League of Legends is the biggest e-sport title in the world: LoL is played by millions of players and lived by many thousands. Who is considered the best player in the world in 2022? A hot candidate is the 20-year-old South Korean Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu. Despite his young age, the jungler from DWG KIA has shaped competitive LoL like few others before him.
Why is Canyon the best player in the world?
- The jungler was the dominant player of the LoL Worlds 2020 and was named MVP. At the LoL Worlds 2021, he also made it to the finals with DWG KIA and had a strong tournament with a KDA of 5.4 in 19 games. The Korean league LCK is considered the toughest in the world, where Canyon and his team secured the last 3 championships.
- The site Dotesports asked some of the absolute top stars in LoL who they think will shape e-sports for the next few years during the Worlds 2021. 3 of the respondents named Canyon. The special thing is that the respondents were Showmaker, Chovy, and Tarzan, who were themselves considered candidates for “best players in the world” (via dotesports).
- Ultimately, it is difficult to define a “best player in the world” because the different roles in LoL are not comparable. The two “most influential” and “spectacular” roles in LoL are midlane and jungle. The best supporter, ADC, or top laner in the world would have difficulty being considered the “best LoL player overall” because the role is not as prominently focused as jungle and midlane.
Canyon is part of the most dangerous duo in the history of LoL
This is what makes Canyon so strong: LoL is a team game and it is hard to view a player in isolation. What sets Canyon apart is his blind understanding with midlane partner “Showmaker”, who is also considered a candidate for the best player in the world.
The two are probably the most dangerous duo in the history of League of Legends.
Canyon has a wide champion pool and can adapt to the various demands placed on him by his team and the situation:
- At the LoL Worlds 2021 he played 7 different champions, most often the jungler Lee Sin, who can excellently initiate teamfights.
- At the Worlds 2020, there was a different jungle meta, the jungler had to lead his team to victory. Here he excelled with the dominant Graves in continuous use. At the Worlds 2020, he played 11 games with Graves and mastered the jungle.
- When he was allowed to switch to Kindred at the Worlds 2020, Canyon achieved a spectacular KDA of 37.0 in 3 games with him.
Korean team evolves from nobodies to world champions in just 3 years
This is the amazing thing about Canyon: The South Korean is only 20 years old. He, like Showmaker, has never played for any team other than DWG KIA. DAMWON was only formed in 2017 as a team in the 2nd Korean League, already signing Showmaker in their first year, Canyon joined in 2018 as a rookie:
- Within two years, the team played their way from nobodies in the 2nd Korean League to the top of the world (2019)
- after 3 years they became world champions (2020)
- after 4 years they are considered hot candidates for a “dynasty in LoL” (2021). Canyon plays a central role in this.
How will Canyon’s future look like? Canyon will stay with DWG KIA for the foreseeable future, just like his congenial partner Showmaker.
However, there are some questions for 2022, as Canyon will lose all other teammates from the past years. For 2022, DWG KIA is restructuring completely around Showmaker and Canyon. A strong competitor is emerging in South Korea at Gen G.
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