It was 10 days filled with action, remarkable moments and amazing plays, and finally, with an unlikely winner (when we take into account pre-tournament predictions) with Royal Never Give Up shutting down the team deemed as heavy favorites to take the trophy back to China and the LPL.

But with the curtains closed, it is now time to see who truly was able to stand out from the others - the ones who were able to cement their place as the best of the best all regions have to offer. Therefore, in the spirit of the traditional LCS All-Pro teams, I decided to create three all-stars line-ups, taking – mostly - into account all players’ individual performances, in order to be able to form the best “teams” possible containing the players who were a class above throughout the last week in Europe.

Disclaimer: The following article was written freely based on the author's opinion, and it may not necessarily represent Inven Global's editorial stance. 

3rd team

Top – Bwipo

In the span of two months, Bwipo went from an unknown substitute to a player who surprisingly held his own well against some of the biggest names in the world. Not bad at all, right? Replacing none other than an European icon such as soaZ was a gargantuan task on its own, but the young Belgian displayed an abnormal amount of maturity for someone with a complete lack of experience in the international scene, being a solid member for a team who performed pretty much according to expectations at the MSI.

Jungle – Broxah

Broxah showed up big time at the MSI, confirming his massive development showed so far this season. A more mature player, his near perfect synergy with Caps in the midlane was the biggest reason Fnatic managed to get out of groups in first place. The future looks bright for the young Dane: in a region famous by its iconic mid lane players, he is on his way to become a European superstar on his own, filling in the shoes of Fnatic’s own legend in the jungle - Cyanide.

Mid – Caps

Somewhat under Rekkles’ shadow at the start of the tournament, Caps rose to the occasion to become Fnatic’s main carry, bringing back the likes of Yasuo or Corki to the stage. Similar to Broxah, his improvement as a player so far this year has been nothing but exceptional – a great sign for a Fnatic line-up willing to at least reach the playoffs once again at this year’s World Championship.

ADC – PraY

The world-class ADC didn’t manage to truly shine in Europe: with opponent teams often dedicating huge amount of resources to their own marksman, PraY was a victim of his team’s failure to adapt to this trend, and is not – alongside Gorilla – to be blamed by the disappointing loss to Royal Never Give Up.

Support – SwordArt

Unlike in past international tournaments, this time SwordArt wasn’t one of the main stars of his team – but that doesn’t mean he didn’t do his job well. With a deep pool as usual – 8 different champions played in just 18 games – he displayed many styles to lead his team during Flash Wolves’ superb start to the tournament, with the team ultimately being unable keep their performance up during the decisive moments. Nonetheless, a solid MSI for one of the best supports in the world.


2nd team

Top – Hanabi

One of the players with a breakthrough performance at the MSI, few would expect that a complete rookie, who joined the Flash Wolves in December without any prior professional experience would be able to bench MMD or let alone shine in the international stage. But well, both of these things indeed happened, and we were greeted with an aggressive player, who was able to bend the lane in his favor while playing the likes of Yasuo, Gangplank or Camille.

Of course, Hanabi has much to improve, with his showing mainly on tanks revealing his inexperience – especially during vital moments. But nonetheless, an impressive display of skill and maturity from a player facing some of the best the rest of the world has offer just a few months after turning pro, earning him thus a well-deserved spot in the second team.

Jungle – Moojin

Moojin had very heavy shoes to fill since Karsa’s departure to Royal Never Give Up, with fans holding in disdain the fact that the legendary jungler’s replacement would be a fairly unknown Korean, whose biggest accomplishment so far was playing in the European Challenger Series.

The criticism quickly died out however, and after earning the Rookie of the Split award, he arrived in Europe to prove himself to the world. And he did exactly that. Showing a mixed style – blending a supportive style with aggressive plays to catch out opponents with their pants down – Moojin handled any pressure surprisingly well – especially when we take into consideration how stacked the jungler role was at the MSI – and was able to dictate his pace during many of the Flash Wolves’ wins in the group stage.

Mid – Bdd

Let’s be honest here: Bdd had a quite slow start in the MSI, with fans wondering whether he was feeling the pressure to be the star player for the Korean Champions. He however, steadily showed improved performances as the tournament progressed, culminating in the finals against Royal Never Give Up.

Despite the loss, he managed to outplay Xiaohu in most games, being perhaps the biggest factor why the series wasn’t a clean 3-0 sweep in favor of the Chinese in the first place. Clearly disheartened after the disappointing defeat, Bdd should however be proud of his individual performances, and arrive to the LCK Summer Split as perhaps the best player in the league right now.

ADC – Betty

In the tournament of the ADCs, Betty delivered a breakout performance – especially after an unremarkable World Championship last year – being a huge factor on the Flash Wolves’ surprising run during the group stages, where they managed to win their first six games.

A versatile player, he brought Varus and Ashe to the stage, putting himself at times in a more supportive position while giving more room to Maple to do the big numbers. However, when needed, Betty was up for the task to be the Flash Wolves’ main carry as well, as shown during wins against Kingzone. Overall, an almost flawless tournament from a player who was deemed inferior to his counterparts, but who at the end, was second only to the best player in the world at the moment.

Support – Gorilla

The veteran support, praised as one of the best in the world, has, despite spectacular domestically, never been able to fully display his capabilities internationally – very often due to his own team’s shortcomings.

And this tournament proved exactly that once again: Gorilla was unable and good as usual alongside his partner-in-crime Pray, but ultimately wasn’t simply stellar enough to save some of his underperforming teammates.


1st team

Top – Letme

In a position where almost everyone – including the Korean player himself - expected Kingzone’s Khan to be miles ahead of his opposition, Letme quietly proved himself throughout the tournament, becoming, and did his job, which was being the big tank soaking damage while keeping the carries safe, exceptionally well.

A player who suits perfectly to this RNG style, Letme, now on his fourth season playing for the newly crowned MSI Champions, was particularly fearsome on Ornn, on which he displays an above average level of familiarity and confidence – despite receiving considerably less resources than a top laner usually do - an important factor to be taken into account, given how highly the champion was prioritized this tournament.

And with opponents deciding to focus their bans on Karsa or Xiaohu, he was free to pick him 10 times from a total of 18 matches, including three times in the Grand Finals, surely making his enemies regret on ignoring it.

Letme can have a limited champion pool and not be the greatest mechanically, but as mentioned, he is right now the best top laner Royal Never Give Up can have: someone who plays smartly and who can be very relevant even without much gold on his pockets. And for these reasons, his place on the first team is more than justified.

Jungle – Karsa

Karsa’s presence here can be considered as a huge surprise, as he headed to Europe technically as Royal Never Give Up’s substitute, with Mxlg set as the team’s starter jungler after strong performances in the LPL Playoffs that helped them secure the trophy.

But with him not being able to keep the level of play he showed domestically during the group stage, Karsa was brought in for the decisive best-of-5s, and proved there is no “substitutes” on RNG’s roster, firstly by denying Broxah and the rest of Fnatic any type of reaction after pivotal objective steals, and finally, by destroying Peanut in a spectacular fashion at the Finals, completely controlling both parts of the jungle for the majority of the series, rendering his opponent virtually useless, presenting thus his team with another path to the win.

It doesn’t matter he played only 7 games in Europe: Karsa proved his greatness in the few chances he had, and came out huge when needed, and therefore, has rightfully claimed the title of King of the Jungle at this year’s MSI.

Mid – Maple

There is a number of reasons why Maple is the sole non-RNG player on the All-Star Team of the 2018 Mid-Season Invitational. Reasons which become more than clear once you have seen his highlight moments, and what he was able to accomplish with an underrated line-up.

Despite the loss in the semis – where he was completely shut-down by an improved Kingzone side after inflicting the Koreans two painful losses during the group stages – Maple had a tournament to remember, proving that he definitely doesn’t need Karsa alongside him in order to shine – and carry the rest of the Flash Wolves.

Actually, the star jungler’s absence propelled him into the team’s main carry, and aided by Moojin’s more passive style, he was able to completely dominate his territory, outplaying and outmaneuvering every single opponent he faced in the mid lane, with even the great BDD being unable to accomplish what the Taiwanese managed to last week in Europe: the mid lane position in the All-Star Team is in more than able hands.

ADC and MVP of the Tournament – Uzi

There was really no doubt about that one, right? What else needs to be said about this absolute monster, one of the most mechanically gifted players we have the pleasure watch on Rift? With a career marked by second-place finishes and a number of injuries, Uzi finally found the perfect line-up to propel him to glory, exactly at a point where the meta is essentially centered around the ADC – hell, Riot even made the perfect champion for him: watching him on Kai’Sa is a pure delight, with him being able to turn the tides in game 4 against Kingzone pretty much by himself after another magical display of pure mechanical skills.

All ingredients for success were definitely there this time, and Uzi damn sure took advantage of it – but knowing him, he won’t be wanting to stop anytime soon. Will 2018 be forever remembered as the Year of the Puppy?

Support – Ming

In a tournament marked by Uzi’s brilliance, we need to remember that every hero has a faithful squire by his side at all times. It didn’t matter whether he was on Janna, or on Braum or on Tahm Kench, his primary goal remained the same: keep Uzi safe at all costs, while helping provide the superstar with whichever resources he needed in order to carry his team to the victory.

But Ming did more than that, always finding openings in the opposition’s gap, propelling the rest of Royal Never Give Up to make the fight happen, making himself a hero, even if on his own way. Outmatching none other than Gorilla in the Grand Finals, Ming is an easy choice to complete our Dream Team of the 2018 Mid-Season Invitational.