Through two-and-a-half weeks at the 2016 League of Legends World Championships, the best player in the world is neither Song Smeb Kyung-ho of the ROX Tigers or the games all-time greatest, Lee Faker Sang-hyeok. The narrative before the tournament was the race between Smeb and Faker. The usurper (Smeb) and the king (Faker) both aim for the throne that is only big enough for one of them.Instead, it is the man sitting a few seats down from Faker, Bae Bang Jun-sik, 20, solemn in expression, as he completes another multi-man kill from the backlines of another successful team fight to take the individual top spot in the tournament so far. Last year, Bang was a completely different player, in terms of play and appearance. The marksmen has lost weight throughout the 2016 year, and his play in-game has transitioned from a follower to a leader.When Jang MaRin Gyeong-Hwan was on the team last year, a majority of T1s resources went toward Faker in the mid lane and MaRin in the top lane. For Bang, his job was to play safe and keep himself alive alongside support partner Lee Wolf Jae-wan until the laning phase ended and he could start picking stragglers off with his refined positioning and mobility in skirmishes.Last year at the world championships, where he and SKT T1 would go on to win the Summoners Cup with only one loss, Bang averaged -3 CS in the first 10 minutes of the game. It didnt matter if he was behind in the laning phase or wasnt leaping into a lead like MaRin or Faker. His job was to play safe and smart. Dont die. Weave in and out of trouble, and hopefully, when the clock hits 20 minutes on the timer, he could start making an impact.This tournament, however, it has been an entirely different story with MaRin gone and replaced by Lee Duke Ho-seong. Bang has been situated in a more forward-facing carrying role this year, and it hasnt changed at the world championships. He was the top player in the group stages when it came to CS differential at 10 (+14) and No. 1 in KDA (12.2) and gold differential at 10 (428). When the jungle faltered in the group stages, Duke underperformed or Faker wasnt at his best, Bang was as steady as could be, carrying the team with a remarkable easy-going nature in the way he plays. Through the group stages and first round of the bracket stage, he has settled on a quartet of champions: Ezreal (3-1), Jhin (3-0), Sivir (1-1) and Caitlyn (1-0).In 10 games, Bang has died only nine times. He kept up with RNGs top-level bottom lane Jian Uzi Zi-Hao and Cho Mata Se-hyeong, who was consistently pressured by their teammate Liu Mlxg Shi-Yu from the jungle. No longer is Bang only surviving like he did last year in the laning phase, but hes thriving, not afraid to trade with the best marksmen in the world and push forward in-lane. The only game that SKT lost to RNG, Game 1 of the series, might have been Bangs best game of the night, going 5/1/1 on Ezreal in a clinic of how good he truly is -- not just as a cog in the machine, but as the machine itself.He ended the first game (in a losing effort) with 42.3K damage. Uzi finished with 27.5K on Jhin. The next three games, in which he would win, Bang put up equally big numbers: finishing with a scoreline of 19/4/25 for the series. This against arguably the best bottom lane in the world. Bang not only showed up, he surpassed expectations, defeating a bottom lane with Wolf that receives almost all of RNGs attention and resources.H2k Gamings Konstantinos-Napoleon FORG1VEN Tzortziou, who plays Sunday in his quarterfinal, is in the running. Faker, as always, is right there. A few of the Samsung Galaxy members like Lee CuVee Seong-jin and Jo Core JJ Yong-in deserve serious recognition. Kim Deft Hyuk-kyu, the consensus best AD in the world heading into the tournament, also isnt done just yet.But right now, following SKT T1s dissection of Uzi, Mata, and the entirety of Royal Never Give Up, there is one man who leads the pack as the best at the world championships.He is 48/9/57 through 10 games. He has the second least amount of deaths of any AD carry at Worlds even with the four extra games played. He has the most kills. He has the highest KDA. He is playing the best of the best at his position, and hes soaring, playing the best League of Legends of his career.Faker can be the god. Bang, for now, is content being the ace, leading SK Telecom T1 to Madison Square Garden next week for the semifinals. Reds Jerseys 2019 . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday to increase her lead to five strokes after the second round of the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament. Reds Jerseys China .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. https://www.cheapredsjerseys.us/ .com) - Following a late-game loss to the reigning NBA champs, the Toronto Raptors will look to sustain their recent high-level play as they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers. Cheap Reds Jerseys . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. Wholesale Reds Jerseys . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Perhaps it simply took a whirlwind trip to the White House for the Kansas City Royals to remember that theyre the reigning World Series champions.Danny Duffy scattered four hits while pitching into the seventh inning, the Royals scratched out three runs off the Rangers Yu Darvish, and Kansas City shrugged off a sluggish start to the second half to beat Texas 3-1 on Friday night in the opener of their three-game series.I think being around the guys on an off day was a positive, said Duffy, who along with the rest of the Royals slipped out of town to see President Barack Obama in the midst of a long homestand. We got to do something not a lot of people get to do.The Royals had dropped four of six since the All-Star break before Friday night, when Duffy (6-1) gave up only Rougned Odors homer in the fourth inning. The left-hander struck out four, walked two and gave his bullpen a breather on a steamy evening that began with a heat index of 108 degrees.Luke Hochevar wiggled out of Duffys jam to end the seventh, Kelvin Herrera pitched a perfect eighth and Wade Davis worked around a two-out single in the ninth for his 21st save.The victory kept the Royals (48-47) from dropping below .500 for the first time since May 17.Duffys got a big fastball with a quality changeup and breaking ball. He was really tough on us, Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. A quality start, a quality starter, hes been doing that all year.Darvish (2-2) nearly matched Duffy in his third start off the disabled list. He allowed single runs in each of the first three innings, struck out 11 and made only one big mistake -- Cheslor Cuthberts home run.I feel really good about where Yu is at and what he showed us tonight, Banister said.Still, it wasnt good enough to keep the AL West-leading Rangers from losing for the eighth time in nine games. The slide has been marked by poor pitching, inconsistent hitting and a series of devastating injuries -- sluggers Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo went on the DL earlier this week.Without them, the Rangers certainly struggled to create scoring chances Friday night.ddddddddddddDuffy carved through the lineup without allowing a hit the first time through, the only baserunner a walk to Elvis Andrus. He went on to load the bases on a single and hit batter in the third inning, but Duffy calmly struck out Ian Desmond on three pitches to leave them stranded.His only other trouble came when he put runners on the corners with two outs in the seventh, forcing Hochevar in from the bullpen. He got pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland on a liner to preserve a 3-1 lead.They built it in typical Royals fashion: They scored a run in the first on a single, stolen base, error and groundout then scored again in the second on a walk, stolen base and consecutive singles.It wasnt until Cuthbert went deep leading off the third that they made Darvish look fallible.Darvish is a really good pitcher, Royals manager Ned Yost said. To scratch out two runs early is perfect situational baseball, to give us that lead early.ROSTER MOVESThe Rangers reinstated LHP Jake Diekman (cut left index finger) from the DL and designated LHP Cesar Ramos for assignment. Diekman last pitched July 5 at Boston.TRAINERS ROOMRangers: Fielder will see neck specialist Dr. Drew Dossett on Monday. The DH/1B is facing the prospect of season-ending neck surgery after an MRI earlier this week revealed a herniated disk near an area that was repaired two years ago. Dossett also performed that procedure.Royals: CF Lorenzo Cain (left hamstring strain) hoped to begin a rehab assignment his weekend, but it has been pushed back to early next week. Hes been on the DL since June 29. He was pushing it too hard two days ago and just kind of fatigued his leg, Yost said. Not a setback by any stretch.UP NEXTRangers LHP Cole Hamels, who tossed eight sharp innings in a win over the Cubs his last time out, makes his first career start at Kauffman Stadium on Saturday. He faces Royals RHP Yordano Ventura. ' ' '