’s Kaan “
” Okan has been named MVP of the LEC Spring Split regular season, capping a campaign in which he established himself as the defining toplaner of the league and, increasingly, one of its central figures.
The announcement, made by the LEC on Sunday, a few minutes before Vitality’s match against
in the playoffs upper bracket, confirmed what had felt inevitable for several weeks. Naak Nako’s performances had separated him from the rest of the field, even in a race that, on paper, included strong competition. In
the final vote, he secured 16 first-place votes, alongside 11 second-place and six third-place selections. Joseph Joon "
" Pyun, his closest rival, actually edged him in first-place votes with 17, but lacked the overall consistency across ballots to take the award.
Among the 40 voters, Naak Nako’s dominance within his role was even clearer. He received 35 votes as the best toplaner in the league and was a unanimous presence in the
LEC Spring All-Pro First Team, alongside Rudy “
” Semaan, Jojopyun, Caliste "
" Henry-Hennebert and Alan "
" Cwalina. It marks the first time a toplaner has claimed the MVP award since Tamás “
” Kiss did so in Spring 2017 with Unicorns of Love — a reminder of how rarely the role commands this level of recognition.
A split above the rest
“There was not much competition so… I was expecting it,” Naak Nako said on the LEC broadcast after receiving the award, a line delivered with a mix of confidence and matter-of-fact clarity that reflected the nature of his split.
Statistically, his case is difficult to argue against. He finished the regular season at or near the top of every key metric for his role: first in KDA, first in CS per minute, first in gold difference at 15 minutes, and leader in solo kills. It was not just that he performed well — it was that he consistently outpaced his direct opposition, game after game.
The face of Vitality’s rise
Yet the significance of this moment stretches beyond individual accolades.
Having joined Vitality.Bee in the LFL in 2024, Naak Nako’s rise now stands as one of the clearest success stories of the organization’s development pipeline. In a structure that had struggled in the past to elevate emerging talent to the highest level, he has become both proof of concept and the face of a new direction.
Vitality’s regular season, finished at 8–1 and top of the standings, owes much to that evolution. With Naak Nako at the center of it, the team not only found consistency but identity — and in a split where both were in short supply elsewhere, that ultimately made all the difference.
