Best LoL Players of All Time

Top 20 League of Legends Players

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To be regarded as one of the best LoL players of all time means you must excel in many aspects. This is because League of Legends is a highly strategic and team-oriented game, where mechanics don’t mean everything, even in the highest levels of play. Our top 20 best players of all time range from insane mechanical prodigies to captains who shot-call their team to maximize macro control and steer toward victory. Some players on our list have already retired from competitive play but have left such a major mark in competitive League of Legends that we simply cannot ignore.

What does it mean to be among the best LoL players of all time? The answer often depends on the person tackling the question. Some argue that the best players are mechanical prodigies who overwhelm their opponents with spectacular outplays. Some celebrate confident shot callers who direct their allies on the battlefield. Others put their stock into bold innovators that always seem to find new ways to break the competitive metagame.

Who do we think is the best League of Legends player?

As is often the case, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. The best League of Legends players tend to have a mixture of talent, game sense, and creativity that instantly makes you recognize their greatness. So, without further ado, here’s our list of the top 20 LoL players of all time! Make your way through this list of incredible LoL talent to find out who we think is the best LoL player of all time.

20. sOAZ (ERL)

sOAZ is the definition of a legacy player. The French top laner has been playing competitive League of Legends since 2010, and, barring a few outliers, he’s consistently stood at the top of his region. And at this point, it’s hard to attribute this to anything other than natural talent. sOAZ has a great mind for the game that allows him to remain a threat regardless of meta shifts and balance changes.

While sOAZ is not renowned for his large, flashy plays, his spatial awareness and macro decision-making are top-tier. This allows him to outmanoeuvre opponents, breaking the enemy’s defences with well-timed pushes, flanks and teleports. sOAZ is able to steer an outcome of a game even without being the primary carry, a true symbol of the importance of strategic decision-making.

19. Mata (LCK/LPL)

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Mata has both intimidating mechanics and the frightful ability to grasp a strong understanding on an entire game’s state. During the Samsung White era, this man came up with a brand new macro paradigm and single-handedly reshaped the competitive meta, and even if that was the only thing he did, it would be enough to put Mata on our list of the best LoL esports players of all time.

After leaving his mark on the LCK, he established himself across regions in the LPL. Despite working with teammates in a foreign language, Mata’s shocking ability to micromanage teammates and call macro plays despite a communication barrier truly emerged. His time with RNG saw Mata shot call his way to victory in the 2016 LPL Spring Playoffs, and runners up in the following Summer Playoffs.

In 2019, Mata joined the South Korean powerhouse that is T1. Together with his teammates, Mata dominated the domestic competition and secured a first-place finish in the 2019 LCK Spring Split. And while he fell to the eventual champions at the 2019 Mid-Season Invitational, he still proved he has what it takes to go toe-to-toe with the top LoL players in the world.

Unfortunately, Mata has a tendency to cultivate a very specific playstyle on his teams, leading him to be a highly impactful yet restrictive during times of change.

18. Gumayusi (LCK)

Literally sharing some blood of the “unkillable demon king” as a distant relative of Faker, Gumayusi is not only Korea’s, but SKT’s new prodigy. Similarly a young starter, Gumayusi started his career at only 17 years old under the tag “Catan”. He later renamed to Gumayusi during his time as a substitute for SK Telecom T1. Coached and training alongside some of the best players in the world for two years, he finally got his big break with a starting adc position at the start of 2021.

Gumayusi immediately settled to his new role, facing up and holding his ground against some of the LCK’s best LoL teams. T1 placed 4th in both the Spring and Summer split, before winning the LCK 2021 Regional finals, qualifying for worlds. Gumayusi proved himself once again, defeating not only players from his region but across the world, T1 also finishing in the top 4 in the 2021 League of Legends World Championships. His and T1’s success carried forward to 2022, taking first place in the 2022 LCK Spring Playoffs and second at MSI 2022.

His meteoric rise and young age only make us more excited for what’s to come, especially as Gumayusi continues to develop and hone his skills against top players more frequently.

17. CoreJJ (LCS)

CoreJJ had a slow start to his League of Legends career, finding little success before joining Samsung Galaxy. His time with Samsung saw CoreJJ not only change team, but completely his role from ADC to Support. This proved as CoreJJ’s most successful career decision, with his extremely deep understanding as an ADC allowing him constantly push the limits and place maximum pressure on his opponent botlaners.

Whether it’s setting up teamfights, protecting his carries, or roaming around the map, CoreJJ ticks all the boxes of a top-tier support player. Yet, his biggest strength is vision control. CoreJJ is exceptional at lighting up the map and suffocating enemy vision, making him a very difficult opponent to face on the Rift. Combine that with the fact that he’s going stronger than ever on Team Liquid, and we wouldn’t be surprised if he reaches new heights in the near future.

16. Deft (LCK)

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Deft is a one-man-army. This player is a mechanical prodigy in every sense of the word, and his unique blend of game knowledge and killer instinct turns him into the focal point of every teamfight. His laning isn’t too shabby either, as Deft is always looking for a window to take a bold trade or force a 2v2 kill. He turned Hanwha Life into a force to be reckoned with and single-handedly carried the team many times.

However, while Deft is without a top a top tier player, his aggressive playstyle that makes him one of the greats is also simultaneously one of the weaknesses that holds him back. While a mechanical genius normally allows such plays to work in his favour, his selfish playstyle has also backfired on many occasions. This has made Deft quite a volatile pick, standing at the pinnacle when everything works out and potential liability in times the meta shifts.

15. Wunder (LEC – G2 Esports)

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For the longest time, Wunder has been flying under the radar. He qualified for the 2016 EU LCS Spring Split as a part of the Danish Splyce roster and quickly established himself as a talented top laner. Yet, it was only when he joined G2 Esports in 2018 that everyone saw the extent of his mechanical ability.

Wunder is the definition of a carry top laner. His champion pool is vast and his game sense is sharp enough to put some of the best League of Legends players in the world on the back foot. Granted, G2 Esports went through some growing pains in 2018, so Wunder didn’t claim any trophies that year. But that didn’t stop him from showing up at Worlds 2018 and becoming one of the biggest carry threats on the team.

He found his most success during 2019 with G2 Esports, completely dominating the LEC with wins in both the Spring & Summer playoffs. Wunder also found success internationally, proving himself once again in the world stage with a first place at MSI 2019 and runners-up in the 2019 League of Legends World championship. While Wunder his recent success has yet to reach its peak once again, Wunder remains a solid player with deep knowledge in the game, scoring a league high of 32 different champions in the 2021 playoffs.

14. ShowMaker (LCK)

Like what Bjergsen was to TSM, and Faker is to T1, ShowMaker is to DWG Kia. Showmaker is the star player of the team, starting his competitive career early on with the team at the end of 2017 when he was just 17. The superstar has proved on multiple occasions to be capable of single-handedly winning games for his team, as he dominates the opponent midlaner, snowballs his lead, building his influence in the late game. Composed, effective and amazing in the early game, he is the bane of LCK mid-lane players and a perennial threat in long games. His uncanny ability to perform under pressure recommends him as an amazing acquisition for any LoL team.

DWG KIAwon the League of Legends Worlds Championship in 2020 and with ShowMaker at its core, was the strongest contender for the 2021 trophy. While they fell short in the finals to EDG, ShowMaker remained a tough opponent for EDG, forcing them to place additional pressure on the superstar. Despite being a veteran with years of experience at the highest levels of play in the competitive scene, Showmaker is still young with so much potential.

13. Perkz (LEC/LCS)

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Perkz is one of the most unusual players in the world. He made his EU LCS debut in 2016, and quickly established himself as a top mid laner in the region. In fact, it’s largely because of his razor-sharp mechanics and insane killer instinct that his team—G2 Esports—proceeded to win the next four titles in a row. Over the years, Perkz reinforced his already impressive talent with veteran game sense. He hit his peak as a mid laner in 2018 when he made it all the way to the Worlds semifinals before falling at the hand of the eventual champions in Invictus Gaming.

And then Perkz did the unthinkable: he role swapped. That’s right, one of the strongest mid laners in the world voluntarily switched to the AD carry role to open up a spot for another great mid laner on his team. Many predicted this move to backfire. Yet Perkz silenced the critics by becoming the best marksman in Europe and winning the 2019 MSI in his first year as a professional AD carry. Perkz versatility and ability to master two roles at the highest levels earns Perkz a title amongst some of the best league of legends players of all time.

12. Bjergsen (LCS)

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Bjergsen is one of the biggest names in competitive League of Legends, especially after acting as the star player for North America’s most famous team, Team SoloMid. Initially hailing from Denmark, Bjergsen joined TSM at the end of 2013. He immediately a big shoes to fill, with TSM at that time already being the biggest name in NA, while also replacing the team’s founder in the mid-lane, Reginald. During his long seven-year tenure with Team Solomid, Bjergsen scored a win in six LCS Spring/Summer playoffs.

It was clear Bjergsen had been regarded as the top mid-laner in North America, being nicknamed by many as the North American Faker. This was due to his mechanical ability in the midlane and frequent roams that allowed TSM to snowball on so many occasions. He was a rock-solid veteran who mad his presence known through smart laning and potent team fighting. His mechanics were sharp enough to stand up to the top League of Legends players in the world. Bjergsen’s main strength is consistency, and no matter the opponent, you could count on him to perform.

That said, Bjergsen was haunted by the lack of international success. He also tended to avoid risks in high-pressure situations even if taking that chance was the only way to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.  Bjergsen couldn’t overcome this hurdle and climb up our League of Legends player rankings and failed to meet the high expectations set for him as head coach of his beloved TSM.

11. Doinb (LPL)

Doinb was the best League of Legends player that most Western fans didn’t know about. His mechanics are on point, but it’s his relentless aggression and creative thinking that allow him to continuously get the upper hand on some of the strongest mid-laners in the world. He also has many pocket picks at his disposal, making it nigh impossible to force him into a bad matchup.

Of course, it’s hard to look past the fact that he’s just found his way to international tournaments in 2019. It was Doinb’s amazing performance at the Worlds in 2019 that made FunPlus Phoenix the World Champions after a dominant final against G2 Esports. Unfortunately, individually strong performances can only carry a team so far. Following a strong 2021 season with FPX, Doinb moved to LNG Esports who had a subpar performance throughout 2022. While his recent results may be poor, with a better roster alongside Doingb, we can expect him to return to the world stage in dominating fashion once again.

10. Ruler (LCK)

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When Ruler began his career, he was stable yet found himself spending most of his time in the shadow of his midlaner. Fast-forward a couple of years, and he’s the spitting image of a top-tier marksman. His laning is sharp, as he takes every opportunity he can get to contest CS and harass his opponents, but his real forte is team fighting.

Ruler is the symbol for top tier ADCs, with a talent for dodging enemy spells, and spatial awareness to avoid compromising positioning while living life on the edge to push maximum hurt on enemies. All these aspects has pushed Ruler to be one of the most consistently high-performing players in the game

Ruler has an uncanny talent to dodge enemy spells and top damage charts seamlessly. He’s also one of the top LoL esports players when it comes to consistency, as he’s seldom the reason his team loses the game. And no matter how dire things are, his teammates can rely on Ruler to hitting his power spikes and giving his enemies hell in the upcoming team fight.

9. Karsa (LPL)

Karsa entered the scene back in 2014 as a part of the relatively unknown Machi 17 lineup. Six months later, he was jungling for the iconic Flash Wolves roster. Karsa’a mechanical prowess and objective playstyle was highly regarded by all, allowing his teams to gain an advantage in the bot lane consistently. His ability control both his own and enemy jungle constantly strangles the opponent, largely taking away the risk of enemy jungler ganks while simultaneously securing important objectives to snowball his team as the game goes on.

This had led to Karsa dominating his region since the start of his career, having to date won the LMS/LPL Spring or Summer playoffs on seven occasions!

8. Chovy (LCK)

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It’s fair to say that Chovy started his LCK career with a bang. He entered the league in the middle of 2018, but he quickly made a name for himself as one of the best mid laners in South Korea. His playstyle was aggressive, yet uncharacteristically calculated for a rookie. And while he had the brains and the brawn to go for solo kills, he was even deadlier whenever his shifted his focus to team fighting and working together with his jungler.

However, his dominance had been undermined his tendency to fall under pressure, especially in the playoffs stage. That even during his shaky moments, Chovy often is still able to best the majority of his opponents. In recent years, Chovy has certainly improved, playing to his best more consistently when it mattered most. Signed to Gen.G at the end of 2021, Chovy proved himself early with immediate results, placing runners up in the LCK Spring season & playoffs and later going on to win the Summer season & playoffs.

7. Madlife

Despite having retired, Madlife continues to represents the pinnacle of support play. Madlife had initially been famed for his insane ability to hit hook skill shots on champions like Blitzcrank and his infamous Thresh. This talent allowed Madlife to exert a tremendous amount of pressure in the botlane, giving his adc an advantage in the laning phase. He had a huge influence in changing the support meta, from supports simply being a shield bot, to popularizing a playstyle where supports can dictate the pace of the lane through aggressive plays and positioning.

Madlife had also been famed for his map awareness and suffocating vision control throughout the game. Paired with his threatening lane game hooks and playmaking potential, despite being a support, he had been the sole turning point for many favourable fights throughout his career. To top it all off, he had been regarded as an extremely versatile player with an extremely deep support champion pool catering to any match up. Even to this day, players and casters to this day use the term “Madlife” when referring to a near-impossible hook being hit on the rift.

6. Peanut (LCK)

Peanut is a highly experienced veteran LCK player having started his career at the beginning of 2015. Just into his first year of competitive play, his talent in the jungle was immediately noticed by ROX Tigers, one of the most successful teams at the time. Peanuts presence could be felt throughout the entire game, with relentless ganks to objective control, Peanut controlled the game from start to finish. This propelled ROX Tigers to win both the 2016 LCK Spring & Summer season, also taking first place in the Summer playoffs to represent the LCK’s first seed at Worlds. While they ultimately failed to make it past the semi-finals at Worlds 2016, Peanut had been a much-feared menace that almost brought SKT to their knees in their prime, forcing the full 5 games in the semis. After his spectacular performance in the jungle, while he did not go on to win the 2016 World Championships, he was considered by all to be the best jungler in the World. This led to SKT, who later went on to win yet another world championship, to quickly sign Peanut as their Jungler shortly after. His ability to strike fear in the world’s best team, forcing them to sign him right after alone proves Peanut as one of the best lol players of all time.

5. Caps

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When he first entered the EU LCS, Caps was renowned for his mechanical prowess. His talent was so overwhelming that he routinely came up with CS leads and solo kills against the best mid laners in Europe, but his dominance was undermined by his shaky decision-making. Still, Caps worked hard on refining his playstyle, going from a flashy yet unreliable mid laner to the centrepiece of Fnatic’s strategies. Combine this with his vast arsenal of pocket picks, and Caps is the perfect lightning rod. If you leave him alone, he has the skill and confidence to take over the game single-handedly, and if you try to shut him down, his teammates will have free reign in the side lanes.

These traits have carried Caps to a second-place finish at Worlds 2018, but a silver medal wasn’t enough for him. In 2019, he parted ways with Fnatic and joined G2 Esports. And even though many criticized him for abandoning such a successful team, Caps put these doubts to rest by showing up at the MSI 2019 and claiming his first international trophy.

Caps continues to be one of the strongest active players in the world, with impeccable individual performance, driving his team towards success. 2022 had been a successful year for the mid-lane superstar, scoring first place in the 2022 LEC Spring Playoffs, a top 4 finish at MSI, proving he still has what it takes to rival the best mid-laners.

4. Rekkles (LFL)

Martin Larsson, is better known as Rekkles and everyone agrees that he is one of the best LoL players of all time. The Swedish bot laner has played for the best European teams and is one of the few to compete for the arch-rivals Fnatic and G2 Esports. Arguably the best ADC players in Europe, Rekkles was the first player to reach 1,000 kills in the EU LCS. A few years later he set another record, by becoming the first to reach 1,500 kills in the LEC.

Not many players can brag about an illustrious career that spans over a decade, so the bot lane bruiser deserves the fifth place on our top 20 best LoL players. Fnatic relied on his services for 5 years and the Swede never let them down. Disappointment came in 2020 when he left for G2 Esports, a team that had to replace Perkz who chose to leave for Cloud9. Rekkles failed to adjust to the new environment and at the end of a frustrating season, had his contract terminated. He played for Karmine Corps in 2022, which made him the best player in the LFL.

3. Uzi (LPL)

Officially retiring his competitive League of Legends career at the end of 2019, Uzi made a short appearance with Bilibilli Gaming in the 2022 LPL Spring season. Uzi had been widely accredited for his sheer mechanical prowess, tenacity and charisma. Uzi’s individual performance had been outstanding throughout his career, even during roster changes that saw his team hit low points, Uzi had always been an anchor holding the fort in the botlane. 2018 was the year Uzi truly shined, earning MVP in both the 2018 LPL Spring & Summer playoffs, 2018 MSI, and 2018 games. He had been widely recognized as the best AD carry in the world. This LPL legend challenged his foes with immaculate positioning and pinpoint precision. Uzi is without a doubt the top league of legends player to leave a mark on the game’s competitive scene without ever winning a world championship. Of all the players who never won Worlds, Uzi is arguable the best.

Uzi exhibits one of the key unique traits of a champion, determination and drive. A prime example of this was during Worlds 2017, where the player had suffered from wrist/shoulder pain, got drips at the hospital, and still showed up for play. While he was later forced to step back later on in the competition, his perseverance, albeit not the wisest move, makes Uzi one of the most admired players throughout China.

2. Rookie (LPL)

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For a long time, Rookie was seen as one of many Korean mercenaries that went to China chasing a bigger paycheck. However, his Worlds 2018 run turned this storyline on its head. Not only did Rookie make a solid claim to being the best League of Legends player in the world, but his individual skill was so overwhelming that he spent the entire tournament bullying world-class mid laners as if they were random Gold players from Solo Queue.

His talents go far beyond the laning phase. Rookie is the pillar of Invictus Gaming, so whether it’s team fighting, split pushing, or playing around his teammates, he does everything in his power to set his team up for success. Hell, even when IG suffered a crushing defeat at the Mid-Season Invitational, Rookie still played like a world-class mid laner. Rookie left Invictus Gaming at the end of 2021 after doing everything he could to carry the declining team, opting to join Victory 5 in hopes of turning their prospect around. This proved to the a complete game-changing investment for Victory 5, a previously failing team with poor results year-round. Since Rookie joined, he worked his magic immediately, his individual skill flaring up once again, carrying Victory to new heights it had never been before with a top 3 finish in both the 2022 LPL Spring season & playoffs.

1. Faker (LCK – SKT T1)

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Faker will likely always be the GOAT of competitive League of Legends until another child prodigy emerges and can singlehandedly carry their team to victory year after year. To date, not a single pro player comes close to Faker in claiming the top spot. This man is a competitive juggernaut that seamlessly climbs to the highest point of League of Legends players rankings. His level of dominance is so unbelievable, it’s akin to a fable, yet somehow, someway it’s entirely real.

Faker began his competitive career at just the young age of 17 years old, yet to be classified as an adult. Despite his adolescence,  SK Telecom saw potential in the young solo queue super star, signing Faker to their secondary team. This team found quick success with the mechanical prodigy, Faker’s first ever competitive game leading to him solo killing veteran player Ambition under his own tower! Faker had been so dominant in lane opponent midlaners that the only option opponents had was to take a step back, and let Faker take CS leads and map control. Faker was able to place insurmountable pressure on not only the opposing mid laner, but jungler and other laners. This was primarily due to his lane advantage allowing him to take the initiative on rotates to invade the jungle and gank, often allowing his own laners to build an advantage.

It comes a little surprise that opponents shy away from going up directly against the superstar, especially as he displayed his mechanical prowess in the now infamous Faker vs Ryu Zed 1 v 1.

Even when opponents camp Faker to reduce his impact, he is often able to kite opponents, surviving ganks and soaking up large amounts of pressure. This led him to be nicked named the “Unkillable Demon King”, a worthy title for the prodigy.

Faker is the GOAT, as he is able to take full advantage of his mechanical ability to snowball his own lead, aiding his teammates through his sheer pressure, and now, shotcall. In the later years of his career, Faker is increasingly head in the comms of highlights, shotcalling when the engage game turning fights that often result in success. His individual accomplishments are bolstered by a spotless competitive record, and until he retires, it’s hard to imagine anyone other than Faker standing at the top of the League of Legends food chain.