NOMINEES FOR Breakout Player of the Year
Harrison Frye, Los Angeles Infamous.
When it comes to offensive versatility, Harrison Frye had arguably the biggest breakout of the year. His ability to attack and create pressure at all levels of the field was elite in the 2021 season and he was a big reason behind the success of Infamous. Whether he was hunting through the center and cutting gaps through the oppositions guard, or methodically attacking down the snake side, he was a near super-star level talent.
Dany Schonauer, Columbus LVL.
Dany was a huge reason for the late season charge made by Columbus LVL. Put simply, it is difficult to win in the pro NXL division without an aggressive and reliable snake attacker. Dany came into the season relatively under the radar and ended the year as one of the best snake attackers in the league. His breakout performance in Chicago led his team deep into Sunday and they once again surprised the league at World Cup with a solid 2-2 record, nearly making Sunday for the second event in a row behind Dany.
Mike Urena, San Diego Dynasty.
For years, San Diego Dynasty had worked around the lack of an elite snake attacker; in 2021 everything changed. Mike Urena came from a humble background, playing for lower-tier pro teams like Scottsdale Elevation, and after joining Dynasty he had a relatively quiet season in 2020. This year however, Mike broke out into a role as one of the best snake attackers in the pro division. He has a more methodical approach to the position, but uses an elite sense of timing to expose the opponent's guard and break open games. He was critical in both event wins Dynasty achieved this season and should help provide a continuing level of dominance for San Diego for years to come.
Luis Betancourt, MLKings
Luis Betancourt, in the truest definition, was a breakout player in the 2021 season. Just one year removed from playing Division 4 events on the East Coast, Luis has blossomed into a reliable and aggressive snake side attacker in the pro division. The MLKings had a bit of a shaky season, but Luis was a key bright spot for this program, especially at the World Cup where they made their first Sunday in franchise history. All event long he was creating offense for the MLKings and teams struggled to slow him down, especially during their huge win against XFactor in the prelims. Luis is fearless in the snake and is always looking to make game-changing moves down the field.
Chris Schehr, Baltimore Revo
Chris Schehr is electrifying. All season long he was a consistent source of attack and elite play for Baltimore Revo. Missing key attackers Frank Antetamaso and Stephen Omara at times during the season, Chris stepped into the role as lead attacker on the dorito side and produced MVP level performances at both Chicago and World Cup. He came from a relatively quiet season with NRG Elite last year, and played in the divisional leagues in years prior. At the NXL Windy City Major, he went toe to toe with all-time great Konstantin Fedorov on the dorito side and got the best of him multiple times as Revo defeated Heat.