show in terms of his professional career but has one of the most impactful influences over the League of Legends community not just in North America but also in the entire world, including some of the eastern countries.
- Teams – Counter Logic Gaming, Team SoloMid, Team Liquid
- Role – AD Carry
- Nationality – USA
- Highest Achievement – MSI 2019 Finalist
Doublelift is always being memed for being a player that has never reached the Knockout Stage of the World Stage because he is always stuck at groups. Despite being unable to reach such an achievement, we still consider him one of the best LoL western players to have ever touched the game because of his sheer mechanical prowess, which might not be as obvious as his recent performances might show but at one point he was considered the greatest player in NA.
7. Froggen
Froggen is definitely a name that a lot of veteran players know due to his achievements on the international stage. During the time when a lot of non-Riot Games tournaments were being hosted such as Dreamhack, OGN, and IEM, this player was dominating the playing field by standing up against the best teams in the world and even beating other prominent players in the mid lane with his mastery over a bunch of champions.
- Teams – CLG.EU, Alliance, others
- Role – Mid Lane
- Nationality – Denmark
- Highest Achievement – DreamHack 2012 Summer Champion
This player may not have the most relevant achievements in terms of recency but he was one of the greats during his time. Unfortunately, Froggen’s career quickly took a nosedive after his time in EU and quickly became a Tier 2 mid laner once he joined the LCS. Even if recency is a big factor in someone’s prominence in the League of Legends community, the veterans will never forget the man that took down the Korean and Chinese mid laners in major tournaments.
6. xPeke
xPeke is the man that made the backdoor one of the most popular plays in League of Legends, to the point that the play was even named after him. To this day, people still say the name “xPeke” whenever someone does a game-winning backdoor in the enemy Nexus, so much so that even people who have never heard of him have started saying it with only context as the sole factor of using the term. That’s how great this man is.
- Team – Fnatic, Origen
- Role – Mid Lane
- Nationality – Spain
- Highest Achievement – LoL Worlds Season 1 Champion
If the fact that xPeke won Season 1 Worlds doesn’t secure him as one of the best LoL western players, nothing will. In an era when Eastern LoL Dominance was still non-existent, it was the Europeans that held the throne of being the best in the world and even today that’s still true. Even though a lot of people question the competitive integrity of Worlds Season 1, it’s still an incredible achievement to be able to take home the Worlds trophy for your team and your region.
5. Bjergsen
Bjergsen is probably the most famous and influential LCS player in history and is even renowned in countries outside of the US. Despite being an import from the EU, Bjergsen has proven that his heart belongs to the LCS after staying in TSM for years before his retirement. Bjergsen is a player that has also become extremely successful in his early careers by winning IEM tournaments and even getting a pentakill on his first game on the LCS.
- Team – Team SoloMid
- Role – Mid Lane
- Nationality – Denmark
- Highest Achievement – IEM Season 9 Champion
The thing that proves that Bjergsen deserves to be called one of the best LoL western players in history is the fact that he has always been consistent with his performance throughout the years. Even when the entirety of TSM was struggling, Bjergsen was always there to pick up the team’s slack. Unfortunately, even the best players grow older and there mechanics start to rust. It’s unfortunate that he had to end his career after a terrible performance at Worlds 2020.
4. Jankos
Jankos is one of the oldest veterans currently in the LEC and is one of many recent G2 Esports members that will be on this list. This player has been reeling in the trophies ever since League of Legends Season 3 by dominating amateur invitations and even major tournaments like ESL and DreamHack during the early stages of his career. Unlike Froggen, Jankos continued to be relevant up until today after moving to G2 Esports and creating one of the strongest teams that the west has ever seen.
- Team – H2k, G2 Esports
- Role – Jungler
- Nationality – Poland
- Highest Achievement – Worlds 2019 Finalist, MSI 2019 Champion
As a jungler with the most amount of achievements in League of Legends, it speaks to his mastery over the role. Jankos isn’t just a successful professional but also a popular personality that is beloved by the people on social media. A lot of memes have been born thanks to the antics of Jankos and the way he acts when he’s in front of a camera. This is highlighted even more when he transferred to G2 Esports where he’s given more exposure by the team.
3. Perkz
Perkz is our Top 3 best LoL western player because of his achievements in League of Legends, not only as a mid laner but also as a bottom lane player. Perkz has always been regarded as one of the greatest players in EU, holding the title of the best mid laner in the region before the arrival of Caps. This man has no shortage of achievements and continues to dominate even though he left the team he’s known for to be able to play in the Mid Lane once again.
- Team – G2 Esports, Cloud9
- Role – Mid Lane, AD Carry
- Nationality – Croatia
- Highest Achievement – Worlds 2019 Finalist, MSI 2019 Champion
On social media, Perkz was also known quite a bit for being a trash talker that could deliver some sharp insults before dealing the blow to prove that he’s not all talk. He has influenced a lot of people in EU to believe that the west stood a chance when fighting against the eastern teams. Even now, Perkz continues to be a large factor in the success of his current team in the hopes of carrying not only himself but his new region to Worlds once again.
2. Rekkles
Rekkles is called The King of the West and it shows how much the people respect him as a player. He may have had some inconsistencies in his performance along the way but during his time playing League of Legends professionally, no one has ever surpassed him as being the best ADC player in the west and even one of the Best ADC Players in the Entire World. Everyone loved Rekkles and he was the sole reason that Fnatic had such a large fanbase in LoL.
- Team – Fnatic, G2 Esports
- Role – AD Carry
- Nationality – Sweden
- Highest Achievement – Worlds 2018 Finalist
The entire European League of Legends scene was shaken when they learned the news that Rekkles had left Fnatic for their biggest rival. In the end, fans slowly accepted that Rekkles going to G2 was probably the best decision he could have made to benefit not only the EU but also the west, in general. Today, he continues to be the most dominant ADC in the west, having consistent performances over the course of his career from past to present.
1. Caps
There’s probably no denying that Caps deserves to be called the best LoL western player in history. He is a two-time Worlds finalist, MSI champion, and a beloved personality on social media. During his debut as a player for Fnatic, Caps shocked the west when this rising mid laner was looking like he could actually be better than Perkz, whom the European community worshipped at the time. Imagine the look on everyone’s faces when they announced Perkz and Caps would be teammates on G2.
- Team – Fnatic, G2 Esports
- Role – Mid Lane
- Nationality – Denmark
- Highest Achievement – Worlds 2018 & 2019 Finalist, MSI 2019 Champion
Aside from being the teammate of the Top 2 and 3 people on this list, we can safely say that Caps has long surpassed these two as not only the best player in the west but also a Top 10 player internationally. He is known for picking weird champions but in the end, he’s good at whatever he plays. He was even nicknamed “Baby Faker” once because of his prowess in the mid lane.