Top 5 Emerging Toplane Talents in EMEA

In the LEC, the toplane suffers from a structural problem. The average level has stagnated, and aside from Vitality prodigy Okan “Naak Nako” Kaan, who has been showcasing his talent in the league since 2025, there have been very few top-tier prospects in recent years. The Turkish player appears to be the only one capable of challenging the dominance of Sergen "BrokenBlade" Çelik and Kim "Canna" Chang-dong. The 2026 crop has done little to alter that dynamic.

After two underwhelming splits, Panagiotis "Empyros" Tantis was benched by Fnatic ahead of the Summer Split. Sebastian "Tracyn" Wojtoń has not resolved the issues plaguing a Heretics roster that remains rooted near the bottom of the standings. After spending several seasons waiting in the wings at Karmine Corp, Volodymyr "Maynter" Sorokin also represented a potential answer, but he remains, for now, in the shadow of the region’s top players.

Some teams have instead opted to look towards South Korea. Following the success of Karmine’s toplaner, Shifters imported Shin "Rooster" Yun-hwan, while Fnatic recently set their sights on Lim "Soboro" Seong-min. Yet while GMs are looking to Korea for reinforcements, or recycling old formulas, as SK has done, promising profiles are emerging in Europe’s ERLs. In a ten-part series, Sheep Esports will explore the young prospects who could become options for LEC teams in the years to come.

For each role, five European talents and five players from around the world will be featured. We begin with a closer look at the European toplane: five young talents currently competing in minor ERLs who have yet to play in a major ERL. The aim is to shine a light on lesser-known names. We have therefore deliberately chosen not to feature players who are already well known and are considered candidates for promotion to — or a return to — the LEC, such as Francesco "Shelfmade" Cardia, Carl "Carlsen" Carlsen or KOI’s academy toplaner Ivan "NightSlayer" Bilous, who moved to Berlin to officially serve as Alex "Myrwn" Villarejo’s substitute.

After a strong individual split with Zerance last summer, Koala joined Karmine Corp’s second academy team, KC Blue Stars, in Tier 3. The young French toplaner quickly distinguished himself through his lane dominance. Koala has also managed to shed the OTP Irelia label that had followed him, putting together excellent performances on Jayce, Ambessa, and even Aurora.

KCBS are also the only undefeated team in the Nexus League, sitting at a score of 9-0, with Koala dominating his role. Similarly to Mehdi "Potent" Bouchaffra, who dominated LFL2 before being handed an opportunity in the LFL with Vitality.Bee, Koala could have plenty of LFL suitors in 2027. There is little doubt that he will be one of the most sought-after profiles in ERL1 next year… unless KCB once again snatches another talent from its own feeder team.

APP may be the most obvious toplane prospect to look at for the next few years in the ERLs. He arrived on the ERL scene in late 2024, playing in the second division of the Arabian League alongside Tarek "Sayn" Djoghlaf. He then cut his teeth in the EBL (Balkans) during the Summer Split with Hamza "Panda" Siala. In 2025, during his first full year in the EBL with a mid-table roster, APP continued to develop, eventually earning a move to Crvena Zvezda, with whom he finished second in the league and qualified for the EMEA Masters Play-Ins.

He delivered a particularly strong performance against Vitality.Bee, facing veteran Janik "JNX" Bartels in the process. After joining HMBLE in January 2026, he proceeded to dominate the Italian league. He followed that up at the EMEA Masters, putting together several standout performances against established names such as Tobiasz "Agresivoo" Ciba and Jarosław "Kozi" Marchewka. APP still needs to take another step in his career and prove himself alongside and against stronger players before he can seriously contend for the highest level. Although he is comfortably one of the best Rumble players in the ERLs, he continues to expand his champion pool every split. At the very least, he should be a target for the top teams in the PRM, LES and TCL. The LFL would also be well advised to keep an eye on him.

In the shadow of the KCBS toplaner, another Nexus League (LFL Tier 2) talent is emerging as one of the next promising toplaners in the ERLs. While the fawn has not attracted quite as much attention as the koala, he is no less intriguing a prospect. The young Russian has steadily developed his game, showing continuous improvement throughout the year. Although his matchups against Koala have gone in the latter’s favour, Bambi remains a significant threat in his league. Consistently finding himself ahead of his opponents, he is capable of both carrying his team through picks such as Irelia and Jayce and serving as an effective weak-side player when his team requires it.

PCS are 8-1 in the Nexus League and currently sit second behind KCBS. It is therefore highly likely that the Nexus League will culminate in another clash between the two toplane prospects. PCS will presumably be targeting the LFL Up & Down, while Bambi is certain to attract attention from LEC academy teams and ambitious ERL organizations. Bambi has also already gained some EMEA Masters experience, having spent his first split in the LIT, Italy’s regional league.

In fourth position, we’re making a slight exception to the rule as Niqkl is playing his first split in a major ERL, in the LES, with LUA Gaming. The Austrian toplaner began his career in 2025 in the second division of the German league with TOG Academy, an organization that has developed a habit of bringing promising prospects through the ranks every year. Towards the end of the year, he joined DKB XPERION NXT, where he played alongside players such as Rocco "Looki" Palfi and Aymen "Aymen" Zeghina and achieved some impressive results.

The 19-year-old is capable of performing on the weak side, but he is above all a young iteration of Adam, with K’Sante, Sett and Darius among his signature picks. Niqkl has already made it to the LVP after a mediocre but coherent split given the level of his roster and league. Considering his talent, however, it would be reasonable to expect him to perform at a higher level during his second full year in the ERLs. While the chances of him joining the strongest ERL, the LFL, remain slim, he is one of the many promising toplaners in the LES who should remain on teams’ radars over the coming years.

Still largely under the radar on the European scene, Zs is nevertheless one of the toplane’s most intriguing prospects for the years ahead. He reached Challenger at just 15, primarily playing Darius and K’Sante, before making a name for himself in spring 2025 and joining Rich Gang in the NLC. Unfortunately for him, the split turned into a nightmare. The team failed to win a single match, making Zs’ first ERL experience a decidedly mixed one from a spectator’s perspective.

Nevertheless, after spending nearly a year focusing on SoloQ, the player returned to the Prime League 2 with Hannover Esports e.V. The team finished third in its group, while Zs delivered genuinely strong individual performances, particularly on Darius. While seeing him in the LFL or an equivalent league in 2027 remains unlikely, it would not be surprising to see this raw talent emerge as a target for academy teams. For the record, Zs is a fan of Kylian Mbappé. That could be a useful selling point if anyone wants to lure him into the French league…

Through these five profiles, one conclusion stands out: European toplane is not short on talent, quite the contrary. Every season, dozens of very young players emerge across Europe, and it is important to guide them and help them develop. This is why projects such as KCBS, Movistar KOI Karps, and the work carried out by Nicolas Perez, G2 NORD’s Head Coach in the Prime League, through his Trainee’s Project deserve support.

They could have made the list:

Raffy (Crystal Rose, LFL2, 17, Italian) — Yeti (Skillcamp, LFL, 19, Polish) — Patan (MKOI Karps, 18, Serbian) — Krest (LFT, 19, Moroccan) — Krasito (Garden Gaming, LDG, 17, Bulgarian)

The next instalment of this series will arrive in the coming weeks, focusing on top emerging talents from around the world. The plan includes a tour across Brazil, Japan, North America, Korea and beyond… Bookmark this article for the next transfer window.