LoL Rankings: 2016 Mid Lane Spring Split Rankings

Bjergsen and Febiven were the two dominate mid laners during the 2015 season. Bjergsen led the mid lane in kills while finishing only fifteenth in assists. He was TSM's main, and I could argue only, true carry threat during the Summer Split and it shows in his stat line. His assist total was extremely low, but he finished with 16 more kills than the next mid laner and second in kills across any role in the entire LCS. If there is any concern about him repeating his statistical output from the Summer Split it is that TSM now boasts a true AD Carry as well with Doublelift joining the team. Bjergsen played more a more supportive role at IEM San Jose, but if his kill total goes down a bit this split I would expect his assist total to rise to help even things out.

Febiven finished second in kills, fifth in assists, and sixth in creep score during the Summer Split. FNATIC was a dominate team and Febiven proved to be an elite mid lane option during the 2015 season. FNATIC comes into the split with a restructured roster as only Febiven and Rekkles remain from the 2015 team, but Febiven should once again be relied on as a main carry for the team and one of the best fantasy performers in his role.

Tier 2: Fenix, Fox, GBM, Incarnati0n, Nukeduck, Pobelter, PowerofEvil, Ryu, xPeke

You'll still find good value in this tier, but these aren't the elite, almost automatic players, that make up the first tier. If you miss out on one of the top two mid laners, make sure to get one, if not two, mid laners from this group instead.

Fenix showed some flashy plays during the Summer Split including his amazing quadra kill vs. CLG on Azir. He finished tied for fourth in kills, fourth in assists and creep score. FeniX showed good synergy with his teammate, Piglet, throughout the split as the main carries for Team Liquid in 2015.

Fox played for SK Gaming in the last summer as the team underperformed and were eventually relegated. Despite that fact, Fox finished second in kills, but only seventeenth in assists and sixteenth in creep score. Unicorns of Love looked poor at IEM San Jose, but they hadn't gotten a chance to practice and should be better once the LCS starts. Fox should be looked at as the team's main carry and could provide a similar output in kills with an uptick in assists this season.

GBM makes the move from Korea to North America for the 2016 season joining NRG. He enjoyed a strong season for Jin Air Green Wings in Korea, with dominating performances on Viktor going 60/18/60 in 13 games on the champion. That success should translate well to North America as long as GBM settles into the new culture well. NRG could play a hyper aggressive style as well, which would further impact his fantasy production in a good way.

It was a slow start to Incarnati0n's first LCS split, but as the season went on, including Worlds and IEM Cologne, the Cloud 9 mid laner began to find his groove. He finished twelfth in kills, eleventh in assists and eight in CS during the Summer Split. I think he showed during the final months of the season that he is ready to take a step up this year and become a solid mid laner both for Cloud 9 and fantasy teams. The mid laner will be one of Cloud 9's main carry threats and should enjoy a strong split.

Nukeduck finally lived up to some of the hype he had coming into the LCS during the 2015 Summer Split, but I think he can be even better this year on a strong Vitality roster. He finished eleventh in kills, seventh in assists, and fifth in CS during the Summer. The Norwegian showed good performances on Azir, Varus and Viktor especially, and could play more of a support mid lane role for Vitality, which may limit his kills, but spike his assist total, depending on how the team plays.

Pobelter isn't looked at as much of a carry threat, finishing the Summer Splitt ninth in kills, but third in assists, and eighteenth in CS. Where he shines is in a supportive mid lane role, which is exactly what I think he'll play for Immortals this year. Immortals have true carry threats already in Huni and WildTurtle (who is a nice bounceback ADC for this year) so Pobelter doesn't have to carry from the mid lane. I think you'll see him on safer mid lane champions setting up plays in team fights which should keep him near the top of the league in assists.

Whoever ends up playing the bulk of mid lane games for Origen could easily vault themselves into the top tier by the end of the season. The reason I put both xPeke and PowerofEvil in Tier 2 is that we just aren't sure who is going to play the majority of games this split. If I had to choose, I think PoE will play the bulk of games as xPeke focuses on running the team. PowerofEvil finished eighth in kills, ninth in assists, and seventeenth in CS, all numbers I think could rise playing for Origen. Origen look like they'll be the team to beat in Europe for the Spring Split and PoE has a wide champion pool that should make him a versatile player no matter what style Origen decide to play. Look for him to have a big season if he plays the majority of games.

Ryu prove to be a main carry threat for H2k once again during the 2015 Summer Split. He finished tied for fourth in kills, eighth in assists, and fourteenth in creep score. He was equally strong on mid lane control mages like Lulu and Twisted Fate as he was playing assassins like Fizz, Ahri and LeBlanc. He will remain a carry threat for H2k coming into the 2016 season which should allow him to have another strong fantasy season.

Tier 3: Alex Ich, Huhi, Pepiinero, Shiphtur

I would argue that all fifteen players on this list should be owned once the season starts, making this last tier of players viable to be on your team and possibly start some weeks either as your mid lane or flex option provided they have solid matchups.

Alex Ich returns to the LCS after playing the 2015 season with RNG in the Challenger Series. I think his upside is limited as RNG may struggle a bit during their first season in the LCS. He's one to keep an eye on however.

I've been back and forth on Froggen debating whether to put him in Tier 2 or 3. Froggen is probably one of the most favored mid laners in the World with a huge following and a large fan base, but the fact remains, he just wasn't that fantasy relevant on Elements last summer. He finished tenth in kills, eighteenth in assists, but third in creep score during the Summer Split. He's certainly a good player in real life and knows how to control the mid lane, but the fantasy impact may not be there if Echo Fox end up being a weaker team.

Huhi and Shiphtur present moderate upside. Huhi takes over the CLG mid lane from Pobelter this year, and is in a good spot on a pretty solid team. Despite CLG's roster turnover you'd expect them to have a solid split at least, and Huhi could provide a look for upside in the mid lane for the team. Shiphtur, like DIG as a team in the Summer, had an up and down split. Some games he played dominate, others poorly, finishing thirteenth in kills, tenth in assists, and ninth in creep score. His upside is limited as DIG may struggle this split, but he is worth keeping an eye on as a possible fill in during certain weeks.

This leaves me with Pepiinero, a guy who at times can carry games, but is unpredictable and risky. He showed the ability to be a top mid laner at times finishing the Summer Split seventh in kills, twelfth in assists, and second in CS. But at times he'd drive you nuts, like when he demanded to play ADC the first game against FNATIC during the Summer Split. He's a guy who could easily outproduce this rank if he can find some consistency in his game this season.