DLTV Best Player Awards Of 2023, Position 2: Fifth Place
DLTV opens the top five Mid Laners of 2023, with the fifth spot going to Mikoto. Right now, he isn’t having the best time in his new team, BLEED Esports, but over the past twelve months, there have been a lot of games where the player single-handedly pulled victories out of his magic hat.
Together with Talon Esports, Mikoto achieved the following results in 2023:
- 9th place at DreamLeague S19
- 3rd place at Lima Major 2023
- 7th place at Berlin Major 2023
- 4th place at DreamLeague S20
- 3rd place at Riyadh Masters 2023
- 11th place at DreamLeague S21
- 10th place at The International 12
Talon had a very volatile year with inconsistent results and multiple deep runs. Sometimes, they could beat teams like Gaimin Gladiators but lose to weaker ones right after. Throughout all this adversity, Mikoto displayed some incredible performances, which can be reflected by his statistics relative to other Mid Laners:
- Top 1 KDA: 6.20 (Among all roles)
- Top 3 Average Kills Per Game: 7.96
- Top 3 Average Damage Per Game: 30170
Mikoto was regarded as one of the best laners of 2023, often outplaying his opponents in creep score even if the matchup was unfavorable for him. He was especially strong when it came to mobile heroes with high magic damage, such as:
- Ember Spirit (57% Win Rate)
- Storm Spirit (60% Win Rate)
- Puck (70% Win Rate)
The Indonesian “overperformed” at the most expensive tournament of 2023, Riyadh Masters 2023, where Talon Esports finished third. Despite not winning the event, or even making it to the top two, Mikoto was crowned the overall tournament MVP, finishing ahead of Yatoro, who lifted the trophy in Riyadh.
To everyone’s surprise, Mikoto departed from the Talon Esports lineup, which is now Team Aurora. The 23-year-old expressed his desire to play in a European team, and though we thought his performance throughout last year would guarantee him a spot in a Tier 1 team in Europe, he ended up back in Southeast Asia.
Right now, he is acting as the best player in BLEED, but unfortunately, the team failed to qualify for DreamLeague Season 22.