LEC: Jackies thanks his coach after his massive turnaround

Doubted by many, Adam "Jackies" Jeřábek entered the LEC as an outsider this year. With little to no expectations and being part of a struggling team, most fans and analysts dismissed the young Czech mid laner, believing he would be just another rookie who would come and go in the League of Legends European scene. While the first two splits seemed to prove his critics right, Jackies is now on top of the LEC, showcasing his skills on GIANTX and asserting himself as a real threat to other mid laners. What changed?

Following two back-to-back 8th-place finishes in the LEC, GIANTX decided to go back to the drawing board in the summer. Welcoming top laner Antonio "Th3Antonio" Espinosa Bejarano, jungler Lee "Juhan" Ju-han, and, most importantly, assistant coach Nicolas Perez, the team is now attempting to accomplish what was deemed impossible: challenging the top squads of the LEC. While hopes and fan expectations seem to be rising, the team will have a lot to prove in the LEC 2024 Summer Playoffs if they wish to reach the Season Finals.

Despite multiple roster changes, the largest contributing factor behind GIANTX’s renewal is undoubtedly the rekindling of Jackies. Initially a liability for his team during the first half of 2024, the Czech player has worked hard during the summer season and achieved tremendous improvements in a short amount of time, boosting all of his laning stats from being among the bottom 3 mid laners of the league to being among the top 3.

A phenomenon much too common in Europe, Jackies was initially taken under the wings of GIANTX without proper guidance. Luckily for him, the team rapidly realized that things had to change, and with the arrival of Nicolas Perez, the Czech player now seems ready to take on the world. "Big up Nicolas Perez, individual coach effect" wrote Jackies on X on Monday. In an interview with Jackies himself, the player had already spoken Sheep Esports about this relationship: "Honestly, I'd attribute a lot of my improvements to our new assistant coach Nicolas Perez [...] I struggled with reading my opponents' intentions. Sometimes, I also couldn't really tell what I needed to do and where I had to be [...] I picked it all up quite fast, and he has really helped a lot."

As seen on Sheep Stats and on Jackies' own screenshot, the mid laner managed to turn around largely negative laning stats into some of the best of the league. To put things into perspective, among other mid laners in the league, Jackies now stands 2nd in CS Diff. at 15, 2nd in XP Diff. at 15, and 2nd in First Blood Participation. In addition to these great laning stats, Jackies has also found himself 1st in Kill Participation (76.2%) and 1st in Damage per Minute (802) when compared to other players in his field.

"Jackies faced some issues in his overall game knowledge. He is still a very new player and hasn't had a lot of experience, but he's very receptive to feedback and he's learning so fast now. Anyone can see that from how he has played this split compared to the start of the year," said Nicolas Perez in his interview with Sheep Esports. Despite ending the split at 3-6 in 7th place, Jackies has effectively cemented himself as a top contender in his role, elevating GIANTX to new heights.