With the start of the EMEA Masters - the competition between the best national teams of the region - begins the hunt for new talents and young promises to be discovered. A new format with more teams also calls for more players that can attract attention and be considered for the top teams in the ERL or even make the jump to the LEC. This EMEA Masters is full of players with a lot of potential, old friends, players who have come down from the LEC and players who are about to move up to the LEC. Naturally, the players that will have most eyes on are already well known from the public at large : Caliste, Parus, Jackspektra, Xerxe, Jnx, UNF0RGIVEN... and a long list of names but in this article we will present you 5 players to follow who are not as famous as those mentioned above but who will give a lot to talk about during the tournament:

UOL Sexy Edition Shelfmade
Francesco "Shelfmade" Cardia is one of the youngest talents to emerge this season. The Italian/German top laner has been proclaimed champion of the Prime League with only 17 years and a little more than a year playing competitively, Shelfmade seems to be one of the new promises of the toplane. At the beginning of the year Shelfmade and Addusto dueled for the starting position of the German team but eventually Shelfmade took the starting position and after an impressive first debut game with a 6/0/3 Gwen there were no doubts about his talent. A player who is currently stuck more in a weak side role due to the strengths in other positions of his team but also able to bring out carries whenever it is necessary.

Venomcrest Theocacs
Theo "Theocacs" Sauda debuted this year for the first time in an ERL by being crowned NLC champion. A 17 year old jungler mechanically ready to battle against any opponent capable of playing both champions to provide utility and carrys to take the resources and be able to lead his team. A mix of qualities that will surely give us something to talk about during his first EMEA Masters. The jungler made a big jump since he played for the French third division (Open tour), earlier this year with Nameless.

Misa Mercy9
Cengizhan "Mercy9" Teker is another of the young promises of the tournament. The 19 year old Turkish mid laner made his EMEA debut yesterday with an unexpected victory over UOL Sexy Edition. One of the most mechanically fit mid laners of the tournament without a doubt, he stands out for the versatility of champions he is able to play and the ease he has to generate only advantages for himself and move them being one of the mid laners with more CS lead and gold difference before the 15th minute mark of the tournament.

Ramboot Rin
Khalil "Rin" Sahraoui is the sensation of the Super League, the Algerian marksman has had an impressive debut leading Ramboot to a third place in addition to being the standard bearer of his team and star player. An ADC with exquisite positioning in team fights as well as being very good at managing the advantages the team is able to get for him. Throughout the season he has been one of the most clutch players and although he is not so flashy in the laning phase, he will leave a lot of sparks during his time at EMEA Masters.

Vitality Bee Stend
Paul "Stend" Lardin is an old acquaintance already, after his time at KOI he landed back in the LFL together with Jopa and with Vitality Bee, they have been one of the standout botlanes of the competition. Considered one of the best supports in the LFL, the French support is already looking to establish itself as one of the possible replacements for the generational changes that are happening in the LEC. Especially since he beat T1 famous support, Ryu "Keria" Min-seok, multiple times in champions queue, during MSI 2023…

Honorific mentions:
Los Heretics Carlsen
Carl Ulsted "Carlsen" Carlsen has been the revelation player of the year in the Super League without a doubt. The Danish top laner has managed in just two splits to be crowned as the best top of the league, a player who despite being 18 years old seems already a war veteran, able to adapt to any role in the game we have seen him wreaking havoc to opponents playing tanks or carries. Standing out being surrounded by EMEA champion players like Jackspektra, Whiteinn, or even very experienced players like Xerxe is never an easy task and that makes his performance even more meritorious.

Barca eSports Sajator
Jan "SAJATOR" Zítek is another player who has stood out in the Superliga. Despite not being a rookie anymore, Sajator has had this year the explosion that the player needed to establish himself as one of the best if not the best mid laner of the Superliga. He has been one of the decisive players for Barca's top 2 and a player with great ease to take advantage in line and carry the game on his back.

Macko DenVoksne
Nikolaj "DenVoksne" Meilby has already made himself noticed last year, after pushing Karmine Corp to a tiebreak in the group C with his team, Nativz. Especially since his former teammate Vladimiros "Vladi" Kourtidis joined KC in 2024, and even the Danish did so by stepping in for the French org, during the Coupe de France. But even though the AD Carry did well with Nativz, KC, and Macko, this summer, he still didn't get a shot in a major ERL. No doubt he will do his best to prove himself, once and for all, during these EMEA Masters.