The 2023 League of Legends World Championship has arrived, bringing together elite players from around the world. While the top lane position is often underappreciated in terms of a team’s success, this time is different, as we have an exceptionally talented group of players.
This year’s lineup is exceptional not only because it features some of the most iconic players returning to the competition but also because we’re witnessing the emergence of promising new talents who have made a name for themselves throughout the season. Each player possesses unique qualities that contribute significantly to their team’s overall performance and identity.
Keeping this in mind, we’ve identified the top-performing players that you should definitely keep an eye on during the final tournament of the season. Here are the five most impressive top laners at Worlds 2023.
The best top laners at Worlds 2023
Tang “Zika” Hua-Yu
The first player on our list is LNG Esports’ top laner, Zika. He might not be one of the big names at the tournament, but the Chinese player is a truly underrated pick and one worth paying attention to.
Fans have often glossed over him due to the addition of bot laner GALA to the team. Having a super carry on the other side of the map meant most of the team’s attention and focus would go to GALA and consequently put Zika into a weak position.
Regardless, Zika showed up whenever the situation called. Aside from K’Sante and Sion, his two most-played champions in the summer were Renekton and Jax. In particular, his Jax scored an 83.3 percent win rate, according to the stats site Games of Legends.
His consistency and flexibility pushed Zika among the top three top laners in the Chinese league. He recorded the second-highest KDA during the second half of the season with an average of 1.8 deaths each game, only behind JDG’s top laner 369. Individually, he also had the fourth-highest positive gold differential.
Zika might not be a super carry, but he does a wonderful job on his own, and he’ll likely maintain that level of play at Worlds as well.
Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon
Even though Doran didn’t have a great showing at MSI, he bounced back with a stellar Summer Split, gapping all his rivals in the LCK and being a consistent presence in all of Gen.G’s victories.
Doran had the highest gold differential as well as the second-highest experience differential at 15 minutes. Compared to the past, where he mostly had a weak side role, Doran also evolved individually. In the summer, he started playing more damage-oriented champions like Jax and Gangplank while scoring 20 solo kills throughout the split, the highest number in his role.
It’s unclear whether he will keep up the same level against the LPL top laners but Doran is unquestionably one of the strongest players in his role at Worlds 2023.
Kang “TheShy” Seung-lok
If you’ve followed League for a few years, you probably know TheShy. Remember Worlds 2018 when he was smurfing against all the top laners? That’s how dominant TheShy was when he first took the 2018 World Championship.
After four years of failing to make Worlds, TheShy is back on the big stage. It’s incredible how he’s only 23 years old, yet he’s considered one of the most experienced players across the globe.
Throughout the years, we saw TheShy slowly evolve his playstyle, going from a lane-dominant carry player to willingly playing weak side for the benefit of the team. Nonetheless, he’s still the top laner with the highest damage percentage in the LPL, with nearly 600 damage per minute.
TheShy’s potential is undeniable, but it ultimately comes down to how Weibo Gaming can utilize him. While the player has no issues in isolated matchups, he can be vulnerable to ganks, especially if the team doesn’t help him out. This will be the key to TheShy and WBG’s entire run at Worlds.
Chen “Bin” Ze-Bin
In the first half of 2023, Bin took the LPL by storm, carrying BLG in crucial moments like the series against Gen.G at MSI earlier this year, dominating over his counterpart Doran in the elimination bracket.
During the Summer Split, however, he couldn’t maintain the same level of dominance. A part of that was due to the meta not favoring his carry-oriented style, bogging him down. Most of his damage-oriented picks like Jax, Gwen, and Fiora, which he played the most in the first half of the season, went missing in the second half, as he moved over to safer picks like K’Sante and Renekton. Regardless, he was still consistent on an individual level, boasting the highest CS per minute, gold per minute, and average gold differential, according to lpl.qq.
He wasn’t able to show up during the Asian Games, as China lost to South Korea in the semifinals, but now that he has gone back to BLG, we should see him return to his standards and prove to the world why he’s one of the best top laners of 2023.
Bai “369” Jia-Hao
Even though Bin was considered by fans and LPL enthusiasts the most complete top laner for the majority of the season, he still had a kryptonite of his own, JDG’s 369. Whenever Bin and 369 clashed, the latter always ended up having the upper hand.
He might not be the type of carry player fans love to see, but he’s No. 1 when it comes to playing weak side and playing in isolation and low on resources. If JDG can shine and win games through their mid and bot lane, it’s also thanks to 369’s ability to handle the pressure and deny all snowballing opportunities from enemies on his side of the map. It’s not surprising that he had the lowest number of deaths at 84 among all top laners in the LPL, with Ornn and K’Sante being his most-played champions. Reliable, consistent, and unpunishable: no other player better suits these words than 369.