The 10th League of Legends World Championship is just around the corner, and with it, the best in the world will showcase their skills at all five positions. Starting today we'll look at all the spots on the Rift and give you our top five, starting with the supports.
Zuo "LvMao" Ming-Hao (JD Gaming)
It's difficult to know where to begin with LvMao and his value to JD Gaming, and ultimately it's either him or Beryl for this top position. There's an argument for both, and while their playstyles aren't identical, they play similar roles for their teams. For years, LvMao has caught analyst's eyes for his oddball champion pool and understanding of the game. He's not always the most consistent player, but he's a driving force for what JDG wants to do, particularly in teamfights, and has the skill to pull off some world-class plays that make every League of Legends fan pay attention (yes, I'm talking about the Bard ult in the spring finals). JDG is an odd team in that their drafting and playstyle cover up their individual players' weaknesses, but they also can sometimes hide their individual strengths when it becomes a team victory. Regardless of what happens, LvMao is always a fun player to watch. -- Emily Rand
Cho "BeryL" Geon-hee (DAMWON Gaming)
It's not a question of if Beryl is going to roam the map, it's only a question of when and where he decides to do so. DAMWON Gaming is a team that loves to push the tempo and end games like they're playing League of Legends as part of the Games Done Quick, with a lot of that high-tempo success stemming from their star support. He's played a myriad of aggressive engage champions this summer, but no more so than his signature Pantheon, which he recorded an overall record of 9-1 on as he used the champion's kit to begin fights all across the map to snowball lead for his teammates. As long as the meta allows for Beryl to play his Pantheons and Alistars of the world without needing to play ranged enchanters, there's an argument to be made that he could be the most influential player at the 2020 world championship. Teammates like Heo "ShowMaker" Su and Jang "Nuguri" Ha-gwon will be the spotlighted faces of South Korea's No. 1 player, but don't be mistaken, Beryl is just as integral to DWG as anyone in the starting lineup. -- Tyler Erzberger
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Ryu "Keria" Min-seok (DRX)
If there was a Rookie of the Year award that spanned all of competitive League of Legends, it'd go to Keria, hands down. The rookie support came into DRX with high expectations, as his legendary AD carry partner Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu lauded him as one of the best support players in South Korea before he had even debuted in pro play. Deft was right -- Keria is one of the best supports in South Korea.
Keria's playoff performance left a bit to be desired, hence why he's a bit lower on this list that some many have him, but his regular season was killer. He and Deft were one of the best bot lanes almost all season. Coming into the world championship expect Keria to be highly discussed. -- Jacob Wolf
Hu "SwordArt" Shuo-Chieh (Suning)
Anyone who has watched SwordArt since his time on Gamania Bears knows how intelligent and talented of a player he is and was for the GPL and LMS. He's now returning to the worlds stage with Suning. This is a strong meta for SwordArt in that he can play the tanky initiators he loves and roam when he wants while also aiding huanfeng in lane. -- Emily Rand
Norman "Kaiser" Kaiser (MAD Lions)
Another rookie support who had a breakout year was Kaiser. When it was announced that Splyce would rebrand to MAD Lions and basically nuke its world championship roster to invest in young talent, expectations were understandably very low. But Kaiser and his band of rookies and young players were highly regarded among fans of the European Regional Leagues. Then their League European Championship season took off.
It's been a wild year for Kaiser. He's become the best support in Europe, even better than Mihael "Mikyx" Mehle and Oskar "VandeR" Bogdan, each who had great seasons of their own. -- Jacob Wolf