LoL Rankings: Jungler 2017 Spring Split

LoL Rankings: Jungler 2017 Spring Split

This article is part of our LoL Rankings series.

Like the top lane, the jungle position is pretty deep, but with an overwhelming top dog heading into the season. Like top laners, junglers should be selected later on in your drafts, as they won't carry your lineup like elite marksmen or mid laners. The role is deep, and if you miss out on the top few players, you can definitely get by with someone from the middle tiers.

Tier 1 (in alphabetical order): Trick

PlayerTeamPoints Per Game*KillsDeathsAssists
TrickG2 eSports19.1111057277

* Points Per Game are based on the Fantasy LCS scoring system found: http://fantasy.na.lolesports.com/en-US

Trick gets a tier to himself coming into this season. His floor and ceiling are higher than any other player, he plays for Europe's two-time defending champs, he is the back-to-back MVP of the EU LCS. He was the best jungler in the LCS last split, and with his entire roster back, he should once again be the top dog in 2017. He can carry and play supportive junglers, and his game-to-game consistency can be relied upon week after week.

Tier 2: Jankos, Reignover

PlayerTeamPoints Per Game*KillsDeathsAssists
JankosH2K16.6110374238
ReignoverTeam Liquid18.8611089380

Jankos was excellent during 2016 on H2K, culminating in his team placing top four at Worlds. He is the first-blood king and lives up to that nickname week after week. He doesn't stop there, however, as he is heavily involved in his team's kills throughout the game. The only thing holding Jankos back is his team's playstyle; the "Hard 2 Kill" style of minimal fighting doesn't really pay off for fantasy, but with a revamped lineup H2K could be more explosive in the new year.

Reignover is probably the best real-life jungler in the LCS. His knowledge and pathing are the best in the LCS, and the stats reflected that last year during his time on Immortals. I'm lower on Reignover due to the fact that he is unlikely to replicate his stat line from 2016 on Team Liquid. The Immortals lineup loved to fight and dominated both regular season splits in 2016. With a more passive Team Liquid by his side, Reignover is unlikely to reach the massive 380 assist total he had in the Summer. The move to TL doesn't knock him too far down however, as he should remain a top jungler in 2017.

Tier 3: Contractz, Chaser, Dardoch, Svenskeren, Trashy, Xmithie

PlayerTeamPoints Per GameKillsDeathsAssists
ContractzCloud9N/A*382456
ChaserTeam DignitasN/A*4750126
DardochImmortals15.45128107247
SvenskerenTeam SoloMid16.009784302
TrashySplyce17.457258289
XmithieCounter Logic Gaming14.8296105315

*Contractz stats come from the 2016 NA CS Summer Split

Dardoch and Svenskeren are the upside plays in this tier of junglers. Dardoch led the LCS in kills with 128 last split and is one of the most aggressive junglers in the league. He is not afraid to carry from the jungle, which equates to fantasy points. His move to Immortals gives him a fresh start as he looks to reach his potential as one of the best junglers in the LCS. Svenskeren plays for the defending NA LCS Champions and played his best League of Legends during the World Championships. He was assist focused during the Summer Split, but doesn't need to carry to have success.

Chaser is an experienced jungler coming from Korea's LCK, where he spent 2016 on Longzhu Gaming. He has an elite-level top laner and solid laners in other roles. I'm being a bit optimistic on Chaser, as I'm not yet sure what Team Dignitas will be. He's risky, but if DIG come together and Ssumday leads the charge, Chaser could move into tier two.

Trashy and Xmithie are more assist focused than the first two junglers in this tier. Both play for teams that should reach the playoffs and both are smart junglers that can set up double-digit kills in any given game. Xmithie finished third in assists during the Summer Split, while Trashy finished sixth.

Contractz is a bit of a risk as he'll be taking over for Meteos in C9's starting lineup. C9 should be a top tier NA LCS team once again, but I'm not sure what we'll get with Contractz. He has good upside, but is also slightly risky in his first LCS split. Meteos did finish third in points-per-game during the Summer Split, so there is potential for fantasy goodness out of the C9 jungle spot.

Tier 4: Amazing, Inori, Xerxe

PlayerTeamPoints Per GameKillsDeathsAssists
AmazingFnatic12.287498181
InoriPhoenix114.749072168
Xerxe*Unicorns of LoveN/AN/AN/AN/A

*2017 will be Xerxe's first LCS split

A new addition for Unicorns of Love, Xerxe is thought of as a high-upside jungler, but without seeing him play it's hard for me to put too much faith in the newcomer. If UoL can keep their momentum coming into the split, Xerxe should be a mid-level jungler with potential to move into the tier above this one.

I'm not too excited about Amazing's prospects coming into the season. He should rebound from a rough year on Origen, but his upside is still capped. Moving to Fnatic will help him, but I'd rather have higher-ceiling players above.

Inori has the potential to greatly outproduce this spot in the rankings if things break right for P1 in 2017. His return to the lineup late in the Summer Split coincided with P1's rise from the bottom of the table. He busted out carry junglers such as Rengar and is a talented player with good upside for 2017. Phoenix 1 have upgraded their lineup and could be the surprise team in the NA LCS this year.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ethan Sexton
Ethan Sexton covers soccer and is RotoWire's original League of Legends content provider (starting in late 2015). He is a fan of the Philadelphia Phillies, Chelsea FC, Bayer Leverkusen, AS Roma and the Boston Bruins.
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