As the 2021 Season in League of Legends is about to begin, it's time for the crew of Inven Global to take one last, reminiscent look at the whirlpool of a year that was 2020. And what better way to do it than to give out some end-of-year (though technically start of the year now...) awards?
We're happy to announce the inaugural edition of the Inven Global Awards (IGA). Voted by the crew of Inven Global, the IGA's are awarded to the best teams, players, talent, and stories in competitive League of Legends for 2020, split into 13 categories.
Today, we present you the fifth of those categories: the "Best supports of 2020" award, presented to the supports that were the most solid, impactful performers in their own region.
Previously on Inven Global Awards
The off-season winners of 2020
The most improved teams of 2020
The most memorable moments of 2020
The best top laners of 2020
The best junglers of 2020
The best mid laners of 2020
The best bot laners of 2020
* * *
There are many outstanding players in League of Legends across all roles and all regions. These just happen to be the best supports across the LCS, LCK, LEC, and LPL.
Jo "CoreJJ" Yong-in has been considered not only the best support since his re-arrival to NA a couple of years ago, but also one of the best players overall across all roles in the region. He has a very strong laning phase, roams effectively, is mechanically gifted, and seemingly cal under pressure. He performs consistently, has a strong champ pool, and is a leader outside of the game. Especially with the retirements of Søren "Bjergsen" Bjerg and Yiliang "Peter" "Doublelift" Peng, CoreJJ is at the top of the list of talents in the LCS, and don't expect that to change in 2021.
Lee "IgNar" Dong-geun has had a standout career across a multitude of teams, having a highlight year in 2017 on Misfits with Tristan "PowerOfEvil" Schrage, nearly beating SKT in the Worlds Quarterfinals after knocking out TSM of Groups. IgNar met back up with POE in 2020, helping take FlyQuest to back to back NA Finals, the first two times for the org. A large part of FlyQuest's success was due to IgNar's incredible playmaking skills, creative roams, and strong teamfighting. He also had the best vision control in the region, and one of the highest KDA's despite his affinity to always be fighting.
One support won Worlds this year, and his name is Cho "BeryL" Geon-hee. BeryL has played for DAMWON his entire career, and that's likely because they knew they shouldn't let him go. Regardless, BeryL had a standout year, topping the charts in stats both Spring and Summer Splits, and obviously winning Worlds. He is one of the best roamers and plays an abundance of champions, including Sejuani, Poppy, and even Maokai back in 2020 when he was NOT a support. BeryL is without a doubt a player to watch in 2021 if you're hoping to get better at the role.
Ryu "Keria" Min-seok had an absolutely incredible rookie season for DRX, getting third in spring, second in summer, and then advancing to the Worlds Quarterfinals where they fell to DAMWON (and BeryL), ending their season. Like BeryL, Keria also has an incredible champion pool, even playing... Kayle support. He was lucky enough to play with a highly accomplished veteran AD carry, Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu, but despite that, Keria played well enough to make a name for himself alongside the legend.
Just like only one support won Worlds in 2020, only one support has won the LEC in the last four splits, and that's Mihael "Mikyx" Mehle. Mikyx had yet another great year, not only winning both LEC splits, but also advancing to the Worlds Semifinals yet again, losing out to the champions, DWG. Mikyx is one of the many playmakers on G2 Esports. Whether he is making calculated engages on picks like Nautilus or saving his carries with Tahm Kench, Mikyx is likely popping off. As an aside, Mikyx spent the whole year playing with autofilled AD carries and still managed to make them look good. If that's not a mark of strong support talent, nothing is.
Zdravets "Hylissang" Galabov has continued to perform at the top for yet another year. But he and Fnatic finished just behind G2 for yet another year as well. And thus he finds himself here as the LEC runner up. Hylissang is an aggressive player that forces his opponents to step up and toe the line constantly, otherwise, they'll get choked out until the game is over. He had the most deaths of any support this summer, but that's thanks to his aggression and his role in often being Fnatic's main engage.
Zuo "LvMao" Ming-Hao had a standout year, grabbing an LPL title in the Spring Split and then a second-place finish in the summer. He and JD Gaming went to Worlds as the LPL second seed, where LvMao was considered one of the best supports at the prestigious event. LvMao was at the top of the KDA for both spring and summer in the LPL, even though he was often playing frontline support champs like Leona and Nautilus. LvMao was nearly always in the right place, catching his opponent off-guard, and positioning perfectly to perform whatever function JD Gaming needed from him.
Hu "SwordArt" Shuo-Chieh's accomplishments go without saying. He led the third LPL seed through both the first and second LPL seeds to advance to the Worlds Finals this year against DAMWON. SwordArt is the first member of the old famed Flash Wolves to make it to a Worlds Finals, and he took down his former teammate, Hung "Karsa" Hao-Hsuan, to get there. Not only is SwordArt an incredible player, but he was a big voice in the team, helping dictate and shotcall what they needed to do. He also did this with a rookie AD carry as well. Like the rest on the list, SwordArt is a playmaker with a large champ pool that puts himself where his team needs him. And while he and Suning had a rough Spring Split, their turn around over the summer and their dominance through Worlds earns him the spot for LPL runner up.
Find full schedules, brackets, and more for your favorite esports on Juked.gg!
For more LoL Esports news and content, head over to our dedicated League of Legends section!
Sort by:
Comments :0
