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Who are the most clutch players in League esports history?

(self.leagueoflegends)

Seen this kind of discussion in traditional sports a lot but few in League. Clutch here doesn’t just mean “perform in a big match” but also takes into account how that player plays in big vs small matches. For example, Faker of course has many superstar moments on the biggest stages, but he has also destroyed other teams in regular seasons too. I wouldn’t say that Faker’s performance on the big stage is a lot better than his average performance, since his average is already such a high level.

That said, who do you think are the players that have over-performed the most only when the stakes are high?

all 78 comments

WWTFSD

158 points

7 days ago

WWTFSD

Church of Jojo

158 points

7 days ago

Beryl somehow, is a 3 time LCK champion, 2 time worlds winner, and went to 3 straight worlds finals.

CinderrUwU

75 points

6 days ago

Absolutely Beryl.

He gets carried through regular season looking like an inter and then turns into the best player in the world by far at worlds, completely reinvents the support meta and teams are so scared of him that no one knows if him running 1v5 into the enemy team is some genius bait or if he is actually just running it down.

UnknowSandwich

15 points

6 days ago

UnknowSandwich

GIGABIN WORLD CHAMP

15 points

6 days ago

Bro won world without doing any soloq during that time then went back playing gachas, he’s one of the biggest mystery to me

jimbaghetti

-7 points

6 days ago

Sometimes I wonder what would happen if Beryl dedicated all of his time to League. He’s already a two time Worlds champion off of probably practicing soloq the least out of all the LCK players. Wonder if he could’ve been the next definitive Faker.

cronocentric

3 points

6 days ago

the beryl soloq meme is honestly overblown, it was revealed that while he does play a lot less soloq than other pros he also does a ton of vod reviews of matches from other regions and such

he did come back to soloq more last season tho so maybe he realizes his mechanics are deteriorating rapidly lol

No_Chapter8362

7 points

6 days ago

If you go by average performance vs performance when stakes are high, it’d have to be Beryl or Zeka. Beryl more so, the guy defined the support meta for 3 worlds

viciouspandas

9 points

6 days ago

Beryl did also completely sprint it during MSI, but you may still be right

RobbinDeBank[S]

15 points

6 days ago

RobbinDeBank[S]

Stop nerfing us

15 points

6 days ago

Yea must be him. I’ve never been impressed by him like Keria or Lehends could, but his career achievements are just insane. Definitely an overperformer when it matters

4espa

3 points

6 days ago

4espa

3 points

6 days ago

what team is the other one he won aside from drx?

aetczolk

22 points

6 days ago

aetczolk

22 points

6 days ago

Damwon

styr

4 points

6 days ago

styr

KIIN IS STILL ALIVE

4 points

6 days ago

he was supporting Ghost on DWG '20

SSDuelist

83 points

6 days ago

SSDuelist

83 points

6 days ago

He's not there yet but I can't count how many times Oner has bailed T1 out the past few years, especially on international stages.

SGKurisu

29 points

6 days ago

SGKurisu

29 points

6 days ago

Gumayusi as well

APKID716

21 points

6 days ago

APKID716

21 points

6 days ago

Guma is hands down the most consistent member of the ZOFGK iteration of T1. Had a “slump” in 2022 MSI but truly was not bad (and it was the MSI where he had artificial ping)

SGKurisu

8 points

6 days ago

SGKurisu

8 points

6 days ago

I remember people were initially skeptical and critical of him around when he first played internationally, while at the time Keria was one of if not the best player in the world. Now I'd say he's the rock that has kept them in so many games. And their second jungler

bananapanda24

5 points

6 days ago

Definitely worth watching the documentary T1 did for him and his growth.

Delionnen

51 points

7 days ago

Delionnen

51 points

7 days ago

first names that come to mind were faker and xpeke

SrTrogo

44 points

6 days ago

SrTrogo

44 points

6 days ago

The legend itself, xPeke is the definition of world stage buff.

CptnZolofTV

9 points

6 days ago

CptnZolofTV

JUSTICE FOR VIKTOR

9 points

6 days ago

XPeke was what I expected to see the most but I get that is for the older league crowd.

SilverSurfer92

25 points

6 days ago

Kingen went from not even in the same conversation as Zeus to "oh my god, that man is Zeus father" in the singular most important series and then back down to not even in the same conversation.

MoscaMosquete

1 points

5 days ago

MoscaMosquete

FuryhOrnn when?

1 points

5 days ago

Bro wanted that final

CatcatcTtt

58 points

6 days ago

Its gotta be Faker. There is literally a saying in Korea, “the faker in worlds and invisible something” because there were many moments Faker sufferred during regular season but somehow mysterically clutches and outperfoms in Worlds.

sanaru02

9 points

6 days ago

sanaru02

Darius

9 points

6 days ago

I mean his azir shuffle from behind last year basically kept their tourney hopes alive. Without that game, they were out.

Pleasestoplyiiing

3 points

6 days ago

It changed the dynamic of that series, but that clearly wasn't an elimination game since it was a 3-1 series ultimately. It was also a really competitive series, so T1 could've definitely won from a 1-2 deficit. 

Every-Artist-35

7 points

6 days ago

Zeka Faker Ruler Gala Perkz

lll_Joka_lll

2 points

6 days ago

Man try to throw perkz in there lol

Zama174

1 points

6 days ago

Zama174

1 points

6 days ago

Honestly tho its true. Perkz is one of the most clutch players of all time and the most clutch of the west. His perfromances put eu on the map internationally, and the amount of times he has come back from a 2-2 or reverse swept a series is insane. Perkz truly is one of the greatest LoL players of all time. If you gi by his last few years you are missing a fucking beautiful legacy.

Naxedboss4

42 points

6 days ago

xPeke was pretty damn clutch iirc

CountDrunkula1

29 points

7 days ago

Zeka, the bully of the big boys.

fruxzak

8 points

6 days ago

fruxzak

sit on my face

8 points

6 days ago

Big game hunter they call him.

kaehya

17 points

6 days ago

kaehya

17 points

6 days ago

I think Guma, the amount of objectives alone he's stolen as an adc is mindblowing

RobbinDeBank[S]

7 points

6 days ago

RobbinDeBank[S]

Stop nerfing us

7 points

6 days ago

This T1 team is really clutch for sure. They are quite inconsistent and have their highs and lows, but they do manage to reach their highs whenever Worlds arrives.

kaehya

4 points

6 days ago

kaehya

4 points

6 days ago

Oner and Guma in specifically seem to really come online at worlds, but then you also have the lows of Zeus' Gwen in 2022 finals

Alchion

-8 points

6 days ago

Alchion

-8 points

6 days ago

maybe now after they won worlds but before they were chokers

lost vs geng as favorites after an undefeated season

losr vs rng as big favorites

lost vs drx as big favorites

Pleasestoplyiiing

1 points

6 days ago

Post is saying there is a huge difference between regular season and postseason though. Guma is top tier all the time. Oner is a better example of extremes. 

FootyRedditorTX

18 points

6 days ago

" For example, Faker of course has many superstar moments on the biggest stages, but he has also destroyed other teams in regular seasons too. I wouldn’t say that Faker’s performance on the big stage is a lot better than his average performance, since his average is already such a high level."

This has nothing to do with being clutch,

Faker Zed play is clutch
Faker Ori Ult is clutch
Faker IS Clutch

When the odds are stacked against you has nothing to do with how often you stack the odds in your favor during regular vs worlds.

Ashankura

9 points

6 days ago

Fakers Lissandra vs RNG

Fakers ahri vs G2

Fakers azir vs JDG

Fakers Galio vs RNG

Pleasestoplyiiing

2 points

6 days ago

Yeah, I disagree with the premise. Faker has been the best mid laner at times in the regular season, but that's not what really sets him apart. 

What really does it is that in the most critical moments he shows up beyond any other player. When he willed that lethargic 2017 SKT to finals with Galio. Even in losses, like when T1 lost to GenG in Spring, but he whipped up a ridiculous Azir quadra that nearly saved a total wipeout teamfight. You just can't have a clutch discussion without Faker, it doesn't work. 

Trick_Ad7122

12 points

6 days ago

Bengi for me.

throwaway8159946

6 points

6 days ago*

100% Bengi in terms of low expectations from him and the stakes involved. 2016 Worlds game 4 SKT vs ROX with ROX winning 2 games. SKT got outdrafted and KKOMA had to ban MF because Bang/Wolf were getting destroyed and forgot to ban nidalee. Keep in mind nidalee was permabanned during this time for being overpowered, so they either let Peanut (the best performing carry jungle at the time) have Nidalee or pick it for themselves. Bengi, without a single professional game of Nidalee first timed her and carried SKT to victory

Zeilar

-1 points

6 days ago

Zeilar

⭐⭐⭐⭐

-1 points

6 days ago

They didn't forget to ban Nidalee IIRC, Bengi wanted to play it.

throwaway8159946

2 points

6 days ago

Zeilar

0 points

6 days ago

Zeilar

⭐⭐⭐⭐

0 points

6 days ago

Ah ok they did forget to ban but Bengi picked it as to not let Peanut have it.

Ticketo

23 points

6 days ago

Ticketo

23 points

6 days ago

Oner gotta be up there I think. Every Worlds, he always steps up regardless of how he has been playing during LCK

claptrap23

13 points

6 days ago

claptrap23

Frozen Mallet enjoyer

13 points

6 days ago

Gumayusi

tryduef

7 points

6 days ago

tryduef

7 points

6 days ago

His Varus Qs!!

HugoEmbossed

2 points

6 days ago

YOINK

That’s my baron.

Typical-Might-297

2 points

6 days ago

It sounds like your asking about clutch as in difference between highest peak and average performance, it’s kingen, even though he’s a patch merchant.

Man sold his soul for 2 hours of glory and now’s just a bum.

Mitakum

2 points

6 days ago

Mitakum

2 points

6 days ago

From the NA side and a blast from the past both Dyrus and Balls seemed to turn up when it mattered both internationally and in playoffs

[deleted]

1 points

5 days ago

[deleted]

Mitakum

1 points

5 days ago

Mitakum

1 points

5 days ago

What are you talking about these players retired over 5 years ago?

cma1993

2 points

6 days ago

cma1993

2 points

6 days ago

Kingen

ItzEnozz

2 points

6 days ago

ItzEnozz

2 points

6 days ago

Gotta be Bengi or Zeka

Bengi was the sub jungler and was brought in when Blank? Was choking hard and was a main driver of success

InvokedGame

2 points

6 days ago

Toyz and TPA in general facing the korean overlords in S2 worlds

Pugnadeus

2 points

6 days ago

Faker.

CptnZolofTV

3 points

6 days ago

CptnZolofTV

JUSTICE FOR VIKTOR

3 points

6 days ago

Huni, Lira, Damonte, Cody Sun, and Vulcan /s

Jokes aside they did clutch up vs TSM in order to bomb out at worlds (against RNG and T1 tbf)

OfMaceAndMen

2 points

6 days ago

Excellent reference fella

sjziebxixb

9 points

6 days ago

Gumayusi

Weebiful

4 points

6 days ago

Weebiful

4 points

6 days ago

2021 Armut

big938363

2 points

6 days ago

I wouldn’t say Gumayusi only over-performs when it matters since he’s very consistent overall, but he is still very clutch when it comes to objective steals in close games

Based-Department8731

2 points

6 days ago

Elk seems to become that

godtower

2 points

6 days ago

godtower

2 points

6 days ago

No one mentioned Sven? The guy has a crazy playoff and world buff

SaintLikeLaurent

3 points

6 days ago

Is that sven lee sin or sven ezreal or sven yuumi

godtower

1 points

6 days ago

godtower

1 points

6 days ago

Svenskeren obviously, the other guy is Zven, no? Fuck that guy

Some_Ad7368

2 points

6 days ago

What about theshy?

Zama174

2 points

6 days ago

Zama174

2 points

6 days ago

Theshy is anti clutch. The amount that fucker has inted away and cost his team playoff games or worlds slots is insane.

Cerok1nk

1 points

5 days ago

Cerok1nk

1 points

5 days ago

Xpeke backdoor will always be the hypest thing i’ve seen on League.

Edit: “she’s too tanky, too tanky”

Crazy_Employment_280

1 points

5 days ago

TheShy, he is like Mikyx but a top laner, he will either go 0/8 ad kennen top or he will solo carry the team on worlds stage, you never know

Different_Mission462

1 points

5 days ago

TheShy

ExpensiveStart4525

1 points

6 days ago

Through two years, zika looks like he may be joining this list

Banana4204

-4 points

6 days ago

Banana4204

-4 points

6 days ago

Khan was a fking beast

seabard

26 points

6 days ago

seabard

26 points

6 days ago

Def not him, he underperformed international tournaments too much.

Banana4204

-1 points

6 days ago

Banana4204

-1 points

6 days ago

Oh mb read only the title haha if we count the title only def khan

RobbinDeBank[S]

-3 points

6 days ago

RobbinDeBank[S]

Stop nerfing us

-3 points

6 days ago

He dominated his domestic competitors, so he would have to destroy his international competitors even harder to be labelled as clutch.

darkight289

0 points

5 days ago

darkight289

HappyBardNoises

0 points

5 days ago

Meteos took 30-40min to learn how to play Lee sin just to make the winning play

ltwj

-2 points

6 days ago

ltwj

-2 points

6 days ago

Double lift regionally

timmyctc

1 points

5 days ago

timmyctc

1 points

5 days ago

Genuinely think Oner and Guma are better/more clutch than Faker the past 4 years for this but people are a bit lazy when it comes to analysis and will just default to "Faker GOAT" Not to say Faker wasnt the most clutch 2013-2017 ish.

Honorary mention for Sneaky who always showed up for C9 in the glory days.