My top 10 LOL world rankings

One of the main issues when trying to make accurate international rankings is the lack of international competition. Because of the different play styles of each region it is hard to compare the best teams of each regions. Because of this, international results like ESL Katowice will matter much more.

This is MY personal rankings, and It’s  just me sharing my opinion on the current best teams in the world, so, if you have a different opinion, please don’t bash this rankings.

So, with all of these in mind, let’s proceed to the power rankings:

1. EDG(LPL)

EDG, the chinese powerhouse, have been dominant all throughout  the season, only losing once. Their 14-1-3 record in the most competitive region rightfully places them at the top of the LPL and of the power rankings. The Clearlove-Pawn combo has been working wonderfully for them and their aggressive, yet very calculated play style fits them perfectly. Their lineup is full of playmakers and stars,such as Hyuk-kyu “Deft” Kim as ADC and Tong ”Koro1” Yang in the toplane makes this team almost invincible.Even though they haven’t had and international competition yet, unless something drastic happens at the MSI(assuming they will win the LPL spring season) EDG probably won’t lose their placing anytime soon .

2. GE Tigers(LCK)

Which leaves us to the GE Tigers, the only team that could have stolen EDG’s ranking.  Not dropping a single loss throughout the season, they looked invincible in the LCK.Kim ”Pray” Jong-in’s dominance in the LCK, combined with Seohang ”KurO” Lee’s skill set made them one of the most dangerous(and best-suited) teams in League of Legends. However, their cocky atitude going into ESL Katowice made them loose to Team WE(who was, at that time, at the bottom of the LPL) in a surprising fashion in the semifinals. KurO brought Yasuo to the table, a champion that he never played in the LCK, and wasn’t able to have much of an impact on the fate of the series. While team WE did have an incredible series, GE should have been able to beat them, if they would have played as they did in Korea. Going home, they were upset by the KT Rolster roster, and it looks like the Korean giants need to reset their mindset, or the other teams might start taking wins away from them. For now however, their failure in Katowice but dominance domestically still places them at the 2^nd place in the rankings.

3. Snake(LPL)

Snake really impressed this season, currently standing at the 4^th place in the chinese league, while not having any superstar from the Korean exodus. Their dominance consists in the ability to play different play styles, and the individual skill of players like Kim „Beast” Joohyn, while Lu ”Baka” Fan’s Xerath managed to carry them in many situations, including their first match against OMG towards the end of the season, as his individual skillset is almost unparalled in the LPL,but he’s also been very good on the likes of Diana and Lissandra. They only lost to the best, and rightfully deserve the third place in the rankings.

4. OMG(LPL)

After the huge aquisition of Jian ”Uzi” Zihao, OMG have been domestically very strong. They have been practicing different playstyles, and Uzi delivered almost every single match. However, the focus that OMG places on Uzi might be bad for them in the long run; because the elite teams are able to shut him down, or at least diminish his impact. One such game was the 1st OMG-Snake match, where Uzi got a bunch of early kill, was the most fed player by far on the whole map, but was unable to make an impact on the actual teamfights because for every kill Uzi took Snake were able to respond with a dragon or a tower from which every single member of Snake benefited. Because of the double tank meta, it is way harder for an ADC, even at the level of Uzi, to single-handely carry a whole game. Unless they can share the gold, while still feeding Uzi, they probably won’t be able to surpass the likes of EDG or GE Tigers.

5. TSM (NA)

TSM finally breaks through in the top five after a very long time without nothing but dissapointing results internationally. After losing to Samsung White in the World Championship quarterfinals, TSM started out very strong domestically, and currently stand at a 11-4 record in the first place.However, what really impressed was their win at ESL Katowice, where they managed to take the title. Unluckily for them, they only had to face weaker teams(with the exception of CJ), so they are not yet able to prove they can beat the best.TSM’s star midlaner, Soren ”Bjergsen” Bjerg went ham at the event, dominating every oponent on the likes of Zed and Leblanc. He is the best western player by far at the moment, and should not be underestimated at all costs. If Yoe didn’t upset SK Gaming, and Team WE would have lost their series vs GE Tigers, TSM winning over them would have probably placed them in the 3rd-4th place in the rankins. This is not the case, but they still have a chance to prove their skill at the MSI(assuming they win the spring NA split), in front of their home crowd.

6. SKT(LCK)

SKT remained pretty much the same after the korean exodus, and they started the LCK as the main favorites. However, once it got clear that GE is the new dominant force, SKT have been standing around the 2nd-3rd place for a while, but they finally managed to break from CJ Entus, and currently stand at 9 wins and 3 losses in the LCK.Their main star has, as always, been Sanghyuk ”Faker” Lee, the world’s best midlaner, and the current „revival” of Sungwoong ”Bengi” Bae will defenitely be crucial if they want to reach their old form, during the season 3 world championship, or at least manage to get one step closer to their rivals, GE Tigers. While they haven’t yet had the chance to prove themselves internationally, their dominance throught the season is enough to place them at an honorable 6th sport in the world rankings.

7. CJ Entus(LCK)

CJ had a rough preseason, so rogh that no one expected them to come back, let alone be able to reach the 3rd place in the LCK. In spite of all that, CJ managed to overcome the odds and beat the likes of SKT in a BO3 series, mainly carried by the trio of Chanyong ”Ambition” Kim, Jinyoung ”CoCo” Shin and the well-known Mingi ”MadLife” Hong.  While they have been dominant domestically, their failure at ESL, after loosing to both TSM and Team WE prevents me from placing them anywhere higher in the rankings for now. Now they must focus on their next objective: a successiful playoffs run.

8. Vici Gaming(LPL)

Vici gaming has been strong all throughout the  LPL,  and they are currently standing at 6(W)-3(L)-9(T), and stand strong in the 4^th place.  Most notably, they managed to tie Snake and OMG. More importantly, they have been consistant, beating(or at least tying) the teams ranked lower than them, and losing only to some of the best teams. Because of this, they land on a solid 8^th spot in the power rankings because of the likes of Se-hyoung “Mata” Cho and In-kyu “Dandy” Choi.

9. SK Gaming(EU)

SK Gaming’s dominance over the EU LCS, finishing the split at 15-3, meant that the european powerhouse was seen as a strong contender for the title in Katowice. However, SK hit a brick wall after being completely shut down by the GE Tigers(they also seemed like they didnt research their matchup properly, as they allowed GE to get some of their best champions while not gaining anything super strong in return). F0rg1ven was shut down the whole match, and he couldn’t have much of an impact on the fate of the game. It seems like a big part of SK’s success has been on F0rg1ven’s abillity to carry them, which is completely reasonable at a domestic level, but very hard to pull of against the best of the best. Their loss in the next match against Yoe Flash Wolves only rubs salt to their wounds, as they were forced to have an early exit out of the tournament.The only reason the keep their place in the top 10 rankings is because of their domestic play, but SK need a change, and they need it soon; or their weaknesses will be shown  at the MSI, assuming they win their EU split.

10. Jin Air(LCK)

Standing at the last place in the power rankings is Jin Air, a team that has impressed in Korea, but couldn’t really have the big wins against the better teams of the region. Changseong ”GBM” Lee’s team is currently at a 7-5 record, not too bad but definitely not enough for them to be ranked any higher. The playoffs is their best chance to prove whether they have an ace up their sleeve left, and it better be, or their ranking might suffer soon.

Honorable mentions:

LGD Gaming

LGD Gaming is right below Vici in the LCK, and they are the best contender to get the 10th spot in the rankings. For them too, their best bet  is the playoffs.

I.G.

I.G. are currently tied with LGD, and are also a big contender for the 10th spot. However, they have some flaws in they play style that they need to fix to be able to get anywhere higher.

FNATIC

Fnatic is currently the 2nd best team in Europe. After xPeke, Soaz, Rekkles and Cyanide left, it felt like Fnatic is finally done. However, to the surprise of everyone they managed to once again rise to the top, with the likes of Steelback, Febiven and Huni carrying FNC to a new era of dominance domestically. If they can win the EU LCS Spring split and have a good performance at the MSI, FNC can definitely land inside the power rankings.

I will update the power rankings before MSI.

Photo credits:

GG chronicle
Thescoreesports
http://lol.gamepedia.com/
http://www.twinfinite.net/
http://na.lolesports.com/

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