LEC: SK botlane impresses, Canna and Vladi save KC... Focus on the first steps of the summer recruits

They will still need time. For now, while some of the eight LEC summer recruits - League of Legends' EMEA elite - have started their journey with a bang, others are still lagging behind after the first week of the Summer Split. Whether it is collective results or individual performances, the rookies have delivered very different impressions. Here's an analysis of the stats and achievements for every of them.

Although the names Lee “Luon” Hyun-ho and Cho “Rahel” Min-seong were little known to Western audiences prior to their arrival in the LEC, the two Koreans are now far from unnoticed after the end of their first week in the Old Continent. The young botlane from the Korean Academic League (LCK CL) proved time and again that they belong in a major Western league, thanks to a variety of champion combinations. Always focused on an aggressive duolane, the two rookies never looked down on their opponents.

What's more, while they immediately shone against Rogue, notably winning an outnumbered play during the laning phase, the two rookies also distinguished themselves individually. Luon, especially on his Renata in the second game, and Rahel, on his Lucian to close out the first week. Thanks to this unprecedented domination, AD Carry finished the week at the first place in the league's Gold/Min (495).

In fact, both players were not far from getting their way through our Team of the Week, simply outshone by a perhaps even more impressive BDS botlane. With its brand-new Korean pair, SK Gaming may finally have the pieces they were lacking to set their sights on big ambitions, starting this summer.

After a difficult start this year, Karmine Corp came back with a fresh new look for summer. The arrival of three players was widely awaited : a promising rookie on the midlane, an experienced jungler and a Korean legend on the toplane. While KC didn't necessarily convince in the game itself, the individualities - and in particular the newcomers - did hit the bull's-eye in the first three matches.

Firstly, Chang-dong “Canna” Kim fought well in his first match against Fnatic. Not enough, however, to win against the Black and Orange's unsinkable draft. After, against MAD Lions KOI, the Korean missed his laning phase with Gragas, before finding decisive moves. On Bartłomiej “Fresskowy” Przewoźnik first, then on Javier “Elyoya” Prades to offer his AD Carry a reset that allowed KC to turn around a lost game. Finally, on Camille against Rogue, the former T1 player was able to create a big economic differential on his opponent, without, however, having been sparkling.

Vladimiros “Vladi” Kourtidis was the biggest uncertainty for the Blue Wall. Despite his successful split in the LFL, taking the plunge at 18 is not for everyone. Yet that's exactly what the Greek seems to be doing. Although he was always forced to blind pick during the draft phases, the rookie kept his focus on to produce some very good plays. Despite a substantial economic deficit on his opponents during the two victories, he was always decisive and was one of the key factors in his team's second 2-1 week of the year.

As for Can “Closer” Çelik, he mainly supported his teammate on the toplane during his first few games with a Blue jersey. Although he did a pretty good job of it, without being very incisive in two of the three games, he missed the second one against MDK. The Turk didn't get much chance to display his mechanics either, piloting two Rek'Sai and a Sejuani.

Let's face it. Among the summer recruits, Antonio “Th3Antonio” Espinosa and Lee “Juhan” Ju-han were far from being the most eagerly awaited. And rightly so, it would seem, since at the end of the first week, neither of them really made a big impression. The Spaniard had a rough start for his first two games, with Zac and Ornn, before taking his responsibilities with Rumble. Not far from carrying his team with good teamfights and especially, devastating Equalizers, the toplaner bounced back decently on his last match, but it was just not enough to bring a win to GiantX.

The Korean, meanwhile, was also off from his first three matches, first on Sejuani and then on Vi. With too few attempts to create plays at the start of games, the jungler also too often found himself in the wrong places at the wrong times. His KD/A, the league's 48th after three games, displays well his performances : 1.13, yet he clearly doesn't have the same aggressiveness as KCB's Turkish jungler...

Linas 'Lyncas' Nauncikas had a tough time during the transfer window, leaving Karmine Corp to join one of his biggest rivals, but it has to be said that his debut in the big leagues was not very convincing. And yet, the Hive had offered him the weapons to display his skills, by putting him on three carries (Lilia, Taliyah and Viego). The jungler failed to make the difference for his team, as evidenced by his KDA of 2.29 (40th in the LEC).

Despite some fair starts to the games on the whole, the Lithuanian was never able to find the weapons to accelerate the rythm after 20 minutes, just like his teammates. Moreover, while Vitality and their rookie ended the first week with three painful losses, Lyncas is far from being the only one responsible.