Greatest or Best: Bjergsen and xPeke

Bjergsen. To most, he is considered the best league of legends player in the west. Hell, it's safe to say he's been the best for a few years now. He’s won multiple NA LCS titles and MVP's. He’s been so consistently great that he has received praise even from the greatest players across the globe. Yet and still, when it comes to the list of the greatest league of legends players to EVER come out of the west, he isn't number 1 on the list. In fact, he might not even be number 2 or 3.

If we're being honest, the greatest league of legends player in the West’s history would probably be xPeke although you could even make a case for a Froggen or a Yellowstar. Why is this the case? Why do so many consider Bjergsen to be the best but are so hesitant to put him into the status of the greatest in western history? It’s quite simple really. Let’s look specifically at the debate between someone like xPeke vs Bjergsen. The answer to who is the greater of the two becomes obvious after you understand the distinctions between the terms BEST and GREATEST. See, greatest and best, although seemingly the same word, have wildly different meanings in the context of sports and even e-sports.

Best refers more to pure skill level. The person in possession of the most skill, who can apply those skills in the most situations, the most consistently to achieve success. Bjergsen fits the bill perfectly. Bjergsen boasts an incredibly impressive 5.2 kDa with a kill participation of about 73%. Stats such as these helped create the Bjergsen + 4 wards memes back in season 5 where it seemed like a TSM victory was almost solely dependent on a Bjergsen carry. To go along with these stats are Bjergsen's impressive win percentages. Bjergsen win/loss record in his pro career is 239W-133L. That's a 64% win percentage. Quite impressive for a person who for a while worked with less than spectacular teammates(not so much anymore tho). To go along with the wins, he has 4 NA LCS titles and a record 3 NA LCS MVP’s. Even moving beyond stats, Bjergsen’s overall impact on the team as a leader should not be overlooked. He is constantly heralded as being one of the hardest working players the west has ever had, often inspiring teammates to stay up longer to practice more as he does the same. He’s also quite vocal, not only during the game as one of TSM’s primary shot callers but also out of games, leading discussions about issues, never letting his team be satisfied. To wrap it all up, he’s just clutch. Generally speaking, in the biggest moments, Bjergsen almost always shows up even if everything around him is falling apart. He usually finds a way to make one clutch play or call to either keep TSM in a game or flat out win them a game and he is rarely the reason they are behind(yes, I remember the Zilean game). With all that on the table, one would surmise Bjergsen is indeed the greatest western player of all time. There’s one problem. Being the greatest is more than just skill and abilities as a player. Being the greatest is winning at the highest levels. Being the greatest involves leaving a mark on your chosen sport or e-sport that can never be forgotten. This is precisely why xPeke is GREATER (at least for now) than Bjergsen.

At his heights, xPeke was also a very skilled player; maybe not as skilled as Bjergsen, but still extremely skilled nonetheless. To go along with this skill, xPeke had an uncanny ability to be clutch and to show up in the biggest moments. It’s partly because of this xPeke magic that Fnatic made it to the World Championship Semi-Final's in Season 3 and Origen repeated the feat in 2015. Most importantly, although it's an achievement that is not often taken very seriously, xPeke did win the first ever World Championship of League of Legends so he will forever be a former World Champion. Those are accomplishments Bjergsen just cannot measure up to. In fact, Bjergsen has yet to even make it past the quarterfinals of the World Championships. Therefore, his global impact in League of Legends in comparison to a comparably skilled player in xPeke is lacking.

One thing I will say is the argument for the greatest western player is not something that is set in stone. Even though I would still argue for xPeke being the greatest western player of all time as of this moment, Bjergsen still potentially has a few more years left in his career to achieve such success. It’s already been established that Bjergsen is probably the best western player ever in terms of total ability and capabilities if you look at it in a vacuum. Add on to that a semi final/finals appearance in a World Championship or two and this argument could change very quickly. We're just gonna have to wait and see.