This article is part of our LoL Rankings series.
The middle lane remains one place where you should look to draft two players. Mid laners and AD Carries are the most viable options to fill your flex role and you should look to grab two mid laners before thinking about grabbing a top laner, jungler, or support in most situations. We're in a very rich time period right now when it comes to skilled mid laners, but drafting from the top tiers can really separate you from other players, especially if you can grab two of the top eight or ten mid laners for yourself.Tier 1 (in alphabetical order): Jensen, Perkz, Pobelter
| Player | Team | Points Per Game* | Kills | Deaths | Assists |
| Jensen | Cloud 9 | 19.51 | 81 | 41 | 97 |
| Perkz | G2 | 20.69 | 76 | 37 | 117 |
| Pobelter | Immortals | 22.71 | 76 | 25 | 136 |
*Points Per Game are based on the Fantasy LCS scoring system found: http://fantasy.na.lolesports.com/en-US
There's been a bit of a shift since the start of last split among mid laners. Perkz burst onto the scene in his rookie split and dominated a tough group of European mid laners throughout the Spring Split. He ended the split tied with Pobelter for second in kills and second in assists. With a strong G2 roster behind him once again (thanks mainly to the pick ups of Zven and Mithy), Perkz is worthy of the first overall pick in drafts.
Jensen had a breakout Spring Split in North America as he finished with the most kills from the mid lane. Cloud9 have retooled for the start of the Summer Split and Jensen should be looked at early in drafts. I put Pobelter in my second tier before the Spring Split and he's finally getting the respect he deserves after a monster split with Immortals. I said that his supportive style would fit well with Immortals, keeping him near the top of the assist charts and that proved to be true as he ended with 136 asssists. Although he isn't looked at as a carry mid laner his 76 kills were tied for the second most across the LCS. He is a top option heading into Summer.
Tier 2: Bjergsen, Febiven
| Player | Team | Points Per Game | Kills | Deaths | Assists |
| Bjergsen | TSM | 17.51 | 55 | 38 | 109 |
| Febiven | Fnatic | 16.64 | 58 | 33 | 90 |
Both Febiven and Bjergsen had down splits by their lofty standards, but both remain highly skilled players who could be in line for a bounceback. Bjergsen ditched his assassin style at times this split to play supportive mid laners. This hurt his kill total as his 55 kills was only 12th best in the league, but his 109 assists put him third. In the playoffs he played a more carry oriented style and it paid off with big performances helping TSM to an upset of Immortals. If he returns to carry style champions in the Summer, Bjergsen could see a trip back to the top of the mid lane charts.
Febiven also had a down split but like Bjergsen remains a top level player in the LCS. Fnatic are not always the best fantasy producing team despite being one of the better teams year in and year out. That said, Febiven was a monster option in Summer 2015 and his drop was not well deserved in the Spring Split. He is still an excellent player and should be able to improve on his middle of the pack fantasy numbers during the Summer Split.
Tier 3: Fenix, GBM, Huhi, Nukeduck, Ryu
| Player | Team | Points Per Game | Kills | Deaths | Assists |
| Fenix | Team Liquid | 19.13 | 62 | 31 | 108 |
| GBM | NRG | 16.05 | 59 | 36 | 81 |
| Huhi | CLG | 16.99 | 71 | 37 | 86 |
| Nukeduck | Vitality | 17.72 | 56 | 32 | 105 |
| Ryu | H2K | 17.54 | 37 | 15 | 69 |
We're now ten mid laners into these tier rankings and I think the optimal draft would include at least two players from these first few tiers. There is excellent depth in this role right now with the players in this third tier all being solid options to start for you. In my opinion the players listed above have higher upside, but I wouldn't be upset with anyone from this role as my starter. Huhi took over for Pobelter in CLG's starting lineup for the Spring Split and finished fourth in kills and ninth in assists. It's possible that I have him too low, but again it speaks to the depth in this role.
Similarly Fenix, Nukeduck, and GBM are excellent options, especially as your second mid laner. Each possess the ability to carry for their teams and all three play on good, solid, rosters. Fenix probably possesses the highest upside as Team Liquid looked to catch fire to end the split and should keep their aggressive style going forward. Now that GBM is settled in North America I'd expect another solid split from the Korean mid laner. NRG have made some good additions in Kiwikid, Quas, and Santorin, which should help GBM even more this split.
I was looking at Nukeduck for a major breakout in the Spring Split on a good Vitality roster, and he played well finishing, 11th in kills but fifth in assists. With Vitality remaining a top EU team, expect Nukeduck to finish with similar stats this split. Ryu had a tough split dealing with visa issues and only played in 12 games for H2K. When he came back he was up-and-down in his performances, but he is still a solid mid lane option as H2K should remain a top level team.
Tier 4: Betsy, Fox, Froggen, Ninja, PowerOfEvil
| Player | Team | Points Per Game* | Kills | Deaths | Assists |
| Betsy | ROCCAT | 13.85 | 56 | 40 | 62 |
| Fox | Schalke 04 | 17.83 | 65 | 40 | 101 |
| Froggen | Echo Fox | 16.7 | 34 | 18 | 63 |
| Ninja | EnVyUS | 24.8 | 19 | 7 | 28 |
| PowerOfEvil | Origen | 14.8 | 46 | 29 | 63 |
* N/A represents a new player to the LCS this split, most likely from a Challenger Series team.
This tier has some boom or bust options in Betsy, Ninja, and Fox. These three players are on teams that may not be near the top of the standings, but all three are capable of having enough good games to be used at least in certain matchups. Fox's move to Schalke from UoL hurts in a way as UoL will probably be the better team, but his 65 kills and 101 assists were both sixth best in the LCS last split. With a downgrade in team, he may not reach those numbers again, but is an intriguing streaming option.
Betsy played very well on a poor ROCCAT team last split finishing tenth in kills but only 19th in assists. This shows that he was the main carry for his team, but also that they may struggle if Betsy cannot dominate a game. Ninja only played in four games last split with Renegades, but he compiled an impressive 19/7/28 KDA. I'm not sure EnVyUS will do too great in their first LCS split, but Ninja could be a high ceiling, low floor, type of fantasy options that make him useable in certain weeks.
Froggen and PowerOfEvil are the more steady options in this tier, but lack huge upside. Echo Fox and Origen should both be solid teams but both players have limited upside in my opinion compared to others listed above. With FORG1VEN joining Origen I also fear that they will adopt a more passive play style, which could hurt PowerOfEvil even more in the Summer Split.
