The top lane pool for the 2022 LCS season is similar to that of 2021, but the changes, while few in number, are quite significant. Of all ten LCS teams, only Dignitas, 100 Thieves, and Evil Geniuses have retained the same player in the starting AD Carry position from the end of last season.

Whether these players will thrive in their new environments will have to wait to be seen, but with new faces joining the LCS, veterans looking for a change of scenery, and familiar faces reprising their roles from last season, it's undeniable that the competition for the title of best LCS bot laner will be fierce.

Here are Inven Global's rankings of the best AD carries competing in the 2022 LCS season.

5: Edward "Tactical" Ra — TSM

After nearly two full seasons with Team Liquid, Tactical is starting the third season of his LCS career in new, but familiar threads. In 2022, Tactical will be starting for TSM, where he started his professional career on TSM Academy in 2019, and in doing so, reuniting with his former TSMA jungler Mingyi "Spica" Lu. 

Tactical ended his rookie season with a strong performance at the 2020 World Championship, but 2021 was a sophomore slump for Team Liquid's sharpshooter pockmarked by mispositionings and individual overaggression. Tactical improved as the season went on, but he has yet to return to his peak level of play shown at Worlds 2020 and it remains to be seen if he will be able to immediately pick up where he left off last season. 

4: Toàn "Neo" Trần — Dignitas

Alongside support Zaqueri "aphromoo" Black, Neo was quietly one of the strongest AD carries in the 2021 LCS. Despite DIG having a streaky season highlighted by the mid-summer ousting of starting jungler Joshua "Dardoch" Hartnett, Neo and aphromoo remained the sole bright spot in a loss and the primary win condition in a DIG victory throughout 2021. 

Despite a strong performance, it must be highlighted that aphromoo has experienced a career resurgence on Dignitas and the last time he parted ways with a bot laner was when Johnson "Johnsun" Nguyen left DIG for FlyQuest in 2021. Last season, Johnsun had far less success on an individual level than when he was laning with aphromoo, and with aphromoo reunting with Johnsun on FlyQuest for this season, Neo will have to prove he can be elite with a new duo partner. 

3: Kyle "Danny" Sakamaki — Evil Geniuses

Danny jumped up from amateur squad Evil Geniuses Prodigies all the way to the LCS after last spring, and after immediately settling into his new role in the Summer Split, he established himself as one of the best AD Carries in the LCS and revived hope in North American talent development.

There is a very real chance that Danny will top a list similar to this one by the end of this year. He's 18 years old and is already a star North American talent after one split of LCS competition. However, as far as the start of the season is concerned, there are still a few of his peers that best him due to their compararitive wealth of experience. 

2: Victor "FBI" Huang — 100 Thieves

After a breakout performance on Golden Guardians in 2020, FBI was acquired by 100 Thieves alongside three of his teammates, including support Choi "huhi" Jae-hyun. On 100 Thieves, FBI won his first LCS title last summer and attended his first World Championship as a North American representative. 

FBI was, without a doubt, the most well-rounded AD carry throughout the 2021 LCS season, and it's hard to argue there was a bot lane duo in the LCS superior to he and huhi. However, a new face in North America narrowly beats out FBI for the best ADC in the LCS this year. 

1: Steven "Hans sama" Liv — Team Liquid

Hans sama has established himself as a top ADC talent for years in the LEC, and he could not be coming to NA off of a higher note. Hans sama wasn't just the best Western AD carry at Worlds 2021, he was the best player on any of the North American or European representatives. After what might be the strongest individual performance of his career, Hans sama has come to North America for a new opportunity with Team Liquid, and with it, new challenges.

Team Liquid plans to pair the French marksman with support Jo "CoreJJ" Yong-in to form the best bot lane in the LCS. It's entirely possible that Hans sama will need some time to familiarize himself with the competition, but pound-for-pound, there's no better AD carry in the 2022 LCS.