The
LEC season is drawing to a close, and it will soon be time to take stock. Riot Games, however, did not wait for the conclusion of the Summer Split to start handing out its awards. This Friday, the publisher revealed the identity of the
Rookie of the Year in the EMEA
League of Legends league. The award went to
jungler
, who received the accolade on stage in Berlin just minutes before his team’s elimination playoff match against
.
“It feels amazing, to be honest. But this is just the tip of the iceberg for me,” the player
said in an interview with Eefje "Sjokz" Depoortere.
“It’s just the start of many good things. I want to become so much better. I want to get more awards. I want to get more MVPs, more things, achieve more stuff.” The NAVI jungler also reflected on his first year in the LEC: “I came with the mindset of, ‘Oh, it’s my first year in the LEC, I’m a rookie, I’m just 20 years old, and people are not expecting much from me, just because I’m young compared to other junglers.’ But I knew my limits. I knew my potential. So I just worked as much as I could. I built my discipline, and I trusted my teammates. Also, my coaches helped me a lot. They were, most of the time, with me, teaching me a lot. And it was an amazing year. But the year is not going to end today.”
Rhilech succeeds Caliste
In the voting, Rhilech finished ahead of
AD Carry
and
toplaner
, both of whom endured a difficult year collectively with their respective teams. The Turkish player
also succeeds ,
’s young franchise player, as the award’s latest recipient. He joins a list of junglers who went on to leave their mark on the league after winning the accolade, including
,
,
and
, who
now plays in NA.
The result also confirms that NAVI’s gamble has paid off. Last summer, the Ukrainian organization made its LEC debut after
taking over Rogue’s slot — and made an unusual move in the jungle. NAVI signed
for the Summer Split
while also acquiring Rhilech from BK ROG Esports, with the intention of keeping him in reserve for 2026. As a result, Rhilech did not play on the competitive stage during the final part of the previous season. Following an offseason
that notably saw interest from Fnatic, he resurfaced at the beginning of 2026, stepping straight into the deep end for the LEC Versus.
This season, on a relatively inexperienced roster, Rhilech has been the metronome of his team and arguably its best player. This summer, following the regular season, he
was named to the LEC’s 3rd All-Pro Team —
the only NAVI player to receive an individual accolade. Collectively, however, the results have been more mixed. NAVI finished 5th-6th in both the LEC Versus and the Spring Split. They therefore have one final opportunity this Summer to improve on those results, with GX standing as their first obstacle.
