Best Mid Laners in League of Legends leading into 2023

Which are the best mid laners in League of Legends in season 13?

The mid lane position has always been the most highly coveted role in League of Legends. Being a mid laner requires not only great mechanical skills and carry potential, but also a great understanding of how to coordinate with teammates to make action on the map.

With the start of the new season, we’ve started seeing a large variety of champions played, giving mid laners options on how they want to be an impactful factor. While some prefer to play carry champions, others prefer having a cover a more utility role. That said, strong mid laners will be able to be proficient at both, performing consistently at a high level.

In this list, we take a look at the most dominant mid laners currently within each region. As we compare team strength internationally, how do these elite players shape up in a head-to-head battle?

Image Credits | Riot Games

1. LCK – Chovy, Faker, Showmaker, Zeka

Starting off our list, we’re taking at the most stacked region in the world: Korea. After winning Worlds and having all four representatives in the top eight, it seems like Korea is back as the number one region in the world.

Korea has always pushed out great mid lane players and this year the league is set to have one of the most competitive mid lane pools ever. First, the league still has the most mechanical and individually talented player Chovy, who despite a disappointing end to the 2022 season, is still a top-tier mid laner. When it comes to the early game and laning phase, no one is as exceptional and perfect as Chovy is. Now that he won his first-ever LCK title, this might be the year he enters among the elite of the legendary mids.

Photo Credits | Lance Skundrich via Riot Games

Speaking of legendary mids, there are two currently only two players that have this status, and both are still playing in the LCK. Faker and Showmaker have defined the Korean legacy in the last decade, with Showmaker trailing behind the GOAT.

Despite playing all these years, both mid laners are still at a top level and they don’t seem to stop anytime soon. Shotcalling, mechanics nad leadership, Showmaker and Faker have it all. With T1 and DK having insane lineups going into 2023, the two players will pour their everything to make sure they can win another world title.

READ ALSO: Which country has the best Esports gamers in 2023?

Regarding world championships, we must mention the recent world champions DRX and its mid laner Zeka. After proving his worth last year, he has finally entered into the talks to become among the very best. That said, while the first three have established themselves throughout the years, Zeka will have the hard goal of being consistently at the top of his game going forward. To determine whether he can stay in the elite pool of Korean mid laners, we will have to see his performance in 2023.

1. LPL – Xiaohu, Knight

In the last few years, the LPL mid laners have taken League by storm thanks to their insane laning and mechanical outplays. Last year, though, the LPL mids went under the radar, with some players failing to perform at international stages. One of these is knight who was knocked out at Worlds group stage when playing on Top Esports.

Despite the elimination, he had a strong 2022, with several carry performances, solo kills and being consistently among the best mids in the league. Now that he joined JD Gaming, knight might have the chance to redeem himself this year.

Image Credits | @lplenglish Twitter

Xiaohu is also another player looking for redemption and changed teams during the offseason. Just like knight, he joined the other top dog of the LPL Weibo Gaming. While he’s not mechanically as strong as knight, Xiaohu brings years and years of competitive experience at the highest level and strong leadership. With such strong players like TheShy on WBG, Xiaohu might be the perfect fit to take full advantage of these strengths.

3. LEC – Larssen, Caps

EU has been notoriously famous for growing great mid lane talents… so many that a few of them ended up going to NA. Despite that, the best ones have decided to remain in Europe, hoping to bring some glory to the western world.

The 2022 season was probably the best for Larssen, who won his first-ever LEC title and managed to get into the top eight at Worlds.

After years of being considered the eternal number three in the league, Larssen stepped up in the last two years, becoming more aggressive and taking up his role as a primary carry. His performances proved that he can become the best mid laner EU currently has. That said, Larssen will always be compared with Caps, who is ready to dethrone him anytime he doesn’t deliver.

Image Credits | Riot Games

The Danish mid laner was the best-performing player on the G2 roster, but it wasn’t enough to bring G2 further than a Worlds Group stage finish. Unfortunately, strong mid laners are not enough to become a top-tier team in League anymore. That being said, Caps keeps on delivering year after year and 2023 will not stop the player who was once named the “best talent EU has ever produced”.

4. LCS – VicLa, jojopyun

To close off our list, we have NA. The mid lane pool has always been a little lackluster in North America, with several imports mids going to the region to increase the competitive level. While this trend is still continuing, there is one mid laner who managed to prove his worth and climb as one of the best mids in NA. And that player is jojopyun.

The Canadian mid took the league by storm after gaining recognition as a solo queue prodigy back in 2020. After spending one year in academy, jojopyun became EG’s starting mid laner in 2022 and immediately making a name for himself thanks to impressive laning skills. Now that he gained more experience, the 18-year old is ready to make another major step up, hoping to become the greatest domestic mid lane talent.

Image Credits | Colin Young-Wolff via ESPAT

For that to happen, though, jojopyun will have to prove he can beat the current number one mid in NA: VicLa. The Korean import joined FlyQuest during the offseason after a solid season in KT Rolster. While he wasn’t among the elite four in the LCK, VicLa was on a growing trajectory as a strong mid laner. Now that he’s in the LCS, everyone will have their eyes on him: if he destroys the rest of the LCS mid laners, then that will prove that there’s still a significant gap to the best mids in the world.

So, what do you think of our lol mid lane list? Did we miss anyone? Let us know!

Read also: NA LCS Power Rankings