League of Legends global power rankings through July 11

Tyler Erzberger, ESPN EsportsJul 11, 2017, 01:24 PM
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- Covered esports since 2011
- Worked with biggest teams across titles like League of Legends and StarCraft II
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Welcome back to our League of Legends global power rankings. Every week, we look at each team in the five major regions and rank them according to how they are performing.

The NA LCS, EU LCS, LCK and LMS are entering Week 6 of competition. The LPL is entering Week 5. The +/- indicates the change since the previous ranking.

Nos. 1-10: World contenders

Nos. 11-20: Playoff contenders

Nos. 21-30: Middle of the pack

Nos. 31-40: Struggling

Nos. 41-50: Bottom of the barrel

World contenders

1. SK Telecom T1

Record: 9-1 | League: LCK | +/-: --

SK Telecom T1 might have dropped a game to Team WE over in Taiwan during Rift Rivals, but that isn't enough to drop the back-to-back world champion from its perch atop the Global Power Rankings. In fact, SKT didn't even use Kang "Blank" Sun-gu in that one lost game. The unbeaten 2017 jungler moved his record up to 20-0 at Rift Rivals in his only game played. Maybe it's time for SKT to take notice of the facts: When Blank has played this year, SKT hasn't seen its Nexus fall.

2. Samsung Galaxy

Record: 9-2 | League: LCK | +/-: +1

Samsung has been dominant in the LCK and still rightfully retains second place, but it didn't go without stumbling at Rift Rivals. Samsung had no issue defeating EDward Gaming and J Team in the group stage of the event but faltered against the LPL in a rematch against EDG. It doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things, but it does show the top of South Korea can certainly still bleed.

3. Longzhu Gaming

Record: 8-3 | League: LCK | +/-: +1

Longzhu didn't go to Rift Rivals, and that might have been a good thing. The young team was given a week of preparation instead of jetting over to Taiwan to play in a tournament in which it would have played only three games over the entire event. For a team that still hasn't reached its ceiling, the Dragons might be the most dangerous team in South Korea not named SKT. Starting mid laner Gwak "Bdd" Bo-seong has finally come into his own and is showing why he had the moniker of the Next Faker when he first debuted on CJ Entus over a year ago.

4. KT Rolster

Record: 7-3 | League: LCK | +/-: -2

KT Rolster didn't shine like the second-best team in the LCK heading into Rift Rivals, so it wasn't surprising to see it drop a match to ahq eSports and struggle ever so slightly against its Chinese mirror team, Royal Never Give Up. Setting it below Samsung and Longzhu might seem like splitting hairs, but KT might not be able to pinch Samsung's weaknesses in early mid control enough, and an 0-2 week in LCK might send the Telecom team spiraling.

5. Afreeca Freecs

Record: 5-5 | League: LCK | +/-: --

Another week, another fifth-place ranking for the Freecs. It has come to the point where the Freecs can play up to any opponent in the world or down to anyone just as easily. With all that said, Afreeca is still the only organization with a winning record against triple world champion SKT, so there is always that looming threat of what-if. Can the Freecs find the consistency needed to give Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok his biggest challenge in a domestic final since his first one four years ago against the KT Rolster Bullets?

6. Jin Air Green Wings

Record: 5-5 | League: LCK | +/-: +4

In other news, Jin Air is redefining itself as a club. For years, the Green Wings brand has been synonymous with defensive, slow-moving play and 50-minute wars of attrition; this split's team is anything but, with the current Green Wings squad having the third-quickest matches in all of the LCK. The team finds itself in a dogfight for the final playoff spot in the league alongside Afreeca.

7. Team SoloMid

Record: 7-3 | League: NA LCS | +/-: +8

Europe was favored going into the rivalry grudge match against North America at Rift Rivals last weekend, but Team SoloMid had a different idea on how the tournament should go down. The reigning NA champion made a statement in Berlin by going 8-1 overall in the tournament and sweeping the final over the Unicorns of Love. Couple the international victory with a strong 2-0 showing over Immortals in Week 5 of the NA LCS and you're looking at a team that resembles the behemoth that only dropped one best-of series last summer en route to a league title. This time, though, TSM will hope that with the added confidence of Rift Rivals, Worlds can be different and the group stages won't be its final destination.

8. Counter Logic Gaming

Record: 8-2 | League: NA LCS | +/-: +5

CLG had to sit at home as its archrival TSM decimated the European foes at Rift Rivals. Now, with domestic league play starting up again, it appears like an old story is about to resurface: TSM and CLG, the best two teams in North America, battling it out for the No.1 seed going into Worlds. The last (and only) two times the adversaries met in the NA LCS finals, CLG won. For CLG, TSM can feel proud of its accomplishment and shine up its Rift Rivals trophy -- the NA LCS championship is what it's gunning for.

9. Team WE

Record: 5-2 | League: LPL | +/-: -1

WE exposed limitations in both the LPL and Rift Rivals, but when it gets its strong compositions (Galio, Kog'Maw and the rest), it can poke holes in the armor of the best. A loss to Newbee's new roster and a rough Rift Rivals group stage don't inspire confidence, but WE has brought game wins for the LPL under duress, redeeming itself slightly for its MSI collapse.

10. Flash Wolves

Record: 5-2 | League: LMS | +/-: +8

The play-making support pool has enabled Hu "SwordArt" Shuojie to find openings for Flash Wolves far and above what we've seen from them since 2016 Spring. That, coupled with the increasingly strong form from Lu "Betty" Yuhung and a Flash Wolves squad falling back into stride after early substitutions, sets up the possibility for these Taiwanese leaders to have their best run yet. Their loss to WE at Rift Rivals belies the fact that a longer series with traded bans and adapting draft would likely make for a close and entertaining set.

Playoff contenders

11. Immortals

Record: 7-3 | League: NA LCS | +/-: -4

Immortals were on a hot streak in the NA LCS; after defeating Counter Logic Gaming to earn first place in the region, it looked like the team wasn't about to stop. However, right before the Rift Rivals break, IMT floundered against Team SoloMid and a seemingly revitalized Phoenix1. It should serve as a wake-up call for the electric team that Immortals has grown to be.

12. EDward Gaming

Record: 4-2 | League: LPL | +/-: --

Rift Rivals doesn't speak well for EDG, but when it tightened its draft, it showed off strong jungle and support synergy. The international tournament also came after a 2-0 against Royal Never Give Up, and though EDG may over-group to disappointing results in teamfights, it still drives map control through bottom and mid better than most teams outside the top 10.

13. Cloud9

Record: 6-4 | League: NA LCS | +/-: +7

It was an uneventful Rift Rivals for C9. It came, it split its games and it left, as TSM won the glory for the region with its title run. But it'd be foolish to forget that before TSM took over Rift Rivals, C9 handed it a decisive defeat. Only CLG, C9 and TSM have ever made the NA LCS finals, and all three staples of the league are in good position to make that factoid stay relevant until at least 2018.

14. Fnatic

Record: 6-1 | League: EU LCS | +/-: -8

With strong play around the bottom lane, Fnatic topped the European charts by the time Week 5 ended. However, Rift Rivals brought meta-game changes aplenty, enough to destabilize the team, as North America abused Rasmus "Caps" Winther's positioning. Despite that, the squad may be able to adapt to the current mid lane centric trends, with Paul "sOAZ" Boyer serving as a permanent split-pushing threat. Hopefully, he can parlay that into more successful teamfights going forward.

15. Unicorns of Love

Record: 5-1 | League: EU LCS | +/-: -6

The Unicorns of Love's Rift Rivals campaign could be summed up with its Game 3 performance against Team SoloMid, or a sequence of actions in Game 2 leading up to the 23-minute mark: close but no cigar. UoL has displayed its ability to punish mistakes through teamfighting and adapt mid-series (albeit late) but has lost focus through teamfight mistakes when it mattered most. The challenge that lies ahead may be the most daunting to date for Fabian "Exileh" Schubert and Andrei "Xerxe" Dragomir, as the team's ability to reach the World Championship rests on their ability to spark plays and handle the laning phase.

16. J Team

Record: 5-2 | League: LMS | +/-: +12

Thresh has been a boon for some of the best supports in the world, and J Team coupled that with smart early map transitions. It seems capable of translating pressure from any lane into the mid game. The unfortunate circumstances of J Team, however, make it too eager for picks and dives, rendering it unable to close without an overwhelming snowball. One should keep a lookout for J Team to improve with jungler Chen "Alex" Yuming, but don't expect much in the meantime.

17. H2K Gaming

Record: 5-2 | League: EU LCS | +/-: -6

H2K's absence from Rift Rivals may have been felt rather heavily, as Andrei "Odoamne" Pascu and Fabian "Febiven" Diepstraten's laning would have offered opportunities galore for Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski to secure early leads in the solo lanes, then use said leads to snowball to oblivion. The squad has the makings of the best European squad in the current meta should it adapt its play and improve execution, a matter that nearly caused its downfall against Misfits in Week 5.

18. Misfits

Record: 4-2 | League: EU LCS | +/-: -4

The more promising Misfits looks, the more frustrating it becomes to watch the squad squander unsquanderable leads through misplays that would not be there had minion wave control been impeccable. The unit has progressively allowed Tristan "PowerOfEvil" Schrage to ramp up his contributions in the early and mid-game stages of the game, with Nubar "Maxlore" Sarafian getting into a comfort zone by Week 5, displaying the same playmaking ability that helped ROCCAT turn heads at the end of the spring split.

19. Phoenix1

Record: 3-7 | League: NA LCS | +/-: +24

Phoenix1's campaign at Rift Rivals helped assert the fact that the team's 3-7 record in the North American LCS does not reflect its level of play. The squad has become a pleasant one to watch ever since Michael "MikeYeung" Yeung's arrival from solo queue and his rise to potential stardom in the LCS. His proactive mindset helped P1 refine its playstyle in the summer split. Should Alex "xpecial" Chu perform like he did at Rift Rivals, P1 is on the rise, mid-centric play and 1-3-1 pressure at the helm.

20. Royal Never Give Up

Record: 4-3 | League: LPL | +/-: +3

RNG went to Rift Rivals looking for some confidence. Mid laner Li "xiaohu" Yuanhao fretted he wouldn't be able to bring victory to the LPL, but RNG killed the last Nexus that gave the LPL its Rift Rivals victory. RNG haven't demonstrated enough depth to indicate that it's returned to form, but strong solo lane control and a skirmish-focused early game show signs it can get there.