Three LCS rookies reshaping North American League of Legends talent development in 2022
North America’s Talent Transformation
The League of Legends Championship Series enters 2022 with renewed hope for domestic talent development, showcasing three exceptional rookies poised to challenge North America’s reputation for struggling with homegrown players.
North American League of Legends has historically faced criticism for talent development deficiencies, but three emerging LCS rookies are positioned to fundamentally alter this narrative through distinct career pathways.
For years, North America’s competitive landscape has been dominated by veteran longevity and international imports, creating significant barriers for aspiring professional players. The region’s limited domestic competition structure meant promising amateurs rarely received meaningful tournament experience against established organizations.
Riot Games implemented crucial structural reforms in 2021 by restructuring the LCS Academy system and introducing the Proving Grounds tournament. This innovative competition format allowed academy and amateur teams to compete together, dramatically increasing visibility for undiscovered talent and providing meaningful competitive opportunities previously unavailable.
While North America’s grassroots ecosystem remains imperfect, measurable progress is evident. The 2022 season features two players ascending from the amateur circuit to LCS starting positions, demonstrating tangible results from improved development pathways.
Concurrently, organizations continue exploring international talent acquisition, but with a strategic shift toward identifying promising rookies from developmental leagues rather than established veterans. This approach targets players with high growth potential who can evolve into franchise cornerstones.
Our analysis identifies three exceptional rookie prospects representing different development models, each with the potential to significantly impact North American competitive League of Legends throughout 2022.
Joseph ‘Jojopyun’ Joon Pyun: EG’s Explosive Mid Lane Prodigy
If explosive entertainment value defines your rookie expectations, Jojopyun delivers precisely that dynamic quality. Developed entirely within Evil Geniuses’ ecosystem, he has remained with the organization since his competitive inception in 2020.
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After just two months in amateur competition, EG Academy recruited him in January 2021. While the team achieved modest fourth-place finishes throughout the season, Jojopyun’s individual performances consistently demonstrated exceptional potential beyond roster results.
Despite Lulu being his most-played champion during the Summer Split, Jojopyun embodies the quintessential aggressive carry player. His career champion preferences heavily favor high-mechanic carries like Sylas and Lucian, with EG analyst Mike “Beora” Skriloff characterizing him as “spectacularly explosive during Rift engagements.”
“Provide him the smallest opportunity, and he’ll capitalize tremendously,” Beora explained to Dexerto. “His playstyle radiates constant aggression and relentless lane pressure.”
North America hasn’t witnessed a successfully debuted hyper-aggressive rookie mid laner in several seasons, creating exciting parallels to European sensation Rasmus ‘Caps’ Winther’s explosive entrance onto the competitive stage.
NA Academy caster Matthew ‘Cubby’ Samuelson identified him as commanding “substantial respect” throughout the North American competitive community, particularly impressive given his status as one of the region’s youngest competitors at merely 17 years old.
“I’ve observed established mid laners increasing their solo queue dedication specifically hoping to encounter Jojopyun and absorb knowledge from his gameplay,” Cubby noted.
Beyond his mechanical excellence and refreshing aggression, Jojopyun benefits from veteran mentorship that should prevent him from becoming merely a mechanically gifted player lacking strategic depth. Surrounding him with World Champion top laner Jeong ‘Impact’ Eon alongside two-time Worlds participants Kacper ‘Inspired’ Słoma and Philippe ‘Vulcan’ Laflamme provides the perfect environment for comprehensive professional development.
Evil Geniuses possess established expertise cultivating rookie talent, maintaining one of the LCS’s most structured amateur-to-professional pathways. Their track record demonstrates consistent ability to develop promising newcomers effectively.
EG AD Carry Kyle ‘Danny’ Sakamaki emerged as 2021’s most exciting domestic talent, ascending through the identical development pipeline as Jojopyun. Should Evil Geniuses successfully cultivate two consecutive region-defining talents through their amateur system, this achievement could inspire widespread organizational investment amplification throughout North America.
Wei ‘Shenyi’ Zi-Jie: TSM’s International Gamble
While domestic talent development shows promising growth, TSM’s offseason acquisitions demand attention when evaluating exciting rookie prospects.
North American organizations historically faced criticism for over-reliance on imported players and insufficient domestic development investment. However, international talent mobility remains fundamental to League esports, and dismissing imported players disrespects their dedication to adapting and excelling in new competitive environments.
Traditional import strategies focused on established veterans seeking new competitive opportunities abroad. Recently, organizations have shifted toward recruiting rookie players before their tier-one league debuts, representing a strategic evolution in international talent acquisition.
TSM support Wei ‘Shenyi’ Zi-Jie exemplifies this new approach. Recruited from the LPL’s developmental league alongside mid laner Zhu ‘Keaiduo’ Xiong, he will partner with AD Carry Edward ‘Tactical’ Ra to establish TSM’s 2022 bot lane identity.
Shenyi brings characteristically aggressive support play, fearlessly initiating game-defining engagements on champions like Nautilus and Rakan. His brief substitution period with FunPlus Phoenix’s LPL roster included impressive performances against established powerhouses like Top Esports, demonstrating comfort in high-stakes competitive environments.
Shenyi and Keaiduo present distinctive developmental challenges for TSM. Beyond typical rookie development requirements, the organization must integrate two young players navigating language barriers and cultural adaptation simultaneously.
While TSM jungler Mingyi ‘Spica’ Lu possesses Mandarin language skills, the organization cannot depend solely on translation assistance for competitive success. The support role demands exceptional coordination with lane partners and team-wide communication, making effective Shenyi integration absolutely critical to TSM’s 2022 performance.
Despite his international origins, Shenyi requires equivalent development investment as domestic rookies. With barely over one year of competitive experience and only five LPL appearances, classifying him as anything beyond a rookie imposes unrealistic performance expectations.
Visa complications and ongoing pandemic restrictions forced TSM to field their academy roster during the Lock-In tournament. The organization confirmed via social media that the main roster hadn’t practiced together, with Shenyi and Keaiduo remaining in China unable to reach Los Angeles before the tournament commenced.
Roster update ahead of the LCS Lock In. pic.twitter.com/YeU02nSMIp
— TSM (@TSM) January 6, 2022
Supporters must wait until the Spring split beginning February 5th for their initial Shenyi viewing experience. By that timeframe, the team desperately needs established synergy development; otherwise, TSM’s LDL investment risks catastrophic failure.
Milan ‘Tenacity’ Oleksij: 100 Thieves’ Strategic Weapon
Tenacity mirrors Jojopyun as another success story from North America’s expanding amateur investment landscape. 100 Thieves’ talent development pipeline recruited him in January 2020 for their amateur squad, 100 Thieves Next.
The 100 Next lineup secured second place in the 2020 Challengers Uprising tournament, narrowly defeated by the since-disbanded Anew Esports. Tenacity earned promotion to 100T’s academy roster for 2021, delivering consistent performances despite falling short in both Proving Grounds and Academy Summer playoff championships.
Tenacity embodies the Kim ‘Ssumday’ Chan-ho bruiser top lane philosophy, specializing in champions like Aatrox and Volibear – fitting perfectly given his shared position arrangement with Ssumday during his debut split.
Implementing shared starting positions represents unconventional roster management strategy. The weekly playing time distribution rationale remains unclear publicly, though Tenacity and Ssumday share similar champion preferences with Ssumday demonstrating slightly broader tank proficiency.
Head coach Chris ‘PapaSmithy’ Smith revealed in a Dexerto interview that the team possesses “clear strategic understanding for optimizing six-player roster functionality.” This approach has historically proven challenging to execute effectively, but 100 Thieves evidently believes they’ve identified the formula for balancing Tenacity’s development with Ssumday’s continued growth.
Cubby characterizes Tenacity as a “strategic surprise weapon” deployed when the roster requires dominant top lane carry presence. Ssumday’s extensive experience provides greater flexibility, but Tenacity’s Irelia mastery instills genuine fear throughout North American solo queue competitors.
His champion proficiency attracted attention from LEC caster Marc ‘Caedrel’ Lamont during EU West solo queue sessions for Worlds 2021, further validating his mechanical capabilities.
“100 Thieves will experience tremendous satisfaction when Tenacity finally competes on stage,” Cubby elaborated, “given their substantial investment in his development as both player and individual.”
Tenacity participated in 100 Thieves’ 2021 Worlds European bootcamp and consistently ranked among the organization’s highest-performing solo queue players across multiple regions. He requires specific competitive conditions for optimal performance (explaining the shared position arrangement), but when properly utilized, he ranks among North America’s most formidable top lane threats.
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